Sunday, September 09, 2007

We’re inching forward on the History of Vogue Knitting. Nan (formerly Anonymous) provided a link to these magazines on American eBay, from 1968 and 1969. At this point the American and British magazines must have been completely separate – hence no Kaffe Fassett pattern in the American edition. I had always thought that the British “Vogue Knitting” series was completely British – what I hadn’t known was that something was being published in America at the same time. There are twice as many patterns in the American magazines.

No more bidding on VKB No. 1. Hope flutters, but I’m sure it’s deceptive.

This and That

Bavarian Travelling Stitch (comment yesterday): It’s a fascinating technique, isn’t it, Natural State Knitter? I first encountered it in a class with Candace Strick at Camp Stitches in ’99. I wish she’d write a book about it – I’ve been telling her so, off and on, ever since.

I have two sets of three books, acquired, I think, from Schoolhouse Press, although I couldn’t find them listed when I did a quick search just now: “Bauerliches Stricken” by Lisl Fanderl and “Uberlieferte Strickmuster aus dem Steirischen Ennstal” by Maria Erlbacher. Both in German, as the titles suggest, but so heavily reliant on charts that I don’t think that would be a problem. The Erlbacher set is pretty well exclusively travelling-stitch, the other one has a fair amount.

I’ve reached row 38 of the fourth pattern repeat of the Princess centre. See Kathy's depressing comment of yesterday. I had thought, peering at pictures, that there were nine repeats altogether. She says – and she’s in a position to know – that there are ten. It’s going to take a long, long time.

I’m also pressing forward with stash-photography. It’s all kept in a walk-in cupboard off the sitting room (which does double-duty as the stationery cupboard). Within it is a shelved section with doors, a cupboard within a cupboard, and that’s the bit which I have now finished exploring, yarn-wise, and posting to Ravelry.

Next I will start on the floor and open shelves, working my way back to the six plastic bins which I had thought contained most of the stash.

Thanks for the comforting stash comments yesterday, Shandy and Judith. If I can keep on knitting until I’m 96, and never buy any more yarn, I ought to be able to make a dent in it. The scary thing is that one of those six bins contains my lace yarns – several lifetimes’-worth there alone.

I am Tayside00 in Ravelry, if anyone wants to come along and have a look.

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:27 PM

    Jean, I went to the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool this weekend and stopped at the booth of Blackberry Ridge..they had Sam TR up on a shelf for viewing. I told them of your prize and they would love to see a picture. They also had two beautiful tea cozies you might want to look at! I do love reading your blog! Another Jean

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  2. I also have the Fanderl and Erlbacher books. It's always been my intention to design a Bavarian jacket in honor of my heavily Teutonic heritage, even though my folks came from northern Germany. I'm Bavarian in my heart, I suppose. Or possibly Viennese.

    I remember my mother having Vogue Knitting books when I was in high school, which was '64-'68. Unfortunately, my mother is an anti-packrat, which means she threw them out within a year of buying them.

    As for knitting until you're 96 or past, Ma is 84 and still does intricate knitting, including lace. And has decided that as long as she has projects planned, she will not be going to that LYS in the sky. Good 'tude, methinks.

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  3. Anonymous4:06 AM

    Jean, the sets of Bavarian Twisted Stitch books you listed are both out of print at the moment, although Meg Swansen told us (at Camp) that she's negotiating with Maria Erlbacher to reprint her books. She told us funny stories about going to Germany to meet with her, and being asked to show examples of her own work, to demonstrate she knew what she was about she supposed!

    The Fanderl books are more recently OOP, and Meg said these are regularly reprinted and figures they will be available again soon. I know you don't need them, of course...

    I have the Fanderl set but would love to have the Erlbacher books as well...I do see Bavarian Twisted Stitches in my future at some point!

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  4. Those interested in the BAvarian Travelling stitches books - I recently got the Fanderl books via Abebooks, both from German sellers. Abebooks (google it) is an international grouping of secondhand book shops, and wonderful fro finding out of print books (as well as modern ones).
    eg: http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?sortby=3&sts=t&tn=bauerliches+stricken&x=0&y=0

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