My mother-in-law works at a working historical farm. She works in authentic historical garb, and cooks, spins, and cleans in an authentic historical manner, giving tours to visitors and explaining her processes.
She mentioned to me last year that at the later-season (fall and winter) gigs, her co-worker had a bosom-buddy, or sontag - a historical woolen shawl that wrapped around to allow a woman to work while she wore it. She mentioned that she would like that for Christmas this year, and then she (hopefully) forgot about it.
So, I made one! It's humungous, and I followed a basic pattern from 1860 that I adapted, due to my gauge. I also created a button using
Kate Davies Button Tutorial. The garter edge was knit with the body, and when I broke for the "wings," I cast on the 6 stitches needed for the "inside" garter ridges. Later, I went back and knit from the cast-ons, and applied a garter ridge by picking up a stitch from the neck edge, and knitting two together near that edge to maintain the six stitches.
I knit a 6-stitch garter ridge strip, and knit about 300 rows, and then continued that same applying technique to attach it to the bottom back of the sontag, and then knit another 300 rows. I then knit an applied i-cord all the way around that garter strip, which stabilized and strengthened it.
I sent it off to her for a late birthday/early Christmas gift, so she could use it this fall season, and thankfully, she loves it!
Ravelry Project Page
A friend of mine, Rachel, the lovely lady behind Arbor Twist yarns and designs, was featuring a new hat pattern and needed test knitters.
The hat comes in Beanie or Slouchie, and she was in desperate need of Beanie testers, so I signed up in a heart beat, and was able to use some deep-stash yarn from way back in 2013 when I went to Tennessee.
I'm very happy with it, and it's warm, comfy, and beautiful - what more can a girl ask? I love the pattern - it's so simple to follow but beautiful - and I love the result!
