Thursday, June 22, 2006

Wild Knitting

I've got a penchant for the geriatric craft tome. No, they're not craft references for the elderly! This is just a Linoleumism for the craft books of yesteryear. There's nothing better than a tattered tome of the trade that was once lavished with love, used loads, then left at the altar when the proposition of a long term commitment reared its ugly head. Yep, just call me a rebounder for the bound! Or not...

At any rate, my latest mildew-y scented acquisition comes directly to me from an era where shoulders were not shoulders unless heavily padded, hair was better coiffed with knots and Aqua Net....oh, and multi-hued (anyone remember Manic Panic?)...and the safety pin was a standard fashion accessory. Oh yes, the 80's! Ahhhh, takes me back to the days when my entire wardrobe was a variation of black, the rips and tears always strategically placed and the pursuit of fuschia hair was preeminent. Yes, I am THAT old. However, I did get carded this afternoon at my lunch hour booze restocking fest, so all is not lost. I digress.

Where was I? Oh yes, craft books from the 80's. Enter Wild Knitting...



Circa 1979, this fantastic example of new wave chic is replete with clear and concise stitch guides and techniques, needle measurement deconstructed, the 411 on yarn types as well as two whole 9" x 12" pages devoted to tension. Also found amidst the informative leaves of my new favorite manual of knits for those who seek to have the shoulders of linebackers, sections on basic shapes, blocking, finishing touches, edges and insertions, the renovation or reclamation of yarn from sweaters whose time has passed and paying homage to the pompon, not the pompom. And as if this was not enough to make your Lady drop to the Linoleum at rapid speed, there is an entire section dedicated to the design and adaptation of patterns followed up by another titled, "Coping with Disasters". Fer sure.

The projects? Equally stylish and stylized, modeled on the heavily made, triumphant haired dames of the day. The photographs are seriously saturated with both color and mood exaggerating wearables that are sometimes strange, always inventive and not at all vague in their vagaries.

Part peasant frock, part lacey, mohair-y homage to the Pirates of Penzance, this dress is sure to freak your friends out at the next communal gathering. (Warning, if wearing this dress to an outdoor event, stay clear of open flame.)





Hint, hint...daytime party at the lake. No bonfires to endanger the wearer.



Clown couture. Very underrated.



Which clothing item says investment-banking-cum-a-day-at-the-cube-farm-apropos to moi? Methinks poofy rainbow dungarees.



However, I find that anything modeled after a hot air balloon with cuffs is difficult to beat as an answer to the trials of daily rigour.



Knitted cigs. Knough said.



Holy moly! Okay, so it's a hackneyed phrase. Whateva!



A jumper for Andy Goldsworthy...



Armadillos all around! You know I bought this book specifically for this roadkill wrap pattern.



I plan to finish off the ensemble with a pair of these socks...Duck feet are always in season.



Potential allies of the VLA. They just need some eyeballs and weapons and they'll be good to go.



What a find, no?

Angela Jeffs, where are you now?

36 comments:

Mandy said...

I freaking love that book. I discovered it at my local library shortly after I started knitting, and had a pretty insane time finding myself a copy. It's so inspiring and unabashed. My personal favourite is the bat cocktail hat. :)

Pam said...

LOVE your commentary, I'm rolling, I almost fell off my chair!

Sus said...

Oh, the knitted cigarette. I would make 20 and a little pack to put them in. And a zippo. And an ashtray. And a little Dennis Leary to keep them!

Thanks for sharing these!

lisa solomon said...

i'm speechless... except for that i'm laughing uncontrollably - but that doesn't count as speech, right?

JANNIKINZ said...

Rainbow dungarees - what a way to use up leftover yarn..and a knitted dress?? Uh huh- never never. love the roadkill wrap.

dizzy von damn! said...

holy shit. i need duck feet slippers.

Jana said...

he-lair! thanks for sharing:)

~drew emborsky~ said...

hee heeee - I saw a booby...

misplacedpom said...

My grandma had a copy of wild knits but a later edition than this. All the sweaters were named things like "harlot jane" or "prostitute jo". I kid you not...

Yeah So said...

um...yikes.

Bunny said...

Okay, so now I truely must finish teaching myself to knit and find this book. The Armadillo wrap is calling my name. FAB!

Kare said...

wow

Sara said...

Wow. I now must search madly on ebay for my own copy. So freakin' cool. BTW, we've missed you at SnB!

Vicky aka Stichr said...

Roadkill...yea that armadillo would go nicely with the grilled meat.

i like the kitty socks on the right....ROAR!

Vera said...

Fabulous stuff! I love the blue frock.

Nina Casey said...

Manic Panic...I went for the Rainbow Bright version: blue, pink, and green. The hours I invested in that hair...good memories

LadyLinoleum said...

Mandy - I'm with you. This is the best book ev-ver!

Pam - I aim to please!

Sus - Knitted zippo pattern in the book. No pattern for a knitted version of Dennis Leary though...

Lisa - But dontcha (yes, that's a word) love it???

Jannikinz - I swear I am making the dungarees. My daughter will die when I tell for sage is favorite color. But hey, if you can't mess with your kids, who can you mess with???

Miss Kendra - I'm with you. And they will be the perfect compliment to my bacon and eggs pasties.

Jana - Yep, tons of fun.

Drew - yes, you did.

Misplacedom - Everyone needs a sweater named after their fave pimp or harlot.

Stephanie and Karen - I know!

Bunny - we could have dueling wraps.

Sara - I saw Ellen's post about the wig/birthday bash. Glad you guys had fun!

Vicky - I know. I found a new outlet for my needlework. Dead animals before processing at the plant! Twisted, fer sure.

Vera - just steer clear of open flame and it'll work.

ninaclock - do you have a blog? And OMG, I've had every color known to humankind on my head at some point. Ahhhh, those were the days!

Heather Cox said...

I like Sus idea about the cigs and Dennis Leary. LOL And I want the duck feet. Oooh. quack quack

Shell said...

Please! Please! Please! Send me the duck feet pattern. Love the duck feet. So funny. Must traumatize the roommie on a regular basis, and it would be so much fun.

Rebecca said...

i'm in shock- there are no words...

Ellen Bloom said...

OMG! The Lady of Lino has done it again! What a find!!! I think ANY of these knitted and/or crocheted items would work well in today's world. I don't care what the decade is, whatever feels and looks good is ALWAYS in style! Must find this magazine!!

Jess Hutch said...

Oh wow. It's tacky, but at least it's *inventively* tacky.

Anonymous said...

Hehehe...I still have a jar of blue Manic Panic tucked away under my sink...just in case the mood should ever strike!

Gina said...

hahahahahaha!!! I LOVE IT!!! I want ducky feet. *sniffle*

Anonymous said...

At first I thought "Wild Knitting" was an oxymoron. Knitting is quite a slow process...but oh my! What a bunch of crazy stuff! (If I had the body for that holy moley dress, I probably would wear it! Alas, not even close.)

Thanks for sharing!

P.S. In the 80's, I had the big hair and narrow jeans with the little bows behind the calves. Ee-gad!

natasha said...

ah andy g...long time since i have heard of him. i have been slipping artist names into my posts to see if anyone notices. no one does. ah well.

i had fuschia hair for many many years, actually until i was 30 maybe...and, i have always had my hairdresser do it for me and was always trying my best to make sure it looked like i really had that color hair, no fading, no roots, etc. i just got sick of everything being a different shade of pink in my house.

i love the clown jumpsuit the best.

Susan Schwake said...

catching up here.... damn that andy goldworthy jumper is cute. isn't he the best? rivers and tides just rocks my knitted sox...tee hee.
DH loved the holy moly.. ahem.

Anonymous said...

All I can say is "yikes"! I've got to find that book.

Jenn said...

My day has been made. Knitted roadkill, rainbow bloomer-esque overalls and a boob for Drew. You gotta love it. :)

smg55039 said...

OMG!
My jaw drops. My brain numbs. My eyes bleed.

That book is wonderful.

I want the duck feet!

Amy O'Neill Houck said...

What a great book! I love old craft books too...

barbe said...

oh


my


god....


its so bad, its good...

but my eyes hurt LOL

Miri Mack said...

Amazing! I never saw that one before. How could I have missed all the duckfeet goodness.

Micky said...

What an awesome book! I can't wait to see what you do with it!
:)

Anonymous said...

We work at a Library in the West Midlands and found this dusty offering in the depths of the cratf section... After scraping the years worth of dust off what emerged was truly phenomenal!
We particularly love the duck socks and of course the knitted lingerie... The perfect gift this Christmas from a man to his wife perhaps?
Wild Knitting is a cult classic and now very dear to two Librarians hearts!

maya said...

Reading "The Best of Vogue Knitting 25 years", I came accross an article on pg 216 on Debbie Bliss. Apparently she she was a contributting editor on this book, designing the book jacket cover and several of the items inside : cocktail hat,sardine tin ties, a knitted garden and a child raincoat made from a bin liner and embellished with beads. I remember seeing it in charity shop, years before I got into knitting, whish I had bought it.