Four Groovy Knitting Books

After my first "artist date" disaster, my inner artist was kind enough to actually call me back and give me another chance.  Woohoo!  A second date, this is getting serious.  

This time, I planned a trip to the library.  You know, a library, it's a big building with lots of books in it.  You pick out the books you want and then they let you take them home for a while.  And get this, it's free!  What?!  I know, my mind was blown too.

I decided part of the fun would be to force myself to find what I was looking for without asking for help.  I do this all the time when shopping for groceries, housewares, or craft supplies.  I tend to be a "thrill of the hunt" kind of person so there's not nearly as much satisfaction in finding something if I didn't find it on my own, using my own wits.

I would love to tell you that I am intelligent enough to navigate the Dewey Decimal System from memory and that I knew off the top of my head that the knitting books would be somewhere in the 740s between the drawing books and the books on interior decorating but sadly, it was really just dumb luck that landed me where I needed to be.  I'm just glad I didn't run into this guy.

Here are the books I found (along with their bibliographic citations)...

Walker, Barbara G. A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns. New York: Scribner, 1970. Print.

Knitting: a Golden Hands Pattern Book. New York: Random, 1972. Print.

Aytes, Barbara. Knitting Made Easy. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1970. Print.

Biggs, Diana. Knitting, Stitches and Patterns. London: Octopus . Distributed in U.S. by Crescent , a Division of Crown Pubs., 1972. Print.

Even though these books are still not quite as old as what I had hoped to find on my previous "artist date" adventure, they still have some great stuff in them.  Below are some of the pics I felt were worth sharing.  For your convenience, they are broken up into categories.

Let's start with the "I Actually Like This" category.  These are all things that I would either enjoy knitting or wearing or both.

This cute cardigan doesn't look dated to me like some of the other selections and I like the little argyle pattern on the pocket.  I'm not sure I would ever wear the hat myself but I think it's super cute.

Finally!  The perfect sweater for walking your dog through the woods.  Now all I need is a dog...and woods.

Now that I've gotten over my sock knitting phobias, these seem like they would be no problem.

I'm intrigued by the concept of knitting plaid-like patterns.

Okay, I'll admit that I mostly love this aran tunic because Princess Leia is modeling it.  I have been itching to practice cabling more though so I've been keeping my eyes peeled for a good aran pattern, this one looks fun.

Next in the "Those Poor Kids" category, a collection of knitwear that the children in these pictures have obviously been forced to wear...

This photo raises a few questions in my mind and none of them are knitting-related.  What is this girl eating?  Why is it all over her face?  Why did the photographer feel the need to photograph this particular moment?  And why did the editor of this book think keeping this photo was a good idea?  We may never know.

Is it just me or does this girl look like she is trying to melt something with her mind?  I'm hoping she got the candy and ice cream she was promised for wearing this amazing knit pants suit.

What exactly is the look on this girl's face?  Dazed?  Confused?  On the verge of a breakdown?  I actually think the dress is kind of cute but this girl doesn't look very enthusiastic about wearing it.

Wait, flower children didn't actually eat flowers did they?

These knit bodysuits are fine if these kids are training to compete in the luge, otherwise they just seem cruel.  I'm sure they're super warm though- sometimes function beats fashion (with a big ugly stick).

I call this category "Families and Friends Who Dress in Knitwear Together Often Look A Little Bit Silly."  Most of the knitwear itself isn't that bad but when more than one person is wearing the same sweater in the same picture you're on a collision course with wackiness.

See what I mean?  Those are great sweaters, there's just a lot of them all at once in this picture.

I think this should be the poster for a Broadway musical about sweater vests and the people who wear them.

A chip off the old block.

"Wow, you like wearing hand-knit sweaters too?  We have so much in common!"

I'm not exactly sure why, but I totally think this picture is two strategically placed cigarettes away from being a magazine ad for Kool Filter Kings.

As far as I'm concerned, the only acceptable explanation for this sweater pairing is that these guys are on their way to audition for a Doublemint Gum commercial.

Pete and Carol always throw the most exciting sweater parties!

And now we come to the "What Were People Thinking" category...

I love plaid and all but, yikes!

Finally, I can knit my own retro stewardess uniform.

Too offensive for words.

I actually don't completely hate this sweater but the sleeves are a bit much.

Robin Hood called, he wants his sweater back.

This color scheme hurts my eyes a little.

Last but not least, the category I like to call "Stuff I Actually Think Is Amazing, In A Good Way."

Combining knitting and weaving?!  How have I not heard of this until now?

How fun it this?!

Plaid!!!

Cables...

cables...

and more cables!

Enchanted cottage...

gingerbread castle...

windmill...

flowers...

candy canes...

Space Invaders!

So there you have it.  I hope to actually knit some of this stuff but I have decided that my Lenten discipline will be finishing incomplete projects (along with concentrating on Bible memorization), so any new knitting will have to wait until Easter- or until all of my "UFOs" are "FOs."  It's nice to have some groovy knitting to look forward to!