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Wondering what to make for last minute vintage gifts? Gifts Galore has the perfect project! The back cover has some fun ideas:  I still use hangers like the red version with the crochet around them. I love them for slippery things and tank tops. And those pot holders are all pretty amazing. The owl is done over bone rings. The oven mitt is named "Dopey Duck"!
Would you make any of these as gifts? Next week I'll share some of the covers of December Workbasket Magazines that have projects that are either too time consuming to make or are knit but are still pretty cool. I haven't made any progress on the November bed jacket yet. I've been too busy with other projects but we'll get back on track in January. Happy crocheting!
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I still haven't finished the November project so there won't be any voting for a December project. Instead I'm going to share some photos of the 1968 Gifts Galore book by Coats & Clark. The cover says "Accessories to Crochet or Knit" but it's mostly crochet. The front and back cover are in color and the inside is all black and white. Here's the cover in all of it glory.  There a a few potholders, a sewing kit (that's the guy with the spool legs, three pin cushions, a handbag, a knitted belt and slippers in chartreuse. I'm kind of intrigued by the mouse pincushion - it has a little pocket for a tape measure! Next weekend I'll be spending time with family so there won't be a post then. The following weekend I"ll share the back of the cover with you - there are even more pot holders and one of my favorite and very practical crocheted items. Hopefully I'll have the crocheted bed jacket done in late December. Here's how far I am now:  Ah, the 1960s. A time before car seats and bike helmets. Riding in the back of a station wagon or sleeping on the floor of a car was considered safe. Smoking was encouraged and lead and arsenic were still being used in toys. Here are the crafts in the November 1967 Workbasket Magazine that would probably not show up in a modern magazine. The Kitchen Angel This one isn't so much questionable as I would say in my most Minnesota voice, "interesting". Maybe it would come out better than it sounds or the picture looks. This is described a special decoration for your kitchen and it uses kitchen items to create it.
 Mincemeat Cookery This issue had three recipe sections; soup, casseroles and mincemeat cookery. The lead in to the mincemeat section touts it as a “very wholesome and easily digested food” and gives some “new and novel” recipes. I don't have a problem with mincemeat in general but they have a recipe that combines it with that other classic staple of the era - gelatin. Behold, Coffee Mincemeat Relish, "a good accompaniment for the Thanksgiving turkey".  Joy Logs Joy logs are a diy version of artificial firelogs that give off colorful sparks when burned. How do you get to give off colorful sparks? You burn add chemicals. To make Joy Logs, you roll up old magazines, phone books or newspapers and tape them together. Then soak them in a solution of salt and coloring chemical for 10 – 14 days. Let dry for about 6 weeks. The article lists the chemicals you can use to get specific colors:
This can be done safely and many of the chemicals can be found at fireworks supply stores but you should avoid the lead and arsenic versions. My dad told me that his parents used to throw a small piece of garden hose into the fire. It must have had copper or other chemicals but burning the plastic and rubber would have given off some toxic fumes.  Apple Head Dolls This seems like it would make a doll more suitable for Halloween. Basically you’re carving an apple, pickling them for 36 hours and drying them for 2-3 weeks. After they’re dry you can soften them up with steam so you can reshape the face and put in sequins for eyes, white beads for teeth and decorate them with other colors. Coat with floor wax. Add a wig of hair or yarn and attach to a muslin sawdust body. And you get something like this:  Next week:
If I don't have the bed jacket done by next week you may be voting early for the December pattern. I did decided to do the opaline and grey stripes and it looks really pretty so far.  The Crochet Bed Jacket won with 72% of the vote. This one might take a little longer than the two weeks I usually give myself but should be done by the last weekend of the month. The Pattern: There is no sizing on this pattern so they must assume one-size fits all on this. It’s worked in a ripple stitch from side to side then cuffs are added, the side seams are sewed together and a loop stitch trim is worked around the neck and waist. I’m not sure about the loopy trim so I may skip that or substitute something else. The Materials – the pattern suggest that you use:
Dawn Kitting Worsted was a 100% wool yarn that yarn has been discontinued since 1972 (go here if you want more history on this yarn). Right now I’m torn between using Lion Brand ZZ Twist (acrylic) in Periwinkle and Navy or using this combination of Berocco Vintage DK in an acrylic wool blend and MadelineTosh DK in Opaline. The DK weight might not match the gauge so it could come out a bit smaller than the pattern but I think the stripe of gray and opaline would be really pretty. Since this is one size it might be risky to go with the lighter weight yarn.
Next week: There are some questionable craft suggestions in the 1967 issue and there’s a little section on mincemeat cookery. I’ll tell you about those – I won’t be trying them out though. Instead, I'll leave you with this ad for cat paintings.  I was a few weeks old. Check out the crocheted pineapples on the couch!  Lyndon Johnson was President, the Vietnam War is going on and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was established. Top 40 songs included:
The New York Times listed the bestselling fiction book for all of November was The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron and Publishers Weekly had The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton as one of the top fiction books. People were watching Bonanza, Gunsmoke, The Lucy Show and The Red Skelton Show on TV. Star Trek was in the middle of its second season. Cool Hand Luke was released in the theaters. The November 1967 issue of Workbasket Magazine had six knitting patterns, some questionable crafts like joy logs and apple head dolls (more on these later this month) and only two crochet patterns.  This month you’ll choose between the Medallion Necklace in crochet thread or the Bed Jacket done in a ripple pattern with worsted weight yarn.
Voting will close on November 1st!
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!  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?  |
