Romano-Egyptian Stockings Part VI

http://www.globalegyptianmuseum.org/record.aspx?id=9130 Just dropping this link here because I wanted a good place to save it. I'm pretty sure this is a more complicated stitch and there isn't a knitting-style technique that can be done to get something that looks like this fabric.

Dozens of Doilies

Before I went to visit her a few weeks ago, my mom asked me if I could make her some small ecru doilies. So I packed up my hooks and books and a skein of ecru crochet cotton. She showed me the white one that was just like she wanted, and it was done with thinner cotton than I had packed, but we easily found which pattern I'd used for the original.

So we went shopping for the right thread, and I made her a few more like the one she had, but in ecru. Then I started making others about the same size from the same book. Then I got home and started making even more.

This how now become a Project (TM) and I plan to make every doily in the book for her for Christmas. I probably will finish by actual Christmas, but we exchange gifts in January, which gives me plenty of breathing room.

Squiggles

Here's a quick pic of my latest project Stacked Wedges from Knitting New Scarves: 27 Distinctly Modern Designs by Lynne Barr



I'm almost done with this skein of soysilk blend, but I think I should scour the apartment before I bind off since the scarf could stand to be longer, and I really, really, really don't want to knit with this stuff again.

Still here, still crafting

I have been a bit busier than usual with work lately, but I did finish a pouch and a few scarves recently.

Been exploring the patterns in Knitting New Scarves: 27 Distinctly Modern Designs by Lynne Barr.

In part I'm doing this because I love the 3D patterns in the book and in part to do some stash busting. In particular, I bought yarn to make a sweater and didn't like it's drape in a sweater. It's working for some, but not all, of the scarves in the collection.

Pouch

Here's what it looks like so far:

Portable Project

Since the pouch is colorwork with 3 colors/row in some places, I needed something else as a portable project. So I frogged one of the mulit-colored kilt hose and started Hat Heel. I was going to do a swatch, then realized I may as well just start the sock and make the heel part...it'll get me a swatch in the round, and if the gauge is right, I'm set and if it isn't, I haven't knitted all that much anyway.

Wish I had a ball band for this Tofutsies so I could show the color without dragging out my camera, which isn't going to happen tonight.

Pouch Notes

A few weeks ago I decided I'd make a pouch for the county fair. I wanted a pouch a little bit bigger than the felted pouch I normally carry, and I wanted a pretty design on it.

I wanted a sturdy knit, so I grabbed the Jaggerspun Maine Line merino from my cushion project (inspired by Las Huelgas grave finds and I hadn't put quite enough thought into the pattern, so I was disappointed in it) to knit the pouch.

A 5x0 needle gave me a firm, but not stiff fabric, which is just what I wanted.

The bottom is double-thickness with the outside black and inside red. I started with a 4x4 stitch square and increased in the second and second-to-last stitches on the needle until I had 256 stitches.

And then I started looking for pretty patterns. I was thinking of something from Folk Knitting in Estonia by Nancy Bush, and only 2 patterns I like fit in 256 stitch repeat. A lot of the patterns are 10 or 14 stitches instead, and I didn't feel like trying to figure out how to fit those onto my base and I definitely didn't want to go mucking with the bases now that I had them attached to each other.

After joining the two bottoms, I knit a black and red 2-color yarn-over braid, then a few rows of black, then I started the sheep's eye (Lambasilmakiri on the card was the best picture I could find) pattern with a black background, red circles, and yellow grid.

It is beautiful, but still so short it's rolling up all over the place. I am briefly considering switching the red and yellow in the pattern to make it more vibrant, but this way it's less likely to show dirt. I can always make another in different colors some day or maybe pick one of the other patterns from the book if I end up liking this pouch.

Finishing Seams

I'm finishing seams on an underdress. The dress is lightweight yellow wool gabardine. The thread is dark red crochet cotton. And tonight I tried a new technique...I put the part I'm working on in a hoop. While it requires pins to get everything lined up properly it is much easier on my hands.

Angels we have...

Here are two crocheted angels drying on my kitchen counter. The little one is Small Angel Ornament #1 and the larger one is Tree Top Angel #4 from Leisure Arts Crocheted Snowflakes & Angels designed by Wilma Stash with a copyright date of 1983.

They were worked with a size 3 steel crochet hook in Baroque crochet cotton in Ecru.

Their heads are stuffed with merino top because that's what was at hand.

After I assembled them and sewed in the ends, I dipped their bodies, wings, and halos in warm water, then in starch. I spread a thin layer of starch over their heads so that there won't be color or sheen differences when they dry. I removed the excess starch with my fingers and paper towels before forming them into their angel shapes.

They are supported by cones made of leftover plastic Metro shelf liner stapled and taped together and held in place with bobby pins. I tried to support the larger angel's wings, but couldn't find anything that worked, so in the morning I'll probably have to re-flatten the picots.

I did not have any commercial laundry starch around the house, so I mixed pure corn starch and water together in a saucepan and boiled it until it got gloopy. Then I thinned it to a consistency I could work with. I could've "starched" them with sugar water, but I don't have as much sugar in the house as I have corn starch.

Hopefully they will both dry and harden before the people I made them for skip town for the holidays.

Fingerless Gloves

I made a pair of these for myself and didn't write down the pattern, now I'm going to try to make a set for a friend and write it up as I go.

Materials:
size 1 double-pointed needles
baby ull

Cast-on 72 stitches
K2 P2 for 20 rows

K1, knit into stitch 2 rows below needle, knit into stitch 1 row below next stitch, k1, p2, k2, p2 across
k4, p2, k2, p2 across
k4, p2, k2, p2 across
k2, knit into stitch 2 rows below needle, knit into stitch 1 row below next stitch, k2, p2 across
k2, p2 across
k2, p2 across
k2, p2, knit into stitch 2 rows below needle, knit into stitch 1 row below next stitch, p2, k2, p2 across
k2, p4, k2, p2 across
k2, p4, k2, p2 across

and so forth until there are enough stitches between the initial 2 stitches to go around the thumb.

will need to measure the gauge later.

Cotton bags

Recently I knit two small bags in cotton yarn from my stash on size 000 needles. One is small and sized to hold my iPod shuffle and its headphones. The other is larger designed to fit the iPhone, but ended up bigger than that and can probably hold a whole lot more.


The small one is 60 stitches around. The color pattern is pulled a bit too tight, but the fabric it made is lovely.

The larger one is 80 stitches around and I wrote out the pattern. The tension is better, but it has some really long floats (I chose not to anchor them) that show some indication that it may be too loose.

Some of the tensions issues on both bags can probably be improved by blocking them which I may or may not do.

The cords on both bags are 4-strand braids. Bring left strand under 2 strands to the right and back over 1 strand to the left, bring right strand under 2 strands to the left and back over 1 strand to the right. The structure is similar to Viking whipcord but I didn't have the set up for that where I was braiding.

Moorish Stockings for Summer Part III

I finished the Moorish stockings the other evening. Tonight I took pictures. They aren't quite as long as I'd like them to be, but I didn't have more yarn and I can't get more in that color. They will, however, be good enough for taming my Moorish pants in the summer months.

The pattern:

Cast-on 80 stitches. Knit until desired length or you run out of yarn, bind-off loosely.

Easy-peasy and boring.

Moorish Stockings for Summer Part II

I took this photo a while ago. I'm pretty sure the knitted bit on the left was the wrong size and shape and got frogged to be knitted into the right size and shape.

The yarn is Camila from Elann.com. 50% cotton, 50% linen. 113m/50g. Color 8007. I can't tell you what they call this color because it's not currently available. Despite what it looks like in the picture, the yarn is a slightly purple-ish grey.

The needles are Addi Aluminum double points in 3.25mm size, which is approximately a US size 3, but not close enough to size 3 be mixed with size 3 needles from other manufacturers.

The pattern so far: Cast-on 80 sts. Knit in stockinette until almost out of the 2nd skein. Bind off loosely.

They're going to be a bit shorter than I'd really like, but I'm sure I can live with it, as they'll also be a lot cooler for having less fabric scrunching around my lower leg.

Flat Cap the First

These are the promised pictures of the wool for the flat cap project. Sorry about the focus on the singles. I took 3 photos of that stage, and none of them look good. The yarn is slightly darker than it looks in the photos with the black background, and not quite as dark as the photo with the white background.

Jacob Top


Single on Spindle


2-ply yarn

Yarn on White Background

Productive Craft Day

A couch to Dye for

The burgundy procion I have is very muddy, so I mixed it with scarlet. Unfortunately I don't think I had enough dye and the slip cover to my couch is now VERY interesting.

Charitable warmth

The first scarf of this winter's charity knitting is about 14" long. Off-white acrylic in brioche stitch. 20 sts wide on size 8 needles.

Skirting the Issue

Sewed another seam on the skirt where I'm trying out a seaming technique I learned from the Attack Laurel's blog. There is one more panel to sew in. If my math worked after that I'll be ready to add the waistband and sew the hem. If my math didn't work, I'll be adding more gores to make room for my butt.

You Spin me Right Round, Baby

All of the Jacob is spun into 2-ply. I took the pictures of the yarn off the camera today (they'll get their own post when I decide which ones to upload). While I did finally figure out how to use the macro setting on my camera. Unsurprisingly, I'm not happy with the focus. I really need to get a tripod so I can mess around more with my camera's settings. A light tent wouldn't be a bad addition, either, but shooting outside would probably be easier to store :)

Fuzzy Yak

My wee tiny Golding spindle and I had some more fun with mostly pink yak down. I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do with this stuff when it's all spun up.

A Pattern!

Or at least the chart for the design that I used on a pouch.

The latest

I've spun up all the Jacob. I even have pictures, but they're still on the camera.

I made 2 pouches of red and white cotton. The first in a diagonal pattern, the other in a pattern inspired by Roman mosaics. I've been asked to chart and share the latter pattern, and I shall.

The batik skirt with the new-to-me hand seaming technique is slowly getting closer to finished.

I've been spinning more pink yak down. I really do n eed to get pictures of that.

The first of the cotton/linen Moorish stockings is knit, and the second one is more than halfway finished.

Romano-Egyptian Stockings Part V

When there are 16 stitches across the instep, pick them up. (64 sts)
Work rounds for 8 rows.
K 58. Turn.
P 58.
K 64.
P 64.

Repeat last two rows 6 times
Bind off loosely.

Weave in ends.

Now to trim the ends, make ties, and send them to the person I made them for.

Romano-Egyptian Stockings Part IV

So, that plan didn't work. The heel is too shallow. So I'm doing some short rows.

After the heel increases, work 8 pairs of matching wrap and turns, one stitch from the end of the row.

K 46, wrap & turn
P 44, wrap & turn
K 43, wrap & turn
P 42, wrap & turn
K 41, wrap & turn
P 40, wrap & turn
K 39, wrap & turn
P 38, wrap & turn
K 37, wrap & turn
P 36, wrap & turn
K 35, wrap & turn
P 34, wrap & turn
K 33, wrap & turn
P 32, wrap & turn
K 31, wrap & turn
P 30, wrap & turn

K across, picking up wraps, K last st w/ bound off edge
P across, picking up wraps, P last st w/ bound off edge

K 47, K last st tbl w/ st from bound-off edge (48 sts)
P 47, P last st tbl w/ st from bound-off edge (48 sts)

for 14 rows

then start picking up the stitch from the bound-off edge instead of working it together

Romano-Egyptian Stockings Part III

Success!

Starting at the heel, in twisted stockinette...

figure-8 cast-on 8 stitches and one more on the right needle. (17 sts)
K 7 from left needle, K last st tbl w/ st from bound-off edge. (18 sts)
P 8, pick up one st, P 8 tfl, P last st tbl w/ st from bound-off edge (18 sts)
K 8, PM, kbf twice, PM, K 7, K last st tbl w/ st from bound-off edge (20 sts)
P 19, P last st tbl w/ st from bound-off edge (20 sts)
K 8, kbf x 4, K 7 , K last st tbl w/ st from bound-off edge (24 sts)
P 23, P last st tbl w/ st from bound-off edge (24 sts)
K 8, (kfb K1) x 4, K 7, K last st tbl w/ st from bound-off edge (28 sts)
P 27, P last st tbl w/ st from bound-off edge (28 sts)
K 8, (kfb K2) x 4, K 7, K last st tbl w/ st from bound-off edge (32 sts)
P 31, P last st tbl w/ st from bound-off edge (32 sts)
K 8, (kfb k3) x 4, K7, K last st tbl w/ st from bound-off edge (36 sts)
P 35, P last st tbl w/ st from bound-off edge (36 sts)
K 8, (kfb k4) x 4, K7, K last st tbl w/ st from bound-off edge (40 sts)
P 39, P last st tbl w/ st from bound-off edge (40 sts)
K 8, (kfb k5) x 4, K7, K last st tbl w/ st from bound-off edge (44 sts)
P 43, P last st tbl w/ st from bound-off edge (44 sts)
K 8, (kfb k6) x 4, K7, K last st tbl w/ st from bound-off edge (48 sts)

P 47, P last st tbl w/ st from bound-off edge (48 sts)
K 47, K last st tbl w/ st from bound-off edge (48 sts)

Repeat last 2 rows a bunch (I'll figure out how much later.