Knitting Nancy gets a Makeover

 (before and after)

Knitting Peter

I had been wanting to give the Spear's Knitting Nancy of

the 1970's, 80's, and 90's a makeover for quite some

time.
(Knitting Nancy is the product name given
to the spool knitters by Spear's Games)

 I have a large number of these common boring 

and hideous bright pink-faced Knitting

Nancies in varying degrees of condition, the one

that I have painted here had had an accident with

nail polish of all things! ... and it had been purchased

for next to nothing.

In the 1920's - 30's, there were both female and

male form Knitting Nancies made by Spear's

of Germany and UK .... the male was called

Knitting Peter (Strick-Peter).

I quite like how he turned out in light

blue top with dark blue pants.

I also like his little expression on

his face!

 Here is the original Spear's
Knitting Peter (right)
of the late 20's/30's.
Don't the two Peter's
make a nice family
photo!!

                                                                        

°°°°°°°°

New Discovery!!

Aïcha

It appears there is yet another

"totally different" 
Spears Games Knitting Nancy lurking

around somewhere in the world.

I discovered recently via the internet

that there was another Knitting

Nancy produced for the French

market.

While the discovery was

only a box and it was missing the

original Knitting Nancy,

and that I would probably

never be able to possess it,
I thought, well then, I could

paint my own.

So with an image of the box top

I came up with this below -

(only needs the nails which will

be put in soon) 

 Aïcha

(say Ay-i-sha

.... and also spelled A'isha,

Aisha, Ayesha and Ayisha)
is an Arabic female name.

Could it be because of the

Arabic name that she is

brown?

She would date from the late 1920's

because of the statement

regarding her new staples

(pointes en arc).

Though I still prefer

the "Knitting Nancy" to

"Aïcha", I am quite
fond of my

little reproduction.

 

(Now here she is all

complete.) 

I wonder if there are

others "out there"?!!!!

...≤◊≥...

Little Knitter

Here is a rather plain little

spool knitter called "Little Knitter"

by Spear's Games - England

It is *my opinion that it is possible
these sets were sold during the WWII years.


The illustration leaflet above is printed in black
and white.


The directions are puzzling in that
the diagram here is a totally different
looking spool knitter.

The painted Knitting Nancy on
the right is the "after WWII" model
and is exactly the same shape
as the plain model.

Above shows the wording on the
box top.

* If you have an opinion,
or agree with me, or know anything
about this "Little Knitter" please do
let me know. We are all here to
learn what we can about spool knitters.

--->>><<<---

The Next Generation

Sometimes in this world, if you are
patient enough, good things will come
to you.
Was it the novel endearing character of these
particular strickliesel (spool knitter)?
OR ..... Was it the current popular
revival of the craft of spool knitting that
brought back these lovely spool knitters?
Either way, we have the arrival of the
next generation
of the "yellow hat brigade" with
a twist!!
At this stage (due to moving house and
all of my collection being packed and not
being able to access them),
I cannot go into more detail
regarding the original versions of
this spool knitter. I will have to post
more about that at a later time.
But these were new arrivals in
the post today and
I had to show them to you now.
So without further ado -
I present the next generation......


Okay now ...... as I have found with so many
spool knitters in their boxes, the one
pictured on the top of the box varies
to the one in the box.
I purchased three of these and all three
have red hats, the same colour stripes,
and the same number of stripes.
For those who are practically regular
readers of my blog, you will remember the
vintage originals with their yellow hats
and the many colours and stripes and
designs that they are found in.
I have almost fifty vintage spool knitters
of this style and none of them
are exactly the same!
So here we have the updated spool knitter
and due to production costs they are
all exactly the same colours/design.
(But I wonder where the one on the
top of the box is?)

This is the back of the box (sorry about glare)
which is all in German.
No - Made in China or Taiwan - here.

And for a little nostalgic look .......
here are the vintage
spool knitters.


This is the last post for a few weeks
but I hope to be back in time for
Christmas! See you then!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Added December 4th

I am so glad that some things have been
cleared up for me concerning these new
strickliesel/spool knitters.
Which is why I would encourage anyone
who knows otherwise to contact me regarding
anything that I have posted about on
my spoolknitter blog.
The "next generation" strickliesel does come
in a variety of stripes and colours!
It just so happened that my order must have
been of the same batch.
And what's more - they also come with different
coloured hats!
The directions are on the bottom of the box (in
German) although somewhat not too clear according
to my dear German friend.

See you soon!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Transogram Knobby Knitter

This set has just arrived and I

quickly photographed it
before it was packed away!

I love the graphics on the box top -
cleverly taking the older style
cotton reel and nails into the
modern era!

"Mrs. Oldtime Knittingspool's new bright
little child".

Illustrated by Isabelle Magor below.
Photo taken in the 1930's.

The set is dated 1938
(MCMXXXVIII)
by Transogram N.Y.


Originally there would have been two
spool knitters but unfortunately as happens
with so many like this, they get separated
and lost. The blue spool knitter here is
a great little character although still a little plain.
The tool is very much like the "Spears Games
loop lifter".


Here are some more of the fantastic
graphics on the box top.



Knobby Knitter - a very clever little gadget
to make ...... Hat-bands, Skipping Ropes, Baskets,
Belts, Purses, Mats, Pillow Tops, Horse-reins!
Also, the instructions are missing.
The set is numbered 68.


**************

Spear's Orange Boxes

As promised from the last post, here

are the Spear's Games Knitting Nancy
boxes from 1983 and 1989.

Below is the box dated 1989
with the number 55046.

Below - this is what was in this particular
box. The Spear's Games and Crafts
catalogue unfortunately
did not include the Knitting Nancy!

Below - the directions found in this box are
in french for the Jeannette La Tricoteuse (the illustration
shown here is nothing like any
Spear's Knitting Nancy) which
is the french name for the vintage Knitting Nancy.
(The small print at the bottom says
Printed in England.)

Below - the two boxes right of the photo are both
dated 1983. (MCMLXXXIII)
The box number is 6001.

Below - inside one of the boxes (a later model Knitting
Nancy along with two earlier models - as found.)

For the next post I have another surprising find!
......and here is a sneak peek.......

Another Spear & Sons Knitting Nancy Box

I came across this box last year, the only one
I have seen in all of my collecting years.
By Spear's Games, it would have to be
the very last type of Knitting
Nancy box issued
before Spear's Games was sold to
Mattel in 1994. I have been told by Francis
Spear (of the Spear & Sons family)
that Mattel did not continue with the
production of Knitting Nancy but I have
seen one by Rocket Toys & Games (2003) with
the exact same Knitting Nancy. (The
link to my post showing Rocket Toys
& Games is here.)

This Knitting Nancy box is dated 1992 and
its number is 55046. I do have a box
numbered 55046 which is the orange
coloured box and I will show that box
(plus others) in the next post.

Side of box.

Inside the box - note that it comes
with a warranty.

Bottom of box.

The leaflet of projects made with the
Knitting Nancy.

The other side of the leaflet showing
the instructions and is dated 1989.

>>>>><<<<<

Spoolie Mushrooms!

Spool Knitted Mushrooms

Here is a link to a fun fantastic
spool knitted project that I found
on Guppygirl
for spool knitted mushrooms -
they are really cute!

Thankyou Guppygirl for sharing
your great pattern!

KNITTING PETER OR KNITTING NANCY

My latest spool knitter find is

this Knitting Nancy.


Inside the box.

Those who have been a regular follower
of my spoolknitter blog will know that
I have found that this style of spool knitter
below is called a "Strick-Peter"
(1932 - German name - by
J.W. Spear & Sons)
This information is found in the
book - Games We Play -
History of J.W. Spear & Sons.
The English name is Knitting Peter.

Of the 'Spears' company in England, these
are more commonly found.
According to German friends, these
are quite rare to Germany.
While the Knitting Nancy (female form and
called a 'Strickliesel' by 'Spears' Germany)
had continued
to be made in Germany,
the 'Spears' company in England changed it
to the male form and kept the Knitting
Nancy name!


Above shows a major change to the
Knitting Peter.

While the name Knitting Nancy is an
actual name for a toy, it has become the
general term (used by
many in the English speaking
countries) for the spool knitter.

New/Old Nancy!

I had to take a photo of the
latest arrival!!
My extra super special fantastic
favourite vintage spool knitter is
the "Spear's Games" Knitting Nancy
from the 1930's.......so when you find
one, it has to be a special occasion!
Here she is.... with her thoroughly
modern cousin (left).
I love the colour green she is
wearing. She would have been one
of the popular colours of her time.
Of all of the colours that have been found,
I think it is the brown that would be
the rarest - but I could be wrong.
Let us know if you have other "Nancies"
in other colours.

If you would like to share any of your photos of
Knitting Nancies or other spool knitters, you are
most welcome to join the Spool Knitter Group on Flickr.
We would love to see you and your collection.

Spool Knitter Evolution?

These spool knitters are made by Spears. I have placed them in order of their manufacture which has become quite an interesting line-up!

The evolution of a spool knitter!

Below are "Knitting Nancies" and their boxes. Funny how the "Nancies" have become more like "Nevilles". The contents are just as I have received them. Made in England


Jeanette la tricoteuse is of course French.


Kurken-breien is from The Netherlands.


Has Nancy had an "operation"? Another thing about these is that the spoolie on the cover doesn't always match the one inside!


Another change.


The 'Neville' above with his arms crossed and looking somewhat grumpy, I think is displeased at being referred to as a Knitting Nancy! We find later knitters with a more agreeable expression.
The 'Nevilles' are to be found in abundance, together with the most up-to-date of the "Nancies/Nevilles" below. It is great to find more than one in a box!

Added 2012 ...... When going back through my posts there are some things since
discovered and things that really need to be put right. I now know that the
male form knitter by J W Spear - Jacob Wolf Spear -
was referred to as Strick Peter in Germany
 in the early years before the war. In England, they just stuck with
Knitting Nancy whether it was the male or female figure.