Use of Onion Linen

My husband came home from work yesterday with a great idea. First, he suggested that I take the beautiful yellow linen that I dyed using the Onion dye bath and make an under-petticoat with it. Secondly, stew up another walnut dye bath for a couple yards of linen and make a dark brown petticoat.

then I can wear them as props to show what natural dyes can do. First, the dark brown petticoat that they all can see and then I can lift that and show them the surprise bright yellow under-petticoat. Great idea.

I think that I will do up a batch of walnut dye this weekend just so I can dye the linen for the petticoat.

So, for Yorktown, I need to make 2 petticoats and a shift. I better get hot!

Onion Dye

My husband was gone this afternoon so I thought I would use the time to dye some wool. I looked at a couple of recipes and decided on Onion.

I purchased 8 pounds of yellow onions ($5.49), cut them up whole, and put them in a pot to boil. The recipe stated that it should take about 30 minutes of boiling to get the dye out of the onions. I am supposed to know they are done when they are weepy. That didn't happen for 90 minutes. Perhaps I should have cut them up into smaller pieces.


I put alum and cream of tartar into the dye bath, added cool water, and dropped in the damp wool. The wool came out a beautiful yellow. Surprising coming out of an onion.




Now I am making a batch of indigo. I can't believe that I have to let it set and ferment. You have to ferment the whole batch too, not just a little bit and then add to a dye vat. I am supposed to know it is finished fermenting when it is really stinky and has a scum on the top. How do you dye wool in something that is stinky? Today we can use rubber gloves. What did they do in the 18th Century? Not sure where I can put it where it won't be in the way and get spilt.

Surprising, there were two recipes for the indigo dye vat. One was to mix it with urine. I didn't use that recipe. I can't image collecting my urine and then fermenting it. Mmmm.

Liberty or Death Cap Completed

I finished knitting the Liberty or Death Cap with the Madder Red yarn I dyed a few weeks ago. This hat is different than the other two in a major way.

Instead of knitting the cap, dying it, and then using duplicate stitch to make the letters, this time I had the yarn dyed and was able to knit the letters into the cap. This one looks so much better close up.

You can see the differences in the yarn color so it doesn't look so modern.

Beautiful Walnut

I finished the Mount Vernon Craft Faire with a beautiful walnut yarn and piece of linen. I found that boiling the nuts for an hour was not enough to give a good dark brown. An hour of boiling, as the recipe stated, gave me a tan. So, I boiled the nuts for another 3 hours. The dye from that made a beautiful chocolate brown. The wool can be seen in the bottom left-hand corner of my display. I am really happy with the results.

On the way home I stopped at another black walnut tree and picked up over 100 nuts and will make another batch of dye soon. Perhaps I should wait until Yorktown so that I can use them as props.

Mount Vernon Craft Faire

This weekend (16-17 September 2006) is the Mount Vernon Craft Faire. This is the first event that we participated in last year with the 1st Virginia Regiment. The Faire is filled with 18th Century Arts and Crafts along with entertainment and demonstrations.


I have decided this year that on Saturday, I will break from my laundress demonstration and do a dye demonstration using walnuts. I have thought of this because Mike and I rode our bikes to Fort Hunt on Sunday and picked up nine pounds of black walnut husks. Since the dye from fresh husks is more potent, it is better that I get them processed as soon as possible. This weekend will be perfect. I'll start them soaking on Wednesday and they will be ready to boil by Saturday afternoon. What a demonstration that will be. The smell alone should peek people's curiosity.

I have made some small yarn skeins in which to dye of wool and cotton. Tonight I will prepare some linen and wool material samples. I will bring along a sample of my madder red yarn that I dyed a few weeks ago as well as some of the other samples that I have done.

3d Liberty or Death Cap

Using the yarn that I had in the last madder red dye pot, I am making my third Liberty or Death Cap. This time, since I already had the red yarn, I knitted the letters in. Before, I knitted the caps, dyed them, and then did duplicate stitch to put in the letters in White.

This time I did it different. I used the madder red yarn and the natural yarn and knit the letters in when I knit in the ribbing. I ended up knitting it twice. The first time I only used a single strand of yarn of each color. I didn't like how the letters didn't "pop out" like I thought they should. So, I ripped it out and then used a single strand of red and a double strand of white. You can see by the pictures that the letters really pop with this combination.

I had to put some additional stitches in the purl stitches of the ribbing because I was carrying the white for more than 5 stitches. You can see some of them but I don't think they take away from the actual letters.

I tried to find some knitting graph paper to put my design on for future projects but was unsuccessful. So, I ordered a program which is supposed to print out your designs in graph format. I want to keep this design. I hope the program is easy to use. I am not one to knit with color. Perhaps this program will change my mind.

Finished Liberty Or Death Cap

I finished the Liberty Or Death knitted cap. I believe it is beautiful. I could be a little biased however. We will have to see if the receiver of the cap agrees with my assessment.

Next time I make the hat I am going to have to remember to add a few more stitches to the bottom ribbing to have enough room to fit in the letters in duplicate stitch. The letters are quite close together this time.

This cap came out better than the first one that I made and I am sure that the next one will be even better.

Madder Red

I have knitted a Liberty or Death hat using a natural color wool (Fingering weight) at a 5 stitch per inch gauge.

I dyed it Madder Red today using a recipe from Claude Moore Colonial Farms. First I did a mordant of 1/2 oz tin and 2 ozs of Cream of Tartar. The wet yarn was placed in the mordant and kept at about 160-170 degrees for 1 hour. The yarn was then placed in the dye bath made from 4 ozs of Madder Red root powder. I heated this up to 170-185 degrees for 1 hour. I let the dye bath cool and then washed the hat with lye soap. I placed the yarn and hat into the washing machine, filled it up with cold water, swished it around with my hand, and then put it on spin.











Now I am impatiently waiting for the hat to dry so that I can use duplicate stitch to put in the LIBERTY OR DEATH. This dye job has given me the hat and about 8 ozs of wool yarn for some future project. Perhaps another hat for someone else?


I compared the current Madder Red hat with the Madder Red hat that I made for Mike last year. This Madder Red came out brighter (hard to see in this picture). I am hoping it is because of the time in the mordant. Next time instead of the Tin chips, I am going to try the Tin powder.

The last hat stretched a lot when I dyed it. This time I was very careful when I was moving the hat in the dye bath. This hat didn't stretch or felt at all.

My current project now is a sweater named Caroline using Berroco Zen yarn in color 8215. I have had this yarn for about 5 years. I started a project with it and no longer had the pattern. I had done only about four inches so it was no big deal to rip it out. I have never knit with a ribbon yarn before. It is definetly more difficult than wool - especially if you have to rip out any stitches. I downloaded the pattern free of charge from Borroco Free Patterns.

Mike washed his socks that he wore last weekend. These are one of the pairs that I had knit on the Passap machine. He washed them in the washer. They shrunk up a little and I put them on the sock stretchers that I had just bought to get them back to the size that should fit him.

Wool Socks Brochure

My brochure has been made into a .PDF file. It looks great. I had 50 of these printed. I don't want too many of them to get out and I start off with a waiting list.

It can also be found on my website.

Feedback

I received feedback from one of our reenactors concerning my machine knit socks. I gave out a pair as a sample

"They are great! If she has any interest, I encourage her to consider selling them to the membership on a first come, first serve basis."

I agree. So, in order to do that, I've made a tri-fold brochure in Microsoft Word and am going to get it turned into a PDF file so that I can send it around electronically. Perhaps I can get a few folks to order a few. Not too many though - I still have my other job which at the moment is taking up more time than usual.

Also, I finished another hand knit pair of socks last night for my husband using the Misti Alpaca. He loves them of course.

Now I want to start on a cardigan that I saw in the Vogue Knitting Fall 2006 (Pattern #1) but am having a really hard time understanding what the first 10 rows should be. They keep referring to a back chart pattern but I don't see one, except for the one with measurements. But, the way they are referring to it, it appears it should have a stitch pattern associated with it. I'll struggle through somehow even if I have to do trial and error or end up just doing my own pattern based on theirs.

Bidding has ended for this item - 200008216454

Well, my pair of socks sold - for $17.03 on eBay. I would have liked to get a little more but it gives me an idea of what most people are willing to pay without knowing the quality of the socks. I think I would be better selling them individually by custom order. That way the folks that are ordering them know that they are getting custom socks knitted just for their feet. I believe that they would be willing to pay more. Plus, these socks are made out of quality wool - not cotton or a synthetic fiber which was not available in the 18th century.

Now, how do I make a web site to take orders?

Socks Selling on eBay

I knit up a pair of my socks on the machine using the lightweight wool and put them up for sale on eBay. I put the initial price low - $15 - hoping that it would go higher. I would like to get about $30. But, anyone who sells via auction on eBay knows, sometimes you make more than you want, and sometimes you don't.

The final sock goes up well above the knee and I really like the detail that is on both sides of the calves. Hopefully everyone else does.

Perfect Pair

I took the Misti Alpaca Sport that I got in the mail and knitted a fabulous pair of socks today on the Passap. I didn't make a single mistake on either one. I took it nice and slow. Took me two hours to finish them. They are beautiful and perfect. I love them.

I will work on the mathematics of the pattern so that I will be able to make them for anyone with their measurements. I still need to get the right yarn though for the machine. The Misti Sport is about 1490 yards per pounds, just a little thick. The other yarn I have is 5,000 yards per pound and with it doubled it is still too thin. So I need something about 1,800 to 2,000 yards per pound. I will keep looking! I am excited about this pair!

Sock Suitcase

I just got a wooden sock suitcase in the mail. It is so cool. It cost me $23.85 which included shipping. You can get one too by emailing Joan. I payed using PayPal. It was so easy and Joan was a joy to deal with. I liked this one so much I ordered another one. I can think of nothing better to keep a working sock on the needles in your purse or bag.

You can see how much I've gotten done on my husband's latest sock. It measures about 10" now. I have started the decreasing which will continue down to the ankle.



Gwen was her normal curious self and as always, kept me entertained.

More Alpaca

I just received another 5 skeins of Misti Alpaca Sport (Natural White) in the mail which gives me 7 skeins. This weekend - 4th of July weekend with 4 days off for the holiday - I am going to use the machine sock pattern I have perfected with the Alpaca and knit me another pair of re-enactment socks. I can't wait! My feet are already squirming with joy!

I started hand knitting another pair of re-enactment socks for Mike using the Misti Alpaca Worsted in Moss Grey Mellange. Very nice color. I just had to have something to knit while mindlessly watching TV. I have already completed the top of the first sock and have started the leg. I love this yarn. It is not too expensive, it is heavenly soft, and works quickly through your fingers. I love hand knitting with natural fibers. The man-made fibers just don't "feel" right in my hands. I'll knit with man-made fibers on the knitting machine though even with the static problem they tend to have. But hand knitting - natural fibers rule.

Machine Knit Stockings

I've finished a pair of Machine Knit wool stockings. One is longer than the other because I failed to follow the instructions that I had written down. (So, Leslie, why write the instructions down if you don't plan on following them?) I figure that since no one sees the top of my stockings (they are hidden by my petticoats) that no one needs to know that one is longer than the other.




But, through trial and error, I've got a pattern that works. Now I've got to take my husband's measurements and see if I can do a pair for him.

It takes me an hour to make a pair and about 4 ounces of wool. That means that I could charge about $35 a pair for these if I decide to knit them for money. I've got to find cheaper yarn though. The stuff I bought at the local yarn shop was way too expensive. It is too thin and I am having to double it. It is about 5,000 yards per pound. I need about 2,000 yards per pound.

But, I have not been just knitting. Gwen and I have been practicing her Wave trick. Here she is waving at the camera.

Fini!

I have finished Mike's pair of reenactor socks. It took me just a week to complete the 2d sock. That is even after having to wait for yarn. He loves them. I am glad. I know how much I love my two pairs. They fit so much better than the machine made ones you can currently buy for reenacting. The machine ones are not "fitted" to the leg and tend to droop around the ankles and get droopier and droopier throughout the day. These lovely hand knit socks are custom made to the legs. He is going to look extremely good on the 4th of July at Mt. Vernon when he gets promoted to Corporal! Isn't knitting great!

Blessed is the Postman

Great news. The package arrived with the 2 skeins of yarn - just in time. I will be able to continue to knit Mike's sock through the weekend.



I have just 40 more rows to go before the heel starts. It is really starting to look like its mate!



Pretty good progress, if I must say so myself, since starting it on Saturday 10 June! And I haven't been spending a lot of time on it either. I haven't been staying at work until too late so it has given me a little more time than I have had to knit in a while though.

Work has been somewhat frustrating lately. But, after the ride home on the bike, I feel so much better. There have been days when I have taken out my aggravation on the poor boys on the bike trail. You see, they are young, I am not that young. They are on nice sleek, lightweight road bikes with thin tires and I am on a heavy front-suspension mountain bike with fat tires.

I swear that they taunt me with their tiny bodies and flashy clothes. They tease me on purpose by passing me and then slowing up considerably on some tiny little hill (and I mean tiny). I pass them going up some 2% grade, they pass me going down. I pass them again going up and they usually are so tired trying to keep up with me that they don’t pass me anymore on the way down. Take that you out of shape youngsters with your expensive bikes and fancy bike clothes!

One boy even had the nerve to have a team logo on the back of his shorts that read “Team Lard ???”. The word “Team” was on his left cheek, the Lard part was on his butt, and I couldn’t see what was written on his right cheek. I am serious – Team Lard? Who would want to be on that team? That slogan motivated me even more to pass his little butt. He never knew what whizzed by him. It was my fastest ride home in a long while. Yes, he did belong to Team Lard.

One time this week I even told a boy as I passed him for the third time “You aren’t very good at hills”. My husband said that was mean.

I am not a bike racer or anything like that and I am not that fast. Maybe I should get a pair of shorts that read “You were passed by a Forty-five year old Woman with Fat tires!” Okay, that won’t fit.

Sock Crisis

I would like to get my husband's socks done for the 4th of July event at Mount Vernon. I figured that since I have one sock done that the goal was very reachable. He is getting promoted to Corporal and he plans on wearing a new set of breaches that he is making. I want him to look good.

Then the Knitter's crisis hit - I am about to run out of yarn - AAAWWWW. I knit my socks using Sport weight and I assumed his socks would take the same number of skeins. I didn't notice until Saturday that I was using Worsted weight on his socks and that I had used four of the six skeins I had purchased. I franticly made some phone calls and found that the yarn stores in the area are all out of the Natural White Misti Alpaca Worsted. I ordered some from the Internet. I hope it gets here fast. I believe that I will run out by tonight. I can't believe that I went through 2 skeins already since Saturday.

The sock is making progress though. Right now it measures 11 inches. I've got 112 rows before the heel starts. I was doing about 16 rows a night despite getting home late. That means, if I can get yarn that conservatively, I can get to the heel by next Monday. I always knit more than 16 rows on the weekend though so if I have yarn, I should be at the heel by Sunday. Please yarn, come quickly!

Beginning

Currently I am knitting a pair of Revolutionary War stockings for my husband out of Misti Alpaca Worsted Natural White (okay, so they didn't have alpaca in the late 1700's). I have one already knit. This yarn is so soft. I have knit myself a pair also out of the Misti Alpaca Sport Red Fiesta Melange. I am using a pattern out of Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks. I have had to adjust it to fit our legs (we have large legs?).


I have an old machine knitting sock pattern that I believe should work up nice for 18th century socks. I need to find the time to try them out. Problem with my machine knitting is the machine is upstairs in a back bedroom away from everything - the TV, my husband and our Pet. Gwen, our Umbrella Cockatoo, refuses to come anywhere near the machine. She believes that it is going to eat her. It sure sounds like it could. So, I am reluctant to go up there and do any serious knitting. There just isn't room to move it downstairs to the living room.