Yesterday’s mail brought me a treat: Vintage knitting issue I first learned about Piecework Magazine’s annual historical knitting issue while reading this Peacefully Knitting blog post about vintage knitting, which convinced me to subscribe. I called first to be sure they were still offering the historical issue with paid subscriptions. Which they were. Phew! Historical knitting is intriguing. It’s interesting to get a glimpse of how our ancestors dressed and lived. While they’re now silent, their knitting can still give us insight into their lives. I grew up with stories... (Read More ...)
As a child, I learned to knit. My knitting was a mixture of: what my mother taught me, what I learned from a knitting pamphlet, and my own invention. Amazingly enough, it worked. Actually, it worked quite well. That is, until I attempted circular knitting and lace. They were much less forgiving than knitting, purling, and even cables. Over the past few years I’ve been seeking new ways (for me) to cast on. In retrospect my original cast-on either never made it to the knitting manuals or I remembered it wrong. Which is probably why it was so difficult challenging. When I learned a two needle... (Read More ...)
A couple of days ago, my cotton worsted yarn was calling. Instead of the usual dishcloths, I decided to knit washcloths. You know, the kind that are often referred to as spa washcloths. Many patterns for spa washcloths use garter stitch, which makes a good scrubbing surface. However, it’s not as fancy as I wanted. I like the two colors of a Ballband dishcloth. And making one the opposite or negative of the other economically uses 2 small balls of cotton yarn almost completely. In looking closely at some of the dishcloths I’ve made from the Ballband knitting instructions, they looked... (Read More ...)
A few days ago, I started two knitting projects, with patterns I haven’t used before. Only one had a knitting gauge; the other one’s knitting instructions were well — pithy. I think of myself as an intermediate to advanced knitter. Usually I can figure out the knitting instructions as I go. This time, however, both patterns presented challenges. And after a few inches, I realized they weren’t going well. Time to restart. So, I frogged the knitting. You know, ripped out the stitches. [Everyone say it quickly: rip it, rip it, rip it! ] And the result is: When knitting instructions... (Read More ...)
When reading about dyeing wool yarn, the instructions usually say to dye the yarn before you knit it. Since I wasn’t sure how much my project would take, I decided to finish the baby jacket first, then dye it. Baby Surprise Jacket before dye I used Kool Aid and food coloring for a nontoxic dye, and am happy with the results: Baby Surprise Jacket after dye The dye looks as even as dyeing the wool first, both inside and outside. I first soaked the jacket for 20 minutes in cold water with white (distilled) vinegar. It took 1-1/2 quarts of water to cover the jacket in the pot. After 20... (Read More ...)
