My 2nd Most Interesting Knitting Project Ever

At our family reunion in Michigan this past August, I had the pleasure of getting

to know my cousin Art's wife, Linda. Partly because we are both knitters we hit it off right away. I was working on a pair of socks for Jim, and attempting a different heel treatment. She wanted to do much the same thing on a baby bonnet, and had an old pattern book that she showed me. I used to have the same book, but sometime over the years it disappeared.

As we were looking through that book I saw this pattern, and realized that this was the original pattern for matching sweaters that my sister and I had when we were just little girls. The sweaters were a deep red wool, that my Scottish aunt's mother had knit for us.

Ida Mae McDonald was an old woman when I knew her, living with my dad's younger brother and his family. She had suffered a stroke that paralyzed her right side, and Uncle Rudy had made a frame to hold her embroidery work that enabled her to cross stitch beautiful pictures. I particularly remember a very large picture she embroidered of a deer and faun, surrounded by greenery.

Prior to her stroke she had done all sorts of handwork, and since that all interested me very much even as a young child (this was before I was seven years old) I would always spend time with Mrs. McDonald when we visited Uncle Rudy and Aunt Edith. So when old Mrs. McDonald died, Aunt Edith gave me all her knitting pattern books.

I recently asked Linda to send me a copy of this pattern. It arrived in the mail this past Monday, and Linda wrote on it that the book is dated 1941! I hope to reproduce this sweater for our three younger granddaughters, the same three that are getting the waistcoats.

But two years ago for my sister's birthday I made a reproduction of this sweater for her birthday. Not having the pattern, just going by my memory of our sweaters, I knit this beautiful red wool cardigan for her. I knowingly added details: the pockets, the cables on the pockets, the cables on the plackets.

This was one of the biggest knitting challenges I have ever taken on. It was a very enjoyable process, and although I often had to redo an area until I was happy with it, the end result was, IMHO, terrific. I think my sister was pretty happy with it, too.

But why do I call it My Second Most Interesting Knitting Project? Because there is one sweater I've made that was an even more interesting process. I'll tell you about that next time.

One Down, Two to Go

This afternoon I finished the first waistcoat, the one for our younger granddaughter. It turned out so well, I'm really pleased. I love the colour, and it feels so soft and comfy. The button needs to be sewed on yet, but I don't have any blue thread. The waistcoat needs to be blocked. It's a little smaller than anticipated, since after I started it, I didn't like how loosely knit it was, and switched to the next size smaller needles. It's a size 7-8, and the granddaughter just turned 7, so I think it will be fine.

Her sister's waist coat is coming along well. The back is finished and this evening I started knitting the left front.

For this first one I did change the pattern in a few minor ways: I knit the body in one piece, dividing when I reached the length for the armholes. That took away the need for a seam under the arms. After the garter stitch lower border, I started with row two, a wrong side row. That puts the nicer side of the cast on to the outside.

The larger version for her sister was too big to fit all the stitches on the needle, so I'm knitting that in sections: back and two fronts.

But the biggest change in plans was this: I liked the pattern so much that I bought pink yarn to make one for the youngest granddaughter, their cousin, to wear when she goes to ballet lessons. So that explains the "one down, two to go."

This past Sunday we had another little trip out of town. We went to Rocky Mountain House where Jim preached and I played organ for two services on Sunday. That church often invites us, and we enjoy going there.

We've become quite good friends with a couple about our age there, and we've often had dinner with them. On Sunday two of their grown boys were there with their wives and six children, aged 17 years to 6 weeks old. I enjoyed having young children around so very much. The two youngest are little girls, one 6 weeks old and one 17 months old. They are little dolls, with dark curly hair, very expressive children. There was also an angelic blond boy, almost three, who had the most amazing ability to turn down the corners of his mouth when he wasn't pleased. I could hardly keep from laughing at him! He wanted some craisins, and that was fine, but Grandpa tried to sneak some mashed potatoes along with them, and little Derek insisted that he wanted that craisin there in an empty spot on his plate.

That church has quite a nice organ, and they sing most heartily. Sunday morning we sang the Christmas hymn "As With Gladness Men of Old." When we got to the final verse, two sopranos sang the descant. What a joy it was to be in the midst of all that music, both hands and both feet busy on the organ, and all the people singing with that descant floating above it all! I was transported! That's one of my special memories from this particular Christmas season.

Time Flies

Time flies when you're having fun, they say. Well, time also flies when you're busy. And since my last post I've had just one day without "extra" activities. There's been a quilt club meeting, two days of quilt workshops, another 8 hour quilt club meeting (just sewing), and another 9:30 to 4 p.m. quilt club day. Probably so much activity because I belong to two quilting groups. It's all fun, but sometimes gets to seem like too much.

Especially when the same stretch of time included two string ensemble rehearsals, two Messiah orchestra rehearsals, a wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, and a wedding plus reception. Fortunately I didn't have to play at the reception, just the rehearsal and the wedding. By the way, it was a lovely wedding. Our pastor commented to me, "This is one wedding I'm just happy to be part of!"

After a very mild November we had a beautiful snowfall yesterday, big, fat, fluffy flakes. And today the sun is shining brilliantly on the clean new snow. What a gorgeous sight!

I started one new project yesterday and a second today. Dear Son #2 has two daughters who each celebrate a December birthday. I usually make something quilted or knitted for them. There was a very attractive "Aran Waistcoat" pattern in Mary Maxim catalogues. When it disappeared from the most recent catalogues, I thought I'd better order it before it was no longer available. It came a few days ago, and yesterday I had time to begin. The first version is for
the younger girl, whose birthday is on the 17th. I'm changing the pattern in a few ways: I'm knitting the two fronts and the back all at once up to the armholes. Then I'll separate them and finish the fronts and back separately. Saves sewing the side seams when the vest is finished. So this is the smaller vest, taking up both needles. It's a light blue/dark blue twist, but comes out looking mainly light blue. It had to go down a half size in needles ( 4 1/2 mm rather than 5 mm) because the kntting seemed just too loose on the 5's.

In following the pattern, the "backside" of the cast on became the right side of the knitting. I wonder why patterns are often written this way. The instructions were to knit 6 rows garter stitch, then a row of knit with increases, and then begin row 1 of the pattern. Following that makes the cast on come out backwards to my way of thinking.

In order to avoid that, I began with row 2 of

the pattern, and that puts what seems to be the right side of the cast on on the right side of the knitting. Don't you think the nice little stitches on the bottom of this second picture look better on the outside than the bumps of stitches on the upper picture?

Well, maybe it's not too clear in these

pictures. I had to use the "memory stick" on

my video camera to take these, since the

battery on the new digital needed to be re-

charged. The colour is pretty poor, and I

even lightened them up in the iPhoto program.

The last pic is a really neat needle for sewing up knitted items that I bought some years ago from "Philosopher's Wool". The needle has a turned up point that makes it so easy to slip in and out of knitted fabric. I took a class at a Sewing and Crafts Alive Expo on how to knit a "Philosopher's Fair Isle". It was great!!! Learned how to knit fair isle with one colour in the right hand, and the other in the left, and not just strand the colours, but actually weave them together behind the knitting. The wrong side of the knitting looks as interesting as the right side.

Ann Bourgeois and Eugene Bourgeois are the originators of "Philosopher's Wool" and their fair isle technique is available in a beautiful book, "Fair Isle Sweaters Simplified" published by Martingale & Company, ISBN 1-56477-311-6.

I'm using the "tapestry" needle as a cable needle, since I've never bothered to buy a cable needle. This sturdy needle for sewing together knitted fabric works just fine.

This morning I went to our local wool/fabric shop and picked up a darker blue for the older granddaughter, and started working on the one also, since her birthday comes up first, and I have to have this vest ready to mail by next week Friday. Wonder if I can finish it on time!