Jonelle Raffino, co-owner of South West Trading Company target, has gathered together a collection of patterns based on garments and items knitted and crocheted by herself and 5 other generations of women in her family in the her book, Purls Forever: The Story and Legacy of 6 Generations of Women and Their Handcrafted Garments.
The patterns have been updated to reflect contemporary styles while staying true to the original garments that inspired them. They also use modern yarns made for and distributed by South West Trading Company. Also, each pattern includes a picture of the original item as well as the updated version.
Each pattern is accompanied by heart touching stories about the orignial garment, who made the garment, and who recieved the knitted or crotchet item. I felt moved by several of the stories about grandmother, mother, and daughters, so much so that I became teary-eyed.
You can't say that much about a knitting book unless you are crying in frustration over problems knitting a pattern!
Patterns that I particularly like were:
- A Dress For Josephine/Bamboo Eyelet Set on page 13 - an elegant looking knitted skirt and top set with a picot stitch pattern.
- Jonette's Sailor Sweater on page 39 - an adorable child's sweater with a sailor collar
- The Cardigan Sweater/Nona's Cardigan Sweater on page 57 - the updated version has a zipper
- 911/The Hug Scarf on page 75 - a scarf Jonelle knitted waiting for her husband to come home for Washington, DC after that fatefull day. This story really brought tears to my eyes
Purls Forever by Jonelle Raffino really shows that knitting and crocheting are timeless!
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