Too cute to count

I had no idea it had been so long since I've posted.  There's just too much to keep up with. 

Here's one thing I've been waiting to share.  I didn't want to post this until the expectant mommy got her care package. A friend of mine is having a baby very shortly and I've been working on things since I first found out.  There was a blanket (of course, from a vintage pattern) and then this little outfit. 

The jacket is my take on a vintage baby pattern that I call Baby Seed Jacket.  The original pattern was written using Berroco Comfort but since I couldn't find any of the Berroco, I decided to use Encore.  It's the same weight, fiber makeup, etc.and it proved to be a successful substitute.  I think the Comfort gives better stitch definition and I would still chose to use it if I had a choice but this was fine.  You can't tell from this picture but this was a variegated heathered yarn that went from a light pink to a light grey and I was concerned about how long the color changes were.  I still prefer the shorter changes of Berroco but, again, this was fine.

There were supposed to be 2 rows of buttons but the button holes were too far down so I decided to add a faux row.  That is, I sewed the buttons on top and added snaps underneath.  I like using snaps near the neck because the buttons can come out of button holes with the moving baby and the snaps just make it a little more secure and less fussy.

I had only written the pattern for the jacket.  But I'd bought 2 balls of yarn and used only a little bit of the second ball.  I decided I had to have a hat.  So I cast on and made the hat.  I still had yarn left over so I decided I had to have booties.  And, ya'll, I love these booties beyond all reason.  the cuff can fold up or fold down, and they're actually shaped more like a little shoe.  I decided to work the heel a little differently.  I'm sure someone will jump up and say, "That's a so-and-so heel!"  But I just made it up because I thought it looked more like a shoe than a sock and this method seemed to work the best for that. 

I decided to knit the heel straight down using the stitches from 3 of the 4 needles (3/4 of the stitches, if you're using circs or magic loop).  Once I got to the bottom, I knit the stitches of the back needle in garter (for the sole) and at the end of each row, I knit 1 stitch from the back needle and 1 stitch from the side needle together.  That bound off the stitches of the side needles and that was my heel turned.  Then I started knitting in the round again by knitting the sole stitches in garter, picking up stitches from the side edge, knitting the top needle stitches and picking up stitches on the other side.  That gave me my heel turned and my foot stitches.

On the toe, instead of decreasing like a sock, I decreased on the top only, which gives a shaped toe but leaves the sole flat, like a shoe.  I really love how they came out.  If you want to try the Baby Seed Booties, here's the pattern.  At some point, I'm going to add the bootie and hat pattern to the jacket pattern but I haven't gotten that done yet.  In the meantime, enjoy:

Baby Seed Booties

2 skeins worsted weight yarn like Encore                  1 set US size 4 (3.5mm) straight needles

1 set US size 4 (3.5mm) double pointed needles      Tapestry needle (for finishing)
2 buttons (for cuffs)

Using straight needles, cast on 32 stitches.  Knit 10 rows in seed stitches (K1, P1, repeat across)

Left bootie: Bind off 6 stitches and knit across row, distributing stitches on double pointed needles this way: needle #1 – 6 stitches; #2 – 6 stitches; #3 – 8 stitches; #4 – 6 stitches.  (needle with 8 stitches forms the heel and, eventually, the sole)
Right bootie: Knit to end.  On next row, bind off 6 stitches and distribute remaining stitches on double pointed needles this way: needle #1 – 6 stitches; #2 – 6 stitches; #3 – 8 stitches; #4 – 6 stitches. (needle with 8 stitches forms the heel and, eventually, the sole)
Knit 16 rounds.

For the next section, you will use the stitches from all the needles except needle 1 (top of foot where flap is).

Distribute the remaining 20 stitches on 2 needles (10 stitches each).  (You can leave them on 3 needles but I find it easier to manage on 2 needles.)

Work 10 rows in stockinette stitch.

Knit to end.

The next section is going to form the heel part of the sole and turn the heel.  The sole of the bootie will be in garter stitch and the rest in stockinette.

Row 1: P6, K7, K2tog.  Turn.

Row 2: Slip 1, K6, K2tog. Turn.
Repeat Row 2 until all side stitches have been used. (8 stitches remaining)

You’ll now begin working in rounds again.

Round 1: K8 on one needle.  With the next needle, pick up 7 stitches along the side of the heel.  On the next needle, knit the 6 stitches that were being held in reserve.  On the last needle, pick up 7 stitches along the side of the heel.

Round 2: P8 on the “sole” needle, knit around.
Round 3: K8 on the “sole” needle to maintain the garter stitch pattern, knit around.

Repeat Rounds 2 & 3 five more times (12 rounds in all).

Begin decreases for toe.  You may find it easiest to keep sole stitches on 1 needle and divide the remaining stitches between 2 needles (10 stitches each).

(Remember to keep the sole stitches in garter.)

Round 1: Knit (or Purl) 8, next needle - K6, K2tog, K2, next needle – K2, SSK, K6.
Round 2: Knit (or Purl) 8, next needle – K5, K2tog, K2, next needle – K2, SSK, K5.
Round 3: Knit (or Purl) 8, next needle – K4, K2tog, K2, next needle – K2, SSK, K4.
Round 4: Knit (or Purl) 8, next needle – K3, K2tog, K2, next needle – K2, SSK, K3.
Round 5: Knit (or Purl) 8, next needle – K2, K2tog, K2, next needle – K2, SSK, K2.
Round 6: Knit (or Purl) 8, next needle – K1, K2tog, K2, next needle – K2, SSK, K1.
Round 7: Knit (or Purl) 2 together, K6, SSK, next needle – K2tog, K2, next needle – K2, SSK.
 
Kitchener the toe stitches together.

Diggin' the Cotton

I've been on a cotton bender lately.  A few weeks ago I demo-ed at a friends booth at an event and, once again, people were fascinated by the magic of cotton.  To me, that's the only word to use.  There is something so magical about how this stuff grows (the flowers change colors and the seeds burst their bolls), how it comes right off the seed and how it spins up.  It was very satisfying to have women and men stand by me watching it all happen and being as entranced as I am.  It's like we were all just standing back watching a wonder of nature unfold right before our eyes.

I was going to use this cotton in a particular baby item but found that the thread is not suited to the technique I was going to use so I'll need to figure out something else to do with it.  For anyone who has never felt handspun cotton and who only knows cotton as that heavy or rough stuff that usually comes from commercially produced yarn or thread, they would be even more amazed at how light and soft and cushy this stuff is.

On a more wooly note, remember the Polworth yarn I was unhappy with?  Here's what happened to it:

Still no better spun but as pretty as can be.  This is the advantage to the Navajo plying and keeping the colors pure.  You get great striping like this.  I'm the most pleased at the scarf and how perfectly these vintage buttons matched the yarn.

The scarf pattern is very simple.  I cast on about 24 stitches and worked K2, P2 ribbing until I almost ran out of yarn then I crocheted the edge, including 3 loops for the buttons.  I attached the buttons at an angle so it would sit right when around the neck.  Easy, peasy.

The Puzzle's the Thing

I love learning new things and I love figuring stuff out.  At heart, I'm a problem solver, I guess. 

I've done a couple of projects now from vintage patterns that include tatting a "frame" and then needleweaving inside it.  Generally the patterns have been flower shaped (more or less).  As I've been playing around with this, I've discovered what similarities it has with Reticella work.  Have a look here and here.  Although these are much more intricate than anything I'm doing, it still bears a resemblance to how it's worked. 

My friend Karen Poulakos is vending at the Round Bobbin show in St Charles, Missouri, this weekend and I told her I would come along and demo at their booth on Saturday.  (If you're in the St Louis area, be sure to stop by booths 308 and 310 and say hi.)  While we were talking about it, I made the comment of wouldn't it be fun to do specific demos at specified times so maybe people will come by more often throughout the day.  So we hit on doing the following:

11 am - start spinning with a drop spindle

12 pm - knit or crochet with unspun silk hankies

1 pm - anatomy of yarns: tips to choosing the right yarn

2 pm - spinning cotton from the seed.

3 pm - needle weaving.

 

Most of the subjects are things I can do with my eyes closed but the needleweaving was a bit of a challenge because I haven't done that much of it.  I needed some samples.  See what you think of this:

 

 You've seen the brown tatting project.  It's not yet finished because I'm going to use that for my demonstration on Saturday.

 The pink panel at the bottom was just a filet crochet "frame" (instead of the tatted frame) with 3 different designs worked inside.  Click on the image to see it more up close.

The little medialian was done completely differently.  The frame was done by laying the thread out in a square, pinning the four corners, doing a buttonhold stitch around to make the fram and then working the leaves.  I wanted an example of more of a weaving base for the petals and this is what happened.  It has such an art deco look to it.  I can just see that sort of image being used for the Miami hotels or something like the Chrystler Building.

Spin on

I finally got a spinning project finished.  The other day when I spent the day demonstrating at the Historical Marbold Farm, I was determined to get this 4 oz of Polworth finished. 

I fell in love with the colors but I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with it.  I knew I wanted to keep the colors pure so I Navajo-plied it.  I think I put a little too much twist in it - it's not as soft as I'd expected.  Now that I've started knitting it up, I think it will be okay. 

But, regardless, I love the colors and the hat I'm knitting will show it up nicely, I think.

Variations on a theme

I had certain things I wanted to accomplish this long holiday weekend. The biggest goal, finishing the warping of the loom, I didn't do. Demo-ing at the Historic Marbold Farm Ice Cream Social, I did. Tatting, I really did. I decided to do some samples of a project I'm going to do for a class. I thought it had a lot of scope for variations so I tried a few.

At the top was the original sample in a plain single color.  It has 4 simple, small motifs in the middle with an edging around.  I decided to play with more small motifs in the middle with the edging.  I found this variegated green so I thought maybe I could play with a garden theme.  I did the 2 motifs in the pinks.  I didn't have a plan, I just started making motifs and putting them together.  Once I'd come up with this configuration, I wished I'd planned it better and done the 4 middle motifs in the colors and surrounded them with the green motifs.  But I didn't and I couldn't cut the 2 green ones out of the middle because they were foundationals motifs and had others motifs connected to their picots.  So I went ahead and finished the edging on it.  Pretty but I think I'd like to do it again with the pinks in the middle and the greens surrounding.

I did another small version with just the variegated pinks.  With these last 2 versions, I did the tips in a different method than I did on the pink version.  This is the pattern that I didn't like the way the book had done the end so I've been playing with other combinations.  I think I like this version the best.  On the end, where I'm working between 2 picots on the same motif, I did 6 ds, small picot, 1 ds, large picot, 1ds, small picot, 6 ds.  This give a nice pointy end for the diamond.

Rescue Scarf

A friend of mine got very interested in weaving a couple of years ago and, encouraged by her niece, bought an overshot scarf kit from Yarn Barn.  Another friend and I helped her get her loom warped (actually it was my loom - long story).  However the threading was a little off, she thought, and she just never got back to fixing it and getting started.  After a (long) while, she decided that she had lost interest and gave me the loom back so I could do the weaving.

In the meantime, however, the warp (which was a lace weight wool yarn) had weakened in the area where the heddle had been rubbing it so when I got it home, I realized I was going to have to rethread (to find the mistake in threading) and I might as well get the warp past the weakened area so I wouldn't have to keep fixing the broken strands.

I finally got everything together last weekend and got this far:

Not too bad until I realized that I had missed a strand between the 2 groups I'd threaded and had to rethread a whole section.  I finally got that done and here's where I am now:

If that looks like the same place, it is.  At least I got back to the point where I was before I discovered MY mistake!  Now all I need is a little time and patience and I might actually get this sucker re-warped and going again.

Wish me luck.

On to the land of tatting

I've gone from babyland to the land of tatting, all with the little exercise of the making the samples for the LACE group.  I admit there had been a hankering for the tatting for a while but this got me going.

After I finished the samples, I was looking through one of the books I'd been using and came across a pattern that was just like the one I'd found in the 1933 craft magazine (click here for more info on that one).  I'm so fascinated by this technique of tatting a pattern with an open middle and then needle weaving a pattern in the opening.  The pattern I just found is in a Dover publication but the original publication of the pattern was probably in this same time frame - early 1930's.  See what you think.

First you tat the "frame."

These are 4 identical motifs that were joined as I worked.  The way the pattern was written made the final join in the motif extremely challenging but I found that by changing the starting point from the ring in the middle of the side to the 4-ring motif in the corner, it solved the challenge and made it easy as pie.  It's easier and I'm allowed to do that. Working the following 3 motifs, getting the joins in the right place however, entailed the challenge of paying attention to where I was at all time and making consciously sure I was joining to the right picot (see previous post about "ripping out" tatting - not fun).  Of course, I had to test my powers of tatting by doing all this by watching the movie Inception.  I love that movie but I don't recommend tatting something complex while watching it.  That is, unless you've seen it more than 10 times. 

Now that I have the framework in place, I can work the inner weaving patterns.

Like this.  Isn't that interesting?  Click on the photo for a closer look.

I've got it pinned to one of my bobbin lace pillows to make sure it doesn't get skewed in the weaving.  I also steam ironed it before I started.  The helps set everything in place.  Tatting's pretty solid but it just adds a bit of structure as the weaving is worked.

The needle weaving is very relaxing and contemplative.

I've been wondering how this could be worked with knitting (not sure how that would hold up) and crochet (I think crochet could totally work).  I even thought about the possibility of working this in a sweater or other garment.  You could certain even work the tatting and use it as a centerpiece in a knitted garment.  How about doing it in a circle and using it as the yoke of a sweater?  That could be very, very cool.

By the way, for those that care, I'm working this using Lizbet size 20 Egyptian cotton in Mocha Brown Medium.  It's a 6-cord cardonnet thread which is more tightly spun than regular crochet thread and more suited to tatting.  You can use crochet thread but it doesn't hold up as well or have as much body for tatting.