Thursday, December 01, 2005

I'm putting the final border on Swirly 2. But we're going to Strathardle today -- no more Blog until next Tuesday or Wednesday -- so it won't actually be finished for a while.

The newspaper we know as the Waffy had One of Those Articles yesterday: "Knitting is no longer the preserve of your granny, and homespun knitwear need not look dull and frumpy...Knitwear has never been more chic" etc. I think the word "homespun" is mis-used there, but let it go.

The Vogue Knitting Book for Autumn, 1955, (left), leads off with the words: "It is hard now to remember that there was a time when knitting had little or nothing to do with fashion; that there was an endless sameness of design in sensible cardigans, traditional pullovers, classic sweaters...."

Plus ca change... as Franklin might say. (http://the-panopticon.blogspot.com)

The delicious irony of course is that the bright young readers of VKB in 1955 are today's despised grannies. Namely, me.

In those days, the American and British VK's were separate magazines, with some overlap of patterns. The British one started in the early 30's and lasted until the late 60's. (One of the very last issues published the very first KF to see the light of day -- a fairly conventional Fair Isle vest, wonderful for its time, printed out row-by-row, no chart.) I've got the majority of them, but there are big gaps in the early sequence. The numbering suggests that they were published throughout the war. I'd love to find one of those. They are undated, but the Coronation is referred to in what must therefore be the spring issue of 1953, and the rest can be dated from that.

I think the only other external event I have ever noticed on the pages of VK was 9/11.

Non-Knit

I love broadband. I think the always-on-ness is even more wonderful than the speed. One day soon, when I've recovered from the initial excitement, I'll have to phone Demon again and find out exactly what has happened to my website.

I got started on the Christmas cards, in the sense that I got the supplies spread out on the dining room table, and "Fruitcake" propped up (see yesterday). But I only actually wrote one. I think I'd better take enough for the American recipients along to the country today, with the hopes of posting them from the village on Monday.

No comments:

Post a Comment