Sunday, September 18, 2011

Knitted Lace and Crocheted Roses


About this time of year I begin to crave nubbly sweaters and scarves.   Of course, the weather is not exactly cooperating.  After wearing my sweater this past Thursday, the weather decided to turn hot.  Still, I am starting to feel drawn to sweaters and cannot wait until it is cool enough to pull out wool skirts and dresses.  This means my knitting needles will start to get more of a workout, and I will hopefully complete a few of the projects that have been stashed away on needles for quite some time.   


There is something very relaxing about the repetitive nature of knitting.  Add a warm cup of tea and a little Chihuahua snuggled up next to me, and I have the perfect tranquil evening at home.

If you love vintage looks, you will love A Stitch in Time.  


This book is filled with knitting projects from the 1920s through the 1940s.  Copies of the original patterns are included along with updated versions with extended sizes.


I am absolutely in love with every project in Volume 1 of Susan Crawford’s reprinting of the original book, and I am sure that Volume 2 (out any day now) will be just as beautiful.  And if you are looking for a little vintage inspiration, the photography is stunning.

I finished this sweater back in January, but never got around to wearing it - mostly because I could not find a skirt to wear with it.  Then the weather got too warm, and it was tucked away.  I had an urge to wear the sweater last week, and after doing a quick closet search, I rediscovered this silk skirt hiding in the back, so my Rose Jumper makes her debut.


The stitch pattern is very easy to remember, which makes for a quick knit.  I especially love the addition of the crocheted roses.


The sleeves are not exactly what I expected, but I am very pleased with the finished result.  They are knitted from neck to wrist.  Before ribbing the lower portion of the sleeve, some of the center stitches are cast off.  This creates a little hole that loops out to create the nice little lower sleeve puff.  I thought that it looked a bit strange when left open, so I ended up gathering that portion and tacking it down to the upper edge of the ribbing.  


When I look back at the line diagrams in the pattern, this detail is noted, it was just not clear to me when I chose the pattern.

This is one of the reasons I love vintage – there are so many interesting details.



Sweater:  Rose Jumper from A Stitch in Time, Volume 1
Skirt:  Banana Republic
Shoes:  Colin Stuart for Victoria’s Secret
Earrings:  Shadows  

8 comments:

  1. Ooh, I wish I could knit! I love this. I think the sleeves look really nice!

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  2. Absolutely brilliant! I am also looking forward to cold weather to start wearing to knitter sweaters and cardigans. Love your version! So beautiful!

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  3. This really makes me want to knit again! Just a few days ago I blogged about making a 60's-70's style delicately knitted dress...

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  4. Your sweater looks great! I really love that book, too. I can't wait for the second one to come out!

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  5. It's so cute! This pattern is in my ravelry favs, I love it. The addition of the red ribbon is a great idea.

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  6. Your hair looks gorgeous! How did you style it?

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  7. @Anonymous My hair is stick straight, fine, and likes to lay perfectly flat no matter what I try. The only thing that I have found will keep any curl in my hair for more than 30 minutes is sleeping on foam rollers. My favorite kind are fabric covered and work like a super hybrid of the basic rag curl. However, instead of fighting to tie a bow without getting hair tangled up, the foam roll has a wire that extends from both ends and is easily twisted together to hold itself in place once the hair has been rolled. I am not really explaining this well, but a picture of what I use can be found here: http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/scunci-soft-cloth-rollers-24-ea In the morning, I flip my hair over and brush the whole thing out to get as much volume as possible, and hope for the best. Some days it works better than others! One of these days I will get around to trying Lottabody, or some other setting lotion.

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