Thursday, February 28, 2013

Back to Brears Fig 5

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When  swaving, I find wear between the needle and a wooden needle adapter to be much greater than I expected.  Thus, I end up using brass i...
Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Thanks

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I must thank  =Tamar for her sharp eyes and keen memory. She is one of the great resources in the textile community. Aaron

Real Hate

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A lot of knitters and spinners hate me.  It is a good hate, but it is not a REAL HATE.  I have been the object of  REAL HATE. A long time...
23 comments:
Friday, February 22, 2013

Torque, Tension, and swaving

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Long needles require longer knitting sheaths (mostly) to withstand the torque of the long lever arm provided by the length of the needle.  ...
Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Goose wings

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I remember the first time a strapped on a replica Yorkshire goose wing.  I was amazed at how it just fit the point of my right hip, and ...
2 comments:
Sunday, February 17, 2013

Diversity of knitting sheaths

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A knitting sheath is as simple or complex as a hammer. Their essence is the same, they are tools that provide leverage.  My tool dealer (Gr...

Brears

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The Knitting Sheath by Peter C.D. Brears published in Folk Life  A Journal of Ethnological Studies Volume Twenty 1981-82 deserves some c...
1 comment:
Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Waist Coats & Vests

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I f we look at the standard references on clothing, waistcoats and vests were made from woven material. However, Mary Thomas gives a s...
7 comments:
Tuesday, February 12, 2013

The decline and fall of the knitting empire

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After 1812, there was a movement to teach the poor (in work houses/ poor houses) to knit. As a result, there was a flood of hand knitting ...
9 comments:

Slop

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John Marchant’s Dictionary (2d ed 1760) defines jacket as a short outward garment such as a sailor might wear. Thus, what you would ca...
Sunday, February 10, 2013

Waterproof systems

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When I was designing systems for handling hazardous and nuclear waste, we were always doing “fault trees” and asking, “If this component...
2 comments:
Thursday, February 07, 2013

Why Seaman's Sweaters?

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Or, Why didn't they just change their clothes and put on rain gear as required? Back in school, I had a  professor that said, "O...
7 comments:
Wednesday, February 06, 2013

Single purpose v multi purpose

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The other day I had occasion to check a reference in Peter Brears, The Knitting Sheath. I was reminded of how most of the knitting sheath...
Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Peer Review

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Somebody said that any work I do on the revival of old knitting techniques needs to be peer reviewed.like an academic work, a science publi...
5 comments:
Monday, February 04, 2013

A note from a user

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Knitting Sheaths Knitting sheath and needles arrived today, and the resulting swatch just blew my mind. So very, very different than w...
1 comment:
Thursday, January 31, 2013

The best fiber in the world

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is clean (except for spinning oil) and freshly combed or carded.  Really! Last night, a member of a local spinning guild was destashing f...
Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Sheringham fabric

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In Gladys Thompson, page 83 et seq.  there are a couple of ganseys done at tensions of 12 or 14 spi using 3 or 4-ply yarns. I had approache...
2 comments:

Turf wars

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I see some English knitters telling me that "Ganseys" are their turf, and that I should not try to say anything new or different ...
2 comments:
Friday, January 25, 2013

Gansey knitting

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A competent knitter can knit ANY style sweater, on gansey needles. Garments for sailors and fishermen can be knit quickly, and so tight a...
2 comments:
Sunday, January 13, 2013

It is one of those Love/Hate relationships

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I am coming to really like swaving. It allows the production of very fine, very consistent, very tight fabrics.  Minimal stress on the...
3 comments: