The Sweater Curse is a work of fiction by Leanne Dyck. That said, however, scattered here and there in this book are facts. Let’s try to locate them.
1) Gwen describes her hometown as being ‘located in the centre of the province between Lake Winnipeg and Lake Manitoba. The area is known as The Interlake.’
This area does exist.
2) Gwen explains that Icelanders immigrated to Canada because the land they loved could no longer sustained them.
In Nelson S. Gerrard’s book The Icelandic Heritage he writes ‘As a result of the hard times in Iceland, emigration increased sharply in 1873’
3) Gwen’s mother is recruited to work in St. Paul’s hospital in Vancouver, BC.
This hospital does exist and it is located in Vancouver.
4) Gwen is told that, ‘[I]n the 60s, tree-hugging, granola-eating, pot-smoking hippies moved [to Kitsilano…They opened] head shops, art galleries, used clothing stores and a wild collection of businesses.’
Kitsilano is a neighbourhood in Vancouver with this colourful past.
5) Gwen gains employment in a café called The Starving Artist.
The Starving Artist does exist. It is a restaurant in Toronto.
6) Sweater Design in Plain English by Maggie Righetti, Designing Knitwear by Deborah Newton, and Donna Druchunas’ the Ethnic Knitting series are knitwear designer resource books recommended to Gwen.
All of these books are in my library and I would highly recommend them to all novice knitwear designers.
7) Gwen names her knitwear designer business Olavia’s hand knitting patterns. Her web site URL is www.oknitting.com
I named my business to honour my mother – Olavia. www.oknitting.com is my URL.
8) The postal code R0C 0W0 appears in the book.
This is an actual postal code. It belongs to Eriksdale Manitoba, my hometown.
3 comments:
I can see me doing this sort of "Just the Facts Friday" ... and everything would be made up!
Well, there is a Norther California Pirate Festival and the the Portland Pirate Festival and the musical groups I mention are real...
Maybe it wouldn't be all made up!
Congrats on the book!
Thank you, Maureen.
I enjoy blending fact with fiction. It's a way for me to pay tribute to people and places that are near and dear to my heart.
I love the the concept of blending fact and fiction. Paying tribute to people and places that are near and dear to you is what makes a wonderful story.
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