Vintage Cute

I've started playing with patterns for reproductions of some vintage patterns. This one was from a picture of a beaded purse. In the original version, which was called a vase coin purse, the white stripes were beaded. I didn't do this one that way because I wanted to work out the pattern. It's made with size 5 perle cotton in powder blue and white.



I've posted a free pattern for it on my web site so have a look if you want to try it out. I've also been seeing 19th century patterns for a similar concept but in a larger size. This one stands about 5" and is really just too cute, don't ya think!


One of the other things I've been working on is a linen top. Here's the back of the bodice. It's going to have a square neck with a vintage lace inset pattern. Then it's going to have a lace insert at the waist with a 'skirt' that will go about hip length. This is the Louet Euroflax Linen that I love so much in color "Grape." and using US size 4 needles. The bodice is stockinette and cable, the skirt will use a cherry lace stitch from a 19th century pattern and a yet to be decided lace insert.

This is where the 'N more comes in

I just got home from the Opening of the watercolor show and I’m surprised, astounded and, frankly, a little bit in shock that one of my paintings won an honorable mention. Out of about 50 or so paintings (some of which were breathtaking, by the way) there was 1st, 2nd and 3rd and then about 8 honorable mentions. One of those was mine. I still can’t fathom that that happened. I’m really anxious now to see the notes from the comments made by the judge. They’re being transcribed and I don’t know when they will be distributed but that’s really the reason I entered the paintings I did – to get the feedback from an artist of the caliber of Tom Francesconi.

The show will be at the Chase Bank lobby in downtown Springfield through October so go have a look.

Generations

My Great Grannie was a great character. I remember going to visit her and Great Grandad in their home in Goldthswaite with their 300 or so wild cats and their barn with all the treasures and the spittoon and the pies. The first thing you did when you got there was to watch all the cats disappear - partly because they were wild and partly because my brother, though he has long been a friend of the cat, was at that time quite a terror to them. Grannie's cat, Tiger, wasn't too fond of him, either.

When you walked in the house, before you even looked for which pies Great Grandad had made, you looked for the spittoon so you would know where to sit -always on the other side of the room. Only then was it pie time. Great Grandad put up all his own fruits and I just remember the array of pies - a fruit pie or 2, pumpkin, pecan (it's pecan country, after all!), lemon merange (although I don't know how to spell it) and whatever something he had the urge to bake. Fabulous baker, he was.

Then there was Great Grannie, sitting in state in her chair ready to talk! (And they wonder where I get it from.) She was blind all the time I knew her but boy she could tell stories. She had to go live with an uncle at a very early age - an uncle with 5 grown and almost grown sons. A recipe for a high sense of self and sense of entitlement, if ever there was one. Anyway, she got away with all sorts of things, like rallying the kids in the 1-room schoolhouse to lock the teacher out once he went to the outhouse so they could have a dance with their smuggled instruments while the teacher tried to get back into the building. I once asked my Grannie how much stretching had been done by the time the stories got to us and she told that, as far as she'd been able to find out, they'd pretty much happened as she related.

Anyway, all of that to say that I finally finished my sketch of a picture I found of my Great Grannie where we think she was about 20 years old. Although she was very trying for my poor Grannie, she was a sheer delight for the younger me. I know there are things that could be better with the drawing (I won't point them out to you, I'm sure you'll find them!) but I was very happy with how it came out overall - especially for me as I don't consider myself much at sketching. And, Mom, I finally finished the face!

Finally, some pics

I've finally been able to get some decent pics of the spinning I've been doing of late and also of the Berroco Cosima sweater/jacket. Usually I don't think about the photos until it's too dark to get something decent.

Here's the yarn I've been spinning. It's from the Lincoln/Coopworth mix roving I got while in Wisconsin. Once I started plying (which was done with a Navaho ply - 3 ply) I could tell how much more comfortable I got with the spinning as I went on. Getting close to the end of the plying (which was the beginning of the spinning) I could tell the ply was much thicker and less confident. I'm really proud at how this came out and am looking forward to finishing it. I ended up with just over 172 yards so I won't have enough to do what I originally intended but I think I can figure out something to do with it! It looks more grey here but it's actually a green/black mix.

And then here's the Berroco Cosima sweater. This is from the Berroco book #281 and made from Cuzco yarn which is 50% alpaca/50% wool - beautiful hand.

Here's the detail for the neck - the buttons are antique shell buttons I picked up a while back and I love what they add to the sweater.

I have been wearing it but can only stand it for about 15 mintues! Don't want to wish cold weather too soon but I can't wait to wear this!

I'm still spinning...

It’s been rather a busy day, even though I had it off from ‘work.’ (Don’t worry, it was legitimate – I didn’t call in sick!)

I’ve been really on a spinning jog lately and have spun almost a full 8 oz of the lovely green roving I bought a few weeks ago in Wisconsin. This is the Lincoln/Coopworth roving that is being so much fun to spin. I’ll post a picture once I get the first skein plied.

I also spun about 172 yds of black alpaca the other day which also turned out quite lovely to spin. With that one, I was trying to do a 1-ply at a certain thickness to match some wool that I want to use for a design idea I’ve got. I just don’t think it’s going to be enough yardage for the project I have in mind. My friend, Karen, from Karen Poulakos Fiber Arts Studio has some lovely ‘Colonial’ wool roving that I think will be a perfect match for the other yarn I’m going to use so as soon as she gets in some black, I’ll be good to go. I just want to make sure that I have enough. Nothing worse than running out of yarn and not being able to buy more! Maybe I can get more of the green done while I’m waiting. Well, I do have some maroon ‘Colonial’ so maybe I’ll work on that for a while!

The great Cricket Wars of 2008 are in full swing. Living on the ground floor, this time of year I get invaded by those nasty black crickets. Five a.m. Sunday morning found me stalking the critters as they mocked me from their hidden positions. Somehow, at least one of them got into the cabinetry in my kitchen where I couldn’t get to them but their noise echoed as loudly as it possible could. I did, however, get in some hits to one that was in the open and took some others out later in the day.

I’ve reinforced my perimeter and it seems to have worked for most of today but I can hear them encroaching from the outside so one never knows when they’ll strike next.

By the way, if you're in Springfield in October, go by the Chase Bank building. I will have 4 watercolors in the display there during the month. As I mentioned before, I've just joined the Sangamon Watercolor Society and this is part of their on-going display at the bank. But this month, they have a special artist who will be in town to do the judging and will give feedback on each of the paintings. I'm excited to have some impartial feedback on my work (unless he says it sucks then I won't be so excited!). Hopefully he'll be more constructive than that!

I did finish the sketch of my Great Grannie and will post a picture once I get the mat cut the right size. This is the one that I finished all but the face on and it took me forever to get up the nerve to try the face. There are flaws but I'm very happy with it overall.

Avast ye maties

Yet again, I've let it sneak up on me again unbeknownst. Arghhhhh...

Aye, it's Talk Like a Priate Day! September 19

Have ye never heard of Talk Like a Pirate Day? Just follow the link above to the secret treasure of pirate talk and pirate stories. Want more?

Wikipedia


"Avast belay, yo ho, heave to,
A-pirating we go
And if we're parted by a shot
We're sure to meet below!"
"Yo ho, yo ho, the pirate life,
The flag o'skull and bones
A merry hour, a hempen rope
And 'hey' for Davy Jones!"

And you can even watch Pirates of the Carribean to round out your day.

Good day to you, me hearties!

New Classes

I've got a couple of classes coming up at Lincoln Land Community College here in Springfield in case you're in the area and interested.

The first one coming up on October 18th is Knitting Jewelry with Jewelry Wire and Beads (click on the Lincoln Land link above, choose Fall 2008 Community Learning Schedule and then go to page 10 of the booklet). We'll be making a bracelet or necklace fob with, as it says, jewelry wire and beads. It's a great technique for quick, unique Christmas gifts. I'll post some sample tonight so you can see the sorts of things you can do with this simple technique. The great thing is that you only use the knit stitch so I've even had people who've never knitted before finish a project during the class.

The second class is 3 Saturday mornings of Beginning Lace (page 11 of the booklet). The first class is November 8th and then we'll also meet for the next 2 Saturday mornings. The project is going to be a sampler lace scarf which will give you the chance to try out a few different lace patterns, getting used to working both from charts and from written directions. We'll also talk a bit about the special characteristics and techniques of knitting lace and take a bit of the mystery and intimidation out of it.

The Springfield Flock Fiber Arts Guild will also be doing a beginning knitting class this fall so you might want to check that out. The project will be a teddy bear-size sweater introducing the knit and purl stitches, increasing and decreasing and casting on and binding off. They're working from my curriculum so I'm quite excited to see how it goes. That will be 3 sessions starting September 27th. The sweater really will be doable for everyone and can be finished by the end of the class. It was originally set for a 4-session class but I'm still confident it can be done in this time. It's also a great chance for beginner knitters to take the step from basic projects to learning the techniques and steps to knitting a sweater. Everything you learn can be translated into making any size sweater. The Guild has deemed this the year of the sweater and challenged Guild members to make at least 1 sweater this year so this seemed to fit right in.