links to purchase many of my patterns posted today

Took me all day, but I’ve now got 8 of my patterns posted for sale on my www.phunknits.com website! Woo hoo! Now to figure out where to post the link to the stocking pattern I’ll be listing soon…hmmm…

19th Century Plain Stockings

I’ve been working on this pattern for several years, knitting and tweaking, knitting and realizing I read something wrong or was interpreting it incorrectly, finding a typo in a transcription, etc. So, I feel like I’ve gotten very close to interpreting this pattern as it would have been knit in the beginning/middle of the 19th Century. I love the detail of the seam stitch up the back of the stocking and along the sides of the foot; not only do they add texture and interest to an otherwise all stockinette sock, they also allow one to work the pattern without using a single stitch marker!

Raindrops on Roses…

My favorite thing to spin is merino combed top. The soft texture running through my fingers and the easy nature of the combed top just makes me feel happy as it winds onto the bobbin. I took just a tiny break from knitting socks (3 pair in 3 weeks!) because I’m waiting on yarn for C’s socks to arrive in the mail. I really enjoy making things that get a lot of use. Also, you can never have too many socks!! I have no idea what I should make with this skein of hand-spun fractal yarn, though!

Third pair of toe up socks and a too tight foot

So the second pair was claimed by my daughter. She’s 14 and she wore them to a sleep-over tonight, so color me thrilled with the compliment!

Now I’m onto my 3rd pair and I’m keeping these – for sure!!!

I also frogged and reknit the foot of my 19th century experiment. I reknit with 1s and now they’re too tight. 4th time may be the charm. 🤷‍♀️

New year, New sock technique – toe up socks

Well, I decided to use my favorite worsted weight yarn to make some toe up socks. My husband loved the look of them and the first one fit him like a glove, so I gave them to him. Now I’m using the same yarn for my own pair. I like that the toe-up technique allows me use up all of the yarn in the skein.

Revisiting History: Public and Private

I was looking back into my photo albums for a specific picture of me, knitting, during a reenactment back in my family’s “first wave” of reenacting (circa 1989 – 1992, Civil War) but didn’t find it. I think my mom probably has the photo I’m thinking of in one of her albums. I did, however, find this picture of me from May 11, 1991 at the Andrew Johnson House, when I was invited to play the piano in the drawing room. I was 15 years old.

You can see a photo of the same room on the Andrew Johnson Homesite National Park website.

I’ll try to find the knitting picture soon.

Free Pattern: 1846 A Pair of Cuffs

I added free PDF pattern download to my website today. This one is from Francis Lambert’s Decorative Needlework book, published in 1846. Theses cuffs are a little tight on my (small) wrists, so I would definitely recommend swatching and adding stitches, as needed, to fit the circumference of your own hand/wrist.

Free Christmas Patterns

Here are a few of the FREE Christmas patterns that I’ve designed through the years:

Knit Reindeer Hat: https://www.yarnspirations.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-master-catalog-spinrite/default/dwea0aea2d/PDF/RHK0816-016410M.pdf

Crochet Reindeer hat: https://www.yarnspirations.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-master-catalog-spinrite/default/dwdd8dc0e6/PDF/RHC0816-016404M.pdf

Tiny knit stocking caps: https://www.yarnspirations.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-master-catalog-spinrite/default/dw77a08f4c/PDF/RHK0501-018107M.pdf

Poinsettia Pot Cozy (knit): https://www.yarnspirations.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-master-catalog-spinrite/default/dw4dfe764e/PDF/RHK0511-018097M.pdf

Holiday Ornaments (knit): https://www.yarnspirations.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-master-catalog-spinrite/default/dwed3c38b1/PDF/RHK0518-019015M.pdf

Knit Wine Bottle Cozy: https://www.yarnspirations.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-master-catalog-spinrite/default/dwf2ce9813/PDF/RHK0511-019976M.pdf

Hello again!

Time to get my butt in gear and update this blog! I took a rather long hiatus, as I was blogging a bit for the Red Heart website about certain techniques and general knitting and crochet pointers…most of those blog posts have been moved to Yarnspirations or deleted…cest la vie! I’ve been focusing more on antique knitting patterns for the last couple of years so here are a few images to share of some of the work I’ve done more recently.

New (to me) Spinning Wheel

For a few months now, I’ve wanted an antique (or at least older than my 1980’s Ashford) spinning wheel.  If I get a fiber display for living history going, I won’t want to take Aurora, since she looks so new…not “oldy-timey” at all.

Well, I found this beauty online and she arrived here yesterday

She arrived almost entirely intact and when I got her set up and oiled she was ready to go!!

I spun quite a bit of the 50% silk/50% merino that I dyed with left over Easter egg dye a couple of years ago.  I think I’ll ply it with the left over single that I used to make the 2 ply yarn that I’m knitting into a scarf for Adam…

This wheel has a card affixed to it that says she is a Flax Wheel, Restored by William Ralph in 1990.

I LOVE her!!!