Awhile back, my mother mentioned to me that she remembered my Grandmother, along with several other ladies in their town, meeting once a week at the local doctor's home to knit socks for the troops!
I never knew my Grandmother knew how to knit, much less was involved in a project such as this! My Grandmother taught me to crochet but I don't recall her mentioning that she knew how to knit!!
I was so intrigued by the thought that ladies across the U.S. were meeting in homes to make socks for the troups....rather than the socks being machine made...... that I decided to do a search for vintage sock patterns to see if I could find any patterns such as might have been used.
I was so tickled to find that the Red Cross had this commemorative kit for sale along with other "vintage" style items. The kit is $25 and comes complete with a copy of the 1942 pattern that was distributed across the U.S. along with the wool and needles.
The presentation was really nice!! Everything wrapped in tissue paper! "The Humble Sock" printed on the inside of the lid was so interesting to me! Apparently the socks were knitted, turned in to local chapters, each sock was checked by hand and if it was found "lacking" in any way it was ripped out, re-wound and re-distributed for another go round!
If you are a sock knitter I would highly recommend spending the $25 to purchase this kit.....if for no other reason than you are helping the Red Cross!!
I just think it is so cool to know that in 2007, I can sit down and knit the same pattern that my Grandmother knitted in the early 40's!!
4 comments:
I've seen those kits on several blogs and thought about getting one. MIght have to do that eventually!
I bought one of those kits a year or two ago. It's a nice little kit. I keep thinking that I'll knit up the yarn but I just can't bring myself to do it.
Oh I love the kit! I ordered a t-shirt and the patterns (my great-grandmothers are too fragile to use) before Christmas. That is so cool! I am probably the only person in the world who loves drab green.
Darlene, I don't remember ever seeing mother knit any after the ladies got together in the beginning of WW11. Probably it was because she had to go to work after my father died and she didn't have time to knit.
She first worked at the Selective Service office (later called the draft board) until into the first year of the war. She them started teaching because there was a shortage of teachers and this is what she was traind for.
Ah, such old, old precious memories.
Mom
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