"Millionen von Stichen" - traditionelle Strickmuster aus Mittelfranken / "Millions of stitches" - traditional knitting patterns from Middle Franconia

Tichiros Blogeintrag hat mich daran erinnert, dass ich letztes Jahr ein Buch aus der Universitätsbibliothek ausgeliehen hatte, das die Geschichte des Strickens in Mittelfranken erzählt. Das Buch ist reich bebildert (mit Fotos von Originalstrickstücken) und enthält ganze Anleitungen, hauptsächlich für Strümpfe und Armstulpen. Mehr Bilder und Informationen gibt es bei Tichiro und Socktopia sowie auf der Website der "Trachtenforschungs- und -beratungsstelle des Bezirks Mittelfranken".

Last year I discovered a knitting-related book in the university library. I wanted to post about this book but had little time at that point and then forgot about it. Tichiro, a german blogger, has reminded me of this book and I decided to post some pictures I took back then. It's called "Millionen von Stichen hab' ich wohl gemacht ..." (which roughly translates as "I must have knit millions of stitches") and is about the history of knitting in Middle Franconia (it's where I live!). There is some interesting historical information, pictures of original knitted items (mostly socks and "Stulpen" - is "cuffs" the right english word for it?). It's amazing at what gauge the socks were knit - how tiny must the needles have been! If I remember correctly, most of it was knit with cotton, too - not the most comfortable fiber to knit with. For most (if not all) of the items in the book there are charts and instructions, so it's possible to reproduce those historical items. I think most of them date from the 19th century. If you're interested in the book (and know German) - it's listed on the german Amazon Website (though it seems not to be available at the moment). For more pictures, go to Tichiro or Socktopia.