Vintage Knitting, Retro Dressmaking, Make do and Mend, Original and Vintage Inspired Knitting Patterns, Vintage Inspired books

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

A is for ...

Alpaca.

To be precise, Blue Sky Alpacas. I finally took delivery of the pattern I have been waiting for

30's gown

It still doesn't seem to be available anywhere in the UK, so in the end I ordered it from Purl in New York. It only took about 5 days and it was here. But obviously, to make ordering from New York worthwhile I ordered a few more which include

crochet sweater

this gorgeous crochet sweater in Suri merino

and

fitted jacket

the equally lovely fitted jacket in Bulky Naturals.

I've long wanted these two patterns aswell so am very pleased. The 1940's gown is in Alpaca Silk which is one of my favourite yarns. I used it recently to knit 'something' for the forthcoming 'A Stitch in Time' book and saw it and many other lovely things get photographed for preliminary publicity at the weekend. I can't say any more on that front but wow, wow, wow. I just can't wait to see it. My friend, Theo, of the Shellac Sisters was one of the models. You will also be able to see her modelling a design of mine in the next issue of knitonthenet. The other model is Fleur de Guerre, who is a professional 1940's model. Which brings me to

B is for....
Butterflies

At the end of a very long days photography, Fleur agreed to pose in my butterfly dress to finally get some professional photos for the website in waiting. I am just delighted with the photos. Fleur just looks fantastic. She even managed to look beautiful and poised standing in shoes that were TWO sizes too small for her. What a Star!

butterfly1

butterfly2

butterfly3

butterfly4

Beautiful.

Hair was done on the day by the wonderful, talented, funny, warm Nina of Nina's Hair Parlour. She is the best hairdresser on the planet. She even put my hair up in a 40's rolled style which I'll show photos of in the next blog. It was so complicated and she did it in ten minutes, and it stayed in all day. Genius. I struggle to even tie my hair back successfully! I love Nina.

so finally

C is for ....
Claudette Colbert

claudette

We all need a muse and she is mine. Not only is she beautiful but she was a woman very much in control in an era and a business where not normally so. She became at one point the highest paid actress in hollywood and even dictated how she was photographed. The caption on the photo is inaccurate. She was actually born in 1903 and died in 1996. One of the most fascinating things about her I think, was that she was cast in Bette Davis' role in All About Eve then fell and badly hurt her back. Bette Davis' then got the part. Life is full of twists.

The photo is from Hollywood Knits by Bill Gibb, published in the 1980s but unfortunately out of print now. It features publicity shots of hollywood stars in knitwear and Bill Gibb has then created knitting patterns from the photos. The garment Claudette is wearing is high on my list of to do's. And if I think Claudette would be happy to wear a garment I have designed I'll be very happy.

for now
Ruby xx

4 comments :

Lauren Hairston said...

I've been wanting to knit something from Blue Sky Alpacas for a long time (especially that bulky jacket!), but I always worry about justifying the expense! That, and all my knitting is on hold while I try to make it through this semester.

Anyway, I love your butterfly dress. It is absolutely gorgeous. I love 40s dresses and have plans to make a few for myself this summer.

I also adore Claudette Colbert. I love her wardrobes and I'm considering something like her wedding dress in It Happened One Night for my wedding dress. I think that would be so great. I'm glad there are other people out there who think Claudette Colbert was just awesome!

Gudrun Johnston said...

You are certainly going to be a busy bee! (well sounds like you are already) That gown is stunning and I love the bulky jacket too! Can't wait to see what you've been working on for "A Stitch In Time"...so exciting!

SOPHIE said...

Ohhh all of those things look lovely, I can't wait for the book to come out - and I'm even more impressed as I sort-of-kind-of-on-the-internet-only know Fleur; we got chatting on the What Katie Did forums a while back. I shall have to congratulate her!

Linda said...

My word, that is a gorgeous pattern for the gown. If only I had the figure I would knit that!