Fever Induced Knitting and Sewing

The last 2 weeks of my life have mostly consisted of this:

Get me, mixing my medications - living on the edge!

 Yup, as is so often the case at this time of year, I have succumbed to flu, like 90% of the rest of the nation. Hacking cough, aches and pains, exhaustion, sweating alternating with shivering - the whole gamut of general illness. I've generally felt like this:

Resting on my deathbed...

Besides watching re-runs of 'Poirot' and 'Murder She Wrote', the only thing I've been able to manage is knitting. I've started on this project from an American copy of The Vogue Knitting Book from Autumn/Winter 1951:

With all this time on my hands recuperating, I've wizzed through this - only the sleeves left to do!

I've also started this:

Le-Roy Pattern, early 1970's (I think...)

 
I've always loved the 1940's via the 1970's - I love the way they've styled it with wedges and a hair snood. And the black and pink floral cotton sateen I pulled out of my stash is just perfect for view B.

Anyway, I think the worst of my illness has gone, so normal service is about to be resumed!

Crazy Crochet Lady

I've re-re-discovered crochet. I'll explain: I grew up in 1970's in the San Francisco area, with a mother who was VERY keen on crochet, so my whole childhood was smothered in the stuff. Totally put me off, until the 90's, when it got cool again. I had collected quite a few vintage patterns by then, so I taught myself a few stitches, and made a lacy white top for wearing with my Madchester baggy jeans.

Then I went off it again. 

Until recently, when I had an irrational need for a snood. I bought some purple lurex wool from All the Fun of the Fair on a whim (it was on sale; go check it out, it's a cute shop), and decided it would have been perfect. Trawled the net for a pattern, and also pulled out my 70's knitting book, then got going!

Brilliant knitting and crochet book!

This was the result of the pattern from the net:

But purple doesn't go with everything. I need a black snood I can wear to work. (I improvised this one with a stitch from the Encyclopedia):

 What about when I'm feeling a bit Busby Berkeley? I need a silver snood:

 Now I need something nautical - a red sailor hat from the Vogue Knitting Book of 1950:

The version in the book...

......and my version. Can you tell the difference?

And now I've done so much crocheting, I have repetitive strain injury in the fingers of my left hand. I'm typing with one finger! I wake up every morning with a throbbing pain in my knuckles. But I can't stop! I'm especially enjoying crocheting on public transport - better than Sudoku, and people don't sit next to you because they think you're nuts.