Here It Is!

Ta Daaa!

Here is the new strickliesel finished
and only has to have the nails put in.
Let me know what you think!

Remember?

Back in June

I had posted about some spool knitters
newly turned by hubby on various woods
(below). Some of them had started showing
cracks not long after
being turned but they did stop and they are
just minor cracks, after all.

I decided to go ahead with painting without using
wood filler as I think these cracks adds to the character
of the spool knitter.

So we have the beginnings of another painted
spool knitter.

Above shows the two sizes of the
original and the recent wood turned
spool knitter. (9cms and 18cms)
Not much more to go with the painting side
of things, just a little "fine-tuning" as the
stripes are the difficult part (though looking
at the originals, the stripes are not exactly
straight anyway). The hair needs
adjusting and the "shoes" also
need to be adjusted. Then there
is just the face and I will add "buttons" too.
The original spool knitter is Made in Germany
where they are called "strickliesel" and
they are to be found in a vast variety of
different stripes and different colours.
Stay tuned for the finished spool knitter.

Knitting Without Needles

I am always looking for any books

involving spool knitting and recently
found the book below -
Macrame and Other Projects
for Knitting Without Needles
by Peggy Boehm
illustrated by Shizu Matsuda
published in 1963.
It is another book directed
at children with many ways
of using wool to make various
items.
Among the contents are -
For the House
Toys to Make
Dress Up and Play
Tassels and Fringe
Tapestry
Weaving
...etc....

The topic of spool knitting is
found in the "Very Simple" section
of the book. It is just six pages
with instructions and suggestions
for projects.

Front Cover

Below is one of the illustrations
and one that I find very misleading.
If you have spool knitted, then this
illustration is entirely wrong plus
I feel that there should be another
nail added to show that they
should be evenly spaced.

Below is a rather large package
for a Giant Knitting Spool by -
Tucket Toy Corp., Woonsocket,
R. I., U.S.A. (no date)
This is the only one I have seen
of these and it is reminiscent
of the "Apple Pie", "Cherry Pie"
type of knitters that I showed you
in the previous post.

Below is the back of the package showing
the directions for use.
I would be interested to hear if
anyone has these too.

APPLE OR CHERRY PIE?

These knitters are a very close relative to
the spool knitter - same principle, only
for larger sized projects.
A main feature of these sets are
the patterns to make your own
dolls' clothes - Barbie, Cindy, Pepper,
Skipper, Skooter, Tressy, Tammy, all
dolls sizes up to 11 1/2 inches.

Above - Apple Pie Knitter by Lisbeth Whiting
Co., Inc., Litho in U.S.A. is dated 1966.

Above - Cherry Pie Knitter - Milton Bradley -
Crafts by Whiting (is this connected to the
previous Apple Pie Knitter?)

Above and Below - Wendy's Knitter by Peter Pan
Playthings - Made in England (no date)

Above and Below - French Knitting Petite by Hansa
Toy Co. Melbourne - Sydney (no date)

Below - Busy Betsy Carry Crafts
Bumblebee Knitter by Remco Industries Inc.
Harrison N.J. - Made and Printed in the
U.S.A.
This also included the plastic spool
knitter and knitting needles.
The instructions found in this
container are the same as
the Apple Pie Knitter!

Below - this is a vintage advertisement for
a Bizzy Bee Knitter from 1967 by
Transogram.
While it looks like a sewing machine,
it is a knitting machine where by
turning a handle, it does the
work (loop lifting) for you
and produces a cord just like
a spool knitter!

There are now many toy knitting
machines for children - some
produce a cord, while others produce
the wider tube knitted fabric.

Added September 2010 -

My dear UK friend has some of

these "pie knitters" 
that are by Minimodels UK.

SHAPES

Small Print
(Warning - this post may become boring!)

Have you noticed how many spool knitters
of today look similar?
These days of mass production and cost cutting
has "turned" our spool knitters into boring
same-shape figures of monotony. It turns out
that for serious collectors, we will have to
look for different colours, different attire, different
features, ...... get out those magnifying glasses to
play spot the differences!!
They might change the boxes - but you will
still find the same spool knitter.
Okay, we could collect the different boxes .....
different brand names, found in different
countries.
But even that can become a little boring.

Selecta Hobby made in Holland.

ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..............