Annie Knits

Score!

I volunteered to work at the used book fair for Dear Daughter's school today.  I donated like a thousand books to this fair and I swore to myself and hubby that I wouldn't come home with any books.  At all. 

What I didn't know at the time of the swearing was that there might be vintage knitting pamphlets and books.  Such conditions, I believe, render said swearing null and void.  I spent $13.00.

See the Barbara Walker book?  And the Mary Thompson's Knitting book?  It's from 1939.  The Knitting for Young America is a self published book with easy first projects dated 1948.  The author was the managing director of The Handknitting Institute (about which I can find nothing on the Web.)  All are from the library of the O'Fallon Motherhouse for the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood.  Many have the name Sr. Catherine Beckerle written in lovely script on their inside covers.  Sr. Catherine also collected booklets. 

These baby booklets are absolutely chock full of  beautiful, timeless patterns.  The blue one in the bottom right corner is dated 1942, the rest are newer.  There are at least 16 different patterns for soakers in these books, and 4 different patterns  for buntings (I love the idea of a handknitted baby bunting.)    The 1942 book has a pattern for two bathing suits -- knitted in all wool yarn though...  Embiggen the picture and see?  It calls for Fleishers Cassimere, a 100% wool fingering weight yarn.  Nice. 

And this little one has no knitting on, but she seriously doesn't need it, does she?

And this hat?  A must knit.  Really.  I just think it's the cutest thing. 

File this one under "Blog contests, write a caption for this picture."  Too easy?  Really, though, this child is way too old to be cute and nakey on a blankey. 

This set, in one of the older booklets, early '50s I think, is absolutely simple and gorgeous.  I can't wait to make it. 

But Sister Catherine didn't just knit for babies.

There are great patterns for grownups here too.  Love these -- they're from the orange book at the upper left.  I mean seriously, I'd knit any of them tomorrow.  I don't even see where there would need to be too much modernizing in the shaping.   See the cable running up the raglan sleeve?  Love it!

And Sr. Catherine knit the first one for someone...

Husband says I can knit this for him only if I include the pipe and some Brylcreem.  Do they still make that stuff?

Edited to add:  No, I don't think an all wool bathing suit is "nice".  That was sarcasm.  Yes I do really love the yellow cap.  That was not sarcasm.  Darned internets, interfering with my nonverbals...  And did you notice that the two knitting books in the bottom right hand corner of the first picture are the exact books noted in the latest Interweave as books Elizabeth Zimmerman says any intrepid knitter should own.  Well, then.  I'm all set...

And What Fibery Things Have I been Up To?

You get three guesses.  And two of those don't count.

      

My nephew got me this Crown Mountain Farms yak and merino roving for Christmas (I provided his mom with the web site and said anything fun to spin!).  He came over on New Year's Day to help spin it up.

It's working up to be a pretty rustic single with slubs of what I think are the yak (the dark brown stuff) as it spins totally differently from the merino.  That's not a bad thing.  I'll ply  two together, I think, for a soft kind of rag wool effect. 

This is exactly as it appears -- I joined Adrien's fiber club and here is the Dec. 07 installment.  It's a lovely, soft soy silk wool blend.  I can hardly wait to get my hands in this, let me tell you.  Anyone else spun it yet?

And here are the Rachel rovings.  From the top left:  Dance Mistress superwash bfl, Helebore superwash bfl, "Couldn't hit the side of a..." tencel blend, and Dance Mistress tencel blend. 

Her concern about the tencel and how it would spin prompted me to use my first free morning in weeks thusly:

This crummy shot doesn't show the shineyness of it, but the colors are pretty good.  Rachel felt like it kept breaking when she dyed it and was worried it would behave in the same manner on the wheel.  I did not have that problem at all -- 'cause as you can see I've removed my tensioner all together.  It wants to be rather thicker than I've been spinning my wools, but ... well ... duh.  It's not wool.  I kind of really like it.  I'm nearly done with the three pieces she gave me to play with.  Maybe I'll have it worked up into something fun by the party on Sunday. 

Oh, all right.  There has indeed been knitting.  The Hemlock is done and gifted.  I need to sort around and find the pictures.  This swirly scarf, though, is my current obsession.  It's out of my own spun yarn.  Which I heart.

Rachel's roving again, and neither of us can remember the name of it.  Something Dyeabolical, I'm sure.  I like how this scarf shows the yarn shading through color combinations.   It is soft and it makes me happy.  And that is what counts after all.

Steeky, Deeky!

The steeking is done.  Early last week actually.  And it's not nearly as freaky as everyone says.  It was really kind of fun, you know, in a forbidden kind of way. 

I did run zig-zag stitching up the steeks and then I cut between the stitching.  But this yarn?  Going nowhere.

Before Rachel calls me on being all brave and cool about this, I'll admit to taking it into the shop to cut.  With witnesses.  And because I'll be damned if I can find my sharp scissors in this house... it's like some kid ate them or something.  Sheesh.  Good came of this because it gave Sandy a chance to try it on and she and Rachel spent some of the rest of that morning figuring out how to order the yarn for the store ... ***grin***  It is smashing on.  Even it it's raggedy state.

Now, I'm off to the sleeve races.  Where there is, I think, a misprint in the pattern -- an "st" as in stitches, when she means "cm" as in centimeters.  I'm knitting on as that is the only thing that makes sense.  No indictment here -- her English is way better than my Danish...

And I'd like to have this ready to wear by the 3rd weekend in October.  'Cause I'm a square! Yay!

Any guesses as to what's just jumped to the head of the queue?