Eleanor Roosevelt and Her No-Nonsense Knitting

Eleanor Roosevelt was such a constant knitter and sewer that she seldom went anywhere without toting along one of her projects. She couldn't bear to be idle and often brought her handiwork to the many political and social action meetings she attended. Many photographs of her show her with her knitting or carrying a knitting bag. Such pictures cropped up repeatedly during my research for the Hollywood knitters post of February 11th, but I didn't include her photos in that post because she wasn't an actress and at any rate, Eleanor Roosevelt deserves a post of her own.

According to this fascinating 2009 Knitty interview with Mary Ann Colopy, a seasonal park ranger at the Roosevelt/Vanderbilt National Historic Site, Roosevelt's knitting was very utilitarian. She wasn't a designer. She knitted useful items for her family and friends and very few examples of her work have survived because they were generally the sort of thing one wears out and then discards. The pattern for very basic mittens that accompanies the article is one that was found among her papers.

For all the time that Roosevelt spent knitting, as a topic of interest it seems barely to have registered even on her own radar. In her nearly 8,000 “My Day” newspaper columns, she mentions her own knitting less than ten times. But then this wasn't surprising given the sheer amount of other, much more important work that she did in her life: the speeches she gave and campaigning she did on behalf of her disabled husband; the six-day-a-week syndicated national newspaper column she wrote for 27 years; her constant public speaking; her relief work during the Depression and war work during World War II; her political activism regarding civil, women's, labour and universal human rights; and the work she did with the United Nations. I have read that the United Nations Commission for Human Rights that Roosevelt chaired was by far the hardest working of any at the U.N., to the point that one of its members complained that his own human rights were violated by the length of the committee meetings. Knitting was simply a useful, homely task that Roosevelt did and probably enjoyed, but that didn't merit mention or discussion; it was probably something she did in much the same spirit that she washed her face. And such an attitude is completely in character, really. Roosevelt wouldn't have accomplished all she did without being the sort of person who knew how to keep from getting side-tracked by trivial or secondary concerns.

I like this picture because I imagine Roosevelt pausing in her knitting to contemplate how to get even more mileage out of the members of the United Nations Commission for Human Rights.

Interweave Knits Spring 2013: A Review

Let's have a look at the Interweave Knits' Spring 2013 issue, shall we?





Oh, I like this sleeveless top. It may not be the most innovative piece of knitwear design ever, but it's very wearable and flattering and it's simple enough to go with many of your trousers and skirts and with just enough detail to be interesting and eye-catching. That's all the recommendation a pattern really needs to make it successful, and though it sounds easy enough to attain, it's amazing how many designers fall short of those markers.





This top is quite pretty too. You'll probably need to wear a camisole or something underneath it (I see the model is), and you may not want to do that in the heat of summer.





This camisole is pretty too, but unfortunately it's got some serious issues on the wearability front. You'll notice, of course, that the model is wearing what's probably a cami-bra underneath, and it really doesn't work that well aesthetically — all those straps! I would make this to sit a little higher in front and under the arms so as to be able to fit a strapless bra underneath, and I wouldn't advise that anyone who is bigger than a B cup wear it at all. It's empire waisted, and empire cuts don't work on well-endowed women.






I'm not a fan of this cowl as it appears here. Probably partly because of the dull colour and partly because I'd never dream of wearing a knit scarf in the spring and summer. If I imagine it in some glowing, autumnal-tone wool... yes, I like it.





This is another fall pattern that seems bizarrely out of place in a spring issue. However, I must admit these are as nice a pair of fingerless gloves as I've ever seen.





As anyone who's read a few of my pattern review posts will know, I'm generally biased against cardigans that don't meet in the front. They generally just end up looking like they're too small and simply aren't flattering on most of us non-models. I am inclined to let this little buttonless cardigan slide, however. I'm very taken with its shaping: so simple, and yet so finished looking. It's a design that probably doesn't belong on anyone who isn't small breasted, but with that caveat, yes, this could look striking and attractive on the right figures.





I... don't know about this vest. It fits — in fact it's rather form-fitting. But it's also got a blandness to it. Perhaps it just needs to be worn over a more interesting outfit than the one it is here. It could be a useful addition to your wardrobe, but it'll be just another component of your outfit, not the focal point.





I was going to say this shawl looked rather skimpy, and then I realized it was only in the first picture (which I have not included here) that it is. It's really a beautifully textured piece of work, and has good proportions. I'm glad Interweave Knits includes three or four pictures of each item. It really gives me all the information I need about each design.





I can't I find this sleeveless top appealing. I'm always a tough customer when it comes to asymmetry, and this one doesn't work for me. It has a slapdash, unfinished look to it.





Nice cabled cardigan that looks like it's a size too small on the model. If you want to make this pattern, I'd make sure it was made big enough for you, and to put buttons and buttonholes all the way down the front.





This is a simple yet interesting pullover that is very wearable and flattering. If I were making it, though, I'd make sure the neckline was high enough so that it could be worn on its own as well as over another top in order to be able to get more mileage out of it, and I'd also make the sleeves full-length, although this item does work perfectly well as is.





This little girl's dress is ever so cute, and while it's a very striking design, it's also totally practical for a small child. I think you'd almost have to make it in just these crisp colours, or you'll lose the goldfish swimming in water effect, and the design won't make much sense. I'd put tails on the goldfish on the yoke, though, instead of just making them as bobbles.






Very much like this pullover. It's simple enough to be worn many times with many other items of your clothing, yet with just enough detail to make it striking, and the keyhole neckline at the front makes it possible for a woman to show a little skin without being inappropriately dressed for work or most other environments. I love the back neckline detail too — I wish more designers went that extra mile and added a little something extra to the back.





Hmm. Well, this little pullover is sharply graphic and effective and could look really smart in a more higher contrast colourway. It looks borderline too small on the model to me, but I suppose it's supposed to be fitted and cropped. Make sure you get it big enough for you as if that pattern has to stretch over any part of you, it will look obvious and terrible.





This shawl looks rather skimpy and the design is run-of-the-mill — I feel like I've seen it a hundred times before. I'd definitely go with the other shawl pattern in this issue.





This tunic is actually quite a striking and accomplished design. I just don't like knitted mesh, because it looks too much like a shopping bag and is too impractical — you can see through it and it doesn't feel good against the skin. I'd replace the mesh with some other simple lace pattern — something in a geometric design, to go with that wonderful border along the hem, sleeves and up the middle of the back and front.





This really isn't a flattering top — even this professional model isn't quite getting away with it. It makes her look like the proverbial sack of potatoes cinched in the middle. I think it would work though if gathered lacy section at the bottom weren't quite so gathered and full.





This is not, as I first thought, a skirt, but rather a dress. And it looks for all the world as though the designer tacked three separate lace curtain valances to a tank top and called it a day. I could say that if you want to make this dress, I'd knit it all in the same yarn and use the same lace pattern for all three tiers of the skirt, but I don't think even that would pull this design together into a united whole, because there's still going to be a weird disconnect between the top and bottom halves.

And I think I'm going to have to buy this issue, as I did Interweave Knits' last issue, because there are several patterns in this issue I feel I must make (the gold fish dress, the tunic with the keyhole neckline) and several more I probably will eventually make (the first sleeveless top with the lace yoke, the shawl, the sweater with the smocked front panel and cuff detail). I look at many, many knitting patterns in my work on this site and have to be very discriminating about which ones I buy as if I weren't I'd soon have some massive collection that I couldn't even hope to get through, but if Interweave Knits keeps this up, I may just end up subscribing to their publication.

Long John Gray

If you're tired of all the Valentine's Day togetherness crap, you can always knit your partner this. It'll give him night sweats and a rash and make him so tortuously overheated he'll refuse to snuggle with you, much less do anything more. For that matter it'll be pretty much impossible for the two of you to do anything more, unless that Y-front is more functional than it looks. As a bonus, if you put flannel sheets on the bed he'll light up the room with sparks of static electricity every time he turns over. You can't lose.

Coming up: My review of the Interweave Knits Spring 2013 issue is set to release tomorrow morning!

My Funny Valentine, Sweet Knitted Valentine

I try to ignore Valentine's Day. Mine have, frankly, always sucked. The only one I ever got to celebrate with anyone was in 1992, when I got a card. From a guy who a) turned out to be gay and b) when I found out about his actual sexual orientation and reproached him for not telling me, claimed I'd just imagined that we were ever romantically involved. So maybe that card doesn't count, because it just might have been a figment of my imagination too. All my other Valentine's Days have just been non-events, with the possible exception of Valentine's Day 2012, when I was coming home late from work and got hit by a car. The driver was a young guy on the way to see his girlfriend. I don't imagine they had too pleasant an evening either, even after he eventually arrived at her place a few hours late.

But I'm not going to ignore Valentine's Day on this blog, because I do love researching and writing holiday theme posts (I'm even looking forward to creating a St. Patrick's Day post), and in this post I offer a bouquet of knitting project ideas to you that I hope you can enjoy regardless of your romantic status. Knitting, after all, is inherently a self-sufficient activity, and you can make one or two of these items for yourself or for someone whom you love, and you'll find it won't matter whether you love them in a romantic, platonic, or familial way — they'll appreciate the item and your efforts just as much.

A number of these projects employ hearts as a design element. I don't normally like heart motifs as they tend to look cheesy and too child-like for adult wear, but in these cases they've been incorporated into the pattern with such intricacy, cuteness, or attitude that they all work.

The above picture is the first of the project ideas I'm suggesting. It says it all, doesn't it? If you think it doesn't, you can always replace the text with something else (e.g., "Prenup Okay?", "Trading You In", "Now You Tell Me" or "Expletive Deleted"). The pattern is available for sale on Domiknitrix.com for $2(USD).

Seeing a little kid run around the house in the LoveSocks, designed by Devon Clement, would make my day. It's a free pattern.

Beautifully designed Coeur D'Or, by Heatherly Walker. If they look too much like Valentine's Day wear to you, just make them in another colourway. This pattern is available for $6(USD).

Love these Heart mittens, by Matilde Skår. Making these mittens in different colours would make them all-winter wear. It's a free pattern.

Here's a Valentine Envelope, by Cindy Craft, that could be used from year to year. Or if you make it in some other colourway, it could be a nice vanity case. The pattern is available for $2(USD).

Gorgeous, intricate Little Valentine shawl pattern, by Sylvie Beez, and apparently it takes less than one 100g skein of fingering yarn to make it. It's a free pattern.

This Lucy's Chemise Nightie, by Joan McGowan-Michael, is a romance in itself. The pattern is available for $8(USD) at White Lies Designs.

Lace stockings for the woman who has a fetish/love affair with awesome hosiery. The Marlaina Thigh-High Stockings design, by Joan McGowan-Michael, is available for $7.50(USD) at White Lies Designs, where all the designs are romantic — the whole site is worth checking out if you like a touch of that style in your wardrobe.

And if you need a lift today, here's a story a friend of mine told me last year to make me feel better. One year back in his university days, he had no money to spend on buying flowers for his girlfriend, so he decided to make her a bouquet of paper flowers. He stayed up most of the night, cutting and pasting. The next day when he presented his girlfriend with the flowers, she looked puzzled, reluctantly accepted the flowers, and said, "I didn't know we were going out."

This story does indeeed cheer me up whenever I think of it. Even I have never experienced a burn like that one.

She Knits While Billy Tries to Bill and Coo

This is the frontpiece of the sheet music for a song published in 1917 and written by one Harry Von Tilzner. One might think it's a song to encourage knitting for the war effort, but it's actually not quite that. The lyrics, which are below, are about a woman who won't stop knitting for the soldiers, to her beau's dismay. Ah, plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

Verse 1
Pretty little Kitty's got the patriotic craze
Knitting scarfs for soldiers day and night
Silly little Billy now is spending all his days
Watching Kitty knit with all her might
She even knits when out in his canoe.
She knits while Billy tries to bill and coo.

Chorus 1
He'd take a hug
Then he'd hug her some more
While she'd knit knit knit knit knit
He'd steal a kiss
Then he'd take an encore
And she'd knit knit knit knit knit
Under a tree
He would rest with a smile
She'd lay her knitting down for a while
A bird in a nest
Said oh give us a rest
Go on and knit knit knit.

Verse 2
Pretty little Kitty said, now Willie do your bit
Here's some yarn and needles you can start
Come and sit beside me and I'll teach you how to knit
That's the way that you can win my heart
He'd knit a while and then he'd want to woo.
He'd look at her and drop a stitch or two.

Chorus 2
He'd take a hug
Then he'd hug her some more
She'd say knit knit knit knit knit
He'd steal a kiss
Then he'd take an encore
She'd say knit knit knit knit knit
One day a tug
Passed them by in a squall
Looking through glasses was captain and all
They both heard a yelp
Do you need any help?
And she said knit knit knit.

And a word of caution to non-knitters who are trying to get their knitting significant others to knit less... DO NOT take hold of a yarn end and pull as these men seem to be doing to the woman's knitting in this picture. It will make the knitter you love very, very angry. And remember, your sweetheart is holding two pointed pieces of metal.

Vogue Knitting Spring 2013: A Review

Let's have a look at the Vogue Knitting Spring 2013 issue, shall we?

Well, this is different. I'm not sure what my overall assessment of this is. I see much about it to admire. I like the concept of a surprise back view, and I can never resist the appeal of delicate knitted lace. I'm less admiring of the peplum in the back. I was going to say it would add bulk to the hips, but when I viewed the YouTube video of the design, it turns out that the draping does all get pulled to the back and doesn't show from the front. One needn't be a model to carry this look off.

I don't need to qualify my praise of this one. It's very pretty and easy to wear.

This isn't at all unattractive — in fact it's quite eye-catching — but I don't know how those exaggerated batwing sleeves would be like to wear. I keep imagining myself reaching across the table at mealtime and having the excess drape fall into the food.

Perfect little summer cardigan. I love the texture of it.

This sweater just doesn't have anything to recommend it. The striped effect looks like grandma's afghan and the cropped length and dropped shoulders aren't going to be flattering on most women. You can fix all those things, of course, but by that point you've made a completely different sweater, so why not choose a different pattern in the first place?

I know the side vent and longer back of this vest are supposed to look like a designer touch, but they just look as though the knitter accidentally made the back longer than the front and the side seams are coming apart. I'd made the two halves the same length and seam the sides all the way down to the hem. This little vest is perfectly attractive and striking on its own.

This mesh will catch on everything, probably won't feel good against your skin and you'll have to wear a complete outfit underneath it. And it's just not appealing. I can't really see the point, unless you really must have something to wear to No-Frills that will match your grocery bags.

Really striking and wearable and cute little dress! And it'll be easy to whip up.

This is not a look most women will feel comfortable in, and even those who do won't be able to wear it to all that many places. And it has the amateurish look of a beginner project.

Striking and very wearable little top.

Another striking and wearable and rather mod little dress. This dress and the last one have me wondering just how much time the designer or designers spent watching Mad Men. Can't you just see Megan Draper looking fab in either of these dresses?

Ah, another faux maternity top. Unless you have some sort of fetish for passing as pregnant, or actually are pregnant, I'd recommend shaping this top to fit. The graphic pattern is worth replicating.

The stripes are simple yet eye-catching and the texture on the sleeves is really something, but it's yet another cropped design. Unless you can get away with that shape in a top, make it a standard fit.

I suppose this is supposed to be some sort of updated version of the twin set (it's even worn with pearls) intended for a nineteen-year-old girl who goes clubbing a lot. I do quite like the cardigan. I'm imagining it done in a number of colours; it's a scrap yarn project designed by a professional. And the tank underneath could be easily lengthened, which would make it into something a woman could wear to a number of places. Sometimes Vogue Knitting just likes to rattle their sabres knitting needles in order to look edgy, but often a little tweaking is all that's needed to make a pattern into something the average woman can wear.

Very basic and rather nice sweater... with the longer back hem and side vent, AKA "the I got the front and back lengths mismatched and my side seams have started coming apart" look. I keep seeing this. It must be what's called "a thing". My question is, why is it a thing?

For this one I have an apt parable. A company where I used to work always held an annual formal Christmas dinner and dance at a nice hotel with good food and even offered generous draw prizes. We all enjoyed getting to dress up and it was always a nice evening. But there was one fly in the ointment: the DJs were always the worst DJs ever. There was one whose idea of a great dance song was something recorded by Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers. One year we had a D.J. that played songs that weren't bad but that we couldn't dance to at all. At one point he played "Sweet Home Alabama", and a co-worker's boyfriend sputtered, "Oh, now he's just fucking with us. He's up there going, 'All right, you honkies, let's see you trying to dance to this one.'" There were indeed about ten people on the dance floor gamely trying to dance to "Sweet Home Alabama", and it was not pretty. The lesson learned here is, this designer is trying to mess with us just to see if we'll cast our dignity to the winds and make ourselves something that they're pretending to offer in all seriousness as a wearable item of clothing, but that really isn't. Save yourself for a better pattern.

This, dear readers, is the knitting pattern equivalent of a "song" produced by Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers. It's... a shawl? or a baby blanket?... or some other item randomly stitched together to form a woman's sweater? And it makes no sense on either a aesthetic or practical level.

Did Vogue Knitting really leave those sleeve seams unstitched on purpose? I guess I know the answer to that one. However, while people will give the best-selling and most high-style knitting magazine in the world a pass on things like this, if you make this for yourself or someone else, no one will ever believe that you didn't just forget to stitch up the sleeves. I'd say stitch them up, and neaten up the fit, because this is a really beautiful lace-pattern top.

I was very leery of this one because it looked to me as though it were really unflattering through the hips, but I've checked out the You Tube video for this pattern, and it turns out it can be made either as a tunic or a dress, and the dress at least is is quite flattering and the textured design of the item is masterful.

This is a beautiful tunic, but I'm not crazy about the silhouette. Oh sure, this tall, slim model is carrying it off fairly well, but it's the kind of thing the rest of us end up looking frumpy and dumpy and pregnant in.

My younger sister and I each had a white, angora-like batwing sweater back in the eighties. It is actually one of the non-embarrassing items of clothing that appear in the Swan family photos of that era. And it's apparently come back in fashion. Well, as long as the wings aren't too exaggerated and the sweater is lightweight and drapes well, I must admit it's not a bad or unflattering silhouette. And this one is done in a beautiful lace pattern, so I must give it a pass.

Very pretty lace top.

I don't know about this one. It looks to me like the designer started out with what is actually kind of an interesting concept (a lace-pattern hooded vest), and didn't quite pull it off. I don't like the way this vest only buttons at the bodice and splits open down below. That style always makes an item look like it's too small. I'd be inclined to make this vest a standard rather than tunic length and to button it all the way down the front.

Nice shawl. Its proportions and weight are just right for this woman and her outfit. Shawls tend to look either too skimpy or too voluminous, and it's always awkward looking.

Very smart knitted bag. I do like the contrasting handles.

This isn't unflattering — it has good lines that suit its weight — but something like this tends to be impractical because it'll catch on everything and it has to be worn over another layer, which one doesn't want to have to do in the heat of the summer.

It used to be that people wore detachable collars and cuffs and pinned them to their shirts and blouses and sweaters. It was a practice that made sense back in the day because cuffs and collars soiled and wore out more quickly than the main garment and could be more easily laundered or replaced when they were separate items. Now knitting designers are trying to bring back the detachable collars — I keep seeing them.

I think the thing to remember is that, back when detachable collars were regularly worn, they weren't buttoned on randomly but carefully chosen to coordinate with the garments one was wearing. Of these collars the most pleasing are the coral and red collars, because they come the closest to looking as though they really belong on the top the model is wearing with them. I wouldn't recommend putting a collar on over your bare skin as has been done in the case where the model is wearing a tank top. You know who else puts collars over their bare throats without relating them to their tops? That's right, Chippendale dancers.