tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016308502995734594.post1582758920915486181..comments2023-12-03T07:34:14.687-08:00Comments on Postcard From California: Ench By Sew-025: RestylingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6016308502995734594.post-49854328550428131402014-11-01T15:04:09.482-07:002014-11-01T15:04:09.482-07:00Hello! Your Aran sweater comments perked up my ear...Hello! Your Aran sweater comments perked up my ears! I am a knitter who wants to learn to use her sewing machine, and I have been being inspired by your podcast. Aran sweaters are named after the Aran Islands off the coast of Ireland where they originated. They are made of undyed sheep's wool, hence the creamy color. Wool naturally is covered in a "greasy" substance called lanolin, which makes the yarn water-resistant. The women of the Islands would make the sweaters for their fisherman husbands; the lanolin helping them to keep dry from the spray of the ocean and the patterns of cables making the sweaters thicker, and therefore warmer. The legend goes that each man's sweater had a different pattern of cables so if he drowned and was washed ashore his body could be identified, but that appears to be untrue. Thanks for the podcast!Emanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08771868716156191377noreply@blogger.com