A Bluestocking Knits

A Bit of War-time Knitting in "Mrs. Tim Carries On" and "Spring Magic"

The D.E. Stevenson group is reading the "Mrs. Tim" series, interspersed with related DES titles, and we have just finished Mrs. Tim Carries On (1941) and started Spring Magic (1942).  Being wartime, of course there is knitting for one's menfolk and others in the armed forces sprinkled throughout, especially in Mrs. Tim Carries On, but since there are so very many patterns available for "soldiers' comforts" and really, how many variations can there be on plain, dark socks, I chose for my virtual "Knitting with D.E. Stevenson" project the girl's socks in this late-1930s/early-1940s Bairnswear leaflet available in reproduction from The Vintage Knitting Lady. The photo reminds me not a little of Hester's young daughter Betty who likes dolls and girlish things, to be sure, but doesn't stick at climbing trees as well.  As a knitter, I like how these particular socks have different kinds of heels, too -- I know it's comfortable to knit something that one is familiar with, but it's also pleasing to have different options.

Thanks to the wonderful folks at Dean Street Press -- especially Scott of Furrowed Middlebrow, whose Furrowed Middlebrow colophon debuted there a few years ago and specializes in "works by lesser-known British women novelists and memoirists" -- three of the four Mrs. Tim books are now available in e-book format (the first was reprinted some years ago by the Bloomsbury Group), as well as Spring Magic and 1935's Smouldering Fire, of which more in another post.  I have been very much looking forward to the group read of Spring Magic, as it is one of my favorites.  We've only just started, and already have had interesting discussions about books a sheltered child might have read (a child such as Frances, though she is now at 25 not sheltered so much as trapped), the idiom "doing the messages" (which may or may not involve actual messages, depending on whether one is north or south of Hadrian's Wall ...), horsehair mattresses (and sofas), the Pioneer Corps, and potential inspirations for the setting's Scottish fishing village -- not to mention sidetracks like April Fool pranks and plagiarism.

But knitting, that's what I was talking about.  In one scene in the book, during a rather terrifying air raid -- this isn't London, mind you, it's a fishing village on the west coast of Scotland -- the ladies of the inn where Frances is staying are knitting -- who could sleep? -- and Annie offers to share a knitting pattern.  "It's quite an easy pattern," she says, "you slip one and knit one and pass the slipped stitch over.  I'll give you the pattern tomorrow if you would like it --"  In searching the internet hopefully for "lacy knitting pattern 1940s", I came across this one --

which is available free from the V&A (here's the Ravelry link) as part of a page about 1940s knitting patterns (huzzah!).  The lace stitch is a simple two-row one with a familiar "sl1, K1, psso" maneuver that combined with K2tog and judicious yarn-overs produces the pretty scallop effect, here in patriotic red, white, and blue -- so it seems particularly appropriate for my Spring Magic choice!  I've used the Ravelry link instead of going straight to the pattern itself so that you can see some examples of how changing the colors or simply changing the number of rows of red, white, or blue can vary the effect of the jumper.

Thoughts on the Coquette Socks

My goodness, it has been a long time.  Dear me.

These are the Coquette Socks, from 2-at-a-time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes.  I confess that I made them the old-fashioned way, one at a time, because not only did I not have a small-enough circular needle, but I was in a tearing hurry to get these done before Christmas and so would have had to make a special trip for the needles and learned a new technique as well.  I think I finished them on Christmas Eve, in fact -- but they looked very cute in clear plastic goody bags with a curly ribbon around the top.

The yarn is of course Regia Bamboo Color in Jamaica -- the darker blue/green colorway -- and Papillon -- the lighter red/pink/blue combination.  I had more than a bit of trouble telling them apart in poor light, but knitted up it was more obvious.

I must say that the pattern gave me a bit of trouble, too, and that the publisher's errata were actually not much of a help, as I kept getting a slightly different stitch count, and ended up just winging it.  More importantly, the pattern stitch itself did not come out looking like the photograph, until I realized that the photo looks more like a simple two-row stitch, not four.  Once I worked it as repeating rounds 1 and 2 only, it looked better to my eye.

Other than that, I like the socks very much -- cute and girly, but not too much so.

  

I have been reading a lot lately, and barely knitting at all -- have finished one Christmas sock, not yet cast on for the other, as I got distracted by Nine Coaches Waiting, wh. I had in fact never read.  My public library is renovating, and decided that the fiction section was the most expendable (why why why?), so that was what got boxed up and hidden away, leaving I think three half-stacks.  I was looking for D.E. Stevenson, and had my hand stretched out in a pathetic begging gesture in the place where they should have been, and the Stewart was there.  I think I'd read only her Merlin books before.  Quite enjoyed the Nine Coaches --

Thoughts on the Three-Rib Beret

 
I did not make the Knitting Olympics this year, but am rather wishing there was an event for Finishing, as I've somehow managed to wrap up two long-neglected projects in two days -- the Vintage Velvet Scarf (still drying) and this one, the Three-Rib Beret, from an article by Jacqueline Fee in the November/December 2009 "Piecework" magazine.

The moment I saw this darling hat, I thought of some Jaeger Matchmaker DK I've had in the drawer for quite a number of years -- this is shade 656 Cherry, not that it matters any more, I suppose, because it's been discontinued, curse them.  A terrific yarn.

I had to enlarge the pattern, as it was far too small as written for Julia's impressive noggin.  I cast on with 102 sts, increasing to 204 for the st st section, dec to 180 and then 90 for the K5, P5 section, and down again to 36 for the K2, P2 top; I did each section 2 rounds longer than in the pattern, to keep the balance more like the original.  Julia says it's a bit small, but okay -- but I'm not concerned by her coolness, as she hasn't taken the thing off since I sewed on the last pompom last night.

Had to use 2 skeins, but got to try out the Russian join which worked pretty well.

It doesn't look like much flat, but on a head it is incredibly cute, and with pompoms almost irresistable!

Catching Up

I finished knitting the last few inches of a Fibert Trends' Versatility Vest for my aunt, who wasn't up to it these days, in exchange for an even less-finished project which I have recycled into eleven or twelve balls of Cashsoft DK in Mist.

After swatching carefully, I thought that my gauge was spot-on -- ha-ha!

Luckily this came out in the wash, as they say.

The vest is in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky, very nice to knit with, I must say, even though I tend to like finer yarns generally.  The color is more accurate in the photos below, a soft baby-blue.

I was secretly hoping that there would be enough left over for a scarf, but it was not to be.  I had a little felted project in mind for Laura's dolls' house, and so I did some research online and read that Cashmerino will not felt, because of the microfiber content.  Feeling experimental anyway, I knitted up a rather loose swatch, and tossed it back and forth between hot and ice-cold water, where it sort of tensed up, but did not really felt.  After six or eight washes in the machine with my cleaning rags -- hot water, heavy-duty cycle -- it has become a rather interesting sort of bouclé texture.

The edges don't look particularly sturdy, but I roughed up the trimmings to almost no effect, so perhaps little dolls' feet will not be too hard on it.

One ball Red Hart Heart & Sole 70% superwash wool, 30% nylon (213 yds/195m per 50g ball), in "Watercolor Stripe"; 2mm needles.. Julia hates them -- "too scratchy".

Fruit Coulis

Some knee socks for Julia, Jitterbug in "Fruit Coulis", with a K3, P1, K1, P1 rib, offset by three at the cuff, as in the Yarrow Ribbed Socks from Knitting Vintage Socks, but with a standard slip stitch heel and wedge toe.

The color is even more vivid in real life, I assure you.

I have been listening to a new album of mine, "Le Jour du Poisson" by Thomas Fersen.  He has a song each on two of the French Putomayo albums, "French Playground" and "Paris", both of which albums we listen to quite a lot -- this is how I heard of him.  I find his music fascinating -- melodic and quirky, intelligently crafted, with each song having a character completely its own and yet still recognizably "Fersen".  One song has a klezmer-y feel, another salsa, one a rather thrilling tango, one a lovely lilting piano and orchestra accompaniment that makes it almost a lullaby, another has a rather formal brass band intro and then sweeps in with an unexpectedly charming lounge-singer feel.  Fersen's voice is rough and smoky -- very Gauloise.  I suspect that Fersen's music might bear comparisons to Tim Finn's, also quirky, melodic, and highly intelligent.  Alas, that I do not speak French! for I am somewhat dismayed that I understand very little of Fersen's lyrics -- one of the things I appreciate deeply about Tim Finn is that his lyrics are so interesting (and they rhyme, always for me a sign that the writer has given a lot of thought to what he wants to say) -- but this is certainly my own limitation, and not Fersen's!

Thoughts on the Fuzzyfeet

What have I been doing all this month, you ask?  Knitting?  Ha!  I have been driving small children hither and yon -- tonight I am up late waiting to go and collect my mouse/little angel/Gingerette from Dress Rehearsal #1.

Well, I have managed to winkle out of my free minute-and-a-half this month a pair of the famous Fuzzyfeet by Theresa Stenersen of Bagatell, though.  These were going to be a Christmas present, but I've sort of, well, redirected them a bit.  Here are the before and after photos, with the first half of a pair of Spey Valley socks for scale.

Zoinks!  I washed them on my front-loader's warm-cold setting but did not "stop when the desired size" as I wanted them to be easy-care, and I personally am not about the hand-washing of the socks, and don't want to mess around with running out to the machine every two minutes, so I doubted that auntie would be either.  They shrank much more than expected, unfortunately.  I don't mind much, though -- it was an experiment, after all.  The felted fabric is rather fascinating -- wonderful, how all of the wobbly bits just sort of disappear, too!

I did have to break into the second skein to finish the last two inches, so Fuzzyfeet knitters, take heed.

Alas, they are now far too small for auntie, and so they have been glommed onto by Laura, who is quite taken with them.  She was, however, quite mortified when I asked her to step out onto the front porch this morning to model them in the only available light, and she shrieked mightily.  "Mom! I'm still in my pyjamas!"  So the photo is a bit rushed.

Still, the Fuzzies are warm and much as the name implies, and Julia is already casting not-so-subtle hints about a pair for her as well.

Oh, there's my warning bell -- off I go --

Thoughts on Monica

If you are looking for a quick, simple, fun knit for a little girl, Monica by Christine Schwender may be just the thing!

I made a few modifications -- worked it in the round, added an extra row of garter stitch at the bottom of the ruffle (which I'd worked first) and three more at the hem to keep it from curling, and made the straps in I-cord.  Julia thought that the ruffle under her arms was itchy at first, but after a minute or two its flirtiness won her over.

This is a gift for a friend of ours who is three tomorrow, but I'm having a hard time getting it back from Julia now, and so I foresee another one in the near future!

All Socks, All the Time

Now, that was a nice long blog break, wasn't it?!  Not intentional, I assure you.  It's funny how summers for parents are busier than the school months.  We've had day camp -- long, hot, exhausting, but lots of fun -- swimming lessons, birthday parties, a bout of 'flu for Laura -- whew!  Not a lot of time for knitting, let alone blogging about it.

But if you're wondering if a skein of Jitterbug is enough to make a pair Jaywalkers for a size Australian 8/US 10 foot, the answer --

is no.  My feet are smaller than the recipient's, so it's not just a matter of an inch and a half, either.  Gaah.

I did think about ripping them out altogether and making them shorter in the leg, but frankly I like them a bit long, and so suspect that it would be better to have them "too long" rather than shorter, so that was out.  I ran to the yarn shop and bought another skein, which was quite obviously not the same dyelot, and then had to decide whether I should just carry on or pull out half of the foot and alternate skeins -- I decided that it would be apparent either way, and that it would be much less likely to show if the new part was further down the foot.  Much less work for me, too! so it was an easy decision.

The colors, curiously, are not as variegated in real life as they are in the photos -- the reds and yellows don't pop out as much as they seem to here.  I tried all sorts of various settings on my camera, but none seems to capture the essence of the stuff.  You'll have to take my word for it.  The second skein is definitely more subtle, as well as -- rather alarmingly -- of a finer gauge.

And here is a pair of socks for Julia, which I finished last night.  The pattern is from Ann Budd's Handy Book of Patterns, with a picot edging and 3x1 rib, lined up with the picots because that's the kind of knitter I am.

Posed by Julia on the edge of the bed.  She doesn't like having her picture taken unless she's in the right mood, so I may have to wait for a modelling shoot!

I found the picot edging to be extremely fiddly at this gauge, and will most likely not attempt it again with the Wildfoote, which was not only very splitty, but I had chosen a color (Columbine) which made it difficult to see what I was doing, with its "tri-color twists."

Nevermind -- Julia is happy!

"Sing Hey, the Merry Maiden"

This is seriously cute -- the Merry Maiden's dress by Gryphon Perkins, from the Spring '07 IK.  It certainly strikes a chord with my own mediaeval-princess fantasies!

I'm not sure than I'd want to spend a hundred dollars on a girl's handknit, though, even if it is for my own lovely princesses.  In wool, in southern California.  Here's one in Plymouth Encore.  I'm still in the planning stages, of course, but not sure whether I'd go for economy, or wool blend and washability -- Shepherd Worsted?  All-Seasons Cotton?

Thoughts on the Jaywalker Junior Socks

I started out making these for Laura, and they fit rather snugly, so they went on to Julia instead, as she didn't have a knitted pair of her own yet -- these are still on the big side, but I can almost see her growing as I watch, so I think they'll be fine after only a few months!

I used 68 sts -- one st less per each side of the bias -- a simple matter.  The bias pattern seems pretty forgiving, and can be sized down quite a bit.  (Grumperina offers some suggestions about resizing up here.)

The Shepherd Sock is lovely yarn to work with -- it feels wonderful in my hands, makes a beautiful fabric, and the colors are rich and intense.

But here is proof positive that when it somes to space-dyed yarn, I have no idea what I'm talking about -- I remarked earlier with great confidence after the first sock that since I was making the pattern in a smaller size, the stripes were coming out slightly thicker than they would have done.  You will notice that the second sock I worked, on Julia's left foot in the photos, has the stripes in a fairly narrow pattern.  So much for predictability!  And the socks in a yet smaller size -- casting on 60 -- did not stripe at all, merely blobbed, and so unattractively that I tried again two more times before I gave up in despair.  (Another reason that I gave the socks to Julia instead of Laura.)

The second pair started out very promisingly, but then started to go up straight -- at the center shaping line in the photo on the left, the purple is on one side and the green/blue on the other -- very disconcerting.  So I've ripped them out and hidden the yarn away for another day, and decided to enjoy the ones I do like, the ones that Julia is so pleased with that she wanted to take a photo herself!