This is my 2nd knitting project for the summer, St. James by Tonya Wagner at MetaPostModern Knitting. It’s a really lovely fit that reminds me of vintage sweaters from the 60s. Plus I just had to knit it because I love anything with a bow.

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The Lace Stitch Cardigan is finally finished. Hooray!

I finished the cardigan last weekend but haven’t had time to properly block it (shape it into place) until yesterday. I love my new blocking mats from KnitPicks. I had considered purchasing blocking boards, but they are much more expensive and take up a lot of space. The KnitPicks mats come in 12″ x 12″ squares and store nicely in my craft room.

Now I just have to wait until Christmas to give it to my Mom-in-law. I hope she’ll like it!

Everyone who knows me knows that I adore vintage styles. If I could, I would love to travel back in time to the early 1960s when fashion was classy – with simple lines, sleek silhouettes, and fit that flatters every figure. Whenever I go thrifting, I often go through old books and magazines in hopes of finding old knitting and sewing patterns. One of my most recent favorite finds is this 1963 knitting pattern booklet by Spinnerin:

Isn’t that fantastic? That might as well be Betty and Sally Draper from Mad Men (if you’re not watching, you’re totally missing out on one of the best TV shows ever – Season 3 premieres Sunday, August 16th)!

And yes, I got it for one whole dollar.

This booklet has many great patterns that are perfect for an advanced beginner, and all garments are raglan style, so there is no seaming involved (yay!). I decided to try one of the cardigans patterns to make as a gift for my Mom-in-Law.

So. Adorable.

I started a little over a month ago and now I’m down to the last sleeve, then it’s button bands, block, sew on buttons, and voila! Here is a quick progress photo taken on my iMac:

I am liking it so much I almost want to keep it for myself =)

I love vintage-style knitting and often come across vintage patterns when I go thrifting and flea-marketing. Imagine my excitement when I read about a new book that’s all about vintage baby knits!

Vintage Baby Knits is a charming treasury of more than 40 contemporary updates of timeless baby patterns. Author and longtime knitter Kristen Rengren amassed hundreds of knitting pattern booklets from 1920 through 1960 while working as a vintage clothing dealer, combing through estate sales and eBay listings. What a wonderful idea it was to update these classic patterns for the modern knitter!

One look at the beautiful photos and I was in love. As someone who loves knitting for babies, I can’t wait to get my hands on the book and start some new baby knit projects for my friends and their little ones!

A generous friend (Hi Barbara!) shared some of her thrifted goodies with me – vintage knitting pattern books. I have been pouring over them and marveling at the wonderful photos such as the one above. The whales on the wall are the best!

I haven’t had a chance to study the actual patterns just yet, but I have a feeling I’m still too much of a novice to give them a try. I’ll just enjoy the photos for now.

(click on the thumbnails to see bigger pics)