A Lady and Her Knitting, 1915
Gabain, Ethel (1883-1950)
English
Lithograph
Private Collection
Image from Photo © The Fine Art Society, London, UK/The Bridgeman Art
Library
Image No. FAS 214408
This is me, distancing myself from some of my historic
knitting. I have had to take a long break of some months from working on the
projects knit with fine cotton yarns and very fine needles as they made my
hands, arms and shoulders ache and throb. Instead, I have been trying out lace
edges to finish a woolen hood from Weldon’s, reworking a lace nightcap from
Myra’s Knitting Lessons, also from the 1880’s, and knitting lots and lots of
modern socks, Fair Isle Fish and Wee Cottages* – all in wool with that nice
bounce that is missing in the fine cottons, and which is so much easier on the
hands.
There are about eight 19th century projects,
apart from a handful of woolen ones, that were not finished in my Year of
Completion (2012.) All are in cotton
on fine needles, all are started and all belong to that class of tedious,
repetitive knitting which tend to drive one mad when in a rush but are rather
nice as long-range projects. A few
are pictured here. The plan is to work on one per month and at an easy pace,
mixing n a bit of sock and larger garment knitting (for physical and mental
relief) as well as a little bit of piecing and quilting as this is a Year of
Completion for my stack of quilts, ranging from mini-wall hangings to full bed
size ones. 
Fingers crossed – when not knitting, sewing, stitching,
etc.!
*Home Sweet home Wee House Brooch and Key Ring by Julia
Marsh from http://handknittedthingspatterns.blogspot.co.uk/ and
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/home-sweet-home-wee-house-brooch-and-key-ring
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