New - Old Sweaters

So my Aunt Charlene saw my previous post about the Granted-type sweater I found at the Flea Market for $30.  It looks like this:

And it reminded her of the sweaters my Grandma knit (first photo, above)for her and my Uncle Steve, way back in the very early 70s, when Grandma was still working at Boeing and before my cousin Marci or I were born.  My aunt sent me an email a couple days ago and asked if I would want them, when we met at my Grandma's today for lunch, since she had had them in storage for many many years.  YES!  YES!  I want them!

August LOVES the sweater that fits him.  He says he feels like he should be wearing it on a college campus!  Can't you tell he thinks he looks good!  He does look good!

My Grandma knit them in wool and she even lined them!  They zip up and they don't have pockets but that's OK.

August is showing you the lining here.

So the other sweater fits me great but Gus is not thrilled that we have "matching" sweaters.  I told him that I wont wear mine when he wears his, but otherwise it's fair game!  Some day Jasper will fit into mine and then they can be matchy matchy brothers!

We LOVE our new - old sweaters!  Thanks Aunt Charlene and Uncle Steve!  Thank you Grandma for being a knitter back in the day!  I so adore having these family treasures and I love to use them!

Merry Yule and Blessed Solstice everyone!

xoxo

Jennette

 



Cashmere Schmazmere

I dont know about you but I have a storage tub full of cashmere sweaters that have been awaiting my attention. I'd say half of them have been felted down and half are begging to be washing machine felting. The ones that have been felted have been a great source of amusement for making fun hand/wrist warmers and some funky sweaters. Amazingly, one of the the thickest, most gorgeous vintage sweaters, felted perfectly down to the size of my rather big-for-his-age 6 year old. He is delighted beyond what I can express in words and is always asking, "Mom, can I wear 'the sweater'?" As if its the only swaeter he has. But if you could feel how soft and warm this little sweater is, you would want to wear it every day too. And to make it even more desirable, it has ended up with the sweetest woodland scene on it! I LOVE wool and cashmere! So versatile to use and design with since once felted you can cut to your hearts content and no unraveling occurs. Love it! So with the rest of the scraps from those other felted cashmere sweaters in the tub, I came up with this woodland scene that is so darn tootin cute, I can't stand it, and I want one for me! I tend to make myself the more deconstructed looking, slap it together, and call it a sweater, kind of sweaters. I'll post some pictures of those too as I wade thru all the completed and half finished projects I have goin' on around here. So here, for eye candy and hopefully inspiration, are a couple photos of "the sweater." Most of the appliqued pieces were machine stitched on and then a few of the pieces I added embroidery to give them more definition. There is the big tree, a bird nest with eggs, a bird, a mushroom and a yellow bunny! J wanted a gnome but we couldnt figure out where to squeeze him in so he will be on the next one, probably a vest, that I do for him. The bigger the applique, the easier it is to maneuver and manipulate. The mushroom is layered and machine stitced and also hand stitched. Just depends on how intense and time consuming you want your objects to be that determines which process you use to get there. I will try to post soon on some of the handwarmers and other sweaters I have done or are working on currently. Enjoy! And spend some time felting and sewing for yourself or someone you love. It will make you happy!