I'm Taking The Day Off

I think that I overdid the tidying and house cleaning yesterday. Perhaps the final straw was bringing the big Knitmaster 360 knitting machine downstairs which along with it's ribber and many attachments weighed far heavier than I remembered the last time it was moved. I haven't used this machine properly for about 20 yrs and have forgotten so many things. It also needs a clean and oil to get it moving properly again before I start knitting anything on it. Fortunately I have all of the manuals belonging to the machine so I will have a mammoth reading session before I embark on any knitting.

I prefer to knit by hand but as I am not a lover of hand knitting very fine wools I think that the machine will come in handy for lacy tops and cardigans for summer wear. I also would like to see if I can design a combo lacy knit centre with a crochet edge shawl in fine wool. I also used to make small lacy baby cardigans in very fine wool which are great for newborns.

I was so tired last night that after my shower and dinner I just collapsed into the chair and didn't pick up any knitting or crochet. Even though I was in bed for just after midnight (which is early for me) I zonked out until the postman woke me up at 11-15am.

He brought my Crochet Sweater Book by Sylvia Cosh which I have been looking out for quite a while. I balked at paying the £30 that some sellers were asking and was lucky enough to spot this book at the World of Books for £2.90. I paid more for the postage than I did the book.

I don't know why I didn't buy this book the first time around but maybe it was because when I look at the printing date it is 1987 and yet the styles are more reminiscent of the 60's and 70's. Perhaps I deemed them to be a bit dated when the book first came out. I love so many of the designs in there but there are quite a few dolman sleeved sweaters in there which haven't as yet made a come back. I have fallen in love with the cardigans in shades of purple and fawns. I am already going though my stash to see what colours I already have and what I would need to buy to compliment the stash colours. The cover sweater is actually worked in stripes or variegated coloured strips and stitched together and another one is worked in squares like patchwork and stitched together. My mind is whirling about using oddments. I think that the trick will be colour co-ordinating and that is what Sylvia Cosh and her crochet partner James Walters did so well. They started off using natural dyed wools using things like onion skins to give subtle colours for their crochet.

I love the child's striped sweater but not sure about the large sleeves which still have a dolman look to them. Maybe I could make the sleeves in the conventional manner instead of adding them on as in the pattern.

There are also quite a few poncho type shawls and sweaters with texture and colour which although beautiful some of them are too bulky to be flattering. Sylvia has a great love of large bobbles within the crochet which aren't exactly flattering to a larger sized figure such as mine.

I think that I am going to put my feet up for the rest of the day and try to pick up some knitting. I am still in the house cleaning mood but my back and knee say 'Not today thank you' Hopefully I can continue tomorrow.