I need a vacation to recover from my vacation. I saw museums, a climbed a mountain, saw more museums, walked a lot, ate good food, and shopped, so I basically achieved everything I wanted to in my whirlwind getaway.
Montreal is a city on an island, bordered by the St. Lawrence River and Rivière des Prairies, and at the centre of the city is Mont Royal, the namesake for Montreal. Climbing the mountain was day 1, after exploring Rue Ste. Catherine before checking into my hostel. Basically, after that, I was utterly exhausted, having woken up around 5am that morning.
On top of Mont Royal
Day 2 brought exploring via the Montreal subway system, bringing me to the old city. I loved it. It felt very much like Quebec City, with winding roads, cobblestone, and buildings that have stood for centuries. Norte Dame Basilica – my goodness, it was spectacular. There is a minimal entry fee, and it is completely worth it. It is grandeous, opulent, and simply stunning. While in Vieux Montreal, I visited the Château Ramezay and Pointe-a-Calliere Montreal archaeology and History Complex. Both told the history of Montreal, but using two completely different interpretation perspectives. Chateau Ramezay had its first floor dedicated almost entirely to a timeline of Montreal, and the bottom floor was set up with rooms representative of a New France home. The first floor was also where a special exhibit was installed, War Flowers, an interesting sensory experience, telling the stories of WWI soldiers. Pointe-A-Calliere, however, told the Montreal story though archaeology and artefacts recovered. The museum was essentially built on top of an archaeological site, a which created very interesting gallery space. That afternoon, I found Espace Tricot, a lovely yarn shop a short walk away from a subway stop. Three skeins later, my bank account was a little lighter.
I started Day three at the Jean Talon Market, a large farmer’s market near the city’s Little Italy neighbourhood. Afterwards, I wandered around the Notre Dame Des Neiges Cemetery, Canada’s largest cemetery and one of the largest in North America. There are a number of notable internment, but I was apprehensive about asking at the office how to find some of them. At the front gates, there was a large sign, and from what French I understood, it basically enforced that the cemetery was a sacred place for remembering, and I just didn’t want to be *that* tourist walking in asking where to find notable burials. Working for a museum and having an interest in history means I’ve spent more than my fair share of time researching and wandering cemeteries. I was concerned my interest may not have translated, so regardless, I wandered about before a quick lunch break and a tour through Montreal’s Mile End neighbourhood. It is known for being a trendy ‘hipster’ locale, and this is where I sampled a Montreal bagel. It holds up to the hype. A quick visit to the McCord Museum capped off the day.
My final day brought me to Montreal’s municipal museum – can you spot a theme? I also found the Maison Tricot, another fantastic yarn shop. I happily bought a skein of Biscotte yarn, notable for being super soft and delightfully self-striping. I tried to take it easy by the last day, having walked far too much in shoes that really shouldn’t have seen that much walking.
Long story short, I really enjoyed Montreal, I was very happy staying at HI Montreal, a hostel run by Hostel International Canada, and at a five hour train ride away, it was a great escape from every day life.
My yarn purchasesOne last picture – trying to detangle yarn on board the train home. Good thing I had patience!
After an unintentional week off, I’m back at the blog. No real reason why there wasn’t a post last week, unless you count a terribly busy week and a half. What have I been up to?
The week after Canadian Thanksgiving saw two days in the office (co-leading education programs both days), one day at a conference, and Friday the 13th co-ordinating a paranormal investigation on site. The conference was amazing, for so many different reasons. It was a conference for other Museum professionals in Ontario, and conferences are always great for connecting with colleagues and friends you don’t always get to see because of geography. There are always inspiring sessions and workshops, also making conferences fantastic opportunities. Personally, this conference was remarkable because my co-workers nominated me for an award of excellence, which I received that evening. It was amazing, overwhelming, humbling, nerve-wracking, and truly a gratifying experience. I feel like I have a lot to live up to, but I’m up for the challenge with my career.
The paranormal investigation was a lot of fun as well. My museum works exclusively with a local group, and I’d considered many of the team members as my friends; really a great group of guys. We sold a small amount of tickets and increased the time allowed in the museum so the guests really could make the most of the experience. There were some strange bangs and knocks heard, but nothing to really change my septic mind. I’m not completely closed minded on the subject, and I know we’d be happy to have these investigators back. Maybe I’ll be convinced next time.
The following day, my best friend and I were on our way to Kingston to see the Barenaked Ladies as part of their Canada One-Five-Oh tour. Oh my goodness. It was a phenomenal show. We’ve seen BNL so many times through the years (three this year alone), and this ranks up there as one of the best shows we’ve been to. Small, intimate theatre, phenomenal set list, great music. There’s a reason they are my favourite band. We ended up meeting three of the four band members after the show, who remembered us because we were the girls in the front row dancing to every song. This was just a great girls weekend away.
Last week, why I didn’t blog (as if the week before wasn’t busy enough), I worked most weeknights, and Monday evening I went into Toronto to hear Alan Doyle talk about his new book. My sister and I ended up getting a picture with him as well.
Whenever I was able, I had yarn in my hands. I finished the Dodging Rain Drops Cowl I cast on in early October. It’s a paid pattern in Ravelry, and I’d recommend spending the money and supporting the designer of this beautiful cowl.
I’ve been working on socks which will be a Christmas gift, which I’ve just picked up again after frogging them and putting them into a time out. Turns out my gauge isn’t what it typically is with a lacework sock pattern… we’re on better terms now after I went down a needle size. There were some hard feelings right after the frogging, let me tell you…
And I’ve been very happily working on my Bigger on the Inside shawl, using yarn I dyed myself earlier this summer. Once I got used to the ‘Time Vortex Lace’ pattern that Kate Atherley designed, it’s easy to memorize and quite fun to knit.
And with this update, I’m back to knitting. The socks are calling my name.
He was born into a family of industrialists, but he became renowned for art, landscapes, and capturing an idea of ‘The North.’
Lawren Harris; photo from the Archives of Ontario
Lawren Harris was born in 1885 in Brantford, Ontario; he is of the same Harris Family of Massey-Harris (later Massey Ferguson), which at one time was the largest agricultural equipment maker in the British Empire. Harris received a good education, studying at the University of Toronto, and later in Berlin. All this time, he developed an interest in art. In the early 1910s, he befriended JEH MacDonald and Tom Thomson; in less than a decade, Harris and MacDonald would be two members of the noted Group of Seven. That Thomson was a member of the Group of Seven is a common misconception as Thomson died in 1917 before the official formation. His influence upon those painters cannot be understated, as he was passionate about the ‘great outdoors’ and about capturing the Canadian landscape on canvas. After their first show at the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1920, the Group of Seven began identifying themselves as being in the ‘landscape school of art.’
Throughout the 1920s, Harris and MacDonald, along with Frank Johnston, Franklin Carmichael, A.Y. Jackson, F.H. Varley, and Arthur Lismer (and later A.J. Casson and Edwin Holgate) would commit the Canadian landscape to canvas like no other artists previously. Pieces created by these artists are held at major art galleries throughout the country and abroad, with major collections housed at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Gallery of Canada, and the McMichael Art Gallery in Kleinburg, ON.
In the early 1930s, the group felt it was no longer necessary to exhibit as a formal group, and the individual artists continued with their work to great success. Harris moved to New Hampshire and later New Mexico before moving to Vancouver, BC in 1940, where he would remain until his death in 1970; he is buried on the grounds of the McMichael Art Gallery.
As long as I have known about art and was old enough to recognize and appreciate major works, I have known about the Group of Seven. The mystery of Tom Thomson’s death fascinated me with every trip to Algonquin; their artwork is a favourite when seen in galleries; their pieces and themes were explored as I took my Canadian Studies degree. The artwork by Lawren Harris has always stood out to me, the stark colours he uses, the forms, the simplicity yet complexities (yes, I know that is very contradictory!) in his landscapes. When I learned of a touring exhibition featuring Harris’s artwork, I could hardly wait for it to make its way to Toronto; to learn that the exhibition was curated by Steve Martin, yes the banjo playing comedian Steve Martin, it added to the excitement for the show.
In mid-July, on one of the hottest days thus far of the summer, I made my way to the Art Gallery of Ontario. The exhibit is different from what toured in the US, expanded to include a Toronto theme, exploring an area called ‘The Ward,’ where Harris spend his formative years. The Ward, formally the St. John’s Ward, is a neighbourhood bound by College Street, Queen Street, Yonge Street, and University Avenue; today, the Eaton Centre, Toronto City Hall, Nathan Phillips Square and other prominent shops and buildings are found here, but in the 1910s when Harris called it home, it was an impoverished area where recent immigrants would commonly settle. Divided into three themes, the first and third explored the Ward, first looking at its history, utilizing Harris’ works contrasting with photography from the time, and the third featured contemporary artists examining the changes to the Ward both geographically and socially. The second theme explored the ‘Idea of North’ and Harris’ iconic works which capture the Canadian landscape.
It is difficult to imagine the centre of Toronto from another time, as the Eaton Centre and City Hall are so dominant in that space, but Harris’ depictions from the Ward helped bring this time and place to life, using bright colours, or dull when appropriate, and the use of figures help put the viewer in the scene.
I was especially struck by the following image, which again was new to me before this exhibit. Haven’t we all been this poor soul at one time or another?
Lawren Harris: Approaching Storm, 1911; on loan from a private collection
As I moved through the exhibition, it dawned on me why I’m so drawn to Harris and his art: not only are the forms, shapes, and landscapes he captures, but I am so very drawn to the colours he uses. Blues, greys, teals, purples, whites. His striking colour use is very impactful. The knitter in me kept walking around the space just imagining skeins of yarn dyed with the colours of Lake and Mountains.
Lawren Harris: Lake and Mountains, 1928; Art Gallery of Ontario Collection
My iPhone photographs do not do justice to seeing the paintings in person. If you’re in the Greater Toronto Area, or are planning a visit before September 18, make the Art Gallery of Ontario and The Idea of North a must-visit.
Last week, I shared an abbreviated history of undersleeves. If you haven’t given it a read, click the link, give it a read, then head on back here! Don’t worry, I’ve got time!
A few months back, I found this pattern in Godey’s Ladies Book, and I knew that woolen undersleeves were just the thing my Victorian costume needed, especially since in March, we have a table at a local maple syrup festival, which means talking to people dressed in 1860s fashion, in the cold. Because, Canada.
It was a few months between pattern discovery and casting on because of holiday knitting. I was DETERMINED to finish my dad’s sweater and all the other wonderful gifts before starting new selfish knitting. Once I got going with the undersleeves, they were a fast project with a lot of garter stitch, a great mindless project to work on.
Godey’s Knitted Undersleeves Pattern, 1862. Click the image to be directed to archive.org, the source of the pattern.
The pattern reads:
Materials: A large pair of boxwood knitting needles, one-quarter of a pound of white and six ounces of a pretty share of violet single Berlin wool.
This warm and pretty article is comprised of two kinds of wool, and is knitted to form two small and one large puff. It is nearly entirely made of plain knitting, and is therefore quickly done. It is best when knitted loosely, to give it a very elastic appearance. It is worked in the following manner, and is commenced from the bottom by casting on 36 stitches in white wool, and knitting twelve rows. The violet wool is then joined on and 24 rows knitted with this color. After these are completed the commencement of the work should be taken up upon the needle to form the first puff. The white wool must then be joined on and 2 rows worked, the first knitting two stitches together to fasten the puff. Two rows of violet and 1 of white, and 23 rows of violet are then worked. After the bank is worked the second puff is commenced in the same manner as the first, with the white wool. This puff is also fastened like the other, and 2 rows of violet, 2 of white, and 1 of violet worked for the band. For the third puff, which is the largest, 40 rows must be worked with the violet wool, and in the first row 24 stitches must be made, so that at the end of the row there are 60 stitches on the needle. This increase is made by knitting 2 stitches into 1 stitch at intervals along the row. After the 40 rows are completed, join on the white wool and knit 1 row, taking 2 stitches together, and so decreasing the number till there are only 30 stitches left on the needle. The top of the sleeve is then knitted to form ribs, which is done by knitting 1 stitch plain and 1 stitch purl alternatively to the end of the row. After knitting 24 rows in the same manner the sleeve will be the required size; it should then be cast off and sewn together on the wrong side, with some of the same colored wool. The colors may be altered to any the worker may like, such as pink, scarlet, blue, or green.
What a set of directions!
I followed the instructions to the best that I could understand them. It started very easy with casting on and knitting plain. I was thrown for a complete loop, however, when it said: “After these are completed the commencement of the work should be taken up upon the needle to form the first puff. The white wool must then be joined on and 2 rows worked, the first knitting two stitches together to fasten the puff.” What in the what?
Here’s how I interpreted this – I picked up stitches along the cast on edge, and knit two together across the row.
L-R: fabric before ‘taken up upon…’ instructions; picking up stitches along cast on edge (two pictures); knitting two together; the completed ‘puff’
And for the second puff, “commenced in the same manner as the first,” I picked up stitches on the wrong side and knit two together across the row.
Top to bottom: fabric before second puff; picking up white stitches on the wrong side; preparing to knit two together.
The first two puffs and how to construct them was really the only challenging part of this project. The rest of if, increasing, plain knitting, decreasing, ribbing, was all very straight forward. I did make my own adjustment for the top arm band, however. Before each puff, there is a lovely striping of the white and purple, which doesn’t seem to have continued for the top band. The pattern says to switch to white and nowhere does it say to switch back. So for consistency and to match with the rest of the undersleeve, I knit two rows of white, two of violet, two of white, then the remainder in violet, so to match the rest of the undersleeve’s patterning.
When I started making these, I had no idea we were going to be enjoying such a mild Spring. Previously at this outdoor maple syrup festival, we had to wear layers on top of layers and hope that the mercury didn’t dip too low, so warm woolen undersleeves would have been a perfect addition for this event. The temperature for this past Saturday was in the teens (Celsius, because, remember, Canada), a perfect early Spring day. The woolen undersleeves weren’t required, but they are the perfect addition to my Victorian costume for when the weather gets cold again.
Update – May 2020 – please note, it calls for ‘Berlin Wool,’ which, according to Colleen Formby, is like a fingering/sock weight in today’s knitting terms. I used Cascade 220, a worsted weight. I could not imagine a fingering weight undersleeve fitting around my upper arms made with only casting on 36 stitches, without the needles being very big to accommodate! My recommendation of yarn or needles may not be the most historically accurate, but they fit and are WARM!
Here is my written interpretation of this pattern, including my modern needles and yarn used.
Yarn: Cascade 220, white and Cascade 220 Heather Purple Brown (but really, you can use any worsted weight in whichever colours float your boat)7
Needles: 4.5mm (Size 7US)
Cast on 36 stitches
First Puff
Knit 12 rows (garter), using white
Switch to the Purple Yarn; Knit 24 rows (garter)
Next Row, with white yarn, pick up stitches along cast on edge, one at a time, and knit picked up stitch with a stitch on the needle (k2tog = 1 c/o st and 1 live st) – knit across needle in this manner (36 stitches on needle)
Next Row – knit across with white
Band
Knit 2 rows, garter, in purple
Knit 2 rows, garter, in white
Knit 24 rows, garter, in purple
Puff 2
Knit 12 rows, garter, in white
Knit 24 rows, garter, in purple
Next row, with white yarn, pick up stitches along the 1st row of white which was knit for puff 2, from the wrong side, one at a time, and knit picked up stitch with a stitch on the needle (k2tog = 1 picked up stitch and 1 live stitch) – knit in this manner across the needle (36 stitches on needle)
Next row (WS) – knit across in white, garter
Knit 2 rows, garter, in purple
Knit 2 rows, garter, in white
Puff 3
With purple, *KF&B, K1* across needle (54 stitches)
Next row, KF&B 3 times, knit to last three stitches, KF&B 3 times (60 sts)
Every so often, my job requires that I dress like a Victorian. When I first started, fresh out of museum studies and thrilled to be employed, I remember a slight feeling of embarrassment and nervousness the first time I donned the costume. I think it was mostly my own insecurities and anxieties working their way out, but after time and NUMEROUS occasions, I’m quite comfortable in my ‘pioneer’ dress and am quite happy to wear it as the time sees fit.
The dress I wear was made by me, under Grandma’s careful supervision, over two years ago, and recently, I’ve been adding to my accessories through various historic knitting patterns. I completed by Sontag last Spring, and my Sortie Cap was a very fast knit over a weekend last summer. Since the holiday knitting season ended, I’ve been slowly working away at another historic pattern which will keep my arms very warm, as I’ve been knitting myself a pair of undersleeves.
I’m still working on undersleeve #2, and I’ll share the project, photos, and my own edits and notes in a future post, but I thought for today, I’d share a little history on this accessory, because until I started working in the Museum field, I had never heard of undersleeves before. The name seems straight forward, but what is the history of this accessory?
Undersleeves were commonly worn during the mid 1800s, an essential part of any woman’s fashion. They were detachable, which made laundering easier – and laundry was no easy task during the Victorian era. As much as I long for aspects of the past, I am very thankful for my modern washer and dryer. Hot water, harsh soaps, washboards and wringers – no thank you. Typically white or off-white, undersleeves helped to keep body oils off the fabric of dresses, which were commonly made from wool or silk, materials which couldn’t be washed. Undersleeves served to be both purposeful for protecting the fabric as well as decorative.
Many museums have undersleeves in their collection, and quite often they are trimmed with lace or other delicate stitching. When fashions changed, as fashions inevitably do, undersleeves were a simple way to change up the look of a dress rather than with a new dress entirely. The undersleeves would also change seasonally; warm weather would see sleeves made from light-weight white fabrics such as organdy, while cotton and other heavier materials could be used to help stave off the cold. The pattern I am making from Godey’s is for wool undersleeves, clearly intended for cold weather wear.
Cotton Undersleeves, c. 1850, in the collection of the Met Museum
Linen Undersleeve, c. 1840, in the collection of the Museums of Mississauga
Undersleeves, c. 1906, in the collection of the Canadian Museum of History
The styles of these accessories also varied, from those that required pinning to the interior of the dress sleeve, ones which gathered at the wrist and those that were open and loose at the wrist. Not only could the material change for the season, but Peterson’s, another Lady’s publication from the era, discussed how undersleeves could change for wear throughout the day.
White undersleeves for morning wear are made with a deep linin cuff, fastened with three studs, either comprised of precious stones, or of gold. For evening wear, the cuff is made of lace and embroidered insertion; but fullings of any description are now never employed, as the under-sleeve should be as flat as possible.
~Peterson’s Magazine, 1863.
Undersleeves, after a number of decades, fell out of fashion, but one can still find many sewing or knitting patterns for making your own. Coming next week, the Godey’s pattern I followed when knitting my woolen undersleeves, my interpretation of the pattern, and my finished sleeves. Stay tuned!
When researching this post, I referred to a few sources, including:
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Clothing Through World History, Volume 3, 1801 to Present, edited by Jill Condra; accessed: https://goo.gl/npaeZg
Oshawa Express, ‘Under sleeves, a unique piece of clothing,’ J. Weymark; accessed: http://goo.gl/WYbzxL
Dressed for the Photographer: Ordinary Americans and Fashion, 1840-1900, Joan L. Severa; accessed: https://goo.gl/gI30oL
In The Rounds 