Worldwide Knit in Public Week

  

Cottagers in North Wales Knitting

From Scenes in England by the Rev. Isaac Taylor, London, 1822

Hand-coloured engraving

Image from Universal History Archive/UIG

Image number: UIG 526522

http://www.bridgemanart.com/

There are still a few days left in this year's Worldwide Knit in Public Week!  I have been knitting lots of socks and hope to get a pair of Blueberry Waffle* ones finished by the end of the weekend.

* http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/blueberry-waffle-socks

Historic Reproduction Knitting and a Hiatus

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

http://www.bridgemanart.com/

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 19^th 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

Quilt for May

Posted in June – life is rather busy around here.

This quilt is made from a line by RJR Fashion Fabrics, based on the Clarissa White Alford quilt owned by the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont.  The original quilt, according to the Museum’s shop’s website, is called the Windmill Blade Triangle Quilt and measures 75” x 85”.  It is variously dated on the internet as from 1886 or circa 1885-1890.

This is another example from my series of quilts using the squares on point blocks, showcasing the prints rather than a pattern. Green is my favourite colour and so I used this gorgeous iron green shade for my backing as well. If you look closely, however, you will see how well this print also shows up in red.

This quilt may look somewhat familiar as I have used it or its reverse side for many backgrounds of photographs of knitting, both here and on my Ravelry pages.

The quilt measures 62” tall by 58” wide and has a thin knife-edged border. It is hand pieced and hand quilted with a simple X pattern with a line through the middle of the X in each square.

Interiors and Knitting

A Quiet Afternoon (1917)

Marie François Firmin-Girard (1838-1921)

French

Oil on canvas

Private Collection

Image from © Christie’s Images/The Bridgeman Art Library

Image number: CH 474812

http://www.bridgemanart.com/

Spring has finally sprung – at least, it makes an appearance every now and then, and early summer is on its way. One of the things I like most about the seasons is the changing light. I am writing this on a stormy day with the light rapidly changing. The temperatures have dropped again so I have not thrown open the doors and windows today as in the paintings featured here.*

A Fisherman’s Wife – Fifeshire Interior

William Kay Blacklock (1872-1922)

English

Watercolour heightened with white

Private Collection

Image from © Christie’s Images / The Bridgeman Art Library

Image number: CH 651892

http://www.bridgemanart.com/

There are no soft golden or pink tones in my room. Today only grey and white ones pour in from my window.

A Young Woman Knitting in an Interior

Max Liebermann (1847-1935)

German

(medium?)

Private Collection

Image from © Christie’s Images / The Bridgeman Art Library

Image number: CH 11405

http://www.bridgemanart.com/

I am also always interested in the furnishings, dishes, cooking utensils and minutiae of the interiors as well as evidence of handwork.

Cottage Interior, 1840

Charles West Cope (1811-1890)

Watercolour on paper

English

Private Collection

The Stapleton Collection

Image from The Bridgeman Art Library

Image number: CH 136992

http://www.bridgemanart.com/

Best of all, there is knitting in each one of these paintings.

Woman Knitting by the Fireplace

Even Ulving (1863-1952)

Norwegian

Oil on canvas

Private Collection

Image from © O. Vaering/The Bridgeman Art Library

Image number: CH 394373

http://www.bridgemanart.com/

*All documentation is from http://www.bridgemanart.com/

Egg Cosy

This pattern comes from Weldon’s Practical Knitter, Number 114, Twenty-Eighth Series (1895). It is also published in Weldon’s Practical Needlework, Volume 10, Interweave Press, 2004.

The original pattern called for three colours of “single Berlin wool” and “four No. 16 or No. 17 steel knitting needles” (modern equivalent for both are 1.75mm/US 00.)

Although I have registered a few complaints about projects here, I mostly enjoy making things or I would probably would not be knitting, sewing, stitching, etc. In 2012, The Year of Completion, this egg cosy turned out to be one of the most delightful items I ever made in terms of pattern and materials. I did start out with Paternayan crewel wool (single strand) but had I continued, the cosy would have fit a small bird’s egg, not the common breakfast one. I then switched to Knit Picks’s Palette in Blush, Peony and Bison, still on the original size of needles.

The knitting is done from the top down, the last “rounds” making a solid rim for the cosy to stand upon.” The final touch is a “tuft of rose-coloured wool,” although the one on mine is rather more of a pom-pom than a little tuft of strands of wool.

The cosy measures 3”tall, or 4” counting the tuft, and almost 2 ¾” wide, just above the rim. It would make a nice companion to my other one from Weldon’s (http://historyknits.blogspot.com/2012/08/egg-cosy-fluted-pattern_13.html) For the moment, however, I think we will use these modern versions I made earlier this year.*

*Home Sweet Home Egg Cozy by Julia Marsh -http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/home-sweet-home-egg-cozy (http://handknittedthings.blogspot.com/)

All quotations are from Weldon’s Practical Needlework, Volume 10, Interweave Press, 2004

Famous Knitters – Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003)

Actress, style icon, and, as Wikipedia states, a woman of “headstrong independence and spirited personality.” And a knitter, as shown in these images from a few of her films. She is also one of two of the actresses who have appeared or will appear on this blog that I have seen in person. In Miss Hepburn’s case, it was not in a professional capacity but on the street, several times, in New York City when I was studying there.

 Stage Door (1937)

 State of the Union (1948) - note the kniting case.
 

Holiday (1938) - I think. I haven't seen this film for some time but I do remember the knitting scene in the drawing room.

Famous Knitters - Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn (May 4, 1929 - January 20, 1993)

!

Always elegant!