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Some days it feels like 1982 was just yesterday. Or maybe it's because scrunchies are in again... The Watermelon Ensemble is done and it was super easy and fast. I used worsted weight Premier Deborah Norville Everyday Yarn for the pot holder, the magnet and the key chain. I used size 10 crochet thread for the bookmark to do something a little different. The pattern is all double crochet and single crochet done in rounds and folded in half and stitched together. The small pieces are just four rounds that are folded in half and sewn together.
Next week I'll have November voting ready. I have it narrowed down to one of these three years: 1948, 1967 or 1970.
And here's a scrunchie! 
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It's been a while since I've shared some of the advertisements from the Workbasket Magazine and October 1982 had a few interesting ones. I thought this was a fun quilt:  Vitamix has been around since 1921 and they were frequent advertisers in Workbasket Magazine. Here's the 1982 version of a Vita Mix.  Would this be something you could sell today?  And then there was this one.  Next week I'll have the watermelon ensemble finished!  It was close but the Watermelon Ensemble won. This is a set that has a pot holder, key chain, refrigerator magnet and a bookmark. The key chain, magnet and bookmark are all the same motif with different things attached to make them useful.
The pattern tells you that you need worsted weight yarn, a magnetic strip, key chain and a ribbon. It's done using a G hook which seems kind of big for these but I'll try it. I'll use whatever scrap yarn I have so these may end up in different reds. A few others have offered to make some of the other patterns in the October issue so stay tuned for that. For October, we're headed back to 1982. The Cold War is still going on. USSR is performing nuclear tests and President Ronald Reagan declared a war on drugs. Top 40 songs included:
Fiction best sellers were:
Non-fiction best sellers
We were watching Dallas, Magnum P.I., Simon & Simon, The Love Boat, The A-Team and Hart to Hart. Vanna White replaced Susan Stafford on Wheel of Fortune.  The October 1982 Workbasket Magazine had four crochet patterns. There’s the Checquers Afghan:  The Martian and Astronaut:  And the two you'll choose from this month - A Cuddly Cat or a Watermelon Ensemble
The cuddly cat is described as "adorable on a child's bed". The Watermelon Ensemble is a potholder, a key chain, a bookmark and a refrigerator magnet.
What do you think I should make; a cuddly cat or some watermelon accessories? I was going to do a post about some interesting advertisements in the "rejected" years for the last September post but I've lost them. I, somehow, lost a stack of 14 magazines. Granted they're small magazines but I can't find them and I've looked in all of the likely spots. While looking though some things got a little more organized including the yarn stash. About ten years ago I had two small canvas boxes that held my yarn. I have, um, a lot more than that now and I'm going to show you how I store my yarn. This storage is for the most used yarn and holds mostly cheaper acrylics and acrylic blends - it's sorted by size. Ten years ago there were two of these, 2 years ago there were five. Today I added the sixth. It's the red one in the upper right. That yarn used to be in a bag on the floor in front of the others.  This next area is my working area and holds a basket of yarn I use for inspiration and testing, a box of Scheepjes mini skeins, a box of Knit Picks comfy sport and a clear box of Scheepjes Catona and other cotton thread-like yarn. The drawer has safety eyes and other decorative pieces for amigurumi.  Then there's the hidden bag between the table above and my chair. This holds a current project and mostly Premier Everyday Yarn.  Now we move out of the living room to the rest of the stash. I have two drawers of yarn in the office. One is special yarn and the other is thread.  And one last stash area that developed when JoAnn's put the Bernat Maker Home Dec on clearance. This is in my closet.  So now you know about all of my hiding spots for yarn. I have plans for all of these - I just need a few decades to get them all done! Next week I'll have the October voting ready. Here's a photo of one of the knitted sweaters in the issue. Can you guess what year it is?  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. 
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!
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