Oh, Canada!

Day 133: When a Canadian friend saw my krokbragd rangers design, she said, "Classic Mountie outline. Taller boots." The suggestion immediately appealed to me. The RCMP uniform is arguably the most recognizable in the world with its belted red serge jacket, high riding boots and Stetson hat. The jodhpurs had to give way to design feasibility, but that was a small sacrifice and easily overlooked. I already had "sample" lengths of red warp left over from a previous design failure, and although it meant tying a lot of ends I wouldn't have needed to tie if I'd measured the warp directly from the cone, it was a good way to put them to use. Two Mounties in, I said, "Oh, they're adorable!" Having this design on the inkle and sheep on the bonker gave me the opportunity to run a different kind of experiment. Careful scientific analysis shows that over five minutes, four times as many passes can be made on the bonker as on the inkle.

Proto-Ranger

Day 129: Back at the end of January, I began working on a new krokbragd design. My first draft had a fatal flaw, and I wound up cutting it off the loom after the first few inches showed that there was no hope of redeeming it. That said, the idea was sound, so I went back to the drawing board and did some revision. It does well to remind you at this point that designing krokbragd is the weaver's equivalent of drawing with a nine-pin printer. The difference is that I can make the characters taller, but no wider because I am limited to four throws, two of which must be identical, i.e., a sequence of 1-2-1-3. Most krokbragd patterns are geometric for a good reason! Once I'd worked out the pattern, it was time to experiment with colours. Since the bonker loom is occupied by sheep (the best ones yet, in my opinion), I had to weave my test piece on the inkle. I set up a little over two yards, confident that my design would work well enough to be usable. I completed the sample this morning and will be making one small adjustment to the design, and when I weave Version 2, I will use richer colours in some areas and a neutral background. The face will unfortunately have to be a brighter pink. The pale pink I used here is too close to white, but after purchasing four new cones of thread to find a better choice, I am out of options. We'll just have to assume Proto-Ranger forgot to put on sunscreen.

A Tisket, A Tasket, A Little Tatted Basket

Day 169: A tisket, a tasket!
A little tatted basket!

These Easter/May baskets have been in the developmental stage for the last two weeks and finally, I'm satisfied with the pattern. I've used Lizbeth #20 thread to construct these two, a little finer than the cheaper crochet cotton I used while experimenting to get the flare of the bowl and handle attachment just right. In one earlier version, I'd tried a Fenton-style ruffle around the top edge, but in the softer Lizbeth thread, it tended to collapse even when heavily starched. There are a lot of things to consider when creating any type of needlework pattern, of which practicality (the intended function of the finished piece), style, fiber and ease of construction are only a few elements. I haven't entirely dismissed the Fenton-inspired design idea, but I believe it would be better made with a heavier thread. That said, I prefer not to use #10, putting it in the category of "ship's hawser," and don't keep it on hand. However, in the back of my mind is a stray thought about tatting a bath mat from strips of t-shirt jersey. Now that would be different, and it would get me up and walking as I pretended to be a needle passing back and forth over a cord strung from one side of my living room to the other.

The Process Of Design

Day 117: As my readers will recall, I recently entered an original design in a contest for tatting and crochet. Participants are not limited to a single entry, so after talking with the sponsors at some length about the shortage of cluny tatting patterns, I decided to create one for a second entry. The design process for me consists of a lot of trial and error; I have a tendency to imagine the results in reverse, a sort of dyslexic interpretation of my intent. Consequently, I choose to use up "short balls" of thread or yarn while in the developmental stages, and then translating them into a display-worthy piece once I've sorted out the issues. I am far enough into the cluny piece that I felt confident enough in its direction that I reproduced it in the final fiber (a pale variegated green cotton) before moving on to the next row in the "test" piece. The finished doily will probably be one of my entries in the Puyallup Fair this year as well, although they don't give extra points for original design. However, another cunning plan is in play here. Even if the piece is not one of the winners in the contest, I have opened discussion with the sponsors with regard to producing a book of cluny designs. They were quite enthusiastic about the suggestion.

Wish Me Luck!

Day 115: Back in the days when I did a lot of hardanger work, I entered pieces into a national contest, twice receiving honourable mention, which amounted to a cash prize and publication in the annual awards pattern book. Other than those two ventures into competition, I have not put any of my work up for judging except at the Washington State Fair. There I also received ribbons in each of the three categories for which I submitted pieces (a first prize and two second prizes, each of two years). Recently I learned of a tatting/crochet contest in which there will be twelve winners, each to be rewarded with $35 in merchandise and publication in a 2021 calendar. Patterns must be "original or adapted from public domain," i.e., vintage patterns for which the copyright has expired. You may recall an earlier post showing this same design in ecru, thread which my mother had purchased in to 1940s intending to make a pineapple tablecloth. She never got around to it, and the thread (perfectly preserved) came to me. Somewhere along the line, the pattern went missing, so I decided to make the tablecloth in tatting instead, and created this original design motif. Since the calendar contest closes in April, I knew I wouldn't be able to finish the whole piece (I only have 58 motifs made), I decided to zip up a fast 2 x 2 in white #20 as my entry. Wish me luck!

Rings And Chains

Day 175: Needle-tatting is also occasionally referred to as "speed tatting," and indeed, it progresses substantially faster than tatting done with a shuttle. As I've mentioned before, the drawback is that the picots (tiny single-thread loops) are less stable due to the fact that the double-stitches holding them in place are by default loose enough that the tatting needle can be drawn through them. That said, the trade-off isn't as bad as it sounds when the needleworker can complete a project quickly. The 11" x 7" doily on the right, made with #20 cotton, took a mere three days, partly because of the large number of chains which give it an open, airy feel. My original tablecloth pattern (left, four joined motifs) is more dense and therefore more labour-intensive. When joining motifs in tatting, care must be taken to keep all right sides up. The piece of blue yarn is temporary, and tells me at a glance which face of the work is the back. I am hoping to have the tablecloth completed in time to submit to the Washington State Fair in 2020.

Knittive Species

Day 107: My "Bee-Wear" hat design brought lots of favourable comments from friends, along with a number of requests for a ladybug version. I was somewhat reluctant. After all, the little red critter with black spots we call "ladybug" is an introduced species, brought here from Europe to control aphids. Our native species do not have the red and black colouration. My immediate reaction was that it would be inappropriate for a nature center, but who doesn't love ladybugs? I decided to give the idea a whirl. However, I was faced with the problem of being able to produce the hats quickly and easily as knitwear, and dismissed the options of using felt patches or big black buttons for the spots.

Although it's been many moons since I took up bobbins/butterflies to do multiple colours, I decided that the best way to attack ladybugs was with intarsia coupled with Fair Isle. Here, I carried the red yarn around the row, performing a wrap-and-turn at the end of the round so that I could work on circular needles in a back-and-forth manner, knitting one row and purling back, a technique which allowed me to pick up the black butterflies where I had dropped them at the left edge of each spot. This worked very well, although my execution of the carryovers was a little too snug on this prototype. Developing the head and antennae required a bit more thought. I finally decided to knit the piece in the round on only seven stitches. Cute? Yes, and although this "knittive species" of ladybug may require a bit more time to produce, I suspect they'll be popular in Joppa Flats' gift shop.

Hedwig's New Hat

Day 114: After searching through all my pattern books, I determined that none of the cloche designs would work for the "brain" cap many of us are making for the March for Science, so I decided to invent my own. I took three measurements from my own head: circumference, distance across the top from ear tip to ear tip, distance across the top from forehead (roughly) to the base of the occipital lobe (the point where the "bump" on the back of the head rolls under to meet the spine). The two distances were almost identical..."close enough for government work"...so the cap needed no shaping other than a reduction to bring it closed at the top. I took the gauge from another piece of work I had handy, multiplied it out, adjusted the number to a multiple of eight, subtracted an inch from the diameter because I wanted the cap to fit snugly, calculated the number of rows it would take to make the depth. Then I determined where the decreases should begin and from that, found the number of rows I'd need to shape the top. Voila! I was ready to knit.

Here Hedwig ("Heddy" for short) models the finished cloche. This one will be the base for the "brain" hat, but with this cute design, it could easily be an "everyday" cap. And because I am a Utopianist who doesn't believe in money (my grandmother said it was the root of all evil), you won't need to visit a website or download this pattern because it's right here, free...one small step toward making the world a better place by sharing knowledge.

Crow's Cloche: you will need knitting worsted and #5 needles (circular and double-point). You can make the hat larger by moving up to #6 needles.

Cast on 104 sts and work 6 rounds in k2, p2 rib.
In stockinette st, work 17 rounds even (or less if desired)
Rows 18, 22, 26, 30, 34, 38: dec 8 sts evenly around (every fourth row)
Rows 40, 42, 44: dec 8 sts evenly around (every other row)
Rows 45-46: dec 8 sts evenly around (every row)
Rows 47-48: k 2 tog around
Draw thread through remaining sts and pull up.

For "brain," make sufficient i-cord (French cord) to cover cap in two hemispheres. At some point in the near future, I'll post a photo of a finished brain cap.

***Updating the pattern...22 rows is a little long before the first decrease (corrected above). Make your first decrease on row 18 and adjust the other row numbers accordingly.

Mitts For A Mouse

Day 144: A couple of weeks ago, one of my sisters-of-the-heart asked me to make some fingerless gloves for her. A check of my knitting books yielded nothing, so I designed them to her specifications, based loosely on a simple mitten pattern. There were a few details to work out, particularly in regard to the number of stitches which could be worked in a decorative motif across the back of the hand while leaving the palm unpatterned. I chose a honeycomb, a four-stitch repeat worked over 24 stitches. Per Mousie's request, I made the cuffs extra-long and used a soft-textured, neutral grey yarn. The pattern will be filed away for future reference.