The Completed Interlocking Ribs Counterpane!

The Specs

Finished Size: 60” x 77“

Which needed 8.5 lbs. of hand spun Falkland bulky weight singles and took more hours than I bothered to count!

My last post covered sewing up the center blanket units and knitting up the 4 cable and seed stitch borders.  Since then, I’ve sewn the borders on and edged the entire thing in Applied I-cord.

Here’s pics of how I decided to deal with the disparity between the seed stitch cable edges and the main body edges, which varies from knit and purl rib sections to BO knit stitch sections.

These photos were taken on my bed, atop a hand spun, indigo dyed, and handwoven blanket, and my “Golden Ferns Counterpane” design, which was in “101 Knitting-To-Go Projects”, 2001.

Now, I could have counted exactly how many stitches were along the main body sides and the lengths of cable edging, so to determine an exact ratio between the two, for sewing up, but I’m not that retentive!  

 Instead, I tried to divide the number of cable crossings into more or less even sections, and basted the 2 pieces together using a tapestry needle and a smooth (non-wool) yarn.  I found I needed to stretch the denser seed stitch edge when basting across the wide BO knit sections, but stretch the knit and purl rib sections, when basting along them.

This worked well enough.  As I pulled out the basting for each small section, I counted how many seed stitches there were and how many body stitches they would be sewn to, then adjusted the sewing-up ratio to suit.

The Applied I-cord was one of the easier parts of the entire process.  As I was using the same yarn for the I-cord as for the afghan, I didn’t need to add a yarn over on each row, which is done, when using a different color, so to avoid a color blip showing.

In all, the entire afghan was easy to work, so not only does it look modern, but once you work one repeat of the main afghan unit, you don’t need to refer to the book again.  Same goes for the cable borders, which are easy peasy.

As it’s heavy (8.5 lbs.), to block it, I laid an extra blanket on the queen bed, laid out the afghan and spritzed it with water, to dampen, but not soak it, then pulled here and there, to make the afghan square up as best it could, considering that the body patterns do ebb and flow.  

The last touch was the duplicate stitching on the 4 corner stockinette squares.  I used Lamb’s pride Worsted, held double, in Oatmeal, so that the stitching would be seen but not overwhelm.  Bride and groom’s initials on the upper 2 corners, a heart, and the year on the lower 2 corners.

I need to find a very large gift box.  Large shipping boxes we have, as I save the boxes that anything large comes in, knowing they will be useful one day.  

I *may* take a brief respite from knitting.  Then again, I may not!  More sewing for the house needs doing, and my floor loom has been sitting empty for well over a year, and I want to get this stash of t-shirt yarn woven up into small area rugs.  

Hand spinning is also an ongoing activity, at least until I send my flyer out to a woodworker sometime this summer to get it fitted with a higher speed whorl.  My wheel is a Country Craftsman, vintage, and no longer made.  It’s a wonderful wheel, but only has 10:1 and 13:1 ratios, which isn’t nearly fast enough to spin the singles for a 2-ply worsted to aran wt. yarn, without treading like the dickens for an hour, then a half hour to ply it.  It’s way too tiring!

More closeups!

Onward!

Dawn

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