the blue blog archives: calendar girl

So far I've been inspired each month to knit something really special. The january sweater was inspired by the beautiful blue yarn that I acquired at the January clearance sale at Wild & Wooly. February's cashmere hourglass sweater came about when I decided to recycle the yarn from an old Banana Republic sweater that lay forgotten in the closet for at least five years. (Update coming on Friday!)

March's sweater will be from a genuine vintage pattern (probably from the 1950's) that a customer brought into my LYS about a week ago. She was wearing her mother's cardigan that her grandmother had made from the pattern decades ago and it was gorgeous! She wanted to make one herself and was asking Johanna to help her work through some of the terminology. Both Johanna and I were really taken with the cardigan and the customer obliged us by letting us copy the old pattern. I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I broke down last week and went looking for the perfect yarn. With the help of Johanna and Wendy and Cara (who was visiting Boston for the weekend and just happened to be in my LYS with Wendy when I popped by!), I finally chose Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran in opal gray.

posted by alison at 9:05 am | in opal

Comments

ooh, ooh, ooh that is GORGEOUS! Would she/you consider copying or selling the pattern? I'm always on the lookout for vintage cardy patterns. I bet you'd have several folks wanting this...

Posted by: Pam Stewart at March 2, 2005 9:28 AM

That is going to be so beautiful! Can't wait to read all about your progress with it :-)

Posted by: Shelby at March 2, 2005 9:36 AM

Wow, that is one gorgeous sweater. I'll be very interested to watch your progress on this one!

Posted by: karen at March 2, 2005 9:55 AM

That really is the perfect yarn for the pattern. I was thinking about it this past weekend. The color will work nicely with the texture.

So good to meet you. I loved the store and will most definitely be back (that was my first visit.) Hope to see you this weekend!

Posted by: wendy at March 2, 2005 10:03 AM

If you do decide to share the pattern - count me in! How about a genuine vintage knitalong?

Posted by: Elena at March 2, 2005 10:23 AM

The leafy panels remind me of the Backyard Leaves scarf from Scarf style that I've been afraid to start. Also I'm reminded of a sweater my grandmother lovingly knit for me many years ago after I showed her a lacy leaf patterned cardigan in a British magazine. I wish I had managed to save it over the years. It was so beautiful. If the pattern is not protected by copyright now (and how can you find out) can it be posted on the internet? I would be glad to do the html for it if so. I love vintage knit designs.

Posted by: Elizabeth at March 2, 2005 10:48 AM

juste love the color can't wait to see the swatch !

Posted by: karen at March 2, 2005 10:49 AM

love it! That color will really work nicely with the pattern.

Posted by: Leigh at March 2, 2005 10:52 AM

Alison, my grandmother just made that same cardigan for herself recently (within the past couple of years). It looks a-maze-ing, and I can't wait to follow your progress.

Posted by: Colleen at March 2, 2005 11:12 AM

i love that color! that'll look so amazing on you! :)

Posted by: maeve at March 2, 2005 11:23 AM

Sorry to sound like a broken record, but I covet that cardigan.

Posted by: valentina at March 2, 2005 12:15 PM

Beautiful cardigan pattern! I knit "Rogue" with silkroad aran and love it. If you decide to make this a knitalong, I sure would be up for joining.

Posted by: Kristy at March 2, 2005 1:03 PM

That sweater is gorgeous! Oh, what a terrific project. Any chance of the pattern being shared?

(I must confess.... I'm a lurker - and I've made 4 of your ABC hats since I started knitting in September - and they are deeply loved!)

Posted by: camille at March 2, 2005 1:25 PM

That is a cool design! Did you write down the name of the pattern book? I bet Vintage Knits would be able to locate more copies, as the interest grows, or at least help determine if the pattern is in the public domain yet! I'm looking forward to watching your progress.

Posted by: Birdsong at March 2, 2005 1:27 PM

awesome! you'll be a lace knitter yet :)

Posted by: Carrie Brezine at March 2, 2005 1:34 PM

The sweater is absolutely lovely. I would love to make it so if you decide to share, let me know.

Posted by: Leanne at March 2, 2005 1:40 PM

See how you inspire us all? Vintage clothing just has that soft feminine appeal. The suspense waiting for the final picture will be tough. Good luck.

Posted by: Donna at March 2, 2005 1:41 PM

Gotta tell you, I can't stop thinking about either the pattern or the yarn. I'm so glad you went with the Jo Sharp - I promise you won't regret it! (Or at least I hope you won't...)

It was so great to meet you in person! I'll be following your progress with ~special~ interest. :-)

Posted by: Cara at March 2, 2005 1:47 PM

All I can say is WOW!

Posted by: Liz at March 2, 2005 2:12 PM

Really beautiful sweater! I think it will be gorgeous and very spring-y!

Posted by: Anne-Caroline at March 2, 2005 2:18 PM

I love your theme of the month sweaters. Someday... That is a really nice pattern. Vintage stuff is so much fun :)

Posted by: Vicki at March 2, 2005 3:08 PM

I'm in shock to see the sweater my mother made me eons ago. I've been searching my mom's knitting books for that pattern for a long time. It's gone. Perhaps if we show enough interest, it will be reissued (in some form or other).

Posted by: Carol at March 2, 2005 4:03 PM

A wonderful choice of sweaters! I can't wait to see it worked up!

Posted by: sandy at March 2, 2005 4:15 PM

Mmmmm silk road aran, I love this yarn. And what a gorgeous pattern! I can't wait to see it unfold!

Posted by: jo at March 2, 2005 4:40 PM

what a beautiful pattern! can't wait to see the progress :)

Posted by: rebecca at March 2, 2005 5:08 PM

Darn you, Alison! You keep tempting me with your themes. Now you've got me yearning to dive into my small vintage pattern collection instead of working on the two afghans that are languishing in my project drawer.

Posted by: Dani at March 2, 2005 8:59 PM

LOVE LOVE LOVE that cardi!!!!!! Hope the pattern is available, I can see it in a nice soft pale gray sport weight for us Florida leaf lovers !!
(seriously, I am so drawn to any pattern with leaves, glad I'm in good company!! Just finished a leaf lace shawl and and working on leaf lace socks as I blog surf...eagerly hoping for a vintage leaf cardi of my own someday :)

Posted by: Debi at March 2, 2005 11:10 PM

Hey folks, I have no idea where this pattern came from originally and what its copyright status is, so there's just no way I can be sending everyone a copy or posting a copy on the blog. I'm sure there are lots of incredible vintage knitting patterns waiting to be discovered out there and I hope that I can inspire some of you to go out and find a little treasure for yourselves. Maybe we could do a vintage-along?

Okay, who's got the 411 on where to find genuine vintage patterns online?? Someone already mentioned Vintage Knits. They've got some GREAT stuff! Dani, do you know any good resources?

Posted by: alison at March 2, 2005 11:29 PM

If you give me all the info you have about the pattern, I'll try to track down whether or not it's in the public domain. I'm almost a librarian, so this would be a good task for me!

Posted by: Elena at March 3, 2005 2:59 PM