Look what I've made!
What's that you say? Liar, liar, bras on fire?
Okay, I'll 'fess up. I snapped it up for $5.50 at Vinnies. Yes, $5.50. Perhaps vintage crocheted Afghans (or granny square rugs, as they're fondly known) will be one of the last affordables for the budding collector.
I love it to bits, and not just for the hours of work that must have gone into it. For me, granny squares are nostalgia plus. They give me that warm and fuzzy feeling, inside and out.
I've had a love affair with handcrafts from the day mum sat me on her knee and showed me how to knit. Everyone made stuff at our place - brothers included - all sorts of stuff. And as a schoolgirl way back in the craft renaissance of the late 20th century, I was more than up for a bit of crochet. Granny squares are bewitchingly addictive little things. They're easy, quick, portable, and, like a kaleidoscope, morph themselves into endless variations of pattern and colour with every turn. There's something so soothingly mathematical about their construction (and this from someone who hates maths).
So I'm chuffed that in these heady, post-feminist days, when girls really can do anything, that the homely granny square has made yet another comeback. In craftblogland they're everywhere. Why, over at Meet Me at Mike's, the industrious Pip is hell-bent on churning out a granny a day. (She's also posted a helpful tutorial, should you be inspired to join the fun and games.)
However, when looking for vintage granny inspiration, I'd say there's no better place to start than Golden Hands: the complete knitting, dressmaking and needlecraft guide (c1972), where I found this quaintly-named Killarney Cloak. (Love the dog - evidently, in the 70s, nothing said Ireland like a setter.)
I feel compelled to get crocheting - but would I ever finish it? ... Would I ever wear it? ... Is it really funky, or just plain frumpy? Sometimes, with retro knitwear, it's a very fine line.
More Links:
Grand Purlbaa: Should you tire of grannies (perish the thought), head on over to the Queen of the Tea Cosies.
Thicket: For a truly green granny, you'll find organic wool (and lots of other delectable stuff) here.
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3 comments:
A very fine line indeed.
So - I guess I'll take that as 1 for frump
I say...go for it! If anyone can pull off vintage frump and make it look totally stylish - it's you!
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