Sun Ray Ribbing Sweater from A Stitch in Time....Finally!

Here's a close-up of "A Jumper with Sun-Ray Ribbing" from A Stitch In Time: Knitting & Crochet Patterns of the 20s, 30s & 40s. I used the vintage pattern in this book (page 132)  for this sweater.

I'm swearing a pair of vintage (probably 1950s or 1960s) white gloves. While this pattern is from 1935, it could pass for early- to mid-1960s.

Yes, I'm gesturing at the foliage behind me. I loved doing the ribbing on this sweater, all 34 rows of it. I know it's a bit weird, but what can I say. I'm unusual in many ways.

I'm wearing this sweater with a favorite black poly skirt, which has a low waist. I temporarily pulled it  up to my natural waist for this picture. In the future, I'll wear this sweater with a pair of high-waisted pants (jeans?) or skirt.

The final picture....a tad bit washed out. Thanks to Lynn Coe of Knit1 for taking these photos!

Okay. I'm going to take questions, mostly from the Stitch in Time crowd on Ravelry.  Or at least what I would think they would ask if they could.

1. Wow. You worked with the original 1936 pattern. Wow. Why? 
Well,  I had the 1970s book and while it was tempting, I wasn't about to buy the new, updated edition, although it was tempting. And it still is.  On the other hand, I took it as a challenge to knit directly from an old pattern. While I've crocheted from 1930s and 1940s pattern, I've never knit. It just looked too intimidating! But as an intermediate knitter (!!), I now know enough of the lingo and short hand of patterns to be able to follow it on my own. When I had questions, I just asked fellow knitters in the Stitch in Time group...I have to say having a knit-along made it much to ask questions in the middle of the night. We were all on the same page, so to speak. I have to say the layout of this pattern helped me a lot. It had a lot of white space, which unfortunately, isn't true of the other patterns in my 1970s Stitch in Time. God bless whoever did the typesetting for this pattern. He or she deserves to bypass Purgatory in my opinion.
2. Were there any errata?
There is one in the buttonhole band in the second to last sentence. It shouls read K11 (30 stitches). Overall, the pattern was very good, easy to follow. I would say this would be a great pattern for a novice to do...particularly somebody who's interested in vintage sweater but feels a bit overwhelmed. It helps that the pattern is strictly knits and purls. I highly recommend it.
4. You used vintage yarn too. What are you, a purist?
Not at all. I was ready to use new yarn, but I really wanted to use the Evermatch Sport and Sock yarn...which I actually used to make a pair of footies. My mother gave me a skein from her charity knitting bag (she knits hats and socks for newborns and the poor). When I asked for more...she didn't have any more of the leafy green color I'd been using...but she did have an entire bag of yellow Evermatch yarn! I took it....I think I used about 10 skeins for this sweater...and I swear I have another 22 skeins left. My batch, in terrific condition, is probably from the 1950s or 1960s. It's funny now that I think about it but yellow was popular in the 1930s in the middle of that recession, just as yellow is again trendy during our yucky economy.  I'm thinking though I might tired of yellow. That said, I'm thinking of making matching ribbed skirt to go with the sweater. I have just the 1940s pattern....
5. How did your iPhone help with this pattern?
Gosh, I don't think I've been asked that question before, but it's a good one. But after I lost a print out of the pattern from the book on the bus, I simply sent myself an email with PDF scans of the pattern. I put those emails in a special folder in my email account, and I just referred to that. I tracked what row I was on my Knit Counter Lite version 1.2. What a great app! I could modify it track various parts of the sweater. Since my iPhone is practically part of my body, it was easy to track.
6. Would you make this sweater again?
I might...I like mastering a pattern. I do it often in sewing, so it was only natural to do it in knitting. If I slightly modify it, give a little time in between projects, and use a different yarn...it's like a whole new pattern.  There's this new fingering weight yarn at Loopy Yarns here in Chicago that I want to try. I can't think of the name, but I know where to find it the store. I'm itching (pun intended) to make this in white wool.

Hat Photography Done Right: Angela Jolie in Parade Magazine*

 

I like this Parade Magazine cover...the brim of the hat jut covers one eye. This is hat photography done right. At least once when I've worn a hat tilted just so...the photographer has told me to tilt it back to he can see my eyes! That was at my brother's wedding. The wide-brimmed hat looks like it's ready to fall off my head. I'm looking at the the picture now because it's on my desk. Even a silhouette artist told me to move my hat so she could see my eyelashes in profile.
What these two artists forget is that covering an eye creates a sense of mystery. Think about any time you've seen a man with a patch covering his eye. Instant intrigue. There's a singer in the John Burnett Orchestra here in Chicago. A big African-American guy, he wears a suit, sometimes a turtleneck sweater and a black patch over one eye. I have this idea he has this most fascinating past because he looks like an extra out of a James Bond movie. Consider too, any time you've seen a woman with a fan in her hand, coquettishly covering her eyes. She's flirting..... That's it, covering an eye, even partially, is flirtatious. It's bold, and definitely calling attention to yourself. In a sense, it's a wink frozen in time. A wink is done in total confidence. When people call me shy, they've never see me wink. And I love to wink, but I only do it when I feel completely poised.
So if you love hats and making them, here's a Burdastyle hat pattern for you. And the model's got it right in the main photo. Check it out here.
*I'm still working on my second Gone with the Wind hat. Great progress! I had to rewire it, but I'm almost done. Pictures to come.

Happy Fourth of July

Got your sun umbrella? Check. Tote 1, 2, 3? Triple check. You're all set for the Fourth of July at the beach, fireworks included. These cute voile prints are on sale $1.99 a yard (!) at Vogue Fabrics in Evanston, Ill. I didn't buy today, but I still might....after the holiday. Over and out!