Reveling in the past

This will be quite a long post so if you're seated comfortably, we'll begin...

I'm back from vacation and have barely been able to catch my breath. That means I've got a lot of catching up to do here. I mentioned in a previous post about going to the Texas First Ladies exhibit at TWU. I got some pictures but my camera batteries went dead so I only got a few. Have a look:

And one of the fun things about hanging out with my Mom, is I have time to do some experimenting. Several years ago I made a sweater using Lion Brand's Fisherman's Wool and the Fisherman's Rib stitch which is also known under quite a few other names including Brioche stitch. We've found it all through 19th century patterns. I learned to do the stitch originally through an old Vogue Knitting magazine in an Elizabeth Zimmerman article. The way EZ taught it was to cast on an odd number of stitches, knit 1, then knit into the stitch below the next stitch. You repeat those to the end and then knit 1. On the opposite side you knit 2 then knit below and knit 1, repeating the last 2 until the end of the row. Once you get into the rhythm with it, it's quite fun to do. You just have to be really patient and aware of what you're doing for the first 8 or 10 rows until the pattern starts to emerge. After that, the previous row will give you clues about where you are.

As we've been researching, however, the most common instructions are to knit 1, put the yarn forward and slip the next stitch purlwise, bring the yarn to the back (really it's just a yarn over) and then knit 1, repeating the last 2 to the end. Generally they would tell you to cast on an even number of stitches and just do the same thing on both sides. With this version, you know immediately where you are and it's much, much easier if you make a mistake to go back.

One of the things I've been wanting to try out is doing it in 2 colors. I came across a great website devoted to the brioche stitch. She had very clear instructions on how to work with more than 1 color so I got some white wool and some green wool and cast on. I liked the pattern so much I just kept going until I had quite a decent length scarf. But I still had some green left (and lots of white) so I decided I would try to figure out how to do this in the round and make me a matching hat. Once I realized I just had to knit the white rounds and purl the green rounds, it worked like a dream! Have a look at this:

And totally reversible:

I cast on 20 stitches for the scarf and 80 for the hat on size 5 needles if you want to try it. One thing to keep in mind is for the scarf, you need to use either double pointed needles or circular needles.

Yarn store report: On my way back I stopped in Springfield, MO, at one of the friendliest yarn shops I've found and got some lovely fiber. If you're ever through Springfield, stop by Simply Fibers and have a look. Very cute, very friendly, and a very nice selection.

And FINALLY, I started a new project. I'll let the picture say it all for now except to say the middle part sits in the middle of the table and the six pond scenes are placemats. I'm doing it in the size 50 thread I used for the Starburst cloth.

(edited to fix the First Lady pictures)

Tripping along

No pictures because my camera batteries went dead. I just charged them, too, so I don't know what's going on with them.

I'm on vacation in sunny (hot) Texas. I love Texas and would totally move back if it would agree to cool down a little bit. Since we haven't been able to reach that compromise, I remain a sad expat.

The trip down is kind of long but I always enjoy it. I worked it so that I got into Tulsa early enough to visit a yarn shop - Loops. It's in an old and upscale part of town so I enjoyed looking at the architecture as I made my way there. The yarn shop was pretty ordinary with the standard lines of yarn but the ladies in the shop were so friendly and welcoming that I might just stop by on my way home. They did have one kind of cool thing. They have a project wall. It's got yarn in cubicles which are arranged in columns (about 10 columns across). At the top was a pattern and a knitted sample then below are all the yarns needed for the project. They have a big to-do when they change the wall and it sounds like a big party. I'd never seen that before.

Down the road in Oklahoma City, I stumbled across one of the best yarn shops I've ever been in. I was looking for a Half Price Books bookstore and came across them in their new location. Evidently they only moved in about 6 weeks ago but it was wonderful. I told one of the clerks that I would move to Oklahoma City just so this could be my local yarn shop!! It was nice and spacious with a wide variety of yarns - some of which I'd never come across before. Not that that means a whole lot but it doesn't always happen. They've got a nice large area with couches and chairs where you can just laze around knitting or spinning and, the best thing is that it's not in front of any yarn! No having to crawl over knitters to look at yarn. Champion. They also have what looks like a large class area off to the side. It was just such a great vibe and I can only say kudos to Gourmet Yarn Company for such a wonderful place.

For a number of reasons, we didn't make it to West Texas for the cotton so I'll have to get it by mail if I get it. But we did go to a display at Texas Women's University showing dresses from Texas First Ladies and other dignitaries. They had poster-sized bios and descriptions on one wall with the the gallery of dresses and other period items along the opposite wall. I did get some pictures and will post them when I get home. I really enjoyed some of the dresses, the earliest of which was around 1850, I believe. Gorgeous.

We then went on to the campus library that had a very interesting display on the accomplishments of women, particularly Texas women with loads of artifacts, pictures and displays. Very impressive but we weren't finished yet! TWU has one of the largest ever collections of recipe books. We thought it was going to be another museum-type display but it wasn't. It was actually row after row of library stacks filled with every conceivable cookbook. We didn't stay too long but it would certainly be an absolute hoot to go and spend the day researching! The earliest cookbook I found was an 1840's Quaker cookbook. How fun is that!

Time is winding down, which is always a little sad and I'll be back on the road tomorrow. But it's been a good time.