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Here are the rest of my fair entries. These are the ones that are not vintage patterns. Monet's Village Scarf from Crochet Scarves by Sharon Silverman. (I renamed it Fuchsia Garden.) Second Premium in Scarf. There were five entries in this category. The judges thought it needed a little more blocking. I made this one for me because I liked the color of the yarn, and the filet pattern was fun. The pattern is a flower. It's a little hard to see, but you can see an upside-down one in the second photo below.
Kewpie Beret from Interweave Crochet, Spring 2015, by April Garwood. Fourth Premium in Headwear. There were at least five entries in this category. The one that usually wins is a kids' hat with animal ears and other additions. This was a very simple pattern that I made, hoping my sister would like it. The judges had only good things to say about it and said the competition was stiff in that category.  Wild Geranium Necklace by Natalia Kononova - First Premium in Not Otherwise Listed I've had this pattern in my favorites for a while and finally decided to try it. It was a little fiddly, but it turned out well. The judges liked the interesting stitches and the "chain". The chain is a Romanian Crochet Cord. My sister has claimed this one for part of her Ren Faire outfits. There were three entries in this category.  Triple Moon Skulls by Ann Wanamaker - Second Premium in Thread Doily under 14 inches. This was a fun pattern, but the thread I used (Knit Picks Curio) is softer than Aunt Lydia's crochet thread and seems more suitable for clothing than a doily. The judges said it was nicely blocked, but I think it would have blocked better in a different brand of thread. This is the one item that I wasn't happy with how the blocking turned out, and the one the judge said was nicely blocked.  Halloween Night by Olga Novytska (Aradia Toys) - Third Premium in Holiday, Other than Christmas There were six entries in this category, and most were for Halloween. The pieces in this come out of the base and can be moved around. They kept falling out when it was moved, though so that was a little annoying. The judges thought it was darling.  Poppy (aka Poirot), the Sawfish from Aquatic Amigurumi by Natasha Tishchenko - First Premium in Toy, must be all crochet. I've made several patterns from this book, and they all turn out super cute. The pattern for this one wanted me to make French Knots as part of the decoration. I tried a few, but they didn't look consistent. I switched to beads and liked how those looked much more than the knots. They give the sawfish a little sparkle. I skipped the monocle from the book and renamed it Poppy. The judges thought it was unique and had an interesting variety of stitches.  Red Kerchief by Andrea Cretu - Second Premium in Filet item There were only two entries in this category and the one that won First Premium was a blanket. The judges said this was cute and the stitches were very even. A co-worker picked this up from my give-away pile.  Serena Tee by Mariana Muller - First Premium in Sweater, Adult This is one of my favorite entries. I've already worn it and had lots of compliments. There were three entries in this category. The judges said, "Beautiful project. Very even stitches. Stitches picked up beautifully around the neck." I added some length to the bottom because their version was more cropped than I'd typically wear. If I made it again, I'd make the sleeves a little longer too.  That's all the county fair projects for this year. I'm already planning next year's projects!
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This year I entered 14 items into the county fair. Today I'm sharing the six that used vintage patterns from 1970 or earlier. The rest will be in next week's post. Those are from patterns published in 2012 or later. Black-Eyed Susan Doily - First Premium in Doilies over 14 inches I made this doily last fall for the blog. The pattern is from 1949. I removed the centers before putting this in the fair because they looked uneven. Getting the flowers to lie flat took some extra blocking and quite a few pins. The judges still commented that they could have benefited from another round of blocking. There were three entries in this category. This ended up on my cube wall at work with a few other doilies.  Slippers - First Premium in Footwear I made these for the blog in February from a 1952 pattern. This was the only entry in footwear. There has only been one entry in this category for the last three years. The judges liked my yarn choice (mostly Red Heart Super Saver). Someone from work happily took these home.  Baby Set - First Premium in Infant Ensemble, at least three pieces I made this 1952 pattern for the blog in April. This is the only entry in the category. There were two entries last year, but my entry is usually the only one. The judges commented on the nice buttonholes and the color changes. I gave this away to a co-worker who just had a baby, and it looks adorable on her.  Baby Sacque - First Premium in Sweater, Infant I made this 1951 pattern for a sacque in March for the blog. Just like last year, it was the only entry in the category. This one also went to the same co-worker as the baby set. The judges liked the yarn (which is sadly discontinued).  First Premium in Potholders or Dishcloths (2) I made a version of this 1953 potholder pattern in March. I didn't have enough of the thread to finish one at the time, but I really loved how the pattern looked. For this version, I used Mayflower Cotton 8/4 instead of thread and made a second layer. The judges liked the pattern but thought the corners could have been blocked more. There were three entries in this category.
Tunic - Second Premium in Garment, adult other than listed. This pattern is not on my blog. It's a pattern from a Jack Frost booklet from 1970 that is mostly vest patterns. There were five entries in this category, and the first premium went to a very pretty dress that was much more complicated than this vest was. The judges thought it was a fun pattern and that my ends were hidden well. Someone from work claimed this.
Next week I'll have the other patterns from 2012-2026. For this week, I attempted to make all five sachets below. These all use thread and looked easy to make. The directions say that 24 yards would be enough to make one sachet, and the only additional items you need are sachet filling or stuffing and a pipe cleaner for the umbrella.  I started with the umbrella because it seemed the most interesting. Post stitches (they call them raised stitches) are used to create the spines of the umbrella, and then you use thread to pleat each ridge and sew it down. A smaller circle is made to close the opening at the bottom after it's filled with stuffing, and a pipe cleaner is run through it to finish it off. The bell and the flower were also very straightforward and worked as written. I used some scraps for the flower and ended up with a multicolor look.  The other two patterns had some problems. The directions for the heart went wrong at the top. I think it should have had you decrease on both sides of of the row but it had you decrease every other row and only on the inside part of the heart. This gave you a heart shaped like the one in the photo on the right.
The leaf should have had you stop before the end of each row, but it wanted you to single crochet in every stitch in the row below it. I've made similar leaves before, so I knew right away that this wouldn't work, so I stopped after just a couple of rounds.  These are the leaf mats I made in July 2019. While they aren't exactly like the one above, the process is similar. The Flower Pin on the right has leaves that are more like the sachet version.
Three out of five isn't bad, but scoring will reflect that. Score: Is the pattern easy to understand? 0.6 Yes, for three out of five. The other two have errors. If there is a gauge, could I match it? There was no gauge given, so it gets 0.5 Does it look like the photos? 0.6 Yes, for the three that worked. Would someone use this? 0.6 Yes - we don't use sachets much anymore, but these are cute. Did I enjoy making it? 0.75 Yes - These were quick to make, and even when the directions went wrong, you didn't invest a lot of time into them. Total score: 3.05 Coats and Clark's Book No 132 was published in 1961 and has 20 crochet patterns and 2 knitting patterns. The patterns are made with either Knit-Cro-Sheen (size 10 thread) or Speed-Cro-Sheen (size 3 thread). The two knitting patterns are a dishcloth and a leper bandage. Many of the crochet patterns are shown in color on the front and back covers.
The Pretty Petal Hot Pad on the front cover in pink is a classic that I've seen in several booklets, and I've made one out of worsted-weight yarn from a more recent version of the pattern. That is the only pattern in the booklet that has projects on Ravelry, so I won't be making that one. I was intrigued by the Rosy Posy Slippers (also in pink) above the hot pad in the photo, but they were made with size 10 thread and seemed like one of the patterns that probably wasn't really a "Quick" Trick. The red doily in the photo on the right was also pretty, but I think I've done enough doilies for this year. Some of the projects that didn't get a color photo include the dishcloths, and a Pillbox hat.
There was also a Junior Dumbbell and a bag for shoes that used gold metallic Knit-Cro-Sheen and Amethyst worsted-weight yarn. That would have been fun to see in color.
I decided to try all of the sachets for next week. There are five in the photo below: a bell, flower, heart, leaf, and umbrella. These are all made with thread but should be "Quick Tricks". The Sea Shell Potholder is in at least two different booklets: Crocheting with Lily Cotton Rug Yarn and the May 1965 issue of Workbasket Magazine. The materials for this pattern are five colors of Lily Rug Yarn, a size G hook, and a plastic ring. Lily Rug Yarn is heavy worsted-weight yarn. I used Big Twist Cotton, Lion Brand 24/7 Cotton, a scrap of some acrylic yarn, and some Lion Brand Cotton Ease to try to match the colors.
This was a very easy pattern, but you do need to pay attention to where the increases and different-sized stitches are to get that "shell" look. I tried to match their colors as best I could, and the weights I chose vary a little because of that. The lime green color is probably the heaviest weight for this. Even if I'd used that brand of yarn for the whole thing, I'm not sure I would have managed to get a pot holder-sized project. My version is about 5 1/2 inches across, which makes a pretty small cloth to hold a pot. It makes an excellent coaster for a coffee cup or maybe a dishrag. I ended up with a little bit of a point on this. Does that make it look more like a seashell?  Scoring:
Is the pattern easy to understand? Yes. 1.0 If there is a gauge, could I match it? There was no gauge or even a note about how big the finished project would be. If there isn't one, I'll sometimes give partial credit, but in this case, some finished dimensions would have been nice. 0 Does it look like the photo? Mostly 1.0 Would someone use this? Yes, but hopefully not to hold hot cooking pots. 0.75 Did I enjoy making it? Yes. 1.0 Total Score 3.75 Crocheting with Lily Cotton Rug Yarn Design Book No. 202 was published around 1961. I couldn't find an exact date in the booklet, so I'm estimating based on the booklet number. There is no table of contents, but there are some pages with photos that tell you which page the pattern is on. These patterns are mostly made with Lily Rug Yarn or Lily Sugar 'N Cream; the one exception is a hot plate mat that is done in Tru-Tone Carpet Warp (second photo below). The front and back covers show most of the projects in color. Below are Pat the Poodle, Teen Sandals, the Humpty-Dumpty Jama-Pillow, which opens to store pajamas, a Polka Dot Breakfast Set, and the Blooming Beauties Bathroom Set. I thought about making both the poodle and the sandals, but I've already made a pair of shoes this year, and the poodle construction look a little odd.  The back cover has the oriental place mat in blue and white, four potholders (Dahlia, Sea Shell, Lacy, and the Yo-Yo Hot Plate Mat), the other half of the Blooming Beauties Rug, a drawstring bag, and a part of the Gracious Dining Place Mat and Seat Cover set.  The Loop Stitch Hat and Bag on the left below aren't shown in color, but the Child's Bandeau and Bag has the bag in color on the cover. The pillows look fun. The second one is done in three shades of blue for a gradient look.
I decided to do the Sea Shell Potholder for next week. This pattern also shows up in a 1965 Workbasket Magazine, so it must be good, right? This week's pattern is a child's cap. This pattern appears again in the February 1965 Workbasket Magazine so it must be a good pattern. The cap uses about 2 ounces of worsted-weight yarn and a G hook. The pattern has a gauge of 2 star stitches per inch and 2 pattern rows per inch.  I used some vintage Columbia Minerva 4-ply Nantuk in Amethyst and a G hook. The pattern starts with the side piece and has you make a 16-inch chain with a gauge of 4 chains to an inch. Row one says to do a half-double crochet in the third chain from the hook and in the next 55 chains, cutting off any remaining chains. If you make a chain according to their gauge, you will have 64 stitches. I'm not sure why the directions didn't just say chain 57 stitches if that was what you really needed. Based on the rest of the pattern, you either need to have that first row be 56 half-double crochets, or you will need to figure out different stitch counts for the rest of the pattern. Of course, I chose the hard version where you need to figure out the stitch counts. The next portion of the hat for the sides is really just a rectangle alternating rows of star stitch and half double crochets. The instructions include a very good step-by-step process to make the star stitch. After you finish off after the first rectangle, you join on the tenth star stitch in the row to start the back, then do a row that covers eight star stitches, leaving ten on the other side. Because I had a different stitch count, I needed to start at the eleventh stitch, cover nine stitches, and leave eleven on the other side. The next step is sewing the back to the sides. Here's what the hat looks like before you sew up the sides.  Once the sides are sewn, you can start the edging. It says to join yarn to the first stitch at the lower edge and single crochet closely across the lower edge, holding in to fit. I didn't quite understand what they meant by "closely" and "holding it in to fit", but I can see in the photo that it seems like it's curved in a little. I decided to do a few decreases to try to get that shape. I did two decreases where the sides joined the back and one in the middle of the back. I think I could have done more or used the next four rows of single crochet to make a smaller neck. Once that's done, you make a little edging around the face and add tassels and a tie. The instructions they had for the tassels said to wrap the yarn around your fingers. I followed the instructions and can't decide if the awkwardness of tying it off with it around your fingers is worth not having to find a small piece of cardboard. The tie is done by joining a double strand of yarn to the top of the tassel and making a 16-inch chain. It's wound into a circle and sewn on. I'm pretty sure that I wound the tie into a circle in a different way than they did, but I prefer mine. It adds a little extra detail to the hat. Here's the finished hat.
Sometimes there's an interesting ad that I end up looking at a lot while I do the pattern. This time it was for shoes called "Pussyfooters" with plenty of cat-related puns. Yrsa is not amused by cat puns. Cats are majestic overlords and not to be mocked with low-level puns.
Scoring:
Is the pattern easy to understand? 0.50 I'm marking it down for three things. The starting chain issue; why tell me to crochet to a length and then cut it off? The edging part where it says "hold to fit" was the second. The third is the tie that says, "wind end of ch twice around to form a circle". If there is a gauge could I match it? 0.50 I matched the stitch gauge but not the row gauge. Does it look like the photo? 1.0 Yes. Would someone wear this? 1.0 Yes. Did I enjoy making it? 1.0 Yes. Total score 4.0 Sometimes my favorite Workbasket Magazines are the ones that don't have any crochet patterns I want to make. Instead, they're an interesting window into the time frame they were published in. The May and June 1961 issues are a good example of this. May 1961 has the usual doily, edging, and lace, plus a rug and a leaf spray to crochet. There is just one knitting pattern for a sweater/bonnet set. I'm not saying I'd never make the crochet patterns, but they aren't unique and seem like variations on many other patterns that we've seen. Workbasket does often "borrow" patterns from other sources, so this isn't surprising. Let's look at the other things in this issue instead. The Needle Pointers column gives us these tips this month: you can use an eyedropper for liquid food coloring, felt can be used as a wall covering to add dimension to a room, and iron-on interfacing is available now (even if it's only in black and white).
The section called With The Cooks - reader recipes had some gems this month. The Raspberry Dessert Salad is a classic mix of fruit, marshmallows, and dairy in the form of cream cheese and cream, plus a little salad dressing. Rhubarb Gold uses gum drops instead of gelatin to make a jam. That seems like an inspired choice if you have a pile of gum drops to use up. The Spring Sandwiches and Herbed Tomatoes sound good, but I'm not sure about the Potato Candy. Is that the same flavor profile as chocolate-covered pretzels but in a mashed cookie form?  July 1961 has three crochet patterns, one knit and one tatting. That seems a little light on the patterns and it's an edging, an applique and a doily much like the May issue. The Needle Pointers tells about more new products like popcorn that comes in self contained packages that pops in the package. An early form of Jiffy Pop? We're told that running a moistened bar of soap over an area is a good way to pick up small beads. I'm skeptical. Wouldn't you need to get the beads out of the soap and the soap off what ever you spilled on?
This booklet had a very interesting advertisement for land in a valley called Estancia in New Mexico.  It's about 50 miles from Albuquerque and 60 miles south of Santa Fe. The closest town in that area now is Moriarty, which is about 15 miles away. The ad claims that Albuquerque is expected to grow to a population of 500,000 by 1970. It turns out it was about 300,000 in 1970, if you include the whole metro area, and didn't reach 500,000 until 1991. You could buy an acre of land there for $395. They make it sound like it would be a good investment, so I was curious to see if this was still a subdivision and if it had been sold and developed. Here's the scoop; the Estancia Ranchettes still exists, and you can buy an acre of land for about $3000. There are a few things you should know before you buy:
Here's a video of the area: Valley of Estancia Ranchettes More info on buying in the area: Land for Sale That's all for these two issues. Next week, I'll be making a pattern from the August 1961 issue.
I attempted two knitting stitch patterns and one Afghan (aka Tunisian) stitch pattern from the Columbia Minerva Manual for Knitting and Crochet. I completed one knitting stitch and one Afghan stitch. They call this the Smocked stitch, but it probably goes by other names now. It looks a lot like the Honeycomb stitch, but since I haven't attempted that yet, I can't be sure.
The directions for this stitch pattern made sense to me. We now have other names for doing some of the actions they describe, but this is a good description for a beginner. It does make a pretty stitch, even if mine are a little wonky. Not bad for a first try at it.  I knew the knitting stitches would be a little more of a challenge. The Turkish stitch seemed like it would be pretty simple. It's one row repeated: K1, *YO, K2 together, repeat from * across row.  For some reason, I really struggled with the YO, K2 together part and decided to move on to a different stitch. The Tamerna Stitch looks more complex, but it doesn't have any YO or K2 together.  This is a four row pattern that uses a multiple of 5 stitches: Row 1 - *K1, P1, K2, P1 repeat from * (easy enough as long as I can count) Row 2 - *K1, P2, K1, P1 repeat from * (still pretty easy) Row 3 - *K1, P1, K in the back of second st on the left hand needle, leave st on the needle, K the first st on the needle, take off both sts, P1, repeat from * across Row 4 - Same as row 2 It took me five tries to get past row 3 because I kept dropping a stitch when trying to get the "K the first st on needle" after doing the one after it that I did from the back but eventually, I did it. This isn't perfect but it's pretty good for me.  Scoring:
Is the pattern easy to understand? 1.0 I think they did a pretty good job explaining the stitches. The one I didn't finish was my skill and not the pattern directions. If there is a gauge, could I match it? There was no gauge for these. Does it look like the photo? 1.0 Yes Would someone wear or use this? This isn't a finished item, but I think the stitches could be used for multiple things, so 1.0 Did I enjoy making it? 0.6 I enjoyed one of the three. Honestly, I still struggle with knitting. Even when I was getting the Tamerna Stitch down, I just wanted to be done with it. I enjoyed the Afghan/Tunisian stitch. Total score 3.6 The Columbia Minerva Manual for Knitting and Crochet was published in 1958. It has 81 pages, just over 50 patterns, and another 16 stitch patterns. It starts out with an introduction explaining that this is intended "to act as a style guide for the experts and to teach the ABC's of knitting and crocheting to the novice." It starts out with fundamental knitting and crochet stitches, including two ways to cast on in knitting, basic increases and decreases for knitting and crochet, and the basic crochet stitches.  There is a whole page on how and where to take measurements for clothing sizes, along with the sizes that correspond to the measurements for the booklet. They go over interchanging yarn, how to make a swatch, and what different abbreviations mean for crocheting and knitting. It mentions making knots at the end of rows instead of weaving in. Finishing advice covers how to block, join, handle edges, wash, and dry. I'm not going to put pictures of everything in this post, but here are a few of my favorites. Crochet patterns: These two sets are adorable. In most of the pictures that had a photo in the background, the baby is wearing the item made from the pattern. This was one of the few that just had a random photo.
There are two crochet blankets. One is afghan stitch/tunisian, the other is a variation on square motifs.
There is so much to choose from for the knitting patterns. I liked the first one because it was called a Jaunty Sweater and the model is doing her best to look jaunty. There are several patterns with argyle color work, including this child's vest.
There were a lot of sets like the "Father Son" one below and this cute dress with a doll outfit.
Since most of the crochet projects are pretty big, I thought I'd give some of the stitch patterns a try. Next week, I'll have a knitting stitch pattern and an afghan stitch to share. The May 1955 Workbasket Magazine has four crochet patterns, one knit, and one tatting pattern. I decided to try the Round Star Doily pattern in this issue. but first, let's take a quick look at the other things in this issue. The Needle Pointers column gives us a few tips, including:
If you know me, you know I like to bring gelatin salads with fruit or fun layers to work for events. This issue has an entire section called "Mold It!" with three recipes. They list some of the benefits of serving molded meals as: you can take advantage of cooler morning hours to cook and pop it in the fridge for later, gelatin is nutritious, and it's eye-appealing. Two of the recipes they share are sweet and one is...not. Orange Delight is a basic creamy gelatin dessert with lemon juice, orange rind, sugar, and cream. It's whipped and sound pretty normal. The Pineapple Layer Ring starts with strawberry gelatin and adds pineapple juice, strawberries, pineapple, sieved cottage cheese, whipping cream and walnuts. The bottom layer has the cottage cheese, cream and walnuts and the top layer is the strawberry and pineapple layer. That doesn't sound terrible.  Pineapple Layer Ring It's not 1955 without a savory gelatin salad, and they offer up a Silver Salad. Described as "A meal in itself" and "glistening pink", this salad uses the economical sardine along with tomato soup, grated onion, cream cheese, and mayonnaise. I'm not sure if the photo below does it justice since we can't see the glistening pink gelatin or if we should be thankful it's in black and white.  Silver Salad I could have done any of the crochet projects in this issue. They were all thread and even though some used a smaller thread than I would choose, using a bigger thread would only have made a bigger placemat or table scarf. I was still looking for a smaller doily (under 14 inches) for the fair, so I thought I'd try this one. The directions say that using size 10 or 20 thread should give you a doily 9 1/2 inches across. The pattern doesn't give you a hook size since that's dependent on the thread size.  The directions are fairly straightforward. There is a section of four rows that are not listed individually, but they're rounds that have a specific pattern, so it wasn't hard to figure it out. I usually write those out anyway, so I know where I am when I'm working on the project. The project went quickly since it's only 16 rounds, and then I had to block it. I don't know how they got those nice, rounded loops in the photo, so I just blocked it my way and tried not to stretch it too much. My version ended up being 12 1/2 inches after being blocked. If I'd done rounded loops, it might have been 12 inches. Just like the last doily I did, my blocking isn't very even, but in this case, I didn't try that hard once I realized I'd made two mistakes in the last round. Both are on the right side in the photo below. I'm definitely not taking this one to the fair, but a friend liked it and took it home.  Scoring:
Is the pattern easy to understand? 1.0 Yes. If there is a gauge, could I match it? 0.5 There wasn't really a gauge given except in the final size. I was skeptical that both sizes of thread would give the same size doily so getting one that was bigger wasn't that big of a surprise. Still, it would have been nice to know which one was the 9 1/2 inches size. Does it look like the photo? 1.0 Yes or it would have if I'd blocked it differently and only photographed the lower left side. Would someone use this? 1.0 Yes. Did I enjoy making it? 0.75 Mostly. I'm not sure if it was the thread (Scheepjes Maxi Sweet Treat), the design, or the user but I kept dropping the thread off the hook and it was getting tangled up a little bit. Total 4.25 This week, I thought I'd share a few of the projects I've made that are Pride-themed. Only one is vintage, but I love them all. In 2022 (the year of vintage hats), I took a break from hats and made a pair of earrings from the 1990s. The pattern used pastel colors because it was the 90s. I decided to make them rainbow colors. Like most of my finished projects, they were given away. This time to someone I work with. You can see that post here.  I made this cute top for my niece in 2023, and she wore it to Pride that year. It's called the Marigold Top. Again, the model was in more pastel colors, so I changed the colors. I ended up buying a bunch of different skeins of yarn that seemed like they fit the right color scheme for this, and had my niece choose the ones she wanted.  That left me with some unused yarn. One skein was from Big Twist in the colorway Spirit. Big Twist had several colorways that had pride colors. Usually not in quite the right order, but close enough. I made this cowl with that leftover skein. The pattern is by one of my favorite designers; CJ Brady. This pattern is Ombre Blossom Cowl.  In 2024, I made this tablecloth to use up some of my thread. I did end up buying more purple to finish it. It got a first-place ribbon at the 2025 county fair. It was also the only entry for that category.  Last on today's list, I made this snail back in 2021. The pattern is no longer available, but when it was, it came in 10 different pride flag color schemes.  It's been two years since I've made something Pride-themed, so I should make something for next year. Does anyone have any suggestions?
This April 1955 Workbasket issue has three crochet patterns and one knitting pattern. The crochet patterns are the placemat on the front cover, a Water Lily Motif, and a rug. I'm a very novice knitter, so I thought I'd try the Presto Knit Pan Holder. After all, it has "Presto" in the name, so it must be pretty fast and easy, right?  The illustration looks like it has a few different textures, but I didn't let that stop me.  The pattern calls for a pair of number 5, eleven-inch, standard steel knitting needles and a skein of rug yarn. I only have circular needles, but that isn't really an issue. I started out with some cotton worsted-weight yarn and number 5 needles (3.5mm) and, within the first couple of rows, decided I needed to go up a size in needles, so I ripped it out and started over. Then, the yarn was giving me problems, so I ripped it out again and started over. This time, I decided to use Bernat Handicrafter yarn, a tubular yarn that should make the stitches easier. That yarn is a size 5 bulky weight yarn, so I bumped up the needles to a size 8 (5mm). The suggested needle size for this yarn is a size 11 (8mm) needle, so it's still a pretty tight knit. That helped, and I made it through row seven, but I had too many stitches. I just couldn't figure out how this pattern worked. I gave up. Here's the pattern up to Row 7. Cast on 20 stitches Row 1 - P 1, sl 1, repeat across row. (In this pattern, you should sl the sts as if to p.) Row 2 - P each stitch Row 3 - Sl 1, p 1, repeat across row Row 4 - P each stitch Row 5 - (P 1, sl 1) twice, k 12, (p 1, sl 1) twice Row 6 - P 4, (O, sl 1, p 1) six times, p 4. To make the O: since yarn is at the front of needles to P, pass it between needles to back and bring it over the top of right needle to the front as you make the next p stitch. (This was hard to figure out, but I found a video, but now you've yarned over 6 times and increased the number of stitches. I assumed you'd reduce them in the next row, but you don't.) Row 7 - (S 1, p 1) twice, sl 1, O, p2 tog) six times, (sl 1, p 1 twice). The 2 sts together will be a st and an O. Row 8 - P 5, (Sl the O, p 2) five times, sl 1, p 5 I gave up after Row 7. So what do you think? Is Row 6 missing something, or is it me? Scoring: Is the pattern easy to understand? 0 Not for me since I gave up at row 7 If there was a gauge, could I match it? No gauge Does it look like the drawing? .... I'm going to stop here and just give this a zero because I didn't finish it.  partially ripped out pan holder I have five Workbasket Magazines from 1955: January, February, March, April, and May. I'm going to attempt something out of the April and May issues. The January issue didn't have anything we haven't already seen in other versions, but I did find some interesting things in the February issue. The table of contents page now has the tips they used to intersperse throughout the magazine. This one says you can reuse your old shoulder pads as pin cushions, use salt and lemon to help remove rust and mildew from linens, and use an empty ballpoint pen to transfer patterns with carbon paper. There's also an interesting tip on dyeing cotton garments: add some dye to the starch to give it a more permanent finish.
The recipe section is on how to "Make Winter Meals Interesting". The photo is for Pot Roast Valentine and features a molded rice heart. The heart contains rice, cream of mushroom soup, and olives.  Other things that sounded relatively tasty were: Western Carrot Burgers that were fried mashed carrots with cornflakes, eggs, green onion, and celery, and Hamburg Mushroom Gumbo with caraway seed biscuits. I was less interested in this recipe for Spaghetti with Liver Sauce even if they describe it as "a bit different, and very good."  The section on flowers had several new flower varieties including; McKana's Giant Columbine, Scarlet Pyramid Aster and Ruffled Red Single Fresh Marigold. They only have black and white photos of the flowers but I found one photo of the Columbine online.  McKana's Giant Columbine Photo from American Meadows And just a reminder for anyone who thought the 50s were a wonderful time for women, this is a picture of someone that was considered "Stout" and should have "slenderizing fashions".  I'm starting to see sandals with soles that are kind of broken up like this (like these Sorels), but they aren't wood with actual hinges like these Flexiclogs. I wonder how hard it was to clean the hinges when leaves, dirt, etc. got into them. The hinges are also directly under your foot, so I can picture nylon stockings getting caught in them, too. If you're really curious about these, the blog Casci Ritchie has a post about them, including the history of why they were wood (war restrictions on certain materials for civilian use), the patent illustrations, how they were sold, and an excellent photo of a pair. There are even a couple of comments by people who own a pair.  While I'm not making anything from the March 1955 issue this time, I made something from it back in 2019. It was a very small visor hat for children.  Next week, I'm attempting a knitted potholder from the April 1955 issue.
The Famous Puritan Crochet booklet was published in 1955 or 1956 and featured patterns made with their Star Spangled Mercerized Cotton. This thread seems to be similar in size to No. 10 thread.
There are two tops in the booklet; a green knitted blouse, and a pink crocheted blouse. I couldn't pass this photo up because of the expressions on their faces.  I'm pretty sure I have these doll dress patterns in a slightly different format. They must have been popular.  There are several doilies in the booklet. The one below is one of two ruffled versions. There are also several chair sets like the green and white one.
The hat and bag sets were very pretty, but I'm never sure how they kept those hats on their heads. A lot of pins? I love the hairpin lace shawl below. It looks very glamorous in the spangled thread.
Collar and belt sets were pretty common in booklets. I was a little disappointed that the one below wasn't in color.   There is one shoe pattern. I wonder if the thread with its metallic pieces woven through would be comfortable.
This is only a small portion of the 25 patterns in the booklet. There were also gloves, a knitted doily, several shade pulls, luncheon mats, a bedspread, a tablecloth, and a stole. I decided not to do any of the patterns in this booklet. I considered whipping up one of the shade pulls because they looked fast to make, but decided they weren't that interesting. Next week I'll have Workbasket Magazines from 1955. For this week, I made the Rose Necklace. The model uses size 30 thread and a size 12 (1mm) crochet hook. I had size 30 thread, so I decided to give this pattern a chance. The pattern says that you could use anything in place of the rose, and you could even make earrings by making two roses and adding an earring back. They suggest stiffening the necklace with clear nail polish or liquid plastic starch.
The rose was easy to crochet. I've done other similar flowers, so the size of the thread didn't give me any trouble. It's about 1 3/4 inches in diameter in the size 30 thread. The chain, which would normally be the easiest part, was harder. Finding the tiny little stitch to make two double crochets into was difficult, and when it was done, it didn't twist quite right like it does in the illustration. I think there were areas where I stitched in a slightly different part of the chain that caused the problem. Blocking solved some of that problem. I soaked the two pieces, and after pinning the rose down, I put a pin in one end of the twisted chain and slowly kept twisting it until it looked like the photo.  That seemed to work pretty well. The flower piece has it's own loop that you thread the chain through. The directions wanted snap fasteners sewn to the ends of the chain. I haven't done that yet and may not, depending on what I decide to do with the necklace. I also didn't stiffen the flower or the chain as they suggested. I don't know why you would stiffen the chain. The flower is soft but not floppy so I don't think it needs it at this point. If you were going to wear it often and didn't want to keep blocking it, it probably could benefit from something to keep it in shape longer.
Scoring: Is the pattern easy to understand? Yes. 1.0 If there was a gauge, could I match it? There was no gauge and no indication of how big it would be aside from the illustration. 0.5 Does it look like the illustration? Yes. 1.0 Would someone wear this? I think so. I don't love the chain part but the flower as a pendant is pretty. 0.5 Did I enjoy making it? Yes, even though the thread was tiny. 1.0 Total Score: 3.5 I have five Workbasket Magazines from 1954. Way back in July 2019, I made some leaf mats out of the July 1954 issue. I still have these and use them under random objects. The large one sits under a plant.
August 1954 had five crochet patterns, two knitting patterns, one tatting pattern, and some interesting advertisements. The two below are for insects.
Sanitrol is New! Sanitary! and has "no objectionable handling". The insect cones burn like incense and release a vapor that destroys all insects; moths, flies, ants, mosquitoes, gnats, and roaches. I'm sure it's totally safe though. My September issue is missing pages, but there was this interesting way to make some extra cash. A reader writes in about how she makes wreaths for cemeteries with weeds by gathering seed pods, foliage, and cones from weeds and wild flowers, dries them, and then fastens them to wreath frames. Here's where I thought, "I bet the cemetery caretaker loves the extra seeds from the weeds," but don't worry, she sprays them with enamel and sells them to flower shops. Her favorite weeds to use are peppergrass and teasel. For next week, I'll be making a rose necklace out of the October 1954 issue. The October issue has six crochet patterns, one knitting pattern, and one tatting pattern. There was also a full-page ad for Spencer Gifts in this issue that had a burro for sale.  "You'll be the talk of the town! Everyone will want to pet your Burro." I wondered how this would arrive, and the ad spelled that out. "Burro will arrive about 5 weeks from the time we receive your order. Comes uncrated, with food and water for the journey, by Railway Express, collect." And don't worry, the Mexican and US duties are paid, but you definitely can't exchange them.
There was, sadly, no pattern for crocheting a burro to go with it. This booklet starts out with this little blurb, "Today 'Do It Yourself' is the watchword with American homemakers. Furniture is assembled, sanded and stained; walls are coated with pre-pasted paper, or painted with a roller; floors and walls are covered with specially prepared tile. Every room in the house benefits by the spare-time effort of the owners. Keeping pace with this trend, crochet has expanded from the purely decorative class into the more basic aspects of home furnishing. Thousands of American women, who formerly enjoyed this delightful art only as a hobby, now find that their leisure hours with hook and thread can result in attractive, inexpensive decorator fabrics." Many of the designs in the booklet are displayed in rooms like the one on the cover. The cover has one of the lampshades, some placemats, and chair cushions. Those chair backs look very uncomfortable. They should have made a cushion for those.  It's filled with stitch patterns to make crochet fabrics like these, along with ideas on what to use the patterns for.  They even tell you where some of the items in the room came from. In the photo below, the Aristo-Bilt storage unit is by Salmanson & Co, New York. The cushion foam is Koylon Foam by United States Rubber Company. The lamp and accessories are by Richards Morgenthau & Co, New York. The lamp shade and cushion cover are patterns in the booklet along with the chair cover, the rug, the bedspread, the placemat on the table and the one she's crocheting.  This room doesn't have the furniture makers listed but it does have a very vintage feel with the blue crocheted bedspread, more lampshades, another cushion cover and a rug. I'm not sure about the very shiny curtains and pink walls but the rest is cute.  We've had a dining room and two bedrooms; now we're moving on to the bathroom. The wallpaper is by Pageant, New York, but making the towel edging, lampshade, rug, wastebasket cover, toilet seat cover, and cushion cover are all up to the crocheter.  Don't forget the living room featuring wood paneling! The booklet has the patterns for the lampshade, pillows, blanket, doily, and rug shown here.  They've included many motifs, stitch patterns, edgings, and even fringes that you can use to decorate your midcentury home. I chose not to make anything in this booklet, though I did consider the Sparking Jewel Doily in the photo above. Here's a close-up of the pattern. It uses metallic Knit-Cro-Sheen. I may eventually use one of the edgings for a chair slip-cover that doesn't quite make it to the bottom of a chair. If I do, I'll share it.  Next week I'll be back to some mid 1950s Workbasket Magazines.
This week's pattern is from the Lily Design Book #75 Modern Crochet with Lily Double Quick. I made the "Spiral" Place Mat in the lower right corner of the photo.  This pattern uses Lily Double Quick Mercerized Crochet Cotton and a No 3 steel crochet hook. I'm assuming that it's similar to Aunt Lydia's Crochet Thread Fashion 3. I used the Aunt Lydia version in cream and green. A No 3 (2.10mm) steel crochet hook seemed to work pretty well with that size. There was no gauge, just a final size of 18 inches for the finished and blocked project. I've only made a few projects that use this technique, and I forgot how much fun it was. You start out with one color and work until you get around the circle, take your hook out, put a stitch marker in, and then go back to the start of the round and attach the next color and work that until you get towards the end of the first color. You drop that color, put the marker in, and go back to the first color and work that over the one you just did. This means you never have to change colors in the spiral. The pattern wasn't without its issues. There were "Rnds" that weren't entire rounds, and I wasn't sure if that was a typo or if they really wanted you to stop after a certain number of repeats. There was one point where I ran out of room for the last repeat, so I must have missed something along the way. Their blocking directions were, "Stretch and pin Mat right-side-down. Steam and press thru a cloth." I soaked it, pinned it, and let it dry. To take it to the fair, I'll have to re-block it. Some parts seem slightly uneven, and I think I can block it a little more evenly.  Mine came out to 18.5 inches, slightly bigger than their final size.
Scoring: Is the pattern easy to understand? Mostly. The last round runs a lot of text together, and it's a little hard to read. The "Rnds" aren't really rounds, and they could just call them sections. 0.75 If there is a gauge, could I match it? It blocked out a little bit bigger than their final gauge, but it was pretty close. 1.0 Does it look like the photo? Yes. 1.0 Would someone use this? Yes, but I think it's pretty open for a placemat. 1.0 Did I enjoy making this? Yes. It worked up pretty quickly. I think it would be prettier in a smaller thread. 1.0 Total Score 4.75 out of 5 Modern Crochet with Lily Double Quick is a booklet meant to promote what I think is size 3 thread, but the thread doesn't come in the typical ball you would expect. It also claims that you don't need starch. That probably depends on the pattern.  The patterns include clothing, accessories, household items, and appliques. Even though it's called "Modern Crochet", the booklet has two knitting patterns plus one that uses the hairpin lace crochet technique. The cover below has a knitted cardigan, a glitter collar, a belt and bag set, some TV slippers (also made with the glitter thread), and daffodil appliques for a skirt. The bag and the slippers were on my list of possible items to make from this booklet.  The shrug below is the second knitted project but the embellished hat, collar and bag set is crochet.  This page has a simple yellow doily, a hairpin lace place mat, a tiny motif style placemat and the pattern that I'll complete for next week; the spiral doily that I'm hoping will be a county fair entry too.  This lovely set of items includes another hairpin lace project; this time curtains and some place mats and chair pad covers.  You can't have a 1950s booklet without a pillow pattern and this one has three along with a rug that's made with two strands held together.  The back cover has another rug made with three strands held together, a fruit bowl that uses "clear plastic paint in a pressure can" instead of starch, some classic lantern potholders, a clock house potholder, and a simple square potholder with round motifs added to the top.  Next week I'll share how the spiral doily worked up.
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