Vintage Treasures

I came home from a recent visit with my family toting some new old finds.  My sister gave me a box of old sewing patterns and a bag of wool yarn.  Now, I am not sure what, if anything, I will do with these treasures but vintage items are always fun to look at, and sometimes you learn a thing or two.

I sorted through the box of patterns and pulled out four “Big Four” patterns from the 1960’s

along with six patterns from a company called Spadea. 

Now, I had never heard of Spadea so I did a little internet research.   The most inclusive information can be found in this article at Fuzzy Lizzy Vintage Clothing.  The creators of Spadea Designer Patterns worked with fashion designers in the 1950’s and 60’s to create sewing patterns taken from ready-to-wear garments.  These patterns were unique in their sizing (using RTW sizing) and appearance – there are no printed markings on the pattern pieces, everything is punched or notched and the pattern pieces come precut. 

The previous owner of my patterns must have been a Dinah Shore fan since most of the patterns carry that stars name.

The yarn I received has an interesting history as well.  It was manufactured by the Quinnehticut Woolen Company in Taftville, CT. 

In 1995 the New York Times ran an article about the rebirth of this company under new ownership, who believed in the revitalization of the textile industry.

This lengthy article details the history of the Ponemah Mill (meaning "our future hope," from Longfellow's "Song of Hiawatha"), the mill village of Taftville (all of the original structures are still standing and on the National Historic Register) and the revival under new owners in 1990.  Sadly, it appears that the mill is no longer in operation and has been turned into luxury condos and retail space.  The wool I own looks ideal for felting, one of my favorite things to do with wool yarn.  I might also use it in a needle felting project – I have not put my embellisher to much use recently.  Regardless, I certainly have a rainbow’s worth of lovely colors to choose from.

Bag of the Week 8

Felted Wool Purses

A few years ago I was really into felting hand knit items.  My husband’s aunt raised sheep, and I had a lovely supply of Icelandic wool yarn which was not only beautiful but had sentimental meaning as well.  It was a dream to knit and felted beautifully.  The other thing I love about felting is that it makes my sometimes-not-too-perfect knitting less apparent.  Felting hides a multitude of sins. 

The first thing that I knit for felting was a hat (which is the subject for another post in the future – the before and after pictures are hilarious).  I then switched to purses and made quite a few.  I primarily used two patterns by Fiber Trends and was able to create unique looks by varying the type of novelty yarn I incorporated into the wool as I knit.

These two bags were created using the pattern called Party Purses.

I used naturally colored Icelandic wool for the body of the bags and added Lion Brand Fun Fur in at the top (the dark purse used three colors of Fun Fur all knit together).  The knit bags start out much larger than the finished ones – as the wool felts and shrinks it compresses the eyelash yarn, making a nice, dense trim.  The bags were felted in a lingerie bag using my top-loading washing machine and Wool Wash soap by Eucalan.  

The handles of the purses were both created with additional yarn twisted into a thick cord using a tool called the Spinster.

All of the cold weather we’ve been having has me thinking about knitting wool again.  Good thing I’ve still got some of that wonderful Icelandic in my stash.