the contest is still going! Stay tuned til we announce the winners on January 1…

Did you ever have one of those days where you seemed to roll not just out of the wrong side of the bed, but onto the floor with a thud? Where you spend the entire day doing the emotional equivalent of nursing the bump on your forehead? I was there yesterday, and in between my secret maudlin thoughts about this and that, I ended up throwing myself a party. A pity party, to be sure - but look who I invited!

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(To be fair, two of these are my travel booty from our trip to Vermont.) Clockwise from top left: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock, Great Adirondack Soxie, Fleece Artist Nova Sock, Trekking XXL, ArtYarns Hand Painted Stripes, Brown Sheep Wildfoote, and A Piece of Vermont superwash fingering.
… Hee. Okay. So I was being super super indulgent yesterday. So I’ve only made one and one half pairs of truly successful socks. So my project using Socks that Rock has been languishing for at least two months. So I ought to have saved my pennies for a rainy day. But oh man, there’s nothing better than a bucket of sock yarn to make the sun shine on you again. Hap-py-Hol-i-days-to-me-eee… la la la… anyways here is a closeup of Soxie for your yarn pr0n pleasure:

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I’ve stuck to my guns about no Christmas knitting this year, and I’m embarrassed to admit how great that’s working out. I found perfectly lovely presents for everyone, and I won’t be up at 4 AM on Christmas Eve knitting again! Hooray! I can’t wait to give presents to hubby, though. I’m sure he’ll love them - I don’t think he reads my blog (the man has enough fiber in his life as is, poor dear) but just in case he’s trolling for hints, it’s mum for now.

Coming soon… a little holiday pattern for you! Stay tuned!

How cute is this one piece wonder? This hat pattern is courtesy my dear friend Sophistakitten, who managed to get it together for your knitting pleasure - pics of her mod to the hat soon!

Norwegian cap
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Materials: 2 Skeins of worsted weight yarn, 1 black, 1 white.
Needles: One pair US #7 straights and US #4 (or size to obtain gauge)
Gauge: on size 7 in Stockinette Stitch 5 sts and 7 rows = 1 inch

With size 4 needles and color A, cast on 85 sts for facing of front hem. Work in St st for 7 rows, ending with a p row.

Openwork row: (right side) K1, *yo, k2 tog; repeat from star * to end. Switch to size 7 needles; p1 row.

Pattern: (row 1) With color A, k2, * with color B k1, with color A, k3; repeat from *, end last repeat k2 with color A.

Note: to prevent a hole when changing colors, always bring color to be used under last color used.

Row 2: P1 A, * p1 B, p1 A, repeat from * to end.

Row 3: K4 A, *k1 B, k3 A; repeat from *, end last repeat k4 A.

Carry color not in use loosely along the edge. Continue to follow pattern as on chart until 29 rows above open work row. End with a p row with A. With A, bind off 29 sts. Break yarn and join in last st on needle. Follow pat as on chart for back of cap for 17 rows above the bind-off row, ending with a P row. Dec. 1 st each side of next row and repeat decs. every 2nd row 5 times more, following chart; 15sts. Bind-off with A as if to purl. Block.

Turn back facing along open work row and hem to wrong side. Sew seams joining side edges of back part to bound-off sts of front part, sewing 1 st to every 2 rows.

Tie String and Crochet Edge: With A, make ch. 14 ins. long. Beg. at openwork row of front hem on left side of cap, work 1 row sc around neck edge; ch 16 1/2 ins. Fasten off. Join A in first sc on left side of neck edge. Work 1 sc in each of ch., working in back loop only, 3 sc in last st at end, 1 sc in each st on other side of ch, 1 sc in each sc on neck edge and each st on right ch, 3 sc a end , 1 sc in each st on other side of ch. Join. Fasten off.

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(for larger photograph of this chart click here)
From “High Fashion Hats,” 1962

Looking for the Knitty contest for rosewood needles and Handmaiden & Lorna’s Laces yarn? Click HERE and keep those guesses coming!

So I’ve spent the last week in idyllic Vermont, hanging out with my big sister and her brood. Most of the time I’ve spent playing pirates with young Will - yeeaaarrrrrggghhh! - but along the way I’ve had some serious fiber-related fun. On Monday, we visited with Saintjay from Knittyboard, and she took us on an awesome tour of the local knit shops. We stopped in at Kaleidoscope and at Northeast Fiber Arts Center - two yarn stores I highly recommend - but mostly just yakked about politics, yarn and Vermont. (I’m sorry that I didn’t have a camera with me to take pics!)

Today, we drove down to Wells, VT in the north central Taconics to visit with the good folks at Woolambia. If you’re in the market for an Icelandic fleece, check them out! Their fleeces are just gorgeous and you couldn’t ask for nicer people. And isn’t it nice to know that your yarny goodness comes from a place like this?

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We got to walk around this beautiful farm and see its gorgeous, slightly wild-eyed Icelandic sheep. Meet this handsome bunch:

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These sheep were only shorn two months ago, but their fleeces have already grown out to about four inches. I bought two absolutely stunning black fleeces from twin lambs that were shorn at only six months - and the tog (the long outer coat of Icelandic sheep) was seven inches long! In adults the tog is rough, and the thel, or short undercoat, is downy soft, but in these lamb fleeces both tog and thel were remarkably soft and lovely. This ewe was exceptionally curious about us:

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And this one was full of beans, jumping all over the place - we were told that Icelandics are really part wild, and never quite get used to their human handlers:
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The slightly crazy-looking Icelandics shared their barn with one lone enormous Romney named Joe, a rescue sheep from up the road - we were told that unlike his companions, he was as gentle as, well, you know - a lamb:

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The whole trip was totally fascinating. Here’s the room where all the fleeces get sorted. Look at all those fleeces just waiting to be torn into! Have you ever seen Hefty bags look so alluring??

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Anyway, if you’d like to see some of the most wonderful white and colored fleeces, do check out the great stuff they’ve got over at Woolambia - they sell their fleeces online and they’re totally reasonably priced. It’s great to be able to buy something and know it came from a family farmer and not GigantoYarnCorp Inc.

More later… we’re here til Friday, then we wind our way back to Chicago via Niagara Falls… wish me luck on my journey, and I’ll be thinking of y’all as we travel along! (Since I’ve babbled on so much, I’ll only say that I’m flattered and amazed by all the folks who’ve stopped in for the contest!  Thanks and again, welcome!) Once I’m home I’ve got some amazing vintage patterns to show you, so be sure to stay tuned…  it’s gonna be a good one.

Yay! The winter issue of Knitty is finally here - and I’ve got an article in it (about vintage knitting, of course!) Check it out here! (Forgive my own horn-tooting, but I’m just too excited for words!)
To celebrate and to welcome new folks to the blog and the Vintage KAL (which is alive and well and waiting for you to add your own vintage goodies to the mix), I’m hosting a contest. The prizes? Yarny goodness! Let’s get to the prizes first, shall we?
First up, the grand prize: A gorgeous kit from Handmaiden/Fleece Artist for the Bias Shawl. It’ll be in my favorite Handmaiden color, the sublime Mineral (this stock pic is in green):

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First prize:

Second prize: a pair of Colonial rosewood double-pointed needles for your sock-knitting pleasure!:

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Third prize: two skeins of Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock - together we will get better at making socks! - in the lovely colorway of your choice!
Okay, so how do you win this fabulous booty? Here’s the contest:

Guess the years that these vintage knits hail from:

Number One:

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Number Two:

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Number Three:

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Put your guess in the comments below this post. There is a three-year spread, so for instance if you guess 1933, I’ll give you credit for 1932-1934. I’ll take the top three closest winners; in the event that more than one person guesses them all right (!), I’ll hold a drawing for the top prizes. Here’s your chance to put your knowledge of vintage to the test!

Are you new here? Have you never posted a comment before? Then I’m very pleased to meet you, and please do feel free to enter the contest! One of the amazing things I’ve learned floating around in the blogosphere over the past year or so is that it’s chockablock with really great people - I’m glad to make your acquaintance. I hope you’ll keep coming back to talk with me and to keep reading. I see this blog and the Vintage KAL as not just a place for my tiny-brained rantings, but as a place to share great patterns, interesting ideas, and the love of all things yarny and good. So welcome!

Now for the boring details:

1) Your comments are most welcome! Each person gets one guess apiece, though, so take your best shot. :) The only way to enter is to leave a comment on this post. I’ll be delighted to read your comments - it means a lot to me, you readers of this teensy little blog, and I’m delighted to get to meet y’all.
2) The contest will run til midnight on December 31 - the winners will get chosen on the first day of the year! So you have time to do your holiday thang before you go racking your brain on obscure vintage pattern pics. Winners will be posted here on the blog and also on the Vintage KAL.
3) So can I ask you to pass on the word by posting about it on your blog, linking to this contest, or otherwise shouting it from the hills? If you’re excited by the chance to win some goodies, or if you just liked the Knitty article? This blog and the Vintage KAL have been such great places to meet amazing people and to share resources on everything from vintage knitting to sheer randomness. I’d like to share my good fortune with as many people as possible - and I’m very grateful for your help in getting it out there! I love you guys!

4) Not really a rule, but if you have a chance, go visit the delightful Aija, whose legs (va va voom!) grace my article (and think good thoughts about the fabulous April and Dee, who aren’t bloggers but whose lovely boobies and gorgeous gloved hand, respectively, are made famous in the pics.)

That’s enough ranting for now - I’ll just end by saying thanks for making this so fun for me, and who loves you baby?

Lady’s Jacket

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Materials:

3 ply Beehive Fingering, Patonised - 5 oz. for 32-34, 6 oz for 36-38

1 set of #7 straight or circular needles

two sets of #7 double pointed needles

one crochet hook

Measurements - Bust 32-34 in (36-38 in):

Length from top of shoulder 16″(16.5″)

Length of sleeve underarm seam 5″ (5″)

GAUGE: 6.5 sts and 8 rows = 1 inch. PLEASE SUB A YARN THAT WILL GET YOU THIS GAUGE!

BACK: With two needles cast on 85 (89) sts.

1st row: Cast off 2 sts. K1. (the st left on right hand needle alwyas counts as 1 st.) *P1, K1. Repeat from * to end of row.

2nd row: Cast off 2 sts. Purl to last st, K1.

Repeat these two rows until 45 (49) sts remain on the needle.

Keeping continuity of pattern, cast off 1 st at beg of EVERY row until 17 (21) sts remain on the needle. Continue even in pattern until work from beginning measures 9 (9.5) inches.
Keeping continuity of pattern, inc 1 st EACH END of needle on next and every following 3rd row, until there are 25 (29) sts on needle. End with a purl row. Cast off but do not break wool.

LEFT SIDE PIECE: With 1 st on needle and right side of work facing, pick up and knit 109 (113) sts along side of Back piece. Cast on 122 (126) sts. **Rearrange on DPNs so that there are 58 (60) sts on each of 4 needles. Join in round = 232 (240) sts in round. Proceed as follows:

1st Round: *K1, p1. Repeat from * to end of round.

2nd round: Knit. Repeat these 2 rounds 6 (9) times, then knit 1st round again once.

Next round: *K2, k2tog. Repeat from * to end of round. 174 (180) sts in round.

Repeat 1st and 2nd rounds 8 (9) times, then 1st round once.

Next round: K2tog. *K2tog. Pass 1st st over 2nd st being careful to keep edge from binding. Repeat from * to end of round. Cast-off edge should measure approximately 18 (19) inches. Bind off.**
RIGHT SIDE PIECE: With right side of work facing, pick up and knit 110 (114) sts along other side of Back piece. Cast on 122 (126) sts. Repeat from ** to ** as given for Left Side piece.

BORDER: Wind remaining wool into 2 balls. Working with 2 strands of wool, proceed:

Dividing sts on 6 needles as sts are picked up, with right side of work facing, pick up and knit 42 (44) sts along lower edge of back. Pick up and knit 60 (62) sts along edge of right front, 15 (19) sts across back of neck and 60 (62) sts along Left Front. Join in round.

1st round: Knit.

2nd round: Purl. Repeat 1st and 2nd rounds once.

5th round: *K1. YO 5 times (wind wool around needle 5 times.) Repeat from * to end of round.

6th round: Purl, dropping all YOs.

7th round: Knit.

8th round: Purl, inc. 1 st in every 4th st.

9th round: Knit.

10th round: *P1. Wind wool around needle 5 times. Repeat from * to end of round.

11th round: Knit, dropping all YOs.

12th round: Purl.

13th round: Knit. Repeat 12th and 13th rounds once, then 12th round once.

17th round: With crochet hook cast off by working 1 sc in each st as it comes off the left hand needle, working 1 ch st LOOSELY in between. Fasten off.

SLEEVES:

Beginning at cap of sleeve with two needles and working with two strands of wool, cast on 36 (40) sts. Knit 4 rows Garter St.

**5th row: *K1. YO 5 times. Repeat from * to last st. K1.

6th row: Cast on 3 sts. K to end of row, dropping all YOs.

7th row: Cast on 3 sts. K to end of row.

8th row: Knit. ** Repeat from ** to ** once, then 5th row once.

14th row: Cast on 6 sts. K to end of row, dropping all YOs.

15th row: Cast on 6 sts. K to end of row.

16th row: Knit.

17th row: As 5th row.

Knit 3 rows garter st, dec 1 st on each end of 1st and 3rd rows. Repeat last 4 rows once.

25th row: As 5th row.

Knit 5 rows Garter St. Cast off.

To make up: Sew sleeve seams. Sew in sleeves. Press lightly.