UFO Hall of Shame 2019 - Knitting Edition

A few years ago I wrote a post about all of my unfinished Sewing and Knitting projects you can see it here! I made great strides in to finishing the projects, well, that was until I moved away from London, since then I have been in a crafty stasis, I have made very little in the way of new projects and finished very little of those that were already *lurking* half loved in my cupboards.

Recently I moved home for the third time since decanting my self to the midlands, and yet again I was faced with bags of 'one day' projects. This time I knew I would have to explain them to someone else, which made me feel very self-conscious about all the effort and money that was being waisted sitting in these bags, so I knew it was time for another proverbial dirty laundry airing.

This time I've created a video, as mentioned in my September 2018 Vlog (yes another pre-working-internet creation). I actually filmed this video quite a few months before my most recent move, as that ended up being a little more unplanned than I would have liked, long story, but at least I had some idea what was in these bags this time, anyway waffle over, here it is!

Patterns & Projects mentioned:

Debbie Bliss Land Girl Pattern Book

Lavenda Roll Neck Pullover

1940s Womens Land Army Knitting Pattern

Hermonie's Everyday Sock Pattern 

 My Star Trek Socks

Susan Crawford 'Trimmed with Roses' Jumper

Thank you for watching!

Wendy x

* I don't alf, use this word a lot in this video, goodness only know why, maybe anxiety brings out the lurker in me!

Knit It - Women's Land Army Pullover

I made myself a little promise earlier this year, to try and become a monogamous knitter, you know just one project on the needles at any one time, so that I never have to have such a long guilt-inducing list of UFO's ever again, so far it is working out OK. I should point out I didn't make the same promise regarding sewing projects, I know myself well enough by now to realize I'd fail miserably at that! 

So today's post is about a very special UFO, one that's been on my list since 2011 (only five years) and now complete, it marks the very last UFO on said list to be ticked off! Hurrah!

~ Women's Land Army Pullover ~

Pattern: A V-necked Pullover by Jaeger Hand-Knit No.44, Essentials for the Forces

Size: Pattern 35" Bust -- Size Made 37" Bust

Yarn: Bottle Green 2ply knitting machine yarn

It was February 2011, if Ravelry is to be believed, that I cast this poor jumper on. For years I'd longed for a lovely Women's Land Army Jumper in a glorious bottle green, and as I'd just begun working on my new allotment, I felt it was time to give knitting one a try!

So, I set about scouring the Internet for an original pattern, but being 2011 there was a lot fewer free or paid for PDF vintage patterns available online, so I struggled to find much that was suitable. I'd seen a few of the officially issued jumpers for sale on eBay, so I knew that the original pattern was for a long-sleeved, V-necked, K1. P1. ribbed jumper. I also knew that the standard issue ones would have been machine knitted, due to the sheer volume produced, so I reasoned that there may well not be an original handknit pattern out there and so settled for this V-necked Jumper pattern from the V&A's knitting archive.

When it came to getting the right yarn, here I also struggled. I am going to say it again, but back in 2011, as hard as it is to believe, there was nowhere near the amount of 4ply yarns available as there is today. Much of what was available was in baby shades of pinks, blues, and yellows, there were very few in more grown-up colours. I struggled for weeks, trying to find the right ply to match the pattern with the right hue to match that which the WLA's jumpers were renowned for. In the end, I found a seller on eBay who had some 2ply bottle green knitting machine yarn for sale, so I settled for that knowing once I balled it up, off the massive cone it came on, I could then double it up to reach the 4ply thickness the pattern required.

So I cast on and got knitting, I actually blogged back then about how I was planning to see just how quickly I could knit this up, haha, the naivety! I knitted the back quite quickly, for me, but then I stalled on the front only finishing it in July of the same year. And so that is how it has been left until a few months back when I decided rather than waste any more time knitting sleeves, to turn it into a pullover by knitting ribbing around the armholes and neckline.

The pattern is a very simple one, after the 2 by 2 stitch ribbing for the waist, you move on to the body of the jumper which is knitted in a slip stitch style wide rib, which is what gives the jumper the channels which run up the front. Knitting this pattern was a little tedious, due to the spacing of the slip stitch channel, for some reason I found it very difficult to get into a rhythm with it and so spent much of my time undoing rows where I had, slipped up - Excuse the pun!

Also due to me using knitting machine yarn, the feel of the jumper as it was being worked was very rough and itchy, this is partly to do with it being 100% wool in its makeup, but also due to the fact knitting machine yarn tends to be coated to make it smoother helping it to glide through the machine without snagging, and so once washed and blocked the finished garment should soften up, which this pullover has, but not by much.

Now it's done I am really glad, but now it's done I can see just how bad my re-sizing was and how it really doesn't fit me that well at all! The shoulders are too wide (something sleeves would have distracted from I think) and so is the main body, it's all just a little bit too big for me and is way off from being a 37" bust more like a 42". If I am honest I know there are two simple reasons for this. One, I think that rather than just adding 2" overall, I added 2" to both the front and back. Two, I didn't do a test swatch, I just assumed that by adding more stitches it would all work out OK, but as I never checked to see how loose my tension was compared to the pattern, it was always unlikely it would come out the right size! Again, the naivety!

So there you have my last UFO. I can't say that I love it, but I'm not too disappointed, as I ought to point out that this was the second ever jumper I'd attempted to knit and my first attempt resizing a vintage pattern, so perhaps I can forgive myself for its inaccuracies. It is still wearable, with a belt, and I guess you can't always love everything you make. I have since stumbled upon the official handknit pattern - find it for free here - and as I do still really want a Land Girl Jumper, I think I'll give it a try, finding a 4ply bottle green yarn should certainly be much easier in 2016 - well at least I hope so!

Wendy x

Women In Wartime - How Iris Became A Land Girl

I am glad you enjoyed the post on our Wartime housewife Olive's busy day. Next in my mini-series of posts of images from the Imperial War Museum, is about the Women's Land Army during WWII. The photographs as before were taken by the ministry of information to aid recruiting and boost morale, and this is the story of Iris Joyce and how she became a Land Girl.

19 year old typist Iris Joyce at work on her typewriter in an office somewhere in Britain, two weeks before her re-training as a member of the Women's Land Army. The original Ministry of Information caption states that Iris was the perfect typist until "...came the third year of war, and a new restlessness".

Iris Joyce talks with a recruiting officer as she enrols in the Women's Land Army.

Iris Joyce (nearest to the camera) and fellow new recruits to the Women's Land Army arrive at the Northampton Institute of Agriculture at the start of four weeks training, carrying suitcases. According to the original caption, Iris gets free board and lodging and 10 shillings personal allowance during training.

Iris Joyce, is weighed at the Northampton Institute of Agriculture, during 1942.

Three Women's Land Army trainees enjoy a 'mite' of milk before their day of training begins at the Northampton Institute of Agriculture. It is 6 o'clock in the morning.

24 year old Anne Keys reverses a tractor out of a shed during her training at the Northampton Institute of Agriculture. She is checking over her shoulder to make sure that all is well as she parks. Before the war, Anne was assistant forewoman in a boot and shoe factory.

27 year old Dorothy Lacey was a waitress before volunteering for the Land Army. She had been bombed out in Bristol and in Bath before training here at the Northampton Institute of Agriculture. Here we see her preparing to feed the chickens, pushing a wheelbarrow full of seed towards the chicken huts.

Members of the Women's Land Army put the finishing touches to a large haystack as part of their training at the Northampton Institute of Agriculture. They are removing the pieces of corrugated iron which form the ventilation framework for the stack.

Sylvia Smith was a shorthand typist before beginning her Land Army training at the Northampton Institute of Agriculture. Here she ties beans or peas to stakes.

A first week Land Army student operates the milk cooler and separator as part of her training at the Northampton Institute of Agriculture. She is pouring a bucket full of milk through the cooler and the milk can be seen trickling down the corrugated surface of the separator and into a churn below.

Three Land Girls work with hoes in a field as part of their training at the Northampton Institute of Agriculture.

Sylvia Smith sprays tomatoes in a greenhouse as part of her training at the Northampton Institute of Agriculture. A shorthand typist before the war, Sylvia hopes to go into horticultural, greenhouse, work.

 Iris Joyce learns to drive a horse-drawn hay rake as part of her training at the Northampton Institute of Agriculture near Moulton in 1942.

After a hard day's training at the Northampton Institute of Agriculture, Land Girls enjoy a sing-song around the piano, played by Iris Joyce.

After four weeks training at the Northampton Institute of Agriculture, Iris Joyce (fourth from left) and friends sit in a railway carriage as they leave Northampton to travel to their respective farms.

Iris Joyce (right) takes tea with her new employers upon arrival at her first farm somewhere in Britain. Seated at the table with Iris are the farmer and his wife and their two sons. According to the original caption "...you need farm teas when you are working on the land"!



Land Girl Iris Joyce receives her first week's pay from the farmer with whom she is billeted. Prior to her assignment to this farm, somewhere in Britain, Iris underwent four weeks training at the Northampton Institute of Agriculture to transform her from a typist into a Land Girl.

All images and Quoted text are taken from the Imperial War Museums Collection Archive

Wendy x

For More posts from the Imperial War Museum Archive Click the Picture Post Tab at the top of the Page!!

Digging For Victory & Knitting Inspiration!

A few months ago, well February to be precise my best friend Diane and I finally got our hands on an allotment! We had been on the waiting list for just over a year and are very lucky to have one considering the demand for them in London at the moment! We both love growing things, and we both love eating things so it seemed the perfect solution to grow things to eat!

I have for the past few years been growing a few veggies on my balcony, mainly salad, radish, tomatoes and potatoes essentially anything that doesn't mind being in a pot and is easy to look after. So I was over the moon when we got the plot, finally a chance to do some proper gardening! I haven't mentioned it before, as I was a little worried that it may be an epic failure, as you will see from the pics below it needed (and still needs) a lot of work...oh and a massive skip!

The last occupier was a real hoarder, she seems to have kept most of her household junk in her shed. We found big plastic boxes full of fitness magazines, video tapes, gardening and history books all of which had been totally ruined by the water that had been pouring in from the hole in the roof.

The ramshackle old shed made up of old doors! You can see the hole which the foxes got in through by the recycling box!

Perhaps the worst thing we found was a dead fox and cub, we think they were sheltering in the shed over winter and either ate some rat poison that was stored in the shed or could not find enough food to survive the really cold winter we had. Either way, they gave us both a huge fright, as the shed has no window it is very dark in there so we didn't see them until we had almost touched them!

This is the Green House, there is certainly a frame can't vouch for more than one pain of glass!

So the Progress so far...

February 2011 - Where to start?!?
 All manner of junk seems to have been dumped on our plot!!

March 2011 - Progress is under way! The first row of potatoes and shallots are in. Also some Gooseberry bushes and a Blackcurrant bush, that I have had in pots on my balcony for a few years, and some new Poundland Blackcurrant & Redcurrant bushes (under the bottles).

April 2011- More digging done and some more of the junk has been removed. Another two rows of potatoes have been planted and the shallots are just starting to peek through.

May/June 2011- More digging has been done but the ground is getting a bit tough to dig as it been very so dry. I never thought I would wish for it to rain! Planted Peas, Onions, Runner Beans, strawberry's, sweet peas, beetroot and broad beans.

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The aim for next year, when we have more of the land dug over and more of the rubbish removed, is to follow the Dig for Victory 'Grow for Winter as well as Summer' Leaflet (click photos for links to pdf files) for all year round crops. I am hoping as we are sharing the produce this will mean that although we won't be totally self-sufficient we will be at least optimising the land and getting the most veg possible!

All of this digging and planting lark has given me the inspiration to do a bit of knitting, so I've started on my very own land girl style jumper. I am using a free pattern for a women's V-neck Jumper found on the V & A website, and knitting it up in bottle green wool (although I'm sure at 16 I vowed never to wear bottle green again after having it as my school uniform for 5 years!) it is just the thing to create perfect Land Girl look and with fingers crossed should be finished in time for chilly old autumn!

Wendy x