Handspun Sunday

It is Sunday again, and that means it is spinning day. Today I picked a bold gold and black roving with just a touch of green I had dyed years ago as part of the Vermeer Collection.

Today, on this 4th of July, it just made me think of fireworks exploding in the dark sky in bold golds. I really enjoyed seeing the golds pop against the blacks as I sat spinning this afternoon talking and laughing with Miss SockPixie.

This lovely Merino roving, which I spun as fine singles, will be plied with another fine singles this time in black. I am planning on knitting socks from it. Spinning sock yarn takes a little more concentration for me. The singles really need to be fine enough for the sock yarn not to be too thick. Enough twist also needs to be put in the singles for them to hold together and not disintegrate as you spin or when you ply. I set my wheel on the medieum size whorl, and slowed the uptake a little. This should give me a sturdy single that will resist the plying, and will make a comfy yet sturdy sock.

That's it for tonight. We are off to see the fireworks over the Charles River. I wish you all a wonderful 4th of July!

Another Cerise Baby Sweater

 told you, knitting the Cerise Baby Sweater was a little addictive. Last night I needed a break from my work on another secret project. Another Cerise Baby Sweater was just the break I needed. Plus I have an excuse for knitting another one, one of my students in the French Class I teach is going to be a grandmother in the fall. I will give the sweater to her. This makes knitting another baby sweater completely necessary!

I had some left over yarn I dyed with natural dyes. Most were little odds and ends in golden tones, and I had a little more in a lovely steel blue grey.
I arranged the golden tones in a crescendo of intensity. The yellow would be perfect for the yoke, and the blue grey for the body.

I put on a movie, Madame de... by Max Ophüls... and I knit. The pattern is so easy I can almost knit with my eyes closed. Actually I just kept them open so I could watch the movie!

By the end of the movie, I was practically done. I finished the sweater this morning.

Now it is back to my secret project... That is until I need another break!

Vintage Knitting Patterns

I have over time been collecting vintage knitting pattern books. Whenever I find one at thrift store, or at a garage sale, or if I am really lucky in a box of discarded items on the street, I get it, no matter what the era, whether it is for children, men or women or even for the house.

Of course I would be lying if I said I did not have a favorite era. The 40s and 50s are my absolute favorites.

I have never knit quite a few projects these books. What I enjoy the most is looking through them. I study the pictures, and read the patterns often, admiring a line, a shoulder, a lace detail, or a stitch.
They are a constant source of inspiration for me.

It is a shame that I do not come across these books very often. They are becoming harder and harder to find.

But thanks to the internet, you can now get downloadable version of some of them over the internet.
If you are like me and like these vintage knitting patterns here is a list of links to sites that offer free downloadable vintage knitting patterns.

- Free Vintage Knitting offers maybe the largest selection of vintage patterns for the whole family and for the house. You can either print the retyped pattern from the screen or you can purchase a restored version for download.
- Vintage Purls offers a nice selection of free vintage knitting patterns for men women and children and a few items for the home.
- Glamrama has a small but nice selection of free vintage patterns. Check out the Bernat Cape from 1956!
- Yarn Lover's Room offers a selection of free retyped patterns you can print directly from the screen.
- V&A offers a small selection of free vintage patterns from the 1940's in England for download

Have fun browsing! And if you have a favorite site with free vintage patterns not on the list, let me know and I will add it to the list.

Ready to be knit up

Remember the yarn I spun on Sunday? Here it is, all skeined and ready to be knit up. To be honest I have no idea what I am going to knit with it. Maybe it will become the yoke of another Cerise Baby Sweater... maybe mittens, or a hat, who knows...

For now, I am going to enjoy looking at it. It will sit on my bedside table.

Tying up Loose Ends

This morning, I woke up with the worst back pain. No painting walls for me today. My problem is I hate being idle, in particular when I am determined to accomplish something.

I had to find something to do that would still relate to making the house nicer. About a year ago, I finished a quilt top. It had been sitting on the chaise in my room, ready to be finished.

Now that was a project that tied in well with the house, and would be fun, and satisfying to do.
I grabbed a ball of left over red yarn, and sitting comfortably started tying little bits of red yarn at the intersections of the fabrics.

No heavy lifting while hand-quilting, and before I knew it, I was done.

This back pain was a great thing after all, it forced me to sit long enough to finish the quilt top, and led me to choose the simplest way to finish the quilt. Mind you, I really love the minimalist look of the yarn ties. They add a touch of color and texture, but do not distract. The fabrics still are the center of attention, and are both physically and metaphorically tied together.

After the tying was done, I guess I must have relaxed while doing it, my back felt a little better. Nothing like tying loose ends!

Destiny

This morning, I forced myself to walk to downtown Jamaica Plain to the post office and to the paint store, because I really had to. The heat has been incredible today. It is sit and sweat weather.

I reached downtown JP, soaking wet. After I was done with my errands, I stopped by Goodwill and and was about to leave the store when tucked in a corner I saw something ...
I walked over, drawn by the lovely jadite color, knowing full well, that once I got close there would be no turning back, I would have to buy this gorgeous vintage Singer Sewing machine with its cute little table.

I got closer, gently touched the 1958 Singer 185J , and looked for the price sticker, hoping it would not be too expensive. You see, it would be difficult for me to justify buying yet another sewing machine. I am not a collector really, but I happen to have 2 Victorian sewing machines in their gorgeous tables, one of them a Singer in mint condition, then a vintage Necchi in its table as well, a modern Brother, and a modern Janome. I did not really look for them, I just happened to find them on the street, sitting there all lonely, or at a garage sale. The Janome is the only one I really ever bought, until today...

I made up my mind, marched to the counter, debit card in hand, ready to scream, "I saw it first"! I paid, and picked up the machine.

It did not matter to me that it was swelteringly hot ouside, that I would have to carry this piece of furniture all the way home, walking, for about 20 minutes.

Now something amazing happened, which convinces me that this was all meant to be. As I was carrying the sewing machine, a gentleman asked me if I needed help. I told him I had to walk for about 20 minutes, but  he said he was on his lunch break, and would help me. He carried it to the cross street nearest to my home. He talked gracefully all the way, inspite of the heat, and inspite of the heavy table. In the process, he said he was a  software engineer, so I told him my husband ( also a tech guy) and I  would take him out for lunch to thank him.

I have carried lots of very heavy and awkward pieces of furniture in my life ( not knowing how to drive), but nobody has ever offered to help. In my eyes, this was a sign that buying the machine was the right thing to do since the heavens smiled on me.

The other thing I have not told you is that we have been thinking about moving to a 1950s house in Natick. Should I read finding a 1950's sewing machine as a sign? When I told Mr SockPixie about the adventure, he said " Next, you are going to tell me that we need a house to match the syle of the sewing machine!" I think he knows me too well!

Sunday Spinning

I like to spin on Sundays. Spinning seems to go so well with the relaxed pace of Sundays in the SockPixie family.

Spinning is the opposite of work, it is the opposite of hurried, it is the opposite of busy, it is the oppposite of quick, it is the opposite of a duty. Spinning feels like a vacation on a beach, slow, bright, soft like the sand running through one's fingers, it is sweetly musical, like the gentle ocean waves...

I have a chest full of rovings. I never really pick randomely which one to spin. I stand and look at the colorful display before I pick, until one roving draws my attention. Today, the deep reds and aqua with a touch of sunny yellow caught my eye.

I spun my favorite worsted weight singles, effortlessly drafting, relishing the play of colors on the winding bobbin.

Today's spinning was like taking a stroll in the hills of Trouville in Normandy, with brightly colored red and yellow flowers along the roads and being surprised to find, after a turn in the road, the aqua sea.