Just a quick post to show some pictures of the latest project – elegant long gloves.

The first picture is of the test glove which has at least 4-5 major design flaws but at least it’s enough to show me what I need to do with the real ones.

Here’s the 1st of the real gloves. As you can see, I’ve just finished the hand and now I’m starting work on the wrist and forearm.

I had hoped to finish them this weekend but an unexpected and equally unwelcome bug hit at 5am sharp on Saturday morning and is just now receding. In fact, it was so bad that I didn’t even want to think of touching a knitting needle. Better now, thanks.

If I start going to the Opera I might as well be ready..

I saw a pair of long gloves the other day and started thinking about how much scope there would be to designing a pair of long gloves. I found some Misti Alpaca Lace (natural dark tan - groovy color name, isn't it? I call it 'camel' colored) in my stash that I’ve been so wanting to make something with and it’s perfect for this project. Soft, elegant, alluring, takes the lace part well and gorgeous!

Don't have photos yet but will try to get those posted tomorrow. The idea is for the gloves to have a lacy pattern on the back of the hand then gently decrease to the wrist. At the wrist will be some open lace and I'm thinking some special beads so that it looks like a bracelet round the wrist. The gloves I saw actually had a sparkly bracelet around them on the wrist but I thought, why not just work them into the glove? Right?!

Then they will continue up the forearm with the lace pattern worked all the way around the glove. I think. Maybe just the top but I think all the way round. I certainly wouldn't need to do any increasing to accommodate the line of the arm as the lace would automatically do that for me.

I love the feel of the laceweight for the glove and the alpaca is super soft and very warm. The glove I'm doing right now is really a "work out the pattern" glove and I will make the real pair once I've got everything worked out here.

I keep telling everyone these are for all those 'black tie' events I go to in Springfield, Illinois! Ha!! Well, I now have an Opera Hood and I'll soon have long gloves so carry on!!

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.

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