September and School

The Benevolent School
English School
Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery
Bristol, England
Image from The Bridgeman Art Library

I love this piece of art because it is simple, charming, fascinating and dates from the late 18th century, possibly early 19th century.* I have not seen it in person nor can I find out much more about it so I cannot list its dimensions, etc. I also cannot get a really close look at what everyone is doing in it in spite of zoom features on two of the sites where it is available. I think one of the girls may be knitting at the top of the picture and two woman may be winding wool in the foreground. Nevertheless, it is fun to follow the line of pupils and instructors around the room and look at the hats and bonnets on the walls and the view of the building outside of the window.

Click on the image for a larger version.

*I seem to recall the date of 1800 assigned to this but I cannot remember where I read that, and that date may be one of creation rather than representation.

18th Century Long Wool Mitts

I have knit two versions of these mitts inspired by the pattern, 18th Century Women’s Knitted Mitts, by Mara Riley (2006 - http://www.marariley.net/)

I knit them in two different weights of wool and adapted the pattern to fit my arms. The grey pair, in Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted Charcoal used two skeins although there was a fair bit left over from both. Mara Riley’s pattern calls for two skeins of Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport wool which is what the second pair is knit in Burnt Sienna. The Charcoal pair was knit in a few days (one of those emergency projects which only allowed for a quick choice from whatever was available from the stash) on 3.25mm/US 3 needles with
7 stitches to the inch.

They are 15 ¾” inches long and 5” (10” around) wide at the top, tapering down to 3” (6” around) at the wrist and 3” (6” around) across the fingers. The Burnt Sienna pair has the same measurements but was knit on 2.75mm/US 2 needles with 7 ½ stitches to the inch. In both cases, I had to cut down Mara Riley’s original number of stitches to two different sets. The seam stitch runs along the inside of the arm, extending along the hand and thumb, and is reinstated along the side between the forefinger and the thumb.

The mitts look tight but since they are knit in wool there is a lot of give and they are completely comfortable to wear and very warm.

Now I am inspired to make linen ones like the ones on the lady holding the upright rake in this lovely painting with its haymakers fancifully garbed:

Haymakers (1785)
George Stubbs, British
(1724-1806)
Oil on wood
Tate Collection
Tate Britain, London, England
Purchased with assistance from the Friends of the Tate Gallery, the Art Fund, the Pilgrim Trust and subscribers 1977

Click on this link to see the complete painting:

http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?workid=13991&tabview=image

Summer Knitting

Dutch Girl Knitting by the Sea
Christopher Dean
(British, fl. 1895 – 1924)
Oil on canvas, 10” x 14”
Location unknown

I like this painting because it shows something I do quite frequently, that is, sitting and knitting by the water. Not only in the summer but whenever it is warm enough to do so. If it is cool and I have to wear fingerless gloves, I cannot use dpns but I always have plenty of wips on various kinds of needles to choose from and I never punish my overworked fingers if it is too cold to knit outdoors. As I knit through the current grueling summer with its relentlessly soaring temperatures, I can only do so with wool, the coarser the better. Cotton or acrylic just wilts in my damp hands. As Jane Austen wrote “What dreadful Hot weather we have! -- It keeps one in a continual state of Inelegance.” {Letter to Cassandra Austen, 18th September, 1796.}

The girl in the painting, though, looks crisp and cool. She seems to have just started a blue tubular object, perhaps a stocking or sleeve. Alas, this seems to be another three needle painting unless I just cannot see the fourth needle.

More information about the artist and the painting may be found at

http://www.mpfa.ie/eugallery.htmhttp://www.mpfa.ie/eugallery.htm

Red Under Petticoat - One Panel Finished!

This was surprisingly fast to knit. I also added four "stripes" to the top section below the ribbing so the petticoat will fall just at mid-knee. It also looks as though I will only need three panels as stated in the original pattern.

Also on view are some of the numerous ends which I will work into the seams as I crochet the panels together.

Red Under Petticoat Update

The Red Under Petticoat is growing. I will do a thorough discussion of it when it is finished but for now I have to say that it has been fun to knit. The puckered lower edge is created by extended slipped stitches. Once I was past the lower edge, this became my World Cup knitting as I only need to keep count of the stocking stitch rows and not really look at them as I knit.

Unlike England's Flag Flying*, designed by Erssie Major, which required more attention. I worked on it as fast as I could but didn't have it quite ready for the first match! I knit this on 2.25mm/US 1 needles with DMC Six Strand Embroidery Floss in the Portrait version of the pattern. The finished piece measures 5 1/2" wide and 3 3/4" down, not counting the garter stitch edge I added. The gauge/tension is 12 stitches to one inch.

*Free pattern at http://erssieknits.squarespace.com/

Worldwide Knit in Public Day/Week

An Outdoor Literary Salon
French School, early 19th Century
Private Collection
The Bridgeman Art Library
Creative Image #79108854


Saturday, June 12th, kicks off this year’s celebrations of Worldwide Knit in Public which have been extended from one day to a full week! Seize upon your latest project, wips or start something new, and dash outside as often as possible over the coming days! Follow the example of the lady in the lower left corner of this image who calmly wields her needles in the midst of a volatile literary discussion. As usual in this genre, there is a great deal happening and even more being implied in the image but I am, for this post, just interested in the knitting although happy to have an illustration from one of my favourite eras in history. The industrious lady seems to have ony two needles in action – is she knitting something flat and, if so, what? A comforter, part of a shirt? Or is that the beginning of a stocking on four or more needles and we cannot see the others? There seems to be several strands of yarn hanging down from her work but she is only knitting in one colour. Could these strands and the fact that she does not seem to be holding her knitting in a very capable way suggest that her knitting skills are as pretentious or limited as the literary ones of those of her fellow members of the society? Or is this yet another example of an artist being unfamiliar with knitting, its tools and its hand positions? At any rate, the picture is bright and funny, and there is a knitter in it so I cannot really complain!

Lady's Knitted Under Petticoat

This pattern comes from Godey’s Lady’s Book, December, 1864, page 533, with no suggested needle size or gauge and calling for “four-thread scarlet fleecy” and the same in white; its modern equivalent is lace-weight. It is easy and fun to knit, and very hard to put down which is good as it calls for several long panels that will then joined with a “single crochet.” I am knitting it on 3mm needles, in Nature Spun Sport weight 100% wool (Scarlet and Snow.) I did try it first in lace weight wool on both 3mm and 3.50mm needles but the result, with my tension, was too airy and loose.

The photograph shows the beginning of the border hem of a panel.