Bipolar

The problem with bipolar, for me, is the fluctuations in my energy levels.

This ties directly to my ability to finish any project I am working on.

But it is only recently that I realised, even when my energy levels are up, I don't seem to be able to finish said project. 

I always want to move onto the next one. 

Something new, shiny and stimulating.

 My husband has a lovely boss.

Really, she puts up with almost as many of his shenanigans as I do.

They were visiting an educational setting somewhere a while ago and she fell in love with a knitted fox head mounted on the wall.

Thus I was introduced to FAUX TAXIDERMY!

It's a thing people.

Knitted heads of various animals, hung up on the wall. 

I felt she needed a prize for employing and working with said husband, and so the fox project was born.

Two days knitting and one constructing and here we are. 

 finally finished

In the midst of the hottest summer since I was a toddler with scorched feet, hosepipe bans, political skulduggery and all the anxiety that goes with it, I have managed to complete the chevron knit.

on the needles

 

on the needles

Gorgeous double cable, short sleeved sweater with an offset button collar from 1940.

Another from the fabulous collection at Trove, it can be found here.

and we're finished

Statement ruching - check

problems, problems

Oh how I have battled this pattern. The back was easy as pie. The fronts .... no matter how many times I knitted them up, the decreases looked untidy. I thought about replacing the rib sections with stocking stitch, but that would change the whole look of the garment.

 on the needles

This gorgeous ruched knit twinset cardi caught my eye whilst I was scouring the farthest reaches of t'internet. Dated 1939, it can be found  here.

I am knitting it in my go to stylecraft 4ply acrylic in a lovely shade of raspberry, on 3.25mm and 3.75mm needles.

So spoilt 

Our 16th wedding anniversary was a few weeks ago so my husband spoiled me and took me to a massive antiques centre here in the shire.

Hemswell Cliff used to be an RAF station during the war. There are many of them, now decommissioned and scattered about the countryside. And anybody with local, older lady acquaintances will have tales of the shenanigans they got up to at dances (and outside them), with the handsome men in uniform. I'm not sure they were all handsome, but something about the uniform distracts the eye from many obvious faults.

So, although they may now look sweet and frail, offering you biscuits and tutting at what goes on these days, I can assure you that they got up to much mischief. Apparently looking for those treasured silk knickers in the long grass of the fields around these bases was a common pastime. 

I think in those times, it was a case of work hard and party harder ...

Just finished this gorgeous, negative ease double rib and cable jumper. 

For those of you who don't want to ruin your eyesight, the pattern can be found here 

Trove is an Australian site with a wealth of  magazines, papers etc and a LOT of free patterns to enjoy. Because of their audience, I find most of their patterns are practical and stylish, without being too outlandish. And their names are so straightforward - there is no trying to figure out what a 'Daphne' looks like - the clue is right there in the name.

 finished 

The open work jumper from the late 1930s/ early 40s can be found  here

The tie turned out to be not quite long enough for a bow, but a really neat tie, finished with a vintage scarf loop

on the needles or on the lash? 

Another Subversive Femme knit. The open work jumper from the late 1930s/ early 40s can be found  here

 

arsenic and old lace ...

Knit in Stylecraft dk bamboo and cotton mix, which feel gorgeous on the needles

The pattern is gorgeous too and can be found on Subversive Femme's blog here.

love me some deep ribbing

 Fifth Avenue finished. 

I only had grey tape to reinforce the button band, but it does the job quite nicely, and can only be seen on the inside.

Finished

 I have finished my 'Lovely in Lace Stitch' jumper from the 1930s. 

On the needles...

Well with a new wool delivery comes the overwhelming urge to start a new project. 

This one is  from the 1940s and is called 'Fifth Avenue'. It is aimed at 'the young matron' ('matron' being an unintentional insult for, in this case, anybody with a chest size over 38") and can be found here on the Subversive Femme blog.

Like so many other retro knitters, she is so generous with her time and resources and she has a huge collection of larger size patterns. 

I could, and regularly do, spend hours there, fantasising about my next project.  You really should check her out.

Here we are now ...

 I learnt to knit as a tiny child, nearly 50 years ago. 

I was the 80s goth who knitted her own skirts and jumpers (and black fingerless gloves). Yes, I actually did do it before it was cool.

But then I had babies and somehow fell out of love with it, as my babies grew up. Suddenly hand knits were not as cool to my four sulky teenagers as they had been to the shiny eyed toddlers who loved the ducky buttons. 

I know, we've all been there.

I grew disillusioned with patterns consisting of acres of soul. destroying stocking stitch, which seemed so pointless when we can buy a plain sweater for a fraction of the price of the wool. As the craft grew in popularity, every new pattern seemed to be a hat or gloves or (God forbid) a shawl (who actually wears those things anyway?)

I missed the challenge of lace and pattern. More importantly, I wanted a REASON to knit again.