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One thing I love about traditions is how they become new again. I saw an Elizabeth Zimmermann quotation, in which she said that knitters “don’t invent but unvent”—that is, they take things from the past and give them a new interpretation. That concept has motivated this project. Constructed end to end with the signature ribbing of the seaman’s scarf, Gerard’s Scarf reinterprets this classic.
Writer Roger Zelazny influenced the Gerard Seaman’s Scarf’s motifs and their construction. The Chronicles of Amber, Zelazny’s ten-book series, is where we meet Gerard, a member of the multifaceted story’s royal family, who loves the ocean and is a natural sailor. He remains out of the family intrigues as best he can by staying true to himself. In a Zelazny-inspired short story, “Fiddler’s Green” by Dave Lawrence, we see Gerard leaving the capital city on a journey, carrying only an oar. On this scarf, an oar is the main motif. Bounded by cables, it is both a tree of life, and, with ribbons wrapping the shaft, also a maypole. I hope that you enjoy my new interpretation of a knitting tradition.
Knit Picks Stroll, 75% merino/25% nylon yarn, fingering weight, 231
yards (211.2 m)/50 gram (1.8 oz) skein, 3 skeins of Dusk
Signature Needle Arts Needles, straight, 10 inches (25.4 cm), size
2 (2.75 mm) or size needed to obtain gauge
Finished size: 7 inches (17.8 cm) wide and 60 inches (152.4 cm) long
Gauge: 28 sts and 40 rows = 4 inches (10.2 cm) in St st
