Month: March 2015

Betty’s Stash

Can another person truly appreciate the collections of another? I’ve been contemplating the answer to this question.  Each time I climb the stairs to my attic, I transcend the reality of down below.  Surrounded by bins full of color, texture, and print transports me to a reality all my own.  Will someone else be able to share my reality or create their own?

I own three Singer sewing machines, two Bernina sewing machines and one Bernina Funlock machine.  My first Singer was given to me by my parents as a Christmas gift, the second was given to me by my husband when I was expecting our daughter, and the third I bought from a co-worker who needed the money.  The Bernina I purchased for myself and the second Bernina was given to me after my mother-in-law passed away.  Each machine, as silly as it sounds, represents a stage in my life. They are a part of my history.

Which brings me to the reason for this post…I didn’t think I had much in common with Betty, except for her son and granddaughter, my husband and daughter.  Well, that was until I inherited her sewing machine, fabric and notions.

Betty's Stash_1_1

Rarely, did I see Betty wear color, but her thread collection reflects a different story.

Betty's Stash #2_1

The Stretch and Sew pins bring back memories of the Stretch and Sew knits http://www.asg.org/files/hall/2004_Person.pdf.  I can’t part with her collection of hotel sewing kits, especially the one from a hotel in Sri Lanka.  Betty was a world traveler reflected by the stamps in her passports (which I’ve got for safe keeping).  Her collection of silk from Thailand and India, and batiks from Bali.

I appreciate Betty’s love of travel and culture, narrated by her gifts to me.

Monochrome With A Touch Of Grey

I’ve always been attracted to the pairing of black and white with geometric patterns, stripes and photographs.

One afternoon while browsing through my collection of knitting books,  I turned to a page marked with a post-it note and discovered a project on my  forgotten “this looks interesting” list.  Eureka! An opportunity to use Louisa Harding Yarns‘, Akiko (70% Wool and 30% Alpaca) in cols. 004, 005, 006.

Monochrome with Grey Sweater #7

I selected the pattern from, Vogue Knitting, Very Easy Knits, The Best of Very Easy Very Vogue, Split-Color Pullover, designed by Barbara Nudleman and Susan Prince for the Fall/Winter 1984 issue of Vogue Knitting.  I decided to color block the sleeves of the sweater, lacking symmetry.

Monochrome with Grey Sweater #2_1

The neckline has an “unfinished look” so I’ve added a crochet picot edge on the neckline.  I photographed the neckline unfinished for comparison.  Monochrome with Grey Sweater #3

Knitting with Akiko is amazing. There is a slight thickness variation between the colors which affects the drape of the yarn, but does not significantly alter the gauge.

Color

Before the Pantone Color Guide published in 1963, A. Boogert, a Dutch artist produced a body of work about mixing watercolors, dated 1692.  The entire book may be viewed in full resolution at:

http://www.e-corpus.org/notices/102464/book/?fullpage=yes

The following link shows actual painted pages with a summary of the book.

http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/05/color-book/

Woven Mesh Cowl Redux

Originally, I designed the Woven Mesh Cowl with a yarn that is no longer available. Previously, I didn’t have control over what I designed with, but this time I selected from my own stash of Habu textiles and vintage rayon yarn from The Great Adirondack Yarn Co.  How liberating!  I improved the design by adding a K2 P2 rib which eliminates the rolled edge of stockinette stitch.  I combined  different colors of Habu wrapped merino for the stitch pattern, used wrapped silk for the rib stitch and each segment of the pattern stitch is separated by a touch of copper-colored metallic lame rayon yarn.

The pattern stitch knit in the round:

Rnd 1:  Knit

Rnd 2: *Purl 1, Slip 1 wyif* repeat across round

Rnd 3: Knit

Rnd 4: *Slip 1 wyif, Purl 1* repeat across round

Gauge:  Approximately 4.5 sts/5 sts per inch

CO 223 stitches using a Size 7 needle. Join being careful not to twist stitches.  I cast on an extra stitch for joining.  If using another method of joining, use an even amount of stitches.  I began with 8 rounds of rib followed by the pattern stitch.  Separate each segment of pattern stitch with rounds of stockinette stitch.   When cowl has reached desired width, end with 8 rounds of rib.

Bind off loosely.

Woven Mesh Cowl Redux #3

Woven Mesh Cowl Redux_1_1

Lanvin at 125: Marie-Blanche de Polignac

An interesting blog on the history of fashion.

PatternVault

Lanvin's 1950s pattern, Vogue 1120, photographed by Richard Rutledge Vogue 1120 by Lanvin, Vogue, October 1950. Photo: Richard Rutledge.

This week, the second post in my series on Lanvin sewing patterns. (See my post on Jeanne Lanvin’s interwar patterns here.)

Born Marguerite di Pietro, Marie-Blanche de Polignac (1897-1958) was the only child of Jeanne Lanvin and her first husband, Italian aristocrat Emilio di Pietro. Marie-Blanche (who is sometimes called the Comtesse Jean de Polignac) was director of Lanvin from her mother’s death in 1946 until the appointment of Antonio del Castillo in 1950.

1940s

From the earliest Vogue Paris Originals, Vogue 1052 is an elegant, short-sleeved dress with a waistcoat effect:

1940s Lanvin dress pattern - Vogue 1052 Vogue 1052 by Lanvin (1949) Image via eBay.

Clifford Coffin photographed the dress in Paris for Vogue magazine:

Lanvin dress pattern photographed by Clifford Coffin for Vogue, March 1949 Lanvin pattern Vogue 1052 in Vogue, March 1949. Photo: Clifford Coffin.

According to Vogue, this strapless evening dress design was “sketched by David in Paris.” The…

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Really scrappy bag

Such an interesting way of organizing.

NICOLA KNITS

On my Ravelry project page, I’m calling this the Scrappy Five Gram Bag. Why?

I tidied up my yarn today, which includes three large plastic jars of oddments. I took my kitchen scales downstairs to the craft room and put all the tiny balls weighing 5g or less into one jar. (These containers are great – they used to hold little coconut jellies from Taiwan.)



Another of these is full of bulky/super bulky odds and ends, and another has some DK and laceweight.

This one came upstairs along with a 5mm crochet hook and I started playing with yarn. It was either that or go for a walk, and the yarn won (though I did hike after dinner). As this is a mix of yarns, with acrylic, linen, cotton and possibly even a bit of wool, I thought I’d make a bag as it won’t need to be…

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