Finished – more Conwy socks, and 1940s cap

I wanted to get a couple of current projects off the needles so I can start playing with my new yarn.

This is my second pair of Conwy socks, finished yesterday:

20080530GreenConwy1
Yarn: Heirloom Argyle 4ply
Pattern: adaptation of Conwy by Nancy Bush (Knitting on the Road)

I’m not sure yet whether these will be for me, or for my brother-in-law. It might depend upon whether I can knit him another pair before his birthday in early July. I made him a pair of plain socks a couple of years ago, which he wears every morning in winter, so it’s probably time I made him another pair!

I’ve also finished this cap, from a 1940s Sun-glo knitting book of patterns for men. The patterns are all service-style, with names such as ‘Pilot’, ‘Digger’, ‘Helmsman’, ‘Observer’ and ‘Major’. The yarn I’ve used is probably rather more ‘feminine’ than the original pattern-writer had in mind!

20080526MauveHat2

Yarn: leftover Merino/Cashmere 4ply from The Knittery

Lacy capelet pattern – found

A while ago, I posted about my quest for a lacy capelet pattern to knit for an ill friend. It seems other people have been searching for something similar, as there are a fair few people who have come to this blog because of a search on those keywords.

So, I thought I’d report back here.

Although there are some nice patterns about, I didn’t find anything amongst the patterns currently available on the web that was exactly what I was looking for. However, in recent weeks I’ve been acquiring some vintage pattern books (from my trip to Nundle last month, and I’ve bought some from e-Bay), and in one of those books I found a pattern that is similar to what I had in mind (without the bow!):

Lacy capelet vintage knitting pattern

Sadly, my friend is now very ill, and after 5 years of struggle her time left is not long enough to knit this capelet for her. However, because life goes on (and my friend would definitely encourage it!), and because my sister commented in passing recently that my niece likes capelets and other now-trendy-again things, I’m contemplating what this pattern might look like in jewel-coloured, space-dyed yarns…

Vintage pattern books

As reported in my last post, on our trip to Nundle I bought a few old knitting pattern books. I was very restrained – there were far more there that I didn’t buy! But these ones I couldn’t resist:

Patons vintage knitting pattern book - fairisle

Patons ‘Fair Isles’ book, no. 262 In the 1970s, my older sister used an old pattern of my mother’s to knit a fair-isle jumper quite a lot like this, excpet in yellows and oranges – it was gorgeous! Most of the patterns in this book are the same sort of slim-fitting shape, so I’m not planning on knitting any of them just now – but it’s fun looking at the pictures 🙂 Incidentally, my mother told me that she used to knit while listening to 78rpm records. When she was knitting a fair-isle like this, (fine yarns, fine needles) she always aimed to get a row done in the time it took to play one side of a 78 – which, for those young enough not to know, is about 3 minutes!

Patons vintage knitting pattern book - no 204

Patons Knitting Book, No. 204

There are some cute glove patterns in here that I can see myself adapting:

Holiday gloves, from Patons Knitting Book No. 204

Holiday gloves, from Patons Knitting Book No. 204 (oops! Sorry about it being sidewise!)

Springtime gloves, from Patons Knitting Book No. 204

Springtime gloves, from Patons Knitting Book No. 204

Voyager gloves, from Patons Knitting Book No. 204

Voyager gloves, from Patons Knitting Book No. 204

Patons vintage knitting pattern book - no 236 (Jackets)

Patons vintage knitting pattern book – no 236 (Jackets). I’ve been on the lookout for jacket patterns, and there are some gorgeous ones in this book! (We won’t mention the fact that some of them are sized for women somewhat smaller than me  – because I should be able to upsize patterns and downsize me, right?)

‘City Bound’ from Patons vintage knitting pattern book - no 236

‘City Bound’ from Patons vintage knitting pattern book – no 236

‘Knocker’ from Patons vintage knitting pattern book - no 236 (Jackets)

‘Knocker’ from Patons vintage knitting pattern book – no 236 (Jackets)

‘Patio’ from Patons vintage knitting pattern book - no 236 (Jackets)

‘Patio’ from Patons vintage knitting pattern book – no 236 (Jackets)

‘Roamer’ from Patons vintage knitting pattern book - no 236 (Jackets)

‘Roamer’ from Patons vintage knitting pattern book – no 236 (Jackets)

Patons vintage knitting pattern book - no 6 - socks and gloves

Patons vintage knitting pattern book – no 6 – socks and gloves. This has a range of basic sock and glove patterns in it.

Australian Womens Weekly vintage knitting pattern book

Australian Womens Weekly vintage knitting pattern book. This has a range of patterns, including jumpers, cardigans, accessories, and also an elegant, long woman’s dressing gown!

I’ve had such fun looking through these that I can see that I’m going to have to resist the urge to begin a large collection of vintage knitting patterns 🙂