Fair [Isle] Delights

You may well remember that about 2 years ago I went on a course to learn Fair Isle knitting, a skill that I was dying to learn but never had the confidence to try it. Luckily for me, my previously derisive 'cack-hand' way of knitting, a technique I had been encouraged to abandon when I was 16, came to the fore, and proved to be a valuable way to knit in 2 strands of yarn at the same time.   Since then I have enthusiastically practised this skill, and am loving some of the knits you can make. 

This lovely jumper was taken from a Bestway pattern dated from 1946. I know this because the pattern was part of a twin set, and it was featured in the January 1946 edition of Woman's Weekly. The cardigan was printed in the next edition, and whilst I was lucky enough to acquire both magazines, I also managed to get hold of the actual Bestway patterns too. I have never knitted the cardigan, but would love to do so, if I ever get the time. You can see I have knitted it in a couple of colour combinations both which I think go very well.

This is an interesting story for this slipover. It is from a 1950's pattern and I have knitted it both with a grey base and with a light beige, with brown, red and green pattern colours. I was very proud of my colour choice for the light beige, and considered it unique - until I was watching the Australian Murder Mystery series 'Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries' set in the 1920s. Lo and behold a scruffy kid was wearing MY slipover in exactly the SAME colours. Now how coincidental is that!

This waistcoat is actually an amalgamation of a 50's waistcoat and a 30's Fair Isle pattern. My customer wanted a waist coat but had already picked out the pattern, so daringly as it was one of my first Fair Isle attempts, I added the 2 together. My husband models the result very well I think. Another customer wanted a red combination. I knitted this in double knit and I understand it is very warm to wear!

Another commission and I feel that my Fair Isle skills are advancing with this one, although it looks complicated but was in fact very easy to knit up, and very quick too. This time I used 4ply yarn as the customer wanted a small fit. I'm looking forward to seeing photos of the recipient in it!

Of course there is a Fair Isle on the needles, so watch this space for an update later in the year.

If anything on this page has taken your fancy please let me know!

"Summertime and the Living is Easy"

It seems that summer has arrived to the gorgeous Isle of Wight, my home island, and with the sun comes thoughts of dainty little lacy knits. Not for me, as my large frame is too big to carry off a delicate lacy knit, but that doesn't stop me hankering to knit one. And for inspiration I turn to the 1940s and 50s knitting patterns.

 The austere years of the Second World War meant that wool was in very short supply with more and more factories being used for war work, and the majority of British and imported wool being used to make service uniforms, so women were encouraged to knit small delicate tops most often with short sleeves, which not only saved wool but also looked divine. Indeed it was seen as part of the war effort in maintaining the services morale to ensure that, as a woman, you always looked your best. It seems strange to us that so much emphasis went into looking good, but the Government held the belief that menfolk returning on leave wanted to see their ladies well dressed - it gave them something to fight for.

But I think it was the early 1950s which were the real inspirational years when it came to summer knitting patterns. During this time rationing was eased and many of the materials previously rationed became more available. Also colour came into its own, as people made a conscious decision to stay away from the drab colours of utility clothing. In this pattern from Stitchcraft magazine August 1950, the model wears a brightly coloured top, knitted in 3ply. This pattern is available from my Etsy Shop in PDF form if you would like to try it for yourself (SJB Vintage Hand Knits). 

Here is another pattern from Stitchcraft magazine May 1951, with a delicate spray of knitted flowers in the cleavage it beautifully shows off the model's waspish waist, exentuated by the pillar box shaping of the sleeve tops. This is knitted in 1950's 2ply for a very delicate finish. 

Fashion remained influenced by the tiny waists, well defined busts and broad hips of the New Look, which Christian Dior launched at the end of the Second World War well in to the late 50s.

For further inspiration please take a look at the patterns I have available on my Etsy shop.

Deramores Craft Blog Competition - All You Need is a Little Blog (The Patchwork Heart)

This post is my submission to the Deramores Craft Blog Competition 2015. Deramores is the UK’s number one online retailer of knitting and crochet supplies. Visit www.deramores.com for more details.

It is said that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. I have issues with that statement. A previous boss once called me a dog. Not outright "you're a dog" you understand, it was more along the lines of "you're like a dog with a bone". Anyway it really upset me, and I actually cried. I'm not a dog, with a bone or without. And less of the old, please. I may have reached 50 years last month (don't remind me), and I may feel like I need a winch to get myself out of bed in the mornings, but inside this withering coating is a 30 year old wondering where the years have gone. But even if the description fitted you CAN teach an old dog knew tricks.

I am a prolific knitter, and until a head injury 5 years ago I was also a not too bad cross stitcher. 

 Knitting and cross stitching were my stress busters, and I enjoyed spending many an hour stitching away. This picture of my Uncle and my children was from a photo I took myself. It took me 6 months of stitching in every spare hour to achieve this sampler, and I was cursing having them all in Hawaiian shirts because every little bit of the pattern is just one tiny square of colour. I wish I had preplanned!



Anyway, on to the old dog and new tricks bit. Well, as I said I was already a knit, so one would've thought that crocheting would have come easy, but no, I just could not get the hang of it. The positioning of the hands holding the yarn was just so unnatural. But one day I bit the bullet and asked my mother-in-law to teach me. What a laugh! I only wanted to know how to knit a cushion cover, straight rows backwards and forwards, not difficult. But it didn't matter how hard I tried my 100 chains ended up being about 10 inches shorter than hers. We could not figure out what I was doing wrong. End of crochet lessons!

It wasn't until I saw an advert in a local village community hall, advertising crochet lessons that I wondered if I could learn. So I phoned up and booked myself lessons with a lovely group, all mixed abilities and started 6 weeks of lessons. And wow! I flew, with wings!

In no time at all I had mastered the art of granny squares. Beautiful, colourful, artful granny squares, and so my love of crocheting began.

Cushions, throws, hot water bottle covers, you name them, if they can be made from granny squares then I make them!

Yes, mastering the hands was a bit of a bugbear. It is so unnatural after knitting, but soon my fingers didn't ache so much and I was well away. One of the advantages of crocheting is that it grows so quickly. And you can add as many colours as you like. My only problem is that I have only been able to master granny squares at the moment. Although I did once make a parrot for my son which he promptly gave to his girlfriend as a love token and Polly now resides in Budapest. But that doesn't matter because the other week I taught my bestie mate to crochet granny squares and she has been filling Facebook with her colourful, and quite skilful creations, and receiving a lot of praise. I am not jealous, not in the least. After all, I taught her. She learnt from the best, haha! And I've been invited to teach some WI-ers at the end of this month.

So whether I'm a dog or not (the jury is out), and I wouldn't say I was that old, it is still possible to learn new tricks.