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This is a pretty straighforward pattern and yet, not one of my favorites. I just did one block and added an extra border and remembered that I don't really like going around rectangles. I usually get the corners not quite right or somehow miss a stitch. I've tried marking the corners and that helps a little bit but it's one of the things I struggle with in crochet. The middle cream section is done in rows and then you crochet a border around it. I do like the way the spike stitches look on this and if this was done well would make a pretty nice rug. I used Red Heart Super Saver or the equivalent yarn from other brands for the background and Scheepjes Catona for the cross-stitch part. I just did part of the cross-stitch in the center because I think I'm going to take it out and put a green "L" in the center. 
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I've been entering items into the Dakota County Fair for three years now and this year I entered some of the items you chose. All of them won ribbons! Here they are (plus one extra vintage pattern from the 50s that won a ribbon but wasn't on the blog).
The Rose Rug is the winner with 81% of the votes.  The Materials: The pattern asks for rug yarn in black, wine, beige, dusty rose, rose pink, emerald green and light green. Or if you happen to have discarded rayon hose or underwear they suggest that you could dye it and use that instead. I’ll be using Red Heart Super Saver yarn in black, emerald green, light green, medium green, and cream because that’s what I have. I think that rug yarn was a little heavier than what I’ll be using so this will probably be a bit smaller than theirs. They use a size 00 hook which is the same as a size E or 3.5mm. I’m going to try using an F because my favorite E hook is missing. The Pattern: This is done in single crochet and chains. They start out with the center piece that will have the embroidery and then crochet around it in a linen stitch and then do some spike stitches with the black. They also say that this pattern could become an afghan or a robe by using a lighter weight yarn. I’m considering swapping out the rose for something else but the cross-stitch space is limited to 24 x 9 stitches. If anyone has any suggestions for that I’m willing to experiment.  Next week:
I entered some of the projects I did for this blog in the Dakota County Fair and there were ribbons! Next week I'll share what your votes won. Harry S Truman was president. Popular songs that year were “Manana” by Peggy Lee, “Now is the Hour” by Bing Crosby, “It’s Magic” by Doris Day, “My Happiness” by Ella Fitzgerald, “Because” by Perry Como and “Toolie Oolie Doolie” by Dinah Shore. The New York Times Fiction Best Seller was Shannon’s Way by A. J. Cronin for the first two weeks, The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer slipped in on week three and then back to Shannon’s Way for the last week of September. Those two books traded back and forth from June to November. Miss Minnesota BeBe Shopp was crowned Miss America. Here are a few of the movies that were released in September 1948
Your two choices are: Rug in Crocheted Needlepoint – the materials list says to use rug yarn or you can use “discarded rayon hose or underwear cut into narrow strips”. I’ll just use yarn. The rug has 9 blocks of each rose pattern that are made individually and then sewn together. If this wins I might just make one block. I’d have to see how long it takes.  Checkerboard Pan Holders – these use “string weight” crochet thread. I think that means #10 crochet thread. It could be something thicker though so I’d have to try it and see how it works.  Time to vote! Which one should I make for September? The travel slippers are finished and they’re…fine. Not great, but there’s nothing bad about them. I used Lion Brand Jeans Colors in Corduroy and a J hook. It seemed like a big hook for this pattern but my gauge matched the pattern. The large hook meant it worked up really fast but it’s also a bit more open than I would expect slippers to be. The pattern starts out with four sole pieces; two for each foot. Those are slip stitched together to make each sole for the slippers. Then you make the upper sections, sew up the heel in the back and slip stitch the upper section to the soles. Hold a piece of narrow elastic around the top and single crochet over that to finish. I made a few changes as I went. I did the soles a little differently. When I got to the end of the sole I didn’t finish off and cut the yarn. I kept going and worked it back so I could just fold it over and slip stitch the two halves together. I tried to slip stitch the upper part of the slippers to the sole but I didn’t like the way it looked so I whip stitched them together instead. I didn’t add the embellishment they had either. I thought about adding a small flower or a button but I decided these were more travel friendly if they were lighter and took up less space. I think a button would be uncomfortable on the top of the foot.  They’re good summer slippers with the open stitches but I don’t think they’d be great for winter. The doubled up soles are super cozy though. It's a little hard to see in the photos but I noticed that the left slipper was on inside out when I took the photo! I can tell because of the stitches around the opening aren't visible on that foot.  Next week it will be time to vote on the September pattern. The year will be either 1979 or 1948. If you have preference for one of those years let me know!
Earlier this month I received a package from a lovely woman on Ravelry who was selling some vintage patterns. I'd picked out the ones I wanted buy and she ended up throwing the rest in for free. The pattern books ranged from the 40s to the 50s and have some really cool patterns I can't wait to make. This first photo is a vintage Woolworths 3-ring binder with Workbasket Magazines from 1945 through 1948.  Four full years of vintage 40s patterns! There are hats, flowers, mittens, slippers, and lots of "pan holders". I might use one of these for the September pattern. Next up some 1940s pattern booklets:  The Crochet Your Gifts booklet has a lot of patterns. There are bibs, aprons, collars, doilies, flowers, glass jackets and more pot holders. The bags look amazing but the directions are often vague and list a stitch pattern and leave it up to you to decide the sizing. Here are some of my favorite booklets from this delivery:
The Scatter Rugs booklet is from 1940, the Hot Plate Mats is from 1950 and Centerpieces is from 1951. The Puritan Crochet Book is from 1950. It says crochet on the front but there are a couple of knitted patterns in it. Quick Tricks in Crochet is also from 1950. This has hanger covers, candy cups, hats and bags and belts. The Crochet Lacy Pickups is from 1943. This has several Dickeys, some fascinators, gloves, collars, and hats. It also has a few knitting patterns. Here are the rest of the 1950s booklets:
I thought the cardigan on the front of Modern Crochet was nice but it turns out it's a knitting pattern. And here are the last two - the 1960s booklets:  There are so many fun things in all of these books I don't really know where to start!  The winning pattern for August is the travel slippers. The Materials:
And because I read the pattern all the way to end for once I know it also requires:
I couldn’t find anything about that specific yarn but the pattern does give a gauge. A regular worsted weight yarn with a J hook gave me the required 3 single crochet to 1-inch gauge. I found some Lion Brand Jeans Colors in the color Corduroy on clearance at JoAnn. Since I have no idea how big a skein of the Phentex yarn I grabbed two skeins.  I have a stash of buttons but I think I might do something different for the bow. Maybe some flowers made with crochet thread. I’ll have to see what looks good with the finished slippers.
The Pattern: These look fairly simple but the directions are pretty short so I think there will be some extrapolation on my part. It starts out with a sole that’s two identical pieces sewn together. Then the upper part and it’s all slip stitched together. The Jeans yarn is super soft so these should be pretty comfy when they're done! It was the month Richard Nixon resigned and Gerald Ford was inaugurated as president. Inflation was rising, nuclear tests were happening in Nevada, the USSR and France. Eight of the top 10 TV shows were on CBS; Hawaii Five-O, M*A*S*H, Good Times, Maude, Rhoda, The Waltons, All in the Family, and The Jeffersons. NBC had the other two; Sanford and Son and Chico and the Man. Missing the games shows from 1974? Here’s an episode of Match Game from August 12, 1974 with Orson Bean, Betty White, Brett Sommers, Charles Nelson Reilly, Richard Dawson, and Dr. Joyce Brothers. Hosted by Gene Rayburn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLIcVCQrHP0 July Top 40 that year included;
The New York Times bestseller list for the week of August 6th was Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carré. Watership Down by Richard Adams was #2 on the fiction list. It’s not too surprising to see that All The President’s Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward is #1 on the non-fiction list.  The August 1978 Workbasket Magazine had five crochet patterns;
Your two choices for August are:
Travel Slippers. These call for Phentex Polypropylene 3-Ply Knitting Yarn in two colors, a size J hook and 2 round buttons. Tote Bag. This uses knitting worsted yarn in two colors and an F hook. Let me know which one you think I should make this month! I finished the leaf mats while traveling this month. It was an easy pattern to follow and memorize. It's done mostly in the back loop to get the ridged look of the leaves. Here is the description Workbasket Magazine had for the leaf mats; “This set consist of four leaves approximately 11 ½ inches, 9 ½ inches and 7 ½ inches from point to end. Three skeins of Bucilla Wonder-Knit and a steel crochet hook size 0 was used to make the set.” I did one in worsted weight and an E hook and a set in #10 thread with a 1.75mm hook. The worsted weight version started out as the large leaf but I realized I was going to run out of thread so I started decreasing faster. It’s 8 ¼ inches tall. Here’s the final version of that one with the medium thread one on top of it.  The thread versions turned out well. The large one is 5 ½ inches, the medium one is 4 ½ inches and the small ones are 3 ¾ inches. The medium one is a good coaster size but I’m not sure what I’ll use the rest of them for. Any ideas?  1950’s era Workbasket Magazines had the subtitle “Home and Needlecraft for Pleasure and Profit”. The July issue focuses on the profit part with ads, the "Women Who Make Cents" section and a special article titled “Putting Profit in Your Handwork” by Kathleen Warren. I counted eighteen ads for info on how to sell cards to make money. July must be the time to gear up for Christmas.
Here’s a list of the ads:
 And if selling cards wasn't your thing, you could sell children's clothes or fabric
Need something a little more interesting to sell? How about raising parakeets for money or selling religious mottos:
There were also ads for making and selling costume jewelry, pocket sized water heaters and hosiery. Home based businesses have been around for a long time! Would you sell any of these things from home? |
