Sakuyo Bartram apron pattern from Internet Archives via NorthTipton website

I made a variation of this apron many years ago, when I was first learning to machine knit.  I flared the front bib by increasing each side as I knit to make it more of a pinafore shape.  I used a punchcard machine, and I designed my own punchcard pattern.  I was quite proud of it.  Sakuyo gave me permission through the Machine Knit list (hosted by Amy Stinson) to publish my variation of her pattern and photos. Sadly, Sakuyo has since passed on.

  I ran across her pattern recently on the Northtipton site on the Wayback Machine.  Since I've lost my version, I am sharing hers as a memorial.  I ran it past Amy and she agreed that it would be an appropriate memorial.    I intend to knit this again.  Once I do, I will share photos of my version and an updated pattern,

Apron with pockets and bib

by
Sakuyo Bartram

Feel free to rearrange this pattern to use only the portion of pockets and bib if you'd like to.

BARTRAMSB@aol.com

1. This is a wonderful apron pattern that can be made on either the standard or the bulky machine. If you are using the bulky, just reduce the number of stitches and rows by 1/2. I used 100 percent cotton so I can really wipe hand while cooking. it's a wash and dryable in a machines.

2. Recommended yarns other than 100 percent cotton, are Trenzado, or Trenzi, Cancun or 2 strands 1/14 acrylics.     Tension 6 or 7.           4 ply for the bulky. Tension 5-6.

3. Cast on automatic or EON 200 needles. Knit as many rows stockinette that your fair-isle design needs. For instance, if your fair-isle choice of the season needs 64 rows, then knit 64 rows plain stockinette. Knit 1 turning row with a tension 10.

Change tension back to main tension + . for a fair-isle.

RC-000. Knit 64 rows in fair isle pattern of your choice. (I used pattern # 71 from the StitchWorld). Hang hem. Knit 1 row with tension 8 on all needles which have 2 sts each. Change back to main tension.

Change the row counter to 64.

Continue to knit with main tension and a main yarn to row-200.

4. Take knitting off on waste yarn. Rehang onto 100 needles in this  order. 1 st, 2 sts, 3 sts, and repeat all way. This will create the gather. Knit at 2 tension tighter for the waist-band for approximately 28 rows.  If you want to add fair-isle to your band, do so in the first 14 rows.
Hang the hem and latch tool bind off.

5. TIE: Make two. Cast on 160 stitches automatic or EON. Knit 28 rows
and hang hem. Latch tool bind off.

6. If fair-isle is added to the ties, do your first band with 14 rows fair-isle,  and then 14 rows plane, and the second band 14 rows plane and then  14 rows fair-isle.

7. As an alternative, you could use 2 pieces of ribbon.

8. Sew ties into both ends of apron band.

Pockets:

After knitted 64 rows of a fair isle, and hang hem, put the carriage on HOLD,  and all the needles but 65 on a right side of the bed in to HOLD.

RC-000. Knit 1 row to the left. Put 25 needles on the right side into a HOLD.  Only keep 40 needles in work position for the pocket. Knit back to the right  1 row, but no wrapping.
Knit 58 more rows. RC shows 60 rows.

Knit 10 rows 1X1 or 2X2 rib, and bind off.

Remove from machine. Push back those 40 needles to "A".

Keep the Carriage on the HOLD and slide to the other side.
Repeat the same process from the first pocket instruction,
only reverse it.

Push the pockets away to the right side of knits and beyond the machine.
Pick up 40 sts from both bottom of the pockets to fill the sts. Take off the Hold from the carriage and knit 1 row.

RC- 64. Continue to knit with main tension and a main yarn till RC shows 200.

Continue the instruction from # 4 to finished the apron.

The Bib:

RC~000
Hang the front of apron waist band, wrong side facing you on to the 100 needles.
Knit 6 rows and decrease 1 st on both side, and knit 6 more rows, and repeat until row counter shows 108 and 64 sts remain on the machine.
Knit 10 rows of 1X1, or 2X2 ribs, and bind off. It's handy if you how to do rib bind off by hand. Ms. Norma's "That Final Touch" has pictures to show you how.

Make a stripe. Cast on 16 sts and knit 150 to 200 rows, and attach one end to the right top of bib.

Make a button hole on each strap  by sewing machine.
Sew two buttons, one at the end and another one about 3" below on bib.
Steam iron on all the parts, and sew the pocket's side seams onto the
apron to finish  it     Done!

Sakuyo Bartram

The information, patterns and images contained on this page are for personal use and may not be altered, converted nor uploaded to any electronic system or BBS nor included in any compact disk (CD-ROM) or collection of any type without the express written permission of Sakuyo Bartram

How much yarn?

I'm reposting this information from my old web page.  I had to go into the Internet Archive to find it.  I updated it to include the Craft Yarn Council descriptions which can be found here. 

Yarn Info

How much yarn to buy?   How much yarn do you buy to knit a sweater?  I guess the answer is really pretty simple:  or maybe not.  If you're in the store, and you see a yarn you absolutely have to have, buy at least a dozen skeins.  That's the simple answer.   The complicated one is buy pretty close to what you need.  I've compiled the information below from a lot of different sources and they didn't all agree.  I've tried to even out the numbers so they make sense.   So if your knitting pattern calls for a particular yarn or a particular number of skeins, please use it as the primary source for determining how much yarn to buy.  It always pays to buy 10 percent more than you think you will need.  You can always knit a hat or mittens or socks with the leftovers.  But, if you run out on the left sleeve, you're in trouble! Number of yards given is for a long-sleeved sweater.  You can subtract 10 percent for short sleeves or 20% for sleeveless.   Please note for special yarns like chenille or mohair, the length will be much greater per lb because of their great loftiness.  The cardinal rule is - ALWAYS make a swatch! The numbers given are a rule of thumb.   Variations can occur due to humidity, tension, type of yarn, and a hundred other factors. Approximate Gauge 4" 32+ s   x 24 - 32s x 20-24s x 16 - 20s x 26 r 12-16s  x 8-12s  x Needle Size 00-2 2-4 4-6 7-9 10-10 1/2 14-15 Cotton approx yds/lb 4200 2100 1260 840     Cotton 10/2 5/2 3/2 2/2 or 1/1     Wool approx yds/lb 6720 2800 1200-1800 1020 560 300 worsted(wool,acrylic) 1/13  or 2/24 2/13 , 3/15 , 1/5.5 2/7.5, 3/11 ,  1/3.5 3/6.4 , 4/8,  1/2 3/4 , 1/1 1/.5 Shetland Cobweb Lace Weight Jumper Weight 3 Ply yarn 4 Ply yarn Chunky Handknitting Craft Yarn Council     Baby or Lace             0 - 1 Fingering        2     Sport      3     Worsted      4 Bulky, Aran 4 - 5 Very Bulky, Icelandic     6 Infant 600 500 400 300     Toddler 800 700 600 500 400 350 6-8 1250 1100 950 800 700 550 10-12 1300 1200 1100 950 800 700 Teen 1400 1300 1200 1000 900 800 S 1600 1400 1300 1050 950 900 M 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 950 L 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 XL   2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 XXL or man's     2000 1800 1600 1400 ***Distelfink- or thistle finch, more commonly known as goldfinch, symbolizes good luck to German-Americans.  He is perched on a thistle, which is a symbol of hard work and perseverance. The goldfinch is a bird of the bright meadow, not of the dark wood.

 

Shout out to the Fuzzy Goat!

I ordered a "box of goats" from Fuzzy Goat Yarn shop in Thomasville, Georgia, after seeing a Facebook ad. The description on their web site was 

"Box of Goats is 31 whimsical surprises from Fuzzy Goat including pleasing yarns from Emma's Yarns and some indulgences just for you – a daily smile to delight you in December. Your box will include the 2020 Box of Goats pattern for one project, and 31 packages (one to open each day of December), including mini skeins to make the pattern."

It sounded like an Advent Calendar!  

So, it not only is a box of yarn, it is also a Facebook group and a Knit A Long.  (KAL) I am knitting on the machine, although it seems to be mostly hand-knitters in the group, and at least one crocheter.  The yarns are 80% superwash merino and 20% nylon.  It's a fingering or sock weight. 

The included pattern was for a scarf with a garter border and a simple pattern repeat. It calls for a size 7 needle, so the resulting fabric would have a lot of drape, as that is a fairly large needle for that weight of yarn.   It only calls for 42 stitches to be cast on.  This seems like it would be quite narrow, for a scarf.  OK, I can do the garter border by using the garter bar.  But the stitch pattern?  "Sl 1 wyif, K1"  Can't do that.  

A slip stitch with yarn in front is not easily achieved on the knitting machine, at least not on my Brother machines. I can do a slip stitch with yarn in back very easily, but with yarn in front?  I can't do this stitch on the machine. 

The skeins are each 40 yards long. The color names on the labels are very amusing.  

Today's is "Fun Guy" 

  So I have only opened the first 5, but I assume each one will be a different color.  So, I opened up Stitch World and started looking at the multicolor tuck and slip stitches. I thought about doing #306, which is frequently used for baby blankets, but I settled on stitch pattern # 308.  I decided to supplement the supplied yarns with one from my stash.  It is the same weight, I bought at Vogue Knitting conference when we were allowed to travel.  The label says it is from Carodan Farm and the yarn is Chincoteague Colors - Goldenrod.  I will use it as the background, ecru in the stitch world illustration. 

On my first attempt at this, I tried to follow the color changes per the stitch pattern design to use multiple colors.  But I did not have the pattern synched with the color changes, and after knitting almost 200 rows I realized that I was getting stripes on the right side.  After ripping all the way back to the garter rows last night, I decided it would be better to just knit the entire mini-skein all at once and then change to the next.  I'm on my third mini-skein now, and the scarf is about 2 feet long.  If I use all 15 mini-skeins, I will have a 10-foot scarf?  Here's my progress so far. 

I liked the Advent Box so much I went ahead and signed up for the Good Vibrations Tour.  Like I really need more yarn.  But these yarns are so nice, they are a pleasure to work with.  I hope they are doing a similar Facebook group with the Good Vibrations Tour. It is nice to see other people's work. 

Roman Holiday

I'm writing about Rome on my bicycle blog and my kitchen garden blog. I am curious about knitting in Rome. A fellow blogger, an American who has moved to Italy, writes about her experience here. I also found a blogger near Rome who is a spinner. Meanwhile, I found this free pattern from

I've also found two knitting stitch patterns named for Rome. The first is Roman Stitch. This would be an easy stitch to program for the garter carriage on the knitting machine, as it is simply a combination of knits and purls. The second is Roman Stripes stitch. I am afraid this would not be so easy, because it is not only lace, but also the handknitting instructions call for knitting two rows, essentially a garter stitch row. You can't easily do lace with the g-carriage, and you can't easily do garter with a lace carriage. Maybe it could be done on a Passap, I don't know.

Cozy knitting

 The dried-up leaves are skittering in the November across the lanai outside the door to my studio.  The wind picks them up and tosses them in a whirlwind around the lawn.  It rained earlier, and the outdoor floor is still shiny and wet with the rain.  The Pampas grass down the hill is bent almost double in the wind, and the pin oak tree is holding on to its rustling brown leaves with all its might. 

I decided that today would be a good day to spend in my cozy studio.  It is cozy today, because my husband discovered that we have batteries that had gone dead in the upstairs thermostat of our new home.  I don't understand how that affected the temperature in the downstairs, but I am glad that he did. Anyway, new batteries installed, now the radiant pipes running under the flooring are making my slippered feet warm. 

The new version of DesignaKnit9 arrived on Friday.  We had company this weekend from out of state, so today is the first day when I have time to spend on installing it.  I also want to work on completing some hats.  

Every time I try to use DAK, as it is called, it seems I am having to re-learn it.  Either I'm on a new version, or it has been so long that I have to refresh my memory. I must become more disciplined about devoting time to knitting on a weekly basis. 

The last time I used this software,  I referred to Trish Shafer's books on DAK to re-learn how to download my design into the computer's memory.  Trish is Charlene Shafer's daughter, and her married name is not Shafer.  Her books are a series of five that can be purchased separately, each covering a function of DAK. Stitch Designer, Original Pattern Drafting, Knitting interactively, etc. 

I have also taken seminars on DAK from Charlene, who owns the Knit Knack Shop in Peru, Indiana.  She previously hosted an annual seminar, with other instructors, on the subject of machine knitting, at the fairgrounds near her shop.  I had the good fortune to attend the last one.  I guess it was also the bad fortune, because it turned out to be the very last one, even though it was the first time I had attended.   2020 has not been a good year for knitting seminars, generally, because of cancellations due to COVID-19.  But I did attend a virtual seminar hosted by Vogue Knitting earlier this year.  I think I am not a fan of virtual seminars, although they are better than nothing, because I am too easily distracted at home.  I missed one session completely and had a hard time paying attention in the other. 

On my other blogs, I am currently writing around a theme of "the Grand Tour".  In the 17th and 18th centuries, young men from well-to-do families were expected to complete "a Grand Tour" of European cities to finish their education.  This might be London, Paris, Vienna, Rome, and other European capitals.  Because we are not travelling this year due to Covid, and because I am not that well-off, I am completing a "Grand Tour" by bicycle of cities in Ohio that are named after European capitols.  Most recently, I visited Strasburg, Ohio.  It is probably named after Strasburg, Germany, although it could possibly have been named after Strasbourg, France, a city that is on the border with Germany.  So I am also revisiting books in my library "Twisted-Stitch Knitting: Traditional patterns and Garments from the Styrian Enns Valley" by Maria Erlbacher, and "Traditional Knitting Patterns"  by James Norbury to find examples of German knitting.   

The lights are blinking on and off as the wind increases.  I must set this blog post aside and proceed with my software update, or I may not have an opportunity! 

Well, that is my plan.  I will post an update at the end of the day. 

Update: I installed the software and finished iteration 2 of the bicycle hat.  This one is self lined, instead of being lined with fleece.  The ribbing was knitted first, using a ribber, then the fairisle section.  The lining is just plain knitting.  The first row above the ribbing was hung back on the needles, and before knitting, the cast-on row was also hung on the needles. There were three stitches on each needle.  Tension increased three full numbers, one row knitted, then bound off.  Seamed the side seams and gathered the top.   

Hat update

 

Since the last time you saw this hat, I have flipped up the facing to the inside, and sewed it down, using a stretch stitch on my sewing machine.  It looks much nicer on the inside now.  

This had the effect of making the hat shorter, and it felt a little like a beanie.  I decided to add some ear flaps.  I knitted them today on the Brother bulky that Ed and I just set up a few days ago.  Makes it look like a totally different hat. 

I am finally cleaning up and organizing my studio.  It was a disaster during our move-in a year ago.  I took some photos back then. 

There were boxes everywhere.  Bins of yarn and books on the shelf, not enough shelves, so books on the floor and the table and everywhere. I had no hope of finding a pattern because all the organization in the old house was not heeded when shelving the magazines here.  It was overwhelming.  

The weaving loom is surrounded and covered with boxes of yarn.  The extra knitting machines are taking up a shelf unit that I previously used to store the bins of yarn in our old house.  

No room for a cozy spot for the circular sock knitting machine or the spinning wheels.  The yarn trees are back in the corner, away from the window, because I don't want sunlight fading the dyes.  

The motor drives for four machines were in boxes and taking up a lot of space. 

Now, it's over a year later, and FINALLY I have got all four of the motor drives up and running. 

Ed is going to install electric outlets on the wall side so I don't have to run extension cords over the floor.  We are also looking at different lighting, the current lighting is compact fluorescent and it takes a while for the bulbs to warm up enough to give off good light.  I think LED is the way to go these days.  

There is still a lot of organizing to do. I have been putting random pattern printouts I find among projects into a three-ring binder. When I clean up this table, it will be a place to work on patterns or do some hand-knitting.  The KH-930 with the garter carriage is against the table, and there is a bulky punchcard machine sitting flat on the far side. 

 I can at least see a path to my weaving loom.  I need to use up about half of the yarn I have in bins and boxes and bags and on the yarn trees.  

I feel more like knitting when I am not overwhelmed by a huge mess.  This week I made a couple of hats for my granddaughter.  I am lining all the hats with Polar Fleece now, as last year my son-in-law complained that the knitted hats let the wind through.  The cute bear hat turned out to be almost too small for her, it fits tightly, and the bicycle one, which is 12 stitches wider, fits perfectly. 

Bicycling hat

 Well, I did not use either of the patterns I have created for bicycle hats.  Because we were travelling last weekend, and it is quite a bit more comfortable to do hand-knitting as a passenger in the cab of a truck than machine knitting, I printed off a pattern from Julia Stone on Ravelry and hand-knitted a hat. It took all of the 10 hours in the truck plus a few at the farm. After we arrived home,  I lined it with Polar fleece, sewing the lining in using a stretch stitch on my sewing machine. 

I didn't follow the pattern exactly.  I did not achieve the pattern gauge using the yarn and needles I grabbbed on the way out the door.  So instead of knitting the "large" hat, which would have fit me, I knit the "small" hat knowing it would come out larger.  

The hat is knitted in the round. The pattern had an interesting two-color cast-on technique.  However, the YouTube video referenced by the pattern is no longer available, so I had to come up with my own version of a two-color cast on.  After knitting up to the rider's foot, I could see that the bottom of the hat was flaring  excessively and curling.  I decided to knit a facing.  Using the larger of the two swatches, and the larger set of needles, I picked up and knit every other stitch (easy because it was the CC) for three rows.  Then bound off.  I realized the bind-off was too tight, so I knit one more row, increasing in every stitch by making a stitch from the row below.   This facing has a curl of its own.  If I leave it alone, it curls to the outside, giving an additional border beyond that intended by the pattern writer. 

If I turn it under, I will need to tack it down or stitch it down, probably using an overcast hand-sewn stitch.  This will hide the edge of the Polar fleece, which is a raw edge, and give a more finished appearance.  However, it also marginally makes the hat shorter and I may need to add some earflaps to cover my ears before I am finished. 

Versailles pattern - Manos del Uruguay

 Last week I shared with you my process for turning a graphic into a design.  I have taken the next steps and actually punched a punchcard. 

I also loaded Design-A-Knit 8 onto the desktop computer that I typically use for my blog posts.  I have to leave the CD in the drive as that is their copy protection mechanism, and I had the permanent install on my ancient laptop downstairs.  So I spent a couple of hours re-acquainting myself with DAK. 

I think I have a knittable fairisle design for a hat.    I will start knitting at the crown, knit the fairisle portion, then when I get to the vertical stripes I will turn down the tension by two notches, knit half the rows, do a EON transfer for a picot edge, knit the remainder of the stripes, turn the tension back to the original, then knit the hat lining.  Bind off, gather the ends, and sew the seam.  We'll see how it goes.  

If you follow my other blogs, you know that I sets myself a challenge to plan and execute a bike ride through each of the cities and villages in Ohio that are named after European cities, a Grand Tour of Ohio roads.   The last ride was Versailles.  

I looked for a Versailles knitting pattern and struck gold.  I found that Manos de Uruguay has released  their back library of hand knitting patterns, including a sweater pattern named Versailles.  I'll need to convert it for machine, but I think it is doable.  Click the link to their site to download the pattern. 

I also found a lovely lace shawl pattern named Versailles on Ravelry, but it is not free.  

Bicycle knits

 I decided to make my own bicycle graphic for knitting.

Step 1 - find a suitable graphic. I found this one that has clean lines. 

Step 2 - download knitters graph paper.  I got mine from Tricksy knitter.  Knitting graph paper is scaled to be more proportional to a typical size of a knitted stitch.  Normally, stockinette stitch is a ratio of 4 stitches to 6 rows, or typically on a machine with standard gauge, 7 stitches to 11 rows.  Using quadrangle graph paper would flatten the design. 

Step 3 - trace the bicycle outline onto the graph paper. 

Step 4 - identify the squares inside the traced outline.

Step 5 - reproduce the design by marking the selected squares.

My first attempt resulted in a design of 24 stitches.  This will not work for a punchcard, because there will be no space between the designs.   To create a design for a punchcard, I would repeat steps 1-5 using a slightly reduced version of the graphic, perhaps printing the graphic at 94 % of its original size.  I could avoid the necessity to repeat this step by first measuring the width of 22-23 stitches on the graph paper, then printing the bicycle graphic to fit the scale.

Step 6 - enter the design into the Knitting machine.   

Step 6a - for machines without automatic patterning, manually select the needles according to the graph.

Step 6b - for punchcard machines, punch the design into a blank card, making sure there is space between motifs.

Step 6c - you can enter the design directly into the control panel of an electronic machine, following the instructions in the user guide for your machine.  On Brother machines, you can then store to disk if you still have a disk drive.

Step 6d - alternatively, you can enter the design into Design-A-Knit as a stitch pattern and save.  

Since I am using my 25-stitch pattern, and an electronic machine, I will proceed with option 6d.

Bicycle knits

 I found a reference to this book online and ordered it.

  It arrived while we were away. When we got home I could not wait to see all the bicycle motifs inside.   Alas, the one on the cover is the only two-color motif in the booklet. It is a 39-stitch repeat for a top-down yoke, with increases, there are 8 plain stitches between the base of the panel and four stitches between the wheels.    Sizes go up to a 41.5-inch bust.  This would not work for me, so to knit it will require complete redesign.

There is a pattern for a yoke sweater where the ribs radiate from the neck, referencing the spokes of a bicycle wheel.  Also included are directions for a crocheted basket and handlebar streamers. A men's Aran-style drop-shoulder sweater emulates tire patterns.  They spell it "tyre" as the booklet was compiled by a knit shop in the UK.  There is a felted messenger bag and a lace shawl, a crocheted slouchy hat, and fingerless mittens with diamond-shaped cables inspired by bike frames.  

I've also found a few charts on Pinterest for bicycles.  One is a 24-stitch repeat, suitable for punchcard machines.

I ended up downloading a pattern from Julie Stone Designs on Ravelry for a bike hat and beanie.  It also shows a headband version with picot edging.  There are currently 37 projects using this pattern in Ravelry.  It's a handknit, and not an even multiple of 24 stitches, but I'll work something out.

Barcelona Top

Last night I stayed up late to finish the front side of my Barcelona top (pattern from Anne Lavene, purchased on etsy.) 

I had a few interesting experiences while I was working.

1. This is the first time I've knitted with my KH-970 since we moved from Michigan a year ago.  I set it up a few months after we moved, but when I couldn't find the setting plates for the ribber, or the brackets to hold the CB-1 box, I stopped.  As you may know, I've been making masks since mid-March, so I haven't been knitting or even working on setting up my knitting studio.   I knew I had the missing pieces, just could not find them.  Hate to buy things I already have, but I almost was ready to do it.  A few days ago I opened a tote bag expecting to find yarn, but there they were! Yay!    I lightly sprayed the carriage with my last can of machine lube before sitting down to knit.

Now the only thing missing is the power cord.

2.  Not having a power cord to power up the CB-1 box meant I had no row counter.  This pattern is published using Anne's visual method.  Meaning that the graphic shows the needle number of the stitches in work at each change in direction.  All the increases and decreases were every two rows, or every four rows.  I figured I could count to four without a row counter, then use the needle numbers for reference as to how many rows I had knitted and where I was in the pattern.

3. A useful skill, lacking a row counter, is the ability to "read" the wrong side of the knit.  I am easily distractable.  I can count to four, but sometimes I got interrupted between the rows where I increased after two rows, and the ones where I increased every four rows.  Being able to see the last increase on each side allowed me to recover my place.

4. One of the interruptions was a bent latch.  I notice that I dropped a stitch. I fixed the stitch.  Then I noticed that 17 rows further down, this same needle had "tucked" instead of knitting the stitch.  This pattern is stockinette.  The yarn is a shiny mercerized cotton. If I let it go, it would be very noticeable flaw in the stitching.   So I laddered down, and latched it up from the reverse side.  Unfortunately when I got to the top I realized I had missed a strand at row 16.   So I repeated the process.  And then I repeated it again when I realized I missed two strands at row 15.  It actually took me four times of dropping and latching up, to fix this one stitch.  Anyone who thinks machine knitting is "cheating" has never machine-knitted.  The latch was only slightly bent, and I was able to bend it back in place with just a little pressure, and had no further problems with it. 

5. I am using a no-name cotton yarn from my stash.  I made three gauge swatches, but none matched the gauge in the pattern.  The first two were made with acrylic yarn but I was way off, so I switched to the cotton.  Especially since this top is something I would wear over a camisole in summer.  I was close at T8, so I decided to chance it and go with T9 for the garment tension.  That's the recommended tension for two of the suggested yarns in the pattern anyway.  It probably won't fit, will be too small for me, but I want to see how knitting this garment works before I knit it again with a more expensive yarn.  I think I'd like to do it in a lace stitch pattern eventually.   My display mannequin is a lot smaller than my actual self. 

6.  I see on Facebook, in the Machine Knitting group, that my friend from Michigan, Julie Boylan, is also making this top!  She has translated it for the mid-gauge and posted a photo.  Her yarn was a tweed. To get the airiness I am looking for in a summer top, I was thinking of doing it on the bulky with a light yarn.   It will require a great deal of translation.

new etsy shop additions

http://www.etsy.com/shop/brightmeadowknits.

I've added new masks to my etsy shop

I have two styles, one with a knitted cotton tie, made on my knitting machine, and one that has elastic that fit over the ears.  Both styles have an opening for a filter of your choice, and both have a wire over the nose for better fit.

Tie version

Filter pocket

Shaped mask with opened pleats

Tie version, side view

Elastic version (mannequin has no ears so shown with ear-saver band)

For the present time, I've turned my knitting studio into a mask sewing studio. I am, however, at least knitting the cords from some cotton yarn in my stash. I made a design change from the masks I was sewing earlier with elastic loops for the ears. I've decided to go with ties for two reasons- a.) Elastic is not available b.) Ties are more comfortable. They do take a little longer to make. I'm donating $5 from sale of each mask to Children's Cancer Research Fund, to support my fundraising for the Great Cycle Challenge, which has been rescheduled to September. I plan to ride from Cincinnati to Cleveland, and also across Michigan, to meet my goal of 500 miles during September.

#mask
#facecovering
#facemask

Http://www.etsy.com/shop/brightmeadowknits

Http://www.greatcyclechallenge.com/riders/brendafish