Out and About

This weekend was the Antique Faire in Pleasanton. I went to this event several years ago and always meant to go again, but could never find out when it was. This year I was more clever and looked it up on the net, only to find that it was only a week away! They hold this fair on the main street in Pleasanton, and there are hundreds of booths full of antiques. Of course, I am only looking for old needlework booklets, but it is fun to look at all the stuff. Here are the items I was able to buy:

A baby book from the late 40's, sock book from the 40's, very early crocheted edging book, and two ladies garment booklets from the early 50's.

In addition to shopping, I have been knitting the ribbings for a cardigan in rich jewel-tone ruby yarn. The sweater will have to wait until I can get to the knitting machine again, but at least I am ready to start.

I finished one rainbow sock and immediately started the second.

Retro Knit Saturday!

This booklet is from Columbia and dates back to 1951. The first outfit is a dress with a jacket. The Vestee is interchangeable - there is a nylon ribbon version (shown) and a faux tucked version in white dress yarn. It is knit at 7 sts/inch. I like the longer gloves to accessorize the 3/4-length sleeves, with a bracelet worn over the glove. Muy
chic.


The stole and bolero are knit at 2 sts/inch, so would indeed be a quick knit. The jerkin is made of knitting worsted weight at 5 sts/inch.


















The basic suit has a nipped-in waist, covered buttons, shirt-style cuffs, and an attractive wide-ribbed pattern.

















Next is a One-Piece Dress with Cape. It has a placket front, square neckline and patterned top. Over the dress is worn a cape with 'wing sleeve'. The whole ensemble is knit at 8 sts/inch. The outfit is accessorized with long gloves, heavy gold jewelry, and a fox fur.



The nylon ribbon shirtdress must have been considered a really fast knit, at 4 sts/inch. It is a one-piece dress done in white, navy and chartreuse, a pretty zippy color scheme.



The shirtwaist is knit at 4 sts/inch with dress yarn and gold tinsel held together. It has kimono sleeves and a button front.





The openwork black dress is really a skirt and top knitted at 8 sts/inch. Obviously an evening outfit, it is accessorized with a fur wrap, long gloves, and a jeweled pin at the waist.

Finally, two grey suits. The suit with the textured top is knit in dress yarn and nylon ribbon. Here they have teamed the grey color with mauve or lavender, a lovely quiet color scheme. It mentions that the skirt can be hand knitted or hand loomed, by which I take it that they were knitting the custom skirts on knitting machines.

The casual suit looks a little more sporty and has the grey teamed with yellow. It is knit at 8 sts/inch in a texture that mimics a wool gabardine. I especially like the pins that hold her scarf in place and the contrast of the black gloves and umbrella.

Today I plan to knit some ribbings for a new sweater and finish off the toe of sock #1 of the rainbow socks. They are also having a sale at the fabric store, so I am going to take A down there to pick up some patterns.

Tentative Plans

Here are some pictures of patterns M and I have acquired lately that we really like and would like to knit. This may or may not happen any time soon, but you all know how that goes.





The first sweater is Knitting Pure and Simple #263. M likes wrap sweaters and this is just a good, basic pattern. I plan to read over the pattern and redraft it to go on the knitting machine, since the pattern is knit from the top down.


This lacy shrug really appeals to me. I am interested in shrugs at the moment. This shrug pattern is in the Nashua Handknits booklet, The North American Designer Collection No. 2, Spring and Summer 2006.

The pink sweater appears on the cover of Jaeger Handknits booklet JB18. I like the fitted design and the scallop borders in addition to the lace panels.














This red sweater/shrug/bolero garment is in the Nashua booklet, The North American Designer Collection No. 3, Fall and Winter 2006. I just love this, and it looks like a really interesting knit. I would use it for a bed jacket, but M could get away with wearing it out in public.




I am still working on the rainbow socks, but some ripping was done, and reknitting is in progress.

Retro Knit Friday and New Project

My new project is a pair of socks for A. I was checking out the new location of The Yarn Boutique in Lafayette because my daughter had been there and had told me that it was bigger and better than ever. She was so right. They aren't quite settled in yet, but it is a lovely, big, bright, cheerful place with an excellent selection of yarns. I found this Opal #1705 and the very useful Yarntainer. My sock yarn always tries to escape from me by rolling across the floor or leaping out of my bag, so I am quite pleased with this gadget. The ball of Opal just fits inside, and is held captive. Aren't the colors pretty?

On our trip to Atlanta, I bought some Trekking XXL in 110 and 100. These will also become socks for A. I plan to try and learn how to make circular knitted socks on the machine this year. I have never really learned how to put the ribber to its full use, so I would like to try new things in that department. It doesn't really sound too hard. The hardest part will be clearing a path to the standard machine.

The cover of this 1949 Spinnerin pamphlet shows two very chic models. The navy peplum dress is knit on size two needles at 8 sts/inch. The long post-war skirt length pairs nicely with the nipped-in waist and peplum. I like the emphasis on accessories during this era, with hats, gloves and a full set of jewelry. The red topper is knit at 5 sts/inch. The boxy topper was a popular shape during the post-war years.

This cute little cardigan is knit in Spinnerin Dressy or Coquette at 8 sts/inch. Tying a little silk square around your neck was an often-seen style accessory of the late 40's and early 50's. They were also tied around pony tails, which looked very fetching.

This green fitted suit is crocheted on a Size 0 needle. Crochet can look very elegant when done correctly.

I couldn't resist showing this outfit because of the silly hat. I think that styles were influenced a lot by the Hollywood movies of the time, like Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (I remember seeing a fashion layout in an old magazine about this movie), Blood and Sand (toreador pants, though that is a 1941 movie, but The Sun Also Rises, 1957, also had bullfight scenes), and some, I can only assume, popular circus movie that resulted in this hat. The dress has a flared skirt and a mini-peplum.

Today I am going to knit on the socks and watch Harry Potter movies. I also have to start some new cucumber seeds, since not all of my plants survived my vacation absence.

Home Again

We are back home from our cross-country trip. We flew out to Atlanta to see the graduation of our second daughter from Georgia Tech, then we had to move her back to California. Most of her stuff was shipped, but the rest was packed into her little car, which we drove back across the country. Before we left, I managed to get to two yarn shops in Atlanta, Knitch, and Why Knot Knit. Here's the interior of Knitch, which is a very pretty, friendly shop. I got some sock yarn, Trekking XXL, and a Nashua booklet.

Why Knot Knit is in downtown Atlanta in a cute house, and we enjoyed browsing their excellent stock. M bought some yarn there, and I enjoyed listening to the accent of the very Southern proprietor. After that, we mostly drove and drove and drove, and we ate at some fantastic RoadFood places.

Now we are home again, and though I cannot get to my knitting machine now, I am going to start some sock knitting. To help with that, M gave me two sets of KnitPicks sock needles for Mother's Day. Since I also bought a copy of More Sensational Knitted Socks in Atlanta, I see some nice textured sock knitting in the near future. I might even pick up the Must Have Cardigan and finish it off, because miracles do happen sometimes.

Retro Knit Friday! (On Wednesday)

Looks like the computer will be out of commission for a week or so, so here is an early installment of Retro Knit Friday. These black and white photos are from the 1954 Nomotta booklet. This cardigan for the "Mature Woman" is unusual in that the sizing goes up to a Size 20 (Bust 42).

This attractive cardigan can be knit as a "waist" by which I think they mean the top section of a dress, or as a regular cardigan. It features the neckline called the "cardigan neckline", covered buttons, and embroidery for which no pattern is given. It just says to embroider as shown in the photo. It is knit on size 2 needles at 8 sts/inch. That hat is pretty silly, looks like a deflated sailor hat.

This textured cardigan has an angora collar and sleeve trim. The matching skirt has box pleats.

The boat-neck pullover has kimono sleeves (knit in one piece with the body) and that Ball Braid trim made by knitting a long strip, sewing it into a tube, then inserting hundreds of wooden beads which have to be tied off between each bead. It does make an attractive edging, but this is the only booklet I have ever seen it in.

The rest of the photos are from another 1950's booklet that features artist renderings rather than photographs. I love the work of this illustrator. The paintings really capture the feel of post-war America with the emphasis on family. The sweaters are standard classic sweaters and twin sets.