Wartime Knitting

While on vacation in Muskoka (Bala, to be precise) we came across a small sign in town announcing that there would be a knitting exhibit at the Bala Museum. My cottage neighbour (also an avid knitter) and I went down to check it out.

It was all contained in one small room, but there was so much to see. Naturally, there were socks and hats, and patterns for the "Wartime Woolies" and such, but there were also several posters set up, that existed at the time to encourage everyone to participate in the wartime effort in any way they could.

There were also items I never would have imagined (and I suppose that fact shows how very naive I am about all this). The rifle mitts, with an open thumb and index finger for working the trigger. And there was a table full of hand knit medical bandages- bedsocks, bandage covers and leg and arm amputation covers (those last ones were both fascinating and disturbing).

For efficiency's sake, I have arranged the photos from the museum in a Flickr set:

Wartime Knitting Exhibit

p.s. I'm sorry I couldn't devote more time to this post. I am sick, and burnt out, but I really wanted to share these photos.

d.

Ravelry Swap

So I participated in my first ever swap last month, just by stumbling upon it while browsing on Ravelry.

I got my package a few days ago, but with the insanity of getting the kids into school, and my house into order (hah!) I haven't had a spare moment to post pictures until now.

The swap specified sock yarn and roving, but it allowed for other goodies as well:



A calendar and notebook (that notebook is going to wreak havoc on my diet!)



A great little wooden box, with a set of super-cute stitch markers,



The sock yarn is just awesome- hand dyed, it has both autumny colours, and some gorgeous teal jewel tones. The picture doesn't really do it justice:



And last but not least, the fiber. Oh it's really something- it's from Crosspatch Creations, which I'd never even heard of before. They have three different colours of fleece: two hand dyed, blue and purplish, and one natural black, and all three are blended through with wisps of multicoloured silk.



It is going to be so much fun to spin, I can't wait. I am going to save it until I get back from Rhinebeck though, since I'm attending a workshop about spinning multicoloured fleece, and I want to put the knowledge to good use.

More of the fleece, close up, so you can see the silky bits:



Thanks so much Janet!