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. It blocked out beautifully and I LOVE the line of the shoulder shaping, your idea worked perfectly.

    I vote for Kaisermantel for the name but it will be beautiful under any name you choose.

    Have a safe trip.

  4. I love this shawl, its a pattern I would definitely put in the running for my next lace project. I vote for the name Kaisermantle.

  5. Kaisermantle gets my vote because I thought of butterfly wings the minute I saw this. Its absolutely magnificent.

  7. My vote is Autumn Song – given you think of it as a tree shawl – the name and color of the shawl brings to mind walks in the woods in the crisp autumn air, the chirping of birds as they are settling in for their evening rest, and the warm glow of the sun on the colorful leaves in the late afternoon.

  8. I know I suggested Maplewing but I too was knocked over by Kaisermantle–it really speaks to the mothwing/cloaky grandness of this beauty.

    I kind of feel like I’m at the Oscars…you know, “win or lose, I’m honoured to be one of the nominees!”

    And I’m loving that faggoting detail at the shoulders–YUM-MY!

    Cheers, Barbie O.

  9. I vote for autumn mantle… and I think you should save the beautiful name kaisermantel for another shawl… one with a “luxurious” theme?

  11. Ahh, my vote is for Kaisermantel. Although I really like the name maplewing, to me this isn’t a maple leaf shape.

    Have fun, Anne. Our choices sure aren’t unanimous.

  12. Hi! Of course I vote for Autumn Mantle, although anything with a music theme really speaks to me, particularly Autumn Symphony.

    I don’t know enough German or enough about butterflies to appreciate Kaisermantel.

    It is a beautiful thing, by any name.

  13. Maplewing as the birds who fiund homes in the maples throughout three seasons wing their way to their winter abodes.

    Happy, safe trip.

  14. Ooh! Such nice choices. This one seems like Maplewing to me.

    Kaisermantel seems like it wants to be a different shawl, because I’d love to see what inspiration could come out of that name.

  19. I like all those names, but I am kind of partial to Maplewing. The shawl is one of your most beautiful.

  20. It’s almost too exquisite for words, but if I had to choose a name, I would pluralize to ‘Maplewings’ as it truly looks like a butterfly, and we all know they have two wings!

  22. Before I read all of the other comments, my vote is with David. Autumn is my most favorite season of the year and as I mentioned to you before, when I look at all of the complexities in this beautiful shawl, it makes me think of Vivaldi’s 4 seasons…and Autumn Song just does it for me 🙂

  24. Sorry, this is unfair, but how about New York Maple?

    But if it is really just from the 4, then don’t over think it – Autumn Mantle best describes the puddle of leaves around the bottom half of this glorious shawl.

  36. Kaisermantel gets my vote – although when I do knit this shawl (and I’m sure I will, it’s a beautiful piece without being too complicated, intimidating or fussy!) I will probably be looking for peacock or tidal water colorways…that is still what the original motif looks like to me.

  46. Hi – just curious where you are going in NY. I am in the hills around the FingerLakes region where it snows _every_ day. It’s snowing now as a matter of fact.

  48. Hard to say, I don’t like Autumn Song. I like the other three, and I like the sound of Maple Wing the best, and I like the thought behind Kaisermantel the best. It does remind me of butterfly wings!

  49. All the names are pretty good, but I am liking maplewing best. It fits the color and the lace pattern kind of does have the feel of those fluttery maple seeds spinning down.

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