19 June 2007

Retro Knitting

My mom has been clearing out some stuff. Check this out:



A pamphlet from Chadwick's Red Heart Wools, with patterns to knit using Clark's knitting pins. It's from 1947. The Red Heart wool called for comes in Worsted and Floss. That cover design was knit in Floss, which apparently came in 1 oz. balls, and is to be knitted on size 1 (2.5mm) and size 3 (3mm) pins. (Note: I notice that the materials list calls for "Sock Needles", which I assume means double points, but the rest of what we refer to as knitting needles they call "Knitting Pins". They switch over to the "needle" nomenclature for all needles for the directions. Interesting. Modern knitters would be howling in protest, don't you think?)

This is the one Mom knit for Dad:



Also in Floss, on the size 1 and size 3 pins (now I see where I got my love of teeny tiny knitting needles).

I remember seeing the leftover yarn for this around somewhere when I was a wee little thing -- it was a turquoise color, in about a sock weight, although given how young I was who knows what odd things my memory has done to the image. I don't recall ever seeing the sweater. Perhaps I did and it didn't make much impression on my young mind.

Mom wasn't much of a knitter. I don't recall any other knitted garments she had made, although I do remember her knitting bandages out of white cotton thread; the bandages were to be sent to India, I think, via some church misson. They were white cotton so they could survive being boiled and bleached. Again, my memory on this subject is pretty hazy.

Ten sweaters patterns, gloves (in 3 sizes), a scarf, and 2 sock patterns(in 4 men's sizes); the original price was 10 cents. And now it's mine.

3 comments:

Sara said...

Well, *I'm* howling in protest! That's some serious love your mom had to knit that sweater on size 1 needles for your dad. I hope he wore the heck out of it!

GailV said...

It occurs to me that maybe that's why she never knit another sweater. All those tiny little stitches and cables probably put her off of it forever.

And I came along many years (and children) later in the relationship, so the sweater had probably worn out by then.

Tara said...

I love these old graphics! How fun. Right up there with those corny old cookbooks. My mom is a big knitter and I remember lots of patterns that looked similar to this around our house as well.