Patterns booklets from back in the day

I recently unearthed the knitting pattern booklets that I used ages and ages ago when I first started knitting. I knitted quite a bit when I was much younger and had long hiatus until picking it again in 2006. Here are some of these booklets.


I think these date from the 70s, which I refuse to think of as vintage, because I refuse to admit that I'm THAT old. A lot of the patterns really don't look that different from current patterns -- it's just that they were styled differently. The Columbia-Minerva Knit Scene booklet has the best selection of knit dresses. A lot of them look like something Mrs. Peel would have worn in The Avengers TV show.
The image below is particularly interesting -- it's not just vintage knitting, it's vintage computer science! (I believe I've worked with similar equipment -- gaacck!)

If any of you out in the blogosphere is interested in these booklets, leave me a comment. I'll pay for the postage if you're in the U.S. I don't have any sentimental attachment to these patterns, so if no one wants them, they are going off to the recycle bin.

FO: Geodesic

I've finally finished Geodesic, from Knitscene Winter/Spring 2010. The yarn is Araucania Ranco Solid. This cardigan was started in early October, 2010. It languished a bit because I got bored with it and I don't enjoy knitting with such fine gauged yarn. Now that it's done, I love it. It's very lightweight, so it's suitable for spring. Actually, I can probably wear it now if it stays as warm as it has been the last few days.

I think I knitted mine a little longer than the pattern's version, and my sleeves are a bit longer. I also narrowed the width at the shoulders a bit. I used a row of single crochet to finish the front edges and the back neckline instead of just using a knitted finish for the back. I think the front edges looked a little too scruffy without the crochet trim.

My cardi is actually three different shades of blue. The yarn is hand-dyed, and I did not want to do any of that alternating skeins thing. I had three skeins, so I used one skein for the back, one for the fronts, and one for the sleeves. The sleeves are the darkest shade and the fronts are the most stripey. I'm okay with this -- I'll just consider it a design element!

I tried wearing it without a front closure but it just hangs funny. My local JoAnns is currently stocking a lot of interesting clasp closures. I bought a bunch of them and used one of them here. The top row of my tuck stitches ended up as knit instead of purl by mistake, but I think that looks fine.

FO: Hot pink cowl

This cowl is a giftie for someone who loves pink and is always cold, even in heated office spaces. It was a good use for some Debbiie Bliss Stella yarn left over from my Mirabella sweater.
The cowl is about 24 inches in circumference and 7 inches high. It is just a simple cylinder. I used a lacy rib pattern and knit it in the round. Any yarn can be used for this, as long as you use an appropriate needle size and figure out how many stitches you need to achieve the size you want.
The lacy rib pattern is multiple of 6 stitches. Here it is for knitting in the round:
Row 1 (RS): K2tog, YO, K2, P2, repeat all around
Row 2 : K4, P2, repeat
Row 3: K2, YO, K2tog, repeat
Row 4: K4, P2, repeat

I might make myself another one of these in a more neutral color.

Yarn art

This is WAY beyond putting scarves on statues. A friend sent me the link.

Olek and the wall street bull

Her video of the art gallery opening is pretty amusing too.