Oh, to Knit Like My Knitting Idols #5KCBWDAY6

Day 6 of Eskimimi’s Knit and Crochet Blog Week Challenge is to write about someone you admire, and about yourself in comparison/contrast. My knitting idols are my grandmother and her sister, Auntie Marg.

Margaret and Alice about 1917

When I knew them, I didn’t think much about knitting. They became my knitting idols much later, when I thought back, in amazement, of the things they knitted. Most vivid in my memories: the sacred afghan that remained on our couch for the purpose of keeping warm, while watching TV and slipping into Dreamland. We called it the “duggy-wuggy” (I do not know the origin of that term, so it’d be no good to ask! 🙂 ). It was light green, dark green, and gray. And possibly some canary yellow in there, too. It was about 4 1/2 feet long by 2 feet wide and had fringe on both narrow ends. Thick cables coursed down the length of it. It had a fabric backing that was a dark gray-brown wool crepe, very slinky. My dad took a nap on the couch every day when he got home from work. I aspire to that, too. I’ve had couch blankets, lap quilts, throws, on the couch…but none so awesome as that duggy-wuggy!

Next memory is of the baby layette items after my daughter was born. I’m sorry to say I don’t have a single one of these left. They were so classic, and so delectable. A yellow cardigan with raglan sleeves, with a matching white and yellow Tyrolean hat with a little pompom on top (not frilly, in case she turned out to be a boy, but yellow, so she could still wear it if she was a girl). Knit-stitch booties with a satin ribbon to tie. A white ripple-effect baby blanket. A white crocheted jacket and bonnet, with a satin ribbon tie.

I can picture in my mind, the two sisters looking at each other with purposeful ambition, whenever a new baby was announced.

Auntie Marg, c. 1929

Here is my great-aunt, wearing a shawl that she undoubtedly made. Aunt Margaret never married; she lived with my grandmother in a house full of cats.

As for me, I guess my leaf didn’t fall far from the tree, but to compare with their expertise….I still have a long way to go! And I’m still searching for that plain baby cardigan and hat set pattern!

Me, Bob, and Mom

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Keep the [center-pull yarn] ball rolling at WNK

It was anniversary night, of a sort, at Wednesday Night Knitting. I looked back over the blog and found that we’ve been meeting [and I’ve been knitting and blogging about us] since February 2011. When I looked back over some of our projects in the past two years, I was really pleased with us! Happy blogiversary to us! This calls for a real celebration.

Last week, while Ethel’s family was visiting, she took her daughter-in-law to our LYS, Yarnworks, and asked her to pick out some yarn and a pattern that she would like Ethel to make for her. What a great idea!

Ethel’s daughter-in-law’s yarn pick

Ethel’s daughter-in-law’s pattern pick

Since the yarn for this project was held double, I saw that Ethel had wound the doubled strands ahead of time into a sort of coil, rather than a ball. She was worried that the halo of the fuzzy strands would make them stick together and tangle but it was all good.

And here’s the WIP:

Ethel’s alpaca hat, in progress

Very nice alpaca! Soft and fuzzy.
Ethel also took her to a bead store where they bought the components for some earrings, and made them. Nice way to get in the running for Best Mother-in-law Ever, Ethel!

Meanwhile, Lois says she wants to join Hat Knitters Anonymous to try and cut back a step at a time. She brought along some bright, springy pink yarn and the beginnings of a feather and fan stitch afghan. Great color and motif for ushering in spring, Valentine’s, possible new baby girl great-grandchild?

I did another version of the Beginner’s Socks pattern by Heather Storta that was furnished with Sock-it-to-Me 2013, the ravelry KAL group I’ve been following.

house socks in Ella Rae Amity Print

Now I’m working on the February pattern, the International Sock of Doom. They also have an additional February free pattern from Susie Q Knits for Valentine Worsted socks, with an adorable raised heart at the ankle. I’ve also started the Craftsy Mystery Knit-along, which turned out to be the Laera Shawl by Grace Akhrem. So far I’ve done a gauge swatch in prep for casting on —what? 361 teeny, tiny stitches!

Grayzie, ready to roll with the Schoppel Laceball 100

We are going to a chili cook off and talent show this weekend. Ethel is working on a rat to enter in the show.

the rat so far

She’s a Norwegian rat [like Ethel :)] and this will be her cute little costume, as planned by her maker.

Norwegian rat in folk dress, Ethel’s drawing

She’s using an Alan Dart pattern for the body and adding her own costume design! So much fun!

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It’s a New Dawn! at Wednesday Night Knitting

Looks wintry around here, but actually it’s 77 degrees F

January dawns so full of hope. For WNK knitting group, we are looking at a new year of potential, lots of fun projects and happy times ahead. We missed out on Distaff Day, a traditional “back-to-work” day for practitioners of the needle arts, following the Twelfth Night of Christmas. Maybe next year!

Tricia wrapped yarn using her nostepinde.

 

Trish worked on the beautiful white and multicolored afghan, and says she’s bound to finish it no matter what! She’s not going to let another year go by! Meanwhile, DH was out in the shop making more nostepinder for other knitters in our group.

That Li’l Ol’ Nostepinde maker

Ethel’s doll and ball gown

Ethel brought her recent labor of love, a ball gown for an 18-inch doll. She also hand-beaded the gown’s jeweled bodice, and plans to bejewel a matching pair of shoes. In the meantime, she kept working on the beautiful Boutique Magical cowl, the subject of Love of Knitting’s Winter Knit-Along.

Ethel’s Magical Cowl, in progress

Lois and new hat

Lois came wearing a new hat she’d made. She liked it so much she decided to keep it for herself. The crown was done in seed stitch. She worked on a ruffle-knit scarf on dpns in a beautiful multicolor yarn.

Lois and ruffle scarf

Ethel showing 2 balls wound on the nostepinde, or rather, a ball and a cake

Bob was thrilled to snog Ethel’s purse once again

Deb working on a baby hat in “Crimson Tide” colors

Even though she resides deep in Gator country, Deb doesn’t want the new grandbaby to grow up without having a proper Alabama connection. We love the gators, but they sucked in the Sugar Bowl. Sucked. Alabama is just the most-nearly-perfect football machine we’ve got here in SEC territory, so I won’t really begrudge Debbie that little unspoken hint of “nyah-nyah”-ing at the close of a rocking college football season.

my Poppy beret

Finally, here is my WIP, the Poppy Beret from Sock Yarn Studio. You cannot see the pattern very well because I used a variegated yarn, Red Rocks by Universal, rather than a single color like the one in the book. I seem to be getting nowhere fast and I long for a big bulky yarn and a simple pattern. Ethel, too, lamented the extra time and energy needed to work with sock yarn and lace-weights.

Ethel winding malabrigo grape sock yarn on the nostepinde with Evil Pauly

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