Aran Sweaters

[porrick]

I'm not the least bit suprised. So many of these urban legends sound so much better than the truth that people just WANT to believe them.

Best

AA

So true, but what we are witnessing (along with the romanticizing of the "ancient" clan tartans - sorry, could't resist) is the creation and start of wonderful myths that future generations can marvel over. Think of all the myths from ancient times that we all are familiar with and see as part of our heritage.

Let's enjoy the myths - so nice with stories that are apart from so much cruelty in our world.

Does it matter if the Irish patterns are a sales pitch? I have a Murphy Aran sweater, and my son and grandkids (OK, maybe one day...) will be able to say that their sweaters are Murphy - just like dad and grandad's...
Myth gives way to a nice family tradition

[Paul Henry]

I'm, not sure that it matters what the pattern represent, eg, fisherman's ropes/fields of barley/blackberries/honeycomb etc, but the fact remains that they are made up!
If we chose to make a "myth" out of them so be it.

What exactly makes your jumper a "murphy"? sorry not meaning to pick on you, just curious!

When I was taken as a child to visit all sorts of family friends, many of whom knitted,I was shown the different patterns , some of the knitters liked doing some stitches and not others, so in a sense that created a style belonging to them,but hardly a clan!

[porrick]

I'm, not sure that it matters what the pattern represent, eg, fisherman's ropes/fields of barley/blackberries/honeycomb etc, but the fact remains that they are made up!
If we chose to make a "myth" out of them so be it.

What exactly makes your jumper a "murphy"? sorry not meaning to pick on you, just curious!

When I was taken as a child to visit all sorts of family friends, many of whom knitted,I was shown the different patterns , some of the knitters liked doing some stitches and not others, so in a sense that created a style belonging to them,but hardly a clan!

That is where the myth comes in, I guess. As far as I have gathered, somebody - don't know who - have systematized different patterns by giving them Irish family names. One could probably have named them "pattern 1, pattern 2" etc (?!?) Probably much of the romantic drive that has named so many tartans on differing isles

I am not particularly updated on the history of the Aran sweater, but I like the names given to the various patterns. Clan? Well... if one reads it as e.g. "pattern named after a Murphy family" I think we should be getting somewhere

The men in our family have had the same pattern Aran for four generations, and for us it has certainly become a "clan Murphy" thing in a modern context. We have been three generations wearing our sweaters at the same time (7 of us), and that certainly gave others something to identify us by.

My 2 cents is that the Aran sweater is of an outstanding quality, and I haven't seen any others similiar that I would rather have.

My appologies for rambling on - concluding with: it's a darn fine sweater, and if family and friends associate Patrick Murphy with his (Murphy) Aran and kilt, all the better.

[porrick]

sorry not meaning to pick on you...

Never even considered it as such