One More Stitch: May 2013

Sunday, 26 May 2013

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/

Monday, 13 May 2013

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

Sunday, 12 May 2013

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.