Knitting has become fashionable as traditional values are revived

When I went to Iceland for Christmas in 2006 the frosty air in Reykjavik was literally vibrating with febrile excitement.

At my favourite cafe, where the style is playful minimalism, complete with a full-sized plastic horse, I overheard some young men dressed in black discussing buying an airline. At another table, similar types were buying a bank.

Under the Northern lights at Christmas the following year some were blase – more airlines and banks forever. Others were apprehensive since the tide of easy money had turned.

BY Christmas 2008 the three main banks had collapsed. Worries and uncertainties followed in their wake but, to my great surprise, also a huge relief.

“Kreppa” is the Icelandic word for “crisis”, literally meaning being tight or squeezed

As one of my cousins said to me: “Luckily, this crazyness is now behind us” – the crazyness of too much money and a new jet set, high on foreign debt, defining what it is to be cool.

In the hot tub at one of the outdoor swimming pools, a young man, almost invisible in the sulphur-scented steam, was telling someone that his wife and all her sisters had taken up knitting.

Knitting craze

On a recent trip to Iceland, I visited a friend who served some home-made juice of wild Icelandic berries the family had picked.

The Icelandic spirit is alive and well

The refreshing juice coloured my lips the deep blue of my childhood summers.

Afterwards I was give tea made from the dried seeds of the berries and was shown handbags that my friend’s wife had made of old curtains – they had recently sold like hot cakes at a Christmas market that she participated in at a friend’s home.

Visiting my nephew’s family, his wife showed me beautiful things that she’s knitting.

She told me that everyone in Iceland is knitting. It’s in the news as a new national craze.

Strong spirits

Having dinner at the home of friends I was served pressed dried cod-roes like the Italian delicacy bottarga.

It is back to basics for Iceland

The bottarga-maker, an Englishman who has lived in Iceland for a couple of years, told me that funnily enough, he thought life in Iceland was much better after the “kreppa”.

“Kreppa” is the Icelandic word for “crisis”, literally meaning being tight or squeezed.

The economy is certainly squeezed after the financial crash a year ago and sadly unemployment is rising.

But the Icelandic spirit? No, it’s not terribly squeezed.

The values of thrift

I know it may sound awful, but I think my English friend is right. The “kreppa” has brought out some good things in Icelanders.

The remnants of the debt-fuelled life style are astronomical debts and the phrase “it’s so 2007″ meaning something ludicrously extravagant.

But Icelanders are versatile and resourceful.

The economic squeeze, the “kreppa”, has updated the old Icelandic proverb, “necessity teaches a naked woman to spin” – the ‘kreppa’ revived knitting.

Icelanders are very good at turning things into an event.

The crisis is now an event and a timely reminder of the values of thrift and good housekeeping, all forgotten during the crazy boom.

When I go to Iceland this Christmas I’ll definitely be knitting with friends and family – though it’s difficult to knit in the hot tub.