theraineysisters knitting and so much more

Isn’t Susan’s wedding purse beautiful? Some projects are pretty and timeless. Others are — well — I don’t really want to say anything too negative (in part because I am the kind of person who believes objects have feelings. I’ve been known to apologize to a chair for bumping into it.)

Even so, I’ve been cleaning out my closet this weekend and there is one handknit sweater that I will never, ever wear again. I don’t know what I was thinking, although I do remember being quite proud of it at the time. It was knit side to side, a first for me. So it does get a plus in the learning category. It used multiple kinds of yarn — oooh, Aunt Bea. Another part of my learning. It was the first time I did applied I-cord. Woo hoo. I should be too embarrassed to post a photograph but hey — I’m a Clay Aiken fan — I’m used to being taunted. So, without further ado:

Its one redeeming feature is its beautiful amber buttons. I am thinking of removing them and — gasp — throwing the sweater away. I think I need some liquid courage to actually do it.

Remember when I talked about the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival? I did end up going at the last minute. My major purchase was some roving. I have a spinning wheel, but I am not a good spinner. I took a class a few years ago, but stopped practicing. Seeing so much spinning going on got me interested again, so I bought two pounds of Blueface Leicester wool. It’s soooo soft. I got home and pulled out my spinning wheel. It’s a Louet Double Treadle S-51 for those of you who care. I sat and stared at it, trying to remember how the hell to “thread” it and get it to work. Yes, it had been a long time.

I did finally remember, and I’ve spent a lot of time since the Festival spinning. There are occasional moments when I truly “get” it: the fibers pull just right, the wheel spins at the proper speed, and I produce an even, beautiful yarn. But that’s just occasionally. The rest of the time I’m producing novelty yarn. I don’t mind, though. It’s relaxing and addictive and I’m learning. And I’ve got at least a pound and a half of Bluefaced Leicester rovings left.

Finally, in honor of Mother’s Day, here is a photograph of a peony I cut from my garden this morning.

The 20th Annual Yarnover event was yesterday.  Yarnover is a one-day workshop and vendor market sponsored by the Minnesota Knitters Guild.  It was wonderful.  The organizers invited knitting notables from “around the globe” to speak and teach: Lucy Neatby, Candace Eisner Strick, Annie Modesitt, to name a few.  It is fantastic to be a part of the community of knitters. 

I taught an all-day workshop called “A Few of My Favorite Things…from A to Z.”  It included my favorite tips, techniques, and stories and hit every letter of the alphabet at least once — usually more.  The students were great — very enthusiastic and receptive.  I asked them to share their own tips or favorite projects as well, and they did not disappoint.  Mary, from Thursdays at Four, showed us the most gorgeous knitted, beaded scarf you’ve ever seen; Barb brought in two of the fabulous Christmas stockings she has made for each family member; Marcy shared her tip about using store-bought tags to keep track of key information on swatches (yarn and knitting needles used, gauge, etc.).  I always learn something and hope everyone had as much fun as I.

After the workshop, the MKG committee took the instructors out to dinner.  I got to debrief about the day and have a great meal — thank you, MKG!!

My knitting has suffered due to lack of time, but I did wear my Scoop du Jour to knitting group last Thursday and did receive the official seal of approval!   So there, a fait accompli!

I am now in a state that is rare for me.  I am kind of out of knitting projects.  I have Ballerina to work on, but it is too cumbersome to take everywhere.  I have a sock on the needles, but I am not terribly fond of sock knitting.  I could take out my Elsebeth Lavold “Margery” (see picture) and do the sleeves, but I’m not really in the mood.  That leaves one option: start a new project.  I’ll have to check my stash for hopefuls and get something going. 

As hoped, my knitting group did let me take a picture tonight.  As you can see, we are a happy and fun-loving bunch.  We meet every Thursday at Panera’s and knit, talk and eat — all my favorite things. 

From left to right: Deb, Emily, Diane (hiding behind Emily), Rosemary, Pat, Mary, Idonis and Linda.   There are more that show up on a regular basis — Ellie and Deirdre arrived after the picture.  Some have been knitting for decades and others for months.  But we all share our love for this past-time.

The only thing that would make me happier than sharing this picture is having my daughter actually like and wear a sweater that I made her!  Here is my daughter, Laura (16), wearing the sweater my mom made me in 6th grade.  She tried it on, loved it, and even wore it to school.  It never looked this good on me.  The teal fit her beautifully too, but she laughed at it — thanks.

I am 2″ into the sock redux in the Mock Croc Sock pattern.  It is a wonderful sock pattern and FREE, so take advantage.  I’ll post a progress picture later.

Because watching knitting progress can be as exciting as watching paint dry (oh goodie, another inch!), I have decided to provide some hysterical or historical backdrop to our blog.

Before there were the Rainey Sisters there was the Rainey Mother.  Our mom (no longer a Rainey, but that’s a long story in itself) was an extremely talented seamstress, like her mother, and a wonderful knitter.  I use the past tense not because she is “no longer with us,” but because she no longer pursues these activities.  She taught me most of what I know about sewing and was quite the perfectionist.  She would say things like, “That zipper doesn’t look very good on the inside.”  Huh?!?  Who is going to be looking there?  But it did make ME a perfectionist as well, and I started out as an avid sewer well before the knitting bug bit me hard.  I still sew out of necessity and on occasion for the artistry.

As I said, my mom was a knitter.  I do not remember when I learned to knit or who taught me (my dad’s mom, I think), but I do remember going to mom for knitting help, “Am I on the knit side or the purl side, Mom?”  She would knit beautiful sweaters, and I still have a few of them:

This is a beautiful mohair jacket with 3/4 length sleeves.  I don’t remember when she made it, but I think it is gorgeous.

The next is a sweater that Mom made for me when I was in 6th Grade.  I absolutely love this sweater.  It is a darker tan than it appears here.  I’m not sure what the pattern stitch is — it looks like a variation of the Trinity Stitch:

You can tell that even then I was “the Big One.”  Here is detail from the buttonbands.  You can see the beauty of mom’s workmanship.  Notice the machine-made buttonholes and fine handstitching.

Here is a sweater she made me in high school.  I wore it often.  The color does not show up very well — it is a beautiful, much darker, teal blue out of a very soft yarn.  And it was knit in the round (you go, girl!).

And some details:

So you can see that Sally’s and my interest in the needle arts stems from a long line of crafters.  I owe a lot to my mom’s instruction and encouragement — thanks, Mom!

As I said, my mom was a seamstress and I do some sewing as well.  I am going to make a dress for the wedding I am attending — the one where I made the wedding purse for the bride.  Here is the fabric when there is white behind it:

Here it shows that the roses are sheer:

So, when the fabric is lined it will look fairly solid, but unlined you can totally see through the roses.  It is quite pretty.