Thursday, April 03, 2008

They don't make 'em like they used to.



Look what I found! Digging through some long neglected boxes of stash I found this jacket I made maybe fifteen years ago. I only barely remember making it. And I have no recollection of why I didn't finish it then. Probably because I didn't like weaving in ends any more then than I do now. Plus, I was probably not sure if the mixture of yarns and the irregular stripes was really going to work. This was the mid-90s after all and things were a lot different then.

Back then, as I recall, it was a lot harder to get away with mixing fibers and textures, except for the Anny Blatt folks. And tidiness of finish was a bigger issue than it is now. (Viva rustica!) I think I had just discovered the Barbara Walker Treasuries then and was in love with all the stitch patterns that were in them.

I don't think any of the yarns that I used in this jacket are available now. There's some Rowan Chunky Magpie and some of their Cotton Chenille. There are a couple of yarns that I don't remember what they are. Maybe Rowan Designer DK. And there's a thin strand of something I don't recall at all.

The lime green though is something from a women's co-operative that had just gone into business. Everyone was very excited about this venture. We even had a kick-off party at Mariposa, the now defunct shop where I worked then. I don't think the co-op lasted though. The yarn, while it had some great colors, was very difficult to work with and the quality control wasn't terrific. But it was great to be there.

So, I spent about an hour this morning, sewing up the sides and weaving in the ends. I'm going to take this with me later today to show it off and see if anyone likes it (other than me) and will give it to my daughter when I see her next week. I'm not sure if the original pattern was called Slouchy Jacket or not but that's what we called it at Mariposa. It was given to me by one of the yarn reps. I think I still have it somewhere.

3 comments:

Janice Rosema said...

Wow! All this tweedy wonderfulness with lots of great stitches. Can't wait to see this one done. Great job.

Anonymous said...

So rustic! The colors are great. :) What fun to find something you'd almost forgotten about.

unraveledgal said...

I will have to see this one in person...looks interesting!