Hood as Scarf

I finished the lining and was testing it out last night when I laid it over my shoulders to carry it back into the living room. And like all the best ideas...whaaalaa.

It has a very interesting look as a scarf and, made larger, would make a very interesting shawl. Of course there would have to be some alterations but those are easily done. I don't know if it's the colors or the shape that makes this look very civil war era to me as a scarf. But I tell you what. When I finish this, I'm going to use a slightly heavier yarn and see how it comes out.

Progress

I’ve made some progress on the Opera Hood. Enough progress that I was modeling it to a group at knit night tonight and suddenly realized that everyone in the café was watching me with this blue and grey thing on my head!

Never mind. I’m still very pleased with it so far. This is a picture after a light blocking. In this yarn and gauge it’s too small for me but would certainly fit a young girl. The blocking, as it always does for lace weight, causes it to make sense.

The grey sections you see at the top will form the place where they will be tied at the neck which will make the side sections fall over the shoulders. The bottom of the grey triangle will fall down the back.

I have the tip of the lining yet to make and then the top section to figure out. So far, so good, I think.

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

Better picture

OK, this is a better picture of the afghan and then I'm going to leave it.




(*Grin*!)

Quick Post

More later but I wanted to post these pics. The pics aren't very good but I'll get some better ones later. I love it. I'm really happy with how it came out.

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.