It Cannot Fail To Please (Me)

Another finished jumper from A Stitch In Time Vol 1, ahh. Not just finished, but sewn up. Such a good feeling. I have 3 finished, yet to be sewn up - The Rose Jumper, Quick Work In Thick Wool, and Golden Eagle 'Lady's Jumper'. I'm not even going to say what else from the books are still on the needles.

This post is a bit of a trip down memory lane for me, remembering some of the projects from A Stitch In Time.

I'm so pleased with the colour, not so with the photos. I played around with it in photoshop thingy, as it was too dark, and I just couldn't work how to do it properly, so it is a bit washed out, and the one below is still too dark and shadowy. These pics were taken hurriedly one evening while waiting for the cab to arrive to take me to a lovely dance class/club, Swing Cats Corner at The Orford Road Social Club. I was barking at my husband, expecting professional photos, in the 3 minutes before the cab arrived.

I used Jawool by Lang in Spring Onion, in the first size. It came out larger than the original in the book, partly because I think this sock wool is ever so slightly thicker than the Cygnet, but mostly as I blocked it quite wide, to emphasise the leaf pattern. Since I first saw it I knew I wanted to knit it in green - leaves should be green! Not that I don't love the magenta of the original. I have a cable knit in that shade, by Copleys from 1940, (dated by the knitter in pencil). Will have to dig out the photos.

I love this square neckline, so flattering to the old collar bones. I found some dress clips on eBay to wear with this, Such A Debonair Little Jumper, and Such Flattering Puff Sleeves, for a dressier look. I knitted shoulder pads for it too, I felt it needed a squarer look to the shoulders. I did triangular shoulder pads from the chapter Fit And Finish in A Stitch In Time Vol 2. I'm quite pleased with them, although I don't think I sewed them in the right position, as they can tend to flip back into the body of the jumper, not stay in the sleeve head. Grr.

The beret is one I designed after picking up some Drops Silk Alpaca (80% alpaca, 20% silk), at The Knitting & Stitching Show at Ally Pally back in 2007. It is an aran weight, and discontinued now. I remember it so well as I bought the wool that I used to knit Embroidered With Tiny Flowers that day too. I have the date I started and finished knitting it, in three weeks, in January 2008. I can't believe I did it so quickly, as I still shudder at the memory of the embroidery - it took so many hours. I took it with me to the first photo shoot for the book in February that year, and Susan loved it, along with my Tea Gardens dress. Alas, none of the photos survive from that first shoot in a South London listed pub-turned-studio, with a photographer whose name I can't remember now, and a then unknown Fleur De Guerre. But the upside to it was that it launched Susan as a photographer in her own right, and the rest is history.

The beret has stretched a bit, but considering I chose to use garter stitch instead of a rib for the bottom, it's not done too badly. I love the weightiness of it - the combination of the aran and heavy silk (it feels like there is much more silk than just 20%, and the sheen is wonderful).

When I stick it on my head, always on one side, covering one ear, usually the right, I don't know why - it stays there. Whenever I put a beret on, I always hear Al Bowlly singing My Hats On The Side Of My Head, and I feel like a serene 1930s lady.
Until, that is, I have to go to Lidl.

 

Free pattern Friday

Not an original idea, but a great one. Lots of lovely bloggers, including Wendy at The Vintage Pattern Files, post free knitting and sewing patterns. They are usually posted on a Friday, so who am I to argue? Here's my first free pattern for you:

 

 

This was one of the first successful vintage jumpers I completed, back in 2004 (10 years ago already). I was seriously pleased with it. I didn't know much about tension then, and don't even think I tested it. The yarn I used was from The Handweavers Studio when it was still near me in Walthamstow. A soft merino, it came on little cones. The pattern called for a 2 ply - I still don't know the exact weight of the yarn. It came out very well, except it was far too short. I ended up having to pick up along the hem and adding some more ribbing.

This is something I am aware of now - my long torso, and measuring the length before I start the armhole shaping. I think most knitters have to add length to vintage jumpers now - we're taller, and broader. You just have to look at the models in patterns from the 30s, and they were slight - narrow shoulders, small busts, slender hips, like this lady:  

I love that pose, and her regal face. The column is pretty awesome too.
I modified the jumper, using the yoke of this pattern:

I liked the effect so much, I knitted one in red.

This time I added extra pattern repeats, giving a slightly more relaxed fit. I used Misti Alpaca lace.

Here is another pic of me wearing it in a more 50s beatnik style with my Shellac Sisters, at a gig we did in South London somewhere.

So that's my first free pattern, but not the last. I hope you like it.

Dig for Victory

I've been planting a few herbs and vegetables over the last few days, so I thought I would share this picture from the July 1941 edition of Stitchcraft.

My planting wasn't quite as exciting. I love the jaunty angle of the womans' hat, and the look on her face. And the little Robin is so cute, I remember copying it when my son was very small, and embroidered it on a onesie for him.

What's on my needles

After a very long absence, I'm back. It's not that I haven't been knitting - in fact, I've been working on lots of jumpers, all from vintage patterns, of course.

At the moment, I am working on this - see if you can recognise the vintage pattern just from the colours.

I was very pleased that I happened to have these shades lying around.

It is Starring Stripes, from the fab zilredloh, who has kindly shared some lovely patterns on her blog. It is from Stitchcraft, one of the loveliest women's magazines of the period. I had been eyeing it up for ages, and eventually cast on a couple of months ago, right before we moved house. I think the stress of moving drove me to abandon a very time-consuming lace jumper in favour of a new and exciting knit, to take my mind off things. I love the thrill of starting a new jumper (except the ribbing).

 

It is knit sideways, another big draw for those who tire quickly of ribbing. The welt is picked up along the straight edge, so you don't get out of it, but at least it can be done at the end, when you can really see the whole jumper coming together. I have finished the back and am halfway through the front. It's a very straightforward knit, just stocking stitch and garter, with shaping for the armholes and neckline. Of course that didn't stop me forgetting where I had increased/decreased, so much ripping back was done.

The wools I'm using are:

Bairns-wear Scotch Knitting 3 ply in Fawn or Natural (vintage yarn, only 2ozs required, we'll see!)

Quince & Co Tern (a fingering? weight) in shade 144 Bouy (yellow)

Jawoll superwash 4 ply by Lang yarns in shade 198 Spring Onion (green)

Jaeger Matchmaker 4 ply in shade 758 (brown)

Nature Spun by Brown Sheep Company sportweight in Pomegranate (rust)

I am using up odd balls of wool left over from other projects, although I am slightly concerned about the different weights. The pattern gives the measurements as 33 - 35 in bust. At the moment the back measures at least 18ins, so  blocking will be interesting.

A Stitch In Time Vol. 2

The postman delivered my copy of 'A Stitch In Time Vol. 2' today, and my day was made! This was a book that had been nearly two years in the making, and it's even better than I could have hoped. It's a lovely hardback book, good and weighty. The attention to detail is fantastic, and there are so many lovely designs. I can't wait to get knitting!


There is a chapter called "Fit and Finish", teaching modern knitters how to adapt these vintage designs so that they'll fit perfectly - it even includes a helpful size chart.

I'm about to cast on 'The Sunday Pictorial Beret'; I just need to decide on a suitable colour. 

I had a wonderful time helping out Susan where I could: sewing up, a bit of knitting, and modelling (very excited to see my picture on the front and back covers!).

East London Craft Guerrilla

Yesterday was the last day of the Knitting & Stitching Show at Ally Pally. I went along to help run a 'Learn To Knit' workshop for Craft Guerrilla. It was tremendous fun. I made a few bows for people to try out as they are such an easy project for beginners.


I met two ladies who are fans of Susan Crawford and A Stitch In Time, who recognised me from the books. They were helping at Knitshop's stand in the main hall, so of course I had to go and say hello to Julieta there. I then spotted the Nest stand, which was as Rose described it, 'bijou'. I can't wait for the Stitch In Time Vol 2 book launch there in a few weeks!

Bev and Natascha

Joan Fontaine

This is a design I recently finished, using Drops Alpaca and  Rowan's Kidsilk Haze. The colour match is almost perfect considering the yarns are from different suppliers. I really like the ribbing, it's good to do something other than K1, P1 ribbing. These photographs were taken by my brother Michael, who has been taking pictures for just over a year now, mostly wildlife, so I had to practically beg him to take a few of me in this jumper. I'm very pleased with them though. I have very high standards now that I have been photographed by Susan Crawford for A Stitch In Time, Volume 1 & Volume 2! (Not that it's made me vain or anything.) I can't wait for A Stitch In time Volume 2 to hit the shelves. It'll be such a treat to see it complete, as I haven't seen many of the pics so far.

First look (gazing into the middle distance)

This is me. This is my first blog post, (well, I did put up a line in January, but that doesn't count). I will be sharing my knitwear designs, and all that is involved in the process. Except the boring bits, hopefully. I will also try to amuse with tales of the Shellac Sisters, of which I am one.