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 Patterns and Staying Cool!

 New Patterns!

I haven't posted recently, as I've been busy trying to get the patterns written for this pile of mostly knit design samples I began up to 2 years ago!

About 10 days ago, I published 'Quilt Cloths' - an easy to knit set of quilt block inspired face/bath cloths, worked in KnitPicks Dishie cotton yarn.  Dishie is soft, smoothly spun, and easy on the hands, unlike some cotton yarns I have tried in the past.  It is also reasonably priced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The newest pattern release is this - 'Cable & Rib Tea Cozy', sampled in Brown Sheep
Lanaloft Worsted and Lamb's Pride Worsted.  Pattern has 2-3 cup and 3-4 cup sizes, and sport a braided I-cord cable embellishment!  

The 2-3 cup size only needs about 38 gr of yarn, and the 3-4 cup size needs about 55 gr of yarn, which makes this project a way to use up those small amounts of stash yarns to knit up some gifts for the tea drinkers in your life!

Both patterns are available on Ravelry, Etsy, and Lovecrafts.

Staying Cool

Fall is definitely here, with its decidedly crisp air, which means the holidays start to take over our brains!  I, for one, wish there were more time between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  And I'm sure I'm not the only one wishing this!  I've never liked feeling rushed, and like it less the older I get.  

Winter is supposed to be that slow-down time, for rest and contemplation, but I find that doesn't happen until February at the earliest, after the yearly taxes are prepped to send to the accountant.  And here, on Cape Cod, winter only really begins in late December and lasts until March.  LOL, that doesn't leave a whole lotta rest and relaxation time!

It used to be that I lived for those two all-too-short winter months when I wasn't swamped with responsibilities, as it was the only time I ever slept well.  I always need it cold to sleep - a cool head but a warm body, facilitated by many layers of cotton bedding topped with wool blankets and afghans.  This means that every spring through autumn, sleep was a struggle, and we all now what happens to our health when we don't get good quality sleep.  It takes me down quickly, within a few days.  

Several years ago, I discovered this - a Coolbot. 

It's a contraption that is used by florists and others who need to construct an inexpensive walk-in-fridge.  It overrides the temperature sensor in an AC unit, to allow the AC to cool the space to a much lower temperature than AC's do these days, which, without freon, is only about 62 degrees.

They have an online calculator that shows the size of the AC needed to cool a given room size to one's desired temperature.  For my bedroom of about 10' x 12' x 7.5' high ceiling, the calculator recommends a 10K btu AC unit.  This spec put me off for years!  These windows aren't large enough for a 10K unit.

But this past spring I said to hell with it.  We'll get an 8K AC unit and the Coolbot, because anything lower than 62 degrees is better than nothing and watching my health and functioning fly out the window.  Lo and behold, I can cool my bedroom (in this circa 1947 not well insulated house) to 50 degrees.  I could probably get it colder than that if I wanted, but this is a perfect temp for me, until winter finally settles in, when I sleep with the window open and a twin window fan on.  

So, between the cool room temp every night and the several sleep aids I take, once I fall asleep, I'm out for the entire night.  I cannot tell you what a blessing this is!  Ever since chemo 14 yrs ago, sleep has been difficult at best and almost nonexistent at its worst.  No longer do I need to live for just 2 months of every year - I can actually function decently every day of the year.

If you too struggle with sleep and need it cold in order to sleep well, this gadget is
well worth considering.  Granted, it's not inexpensive, but I'm SO happy we bought it.

Onward!
Dawn

Back to Basics

 (Originally posted on WP 10/16/21.)

Back to Basics

We all come to appreciate certain things, in our own, sweet, sometimes slow, time!  Which brings me to – I've never been enamored of garter stitch. There, I've said it.

When I began to knit, circularly, that is, after reading a couple chapters of Elizabeth Zimmermann’s ‘Knitting Workshop’, I dove head-first into Fair Isle, stranding, cables, and lace.  Of course, I noticed that EZ used garter stitch, and quite often, but, it just seemed to lack sophistication and knitterly skill.  When I want to do something, I always do it big.  I don't take baby steps, I fearlessly dive in head first.  So, I never knit anything in garter stitch.

Maybe it's age…although blaming things on ‘age’ irks me, as it sounds like an excuse.
What it really is is a too-busy Life for my energy resources – too much to think about and take care of every day, so that when I go to knit, I don’t want (and my brain doesn’t need) anything strenuous, complicated, or fast-paced.

The stage is finally set – a confluence of variables, where, suddenly, my hands are enjoying this simple stitch.  They never did before, though.  I used to wonder how knitters could find garter stitch to be easy.  Yes, it's just knit, knit, knit, but, those purl bumps don't *want* to be knit into.  Ya gotta push past the bump to knit each stitch.  Eh.  

To me, these bumps always want to be purled into, which was, and still is, fine with me.  I have no qualms about purling, even in Fair Isle or stranded color work.  I love stranded knitting.

I do tend to knit, not quite *all* the time, as EZ did, but until the recent health snafu, on most late afternoons into evenings, with just short detours to eat, shower, get all the evening pills and paraphernalia, and tend to hubby’s meal and coffee needs, so I can plop my backside back down, and not have to jump up for anything, until bedtime.

And what do I usually knit?  Socks.  Piles and piles of socks.

Been knitting socks since the beginning of my knitting life, as my feet have always been cold.  I used to buy men's wool hunting socks.  Naturally, they were too large for my feet, but there wasn't (and likely still isn't) anyone making thick wool socks for women's feet.  

Now, why is that?

Don't they know that women can tend to be cold? (Well, at least until menopause!)  Aren't we the ones always inching up the thermostat, hoping the husband doesn't notice?  And, of course he does, making a big fuss, gagging and choking on the heat, as if he was about the melt, whilst making a beeline for the thermostat, muttering to himself, just loudly enough for the wife to hear: "Now who put the heat up?"  When he knows darn well, who put it
up.

But, all of a sudden, as I finished up another pair of socks, to be hand washed and added to the bulging sock drawer, I suddenly dreaded casting on another pair of socks.

Aaack!  What's up with that?  I've never NOT wanted to knit socks, not in 3 decades. Now, I had been knitting up stash.  And my stash, as a designer, never mind as a knitter, has been quite humble, as discretionary income hasn't been a burden for most of those 3 decades.  But, I've been in a clearing-out-the-house frame of mind for a long time.  And, that means yarn, too.  

I also recently purchased the luxury of a new pair of LL Bean sheepskin slippers.

I had a pair many years ago, which lasted 3-4 years with daily wear for 9 months of every year!  Now, that's quality. Then the price went up, and I was back to knitting thick wool socks, instead.  But, sheepskin really can't be beat to warm up feet on cold floors, and didn't I have enough Life Stresses to deal with?  Yup.  So, I deleted from the list having to deal with cold feet!  And they have outdoor soles, so I can get the mail and sweep the leaves off the deck without needing to change shoes.

But, back to knitting and garter stitch. So, with not wanting to knit socks, but needing something to work on every evening (as I cannot just be a couch potato, like men seem so capable of!), I turned to the household – what does it need?  

I have a pile of things I need to sew up on the machine, but that’s day work. But hubby had been needing a new afghan – longer than the ones I’ve knit. So began the 3 week journey of knitting bulky knit garter stitch squares for this afghan, now seamed and I-corded, but it hasn’t yet had it’s bath, I mean, wet blocking. 

 

I don’t consider anything I knit or weave as finished until it’s had a bath, been hung or laid flat to dry, then pressed, if needed, as wovens tend to need.  So, please forgive any lumpiness you see – stitches becomes much more cohesive and smooth with a bath. Washing large afghans and blankets is so much easier once it’s warm enough outside, so they can be draped over the line.

The afghan has been done for months now, but the need for more easy knits still reigned.  So, what else does the house need?  Hmm, could use some pretty, and decorative (though not just decorative!) face/bath cloths.  

We may decide to rent the entire house out next summer (as this IS Cape Cod), or, perhaps list it for sale before then, and although I am working towards unifying color and design through the entire house to exude a coastal farmhouse style (a large enough project!), I also want the house to exude personality and not look sterile, like a stager has been here.  

This means showcasing hand-crafted textiles throughout – from the bathroom to the kitchen and bedrooms.  Bits of color, pattern, and texture, so, either guests or prospective buyers will remember the house as looking expectedly coastal, but with unique, handmade touches that say it’s a home, not a showroom. I can never imagine myself living in those stripped down to almost nothing houses - it’s as bad as trying to imagine living in an empty house.

When I need design inspiration, or my knitting mojo has temporarily lost its oomph, I often turn to other textiles – needlepoint, sewing, and quilting books, like these 1980’s vintage quilting books, the spine of one long ago split the book into two.  Quilting was one of my first ventures into the making of textiles.

Simple (and some not very simple) geometric quilting patterns translate well into knitting and especially into garter stitch.  There ya go – next knitting pattern decided.

Here are the face/bath cloth samples I’ve knit thus far, though to be honest I think these are more than enough for a written pattern!

I worked to present quilt blocks in a knittable way.  Some blocks would require far too many color changes, and hence, ends to weave in afterwards, but if I really like a particular block, I play with it’s size or repeat to achieve a pleasing and easily-workable interpretation.  

I also look at each quilt block or repeat of blocks to consider the best construction method – should it be knit in one direction or from varying directions? Totally seamed later on, or picked up and knit as you go?

You can see from the photos above, that just as in hubby’s buffalo plaid afghan squares, I prefer the textural interest which comes from changing knitting direction on each afghan square and each segment of the garter stitch face/bath cloths.

They make for pleasant, easy knitting, even in the 100% cotton yarn I used. I was never fond of knitting cotton, but this cotton (Knitpicks Dishie) is really lovely, soft, and smooth.  The blocks could also easily be knit in varying weights of wool yarns, to become an afghan or blanket, which I may get to one day. Although, on the To-Make list, for many years now, has also been the knitting of a queen-sized wool counterpane – LOL, once I find enough patience to want to knit the same square over and over!

As I am currently detoured into spinning and knitting up winter/holiday items for sale, the pattern for these face/bath cloths may take a few months yet. And, who knows, I may find yet more quilt blocks I really want to knit up!

Onward!