my kingdom for a pocket

Posted on annePosted in lace/shawls, projects

a quick note before i get started on other topics: deb kessler tells me that this is the last week to sign up for the fearless fibers whisper of spring lace club. one of the wonderful packages in this short-term club will include a reintroduction deb’s beautiful cashmere laceweight yarn (i’ve knit with it a couple of times—it’s gorgeous and very wearable). so if you’ve been thinking about joining, now is the time; signups close at the end of the week.

so yesterday, after i unpinned the shawl and taught my morning class, i sorta had a free afternoon on my hands for the first time in a while. i hauled out david’s christmas sweater to acquaint it with some long-awaited pockets (i know—shameful, right??).

first, i marked out on the flat sweater the approximate size and placement i thought the pockets should be with the yellow pins

there are two pockets on each side front that will be the same width; the top one is not as deep and will have a flap and top entry. the bottom one is much deeper and will have a side entry
once david made an appearance, i had him to try it on to make sure we liked the layout

i originally had it one inch too far from the center and about the same too high, so i adjusted those lines till i was satisfied.

i spent the late afternoon and evening knitting the four pockets and two flaps. i left some edges in live stitches to be grafted on to the jacket. for the outside edges of the lower pockets i worked the slip-stitch edge that i used along the jacket fronts, to add stability.

this afternoon after class i started sewing them on—naturally, i had a couple of false starts, but after a while i got into a rhythm. nancie wiseman’s knitter’s book of finishing techniques is a great resource which outlines the techniques i used to apply these pockets.

i got two pockets and a flap sewn on before my late afternoon class began. i’m pretty happy with how they are going on, though i may go back and tweak that very first one along the left side (or maybe not, heh).

now that i’m on a roll, i would love to finish this project tonight, but i don’t know if it’s possible. i still haven’t packed for our trip tomorrow or decided what knitting i’m taking along. i mean, i DO have a couple of main projects ready to go, including the new boxleaf shawl i started the other day (actually i worked on that in classes today and it’s growing; unfortunately, there was no light left when i finally thought about taking a picture).

but i’ve got no socks, scarf, or emergency projects planned, and leaving home with just two projects during the height of blizzard season in northern NY state seems like sheer idiocy. gotta fix that (in fact, even though david says he’s not ready to start another knitting project yet, i have an overwhelming urge to pack just-in-case yarn for him, too—maybe some nice chunky tweed handspun?).

the shawl is off to new hampshire, but i got a few shots while i had it on the dress form yesterday before packing it up to go (sorry, i wasn’t in the mood to model it myself; we’ll do that when it comes back home).

thank you all for playing the name game again—i have it narrowed down to four that i like.
i wanted to stay away from bird names for a couple of reasons—the main one being that this shawl was truly inspired by fall foliage (particularly the maples of new york state) and is related to the autumn arbor stole. i think of it as a tree shawl.

so i had a short list of tree-related names and once i removed ones that had already been used to name other designs (sugar maple and maple swirl) i had these remaining:

autumn mantle
autumn song (chorus, or symphony)
maplewing

BUT then teli made a suggestion in comments that sorta knocked my socks off. she suggested the german butterfly name,
kaisermantel, which translates to “emperor’s cloak”

and i love that. i’m wavering over maplewing too, though, contributed by barb o. david likes autumn song.
in other words, we cannot come to a consensus.

so let’s vote . . . tell me which one you like best (from just those four, please).

now i really do have to go pack and wind some yarn. we are leaving in the morning and traveling all day, so i won’t be around most of tomorrow. but hopefully, i’ll be back wednesday with news from the north (and, if nothing else, pictures of knitting . . .).

146 thoughts on “my kingdom for a pocket”

  1. I like the tree/maple theme, so I vote for Maplewing. It continues the Wing of the Moth line while still honoring its inspiration. I like the idea of Kaisermantle, but this shawl wasn’t of butterflies or emperors, so clearly it is Maplewing for me. IMHO.

  6. My vote is for Autumn Song. I think it best represents the colors and fluidity of the shawl. Maplewing reminds me too much of a breakfast cereal, and Kaisermantle sounds too stern. Hmmm, breakfast…must go eat something…

  7. Maplewing!

    That totally seems to capture the essence of your amazing creation!

    I’m a new knitter and your creations totally inspire me.

    Mary

  11. New to visiting your site. Love your patterns. Just getting back into knitting myself after a hiatus of four years. I vote for Maplewing. I agree with Emily–Kaisermantel should be its own shawl.

  12. maple wing. reminds me of the spun maple candy -cotton candy that you can get at the NY sheep and wool festival/dunno why. heh.

  13. The shawl by any name would still be beautiful.

    I would lide to see David’s sweater with all the pockets. Have a safe trip,

  17. Magnificent! I vote for Maple Wing. And even though I’ve already got the yarn and pattern for Autumn Arbor, which I adore, I think I will have to have this one, too!

  23. Maplewing for me. Maple song second. I don’t like the “kaiser” part of “kaisermantle,” personally. . . . Have a great time in NY Anne!! Drive safe and watch out for deer!!!

  25. …but doesn’t Autumn Aria sort of roll off the tongue? (sorry–I know you said to choose between the 4 listed names)

  26. Love the name Kaisermantle…and L.O.V.E. the shawl itself! Gorgeous dahhhling, gorgeous!!
    Any chance (ahem…in your spare time??) that a pattern would emerge for that gorgeous sweater you knit for David…?

  28. Hmm, I think I’d vote for Maplewing and here’s why. The recurring shapes in the shawl (gorgeous, by the way) reminds me of those things that fall off the trees in the fall with the seeds in them that have something like a little wing and they twirl around as they fall to the ground. Oh my, I’m being terribly unscientific today. Whatever they are called, they aren’t the same color, being light brown, but the flare of the little wing just seems to match the shape of the “wings” in the shawl and I also like how it would have the “tree” theme in the name.

  32. pockets are looking good — glad you were able to get back to them finally.

    Autumn Song get my vote for the name. Perfect!

  33. I like Autumn Mantle. I think it should definitely have ‘autumn’ in the name. I hope you got all of your projects packed and ready to go in time. By the way–the pockets on David’s sweater look great. Finishing (seams, etc.) is the part of knitting I don’t much like.

  35. I’m with David – Autumn Song. The shawl is so definitely and obviously a sister of Autumn Arbor that I think you just HAVE to use a similar name. And it seems sweeter, somehow, and finer – like a song. While Kaisermantle is an awesome name, I think you should save it for a shawl that is actually more cloaklike in appearance – perhaps with more geometric lines, or somehow more imperial or military-ish (if that makes any sense at all 🙂
    Love the new design, Anne

  37. Best I can do is narrow it down to 2, Kaisermantel or Maplewing. Either would be great, hell anything would be great! You could always throw your fav choices in a hat and let destiny do it’s thang. =D

  40. I vote for maplewing. It’s really lovely. I love kaisermantel but, since that refers to a butterfly, I think you should hold that name in reserve for a butterfly themed shawl. You know you want to make one 😉

  41. It is magnificent, Anne. OMgosh, I can’t wait to get the pattern & yarn. I like the english version of Kaisermantel, EMPERORS COAT, but since that is not a choice, I have to go with MAPLEWING.

  44. Absolutely stunning!!! I am trying so hard to ignore and just knit, knit, knit on the Japanese Feather “Wedding” Shawl, but you have drawn me out. I absolutely love it.

    I’m doing 14 repeats x 11 pattern repeats across on the Japenese Feather (in Zephyr) so it hopefully will be 80″ long and give her plenty of wrap on her cruise. Nothing like a deadline …

    I like Kaisermantel but all of the names suit. It is stunning!

  46. I like the feel of saying Autumn Song but I’ll vote for Maplewing which is more in line with your discriptions while knitting it.

    Beautiful!!

  48. I’m partial to Maplewing. The shawl is absolutely beautiful no matter what you decide to name it!

  49. Maplewing, for me – suits it perfectly. Kaisermantle is a great name, but I think a kaisermantle would be… purple!

  50. Hmm. Maplewing, I think. Save Kaisermantle for a different shawl that isn’t in the tree “family”–I do like the way you give things related names; it serves as a mnemonic for me.

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