This is another scarf knitted in the Jared Flood way, in different colorways of yarn with slow color changes. The free pattern is here. Flood’s pattern calls for three colorways, in four skeins, of Noro Silk Garden. Knitted up that way, the scarfs are stunning. My three Silk Garden and one Kuroyon Noro knits are in the slide show below.

But knitting in Wisdom Yarns Poems decreases the impact on the pocket book quite remarkably. And all without any sacrifice in the beauty of the finished object. I usually cast on 45 for the Noro versions. This time I cast on 39 and ended up with a similarly sized, but somewhat longer scarf. Wisdom is 100% wool, but it’s is spun in a way that almost looks as if it has some mohair in it because there’s a bit of a fuzzy halo to the yarn.

Here’s the scarf before it was one:

And now another glimpse of the “after:”

For a slide show of my versions of this pattern, click on the thumbnails.

This little gem is a free pattern from Cheryl Oberle’s website: Carol’s Clever Little Shawl. It is Carol Sanders’s adaptation of a historic shawl from the 1800′s. You will find the story of the shawl, and a link to a PDF with the pattern, at the link I’ve supplied.

I’ve knitted mine of Malabrigo worsted, in the azul profundo colorway. It is a nicely mottled dark-but-not-really-navy-blue and I am very pleased with myself for chosing this yarn to knit this pattern. The pattern calls for worsted weight on size 10.5 needles. That wasn’t going to work with Malabrigo, so mine is knit on a size 9. I am short, at 5’3″, and for me this is a full-sized shawl.

The pattern has just enough lacework to keep it interesting. There is a bit of short row shaping every 18 rows. One especially appreciated feature is the keyhole. Just tuck the ends through the keyhole and there is no need for pesky shawl pins. This shawl stays put on its own. Casting off, all it needed was a bit of steaming on the points. Here’s another I knit a few years ago, of Brown Sheep worsted.

I’ve already worn my azul profundo (deep blue) shawl on two chilly evenings this week.  But today it was in the high 80′s, and muggy, so all wool shawls will soon be packed away. That’s Michigan weather for you!

This Cottage Creations old stand-by is Babies and Bears, designed by Carol Anderson and Kristi Williams. It’s sized for newborns to toddlers (and teddy bears). The change in sizing is accomplished by the yarn selection. Mine is knit in Cascade 220 Superwash on size 7 needles. My somewhat educated guess is that it will fit a bear approximately the size of a six month old baby.

This pattern is a great knit, with surprises along the way. In fact, the designers credit Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Baby Surprise pattern for their inspiration. It’s knit from the wrists in to the center, first one half then the other. Graft the two pieces together. Add the hood. Toward the end you’ll be knitting button bands and the garter stitch framing at the bottom. For the detail panel on the front and back, you choose a gansey raised stitch pattern or an easy fair isle. This, of course, is the raised stitch pattern.

The solid color shows off the construction in a way I find very appealing. I’ve also knit it in variegated yarn and in a tweed. Both were cute and well-received by the recipient mom. But from now on I may stick to solids. This one is my definite favorite.

I am feeling rather smug about my button choice. Mom’s old button jar really produced some vintage gems for this piece. I know that parents now have safety concerns about buttons on baby sweaters. I’ve sewed them on well with very sturdy thread. But I’ll save some yarn and I could always remove the buttons, stitch up the buttonholes, and…  I’m not sure what the and would be. Snaps wouldn’t be good. Maybe sewn-on I-cord ties. For now, I’m imagining a teddy bear wearing this.

Not too long ago I posted about Pam Allen’s Comfy Cardigan, published in Clara Parke’s The Knitter’s Book of Wool. It is indeed comfortable. In fact, as I’m writing this I’m wearing Comfy on a chilly Michigan spring evening. But, nice as these wooden buttons are, they were too much button for this sweater. I looked at the sweater and only saw the buttons. Plus, the fabric is is a bit limp and the buttonholes are placed very close to the edge. So, despite my serious sewing impairment, replacing the buttons had to happen.

These Dill buttons, purchased recently at Mary Maxim’s in Port Huron, are a much better fit for this sweater. They are thin and very lightweight. The mottled yellow green works well with the yarn colorway.

Again while shopping at Mary Maxim’s I also found the perfect thread. I did not know that thread came in variegated colors these days. An interesting development and, again, a good choice for this sweater and these buttons.

This is another Rambling Rows, the brain child of Cottage Creations’ Carol Anderson and Pat Penney. It’s the smallest of the versions the pattern provides. On size 7 needles, knitted up in the worsted weight version of Berroco Comfort, it is 28 inches by 34 inches. To me, it seems like it would be an excellent size for a car seat cozy.

Comfort has great color selection: 66 solids, 13 heathers and 14 print shades. Color choice is not always my strong suit, but I am pleased with how these play together. Quite a 60′s sensibility, including avocado, burnt orange, dark brown. There are a lot of stitches to pick up as each of the individual 55 mitred blocks are connected together. Comfort was a bit splitty for that task. But with just a bit of extra care it worked out fairly well.

The sweater is not the old friend. I’ve not worn the sweater much. It’s pretty but the boatneck neckline hasn’t been a favorite look. The “friend” isn’t the pattern either. A bit after completing it, in somewhat an overdose of de-cluttering, I recall throwing the pattern away. So I haven’t even been able to link to it on my Ravelry page and I can’t give attribution here. I just figured I wasn’t going to knit it again and I wouldn’t be recommending it to anyone, so why keep it. I recall it was from a magazine and possibly this was the cover sweater.

The friend is actually the yarn. Tahki’s Soho Bulky. The company seems to be called Tahki Stacy Charles now. I’m sure they are the purveyors of many fine yarns, but the company discontinued Soho Bulky quite a few years ago and knitters everywhere should mourn the loss. OK. That’s an exaggeration. But it was a great yarn. I knit this sweater and basically just keep it around to enjoy the look and feel of this wonderful rugged yarn.

I’ve knit gobs of bears out of Soho Bulky, including this long legged guy who was donated to a charity auction. His body is knit in Soho Bulky. His sweater is knit of a more “refined,” tame yarn.

This sweater, also knit from a pattern I can’t locate anymore, is pure Soho Bulky. It’s seen lots of wear and still looks and feels great.

I have a very high tolerance for wool-against-the-skin. When others are busy complaining about how “itchy” something woolen is, all I feel is nice and cozy. To me, that sense of scratchy yarn against the skin is a comfort. So I have no problem with hats of Soho Bulky.  This one is Jared Flood’s Quincy, with a wonderfully clever mobius strip construction.

And this was probably my Soho Bulky magnum opus. It’s Carol Andeson and Pat Penney’s Rambling Rows afghan knit using their pattern for its grid guide, but without regard for their instructions on color placement. This afghan is laid out on a queen sized bed. If gifted, which it won’t be until they crack open my will, it would come with a small child and cat warning. It could probably crush one under its weight. I lost count of how many skeins I knit to complete the project. When I used up my stash I had to scour the internet looking for extra skeins of the precious Soho Bulky.

I have no skeins left. I used the last of them, mixed in with Philospher’s Wool, to complete this log cabin throw.

So, old friend, it looks like we part company.

I don’t knit many sweaters. And when I do, they aren’t usually for me. But I was drawn to Pam Allen’s Comfy Cardigan from Clara Parkes’s Knitters Book of Wool. A friend knit it and recommended that it was one of her most comfortable sweaters. I’m a fan of slipped stitch and the honeycomb pattern of the bodice looked like it would be fun. It was. Twice.

First, I decided to modify the pattern to make it larger by adding honeycombs. Hmm. It seemed like a good idea, but before I was done I had a sweater with a 79 and 1/2 inch chest. That’s about two Dolly Partons and would not do. In my own defense, the sweater is unusually constructed and I did not understand exactly where I was in it most of the time. You start in the middle of the back with a provisional cast on and work to the edge of the back. Then you make a similar piece for the front. You join the pieces, and that’s where the sizing change occurs. Knit for a bit, cast off for the sleeve cut-out and then knit down to the cuff. Now back to that mid-back provisional cast-on and knit all the same sections for the other side. You pick up hundreds of stitches at the bodice and knit until it’s the length you want. A bit of ribbing, and you’re done.

After my Dolly Parton sojourn, I ripped back almost to the beginning and began again. This time I followed the pattern exactly, for the largest size. I was about 1/2 stitch per 4 inches above gauge, which ended up working out fairly well for me size-wise.

Maybe because of the somewhat lightweight worsted I used, Berrocco’s Vintage, this doesn’t have quite the “body” that might be best. The feel of it is soft and quite nice. But it isn’t doing too well with its rather dainty buttonholes, buttonband, and ribbing. Despite steaming, the buttonband and ribbing is curling some. I will tackle it again with more aggressive steaming.

Rather than shop for the perfect buttons, I used some nice wooden ones I had in my stash. They’re a bit too beefy and I’ll probably swap them out soon for something more lightweight. I’d like the sweater’s honeycomb pattern to catch the eye, more so than my button choice.

This turned to be a rather quick knit, as sweaters go. True to it’s name, it’s very comfy. The side-to-side construction assures that nothing binds.

This booklet is 62 pages of knitted and crocheted patterns, published by the Corticelli Silk Mills of Florence, Massachusetts. The copyright is 1917 and is attributed to Nonotuck Silk Company.

Corticelli was into “olas.” Its floss yarn was Flosola. Its fingering yarn was Knitola. Its angora was Angola. And there’s also “Tezola.” It’s “far superior and quite different from the many so-called Teazle yarns on the market. When brushed up it does not have a shaggy appearance.” Oh. Instead, it has a “long, thick nap similar to Angora fur.” It has a “soft, full, loose twist, and will knit up into a much handsomer looking garment than any other Teazle wool.”

Teazle is actually a genus of tall plants that dry to a prickly tough compact head with protruding small spines. One plant, the Fuller’s Teazle, was often used in the textile industry of earlier times to comb out, clean and raise the nap on fabrics, especially wool. So, apparently these “so-called Teazle yarns” were meant to be brushed into fluffiness. Who knew?  Thanks to my co-worker’s husband’s Great Aunt Cecilia, I am learning about knitting in the World War I era.

Corticelli offers this advice for washing wool garments:

Wash in tepid water in which pure white soap has been dissolved. Do not rub but knead and squeeze the garment between the hands.  Do not at any time raise the garment above the water as the weight of the water tends to stretch the wool. When perfectly clean lower a pillow slip into the water, push in the garment and hang on the line where it wil be exposed to the sun and high wind.  Change the pinning of the slip every hour until the garment is thoroughly dry, then remove the garment, shake thoroughly and leave it in the wind for fifteen minutes. It will then look like new and retain all its original loft. Do not press.

Yipes. Washing a garment was basically an all-day task.

The booklet contains patterns for all ages, mostly sweaters, vests, caps, and gloves. Mrs. Vernon Castle models “Sports Vest No. 512,” knitted in Teazola. FYI the photo shows a fabric that definitely looks very shaggy. But Mrs. Castle likes the finished project. She advises that “for motoring, golf or mountain resort, this Sports Vest is ideal” and her “opinion on matters of this kind is always le dernier cri.” (Google translates that phrase as “the latest.”) We are informed that “Mrs. Vernon Castle’s taste in dress is exquisite.”

Here’s a sample–a snazzy looking vest and a buodoir jacket (but not modeled by Mrs. Vernon Castle):

World War I would wage on for two more years after publication of this pattern book. There are some specialty items included, apropos of the era. Consider the “Swagger Cane with Silk Bag Crocheted in National Colors.” This is “not a walking stick, but a swagger cane to carry jauntily under the arm. It holds a little red, white and blue silk bag that testifies to the patriotism of the owner.” Wow.  A “swagger cane.”

The last four pages provide patterns for “Knit Garments for the Army and Navy.” The author explains the need:

The following instructions are issued to help the women throughout the country who are at this time utilizing every available moment in making warm and comfortable garments for the boys who have responded to the call of our country in its present crisis. Many women, while anxious to help, are wholly at sea as to what garments are suitable or how best to make them, and much good material and time have been wasted in making garments that are wholly unfit for the service for which they were intended.

Knitters are told to knit “evenly and firmly.” “Drop stitches should be avoided.” “The garments should be free from lumps and knots, especially the socks, as they are liable to blister the feet.” Patterns are included for a sleeveless sweater, two kinds of wristlets, a “sleeping cap,” “muffler,” “cap for convalescents,” an “abdominal belt,” socks, bed socks, knee caps, and a helmet liner that continues on to include front and back garter stitch extensions that would act as a neck warmer.

The price? Fifteen cents.

The explanation for how I came to be acquainted with my co-worker’s husband’s Aunt Cecilia, several years after she died, is explained here. She was a lifelong knitter and hooker (you know I mean a crocheter). I was gifted with her large stash of Italian mohair, some of her books, and her glass cigar tube of crochet hooks. Those of us who love these crafts know that we want our treasured tools and yarns to find a good home after we die. I’ve tried to do right by Cecelia’s stash. Her booklets and books are safely protected.

More of Cecilia’s books surfaced recently and my co-worker gave them to me. The new gift includes this gem from 1916, published by F. W. Woolworth Company, a “dime store” of old. And, in fact, the book cost exactly that: one thin dime. The book cautions, repeatedly, that “to insure success you must use only Woolco Yarns.”  With “a little practice” you will become “a proficient worker.” Then “you will find that the work goes quickly and that instead of tiring you it will rest you and soothe the nerves.”  Indeed.

Several crochet and knit stitches are illustrated and described. There are patterns for babies, children and adults.  There are sweaters, vests, gloves, socks, leggings, shawls, scarves, slippers, and hats (Tam O’Shanter, helmet, toque). While the baby leggings don’t really “speak” to me, the kimono and “porch jacket” are quite sweet:

1916, when this book was published, was smack dab in the middle of World War I. That the war interfered with Woolco’s supply of dye, including for their popular Germantown line, must be the explanation for this plea at the start of the book:

Woolco Yarns have always been dyed with the finest dyes obtainable. The well-known condition of the dyestuffs market at present forces us to buy dyes in small lots so that we are no longer able to maintain our usual uniformity of shades.

It is a condition which we would overcome if it were possible, but as there is positively no remedy we must urge our customers to buy more carefully than has heretofore been necessary.  Buy enough yarn to finish your garment and see that it matches before you leave the store. By doing so you will avoid disappointment for yourself and assist us in overcoming an awkward and regrettable situation.

May we count on your cooperation?

I bet knitters didn’t have to be told more than once that the war had screwed up dyelots big time. I can picture knitters asking for permission to carry their yarn out to the street to be able to see the colors in natural light and make sure the skeins matched.

Tucked into the back of Cecelia’s Woolco book was this 1918 newspaper clipping of a sock pattern, knit on “4-10 yarn” and “Red Cross needle No. 1.”  The author had good advice for handling measurement, splicing, and a somewhat overly specific way (tie finished socks loosely together…) to make sure that there were no holes or dropped stitches:

To measure a garment, lay in on [sic] on a level surface and measure with a dependable measure (wood, metal or celluloid, not a tape).

Always join threads by splicing or by running threads through each other with worsted weight.

Tie finished socks loosely together at the top of leg, in such a way that the hand can be inserted for inspection.

If sock is thin at the point of gusset, reinforce by darning on wrong side very lightly with split thread of yarn.

Still good advice. (Clicking on the clipping, then clicking in to increase the size, will allow you to read a bit more.)

And, flipping the sock pattern over, this slice of life, lopped off in mid-sentence because all Cecilia was perserving was the sock pattern, not what Martin Radilyack, of Gary Indianna had to say about his wartime experience:

GARY LAD BACK WITH ‘BUDDIES; HAD BEEN LOST

“I wouldn’t take anything for the things that have happened to me
during my recent experience with the Hun,” writes Martin Radilyack,
brother of Miss Agnes Radilyack.  Radilyack, employed by the American
Bridge company, who has been “missing in action” since May 1 and who

We won’t know more than that, I’m afraid. But the ad for the Freezone corn removal potion is almost fully intact.  ”Try it. No humbug!”

]]> http://longlakeyarns.net/aunt-cecilias-woolco-knitting-crocheting-manual-copyright-1916/feed/ 10 http://longlakeyarns.net/oops-another-calorimetry/ http://longlakeyarns.net/oops-another-calorimetry/#comments Fri, 16 Mar 2012 01:10:09 +0000 Noreen http://longlakeyarns.net/?p=4461

Calorimetry is a really addictive quick knit. I’ve made so many now that it’s getting a bit embarrassing. I should probably quit posting them, but every one comes out different and cute in a new way. You can find this Knitty free pattern here. Kathryn Schoendorf, Calorimetry’s designer, deserves to be recognized in a knitter’s “hit parade” for this gem of a pattern. It’s been knit and posted 14,448 times on Ravelry. It’s waiting in 7092 queues as of this writing.

Here’s what Calorimetry looks like laid out flat:

Here’s a glimpse of the B.C. (before Calorimetry) time when the yarn was just a ball of Plymouth Yarns Boku: