Everything Old is New Again

Hi Megs,

Well - double knitting. As my father would say, well-well, well-well, well-well-well. Haven't seen this in years. Your grandmother used to do this and so did I. She made double knit hats. They were attached, one hat, double knit in ribs so that they were reversible. White rib on one side, red rib on the other. I did try - way back in the 60's to make socks with double knit but decided it was just too much work - too fiddly but interesting. As a mathematician, I also once tried triple knit and quadruple knit (3 balls, 4 balls) on a small sample just to see what it would do. It actually can be a nth knit with n balls. The reason I do both sleeves, both sides of a cardigan sweater at the same time is because I knew I could do it double knit but it was just too hard to do. Easier my way to get them to match. Great that this has been "discovered" again. Ha! And love your hats!

To Show you how old it is, Wikipedia says this:

The most famous example of double knitting is the pair of socks knitted simultaneously on one set of knitting needles by Anna Makarovna, the nanny in Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace
"When the pair was finished, she made a solemn ceremony of pulling one stocking out of the other in the presence of the children. "

I decided I better get some of the thing I have been knitting finished. So picked up the Four Panel Jacket, Jamieson's Shetland Knitting Book 2 designed by Carol Lapin. It is knitted in Jamieson's Chunky Shetland North Sea - a dark dusty blue. It is an easy pattern but it is also the seed stitch and I just can't take that for very long. I now have all the pieces knit and blocked and am ready to put on the I-cord trim. Maybe it is our cold weather that has inspired me to finally finish it.

I have been fusting around with hooking. I am off to a hook-in at White Point Beach next week with the South Shore group. Looking forward to doing nothing but watching the ocean and talking to "the girls". I am also going to take along some knitting. Give my hands a change from pulling a loop. I want to finish the jacket so I can wear it. It will be so cosy!

Your brother, Clay, is off to the Barbados tomorrow. He is on an adventure!

Take care, love your two hats - also saw your picture on the web working with the Afghans for Afghans group.

Love ya, Mom XOP