Knitted Lace Collar No. 2 – Part Three

I am almost finished with the second part of the Knitted Lace Collar No. 2 from Mrs. G.. J. Baynes’s booklet (The Knitted Lace Collar Receipt Book {Fourth Edition}, 1846.) The Lace Pattern, like the Fancy Pattern, is another 8 row sequence, and I have knit 48 points so far with probably another twelve or more to go. The Lace Pattern is being sewn on with a double strand of cotton quilting thread.

When the Lace Pattern is finished and completely sewn on , the third, top and final part has to be knit.

Not Inspired By

There is a lot of discussion out there on the internet about authenticity, reproductions and patterns “inspired by” original objects and clothing, historical eras, figures in history, etc. This little bag, purse or lace reticule belongs to no era but uses patterns, not for its construction but for the elements of its designs from the past.

The base is a circular pattern from the Double Rose Leaf Night-Cap in Weldon’s Practical Knitter/Twenty-Sixth Series and also appears in Volume 9 of the facsimile series of Weldon’s, published by Interweave Press as well as Knitting / 19th Century Sources, edited by Jules and Kaethe Kliot, Lacis Pubications (no date.) The original night cap dates from the 1880’s and can be found in this post.



The circular piece was knit first and the Rose-Leaf border attached, every other row, as I knit it.



The Rose-Leaf pattern is from Exercises in Knitting by Cornelia Mee, 1846.
(http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21032/21032-h/21032-h.htm)

This bag is knit in white DMC Baroque Crochet Cotton, the circular section on 3.25mm/US 3 needles and the Rose-Leaf pattern on 2.25mm/US 1 needles.



I made a double-layered lining from a pale blue imitation satin fabric, in turn lined with a double layer of light, non-stretch interfacing. The blue section was stitched to the lace bag at intervals on the inside at the bottom of the stockinette neck section, and thin blue ribbon for closing was run through eyelet holes at the garter stitched top. The bag measures 13 ½” around the middle, 4 ¼” across the base at the bottom, 3” tall in the lace section with a top band of 1 ¼” in stockinette, garter and eyelet stitches.

Lest We Forget

Pattern by Erssie Major from http://erssieknits.squarespace.com/knitting-charts/free-colourwork-charts/7544046

The finished piece measures approximately 4” square.

I used DMC 817 and 321 for the reds, 158 for the blue, 937 and a darker(label lost) green from my stash for the greens and 310 for an added three row black edge all round. The piece was knit on 2.25mm needles.

I will make this again but use reds that will contrast more with one another; these, all my own choice, were too similar. Embroidery floss also needs more attention to wrapping or carrying behind as the threads, unlike wool, do not become flat or felt with one another. I admit that this piece was hastily knit to make a deadline but I feel twice as guilty as my work can be better and such a commemorative piece deserves better workmanship. Next year's version will be so.

Catching Up

La Tricoteuse, c 1816
Madame G. Busset-Dubruste, (fl. 1806-17( (attributed to)
French
Coloured engraving (by Duthe)
Private collection; the Stapleton Collection
Source: The Bridgeman Art Library
Image ID: STC 428338

I have not posted many projects lately but that is because so many are in progress. I do suffer greatly from Startitis but I have also been slowly finishing off my 2011 list of Things to Make. This list was more about Things to Finish since I took a private oath last January to have no WIPs on my Ravelry page by December 31, 2011 and a finished stack of quilts that are WIPs accumulated over the last twenty years.



The Dressmaker
Fernando Botero (b. 1932)
Colombian
Medium (unknown)
Private Collection
(Photograph: Copyright Christie’s Images)
Source: The Bridgeman Art Library
Image ID: CH 27259

Hand, arm, shoulder and neck pain has considerably cut down on my quilting progress (I do every stage by hand), and I have also been doing more Irish stitch canvas and crewel work and embroidery these days. The historic wardrobe needs some replenishing, too, and a few doll beds are calling for new linens with knitted edges. Other knitting includes the shawl for the neighbour, the three green garments and that short quasi-cloak for me, buttons for The Garment, seven or eight historical items etc, etc. – hmmmm, I think I need to cancel that oath.



Games, 1939
Charles Walch (1898-1948)
French
Oil on canvas
Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris
Source: The Bridgeman Art Library
Image ID: XIR 209962

Although I truly do have some sort of sewing/needlework/knitting needle in my hands every day, my output can be frustrated when Life interferes, with or without warning.



Girl Knitting
John Parker (1839-1915)
English
Watercolour on paper
Private collection
Source: The Bridgeman Art Library
Image ID: BAL 19343

I seize every opportunity to work on projects, knitting being the most portable. I love to go to the nearby beach and parks and work in the open air and pure daylight. Stretching my eyesight, looking far into the distance, is also therapeutic, particularly as my profession, as well as my interests, requires a good deal of close work.



The Felixstowe to Ipswich Coach, c. 1939
Russell Sidney Reeve (1895-1970)
English
Oil on canvas
Ipswich Borough Council Museums and Galleries
Source: The Bridgeman Art Library
Image ID: IPS 72921

Public transport often allows for an hour’s catching up, giving me an excuse to indulge my passion for those extremely portable projects, namely socks and fingerless gloves or even that lovely green linen cardigan I have been trying to finish since the spring.



Best of Friends
Emile Munier (1810-?)
French
Medium (unknown)
Private collection
(Photograph: Copyright Christie’s Images)
Source: The Bridgeman Art Library
Image ID: CH 27496

Back at home or visiting with friends, there is often well-meaning canine/feline assistance that then changes into sitting on the project or my lap which slows down progress.





The Concert
Georg Jacobides (1853-1932
Greek
Medium (unknown)
Private Collection
(Photograph: Copyright Christie’s Images)
Source: The Bridgeman Art Collection
Image ID: CH 27091

And the other kind of domestic interruption.



The Veranda at Villerville
Raoul Dufy (1877-1953)
French
Oil on canvas
Musee des Beaux-Arts Andre Malraux
Le Havre, France
Source: The Bridgeman Art Library
Image ID: XEH 53834

Lunch-time at work, with fellow-enthusiasts, lets me to catch up with simple projects such as charity knitting, that I can work on, and chat and eat, all at the same time – more or less!



A Girl Reading
Charles Edward Wilson (1853-1941)
English
Watercolour and gouache on paper
Private collection
(Photograph: The Mass Gallery, London)
Source: The Bridgeman Art Library
Image ID: MAA 80673

Research into all aspects of historical textiles (and paintings with knitting, like these) never ends and that takes up hours and hours of non-stitching time.






These are some of my recent choices.













Popular Wireless, 3 June 1922
(front cover)
English
Colour lithograph
Private collection
Source: The Bridgeman Art Library
Image ID: XCF 307304

My favourite way of working on just about anything is in the company of the radio. Thanks to the internet, I can listen to stations from all over the world and can be entertained, educated, and kept alert and productive, twenty-four hours a day.




The Cottage Door (1866)
Henry Bright (1810-1873)
English
Oil on canvas
York Museums Trust (York Art Gallery)
Source: The Bridgeman Art Library
Image ID: YAG 23480

So I shall continue to chip away at that List, hoping to knit and stitch and sew outdoors for a few weeks more, enjoying my favourite season of all – autumn with all of its glorious greens, oranges, bronzes, golds, browns, reds!

Famous Knitters - Ingrid Bergman

Ingrid Bergman (August 29, 1915 – August 29, 1982)

One of the queens of the motion picture industry, and a knitter behind the scenes, too!

Lovely lacy pattern - a sleeve or could it be the back of a child's garment? There seems to be an armhole cast/bind off or is the knitting just falling that way, creating an indentation? One of those lovely puffy short sleeve pullovers or cardigans?

Knitted Pinball with a Ship Design

I am knitting a partial reproduction of this item:

http://www.malleries.com/a-continental-circa-1800-knitted-pincushion-with-ship-and-sentiment-i-19895-s-120.html?images=true&mall1SID=23cd46b2e18d1449c7f252a10a92ccf9#img3

The ship side of my pinball will be fairly faithful to the original but the reverse will be different. Letters and numbers but no animals or that text. Both sides are knitted flat and then stuffed (I will use fleece) and the two pieces are then sewn together with a cord or ribbon around the middle, and a longer one for attachment.

I drew a chart of the ship and the surrounding design from the photographs on the link. The original pinball was knit in silks and measures 1 ¼” wide; mine will be around 3” across – considerably larger. I am knitting on 0.75mm/6-0s needles at 22 stitches to 1”, with vegetable dyed crewel wool in a greenish-gold and natural from Textile Reproductions. The working and end strands can be seen hanging below the knitting. They will be trimmed and the remaining ends will be part of the stuffing.



It takes about ten minutes to knit a row on the right side but over twenty minutes to knit a row on the reverse side. Purling with such fine needles and such fine wool is more of a challenge than reading the chart backwards. Using a metal board with a magnetic strip for a guide is a big help. I did plan to mark in the chart with dark ink and then enlarge it but I was too keen to start knitting so I have been using the original sketch. In my rush, I also forgot to knit the extra rows at the bottom to match the side “hems” and the one that will be knit at the top but I can pick up stitches from the cast on edge and knit the lower hem later on.

The knitting so far is pinned onto an antique pincushion which is stuffed with very stiff fabric. The knitting rolls up on the needle and cannot be seen at all so I pinned it out for the photograph. The rolling, as I knit, also adds to the uncomfortable and time-consuming purling. If I ever knit another pinball, I will use strongly contrasting colours of wool or silk to better see the pattern and speed along those purling rows.

This kind of knitting also cramps my hands so this project will take some time to complete as I can only manage one or two rows a day.

Long Red Knitting

Katherine Bigelow (Mrs. Abbott Lawrence) (1855)
Chester Harding
(1792-1866)
American
Oil on canvas
(27 3/8” x 22 3/8”)
61.240
Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston, Massachusetts
Gift of the Misses Aimee and Rosamond Lamb


Thanks to one of my favourite blogs, 19th century American Women (http://b-womeninamericanhistory19.blogspot.com/ ), I found this wonderful portrait with one of the largest pieces of knitting I have ever seen in a painting. By clicking on the following link, readers can zoom in on the knitting, work basket, etc.:

http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/mrs-abbott-lawrence-katherine-bigelow-33681

What is Mrs. Lawrence knitting on two needles, flat/back and forth? She might be knitting something of her own design but she would, by the date given to the painting, 1855, have had access to numerous patterns for capes, shawls, lap rugs, counterpanes, pelisses, nubias, spencers, chest protectors, and hoods, perhaps one similar to the two I have featured on this blog. The copyright protection of printed materials was often difficult to enforce at this time and patterns were ruthlessly purloined and reprinted, sometimes with the audacious addition of the word “new” to the name.

The Illuminated Ladies’ Book of Useful and Ornamental Needlework by Mrs. Henry Owen (1844) contains a pattern for an Opera Hood, knitted in “Two-thread fleecy or double German wool” on “No. 3 needles” (6mm/10 US) With “ninety stitches,” knit in “rows of any light open pattern” (with a suggested pattern.) This hood is not a long piece but the pattern illustrates several clues to the knitting in the painting. Fleecy wool was a thin, fingering weight as was German wool, the latter also being used for Berlin needlework. The range of dyes or colour selection was enormous. One of my favourite examples of choice at this time is a pattern from Mrs. Cornelia Mee’s Exercises in Knitting (1846) in which knitted chair covers call for “Sixteen shades of scarlet, four-threaded German wool.”

Although I am always thrilled to see them, I don’t place much faith in accurate depictions of knitting in paintings as pieces of work range from fairly recognizable stockings (which could have been “modeled” by an independent piece of clothing that had nothing to do with what was on the needles or in the sitter’s hands) to a hazy group of brush strokes depending on the style of painting. This piece of knitting almost looks lacy or airy and is being knitted with two strands of wool seen emerging from the sweet little delicate basket with the interesting base, located on the floor beside the sitter. Is the darker wool, passed under the knitting, being used for a border, on the sitter’s left side, and the lighter shade for the body of the object?

If this is an accurate rendition, the wool is wrapped around Mrs. Lawrence’s right forefinger – a clue to her style of knitting? One of the “English” methods of knitting, the way I knit, in fact, although I use my middle finger to wrap and flick the wool. Mrs. Lawrence’s right hand is, however, too high, to be in the action of knitting; rather, she looks as though she has been interrupted, as so many knitters in paintings have been, and her right hand is arched above the right needle.

The needle on view is wonderfully thin but since its end is hidden by Mrs. Lawrence’s full sleeve, we cannot see if the needle is double-pointed or has a knob or flat end. This is odd if she is indeed knitting one of those airy items mentioned above as they are usually knit on rather large needles in contrast to the suggested thin wool or cotton in order to create the lacy effect.

Painted with her knitting in her hands, seated on a fashionable Gothic Revival chair beside a table covered with books and what may be her correspondence, and lovely fresh flowers, (perhaps from her garden?) as well as the bucolic view beyond the curtain we see a woman who is devout (the cross), elegantly but modestly dressed and an industrious member of a comfortable level of her society. To find out more about Mrs. Lawrence, go to http://bigelowsociety.com/rod/kat69521.htm

As always, I walk away from this kind of painting with new information but many more questions, too.