World Wide Knit in Public Day at Slater Mill Historic Site

Slater Mill was opened in 1793 as one of the first industrial cotton mills in the US.

It sits along the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, RI.

In addition to two historic mill buildings there is a colonial era house and garden.

The garden features vegetables as well as medicinal plants and plants used for dyeing fibers.

This is the inside of the Wilkinson Mill, which still has its original water wheel and the mechanisms the power the machinery seen here.   Only one floor is currently set up to run with the water wheel....it's deafening and the the floor shakes, I can't imagine what the creaking, groaning, and thumping would have been like with three floors operational.  Part of the exhibit let's kids use a water powered lathe to make spools for thread.

The guide gets a comfy and particularly picturesque seat between tours.

This is the waterwheel.  It's massive and has an impressive array of controls to help regulate water pressure.

The outside of the Wilkinson Mill with the local spinning guild holding demonstrations. The weather was perfect, warm with a touch of  humidity to give the air that soft summer feeling, but with enough of a breeze to make knitting and handling wool in fine.  

The Blackstone River, the source of power for both of the mills on site. The Blackstone played an important role in the Industrial Revolution for much of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.  It's a wonder to behold, one of our summer goals is to take the boat tour that explores the rivers history.

Of course there was yarn bombing on some two hundred year old industrial machinery.

The purple pompom was my contribution.

The interior of Slater Mill which was one of the first cotton mills in the US.  There are spinning machines, drum carder, etc...representing the mills over 100 hundred year history as a working mill.

The loom that sits in the colonial era house on the property.   We were able to buy some samples of fabric that had been woven on this loom.

The lovely, sunlit dining room.

If I had this machine I might actually manage to knit a pair of socks.

Part of the WWKIPD event was a yard sale, my 12 year old managed to purchase a pair of wool breeks and a cotton shirt for reenactments for $6!!! He was very excited, they need some alterations so we are going to do them in the period correct way for children's clothes by inserting drawstrings rather than making permanent alterations.

He is going to be training to become a docent at the Nathaniel Greene Homestead.

Later in the day he found a chemise for me for $1...I think the women at the yard sale table were charmed by his enthusiasm for early American history.

This lovely window is in the waterwheel room.  I'd wished I could sit there with a good book or my knitting.   The windows throughout the stone building are gorgeous.

If you're ever in RI check out this gem of a place.  They have many events throughout the year including a fiber festival.  The grounds are a lovely spot to stop and enjoy the river.  It's one of our favorite spots.

Oh, as for knitting...I didn't get a whole lot of that done. Everything else was perfect. 

We Miss Christmas!!!

We miss Christmas, or at least some of the trappings of Christmas.  Mainly Peppermint Mocha coffee creamer....so today we made out own....

1/2 Gallon Half and Half
One can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 tablespoons cocoa powder mixed with three or tablespoons of hot water until it is chocolate sauce consistency.
Pour 3 cups of the half and half into a mixing bowl, add all other ingredients.

Whisk until ingredients incorporate.



We made enough to refill a creamer container and most of the half and half container.
Verdict, perfect for grownups, not quite as sweet as commercial versions so my daughter added a bit of sugar.

Joe declared it perfect in his cup of cocoa.

Merry taste of Christmas and Happy Drinking!!!!

Round and Round

This spring I am going to be teaching a fiber arts course for 3rd & 4th grade kids, some with special needs.  So far plans are for printing on fabric using potatoes and fabric paint.
Dyeing yarn with natural dyes made from flowers and vegetables.
Sewing bags and pillows from the potato print fabric.
And first, and last circle weaving....first on old CDs, and embroidery hoops

.....then on hula hoops to display along the fence of the schoolyard.  Eight weeks to prepare eight weeks of classes...I'll be trying some techniques out at my daycare job. 

This Icy Winter Chill

Hello from my poor neglected blog.  It's been a rough sort of year watching my country be torn in two as white supremacists and misogynists have come crawling out of their holes, like angry bears who slept too long and woke up too hungry.
My year has been one of political engagement and involvement.

Last January I started a knitting group, the Nasty Knitters, to make Pussy Hats for the Women's March, this January I will be knitting some more.  As a group we also began a project making blankets with and for recently arrived refugee families. It was an act of solidarity and defiance in the face of our president banning refugees from our shores.  Eventually the families will take the blankets home to their homes and hopefully feel they are indeed welcome and wanted, in the meantime we meet once a month or so to create and join knit or crocheted squares, to share food, and company.

I couldn't make it to the Women's March in Washington DC or the local March in Providence, I did make a couple of dozen knit hats which I sent to friends across the country.  I will never forget the pure exhilaration of running to the living room when my mom and kids started yelling.  The sight of that sea of pink, knowing that some of those hats on some of those people were mine made me feel connected in a way I wouldn't have thought possible.  I'm not ashamed to say I cried.  Later that day the kids and I wore our hats to the beach (along with my mom, who isn't in the photo because she stayed in the car out of the cold) Two women who had been at the March came over to talk to us, share hugs, and take this picture. My oldest was at the Providence March and agreed the tone of the day was one of love as empowerment.

  

This year will end as last year began, with me making Pussy Hats in a variety of shades and not all pink.  With family and friends getting ready to take to the streets.  We are now saddled with a government which wears its disdain for the poor, for minorities, LGBTQ people,  women, and immigrants, as a badge of honor.  It glories in vulgarity and divisiveness.  And it threatens us all.  This is not the country or the future I have imagined for my children, and it isn't one I will leave them willingly.

Half of the country has been plunged into an icy winter chill and our government has cut funding for heating programs.  Out west fires rage and go without aid or even acknowledgement from the White House, and over 100 days after a hurricane ravaged Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Isles Americans in those territories are still without electricity or potable water supplies.  Our government has abandoned it's duty to its citizens in favor of greed and hate.  All I can say on this freezing cold last day of 2017 is that 2018 must be the year we reclaim our nation and it's promise for all of its citizens.  

Simple Pussy Hat for non-knitters

Knit or crocheted pink hats are the most visual form of connectedness and protest at the upcoming March for Women in Washington DC, and across the country.
Time is getting short and request for hats has absolutely exploded in the last few days.  Need exceeds the speediest of knitters.

Here is a simple solution made out of polar fleece, or any knit fabric with some stretch.
Pink is the suggested color, but not one particular shade.  I've made knit hats ranging from bubblegum pink to a deep purple.



For non knitters,  the hats are a simple rectangle.
Take a piece of pink fleece that is 10.5"×16"
(The diagram says 9", but that was too snug when I made one,  your best bet is to measure your head and add one inch to allow for seaming)

Fold it in half right sides together  and seam up the sides
The fold is the top of the hat.
Roll up 1" at the open end and stitch it in place
This is the brim.
Turn it right side out and voila!  Pink hat!

Simple straight stitch

Up the sides

And along the hem for the brim.

Flatten the side seams as you sew the brim

And give the fabric a good stretch as you go so the stitches won't break when you pull it on.  Or sew in a zip zag stitch.

Same directions apply for machine stitching,  keep the fabric stretched as you go.  Fleece is very forgiving and doesn't unravel, so if you prefer you can simply roll the brim up.

                       Finished hat inside out

                    

Finished hat on my cooperative son

                                         

Fairytale Kingdom

anywhere can be a fairytale kingdom if you just believe

even your own back yard 

or the local park

all you need is good company

a few flowers

growing wild and fragrant

showing how much stronger they are than anything

man made

an air of mystery

and a sweater with a hood

more wildflowers

and a place for fairies to dance

sometimes you need a fairytale afternoon

or a walk with your favorite girl

which is pretty much the same thing

If the Mitts Fitz

Chunky mitts for winter walks in the Scottish Highlands
Or your own backyard wherever it may be.

Needle
US 13 - 9.0 mm

Yarn
Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky
Colorway
402 Wheat



C/O 30 stitches
(long tail, doesn’t seem to have a problem with rolling over)
R 1 knit
R 2 purl
R 3 knit
R. 4 purl
R 5 kn.st 1-17, decrease 1 (knit two together) knit rest of row
R 6 purl
On knit (odd rows) decrease 1 with center stitches
(even rows purl straight across)
Until there are 19 stitches left.
Three rows of stockinette
On the 3rd row (purl side) knit first 3 and last 3 stitches..
Garter stitch first and last 3 stiches on each row for seven rows
(For thumbs)
Stockinette for last 5 rows
BO on purl row.
(Seems to eliminate rolling)
Seam up sides. Leaving space for the thumb at the garter stitch section. You don’t have to do the garter stitch but it keeps the thumb opening lying flat and nicely defined, especially if you use a yarn that doesn’t block well.
I usually leave a long enough tail when I bind off and cast on to stitch up the seams.

I wear a US size 16….if you are small you may want to go down a needle size, or start with fewer stitches…..to compensate and preserve the length just knit more rows of stockinette before the thumbs.

Ode to Issey

Notes

Long tail CO 80 stitches
R1 - knit
R2 - knit one pearl one rib
R3 - knit one pearl one rib
R4 - knit one pearl one rib
R5 - P 1-74, K1,P1,K1,P1,K1,P1
R6 - K1,P,1K1,P1,K1,P1, K 74-80
Continue until piece measures approx. 60”
Repeat three rows of P1,k1 ribbing (these are the ends)
Knit one row, bind off on purl row..
fold in half to match the ribbed ends together

one long side will be ribbed, the other long side curled up stockinette, this is the side that gets sewn,
sew from the ends toward the middle, leave about 12’ from the folded edge open. this becomes the neck opening.
I made the neck by doing four rows of Single Crochet back and forth, on the last row I added four chain stitches and wove that in to the bottom of the crochet section to make a button loop.
You could also Crochet in the round and eliminate the button. Or pick up stitches and knit the collar, leaving the opening wider would accommodate a cowl neck.
I made this for a teen boy so I wanted the finished look more tailored and severe. I would probably do a more open neck for myself.
Easy project, just time consuming. And most likely made a lot easier if not Black……

The button is an antique US Navy button.
The photos are lightened so the stitches will show, it is truly black. Very luxurious feeling, and warm.
I made it for my teen son who is a big fan of Issey Miyake and Commes des Garcon, he requested a black poncho with that aesthetic in mind. It’s a Christmas present.

Joe can Sew!

This afternoon I was planning to start sewing

Christmas presents for my family.

Joe asked if he could help, so he helped me cut out

the fabric for his present, a pair of pajamas.

It's a tiny house so everyone had already seen their

fabric. No surprise ruining going on here.

What was a surprise was that he wanted to sew his own.

I said no, but there was enough fabric leftover to make a new apron.

I thought he could help me.

I cut the fabric and pieced it for him.

He did the rest.

This was his first time sewing.

And he was very intent and focused.

That in itself is an accomplishment for him.

He usually struggles with attention.

Except when cooking.

Here he is wearing his new apron and cooking his dinner.

If there is one thing that is as satisfying as sitting down to

eat a meal you just made,  it is whipping the apron you just finished

out of the sewing machine and wearing it

while you cook that meal.

He is one proud boy, with one proud momma,

and a brand new apron.