Hog Heaven

The 20th Anniversary issue of Piecework magazine was in  my mailbox this week.  A whole issue devoted to bags.  BAGS!  Well I could hardly get into the house fast enough.  It is no secret around here that I love Piecework and that I love bags.   I could hardly contain myself. 

This issue is loaded with projects; bags to knit, to crochet, to bead crochet, to embroider, to embellish. 

It is like they created it just for me.  Although possibly there are other bag lovers out there.  If you are one then, like I always say, RUN right out and get this issue.  You're gonna love it, too.

Here's a link to the Editor's Letter (and you can see one view of the gorgeous embroidered one there).

My current little tatted bag is stalled for the moment, but this has made me want to get back to it asap.

Historical Knitting

 

The Jan/Feb 2013 (2013!) issue arrived and it will soon be on newstands.  It is the 7th Annual Historical Knitting Issue and invites us to discover Cranford's knitting ladies.

There are patterns for two projects based on Jane Gaugain patterns published in the mid-1800s.  What fun!

 

There is some serious knitting and many lovely reticules in that photo, yes?

 

"I do love knitting.  You sit and think your own thoughts, and nothing hinders;

you are infinitely lazy, and yet you are

accomplishing a good deal."  

Harriet Prescott Spofford / Harper's Bazaar, November 5, 1892

 

Rush out and get your copy.  How else can you  be both lazy and industrious?

 

Crazy? I'm halfway there!

I've reached the halfway point of the tatted antique wristbag [pdf pattern here]. I'm going to have to deal with all those loose ends soon as they are driving me nuts.

Halfway means (obviously) that one side is complete. I'll keep adding sections in the same manner and it will remain one flat piece until that last section connects to the first. Not so sure when that will be. But, hey! It isn't like there is any real hurry for this. : )

In the meantime I have received my May/June issue of "Piecework".

Let me remind you, it is the LACE issue and it is another outstanding one.

It should be on the newsstands May 1. RUN out and get one.

There is knitted lace, bobbin lace, tatted lace (a bedspread! GASP!), reticella needle lace, Clones crochet lace, a little known, nearly forgotten German hand-knotted lace technique, and several patterns including one by Galina Khmeleva [that's it pictured on the cover].

I've hardly had a chance to look through it but I look forward to spending some quality time with this one.

$6.99 is the single-issue price. An incredible bargain. What a treasure of information!

a little bit of patience

This photo is from my March 2009 folder. That may have been the last time I had any patience. I've never been blessed with patience and I seem to have none lately.

I find there is a direct correlation between available time and patience. The less time I have (or feel like I have) the less patient I am.

All this blather is just to point you, once again, to Mary Corbet's wonderful blog post featuring a stunning piece of Battenberg lace. Man-O-Manischewitz that is a beautiful piece of Battenberg.

Battenberg lace, a needle lace, starts with a framework of purchased tape which is first manipulated then connected and filled with needlemade bars and lace fillings. There is a gathering thread that runs along each side of the tape. By pulling and adjusting this thread you can shape the tape to match a drawn pattern. Baste the shaped tape and work your fillings.

The Sept/Oct 1995 issue of Piecework magazine had a wonderful article, "Sara Hadley & Royal Battenberg Lace" by Jane Viking Swanson and it was accompanied by a pattern for a collar designed by Jane.

Oh, those old Pieceworks; what a treasure they are!

See a lovely butterfly made by Jane at this link; about three quarters down the page - but while you're scrolling you can see lots of other lovely ornaments in this exchange!

Oh, and if you are sitting comfortably and want to see even more wonderful Christmas lace, see several years of exchanges on the Arachne site.

Speaking of Battenberg. Do you know the first time I saw it made? It was some lovely work of my friend, Pat. Pat does such beautiful work.

Designs drawn out in my photo above are from an old Creative Needle magazine (Sept/Oct 1998; what is it about September that sends magazine editors to Battenberg??) When I pulled the issue out just now to check the date, I found a nice angel all finished except for her head. Sigh.

Perhaps I ran out of patience. Or Time.

Icelandic knitting

The Nov/Dec 2011 issue of Piecework magazine is due to newstands the first of November. November? Wow. This year is just flying past.

I'm not sure what happened to October. It blew past me so fast. But what a month! The weather was just wonderful and such a relief. I thought for a moment that we weren't going to get much color, but right at the very end, and all at once, the beautiful colors of autumn were there. A balm.

Now. Back to Piecework. This issue is all about wool. There is an article about four rare breeds of sheep with projects to make from each different wool. And that cover pattern? The Icelandic Beret? Well that is an Evelyn A. Clark pattern! Even though I've never worn a beret in my life and really can't picture myself becoming a beret-wearer, you know I'm going to want to knit it. In fact, I already want to knit it. I would have to order the Icelandic wool if I do. Not a lot of thick Icelandic wool around here.

If you read Franklin Habit's blog, The Panopticon, then you've already seen his wonderful photos from his recent trip to Iceland and you've seen the lopapeysa (traditional Icelandic yoked sweater) he's knitting. According to Evelyn, in the article her pattern accompanies, sheep outnumber people 3:1 in Iceland.

More of a Good Thing

The current (Jul/Aug) issue of "Piecework" had a nice, long article on Italian embroidered ribbons by Jeanine Robertson. The 2009 lace issue of "Piecework" had an article by Jeanine Robertson on Italian needlelace. In all my searching around the internet last evening, I was lucky enough to land on Jeanine's blog. Oh, my! Now that is a Bookmark for sure.

Later I remembered that I should have included a few additional links in my previous post.

Interweave Press/Piecework has two online goodies. Yes, Piecework has so many good things that they can't even fit them all into the magazine. Fortunately they do provide them on the internet. Her article on Classic Italian Embroidery is here and she has a project and directions for stitching a biscornu pincushion here.

This design has many elements in common with Lefkara lace, including the hemstitch, and would give a good introduction.

I wished I owned a string store

Even though the latest Piecework arrived a few days ago, I left it in the protective plastic covering until the 3-day weekend officially started. I know I am sometimes so eager to see what is inside that I rush through it when I do not have enough time available to really read, examine, and savor.

It is another wonderful issue. Of course, I am rather biased. Piecework is my all-time, #1 favorite magazine ever. I can hardly stress that enough. To me it is the perfect combination of history, background, information, patterns, and helpful advertisements. The current issue is no exception. I haven't fully read a single article yet, but the projects have definitely caught my interest.

The first one that had me just itching to try was the article by Carolyn Wetzel, "Oya: A Traditional Needle-Lace Embellishment". The first time I ever saw or read about Oya was a fantastic article by Kax Wilson in the Jul/Aug 1996 Piecework. This article was accompanied by instructions with line drawings for making the motifs and edgings (designed by Gretchen Allgeier) but I didn't give it a try then.

Instead of doing, I fell back on reading; something I often tend to do. I repeatedly checked out the library book "Mediterranean Knotted Lace" by Elena Dickson. This book had wonderful instructions, but still I didn't give it a try.

The Jan/Feb 2006 Piecework came along and again Gretchen Allgeier had instructions, this time with close-up photos of lace in progress. I oohed and aahed, but I was distracted because that issue also had a good bit of knitting including a Nancy Bush sock pattern.

Perhaps the third time IS the charm. This current issue has again instructions accompanied by even more step-by-step close-up photos. I have to say I am really glad that Piecework has stuck with me and prodded me along to finally, finally give this a try.

Which brings me to my post title. I wish I owned a string store. Here I am finally ready to give it go and I don't have the Perfect String. Now I have, as you might imagine, a goodly bit of string, in various sizes and a number of colors. In the instructions Carolyn said she used size 16 pearl cotton (Presencia) but that you may use any thread smooth enough to slide against itself without catching when making the knots.

So I pulled a ball of size 12 pearl (DMC) which is thicker but worked nicely. I didn't have any bright, bold colors in size 12. I was thrilled when I finished my first (and so far only) pyramid. Working with the thicker size 12 made me appreciate even more Carolyn's beautiful and delicate work.

See some beauties here including some by Carolyn Wetzel. Be sure to click to enlarge those photos over there so you can really appreciate the beauty of their work. Some YouTube videos are also available.

Happy (hot) Day

A picture is worth a thousand words - in this case all of them good (even though it is 90+ degrees still).

Luckily M&Ms are famous for melting in your mouth; not in your hand! If you are at all worried, just pour directly into your mouth from the bag.

Inside this "Piecework".

Project 13

Knitting continues on the Lacy Leaves Shawl, but I wanted to start something new.

Truthfully I'm a bit worried about the shawl. I'm not too far from the end of the pattern and it just isn't as wide as I'd like for it to be. I could easily continue the section I'm working now by just increasing the number of repeats, but I haven't decided if that is what I want to do. At any rate it has reached the stage where it is travel knitting. A little bulky perhaps, but an easy repeat to knit.

So what did I choose? The little lace bag from the cover of the May/June 2010 "Piecework" magazine, the fabulous lace issue.

When I went to add it to Ravelry , I discovered it was the 13th project. Good thing I'm not superstitious.

I'm using Lizbeth cotton thread in size 20 - color 684 Leaf Green-Lt. I have one ball and it may very well take two, but I thought I'd see how I got on with the pattern. It was a bit of a rocky start for me.

If you're wondering what I want with the bag or what I intend to use it for if I get it finished, put your mind at ease. I have NO idea. That's hardly the point with stringplay.

And speaking of "Piecework", the Jan/Feb 2011 issue is the 5th annual historical knitting issue.
Lots of good stuff. Have I mentioned lately that I LOVE Piecework?

W W M M K ?

The latest issue of "Piecework" arrived today. That would make it a Red Letter day around here even if they didn't print the name in Red Letters!

I've only had time to quickly page through it, but it is another wonderful issue (of course!).

The theme is discovering needlework in literature and you can see the cover asks "What Would Miss Marple Knit?"*

It includes an article about knitting gloves as depicted in the play "Dancing at Lughnasa" set in County Donegal, Ireland in 1936 and loosely based on the playwright's family.

In November 2004, my daughter played the character of Agnes Mundy in a college production of the play and thanked me in the program for being the pinch knitter.

She asked me to knit a pair of gloves to be used in the production and to teach her to knit in the round (which she went on to do while delivering lines).

I had never knit gloves and hadn't been knitting all that long, but it seemed like a good idea. Once again, Interweave came to the rescue. The Winter 2003 issue of Knits magazine had a comprehensive article on basic glove knitting. [available in the CD collection if you're interested.]

The set of 5 dpns used by the actress playing Rose came back to me as a set of 4. I still use them and they always remind me of that play.

Agnes and her sister Rose knit mittens to earn money for the family. It is a hard life depicted and the students gave such a remarkable performance that I found it somewhat difficult to experience, especially the sad outcome for the character Agnes. It felt like it was actually happening but to my real daughter.


*WWMMK? A shawl, naturally! A knitted square shawl pattern reprinted from Weldon's Practical Needlework Shawls in Knitting and Crochet from 1930 accompanies the article.

As the needle of the compass

The latest Victoria magazine arrived today and I immediately thought of Mary.

For two people who have never met in person, Mary and I carry on a very regular correspondence and one commonality we discovered early on was our love of Victoria magazine.

I didn't wait long to tear off the plastic covering when I found the new issue in the mailbox. I am ready for a look at autumn and tweeds and tartans. Bring it on. I'll close the blinds against this relentless summer sun and heat and hear instead the ripple of a stream in the Lake District and catch a glimpse of sheep in the shade of an old tree at Hill Top.

I was delighted to also discover within a two-page article "As One Grace To Another" by Claire Whitcomb detailing the three-decades-long correspondence between two needlewomen, Grace Medinus of Chicago, IL and First Lady Grace Coolidge. How coincidental that the article opens on August 18 - but in 1930. Here I am exactly 80 years later reading the opening of a letter Mrs. Coolidge wrote to a woman she had yet to meet. The passage quoted from the letter concerns geraniums, but the two women frequently discuss their needlework. Sound familiar Mary?

"Will you tell me the material you are using? I like it better than mine because it is softer."

Naturally as soon as I finished reading that I had to go pull out my July/August 1999 "Piecework". (Oh, how I love my Pieceworks!)

According to Mrs. Coolidge, "Every girl should be taught to sew, not merely for the sake of of making something but as an accomplishment which may prove a stabilizer in time of perplexity or distress. Many a time when I have needed to hold myself firmly, I have taken my needle, it might be a sewing needle, some knitting needles, or a crochet hook; whatever its form or purpose it often proved to be as the needle of the compass, keeping me to the course."

After the death of their sixteen-year-old son, Calvin Jr., in 1924 (blood poisoning from an infected blister made after playing tennis on the White House lawn), Mrs. Coolidge undertook a large project. She designed and made a filet crochet coverlet for the Lincoln bed, experimenting and working it bit by bit until she was happy with her work, completing it in 1927.

The next year the other Grace, Grace Medinus, duplicated the coverlet and, with Mrs. Coolidge's assistance, wrote out the instructions for publication in the New York Herald Tribune.

The two Graces finally met in 1937, twenty years before Mrs. Coolidge's death in 1957 at the age of 78.

I Heart Piecework

The July/August issue of "Piecework" hits newstands July 6. My subscription copy should be here already but isn't yet. Worrisome. I surely would have enjoyed relaxing with it this weekend. This issue reveals the Heart Ornament Contest winners.

As usual, it is another stellar issue. And included among the famous names of Galina Khmeleva, Nancy Bush, and Allyne Holland, is the name of my friend, Pat!

You've heard me mention before how talented Pat is (and regret the fact that she hasn't a blog). Pat has a particular fondness for pansies; real, pictured, on greeting cards, or rendered in needlework. Her entry "I Heart Pansies" is a wonderful example of her skill with a needle. [See it shown as F, page 5 of the "Piecework" pdf file here.]

Pat used some perfectly-suited hand-dyed threads and the technique of Brazilian embroidery to stitch pansies on a quilted gold silk heart.

My entry, a Hardanger heart, didn't make the cut and will be returning home to me soon. That's OK. It is always fun to try and come up with an entry.

Unadulterated

Unadultered stringplay.
What fun, and perfect for an UNadult like me!

Sometime back I saw some lovely pieces at Yarnplayer's blog combining black thread with some of her wonderful hand-dyed threads (HDT). Knitters are used to seeing hand-dyed yarns, well Marilee does an amazing job of dyeing threads. See more of her things in her Etsy shop. I haven't ever tried any, but my friend Pat says they're great. Right, Pat?

Ever since seeing those I have been wanting to try out something similar myself. So yesterday I bought a ball of LizBeth thread and thought I'd try the combination out on the pattern in the current issue of "Piecework" [a/k/a the amazingly wonderful LACE issue].

The magazine article is entitled "The Tatting Treasures of Irene Buckland" and the author tells of taking a tatting class and seeing the tatting sample notebook of Irene Buckland (1901-1998). Trish Faubion recreated this pattern from one of the samples in the book. Irene's original and Trish's recreation both use blue and ecru.

I'm planning on finishing out the thread in the shuttles and then maybe trying a round or square motif. Oh, and the thread color? It is #119 - Jelly Bean. I'm thinking of this Jelly Beans and Licorice (with a nod to Jeannie, of course!).

"I'm growing older but not up, my metabolic rate is pleasantly stuck"
Jimmy Buffet (from 1980)
Remember: May is National Cheeseburger Month!

Binary Knitting

Well most knitting is binary I suppose, composed of 2 elements; knit and purl. But in the case of my latest obsession project, I'm referring to knitting with both ends of the string at the same time, Tvåändsstickning or Swedish two-end knitting.

There is one book on the subject in our public library system, "Twined Knitting" by Birgitta Dandanell; published by Interweave Press (of course!). I've checked it out and skimmed it numerous times. Like most Scandinavian knitting it looked lovely and wonderful and seemed fairly complicated.

So how did I wind up trying it? Two words.........SHOP SAMPLE.

You know what I'm talking about, right? You go off to visit your LYS (or in my case, my not-so-local LYS). You don't need anything. You are just going to browse. Before you know it, you've found something you cannot resist.

That's exactly what happened to me.

For someone who professes not to want a stash, I have rather too much yarn already in the house. And I'm talking good yarn. I have plenty of books and patterns as well. In fact, in the whole string+pattern+time=FO equation, string and pattern are not the problem. Which is why, as you might expect, I left the shop with new string and new pattern and, because I dithered so long and tried to talk myself out of it, less time!

In all fairness if you had seen the SHOP SAMPLE, you would have done the same. It was amazing.

It was a very simple looking hat. It was just tossed casually on a table. I picked it up and it felt so soft and I was immediately intrigued. It looked as though it had a garter stitch hemmed edge, but when I looked inside I could find no hemming. The wrong side looked different as well so I asked, "uh, is this twined knitting?" And it was.
I put it down and walked away.

A few minutes later I asked if there was a pattern. Oddly enough there was. I studied the pattern. I looked at yarn. Once I found that lovely blue-green wool there was no going back.

I'll be rereading that "Piecework" article shown in the top picture. It is from the Jan/Feb 2007 issue, a knitting special issue that is no longer available. The 2010 knitting special issue is still out so RUN out and get it if you haven't already or a couple of years down the road you'll be kicking yourself.

To see some great pictures of this hat and close-ups of the inside, see's Pat's here. And to see some terrific examples of twined knitting, see Asplund's Flickr set here (links to his blog as well.)

Put a bonnet on that baby

Episode 2 of "Return to Cranford" airs tonight. No need for me to run to the TV, I've gotten used to watching online.

That is Imelda Staunton in the front there as Miss Octavia Pole. She may just be my favorite. Always in a hurry and always with an important bit of news to impart. Love her!

Wonder what all the excitement is about this time?

Could it be she's heard that I finished the old-fashioned baby bonnet?

Finished the knitting at least. I still need to find some nice ribbon to attach as ties. (and those Cranford women know a thing or two about ribbon.)

The pattern is from "Knitting in the Amanas" by Susan Strawn Bailey from the Sep/Oct 1997 "Piecework" magazine (out of print).
Fortunately, this wonderfully written and fun-to-knit pattern is once again available in Interweave's special issue "Knitting Traditions 2010" (along with 42 other patterns).

It is an adaptation of an early 1900s bonnet from the Amana Heritage Society in Amana, Iowa and you can read more about the religious community that settled in Amana at the link above .

As soon as I started knitting this, I knew I wanted to try it again, only knitting the leaf motif all the way around and letting the star become the bottom of what would become a reticule. I'd just need to do an eyelet round near the top for the drawstring and line it.

Sometimes I get in as much of a hurry as Miss Pole!

I rushed to my LNS for some pearl cotton and set to work. As soon as I finished the star bottom, I realized I had not nearly enough thread and it was coming out larger than I wanted.



"Behold the work of the old - Let your heritage be not lost. But bequeath it as a memory, Treasure & blessing. - Gather the lost & the hidden & preserve it for thy children."
Christian Metz, 1846 leader of the Community of True Inspiration

The Shawl Queen

Another wonderful day with Kay. Today we spent all day at the vendor market at Stitches South. Oh, my. Sensory overload. By the end of the day I was tired and a bit unfocused, but Kay was extremely patient with me as I dithered over my final purchase.

We had visited the Skaska Designs booth earlier in the day and I had overheard that Galina (you don't mind if I call you by your first name, do you?) would be returning soon.

Well, I really wanted to see and meet her!

I've been reading about (and frankly obsessing over) Galina Khmeleva and her gossamer shawls since I first read of her in a 1995 "Piecework" magazine**. Neither that issue, with it's article "Cobwebs From the Steppes - Russian Lace Knitted Shawls" nor a later 2000 one is still available, but her two books are available through Interweave Press and last year's LACE issue is still available and has her pattern for a Russian lace scarf. I saw this very piece and dozens of others on display. The finest, truly gossamer pieces you can imagine! In Person! Can you tell it made my day? And what a gracious woman she is.

The other highlight for me was meeting an artist that I had never heard of before - Neal Howard - a weaver from the Smoky Mountains. Her dyed yarn was beautiful, but her woven kimono-type jackets were wearable ART. Such talent. It appears that her website, linked above, is perhaps still being constructed so, sadly, you don't see any of her amazing weaving. If you ever do see her name listed in a show or market, do seek her out.

So, time to put up my tired feet, brew some strong coffee, and paw through the handouts and freebies.


**By the way, RUN don't walk right out and get the May/June issue of "Piecework" the very moment it hits the newstands. It's is the LACE issue and has a new pattern and article by Galina!

Brooching the Subject

Don't blame me for that pun, I took it right off the
magazine ad for Piecework's brooch contest.

Deadline for receipt of entries is April 1. Here it is March 23 and I only just finished my entry! Yikes.

I really hadn't thought I would enter until the other day. Naturally it would have to be something Quick.

Stringplay to the rescue! This is a grape cluster and the twelve grapes are simple Hedebo rings.

Wrap your string (in this case #12 pearl cotton) ten times around a pencil or knitting needle and then work buttonhole stitches all the way around. When you have the twelve little rings made, attach them together in a grape cluster and put a little faux pearl in each one.

The tendril is a length of pearl cotton wrapped around a small dowel (or watercolor brush handle; must be resourceful!) and stiffened with white glue.

The leaf was a puzzle that I left until last. I found this one in the bead section.

Piecework Pincushions

I've said it before: I love Piecework magazine. I love every issue and am constantly pulling out back issues and re-reading. One of the best things about finally learning to knit is being able to go back and consider patterns that, at the time I received the magazine, were completely outside my ability - even to think about doing.

I think I love best all the background information and history presented with the articles.

I was very lucky several years ago to get an honorable mention in a previous pincushion challenge. This year mine didn't make the cut. But I can't be upset because the winning entries are just absolutely fabulous; so clever in conception and so perfect in technique. I can hardly wait for the issue to arrive that showcases them all. Congratulations to all the talented winners!

See them here.

Piecework Pincushion Challenge

Finishing. The bane of my needlework life. I never feel like my finishing work enhances the end product! I'm pretty sure this is why I prefer Hardanger pieces. Cut 'em out and you're done; no finishing. And knitted shawls? Bind 'em off and you're done; no seaming and no finishing. None of that tedious work that can turn a heretofore pleasing piece of stitching into a dissapointment.

My Hedebo heart pincushion is finished. I still have some write-up work to do, but the needlework is done. I'd say I'm 80% satisfied. I was able to complete it, so that makes me feel good and the idea I had at the outset (to make it into a little ottoman of sorts) actually worked out, so I'm pleased with that part as well.

And really! Did I really expect 100% satisfaction?

I love PIECEWORK

I love Piecework magazine. My bulging file cabinet attests to this, as does the two or three ever-changing back issues that can be found beside my chair at any time. This Interweave periodical was welcomed in my house long before I finally learned to knit and started buying their Knits magazine.

In early years I read with interest all the articles on knitting and looked with longing upon the wonderful related projects. Those instructions were like a foreign language, as strange to my eyes as the history behind the technique was to my knowledge.

The Nov/Dec 1995 issue (no longer available) had an article by Veronica Patterson on Poetry Mittens that particularly intrigued me. I must have pulled this one issue out once or twice a year to read again the directions and ponder upon those little wooden dpns. Having never seen dpns, nor anyone ever using them, you can imagine how puzzling they were.

Finally last summer I felt ready to try them and I knit Dorothy Parker mittens for my daughter's 21st birthday.

The newest issue of Piecework, Sep/Oct 2007, announces a new contest - on pincushions. I was pleased when my entry got an honorable mention in the 2000 contest.

[spot it in the group photo here?]

I'd like to enter something in this newest contest. But in the meantime (and by 'meantime' I mean when I'm not working on socks and things already on the needles!), I think I'll pull out the July/Aug 2000 issue and admire again the Plum Tomato Pincushion - a beaded confection crocheted with Silk Pearl thread! Yum.

.

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. Ecclesiastes 9:10