Marching towards fine knitting

First, I wish to thank Els van Dam for sending me a big bunch of stuff on knitting sticks (de breischede). Some uncharitable folks might call it "evil enablement' but I think it was sweet and she is very generous of her time and treasure.

Second, this morning, I made a reproduction of a "goose wing" knitting sheath based on

picture of 4 sheaths, 2d from the right). The material I used was oakwith the needle hole lined with brass. The length of the finished sheath was6.75". The needle hole was sized for US #00 needles, and the needles I amusing it with are 11 inches long. The level of craftsmanship was"functional" with a comfortable beeswax finish. I doubt if a better finishwould improve functionality. The texture of the end grain as it fits overthe point of my hip seems to be an element of how it works. From which Isurmise that the original was made for a man that wore and apron : )(Women have different shaped hips.) It is also clear that the sheath to thefar right was made to tuck under a belt or sash. My sheath was made entirely with a very limited set of hand tools includinga coping saw, utility knife, wood rasp, drill, and pliers. Total time tomake was under 2 hours. My version was made in one piece rather than having a separate, turned, needle holder.

Many knitting sheaths of this small size are described in museum catalogues as "small," often with a notation that it might be for a child. Having actually knitted with this object, I can assure you that it works very well indeed with these steel needles. It's small size allows it to tuck comfortably under apron strings and it holds the needle and knitting quite securely. This not a child's toy. It is the right size for a #00 knitting sheath.

Knitting motion with #00 needles with a sheath is somewhat different from what I have developed for the #1 needles, in that the outer few inches of the needle is flexed the thumb and forefinger to produce the knitting action. This motion is certainly much faster than anything that I can achieve with other methods of hand knitting with #00s (i.e., without a sheath.) This opens up the possibility of really producing useful amounts of knitting at a gauge of 10 to 12 spi with the fine patterning that a tight gauge allows. I really love the texture of the swatch that I did this morning with some Bartlett's sport yarn. This really opens up new vistas in knitting for me.

Third. Over the weekend I found myself sitting next to a Professior of Asian Studies. She told me that there is a ancient tradition in Asia of using two needles to loop spun yarn into lace, i.e., knitting lace. To put her use of the work "ancient" into context, she said her ~ 200 year old jade pendent was just "new jade." I think this opens up a whole new avenue into the history of knitting.