In 2 weeks I'm shifting gears from testing Forza Horizon to building on my MA research into knitting book author biographies, as a full-time AHRC-funded PhD student with The Open University. The research is expanding to look for evidence of the socio-economic activity of entrepreneurs who ran yarn shops and published knitting, crochet and needlework books to promote and supplement their retail-based income. The initial research title is:
Fancywork emporiums: Capitalizing on publishing fashion trends in Britain (1836-1914)
My quest is to shine light on the treasures and nuggets of data that exist in Victorian knitting and crochet books, using my Venn diagram intersection of data wrangling, archive investigating, and knitting knowledge. Douglas Adam's defined Liff as "A book the contents of which are totally belied by its cover" and many knitting and crochet books are liff books due to the ubiquity of the humble yarn. The V&A Museum has a short history of hand-knitting for those looking for a whistle-stop tour.
My wonky meandering career has led me here, to the PhD castle within the roundabouts city [1], another example that "Not all those who wander are lost." This was my 4th PhD application, with each improving on the previous. The confluence of the right supervisors, research topic, available PhD place, and funding requires a recipe of: timing, preparation, research, hard work, a dash of luck, and a lot of editing.
[1] Intentional mis-quotation of the "Through dangers untold" quote from The Labyrinth film
[2] J.R.R. Tolkien
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