Going down the rabbit hole again

Like many people, I am getting pretty excited about the return of Downton Abbey this upcoming weekend.  I got really excited when I saw an email from Jimmy Beans Wool about a KAL (knit a long) to go along with the series…a special color way even.   (Disclaimer – I am not plugging Jimmy Beans Wool or a certain color way…the pattern is free on Ravelry and you can substitute the yarn.)

I quickly subscribed for my mother and myself and intrigued a friend of mine.  I then was entranced by a themed set of stitch markers for the occasion.  I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the supplies for the season opener.  I am currently considering starting a Facebook Group just for this adventure.

This recent interest (obsession) led me to search on Ravelry for Downtown Abbey patterns and there is a scant few surprisingly.  I then decided to do a search on Google for WWI patterns.  

I was astounded by all the fascinating bits that came up.

First I googled “world war one knitting”.  Tons of things came up but I selected http://barbaraknitsagain.blogspot.com/2011/07/world-war-i-knitted-comforts.html and read about a pamphlet about World War I Knitted Comforts.

The next leg of the rabbit hole involved clicking on the UK Knitting and Crochet Guild as Barbara (of Barbara Knits Again) is sorting and cataloging the collections of this organization.  There is a great deal of information on this website http://www.kcguild.org.uk/.  My eyes were opened again in regards to the vast diversity of knitting out in the world.

Then I went to their “other useful websites” on that site.  I haven’t even begun to explore everything there but I ended up going to the Antique Pattern Library http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/.  I have never seen so many vintage pattern publications.  This is a vast project.  I tried to just focus on knitting (ha!  focus – I have KADD – knitting ADD.)

I will just mention a couple of things that really jumped out at me before I sign off for another day….

Go to catalog and then “Technique.”  (I of course went to knitting…)

 My finds for the day include:

American Red Cross.

Knitting patterns.

Washington, D.C., American National Red Cross [1939-1945].

http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/pub/PDF/ARCknitting.pdf

And

Nicoll, Maud Churchill,

Knitting and Sewing,

How to Make Seventy Useful Articles for Men in the Army and Navy,

New York, George H. Doran Company, 1918, 207 pgs.

http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/pub/PDF/NicollKnitting.pdf

I am absolutely entranced.  I will keep you posted on my future adventures in knitting.