Tuesday, February 26, 2013

The Joy of Edging

It's no secret that I love edging. I could edge for hours. Hell, I teach classes about edging. If you want to edge, I'm your guy.

Here's one I've enjoyed particularly. In fact, it made me giggle. Sturdy little thing, suitable for blankets and bedspreads. It's from the Fourth Series of Weldon's Practical Knitter (1880s) and it's called "Lurline."*


lurline-edge


Notes:
yo2. Double yarn over–yarn wraps twice around right needle.
sl 1. Slip stitch as if to purl, with yarn in front.

Pattern:
CO 14 sts. K 1 row.
Row 1. Sl 1, k1, k2tog, yo2, k2tog, k1, yo, k2tog, yo, k2tog, co 4, k2tog, k1.
Row 2. K13, p1 (first wrap of yo2), k3.
Row 3. Sl 1, k1, k2tog, yo2, k2tog, k5, k1 and p1 into each of next 4 sts, k2.
Row 4. K17, p1 (first wrap of yo2), k3.
Row 5. Sl 1,k1, k2tog, yo2, k2tog, k1, (yo, k2tog) 6x, yo, k2.
Row 6. K18, p1 (first wrap of yo2), k3.
Row 7. Sl 1, k1, k2tog, yo2, k2tog, k16.
Row 8. BO 8, k9, p1 (first wrap of yo2), k3.

Repeat as needed from Row 1.

You may have noticed that it's pinned out on the top of a cardboard paper box. I do that all the time. Then the piece is easily shuffled around–this is a small workroom–and I don't have to worry about stepping on pieces while they dry.

Rough Neck Sweater Progress

I'm well into the collar on the Rough Neck sweater. I do believe the structure is making sense and will work–although the instructions present one of those obstacles that you find fairly often in old patterns. It's not an error, exactly–just a lack of perfect clarity. Suffice it to say that if I hadn't already gathered that the entire collar is double-thick, and then confirmed my hunch thanks to a phrase referring to the finishing of the front bands, I'd be in for a helluva lot of ripping.

I would show you photographs if the sweater didn't defy clear shooting at this point. No matter what I do, all it looks like is a mass of stockinette shooting out incomprehensibly in three directions. Once I've finished the collar, I'll see what I can do by way of an update.

*I'll forever associate that name with Matson Navigation, whose ships I helped to load and unload in Honolulu during a summer job as a stevedoring clerk. The Lurline (named after a lady of the Matson family) was one of the line's signature vessels–a pretty little ship that had once carried passengers from California to Hawaii and back, but after the advent of jet travel had been gutted and turned into a cargo ship. Pity.

37 comments:

Sherilyn said...

I love that you are blogging again. I've missed it.

That is all.

Lester's Mama said...

Franklin Habit....knitter, designer, blogger, stevedore
But of course!

Val Reaves said...

Oh, I love knitted edgings! Lovely on just about anything...Thanks for sharing!
Val in Kansas

Seanna Lea said...

The edging is lovely, but I wish it went in both directions. Right now it all turns downward. I wonder if you alternated 8 rows of k2tog and 8 rows of ssk if that would cause a directional change (probably not really). I'll have to experiment.

petoskystone said...

Such sweet edging, & the beautiful story :) Y'know, your fellow knitters would see the progress you're making, & not 'a mess of stockinette', just as my fellow embroiderers would see & be excited over the progress I make in my 'Frost Bearer' cross-stitch. (Of course, mundane readers' eyes glaze over ;)

Ed said...

Edging definitely drives some people crazy. I think it's the repetitiveness of it.

Pam Sykes (aka Pretty Knitty) said...

Lurline...lace edging or a "pretty little ship." I love how you weave your memories through your blog posts, and that lace is so pretty. :) I am sure the sweater will work itself out eventually...I wish I could skip to the end to see the finished piece already!

Emily said...

It's a good day when I see you've posted. Yes!

Cat Bordhi said...

Franklin I too love that you are blogging with your inimitable exuberance and frequency again...and love Lurline. She actually looks like lots of Lurline ships stacked up. And nothing is quite so satisfying as a garter lace edging that remains charming no matter from which side you see it.

Helena Handbasket said...

My mother traveled to Hawaii on the Lurline in the 30s. Her 10-month stay there was the highlight of her life, and I heard many stories about the trip. Thanks for the reminder (and the handsome edging).

drMolly, the BeanQueen said...

Mmmm Mmmm - I, too, love edgings. I've several antique booklets with both crochet and knitted edgings. Now if I could just find enough projects to put them on. Well maybe just a showcase of edgings. I do love the name of that piece.

Helen in Colorado said...

Franklin, Did you know there was a piece of sheet music from which a singer could warble, "I found romance on the Lurline/While sailing to Paradise"? The corn gets deeper from there. I don't know if I still have the music; it may be buried in a box with other music from my childhood.

Helen in Colorado said...

Further on my post about the sheet music,here's a link: http://www.squareone.org/Hapa/r7.html

Beth C said...

While en-route to Honolulu,just a few days before Dec.7, 1941, the Lurline intercepted and translated some low-level radio messages in Japanese. The captain thought they were mighty suspicious and upon his arrival, reported them post-haste to Naval authorities in Hawaii. He was thanked for his troubles and sent on his way.

weavinfool said...

In my high school class there was a Lurline. She was the granddaughter of the Lurline of the Matson lines. It gave me a jolt back in time when I read the name of the lace piece. Maybe I'll have to knit it, just for old time's sake.

roxie said...

In 1953 my parents went to Hawaii and back on the Lurline. They stayed at "the pink palace" -- the Royal Hawaiian. Every night on board was formal night, and Mom had two gowns which I later wore to proms. The men beguiled the tedium of the journey with skeet shooting off the stern. Dad won a small silver cup. Cruising ain't like it used to be.

The edging is charming, and I look forward to giving it a try.

Bill J said...

Oh my...Franklin has to learn to play "ROMANCE ON THE S. S. LURLINE " on his ukelele!

knitknigel said...

I think there are some guys who are going to be either pleasantly surprised, or quite shocked when your blog pops up as they google "edging". However, I maybe some of them will suddenly get the urge to be "wirgins". (Franklin will know what I'm talking about folks.)

Roggey said...

I read, and then re-read your post. The edging looked so familiar to me, I couldn't place it though for the longest while...I blame the snowstorm today and the whopping pile o' local alpaca yarn I bought yesterday.

Anyway, it came to me why it looked so familiar, Nicky Epstein's books on edgings!

As always, you do lovely work.

idiosyncratic eye said...

Fitting that it should remind you of a ship, it reminded me of the sea and waves. Maybe it was just the colour! :)

Anonymous said...

Oh no - the Lurline became a cargo ship? When I was in first grade, my class had a field trip to tour her when she was in port in SF. I still remember the disappointment when I found out we weren't actually going to sail to Hawaii. . .
-- stashdragon

Anonymous said...

Oh no - the Lurline became a cargo ship? When I was in first grade, my class had a field trip to tour her when she was in port in SF. I still remember the disappointment when I found out we weren't actually going to sail to Hawaii. . .
-- stashdragon

Claudia said...

I actually was a passenger on the Lurline when I was a kid. My dad was in the Navy and was transferred to Pearl Harbor in 1960 when I was in 2d grade and my younger sister was in kindergarten. My mother, being terrified of flying, insisted that we travel by ocean liner. What an amazing experience! Love the edging, and thanks for the little trip down memory lane for me...

JoAnn said...

I knit lots of edgings when I was a young mother, mostly because I needed (cheap)projects that kept me occupied for a good long time, not TOO complicated (after all, there aren't that many stitches to a row), but most of all because "crochet cotton" cost almost nothing, even compared to acrylic yarns.

Peg in Kensington, California said...

According to Lurline Matson Roth's obit from the L.A. Times, she was named after a wooden sailing ship called the Lurline and there were four more ships of the same name.

Unknown said...

Lurline was also the name of a "deity" in the "Wicked" series of books.

SarahSeattle said...

I also have a history with the Lurline! I have posted the whole story on my blog, but in brief, I traveled on the Lurline shortly after WW II ended. My father was stationed in Hawaii, and my mother took me aged 3 and my sister 18mo by train from Hartford CT to San Francisco to stay with him. It was an odyssey I don't think I could imagine doing now. Airplanes were not an option then.

Anonymous said...

Oh! Has anyone made a joke about living life on the edge yet? Too cliché? Ok, then never mind.

LisaDP said...

The library where I work has a card photograph with the following caption:
"Schooner Yacht 'Lurline'
Champion of the Pacific Ocean. Three times Winner of the Trans-Pacific Race
San Pedro to Honolulu, 2400 miles. Owner, A. E. Davis
Captain, Lew. B. Harris San Diego Yacht Club." The third win dates it to 1912. You can see an image of this Lurline on the San Diego Yacht Club Web site.

marsha said...

I am late to the party, but I too took the Lurline to Hawaii. My da was in the Navy and the whole family sailed on that beautiful ship. I was very young but remember the trip fairly well. My mother asked a steward for a memento and he gave her 6 dinner menus- one for each child. I still have them and they are beautiful. Just to bring the story full circle- my best friend from childhood married a man whose father was employed the Matson Line in SF.

Unknown said...

love that you are blogging again. I've missed it.

xxx

Anonymous said...

If you go to lileks.com/misc/lurline, you can see luxury at sea in advertisements. I thought of you when I saw it.

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Elaine said...

What a delightful blog! We share some interests - history of fiber arts - knitting - and all the other stuff: Lace, stuff enhanced with lace, and other stuff that displays lace. Seriously my background includes spinning, knotting, weaving, needle lace, bobbin lace, crochet, basketweaving, sewing, embroidery. I am 78 years on the earth and loving every minute of it. Thank you for sharing your passion.

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