Vintage Christmas Postcards from Pennsylvania!

A dear relative gave me access to a bunch of really old Postcards-- I mean from the 1900's and into the 1920's!  They are old and brittle but beautiful!  I had to scan them in and post them!  Most of these were sent to Carrie Bloss Lynde.  I can imagine really fun crafts with cards like this!  These are Christmas themed ones:

Madonna and Child with bird is postmarked 1909.

The year didn't mark on this one, but it's probably around 1910.  Looks like a ship ashore on a snowy coastline in the wreath.  It's embossed.

A joyful Christmas snow scene is embossed, and is postmarked 1910, sent from Missouri.  

Bright Be Thy Christmas is embossed, and has no date.  Printed in Germany by the International Art Publishers, New York, Berlin.

A Merry Xmas is also embossed, and undated.  Printed in Germany.

A Merry Christmas with children and their toys, and lambs in snow.  Embossed.  No date.

This snow scene has irridescent sparkles in the snowy ground and roof tops, all embossed.  Postmarked 1906.

A distant snow-covered church at dusk is the background scene of this card, dated 1908.  

A Happy Christmas with embossing has no date,  Printed in Germany.

The only Santa Claus Post Card is dated 1910.  

Tbis golden bell card is dated January 1910.  

'Best Christmas Wishes' was printed in Germany.  It's a heavily embossed card showing an inset winter scene at dusk.  

'Hearty Christmas Wishes' from mother Christmas?  A lovely woman adorned with holly and ivy and golden bells entreats us.  

Pioneer Replica Women's Clothing

Our girls are participating in a Trek-- a reenactment of Pioneers crossing the plains.  They need pioneer era clothing.  Luckily, I was able to found up and fine tune patterns that work fine for something like this.  They are easy enough to make but look nice.  The bonnet has pattern pieces which are not on this blog.  

Old Dirty Cabinets into New Awesome Closets!

I am so happy about my latest build.  Several weeks ago I was out with a friend in a neighborhood a few miles away when I saw kitchen cabinets in a yard laying around like they had been torn out and discarded.  They were dirty from being out in the rain and had mud all over them.  Wood pieces, venting pipes and pieces of countertop lay discarded around the cabinets.  The homeowner must have been putting a new kitchen into the house.

I stopped to take a closer look and could see that the cabinets were solid wood and very sturdy.  Some still had the cabinet doors still on them.  Other cabinet doors lay around with hinges still attached.  Surprisingly, the cabinets didn't look damaged by being out in the rain.  They just looked dirty.  And I could imagine these cabinets all cleaned up, painted white and residing in bedroom closets and my laundry room...

I knocked on the door and got no answer.  So I left a note on the front door asking if I could have the cabinets.  A few days later I got a response-- I could!  The cabinets were solid wood, so I knew they'd be heavy.  My friend agreed to have her son in law go with us-- he had a large truck which towed an open trailer which should hold everything.  We picked up 5 usable cabinets, all the cabinet doors and lots of large pieces of wood and dragged it to my garage.  It took several days for the wood to dry out and I got to work dreaming and designing.

I measured each bedroom closet and my laundry room.  The master closets were updated; I had just done them a few weeks ago.  But the kids rooms needed some work.  Two of the cabinets were 8 feet tall and skinny enough to put in the center of their closets.  I could put shelves and hanging poles on each side to make really awesome closets!  My laundry room could use two of the upper cabinets.  It was too small to hold any more than that.  The last one could go into my basement for my wood shop.

Using graph paper, I mapped out the rooms and how I'd install them.  That gave me a good idea of what supplies I'd need to buy.  I'd need lots of small pieces of wood, some hardware, and lots of paint.  As I had been drawing out plans, I had come up with a really crazy idea-- I wanted a table with shelves underneath for my laundry room.  None of the cabinets I got would do; I would have to build this one.  I looked up plans on the internet and came up with some ideas of what I wanted and another list of wood and supplies for it.  I cleaned off the cabinets, removed the doors, sanded them and applied a coat of primer over the dark stained wood.  Then multiple coats of white paint.  One day it poured rain all day while I painted.  It seemed like it took forever for the paint to dry.  I was getting antsy to get the cabinets painted and installed!

We had some company over for dinner one night and as they came, they saw the cabinets in the garage.  A woman in the group named Crystal offered to help me with them.  She came and brought her son Gino, a recently returned missionary, to help.  Crystal and Gino really sped up the process!  We cut the wood and built the table with shelves.  Then we painted it with several coats of white paint to match.  For the countertop, we cut up an old door and painted it up with blue and white paint, then covered it with a clear plastic finish.  We spray painted all the hardware silver and set it aside, for when we reattached the cabinet doors.

I went out of town for the weekend, which allowed the cabinets to really dry.  Crystal and Gino came over on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week to help me install them.

To install, we'd take the old metal wire shelves down and fill the holes that they left in the walls.  Then we'd put support boards up where we wanted the shelves to go, leaving a gap in the middle for the tall cabinets to reside.  We'd fill the edges with caulk and let it all dry.  Then we'd paint the room, painting the wood we installed too.  We'd bring up the cabinets, set them in place, attach them to the wall, then add the shelves and closet poles to each side.  A little more caulk to fill any gaps and we'd hug and take pictures!  The cabinets looked great in the closets!

We did the same thing in the laundry room-- removed the shelves, patched the walls, installed wood and painted the walls.  When we tried to put them in, though, one was a bit snug.  We had to climb up on the washer and pound one cabinet in with a hammer to get it into place.  We added shelves and caulked it up.  Lastly, we brought up the table with shelves.  It was a tight squeeze getting it inside and past the washer and dryer, but it fit beautifully and looks great. 

It took hours of my time, 5 days of hard work with Crystal and Gino, and a few hundred dollars to renovate my laundry room and 3 bedroom closets.  I'm happy that I could see potential in those thrown-away mud covered cabinets.  While others didn't want them-- or just couldn't see any value in them-- I knew they were worth saving.  Although it took a lot of hard work (my muscles are really sore) now I have awesome closets that increase the utility of our closets and the value of my home.  And I also have the satisfaction of having rescued valuable cabinets and put them back to work.  It was worth it!

Necklace Holding Mirror

Need a place to hang your necklaces?  Try this idea!  A friend had a similar one that fit her decor wonderfully.  She took a rectangular country-style white mirror and put large hooks in the top and bottom. 

This fit my darker decor.  I found this mirror at World Market in the discount section for about $14.  (Ignore my image taking the picture.. ha ha.)

I did some measurements to get them even on the sides, but also at the point.  They ended up being 2 inches apart, centered along the two sides.  If I need more storage, I can put hooks on the top and hang the shorter necklaces there. 

I predrilled the holes, then screwed in the large cup hooks I bought at Walmart.  I really like how it looks in my room, plus it's really doing the job.  I can try on different necklaces and see the result in one spot.  Nearby I have my earrings and bracelets on different hangers.  Works great!

Kid Sized Knit Experimental Sweaters

It's always fun to try new things and once I learned how to make simple sweaters, I wanted to try them all.  Here are some examples of fun knitting stitches to try, and kid sized sweaters go fast.  Plus, if your child is small enough and not balky, he will WEAR your hard work!

 I made this fair isle sweater vest for my daughter.  It was a good place to learn that technique.  It's not a relaxing way to knit but it produces lovely results. 

 This was my first knit sweater from a pattern.  Everything was knit flat and sewn together, then the button band was knit on last.  This success gave me the courage to try harder things.

Here is the same pattern but I added cable stitches to every piece.  I looked them up online and made a grid so I'd be able to design it myself.  I love how it turned out.  All of my sons wore this sweater.  Very traditional in color and design, it looked great on a cold Sunday morning at church.

 Here's the back of the sweater-- the complicated cable in the center was especially intriguing. 

This sweater had stripes of pink that are a particular 'holey' stitch.  I found them in a pattern, and had trouble translating the symbols into what I saw in the photo.  As I was struggling with it, my expert knitting friend Lori reminded me that as long as what I did was consistent, there was no right or wrong.  So I plunged ahead and made this up with my imperfect attempt at that holey stitch in pink.  I think it turned out great.  My daughter loved this sweater and wore it often. 

Have fun trying new things.  Make the pattern pieces the right size and keep consistent in your stitches and it will turn out great!

Child's Argyle Sweater Vest

Because I live in Georgia, sweater vests worked better than long sleeve sweaters for nicer wear.  After learning how to knit sweaters, I wanted to try the vests.  But plain wouldn't do!  Using some serious math and experimenting, I came up with these sweater vests. 

I made this brown Argyle for my oldest son who was 3.  It turned out to be a bit big, but I loved it.  After it turned out well, I made another for my younger son, who was 1.  Mathematically taking out the multiples made his vest fit perfectly.  So the sizing changes exponentially when making these Argyle sweaters. 

Here are the two boys in their matching sweaters.  They are both in college now.  Ah the memories.

I'll post the patterns here for both sweaters.  Once you have your gauge right, you can choose which pattern will work for you to get the correct size.  Or you can change your gauge too.  The math based pattern is inflexible; if you try to cut it off or change it, your lines won't work or you'll lose the design symmetry.  Scaling it down one stitch means you lose many stitches across the pattern, as you can see if you compare the two plans.

Check your gauge!  Know you are knitting the correct size before you get started.

I recommend also that you practice knitting in two colors, if you haven't already done that before.  The trick is to cross the yarn strands over each other in the back so that you don't get holes where the colors change. 

See how the yard loops form in the back of this argyle.  Be sure to loop the yarn around each other when you change color.  Note:  Ignore the x markings on the pattern until after the knitting is completed.

Argyle Sweater Size 12 months

Argyle Sweater pattern Size 5

You will need to make up small balls of yarn of your two alternate colors for the diamonds. 

I would make the back first, to be sure you like the length and shaping, then you can make changes to the above pattern before you've invested a lot into the Argyle pattern.  You could add or remove rows at the shoulder to lengthen or shorten it.  Or you could simply knit more rib knit at waist to lengthen it.   

To Start at waist:  Cast on the number of stitches listed at the bottom of the pattern, then work in rib knit for a few inches.  Knit a row, purl a row.  Knit 8 sts for size 12 months (10 sts for size 5) and knit the next stitch in Color 2, change to Color 1 and knit 15 (19), knit 1 st in yarn color 3, switch to color 1 and knit 15 (19), knit 1 st in yarn 2, knit 8 (10) sts in yarn 1 to end.  Turn and purl next row exactly as you knitted first row.

Next several rows, knit next row in plan, decreasing color 1 and increasing colors 2 and 3 in their diamond patterns.  Once the corners have only one sts of color 1 separating them, increase color 1 and decrease colors 2 and 3 until they disappear.  For example, the next row, knit 7 (9) sts in color 1, 3 sts in color 2, 14 (18) sts in color 1, 3 sts in color 3, 14 (18) sts in color 1, 3 sts in color 2, and knit to end in color 1.  Turn and repeat, purling this time to create the stockinette stitch.

Only change to the next row in the pattern once you've knit and purled the same row in the pattern.  Each square in the pattern represents two rows, a knit and a purl row. 

Neck and Armhole shaping:  Cast off stitches as the pattern shows.

X-markings:  Use these as a guide for your needlework.  Thread a dull tapestry needle with your contrasting color (pink in our example) and carefully sew a stitch into the two stitches where marked.  This forms the criss-crossing accent lines. 

Once front and back are completed, stitch left shoulder front to the corresponding shoulder back, right sides together.  Cast on one st in each st on the left side of the vest front and back neck.  Knit rib knit across for 4 rows, cast off.  Cast on one st for each st in the right side of the vest front, taking care to catch the new neck band in it.  Rib knit across 4 rows and cast off.  Stitch right shoulder together.  I used color 1 to do the arm bands and the neck bands, but feel free to use any of the colors in the design. 

Cast on one st for each st in the armholes, rib knit 4 rows and cast off.  Stitch side seams and clip yarn.


This classic look can be scaled up for adult sweaters in dark colors too.  Consider putting a button band in the center front of the vest for adult versions.  I made this design in my Christmas stockings, a subject of another post.  Most of all, enjoy the diversion of Argyle knitting!

Knitting Without Tears

That is actually a title of a book by Elizabeth Zimmerman, a wonderful book.  When I saw that title several years ago, I knew I had to have it! 

I started knitting when I was 11 years old as part of my church instruction in the Merrie Miss group of girls in Primary in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Since I had already learned to crochet, knitting came pretty easy to me.  But following patterns was always a struggle-- it was tedious and time consuming.  Often I ended up with strange loops in every other row.  So I learned how to make things without patterns, which was rather limiting (hats, scarves, the like.)  Elizabeth Zimmerman taught me how to make many more things after I found this book!

Turns out that I learned to knit differently than most Americans-- I learned to knit the German way.  That explained why I had funny loops in those odd rows when I followed patterns.  Americans wrap their yarn, while Germans grab it.  Also, Americans poke into the left side of the loop, while Germans go through the center of the loop.  I think German knitting is faster, but it requires adapting patterns to avoid that pesky loop.

My favorite part of this book is the chapter on knitting seamless sweaters (Page 64.)  Zimmerman explains in the chapter how to mathematically calculate the number of stitches required to make the sweater based on size, gender and age.  Starting at the waist and knitting up to the neck, I loved how she described reducing at the shoulder as going quickly, like the barn was burning down.  She's a great read.

Making these sweaters will require the use of double pointed needles for the arms and flexible needles for the body.  Once the sleeves and body are knitted up to the armpit, they are joined onto the flexible needles leaving some to be woven at the armpit.  A few more inches are knitted upward, then the decreasing begins until you reach your desired neckline, when you can cast off.  It makes perfect sense and a lovely sweater.  

Here are a few of the sweaters I have made over the years using this pattern.

This was my first attempt.  I had to see if it would work before I got too excited.  This turned out great except that the neck was really tight for a small child.  I loved watching the patterns emerge with the veriegated yarn.  Seeing that Zimmerman's pattern worked, I tried other things, like putting a button band in front.  Worked great!

This one with a button band and purple stripes went fast.  I loved trying the raglan at the shoulder instead of the random decrease in the first.  My daughter wore this sweater often. 

I tried a flower bud row at the neck for interested, which produced this fun sweater and hat.  The hat went first so I could see how the buds would look.  My daughter wore this often too.  This is using the original random decrease again.  Note that I didn't use double pointed needles on the sleeves for this one.  I thought I'd see if the seam under the arm would be a problem.  Of course it wasn't a problem, it just looked nicer without the seam, so I went back to the complete seamless look.  It was worth the double pointed needles.

These newborn blessing day sweaters are just a couple of the ones I made to give away as baby gifts.  The v-neck was made by decreasing it at the neckline button band as I was decreasing the shoulder Raglan style.  Then I picked up the stitches across the center front on both sides of the needles to get the button band and collar done up together.  I really like how it turned out.

I made this to solve the problem of car seats over baby coats.  Note that the sweater opens at the legs to allow the buckle to meet at the crotch.  Note the unusual pattern that appeared on the seamed arms so I could get that unique pattern with the veriegated yarn, although it didn't make that pattern in the body.

This is buttoned the way Paige usually wore this sweater-- as a pram.  But the seat belt can still be inserted through the button band.

Back view of sweater.  Note that in adding the hood, I made rib knit stitches at the neck so that it would hug her neck better without having to decrease and increase again.  

This is a detail of the backside button band, which allows the car seat buckle to get through the legs of the coat.  Note that I used rib knit at the toes to pull in the bottom, like a drawstring does on fabric prams. 

I hope this inspires others to try this different approach to knitting without using patterns, hence no crying.  Especially if you are a German knitter like me!