The tale has a bit of everything – the doughty Gotlandic community; knitters who made more money than their husbands; the spirit that sent them onto the Baltic in cold winds and scant daylight. The happy ending, on Christmas Eve, leaves audience members in Visby teary – and knitted together by history. Local author and veteran journalist Eva Sjöstrand wrote "Samma Ull.
" She now sings the part of Briten Granquist, who knitted 777 sweaters, hired a boat, and gathered others to join her. But in 1824, some sweater dears were lost at sea. Singers in Visby, the island's capital, recently celebrated that voyage with "Samma Ull" ("We Are All Made of the Same Wool") – a choir drama about the knitters and how their courage and seaworthiness were tested.
Two hundred years ago, the Swedish island of Gotland was known for its abundant wool and talented craftswomen. Knitters, known as "sweater dears," sailed each fall to Stockholm to sell their wares, bringing home cash and supplies in time for Christmas. History is unavoidable on the Swedish island of Gotland, where the medieval walls of its capital, Visby, still stand.
So it made sense that on Nov. 9, Allmänna Sången Visby, a local choir, celebrated a daunting sea voyage launched on that very day 200 years ago. "Samma Ull" ("We Are All Made of the Same Wool") is a choir drama about knitters who sailed across the Baltic Sea to Stockholm, and how their courage and seaworthiness were tested.
That's right, knitters. Gotland was k.
