22
October
2005
I have Vogue Knitting from the 1940s.
One non-Vogue treat so far, an issue of “Hand Knits by Beehive” from 1944 includes a small piece of paper that reads “A Necessary War Measure: We regret that we are compelled to ask you to be patient if you are unable to find all the Beehive yarns you want. The usual plentiful supply of these fine imported wools has been curtailed, due to the manpower shortage in Great Britain. We know you will be glad to cooperate at this time, and “Share the Yarn” for Victory!”
Never fear for Beehive…Their ad in Vogue’s Knitting Book 7th Edition (1946) reads “Good News! Beehive is back! It is true, Beehive has never been off the market all through the war. However, it has sometimes been hard to find. Now, your favorite of all knitting yarns is back again in quantity at all good stores from Coast to Coast.”
So what became of Beehive? Their ad in Vogue’s Knitting Book 8th Edition (1947) reads “They won’t shrink because they’re Patonised” These yarns are imported from Patons and Baldwins, Ltd. Their modern-day descendants can be found in Michael’s stores everywhere.
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22
October
2005
Today I was out running errands with my husband. One stop was an antique store near where he works to pick up something he’d been seeing in the window (it’s going to be an x-mas gift, so I won’t disclose what it was). It’s the kind where things are crammed together almost randomly on the shelves and you feel an impending allergy attack the whole time you’re in it. Thus, we spent a bit of time wandering through the shop and looking at neat things.
We had just about completed the full circuit and were ready to buy what we came for when we hit a room with some books and magazines. On a bookshelf almost completely behind an armoire I spotted some cross-stitch and needlepoint books, so I looked a little more closely. And at the bottom, under piles of other stuff, I spotted some magazine holders filled with knitting patterns. I pulled out the first one. A lot of Patons and Bernat pattern books from the 70s and 80s. Interesting, but not all that compelling. I pulled out another, more of the same. I pulled out a 3rd one, packed full of Vogue Knitting issues from the 80s! Looking a little closer, I saw the next one had issues from the 90s. And then another with issues from the 60s!!!!! I pulled these out and set them aside. The next one went back to the mid-50s! All in all, 5 boxes of Vogue Knitting issues, all obviously well-loved, the older ones in individual plastic holders because they were losing structural integrity. Many issues had labelled bookmarks.
I insisted on buying them all (and a few choice items from the Patons/Bernat boxes). And the shopowner gave me a good deal. I got over 80 issues for $65. The magazines all came from one woman who passed away and her family sold all her knitting stuff to the store. No books that I could see. The yarn had long gone, but there was a huge basket of vintage knitting needles. Those were somewhat tempting, as a resource for needle sizes since many were well-labelled, but I don’t use straights and the shopowner seemed reluctant to give me a package deal on them.
Anyway, we were travelling on the train and it’s a wet day, so we walked the magazines and our other purchase over to my husband’s office and we’ll head back with the car later to pick them up. And I’ll make sure to share choice items.
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Mermaid Jacket
Odessa Hat 
ZigZag Sweater
Twisty Baby Set
Miss Dashwood
Clapotis (Mixed Berries)
Tychus
