Washed ashore.
A poignant pause in a short series of sea fishing posts, reeling in sentiment for those fishermen who fight the sea, in love with the sea,
yet inevitably helpless in the incidences where the water, weather, and sea creatures dominate with harsh indifference.
Sea monster ready to swallow up ship and crew — drawing 1600’s.
” Humanity is always fallible, through every man individually or a crew collectively, (there is) a break in the chain of watch-keeping or good navigation, and there comes tragedy. Going to sea against those elements to take home that resource can never remain safe ” — as heard in previous post from Unknown Fisherman.
Fishermen Fact: In the face of tragedy, the fishermen gansey (guernsey) or sweater, its varied patterns on brave & broad shouldered men such as these, is a marker of identity…
“Each gansey has a unique pattern which varied from village to village and from family to family. If there was a shipwreck or accident the bodies washed up on the shore could be identified by their gansey as being from a particular village and family. In this way the fisherman could be returned to their family for burial”… read more
The sea is a dangerous place, and fishermen have had to work within its raw and elemental nature for as long as they’ve taken harvest from it, from centuries past to present. The sporting Fishermens Gansey as we know today, has survived its original purpose of rugged & essential gear, knit by mothers, wives, and sweethearts, to keep their fishermen warm and safe against the elements as well as they could…
But even so, the fishermens gansey has come into the spotlight of fashion as a genuinely attractive style of knitwear, and knitters have appreciated the cables, moss stitch and purl textures for generations already. As I have also been smitten by those timeless textures, at last I am bringing the spirit of the sea into a small collection of rugged and sea worthy accessories that I’ve been working on this winter like a team of fisher lassies …
Alive O’ !
A fresh catch ready to be sorted & groomed for photos (and with pattern forthcoming), saluting the iconic woollen fishermen gansey, in an assortment of knitteds that every fisherman or fisherwoman, should never be without !
Jenjoyce Design 
A pretty pile!
Hoping to see more.
Thanks! Watch this space for more to come…
Ooh, lovely and another very interesting post 🙂 🐟
Tracey, as this is the first pattern I’ve been working on since the wildfire, I am both overwhelmed, and utterly enjoying at the same time. I love the lead-up posts, and your enthusiasm is always appreciated..xx