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Knitters and Needleworkers of Free Republic, Unite! (a vain vanity)
Knitting a Conundrum

Posted on 10/12/2005 6:35:50 AM PDT by Knitting A Conundrum

Ok, come out of the woodwork. We know you are out there, doing needlework at your computer terminal. Knitters, cross stitchers, crocheters and others. What's your craft? Wanna share? Want to form an online knitting circle or whatever?


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Hobbies
KEYWORDS: crochet; crossstitch; embroidery; fiberarts; knitting; knittingcircle; needlearts; needlework; quilting; selfexpression; selfpxtherapy; sew; stitch; thread; yarn
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To: Knitting A Conundrum

Good question, common problem. I finally got bold and claimed the entire basement for my 'messes.'

My kids are in their 20's, still mostly living at home, but they each have a good sized bedroom to call their own. Sadly, I'm the slob of the family, but I can keep it confined, finally.

I don't 'sneak' things in, but I don't make grand announcements, either. lol I just keep reminding them all to be happy I'm not addicted to furs, jewlry or alcohol. And I make them sweaters, quilts and blankets periodically. ;-)

Pinz


101 posted on 10/12/2005 8:09:47 PM PDT by pinz-n-needlez
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To: HarleyLady27

That sounds awesome! Your own little fiber retreat! :-D

Pinz


102 posted on 10/12/2005 8:12:23 PM PDT by pinz-n-needlez
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To: Knitting A Conundrum

I should introduce myself.....

I do most fiber stuff, spinning, weaving, knitting, crochet, embroidery, sewing, quilting, etc.

I play with a Medival reenactment group, and do most of my research in the years between 1000 and 1600. I can tell you alot about knitting in the Middle Ages. ;-)

I'm determined to get to work on my looms this winter, a 60" Cranbrook countermarche, 24" Leclerc rigid heddle and assorted inkle and small box looms. I've got a $200 bid on a 60" Macomber loom for doing Colonial overshot coverlets. The bids close Saturday, my fingers are crossed.

I quilted my first vest during the first round of Clinton banking hearings, way back in the early 90's. I try to have an engrossing hand project to work on durings hearings and big political scandals. I don't know if Free Republic has saved my fiber art, or just warped it a bit. lol

I've been known to Freep while making socks, especially through long political threads. Actually started hard core sweater making during Carter's administration because it was a way to get through EVERY article in Newsweek to try to make some sense of National politics. I was in my early 20's then.

I made my mother a set of 4 needlepoint chair cushions during Nixon's Watergate hearings.

When my 4 kids were little, I would read knitting and weaving books while I nursed them at naptime or at bedtime. Now I'm free to use that information, just got to make the time. Hence the need to Freep and knit.

Thanks for a wonderful thread, Knitting a Conundrum, I've enjoyed your comments and webpage since the Laci threads last year. :-)

Pinz


103 posted on 10/12/2005 8:24:40 PM PDT by pinz-n-needlez
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To: pinz-n-needlez

Have you ever gotten on the Historical Knitting list at Yahoo groups? Most of the hard core users are medieval reenactors of various stripes...although they tolerate us 18th and 19th century types (I reenact the Federalist period...persona is centered on about 1790. I wanted a period with no war going on...just heading west. Hubby's getting too old to play soldier and he hates drill. Hubby's got a secret wish to reenact the 900s, but he just can't leave the black powder alone).

But the knitting I like best is probably the 1840s-1880s...lots of cotton work!


104 posted on 10/12/2005 8:55:11 PM PDT by Knitting A Conundrum (Act Justly, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly With God Micah 6:8)
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To: xsmommy
Where
105 posted on 10/12/2005 9:35:56 PM PDT by Knitting A Conundrum (Act Justly, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly With God Micah 6:8)
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To: Knitting A Conundrum

Yes, I am. I'm Mistress Susanna, in Atlantia. ;-)

There are some amazing minds and talented fingers on that list. I'm pleased when I can keep up, and ecstatic when I find an opportunity to actually make a contribution. lol

Pinz


106 posted on 10/12/2005 9:48:57 PM PDT by pinz-n-needlez
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To: Maximus of Texas
Babes in knitted stuff?


107 posted on 10/12/2005 10:00:58 PM PDT by Dashing Dasher ( Or you can crawl from the rubble and slowly rebuild.)
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To: pinz-n-needlez

It is an amazing core group of knitters...It's been awhile since I posted last, but I do like to sit back and watch.


108 posted on 10/12/2005 10:01:53 PM PDT by Knitting A Conundrum (Act Justly, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly With God Micah 6:8)
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To: Knitting A Conundrum
Anybody got any pics to show off?

I mostly make afghans to give as gifts. Here's one I made for a friend's son.


109 posted on 10/12/2005 10:06:07 PM PDT by jellybean
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To: little jeremiah
Is there any way to do it other than "by hand"?

Not that I know of unless you can sort the names out in a word program. I just made a second copy and used that to sort. I started with the first two names and went down the list.

110 posted on 10/12/2005 11:36:08 PM PDT by FOG724 (Down with the sickness - Disturbed)
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To: Mercat; alwaysconservative; wildehunt; IN Farm Girl; proudofthesouth; Grannyx4; HarleyLady27; ...

Morning, fellow crafty ones...

Want to trade some favorite sites for reference and patterns?

What I know most is knitting.

There are some great places out there.

here are some I really like:

Wool Works:
http://www.woolworks.org/
(has some nice free patterns)

The main index for the Knit List Gift pattern index. (The Knit List has been collecting patterns that people donate as christmas gifts to each other for years. Some great patterns!)
http://www.knitlist.com/ListGifts.htm

Knitting Techniques. She has created animated gifs that go through various hard to explain techniques
http://www.dnt-inc.com/barhtmls/knittech.html

Fiber Link from the Fiber Gypsy
a collection of files and links that are very useful, especially the one about "Charts and other helpful resources"
http://www.fibergypsy.com/index.shtml

The Socknitters home page - very important for us socky tyeps.
http://www.socknitters.com/

And although about.com drives me crazy sometimes, they have a great knitting page:
http://knitting.about.com/

There are a lot more but these are some of my favorites.


111 posted on 10/13/2005 5:58:20 AM PDT by Knitting A Conundrum (Act Justly, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly With God Micah 6:8)
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To: Grannyx4

I'm left handed and was my grandmother's only daughter. She grew making all her own clothes and tried to teach me. It was frustrating for her though since I "commenced" the opposite of where she did but I did learn to sew and was making my own doll clothes when I was nine. I did a lot of cross stitch until my eyes got weaker. Now I knit and crochet and applique. One of my life ambitions is to make a quilt but I have six of my grandmother's masterpieces around the house so am not terribly motivated.


112 posted on 10/13/2005 6:35:34 AM PDT by Mercat (God loves us where He finds us.)
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To: pinz-n-needlez
I quilted my first vest during the first round of Clinton banking hearings, way back in the early 90's. I try to have an engrossing hand project to work on durings hearings and big political scandals. I don't know if Free Republic has saved my fiber art, or just warped it a bit. lol

I first discovered Rush while weaving in my studio on dark winter afternoons in Vermont. I guess my craft was instrumental in my politcal progression.

113 posted on 10/13/2005 6:48:14 AM PDT by wildehunt (I told them they'd need horses...)
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To: Mercat

A friend of mine knits right handed and crochets lefthanded...figure that one out...


114 posted on 10/13/2005 7:00:20 AM PDT by Knitting A Conundrum (Act Justly, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly With God Micah 6:8)
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To: jellybean

Jellybean, I like that!

During the 19th century, things we call afghans were often called quilts, These were always as far as I've seen, made of blocks like pieced quilts.


115 posted on 10/13/2005 7:03:39 AM PDT by Knitting A Conundrum (Act Justly, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly With God Micah 6:8)
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To: Dashing Dasher

Them is cute babies!


116 posted on 10/13/2005 7:04:25 AM PDT by Knitting A Conundrum (Act Justly, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly With God Micah 6:8)
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To: pinz-n-needlez
In the first half of the 19th century, scarves were called comforts. Somewhere in one of my 1840s knitting books, there is a pattern for a comfortable comfort.

Most of the early scarf patterns that were for serious warmth then seem to be double knitted.

Or possibly k1 p1 whch the Workwoman's Guide, printed in the 1830s, calls something like "imitation double knitting." I'm too lazy right now to get up and look for it.

Seems that no one can find any documentation or examples of knitted scarves in the 1700s. They weren't doing much flat knitting then, and it may have just seemed like wasted time to bother with knitting a scarf, when there were so many pairs of stockings and mittens to do and there was a strip of wool fabric handy.

Now for the real purpose of this piece.

My favorite non-lacy knitting pattern makes a great scarf. It's sort of a almost rib pattern, which doesn't get as stretcy as real rib.

cast on a mutiple of 3 + 2 stitches. Say, 24 +2 = 26. Then the pattern is all simplicity: sl 1, k2p1 across, k the last stitch. All the rows are done the same.

looks like this;

Where
117 posted on 10/13/2005 7:15:10 AM PDT by Knitting A Conundrum (Act Justly, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly With God Micah 6:8)
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To: Knitting A Conundrum

Thanks for all the links - bookmarked it!


118 posted on 10/13/2005 8:26:25 AM PDT by little jeremiah (A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, are incompatible with freedom. P. Henry)
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To: Knitting A Conundrum

OOOhhh, beautiful pattern.

I think early scarves were woven. Knitting takes a long time to create fabric that weaving can do in a flash.

I'm going to pass along your scarf pattern to my youngest daughter who is well on her way to becoming a fiber fanatic, bless her heart. She's already asked me if she can have my fiber tools and books when I die. I said, "Of course!" The rest of my kids said, "Good, we don't want that junk!" lol

Off to weave 14 yards of trim for edging on 7 sideless surcoats...

What hand candy do you all have planned for Harriet Miers' hearing?

Pinz


119 posted on 10/13/2005 8:53:09 AM PDT by pinz-n-needlez
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To: pinz-n-needlez

One advantage of not watching TV is that I will be getting my info from FR, which is one level less intense...but I will either be knitting a sweater (nice and lacy, a pattern someone wanted me to help debug for her, and done on BIG needles (size 13!) instead of my usual fingering yarn and size 1 or 0).

There is a hat pattern I knit. It is done in the round. It has 8 decreases in it. So I use 9 needles to knit it...why do people give me such strange looks when they see me knit one?


120 posted on 10/13/2005 9:16:51 AM PDT by Knitting A Conundrum (Act Justly, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly With God Micah 6:8)
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