thanks Dr bill, (reQueen Elizabeth the First is reputed to have had her stocking knitted in Jersey. )
QEI was the first person on record to have silk stockings too, a present from the spanish ambassedor, for her coranation.
there is some truth about sailors and fishermen being identied by their sweaters. gross, but true, fish will quickly attach a drowned body as food, and the fingers, nose, lips, eye lids, and other part of face are eaten firts. Fish do not eat, or even nibble at wool.. and wool resist rotting in sea water so sweaters would survive .
Connie, i have read "like water for chocolate", but knitting and crochet are two very different processes! Knitting is very old, (knitted items, or remnants of them, have been found in egyptian tombs).
knitting was also a guilded craft, (several of the puritan who came over on the Mayflower, has spent years in Holland, becoming master (guilded) knitters). the guild system was breaking down at the time, and knitting was an early skill to escape the guilds.)
crochet is relitively modern and is only about 400 years old. it was created to make imitation lace, (since sumputary laws often taxed lace at a very high rate, imitation lace was very popular.) it was developed in france.
