knitwise

Quick projects and long ones...

It is so satisfying sometimes to whip up a couple of quick projects before embarking on something more substantial... Mr Bear and Mr Rabbitt were fun to make with some remnants of my crochet blanket. These two little fellows will soon be adopted by a very dear little boy I know. Whilst I was getting to grips with the art of toy making, my mind was free to plan my next project.

I love Vintage fashion and have always admired the elegance of the Forties but, until now, I was not confident enough to try knitting from a vintage pattern. At last I am taking the plunge and chose this little cardigan to complement my new "Vintage" style dress. I might go even a step further by adding long sleeves...

 

So far I am loving it and the prospect of having a complete outfit at the end of it will hopefully motivate me...

Knitting patterns old and new...

 Since my last post, the Easter holidays happened and then one of my brothers and his family came to visit for a week. All this time Martha has been waiting patiently for her sleeves to be finally sewn up.  There are moments in life when plans simply don't work...

However, all those delays didn't stop me dreaming of all the things I will make from Kim Hargreaves' new book Misty. It is truly lovely to find a pattern book from which I want to knit more than one or two designs!...  What I need now is more hours in a day and no more school holidays for a long while!...

 Last week saw also the launch of a new venture. I have decided to open a new section in the shop dedicated to Vintage knitting and crochet patterns. For the moment, they are mainly from the late 1940's to the 1960's, but I will keep adding to the collection as I come across "new" ones.

I am really excited by this and hope to spread my enthusiasm and love of vintage fashion by searching for forgotten treasures and  sharing them with like minded knitters...

Vintage...

As if I didn't have enough knitting pattern books on my shelves, I have to dig in the past now to find more!...

I bought this book from Ivarose  , a wonderful website I could spend hours browsing through (which in fact I did!...). It has a most impressive collection of vintage knitting and crochet patterns ranging from the 1910's to 1940's.

This book was originally published in the 1930's. I love the fashion of this era: feminine and, in my opinion, still  very wearable today.

I have bought other books in the past from this site, one from the 1920's and one from the 1940's. I will come back to them at a later post. Needless to say, I intend to increase my 1930's and 1940's collection when finances permit it...

Here are some of my favourite patterns from this little book...