What a fabulous New Idea!

 

A grapevine sweater?  Oh YES please!  Can't you just imagine it knit in a rich burgundy, and worn (with full ironic self-awareness) while sipping a glass or two in a vineyard cafe on a crisp autumn day?

I do like New Idea knitwear books.  I feel another blog post coming on.

Something Special for My Vintage Friends

It's been awhile, I just don't seem to have the blogging mojo at the moment, but to make up for it I've got something special today.

The Lux Knitting Book 1935!

I've been watching this little coverless book for ages on Trademe.  I couldn't quite bring myself to pay $15 for a book with no cover, even if it was The Lux Knitting Book 1935.  But I had a moment of weakness and she arrived in my letterbox this morning.  As soon as I turned the first page I knew I was not going to regret a single cent of that $15.

Fascinating construction, and gorgeous buttoned neckline.  I LOVE her side buttoned skirt too.

Perfect.  Would be completely in fashion today.  I'd wear this one too.

For the crochet girl, but the angora "jaunty collar" is knitted seperately and is just too sweet.

In maize yellow with brown buttons and belt.

Time for some undies...

Be still, my beating heart!

Finally, a simple sweater in an evening.  Frustratingly this pattern doesn't give any tension or measurements so it would take a bit of experimentation to work it out.  But should anyone feel up to the challenge, here it is:

There are also patterns for the other members of the family, but meh, who needs them.

P.S. if you like these, why not get your own copy!  Bex who blogs at http://subversivelesbiananarchicknitter.blogspot.com/  has a new Etsy store selling PDFs of fabulous vintage patterns, including this and other Lux books.  Pop over and have a drool: http://www.etsy.com/shop/dair

See darling....

See darling, we're dreadfully low on red wool.  I really must take advantage of the Webs sale and order some more!

I'm in absolute retro-knitter heaven today having acquired a big box of OLD Stitchcrafts, some from the late '30s, a bunch of wartime issues, and a good whack of 1950s numbers to fill the gaps in my collection.

You know your collection is becoming an obsession when you're seriously considering a spreadsheet to  keep track of it.

Nature Connections

I've been stalking the contributions to Nature Connections over on Living and Learning and thought maybe it was time I joined in.  We live in a city, but we're blessed that this is a small city surrounded and encroached upon by bush and sea and farmland.  Nature is never very far away and our mostly mild climate makes it easy to connect with it all year round. 

So anyway, here's my pic for April - Miss 10 in the sand, but not any old sand!

We have just got back from a few days deep in the countryside.  We stayed in an old farm cottage out of cellphone range and a good 30 minutes drive on windy narrow roads from the nearest town of any kind.  The children got to ride cross country in a farm ute, watch dogs muster sheep (and cuddle the dogs to bits - city kids have no concept of working dogs not being pets!), groom horses, find giant tree fungi, and experience real night time darkness.  But the thing that amazed them most of all was our brief stop at the beach at Patea.  Being children of the '80s, me and the bloke can't help breaking into Poi E at the very mention of Patea, but the kids ignore us and are just fascinated by the black Taranaki sand.  The finest, softest, blackest sand.  I agree, it's pretty magical.