Whitemarsh encampment at Hope Lodge

[mandie_rw]

I went to the Revolutionary War encampment at Hope Lodge in PA today, along withblackcat452,hiraimi, &dragoneyes19. They had, well, an encampment of some regiments, a few sutlers, tours of the mansion, and a "skirmish" in the afternoon. Respectable turnout from the public, especially considering the weather, which was cold, and got colder as the day went on! The wind was pretty wicked. I was cold, but not freezing - except for my feet! I really need to invest in a couple pairs of wool stockings... also some mitts that are not ghetto-fabulous, but those may have to wait til next year's Fort Fred unless I can find them online.

(Anybody wanna knit some for me? I'll pay you! :P )

We all made various small purchases from the sutlers; I satisfied myself with some different colors of silk ribbon to tie round my cap. Despite the warm kitchen (fire! Yay!), we were pretty much icicles by the time the skirmish was over, so we beat a hasty retreat to Robin's house, where we enjoyed mugs of tea and much costume chatter for hours and hours!

No new dresses (though Robin's on her fifth pair of sleeves), so no one felt the need to take many pictures, though I think Alice has a picture of me prodding a meat hook in the cellar of the house...

Of course this all means I got not one bit of sewing done today, which is so going to bite me in the ass as regards the Pumpkin Tea and Gettysburg, but it was worth it - you guys are fun. ;)

Comments

[danabren.livejournal.com]

Show me a picture of the mitts you are thinking of?

[mandie-rw.livejournal.com]

Just your basic elbow-length 18thc mitts, a la this picture at Fort Fred:

http://i851.photobucket.com/albums/ab73/wood242424/Fort%20Fred/6978354420_dfa849845f_b.jpg

...except that I'd really like a pair that's not made out of the sleeves of a sweater! Which is what mine are, haha.

[danabren.livejournal.com]

There are these http://a-friend-to-knit-with.blogspot.com/2008/09/toasttoasty.html

These http://www.classiceliteyarns.com/WebLetter/111/Issue111.php

These http://knitmeasong.blogspot.com/2009/07/glovelies-free-pattern.html

These http://www.purlbee.com/the-purl-bee/2010/10/24/whits-knits-ribbed-hand-warmers.html

These http://bohoknits.blogspot.com/2009/05/siren-sleeves.html

And these http://images4.ravelrycache.com/uploads/mintyrae/22138429/90610ada_medium2.jpg (http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/90610AD.html for pattern, login required to see pattern)

You purchase the yarn, and give me a deadline, I will make them for you :)

[mandie-rw.livejournal.com]

You are AWESOME, thank you so much! I really like the "siren sleeves" from boho knits...

Should I buy yarn & send it to you, or should I just send money & let you get something you know would be appropriate (I'm stupid about knitting!)?

[danabren.livejournal.com]

First things first - order the yarn and have it mailed directly to me, that is the easiest way.

Secondly, I suggest that you try to use the recommended yarn in the pattern. You want a sport weight (which just tells you how thick or thin a given spun fiber is) but the fiber is also important (do you want silk or wool or a blend?) Sadly, Indigo Moon doesn't currently have any sport weight in stock!

I spent a hell of a lot of time trying to find something that would be a close match, how *vexing* that an art form is so inexact ;)

I offer Fiddlesticks http://www.fiddlesticksknitting.com/silk_sensation.html (needs 100g for the pattern, so 2 skeins) This would be a solid color pair of mitts.

Or KnitRowan http://www.knitrowan.com/yarns/rowan-tweed (I am not a fan of nubbly yarn, but some folks love it) - Also would require 2 skeins. This would be a varigated pair.

Or Color Spun http://www.knitrowan.com/yarns/colourspun Which is a teensy bit finer than the Indigo Moon. That means it would be a teensy bit smaller than the original design. Like ... teensy bit. Also multicolored. Again, need 100g, so 2 skeins.

[mandie-rw.livejournal.com]

Excellent! Hmm, would the silken merino on the Fiddlesticks site work as well? I'd really like a solid-color wool or wool blend...

[danabren.livejournal.com]

Yes, the Silken Merino would be fabulous :) I need 100g, so 2 skeins of whatever color you choose. I will PM you with my mailing address.

[mandie-rw.livejournal.com]

Okay, color chosen (finally! I was waffling over it during the weekend), yarn bought! It may have my name on the package, because apparently PayPal felt like doing that. But it's shipping to you!

And whenever you can have them finished is fine, I don't know how much spare time you have! I think we're going to some candlelight tours in December for which new mitts would be loverly, but no pressure. ;)