Silk of my dreams

If you've ever looked at 19th century patterns, you've seen a purse pattern calling for purse silk.  I've often wondered what the purse silk was and have always substituted perle cotton crochet thread.  I was cruising through the online catalogue for Fire Mountain Gems and Beads, one of my favorite places to be.  If you're into beading or anything in that line, these are the people to know.  I started thinking about the silk thread I'd seen before and wondering how it would work for purse silk.  But I had no idea how the sizes worked.

I ordered 2 spools, one is sized "FFF" which is the largest size, and one is "FF," the next smallest size, to test it out.  The gold is the FF and the orange is the FFF.   I loaded each of them with 11/0 beads and knitted these samples.  I have to say, the handle of the knitted pieces is so luxurious I can't even describe.  The thought of having a reticule knitted out of this stuff is taking me over and I suspect that I will have one before the weekend is out.  I don't know that's the case but I have very, very strong suspicions.

In case you're wondering, the beads on the orange thread are turqoise and the palest of yellows.  The interaction of the beads against the color of the silk has really affected the color of the beads and I think I kind of like it.

In other things going on, I've finally gotten back to working on the 1923 pattern for the Crocheted Pond Lily Breakfast Cloth.  I've finished the second middle piece (you can follow the link for a picture) and started on the 3rd.  I didn't take another picture because, believe it or not, it looks exactly like the first one!  Nevertheless, I have determined that if I follow the pattern exactly and make 6 middle pieces, I'll never own a table large enough to ever use it or display it.  And I've used just the thread it calls for - size 60 cotton.  So I"ve decided that I can probably make 4 of them and it might be a little more manageable.  Also, that means that I'm halfway done with the middle section and that sounds a lot better than 1/3 of the way done!  Once I finish these, the very center will be linen and then there are crocheted place mats that fit in between each of these "tongues."  Very pretty.  Very vintage.

I have encountered one problem though that means I really shouldn't be spinning in the same clothes that I work the crochet in.  It seems that no matter how careful you are when you're spinning, small bits of fiber stick to you.  And when you're crocheting with size 60 cotton and a size 12 or 13 crochet hook, the cotton picks up those little bits of fiber and works it right into the fabric.  I think I've got most of it out but now I have to either crochet first, spin later or crochet all night and not spin at all.  Rough.

Live and learn, right?

Ready for the Opera

Done! I’m done!

I thought the “Feather Border” was going to defeat me but I finally got it. I don’t know if this ever happens to you but I can look at something and look and look at it and not get it. But if I put it away and come back to it, often, all of a sudden, it makes sense. That’s what happened here. Once I came back to it, all of a sudden I couldn’t believe why it had seemed so hard.

There was no real instruction for putting it all together so I had to go by the picture to add the ties and pompoms but I think it looks pretty close.

I’ll try to get the pattern written up and posted sometime this week. I definitely have a couple of things I want to riff off of this.

Olé!

Several weeks ago a friend and I spent time looking at 19th century patterns and found a particularly fetching pattern for a “Spanish Opera Hood.” The lovely librarians at the Lincoln Presidential Library made a copy for us and I’ve finally gotten to trying it out. I pondered over what yarn to use and did a little research into the various types of yarn and what this particular pattern calls for. I ended up using some Alpaca Cloud yarn from Knit Picks just because I had some left over and I thought it would have a nice drape and I wasn’t exactly aiming for historical accuracy at this point. I was more worried about using some scraps to test the accuracy of the pattern.

Here’s what the pattern looks like from the Peterson’s book. Very fetching, don’t you think?!

And here’s what I’ve done so far. The size isn’t really right but just because of the yarn I’ve used but so far so good with the pattern. Now I’ve got to pick up around the gray border and do the ‘lining’ which evidently is a mirror of this section. After the lining, I’ll just have to do the little extra bit at the top and I’m done! That’s all. Ha!

I've got some changes I would make to some of the procedures but only out of convenience, not because the pattern isn't clear. For instance, next time I shall use a provisional cast-on so I won't have to pick up all those stitches for the lining (263 stitches, to be exact). Also, I shall use a fingering or dk weight yarn, which is actually closer to what the pattern calls for and a little bit larger needles. I'm working on my US 4s right now (as I almost always do with lace weight yarn). I do really like the drape of the alpaca, though.

Only 1 mistake in the pattern so far, too. But it was really only a typo and was very obvious, so I don't think that really counts.

Penwiper

Since I’ve been looking into 19th century patterns (Godey’s, Weldon’s & Peterson’s), I’ve been seeing patterns for things called “penwipers.” It intrigued me because I couldn’t figure out how they would wipe pens on these beautiful knitted, crocheted and sewn pen wipers.

I was finally won over by some folks on a Ravelry vintage group when it was explained that these were covers for the actual part on which the pens were wiped and that there were often black fabrics or other dark fibers for the serviceable areas. I’ve seen one now that used a pom-pom of black yarn as the wiper part.

I’ve posted some examples of the patterns on my web site so you can have a look. I would be really fascinated to see some firsthand. Now that I know what they are, I need to start keep an eye out for them in the antique shops.

I couldn’t find any penwipers on ebay but I did find one reproduction of a book from 1896 and here are the patterns that were included:

• Angel Penwiper
• Chicken Penwiper and Pincushion
• Crocheted Penwiper
• Extinguisher Penwiper
• Fez Penwiper
• Jester Penwiper
• Round Penwiper
• Nyanza Penwiper
• Parasol Penwiper
• Tulip Penwiper #1
• Tulip Penwiper #2
• Turk's Cap Penwiper
• Umbrella Stand Penwiper and Holder
• Water Lily Penwiper
• Wheel Penwiper
• Witch's Hat Penwiper
• Another Penwiper

Happy New Year

I’ve been working to get the kid’s afghan finished so I’ve been knitting flowers, leaves and

yes, a bunny. This is the bunny that lives in the hole on the mountain in the land of afghan. I can’t stop giggling every time I look at him. He’s just so flipping cute!

This bunny was actually my second bunny. The first bunny looks like a wee alien so I decided to go back to the drawing board and this is the result. See his little tail? I finished him (it’s always the face – once you get the face on it takes on a personality of its own) and just couldn’t quit giggling. I love a bunny that can make me laugh.

Another fruit of my recent research into 19th century patterns is this scarf.

I found the stitch pattern in one of the Godey’s patterns and like the look of it. The stitch looks old fashioned but the Berroco Ultra Alpaca in the denim color brings it up to date. I thought the tassels gave it just the right finish. The stitch pattern is kind of architectural and the tassels seem to set that off.

I’m almost finished with the kid’s afghan but I it’s missing something in the sky section. I’m thinking about what will fit the bill and looking for some Vanna yellow. Maybe a nice bright sun will do the trick.