Since I finished that little, bitty baby cardigan last week, I took a minute to think about some coordinates to go with it, as no self-respecting baby (or her mother) would leave the house wearing just the sweater. So I decided to make some booties. It was handy that there was some yellow yarn leftover after finishing the cardi.
I went looking around on Ravelry for some booties that could be made out of dk-weight yarn, rather than sport or fingering weight, since the Cotton Rich was, you know, DK. Anyway, the winner of the pattern search was Baby's Shoe, Figure 6 from an old Girls' Own Paper pamphlet, which was apparently originally published in 1880. There's an actual scan of the pamphlet on the interwebs, which you can look at yourself. Of particular interest is the "Answers to Correspondents" section at the end. They haven't printed the questions they're answering, but many of the answers are pretty funny. I mean, they're funny if you're not the person who wrote the letter.
For example:
Constance - We admire your wish to earn something to help in so good a cause; but, as you are at school, we think that your first duty is to take advantage of your present opportunities. Spelling, writing and composition all need attention.
And:
Adda - Could you not knit some pretty mittens, or baby's socks? They would be more likely to sell than painted cards or pincushions. Clothing for poor children is the best of all contributions, as the sale serves a double purpose. You do not write well.
I am so glad I never wrote to the Girls' Own Paper. I can only imagine the things they'd have to say about my composition and penmanship. Yikes.
Anyway, the booties. They're cute! And yellow! They were knit flat, then seamed. I suppose that's because, as a girls' magazine, most of their readers were novice knitters who might not have had the dexterity for double pointed needles. And straights were readily available. And circular needles weren't invented yet? (I'll have to look this up.) I ran out of yarn on the second bootie, with about 10 rows to go and without having done the crochet edging. I actually had to undo the corresponding number of rows on the first one, so they'd match up. The only thing I have left to do is find some cute ribbon to go through the eyelets, then they'll be completely finished. I'll probably start the coordinating turban soon, as it's just too damned cute not to.
Next time, I'll have an update on the Aran Isle socks. They're going kind of slowly, as I'm only really working on them on the bus. I've got most of the leg done and expect to start on the heels after the weekend. It's been fairly cool (and wet!) lately, so working with the alpaca hasn't been too bad. It's starting to warm up, though, so no telling what I'll think about it then. Until next time, then.
I went looking around on Ravelry for some booties that could be made out of dk-weight yarn, rather than sport or fingering weight, since the Cotton Rich was, you know, DK. Anyway, the winner of the pattern search was Baby's Shoe, Figure 6 from an old Girls' Own Paper pamphlet, which was apparently originally published in 1880. There's an actual scan of the pamphlet on the interwebs, which you can look at yourself. Of particular interest is the "Answers to Correspondents" section at the end. They haven't printed the questions they're answering, but many of the answers are pretty funny. I mean, they're funny if you're not the person who wrote the letter.
For example:
Constance - We admire your wish to earn something to help in so good a cause; but, as you are at school, we think that your first duty is to take advantage of your present opportunities. Spelling, writing and composition all need attention.
And:
Adda - Could you not knit some pretty mittens, or baby's socks? They would be more likely to sell than painted cards or pincushions. Clothing for poor children is the best of all contributions, as the sale serves a double purpose. You do not write well.
I am so glad I never wrote to the Girls' Own Paper. I can only imagine the things they'd have to say about my composition and penmanship. Yikes.
Anyway, the booties. They're cute! And yellow! They were knit flat, then seamed. I suppose that's because, as a girls' magazine, most of their readers were novice knitters who might not have had the dexterity for double pointed needles. And straights were readily available. And circular needles weren't invented yet? (I'll have to look this up.) I ran out of yarn on the second bootie, with about 10 rows to go and without having done the crochet edging. I actually had to undo the corresponding number of rows on the first one, so they'd match up. The only thing I have left to do is find some cute ribbon to go through the eyelets, then they'll be completely finished. I'll probably start the coordinating turban soon, as it's just too damned cute not to.
Next time, I'll have an update on the Aran Isle socks. They're going kind of slowly, as I'm only really working on them on the bus. I've got most of the leg done and expect to start on the heels after the weekend. It's been fairly cool (and wet!) lately, so working with the alpaca hasn't been too bad. It's starting to warm up, though, so no telling what I'll think about it then. Until next time, then.
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