Busy, distracted, cold!

Don't often get one of these on the weather for Wellington!  No snow at our house sadly, just cold wind and sleety rain.  Luckily it's school holidays so we can stay in and keep warm.  Ryan is having an Angry Birds marathon and Zoe is practising being a teenager by staying in bed as long as possible.

Anyway, I haven't blogged for ages.  I will be back soon with news and knitting :-)

Are you a change-daily girl?

Some mindless fun after my last horribly technical knitting post.  Imagine the risk the personal daintiness! 

Love it.

Dolman

 I've been playing around with the idea of a 1950s dolman sleeved sweater lately, and ta da, here is my version, knit in Misti Alpaca Suri and Silk DK. 

I've made mine pretty much the same shape and size as the genuine 50s versions below (I based my measurements on a pattern for a 32-34" bust, and seeing as I have  33" bust the sizing is pretty spot on).  I added a wider cowl neck to made it a bit more modern, and I think the dolman shape needs something up top to make it look balanced.  I've kept the 3/4 length sleeves, but I think it would also look good if you continued the ribbed cuff down to the wrist.  My cuffs are actually 4" but folded back.

The sleeve seams were a fun challenge.  I didn't want a sewn top seam as I thought it would be too bulky in double knit, and I wanted it as invisible as possible.  Kitchener stitch was the obvious solution, but as the sleeves are a triangular shape the top of them needs to be progressively shaped.  I improvised a method involving putting stitches on spare needles, but it was clumsy, and I have little uneven bits where I turned the rows.  In hindsight I think I could have used short rows to shape the top of the sleeves - next time!  The end result is pretty good all the same, you can just see the seam on my left arm,  It's less visible now after a wash and block.

 This is my inspiration in it's purest form - Stitchcraft 1950.  Do you see what I mean about this shape needing some balance?  I find that really tight neckline unflattering (not to mention uncomfortable).

The obligatory dolman sweater pose!  This one is interesting because they've got around the top of the arm seam problem by adding in a crochet panel.  Needle and Thread magazine, also around 1950.

The pose again - I'm going to have to get another pic of mine in the correct pose!  This one is from a Modella booklet, I'm going to have to guess 1950 because 1950 seems to have been the year of the dolman.  For a brief time the knitting booklets and magazines were full of dolman cardigans and sweaters, several in any given issue.   The shape shows up again around 1960, and in a wider "batwing" form in the 70s and again in the early 80s, but never seems to stay in fashion for long.  So I figured I'd better knit mine quickly before I tired of the style ;-)

Life, being what happens while you're waiting for something interesting to blog about....

Pretty china, irresistable wool, mustering wool sheep, cycling, football, basking seals in the sparkling winter sunshine.

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.