Wow ! What an extremely interesting video Rox. I was glued to the screen from start to finish. I just loved to see the happiness and excitement on your face when you traced back all of those years. Woohoo . I can't wait to see the mittens ..Thank you for all your videos as I find them so intuitive. 🤗
Congratulations Roxanne! Wonderful story! We don’t have anything like that in our family. Not that I’m aware of anyway. I knit and crochet my own stuff and my mom is now into quilting. My sister is a goldsmith as well as a pastellist and I think she uses our Armenian heritage in her jewelry. She actually knits with metal. I don’t think our Italian heritage figures in too much. We are a mixed breed with German, Scottish and English thrown into the mix as well! Thanks for sharing! Fascinating!
I took interest in the history within the book Favorite Mittens as well. I grew up in New Jersey with some family in New England. My husband and I honeymooned in Maine in 1997. I learned to knit stranded with two colors of yarn using the instructions in Favorite Mittens.
Those booties are darling! I also don't typically struggle with second sock syndrome. I usually rush through the second one so I can get to a new pair!
Yay! My mother explained it to me when I was little, and it made perfect sense. It wasn't until I started doing genealogy and saw some of the charted "explanations" that I began to understand how convoluted some people can make it.
I love the cowl. I think its a perfect sampler of each method and could be an exercise in each to the knitter. A good name for the pattern could be the exersise itself..."Dominence Sampler". Awesome video. I learn something new every time i watch.
Love your enthusiasm for mittens and their relationship to culture! You might also enjoy Saltwater Mittens: From the Island of Newfoundland by Christine LeGros and Shirley Anne Scott, a recently published book on Newfoundland patterns. Some of the patterns are closely related to those in the books of Robin Hansen. I live in Nova Scotia and we see mittens from both the Atlantic provinces as well as the New England states. Looking forward to seeing your Chipman block wristers!
I was gifted the Flying Geese and Partridge Feet and the Fox and Geese and Fences books by a friend,but I have not knitted from them. I think I am intimidated by the book. My favorite is the Labrador Snowflake Mittens. The mittens look super warm. It is nice to hear about your connection with a particular mitten.
I will have to look at the Labrador Snowflake Mittens. Even with the updated instructions in Favorite Mittens, wrapping my head around some of the instructions has been tough, I have to admit. It really helps to plow through and have a go at what you *think* they mean. I ripped back my thumb gusset incs and re-did them, and ripped back the first attempt at the mitten top incs. Now that I finished the first mitten, I can see what I would do differently the next time. Some of this really needs to be experienced before it can be understood.
I discovered Robin Hansen just a little while ago through the Favorite mittens book. I was devouring mittens information as that was the new technique I set myself to learn. I had been knitting Norwegian mittens, read about Latvian mittens and had just conquered thrummed mittens. I was looking for an easier or more efficient way of getting a double thick mitten like thrummed mittens and found one of Robin’s patterns which led me to her books. I too was especially drawn to the fact that the knitting was a tradition from New England. I own the favorite mitten book and count it a great addition to mitten information. There are some very interesting mitten patterns in there and the stories that go with the patterns are very interesting. Definitely recommend reading it.
I often wondered where your historic knitting curiosity (and insights!) came from, and now I see the personal relation. Nice to hear how this information gave you more 'roots'. No special knitting patterns in my family as far as I know, but it might be time to go and look for it too.
I wish I did have a traditional knitting pattern. I just started knitting the Selbu mittens and I love the history of them. Wouldn’t it be fun to have your own traditional pattern. I live in Saint John, New Brunswick as did my family for generations. But my grandmother’s family did come to Saint John with the Loyalists. So who knows maybe my ancestors mingled with your’s. I know Chapman,so now I know where the name came from. I am looking forward to seeing your mittens. I have knitted the thrum mittens as well.
I'm the first knitter I know of on either side of my family, so no traditions there, but! I have a 2-volume book titled "Thomas Cooke of Rhode Island" who I'm descended from. It was exciting to pause your video and run to the bookshelf to find he immigrated in 1638. Must be part of that great migration! Can't wait to share this with my family!
Holy cow! What a cute hat! Well done! ETA: more holy cow with the mitten book and family connection. I've had the Favorite Mittens book for years and recently completed my first pair from it: the Salt and Pepper Mittens. A little pointy at the top for my taste, but lovely and warm nonetheless.
I have been making socks out of the cascade heritage print. By using alternate color for toe, heels, and cuff and using a complimentary color ever other row. I can get three pairs of socks out of a 50g. ball two pair for me and a pair for my husband. Our socks are 76 st. And we both wear 11 shoe. So for you brother you might like to try this trick to make the yarn go further. I really like this yarn for socks it wears good.
I love the cowl. I would actually make it wider so it drapes longer, but I like the width and that it would cover the mouth if it's super cold, or will fold over.
Very exciting to find a mitten pattern to which you are related. Will you please share some of the interesting mitten construction techniques you learned in the book? You mentioned them but didn't elaborate. Thanks
Even tho my nan (grandmother, mothers side) was a tailoress? seamstress, I have nothing passed onto me, in any craft... My sister and I did find my father's family motto as she was doing a lot of research on him as he died when she was 16, me 14. His motto is "I watch over" which is interesting that one of the last things he said to us was to stay together and look after each other...
I was knitting at 6 sts per inch in the sport weight yarn (rather than 5 sts per inch using worsted weight). I think I used a US 3, but that may not be what you would need. I wanted a hat that was 6.5'' tall, so I think I worked the crown straight until it was about double what the headband was (same as for the adult size) That probably made it about 4.25'' or so before I started the crown. I'm pretty sure I worked the same number of rounds for the straight stockinette portion that I worked for a worsted weight hat (about 16 rounds). I used my row gauge to confirm how tall the crown decs would be, and then worked the straight part based on what I'd need to get the correct full hat length.
Do you belong to the 'Daughter's of American Revolution ' ? I received an email from a lady on my Ancestry Tree that I qualified for this (from more than one relative), but the dues are out of my budget. I have traced a lot of my family back to Ireland and Wales and they came over in the 1600's and so we have no one in my family that knit (as far as I know) . My Mother and Great-grandmother hand sewed (beautiful work) and crocheted , but no knitting that I know of, a lot of quilting. Great video Roxanne, I will try to 'just knit ' and see what something turns out to be without a video, thank you!
I qualify for the DAR, and I went to an informational meeting a few years back to find out more about it, but I didn't see any benefit to joining (for me).
@@RoxanneRichardson Cool! That makes me feel better, I didn't for myself either, I would rather spend my extra $ on yarn!Ha I know some find it very rewarding, and I respect that, thank you for your response and have a great weekend , love your videos!
