Retro Knit Saturday!

The husband's big birthday was very enjoyable. He liked his new socks and hat, and ate delicious cake. I made the Barefoot Contessa cake, Beatty's Chocolate Cake, from the recipe on the Food Network site, and frosted it with chocolate whipped cream. That cake recipe is a keeper, very easy and moist, and made with no butter. It uses buttermilk, coffee and salad oil as the liquid ingredients. I think this will be my go-to chocolate cake recipe from now on.

My new mittens have not progressed much because of Christmas sewing.



This week we are going to look at the very first issue of Needle and Yarn which was published in 1963. The cover outfit is peculiar but colorful. The roll-collar blouse has a multi-color fringe trim that matches the "bon bon" stripes in the slightly A-line skirt. It is knit of Bernat Mohairlaine on size 6 and 8 needles at 5 sts/inch. I have never heard the term "bon bon stripes" before, so I wonder what that means.



The sheath dress is different from the ribbon patterns of the fifties in that the ribbon seems to be much wider or thicker. The fifties ribbon knitting was done at a much finer gauge, but this dress is made on size 10 needles at 3 1/2 sts/inch. The style is attractive and classic.




The production values in this magazine were not very high because the paper quality is poor. It is like thick newsprint paper, unlike the gorgeous paper used in Japanese magazines. The next garments are a three-quarter length coat knit in a bulky textured yarn called 'Fleisher's Nubby-Fleece' at 2 1/2 sts/inch. The picture gives the impression that it was meant to be worn with the dress shown, but the patterns appear pages apart in the magazine. The dress is an A-line coat dress knit in Bernat SunlinSpun at 5 sts/inch. It has pockets that are knit by the pocket lining method by creating a separate pocket lining that is added at the time you leave the pocket stitches on a holder when knitting the fronts.



These two pullovers use color blocking. I like the "Bib Pullover" with its V-shaped front color blocking. The other pullover is called "Argyle Stripe Pullover". It has classic styling except for the pointed tabs created at the bottom of the pattern panels that add a touch of whimsy.

And lastly, the Mother Hubbard version of a bathing suit. This is the kind of modest suit that was worn by Annette in the Beach Party movies. It is knit of Red Heart Super Fingering at 10 sts/inch on size 1 and 2 needles. I can't help but wonder if a knitted bathing suit would soak up the water, be very heavy, and sag all over the place in embarrassing and revealing ways.

We had our first good rain in ages Thursday, but now it is back to being clear and cold.