Throwback Thursday - Knitting

 

My maternal grandmother and my mom were both avid knitters when I was growing up, and my grandmother is the one who taught me the basics.  The first thing I ever made when I was about 10 was a hat and booties for a new baby cousin.  Obviously it was a very easy pattern and it was fun to work on it in a weekend when I stayed with my grandparents. 

When I first married in 1971 my grandmother knitted Christmas stockings for my husband, me, and our dog.  I think she might have gotten them as a kit, but she always transferred instructions to graph paper, using one page to write the basic instructions, one to write the directions line by line, and then another to chart the design.  I never had the original instructions, but she gave me her handwritten pages for the stockings and I've used the pattern many times. 

I also shared the handwritten pages with my friend Margherita when I worked in New York City, and over the years she made over 200 of them!!  She was from a large family, as is her husband, and whenever anyone married into the family, a brand new hand-knitted stocking was one of their gifts.  I loved that idea!!

My mother never made any stockings, but she used to knit a lot of afghans and baby blankets, sweaters, mittens, and slippers and socks.  In the photos you'll see the instructions for the stockings, some of my grandmother's knitting needles which were passed down to me, and an old very basic book to knit socks and winter accessories using just 2 needles.  While the photos on the front cover look very outdated, the actual instructions and patterns make very nice items which are quite easy.  For several years when we still lived in New Jersey I used to knit mittens in assorted sizes to donate to the Catholic Charities at one of the local hospitals.  It was always a lot of fun to work on those in between other projects I worked on, such as sweaters, vests (when they were popular), afghans, and slippers.

I came across these patterns and book earlier today so decided this would be perfect for Throwback Thursday.  I have a lot of yarn in my stash and am thinking that it might be fun to make some mittens again, and I can donate them to one of the downtown charities that takes in cold-weather items for the homeless.  Or, I might just finally knit a new stocking for my husband, Dennis.  I made his back in 1982 and over the years it's been shredding a bit from being overly stuffed with lots of snacks :)  I did a much better job when I made Jacquelyn's in 1985 for her first Christmas.  Or, perhaps I just don't buy things quite as bulky for her stocking stuffers.

 

A Finished Gift and Some Shopping Finds

Almost two years ago I shared a piece I stitched for a wedding gift for some close friends. Would you believe I misplaced it? I finally found it about a week ago when I was going through some "almost finished" pieces and there it was, sitting in that pile along with the pretty blue fabric I bought to make it into a pillow. I sewed it yesterday, and today I stuffed it, sewed the bottom closed, and added the ribbon. It will be going out in the mail today along with a birthday gift for the bride. Of course, they celebrated their one-year anniversary last June, and are expecting their first baby the end of April, but I think she'll be happy to receive the pillow along with her other gift.

Naturally when I went to buy ribbon I had to walk through every aisle in the store, and I bought these buttons to use on future needlework or quilting projects. I just love looking at all the buttons in stores and it's fun to fill my button jar when I get home.




I saw this book and couldn't resist it. I'm really into knitting scarves these days and when I saw that this book featured designs inspired by the sea, I had to add it to my collection. I spent a long time last night looking at all the patterns and can't wait to begin one soon! Last evening I finished the scarf I was knitting for my mother-in-law, so now I have another present for Christmas completed!



Finally, I just loved this Lion Brand cotton yarn. I recently saw a cute pattern on their website (free) for crocheting dishtowels using the standard ripple pattern. I thought these colors are so pretty together (I must have "southwest" on my mind since I'm planning a trip up to Santa Fe soon ~ one of my favorite places!). I worked on this for about an hour last night and it's half finished. I think it's a little heavy to be used for a dishtowel, and I think it would make a pretty runner for a table. I have a friend who lives in Arizona who'll be having a birthday soon and I think I might include this in a basket, along with a book or two, a pretty candle, some of her favorite tea, and some homemade cookies. It would look pretty sitting on her dining room table.

Joanne

My Current Knitting Project

Here's my current knitting project ~ a scarf for my mother-in-law for next Christmas. Of course, it was supposed to be for this past Christmas, but I started so many projects that I never got any of them finished. So, slowly but surely, they're being worked on for the current year. This is the yarn I showed several posts ago, which is 75 percent wool and 25 percent soy. I'm using the box pattern and I just love the way it's looking with this particular yarn. The pattern is an easy one and works on a rotation of four rows. You begin by casting on the number of stitches you desire which is based on 4 stitches, plus 2. In my case I cast on 30 stitches (28 plus 2). Here's the pattern:

Row 1: K2, P2, K2 across row.
Row 2: P2, K2, P2 across row.
Row 3: Repeat row 2.
Row 4: Repeat row 1.

You continue like this for the entire project and it makes a very pretty small box design, which is reversible.

I also have a new cross stitch design I created and stitched. Once I have it made into a pillow (at least, that's what my current plan is), I'll add a photo of it here at Joyful Blessings, and will offer the chart for sale at my Of Generations Past website. It's a cute little patriotic design which is simple and quick to stitch.

Sheep, Alpaca, Soy... a New Obsession

Years ago I loved to knit. It was one of the first crafts I learned, and I remember knitting a baby hat and booties for an older cousin's baby when I was just 9 years old. I sat there on the sofa with my maternal grandmother and she walked me through all the steps of understanding the pattern. My mother was also an excellent knitter, but for some reason it was more fun to learn the skill from my grandmother.

Over the years I made sweaters, an afghan, lots of mittens, a few scarves and hats, and several Christmas stockings. But, the knitting got put aside because I started to crochet... and then sew... and quilt, and do cross stitch... well, those of you who love to craft know how it goes.

The last few years I've really been doing more counted cross stitch than anything else, but for some reason I really became interested in knitting again. It could be from my friend Linda and reading about the scarves she was knitting. Or, maybe it's because I came across some of the old notes, booklets and knitting accessories that belonged to my grandmother (which I shared in a previous post).

In any case, I've really gone a little crazy the last month or two visiting a new favorite yarn store called Yarnivore (cute name, huh??). Since I've been away from the craft for a long time I'm sticking to scarves ~ in different patterns, but a lot of the same fibers.






I seem to be really hooked on the boucle type of alpaca and silk blends, like this pink and green one that are in progress.












This ivory scarf is the boucle. The pretty deep red yarn with the gold flecks is part alpaca and part silk and so soft and pretty. But, this yarn was jinxed (it must have been, or why would I have started a scarf and pulled it back out over 10 times!!!!). Anyway, I'm pretty happy with the way it's turning out now. It's a little wider than what you see here, since it's curling under a bit on the sides as I'm working :)






And finally, on my last visit to Yarnivore, I saw this yarn in the tans which reminded me of my mother-in-law. She loves to wear clothes in these shades, and I thought it would make something pretty for her. This yarn is partially made of 70% wool and 30% soy. Neat!

The red yarn is all alpaca and oh so soft!! The teal yarn and scarf are the boucle alpaca-silk blend again. (Yes, I'm hooked on the stuff!)








I'm not spending ALL my time knitting... I'm also reading a lot. Of course, right now I'm hooked on the Debbie Macomber Blossom Street books (about a knitting shop and friends who take the knitting classes), and also the Maggie Sefton knitting mysteries thanks to another friend, Lizzie.
So as you can see, I'm diversifying and doing some reading as well as knitting :)




Oh, and I also got this baby blanket for a friend just about finished. It's crocheted and just needs a pretty scalloped edging before it's sent on its way. I'm pretty sure I shared a picture of it before when it was still a work-in-progress.