The Counterpane Project

I have long wanted to knit a wool counterpane, for our bed. I can't remember exactly when I decided I wanted to make one, but, it could have been after acquiring Mary Walker Phillips' "Knitting Counterpanes", in the '90s.

Or, perhaps even a decade earlier than that, as I had clipped this pattern out of a women's magazine, likely in the very early 80’s, sampled in Bernat Berella “4”.

My Google searches have found some sites selling pdf's of this pattern, dating it to the '60s and '70s.  I was in high school in the 70’s, so the clipping isn’t that old!  The magazine us likely from the early '80s, although memory can be a funny thing.  Alas, the mag's name isn't printed at the bottom of each page, as I cannot find an online reference to the original magazine.

The idea ended up pushed into the back of my mind, and stayed there, for many years, as I got on with life's demands.

Sometimes, when I sit to spin, I would remember the counterpane.  Dreams shouldn't languish, unfulfilled. There's enough of that going around.  This idea will become Real.

And now I finally have an excuse to commit myself to the project – one of my nieces will be getting married in November.  She and her fiancé live in WI, so a warm wool blanket will surely get put to use!  And by starting now, in February, I am allowing for the inevitable Life Interruptions!

The Yarn
bulky wt. singles

The Fiber
Falkland wool top, 27 microns, 56 count (though it feels more like a 58), 3-5” staple length, natural white.

I had considered not spinning the yarn, and, instead, buying a commercial domestic yarn, like Lamb's Pride Bulky, as I do like the fabric LP makes, especially in afghans, but, I figured why not go all out, and make as close to a truly handmade heirloom, as I can, without actually starting from fleece.

Not that I have any qualms about processing raw wool!  Back in the late 80's, I washed, picked, carded, spun and naturally dyed a lot of Romney, Lincoln and yearling mohair – and I have the hand woven and hand hooked rugs to prove it! (If you'd like to see photos, I can put them into a new post.)

But, that great picker and carder, which hubby motorized for me, were sold off decades ago, as we prepared to sell our first house, buy our 2nd house, then restore it to run a B&B.  

The second factor, naturally then, is cost, which will be minimal, as the bump of wool top is already paid for.  The project is all labor, which is why they call these things Labors of Love.  I love wool.  I love to spin.  I love to knit.

Spinning the yarn will also be a great experiment in consistency, and, hence, my skill.  This project will require about 8-10 lbs of yarn, which shouldn't vary by more than a few yds in each 3.5 oz/100 gm skein.

I do find that by spinning just one weight of yarn, almost every day, most of the skeins will have the necessary yardage.  The rest will get added to my bulky wt. Falkland handspun listing on Etsy.

The Wheel
A 1987 Country Craftsman double drive (DD) wheel, using the 10:1 ratio drive whorl. I have always used a thick poly cord on my CC wheels, and this wheel functions perfectly with it, both in the spinning and the plying.

Yes, I know DD wheels are supposed to only use a cotton or linen drive cord.  I suppose if I wanted to sand down the poly finish on the wheel's 2 grooves and the grooves on all the bobbins and drive whorls, then, perhaps a cotton cord would drive the wheel just duckily.  LOL, but, not while there's finish in all the grooves, and I have tried many times.

The Pattern
“Interlocking Ribs” counterpane pattern (KC, pg. 136), with the cable and interlocking ribs borders.

Although I love the “Larnach Castle” and “Grandmother Anderson’s” patterns (also in “Knitting Counterpanes”), the new couple are young, so I thought better of knitting a traditional, perhaps too ‘old-fashioned’ pattern.  The “Interlocking Ribs” pattern should be modern enough.

I began by working the individual rectangles separately, as in the pattern, but soon realized I could work the rectangles in units of 4, as I did in my “Quilt Blocks Cloths” design, so to reduce the amount of sewing up needed.  I just picked up the sts for the next rectangle off the left side of the finished rectangle, until 4 rectangles are knit.  Each unit then just need one short seam sewn.

I don’t yet know how large I will make the blanket, but I’ll post photos when the counterpane is finished!

Onward,
Dawn

New Pattern, New Knitting, and New Movie Discoveries

 I've released a new knitting pattern – Midnight Snowfall Hat & Mittens

After I designed the ‘Midnight Snowfall Tea Cozy, I just had to use the color pattern as the main pattern for a set of hats and mittens.

To make the mittens more interesting to knit and wear, I designed them in the Norwegian style, with a smaller palm pattern, striped thumb gussets and thumbs, demarcating side stripes, and angled shaping at the tips.

Instead of the usual Norwegian-style wide patterned cuff, which wears outside one’s sweater or jacket, I used ribbing for the cuffs, as I prefer mitten cuffs to reside inside my sweater or coat. I left the hats pompom-less, but there’s no reason you can’t add them!

The pattern offers a child’s medium and a woman’s medium hat and mittens, knit in widely available Lamb’s Pride Worsted and Lanaloft Worsted. Full-size mitten charts make it easier to follow.  Knit a set for someone you love this winter!

Sized to fit a medium child / medium woman.
The pattern is $6 and is available on Ravelry, Etsy, and Lovecrafts.

More Knitting in the Works

LOL, see a theme here!?

Yup, pinks and lots of them – Victorian Pink Nature Spun Worsted, and Rosado Rose and Orchard Blush Lamb's Pride Worsted.  All destined to be cable sweaters.  My wardrobe is seriously lacking in pink, which I want to pair with charcoal grey pants and the pink plaid Grasshoppers Janey sneakers I bought years ago

I have 3 sweaters in progress (and 2 more in the planning stages) – a stranded Norwegian Fans cardigan, a classic cable v-neck pullover in Victorian Pink Nature Spun Worsted, and a crew neck cardigan version for my granddaughter Evelyn in Orchard Blush Lamb's Pride Worsted, which she can wear with one of the hat/mitten sets I knit for her that uses that color.

I always knit sweaters from the bottom up, as it gives me plenty of time, while I'm knitting, to cogitate about details - whether I want a waist detail or something to accentuate the neckline.  I rarely pre-plan a design.  I design by doing.  It's the same for me when weaving, cooking, or baking.

When it comes to clothing, I prefer florals and classics.  Almost every summer dress I have is a floral!  When it comes to sweaters, I definitely prefer cables and Fair Isles (or Norwegian and Swedish patterns).

No photos yet, though, as I'm just at the beginning of these designs.

New Movie Discoveries

I'm always scanning Prime Video, Pluto, Tubi, and sometimes Crackle, trying to find *good* movies to watch.  I prefer movies and a good series over any other type of television.  While knitting, I find a series is ideal to put on to listen to, as movies end too soon, then I gotta interrupt my work to try to find another one I want to watch.

It's getting harder and harder, though, as the years go by to find good stories, acting, and directing.  All three are needed to make a good movie.  So, I tend to re-watch things I've seen many times before, funny movies like 'Nadine' from 1987 with Jeff Bridges and Kim Basinger, or real classics like Fred & Ginger, or the Margaret Rutherford Miss Marple movies from the early '60's.

This week, though, i discovered 2 good movies – 'Flawless', with Michael Caine and Demi Moore, and 'The Courier', with Benedict Cumberbatch and Rachel Brosnahan (from Mrs. Maisel, a series I LOVE, as a fellow fast-talking and moving New Yorker!).  I've liked Benedict's work since the Sherlock series.  And Sir Michael Caine never seems to do poor work and I love to listen to his Cockney accent!

As for a good series I never tire of (besides Poirot) are all the John Nettles episodes of 'Midsomar Murders'.  I've been knitting a lot, so I'm on my 4th trip through his 13 seasons! 

May your needles fly like the wind, while enjoying something good to watch!
Dawn

The Thinking Knitter aka Knitting to Think

 (Originally posted on WP 8/5/20.)

I love EZ (Elizabeth Zimmermann), and her approach towards knitting to make us all thinking knitters, instead of blind followers.  I bet her brain was just a mad whirr of activity while she was knitting.  

Some people get their ideas in the shower, or whilst they are sleeping, and I get those too, but the surefirest way for me to get 20 things jotted down on a notepad, is to pick up some knitting, preferably a pair of socks, which after nearly 30 yrs, I can almost knit them in my sleep.  

* Pick up ndls, knit half a round, put down ndls, pick up pen.
Put down pen, pick up ndls, repeat from * until brain goes fuzzy and sleep beckons.

They’re not all grand ideas, most of it is all the stuff I need to do the next day, which is best written down in advance, otherwise these chores will swim around in my brain all night, keeping me from sleeping.  But in-between the mundane, and the frankly far too long list of to-do’s, are Ideas.  Knitting Ideas, but lately, mostly Weaving Ideas, and Thoughts About Life.

The ‘what if I put this yarn with that one, sett it at x, and make y with it’ type of stuff.  The next day, these ideas each get fleshed out on their own Estimates page in the weaving binder.  Estimates of materials cost, time to execute, and then whether the price point allows it to be a salable item.  

Though this last part is irksome.  Salable *where*?  

Which leads me down the road of Handcraft Activism.

Most people think of Etsy, when they think of handmade, but although this may have once been the case, I am not so sure any more.  I cannot tell you how many times I have had to refund a $6 knitting pattern pdf purchase because someone thought they were buying a handknit, wool tea cozy (despite “PDF" being everywhere in my pattern listings).  For *$6*.  *Really?*.  Maybe on the planet Cheap Imports, but on a site specifically geared towards *handmade*?

This is exactly why I do not do project estimates for knitting designs any more.  BTDT.  There is no price point that hand knit items can be sold at, profitably.  At least not on Etsy.

I have heard Etsy referred to as an incubator. A place for small biz to start up (but should not stay).  Though even within that limited framework and time span, *how* cheaply are makers supposed to value their skill and time?  I’ve seen how cheaply.  I’ve run the #’s of similar handwoven items for sale, and if the makers are clearing $7/hour, they’re lucky.  

Can you pay your mortgage, put half-way decent food on the table, and pay your utilities and health insurance premiums earning $7/hour? Never mind all the extras one needs as they age.  

Don’t let anyone fool you - life does not become LESS expensive the older you get, it is MORE expensive.  Ironic, as most people are phased out of the workforce just when life insurance premiums begin to skyrocket, along with the expenses of life-supporting medications, hormones, and nutritional supplements, none of which are cheap.

I’m sorry, that’s unacceptable, on both counts – for the maker under-valuing their work, and for its direct result – the consumer thinking that cheap is the norm.  Then all other makers think they need to compete with these too-low prices.  It’s a downward spiral, which soon takes quality with it.

Perhaps I am living in the wrong country.  There are countries that value handwork, quality materials, well-made items, and don’t *expect* them to be sold at Dollar Store prices.  

We’ve lost touch with what it means to make or buy something for your closet or your home, which will actually last 20+ years. I’ve been making things since the 80s, dealing with this Dollar Store mentality a long time.  It’s not the ‘80s anymore – that throw-away society should have been thrown away ages ago.

So, as I do not wish to undervalue my time and skill, I am now only listing smaller  handwoven items on Etsy, and only until the listings expire.  Then, as with my other work, I will be moving them onto my website.  At some point I will cease to put anything handmade on Etsy, and only have my PDF patterns there.

Why bother with Etsy at all, then?  

I wouldn’t, but, and there’s always a but, I have been taking note, for quite some time now, that some women’s magazine editors DO scan Etsy for products, although I wish they’d take Martha’s lead and highlight work not being sold on Etsy, as in the Martha Stewart Living, Nov. 2018 issue's article about women weavers.  

The women (Elizabeth Eakins Studio, Stephanie Seal Brown Handwovens, A Little Weather, and Hart) all have their own WordPress or Squarespace websites, and their work is appropriately priced for being handmade, aka not cheap.

With Covid keeping us all home, with little to no social diversions, most of us have time to think.  Some of us are also gardening, cooking and baking, others are turning to fiber or other making pursuits,  These activities, which are much harder to find the time for, under normal circumstances, are now the line in the sand between us and the loony bin, as this 24/7 togetherness bit is *not* natural, it’s exhausting, especially in down-sized houses!  People need personal space, in order to recharge.

But, through engaging in these home and creative arts, we are also re-finding connections to How Life Should be, lost for decades.  Growing vegetables and flowers, making food from scratch, crafting things for our homes and families.  Depending on our age, we may remember our grandparents or great-granparents engaging in some of these activities.  

They weren’t connecting to others through thumbing their days away on health-damaging cell phones, all the while becoming less invested in activities which ground us.  Of course, life wasn’t perfect then, it is never perfect, but it was more Real.

So, in this whirr of thinking we are all engaging in, it may have dawned on us that Covid is both a blessing and a curse.  Yes, it has changed everything, but not all for the bad.  And, as in this well-known Chinese tale, it really isn’t possible to tell if an event is *just* good or bad, as everything can be both good and bad at the same time, depending on how we perceive it.  And thanks to our linear human lives, our sight into the future is *very* limited.

But, my hope is that the other side of this pandemic will find our lives changed permanently for the better, not just a temporary backslide into the Real, but that we will decide to stay real.

And once we can actually be social again without having to barricade our bodies, that it too will be Real, where all this electronic gadgetry will drop down a notch or two in our consciousnesses, to become the support systems they are meant to be, not replacements.

My hand knit sock drawer – where thought becomes reality.

Onward,
Dawn