Yarn Snobbery

I hate to admit this, but I have become what some people would consider a "yarn snob".  I really dislike working with all that acrylic stuff that seems to pervade most craft stores.  Not only do I dislike working with it, but I wouldn't wrap my new precious bundle in something made with it.  Now maybe my brain just works differently, maybe it's the time spent with living historians around open flames, but do you know what that stuff does when a spark hits it?  I've seen it, and it isn't pretty, and I would never run the risk of having it around my baby.  For my baby, and if you choose differently I hold nothing against you, it's all natural fibers and preferably wool. But this leaves me with a bit of a problem!  You see, I was given a bag of "wool" (used the way it's used where I live to denote any fiber to knit or crochet with) by a very sweet older lady to "make a blanket for the baby".  There isn't any actual wool in it.  I accepted it several months ago and put it away hoping she would forget about it and that I could get rid of it at some point.  However, I was asked last night if I had made a blanket yet for the baby with the "wool"- she even remembered the colors.  I was able to say truthfully that I haven't made any blankets yet, that my pile of knitting is huge!  Now what do I do?  I can crochet (the quickest method) a blanket just to show her and use it once to please her (this is what I'm leaning towards), or I can continue to ignore it and hope to be able to come up with future excuses.

In the meantime, here are a couple of new photos of baby things just to make you smile.

                                     Boys Booties from Natural Knits for Moms and Babies

Puerperium Cardigan

Time for Little Things

                          This is the Harvey Kimono from Natural Knits for Babies and Moms

I have been away for a while, but been very busy.  The baby knitting is in full swing, it helped that I can't seem to follow a detailed pattern right now.  Baby things tend to be quite simple and quick, and oh so cute!  Now I can't resist trolling through Ravelry looking at all the cute sweaters, hats, booties, etc.  It seems like I'm daily coming up with one or two new patterns that absolutely must be knit in the next three months.  They won't all get done so I'm trying to sort them by styles and sizes that really could be knit over the winter, or into next year for next winter.  I currently have three blankets that I would love to knit, in the next three months of course, one of which I still need to spin the yarn for.  Then there are multiple pairs of hand knit baby socks, what else do you do with the left over little bits from your own socks?  I have done two pairs of booties with leftover yarn from various projects - he's helping me destash a bit. - and I have several other pairs that I'd like to do.  The pile of handknit love is steadily growing, here are a couple of pictures, more to come as I get them taken.

                                            Pumpkin Hat from Wacky Little Baby Knits

Little Boy Blue

   Please excuse the long break I have taken.  Shortly after my last post, my husband and I went out of town to visit relatives for Christmas and my life really changed during that trip.  It was a wonderful trip and we had a great time visiting all our relatives and getting to see how the neices and nephews have grown.  The biggest event for me was Christmas day when I realized I was pregnant.  Now, given my history, I was very reserved about it and it was a few months before we even told our families.  I spent months trying to ignore it just in case I miscarried again.  I lost my entire crafting mojo and couldn't get myself going on anything.  Books and television were my constant companions, trying to get my mind off of what was going on.  At ten weeks we had our first ultrasound and it showed a great strong heartbeat.  I began to experience a bit of relief and a couple of weeks later we began letting people in on our little secret.
     I am now twenty weeks along and finding it hard to believe.  Last week we were able to have a second ultrasound to determine the gender, and I am happy to say we are expecting a little boy and he looks to be quite healthy.  With the ultrasound last week, my crafting mojo returned full force (I can plan so much now).  I've been able to pick up some yarn for baby things and pull out some of my patterns.  The nursery (guest room now) is taking shape in my mind, but will have to await transformation until our guests come and go this summer.
    My project list has been quite small of late, consisting mainly of maternity clothing.  I'll post some pictures later when I get batteries for my camera.  I am also working on a shawl for myself, with plans for a little summer sweater to go with one of my maternity dresses.  Of course, there are also all the little hats, sweaters, booties, vests, blankets etc that are calling to me.  There is something so sweet about being able to knit for a much longed for baby.
    I hope all of you are well and enjoying the things you love. 

Wrapper and Cap Photos

So here are a couple of shots from my Christmas brunch yesterday.  I did dress up, and I'm really glad I did.  It was so much fun!

Morning Cap Godey's Lady's Book 1861

     This is my new morning cap, copied from the August 1861 issue of Godey's Ladies Book.  It is made of white batiste, the finest lace I could find (which still isn't comperable to the laces of the 19C), and blue velvet ribbon.  I followed the advice of the Sewing Academy and pleated the edges rather than gathering them and then whipped the pleats together.  The base pattern was adapted from Butterick 5663.

     Caps in the 19C were quite the accessory for the fashionable lady.  Some were worn as dress caps by married ladies, out of the house to dinner, dancing, the theatre etc.  Some, like this one, were worn around the house in the morning prior to fixing one's hair for the day.  These were usually worn in combination with a wrapper and were sometimes called breakfast caps as they made frequent appearances at that meal.  Keep watching the blog for pictures of  me dressed in my wrapper and caps.  I hope to dress up in them today for my quilting Christmas party.

     I thought I would update you all, as I realize I didn't include the information in the last post.  For the parasol, I plan to recover it as closely to the original as possible.  This will be a functional living history item for myself, and I want to maintain the accuracy of the parasol.  I am currently on the hunt for black silk taffeta as my local fabric shop doesn't have any.  Whatever happened to black being a wardrobe basic?  I'll probably have to resort to ordering a 1/2 yd online - oh brother.

It's Here!

My parasol was delivered last Wednesday and I'm still super excited about it.  When I opened the package I was very surprised at how tiny it is.  It would very nearly fit inside a standard shoe box, the canopy itself is about the size of a large platter (18" - 19" in diameter).  This is the cutest thing.  The ribs are completely intact, one is slightly bent, but should be easy to straighten out.  The fabric is completely shot and deteriorating quickly, but I think I have enough to create a pattern for a new cover.

 

This is a Marquis parasol dating from the early 1860's and is a very typical representation.  A Marquis parasol, from what I have learned recently, is a very distinct style of parasol.  They were almost exclusively manufactured mid 19c. and in the United States, with steel ribs and a wooden shaft with varying shapes for the finial and handle.  The covering itself was always black, though not indicative of mourning, and could have up to three ruffles.  Black was used for these parasols as brightly colored silks were hard to come by during the war and were quite expensive.  A parasol was almost a necessity in a fashionable lady's wardrobe of the time as bonnets were getting smaller and some protection was needed from the sun.  The Marquis style was easy to come by as it was sold in local department stores for sometimes as little as a dollar.  These parasols were definitely a functional, but fashionable accessory.  I would venture a guess (this could get me into trouble I know) that most women and older girls had one unless they were quite poor, or for reasons of locale such as remote farm wife etc.  Again I will stress the word fashionable; if they could, or wanted to keep up with fashion, even in a slight way, where they had occasion to dress up in their best a parasol was a very likely accessory.

Parasol Frustration

Oh, the delays of the mail!  Why couldn't things just work out one day sooner?  I won this parasol on ebay last weekend for a whopping $20.  Yes, it looks sad, but the frame is intact so all I need is a bit of silk taffetta to make a new cover - easy enough.  However, the mail is against me getting my parasol.  The little elves that make the post office work have turned into parasol trolls and are probably all playing with it as it has made it's way from NJ.   It was processed through the Federal Way, WA sorting facility early this morning (I'm stalking the tracking system), but there is no way on earth that it can be delivered in Blaine today.  It's scheduled for delivery tomorrow!  Tomorrow doesn't work, we have to go across the border today!  Now I have to wait another whole week, while my new toy sits in a dark, cold, lonely office waiting for me.  (Sighs)