Carolyn sent me this link to an eBay auction of a cool 60s-vintage knit coat pattern book. It reminded me of some of the neat things I have in my own vintage pattern library and I spent a good hour or so flipping through my “60s” collection tonight.

This is one of my favorites:



Not only do I love both the coats on the cover, but I think this one is adorable:



Georgous color combo and Dig That Hat!

Also in this book are some strange fashion poses: what on earth is This Woman up to, do you think:



Here’s something for the Seriously Mod:



Ponchos? Oh yeah, we got ponchos:

So, this morning, at the campsite, I PUT PEROXIDE IN MY EYE. Is this the stupidest thing anyone has ever done? Did the contact lens advisor at the eye doctor’s office not tell me when she gave me the peroxide based cleaning solution, “DO NOT PUT THIS IN YOUR EYE!” I didn’t do it on purpose. As goofy as I am, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

But, of course, I was FREAKING OUT. Honestly, the only thing that scares me worse than arthritis is blindness. I called my husband’s stepfather (he was an ER nurse before he retired) and he talked me down: I had already washed out my eye with water and he told me to wash it A LOT with the Saline Solution and asked me what my eye looked like and how does it feel and so on. Eventually, almost all the redness went away and now it just feels a little sore like it had been rubbed a lot.

I guess I’m not going to need a patch over my eye like Elle Driver.

And, speaking of scary, have you seen This Guy?

How about a quick Crochet Diversion?

This is a coat I made last year, while this blog was still in its Before Photos Era:



I really adore this coat and I’ve often thought about making another in a different color. I’ve been thinking about it lately because A) it has been getting chilly off and on here and B) Lana is just finishing one like it (GASP, she even blogged about it!) and we were talking about the Pattern Wonkiness the other day. I think this is an instance where I wrote the magazine (Family Circle Easy Knitting) and they never wrote back.

However, I did hear back from Interweave Knits about the problems I was having with the yoke of Lily Chin’s Lace Dress from the Crochet Special Issue. Here it is, in its One-Row-Shy-of-Being-Done state:



Because of the ambiguity of the pattern, I started my sleeve decreases too soon and I only have 28 shells on the last row instead of 32, which makes it a little more snug than it would be otherwise. As the upper portion of my frame is rather scrawny, this is okay by me, and I won’t be ripping back and doing it over. In this instance, the very nice lady at Interweave who wrote me back is, I guess, “checking on it.”

You can’t tell by my pic how pretty this dress is going to be, because it looks dumb over my tee. I would have changed into a camisole before I took it, but I was already struggling with taking the photo myself (husband worked late) and that seemed like a lot of trouble. However, you guys already know I’m the Laziest Person Alive.

Oooooh, LOOK at what I found!



I bought this sweater at Goodwill tonight for $3. Check out the back:



According to the tag,



it is “100% New Wool Handknitted In The Donegal Highlands Made In The Republic of Ireland.” Based on the typeface and style of said tag, I’m guessing this is 60s vintage, but I could easily be wrong. Tag also says dry-cleaning is recommended, but I wonder if a Eucalan bath might soften it up a bit. It is definitely 60s scratchy, but that won’t really matter with long sleeves on.

I love it!

Here’s something I’ve been working on I can show you:



Those are Nancy Bush’s Friday Harbor socks from Knitting on the Road. I’m making them from Cherry Tree Hill Super Glitz, which is SPARKLY though you can’t really tell from this picture.

I discover as I work on these that I’m not really interested in socks anymore. Maybe I have too much other stuff on my mind. Perhaps when winter gets here and my feet are freezing I’ll feel differently. After all, I have this:



I’m making a Hallowig as soon as possible.

I know I just took it down, but I want to note that I’ve changed my mind: if I were assigned to a year on the International Space Station I’d take to read the complete journals and letters of the Lewis and Clark expedition. My husband and I listened to the first three CDs of the Essential Lewis and Clark this weekend at the campsite and it is fascinating stuff. It is really interesting to hear them describe an animal they have never seen before when you know what it is because you see it all the time. Like a coyote.

Another interesting part is how they describe the different cultures and social mores of the separate Indian tribes they encounter. I assume both Lewis and Clark were familiar with the concept of Man as Lord and Master and Woman as Chief Domestic Servant, considering the time in which they lived; and yet both thought it worth remarking that the men of some native tribes put women on the same level as mules or dogs or even tobacco. They worked them like slaves and traded them like any ordinary commodity. This is probably why Sacajawea didn’t notice that her French husband was a first-rate asshole.

Speaking of the International Space Station (which we were): an awesome thriller that takes place on the ISS is Gravity by Tess Gerritsen. But don’t read it if you can’t handle the blood.

Knitting? Zipping along on the Baby Blanket Gift. As soon as I get it done, I’ll be able to concentrate on other things: Christmas gifts, my WIPS and things I want to start, like Lisette and the Lily Chin crocheted lace dress. Time is going by too quickly.

I’m knitting like mad -- honest -- but I can’t give away any peeps of the baby blankie. The baby’s mommy reads this blog about once every six months and, my luck, this would be one of those times.

However, I can show this



That cute button, which I bought at River Wools, is for the Gala hat. ’Member the Gala hat?



When I was at River Wools for Thursday knitting night, I also finally scored the Interweave Crochet issue. Interweave was touting this while they, and we, were at Stitches Midwest, but they didn’t have any early copies to offer (why not? Who knows.) They did have one of their booth attendants walking around in That Dress designed by Lily Chin, and I wanted it. I still do. Now that I have the magazine I see that it is made up in Lang Golf. Where does one buy Lang Golf? It doesn’t seem to reside with any of my usual targets and a Google search showed up scant references. I finally managed to get yarn specs at one site so I could think about what to sub. After swatching all the sport-ish cotton I have in the house, I think I like Coats Luster Sheen best. I’ve never subbed yarn for a crochet garment and I admit I feel a little insecure. I made lots of subbing mistakes early in my knitting career, but now I know what to look for and take into account, etc. when choosing a sub yarn. I don’t feel so good about a crochet project -- at least a project that is going to be worn. Any ideas?

More exciting photos from the Finish Line



That is, of course, the Camel Bag from Folk Knits. You may recall I finished knitting it in May and then had a terrible Mission Falls 1824 Not-So-Superwash Felted Loops Accident. I wasn’t sure if I was going to complete it as it was, but I did, Sunday, the same day I finished my brown and pink tote. You can Just Barely see how felty-fuzzy the outermost loops are in that photo. The good news is, I finally managed to sew in a lining that doesn’t look like absolute crap



I credit my recent embroidery class for putting me in the right mindset to see immediately how I should have been placing my needle to the make the sewing most invisible. It makes me want to rip out all the others I’ve done and do them over.

Did I mention I started another bag? A crocheted one that should work up quick. Speaking of bags, I have been seeing more and more books for crocheted and knit bags coming out. I can only assume the publishing industry has been reading this blog and has cooked up a nefarious plot to make money out of my unfortunate addiction. To them I can only say: It is WRONG to exploit a sick person.