February progress report

I have a college assignment due at the end of the month, and don't currently have much time for sewing, knitting, or blogging. So instead, here's a quick update on where I am with my various works in progress.

First up, sewing. My accidentally striped pinafore dress is looking a bit tired - hardly surprising as it's almost seven years old, and has had a lot of wear. I've made a start on a new one, using some black pinstripe wool which I bought for this purpose last year. It's all cut out, and the bodice is part done; it still needs the lining sewing down at the shoulders, understitching, and the front pleats tacked in place.

Pinafore bodice

I never thought that I would have more knitting projects on the go than sewing projects, but here we are. My slate Wondrella is cast on, and is my project for when I want to chat while knitting or am too tired for anything complicated. I have knitted the whole body, including front cables, up to the point of splitting of the fronts and back. I decided to knit the back before doing the fronts, although I can't now remember my logic for this! All the armscye shaping is done, so it's just a case of stocking stitch for another 50 or so rows.

The whole thing

Close-up on the right front

My blue Dahlia shawl remains my 'concentration required' project. I am finding it easier as I become more familiar with the pattern, but the slightest bit of wandering mind and I can be sure that I'll make a mistake. I bought a lovely set of coloured stitch markers (in colourway 'Thistle') from Rebecca’s Room Knitting and use them to colour-code the different sections of the pattern; they are perfect for reminding me where I am in a row.

Markers is shades of silver, purple and green

In terms of rows, I am more than halfway through. However because each row increases by four stitches, in terms of total number of stitches I am only around 30% done.

One side, partially stretched out

Occasionally I stop halfway through a row, just to get an idea of what the finished shawl might look like. Although I can't really tell now, as I can no longer space the stitches out properly. I will definitely need some more blocking mats to fit it all on!

Trying to show the whole thing

And that is where things are currently up to.

Solving a round problem

Because I don't want to start two posts in a row with pictures of balls of wool

Until now, all of my knitting has been from big-brand yarns in commercially wound 'balls'. Which I now understand were actually skeins, or possibly some cakes. Either way, the crucial thing was that they stayed where they were placed, and did not move around.

Not so the yarn I'm using for my Dahlia shawl. Wound from a hank into a firm ball, it wobbles precariously wherever it's put, and takes any opportunity to fall to the floor, where it gleefully rolls off in whichever direction will give it the furthest distance to travel before it hits an obstacle. At which point I have to put down my needles - not a good idea when you're partway through a row of a lace pattern - retrieve it, remove any debris it has acquired on its jaunt, and wind it back up. And curse (optional).

One of these things is not like the others

Clearly something needed to be done. I know that some people use yarn bowls, but somehow the idea didn't appeal. I usually take my knitting when I go to my mum's, and if I ever reach the stage of taking this project (lace knitting and conversation is currently beyond me) it would be an extra thing to carry round. I wanted something which I could put in my project bag when not in use, and eventually came up with an idea.

As this one was really a prototype, I made it a size to accommodate the wool I'm currently using. The fabric I used was all from stash - one of several fat quarters I've bought 'because they were pretty', and leftovers from the lining of my Ottoman coat. I cut out a piece approximately 40cm / 16" square from each.

The fabrics go really well together

Then I cut out five pieces of cardboard 10cm / 4" square, sandwiched one centrally between the two fabrics, and sewed around it. I added a second row of sewing ⅛" out, to create a 'hinge'.

The first piece of card sewn in place

Next I extended the black lines shown in the picture above and sewed along them to create pockets for the other four pieces of card.

Checking the fit of the other card pieces

For the band, I cut a piece of elastic long enough to wrap around the four sides of the box, with no overlap. I cut fabric a couple of centimetres longer, to allow for some stretch, and sewed this round the elastic. Then I butted the two ends of the band together, sewed it into a loop, and attached the loop to the outer layer of fabric. I covered the join with a motif cut from the remaining fabric.

Attaching the band to the main piece

I drew curves round the corners, slotted the four card squares into the pockets, folded the edges of both fabrics over (making the inner slightly smaller), cut away the excess, and slip-stitched the two sides together.

The completed piece, outside . . .

. . . and inside

And that was it. The four sides fold up and are held in place with the band, and the wool ball fits inside.

The completed container

The excess fabric at the corners stops the ball from coming out of the box, even if it's knocked over (I've tested this!), and the ball simply unrolls in place when the yarn is pulled.

The view from above

The hinge around the base allows the box to be folded up when not in use.

It's very flexible to fold

And even folds up completely

In short, it works exactly as I had hoped, and I'm really pleased with it. And the fact that it's another all-stash make just adds to the satisfaction.

Blue Dahlia

It's hard to believe that I've only been knitting properly for a year. I still regard myself as a beginner, but nonetheless I've gone from only being able to make small and/or basic items to understanding knitting patterns (Wondrella, which is a very clear pattern, might as well have been written in runes when I first tried to follow it!) and even having a go at adapting them.

My local fabric shop also has a wool section, and I have taken advantage of special sale days to stack up on supplies for a few future projects (shown here with the leftovers from my first Wondrella, for which I have Plans).

What can I say - I like blue!

By and large, though, I am trying to avoid building up a wool stash. So when my friend F mentioned that there was a one-day wool show taking place in her village, and was I interested, we went along purely for me to 'have a look'.

I was actually fairly restrained. I bought a kit for a scarf, and some bits and bobs such as stitch markers. Oh, and at the last minute, a hank of blue-with-black-accents 4ply from Bellica Yarns somehow came into my possession!

I really like blue!

I had no idea what to make with it, I just really liked the colour. But then Susan Crawford Vintage had a pattern sale, and browsing through that I came across the Dahlia shawl.

The recommended wool seemed to be a similar weight and after all, if a shawl doesn't come out to the exact size, it’s not really a disaster. Because the pattern only uses part skeins of several of the recommended yarns, I don't know what its exact yardage is. So, I decided to get some extra wool to supplement the hank. Matching the blue was going to be impossible, so I went for black instead. As I already know, matching blacks is not as straightforward as it sounds, but I struck lucky with this Rico superba 4ply which is the same mix of merino and nylon as well as a reasonable colour match. To add interest (and to attempt to hide the possible fact that I ran out of wool!) I decided to use it for the initial section of the shawl, and will go back to it either when the blue runs out or for the final edging.

The two together

I'm learning lots of new things on this project, not least just how long it takes to wind a 425m hank of wool into a (pleasingly large) ball.

It's probably as well that I don't have a cat - it would be carnage!

The pattern uses a circular needle, but I remain true to my lever knitting roots whenever possible, so I decided to work on straight needles until the shawl gets too big for them. Once I finally started knitting, I discovered that wool/nylon 4-ply on 4mm needles is in permanent danger of slipping off the needles and dropping stitches - in my hands, anyway. Luckily, I had a set of bamboo needles which I had bought as an experiment and never used, so tried them instead and found them much better.

I'm finding lace knitting - not difficult exactly, but intense. The stitches were easy to master, but you do need to concentrate. This is not knitting to do while I'm chatting to my mum or even listening to the radio; I will stick to my latest Wondrella for those times. I have also discovered, via quite a lot of practice, that unpicking lace knitting is not fun. When you are starting out on this technique safety lines are definitely your friend!

For me, at least for now, it has to be done in short bursts until my concentration lapses. But at the same time, it's so much fun to see the design develop. The pattern starts at the centre of the longest edge of the shawl, and works outwards with an increase of two stitches on every right side row. This does mean that the knitting 'bunches' on my straight needles.

On the bamboo needle

So I temporarily transferred it onto a circular needle, purely to admire my progress so far and to take pictures!

Spread out in all its glory

I'm about a third of the way through in terms of number of rows knitted, but of course the rows get much longer as the work progresses. So don't expect to see a completed shawl on here any time soon. But I'm greatly enjoying learning a new type of knitting, and using up some of my yarn stash!

Travelling in Style

I went back to my old university this week, to visit the exhibition Travel in Style - Iconic Cunard Advertising in the 1920s and 1930s at the Victoria Gallery and Museum. The Cunard archive is held in the University of Liverpool library (Cunard and the White Star Line were both Liverpool firms, and merged in 1934), and this exhibition features a number of vintage posters, along with brochures, menu cards and other souvenirs of the time.

Detail of a Cunard poster

During this period cruising and leisure travel became an increasingly important part of the company's business.

Poster advertising travel on the Queen Mary

As well as posters, Cunard created advertising material such as brochures to sell this new type of travel to the public, using both photographs and drawings. Naturally, I was most interested in images which included clothing.

Dancing on board in the 1920s

In the drawing room in the 1930s

"A quiet half hour" (minus pianist?) on the Aquitania

The 'grande descente' in the 1930s

Articles in The Cunarder, the company magazine, stressed the importance of all images striking the right tone: for example menu cards for breakfast would look very different from those for dinner. This is definitely a dinner image.

Elegant dining in the 1920s

The crossing would take five to seven days (I can get queasy on the Mersey Ferry, so even thinking about being afloat for that long filled me with horror!), and there were plenty of ways to pass the time.

Sports day on the Carmania

As the owner of a tiny piece of Cunard memorabilia, I looked for any references to the Berengaria. There were a few, all from the 1920s when the ship was still one of the more modern in the fleet.

Illustration of the Berengaria

"the spectacular Berengaria"

Clearly the Berengaria had an indoor swimming pool

My favourite item in the exhibition, though, was this publicity shot of the Dorchester Glamour Girls (a dance troupe who performed at the Dorchester Hotel) on board the Queen Mary in 1938. The hats! The suits! The shoes!

I'll take one of each ensemble, please

Travel in Style - Iconic Cunard Advertising in the 1920s and 1930s runs until 16 March 2024.