Bright and Delicious Sixties

One of my vintage magazines  (1967-8 McCall's) has completely fallen apart and is headed, sadly, to the recycling bin. Naturally, I've clipped my favourite patterns. However, I wanted to share the best adverts with you too. In knitting mags, just as in regular fashion periodicals, often the ads are the best part.

These gals have spunk for days mixed with awesome accessories, hair and makeup. Love the bright colours and the sassy sixties attitude.

Best legwear ever.

Serious posing.

Check out the stitch pattern of the pink cardigan. It's the same bubble pattern used in PomPom's Bombus from this past spring. I noticed it because, as you know, Bombus is my current project. Indeed, everything old is new again!

Turn, Turn, Turn

You may recall me posting about breaking my umbrella swift and attempting to repair it with glue and spit. Well, the damage was just too great and I had to finally admit that it was unusable and needed to be replaced.

That unhappy occurrence turned happy quickly with a friend's recommendation that I try an Amish style swift. I'd always been curious and it certainly is much more affordable than the umbrella style, so I bought one. I just love it. It turns so smoothly and quietly. The set up and tear down are simple with no clamping required. Best of all, it breaks down into four flat pieces and a small bag of pegs so storage is easy. The only disadvantage I've found is that the ability to adjust to the skein size is not as precise as my old swift's but I can certainly live with that. 

I highly recommend this swift, especially if you live in a small space.

Make Do Monday

So it's Slow Fashion October again. Though I don't really take part, it is an opportunity for a bit of reflection. This past Monday, having the apartment to myself, I spent the entire evening listening to podcasts** and catching up on my mending. When you buy second hand and wear and wear your favourites for years, frequent maintenance is required. Seams wear, straps fray, buttons fall off. Some of these skirts have been in rotation for over 20 years. It's a small accomplishment, but I am proud of it.

Another aspect of slow fashion that I've been thinking a lot about is laundry. You hear more and more about plastic fibres from our clothes getting in the ocean. All those yoga pants being machined washed! To keep my natural fibre prints clean, I of course hand wash with vegetable based soaps - when I wash that is. For here's a secret. I hardly ever wash my skirts. Unless I spill something on them, they only get laundered about every tenth wear. Honestly with a freshening iron or steam, the fabric looks just fine to wear many times. Dresses need more washing for obvious reasons. However, I find that with light wear, a spritz on the underarm area of the garment with homemade fabric refresher***, is often enough to make the dress ready for a second or even a third wear. 

There is a label I want to share.  I rarely buy new and that's a function of economic necessity as much as it is a reflection of social conscience. When I do, it has to be special. Inside my new organic cotton dress by Toad & Co. is this:

Dirty is the new clean.
Wear more, wash less.
Wear it out or pass it on.

Sounds right to me.

**Re the podcasts. Listen to Clara Parkes reading the Debbie Stoller chapter from A Stash Of One's Own on Pomcast. It will make you cry.
***Mix a few drops of essential lavender oil and tea tree oil with distilled water in a spray bottle. It works wonders.