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A bit of a website fix-up
Good day! Please note that our website is undergoing a bit of a reworking, so some links and menus may not be functional. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. It should all be worked out soon! Thanks for stopping by!
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Testing Huron County Arcott wool
In preparation for choosing a wool for the reproduction of Herbert Wheeler’s knitted gloves, I’ve been knitting up a few test swatches using a locally produced wool, a Huron County Arcott. The sport-weight wool is a medium grade with a tendency to create a natural nap on the surface after wet finishing, according to Deborah Livingston-Lowe, experienced weaver, textile designer and owner of Upper Canada Weaving. Upper Canada Weaving was founded in 2010 by Deborah to reproduce 19th century Ontario textiles such as coverlets, rag carpets and linens. I can tell you, fellow knitters, that Huron Arcott, sourced from a Brussels-area farm and purchased through Upper Canada Weaving, is an…
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Knitting the Huron Wristers video tutorials
Hi there! I’ve been working on a video series on how to knit the Huron Wristers. The videos are meant to help beginners or knitters with a little experience who would like to knit their own pair of history inspired wristers but maybe need some help with knitting in the round and colourwork. My knitting skill level is experienced beginner, so I’m always learning, reading and asking lots of questions. I would like to let you know that the wristers aren’t difficult to make; with a few basic skills in hand, they are designed to be a friendly and inclusive knit: quick and fun for experienced knitters and a small…
- Historic Textiles in Our Local Museums, Knitting, museum reproduction, Needlework, Needlework History, Pattern Recreation
The Huron Wristers: a story of connections part 2
Continued from The Huron Wristers: a story of connections part 1 Was there a family tie to either Estonia or the British Isles? The answer would help to identify the glove pattern perhaps. When an instagram post by Best Dishes, a Goderich business owned by Sarah Anderson, appeared in my feed one day identifying the wristers pattern as based on a family heirloom, chance had dropped the perfect opportunity. It was time to connect. A couple messages back and forth and the story unfolded… History of the Wheeler Family Sarah as it turns out, is the daughter of Richard Anderson, great-nephew of Herbert Wheeler. Richard sent the following information about…
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Rare Stitches: Knitting Inspired by Illuminated Manuscripts
I recently missed this very fascinating virtual knitting event hosted by McGill Library, Rare Stitches: Knitting Inspired by Illuminated Manuscripts. I would have loved to have attended, but I can enjoy watching and rewatching the video… and so can those stitchers out there into history and needlework. In the workshop, historian and knitter Kristen Howard shared her work to bring medieval manuscripts to life by exploring the history of illuminated manuscripts and how to transform rare books into handknits. Howard is a historian, knitter, and Master of Information Studies student at McGill University. She completed a PhD in History from the Division for Late Medieval and Reformation Studies at the…
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Blyth Knit & Natter
- Historic Textiles in Our Local Museums, Knitting, museum reproduction, Needlework History, Pattern Recreation
The Huron Wristers: a story of connections part 1
The story of the creation of the Huron Wristers is a story of connections: the connection of past to present, of generation to generation. Back in 1972 Pearl Wheeler donated a pair of knitted gloves that once belonged to her husband Herbert to the Huron County Museum and Historic Gaol. The museum’s record notes that at the time the gloves were thought to date from 1870 and were knit by a man. Herbert and Pearl lived in Belgrave, Ontario. Herbert had seven siblings, four brothers and three sisters. His parents were Charles Wheeler and Mary Ann Wilkinson. Herbert was a carpenter and apparently also the local barber. How long the…
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Huron Wristers Kits now available for online purchase
Hi, everyone! Just a quick update on the Huron Wristers Kits… the kits are now available for purchasing through the FACTS online store: https://factsblyth.ca/shop/ Inspired by a pair of historical gloves from the textile collection of the Huron County Museum, the Huron Wristers pattern features a recreation of the colourwork pattern from the original museum gloves. The kit is a unique reflection of the natural resources, history, and creativity found in Huron County. The wristers are fingerless mitts perfect for working on computers, devices and outdoor activities when you need your fingers free. The kit is $45 and includes 1 hank (100 grams) of off-white, undyed wool; 2 smaller hanks…
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Textile art classes at FACTS, Blyth
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Exploring historic textiles in our local museums
I enjoy reading about and researching historic textiles. For me, these vintage textiles provide a invaluable, tangible link to our past. And as I work at reproducing old knitting patterns and recreating vintage knitted items, I find that the local museums hold a wealth of reference material in their textile collections, providing wonderful period pieces to help with pattern identification and reproduction. Recently I enjoyed the privilege of seeing (virtually, of course) textile items from the collection of the Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre. I saw many wonderful, beautiful items, some knit, others crocheted, some embroidered, others sewn and so on. From knitted coverlets and clothing, cross stitch samplers,…
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Stitch some history with the Colours of Huron
They are done! My very first knitting kit is all put together and ready to be delivered! The Huron Wrister Kit, inspired by history & featuring the ‘Colours of Huron’, will be able at FACTS in Blyth on Friday for the FACTS Forest Exhibit Opening! And, the Huron County Museum will have a small number available for sale on Saturday. It’s so exciting to be able to work with FACTS and Steele Wool Farm on this creative fibre collaboration and to have the encouragement of the Huron County Museum. Planning the Huron Wrister Kit The origin and inspiration for the Huron Wrister lays with the historic textiles in the collection of the…
- fibre dyeing, Knitting, museum reproduction, Needlework History, Pattern Recreation, vintage reproduction
Huron Wristers and the Colours of Huron
The Blyth History Stitcher is at it again… naturally dyed palette created by FACTS and beautiful wool from Steele Wool Farm, this is definitely a creative fibre collaboration; it’s time for an update on the Huron Wristers. The Huron Wristers Kits are now in production, with the coloured yarn being weighed and divided. The worsted weight wool is from Steele Wool Farm, a Blyth-area fibre producer owned by Margaret Steele. Naturally sourced local dyes, provided by FACTS Blyth, were used to create the palette of the ‘Colours of Huron’. Each kit will have enough wool to knit a pair of medium/large fingerless mitts and will consist of one ball of natural wool (220 yards)…
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The story of blue
inspired by vintage needlework
