Toy Knitting Outfit

Bradley's 

Toy Knitting Outfit

Milton Bradley Co.

Springfield, Mass.  U. S. A.

Milton Bradley, born in 1836 in Vienna, Maine,

was first interested in lithography as a teenager.

By 1860 he had founded the Milton Bradley

Company and the first color lithography shop

in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Apart from games,  Bradley was

interested in children's education and

learning through play,

and the company also produced

materials for kindergarten children.

One such item was the Toy Knitting

Outfit. 

This is box numbered 4348 and is found in

the "Bradley's School Materials and

Books" catalog dated 1921.

Front and back cover shown

below,

Here is the page where it is found - and

another two sets are also mentioned here,

numbers 4195 and 4312.

Next we see the inside of the box (4348).

Oddly, I also have another set by Bradley which

is number 4200 (below). I am only guessing here but

this set could have possibly been made for the

general public. Inside, it has the larger 

spoolknitter which is also mentioned in the number

4195 set above.

This particular box has two of these - was

this set meant to have two? ... it is possible

as it could have been for sharing with a

brother or sister.

(The wooden spool with nails has been added

sometime later.)

So these sets are from the very early 1900's and

that makes them practically 100 years old!

I am so grateful to whoever took care of these sets

 that they remained in great condition.

(Bibliography -

Encyclopedia of Children's

Sewing Collectibles by 

Darlene J. Gengelbach - totally

recommend this book, I love it!)

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Little Mermaids

New Knitting Dolls

These little Mermaid knitting dolls are

as cute as can be.

There are six to the set each

one's hair different from the other.

They have little sparkle dots on

their bases in various colours.

They are newly released here

in Australia, and as far

as I can tell, very limited at present.

They should be more easily available

over the next 12 months.

These are made by Sailing Toys and Gifts Co. Ltd.,

exclusively for Sparkle T -

Made in China.

Curiously, instead of different coloured small balls of

yarn, they have included thin satin ribbon.

The loop tool has a fashioned hook on

its end.

When I find more available, I will

let you know.

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Yahoo Spoolknitter Competition

Yahoo Spoolknitter

Christmas Character/Doll Competition

The Yahoo Spoolknitter group are having their

last competition for the year and the

prize for the winner is a

fabulous Bracelet Jewelry 

Spool Knitting Kit

which is very

generously donated by our

wire spoolknitter extraordinaire -

Sharon Hessoun

... author of ...

Wire Knitting on a Spool.

Do check out her website -

Beadecked and Beaddicted Online

 

Should you wish to

enter, you must become a

member of our spoolknitter group

on Yahoo - link in right hand column

of this blog.

The photo above shows
  all that the lucky winner

will receive and it

also includes the CD of Sharon's book -

Wire Knitting ... on a Spool.

Once you have joined us, all of the

details for the competition will be found

in our Files section.

Competition closes midnight December 2nd!

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BUYER BEWARE!

I have been a collector of 

spool knitters for a number of years

now. While I would still consider

myself an amateur/novice collector, there are

still some things you

should notice that would make a lot

of sense when it comes to buying

vintage spool knitters.

I have seen over the past months,

so called vintage spool knitters being

sold on the internet. Yes, they have

that old look about them, but did

they start out originally as spool knitters?

I have in the past spoken of recycling

items like salt & pepper shakers, skittles, or perhaps

turning skipping rope handles into spool

knitters. This is all well and good and I

accept this alternative ... I have done

this myself and have stated

exactly what they had been in

as "past life", purely for my
own collection,

.... but I do not accept

those being sold under false pretences

as unique, rare and very old spool

knitters.

There is one seller in particular who makes

this claim on certain

listings, and I question this seller as to how

often he/she seems to continually find these 

supposedly rare and very old

spool knitters.

I notice things like the centre core of

the spool knitter as being newly drilled.

The diameter of the core is unusually

larger than normal. While the nails

have been stated as being oxidized, this

is easy to do yourself and nail them

into the top. If the piece is so old then,

wouldn't there be more wear at certain

areas of the so called spool knitter?

The area around the base of

the nails for instance, and also

around the spool knitter where it is held.

Some of the 'so called' spool knitters have

unusual extras or protuberances

like noses, ears, etc.,

so these should be showing signs of wear.

One of these were the chef salt shakers

(Salty and Peppy)

that are very easily recognized.... there are

so many of these that have been made.

The hat had been painted a different colour

which is also so easily done yourself.
The base of the "spool knitter" has
the recognizable concave which is
commonly found in salt & pepper
shakers.
These are individual pieces also and
do not have a box.

I just want to say to be very aware

when it comes to buying - if they sell

at a low price, then that is fine and as it

should be with its

"past life" noted, but if the buyers do not

know and the piece sells for an

astronomical price, then that is absolutely

absurd. 

Serious collectors, please be aware of this,

 ask the seller lots of questions.

Read the descriptions carefully and check

out all of the photos, ask the seller for lots

more photos.

You do not want to pay ridiculous prices

for a salt shaker!

Please do make comments to me about

this - as I do want to know your thoughts too!

..........

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Strickliesl Magazine

Strickliesl Magazine

Lena Special

A brand new German publication is now available

on the internet (Ebay).

Strickliesl (or Strickliesel,

or Knitting Liesl (spoolknitter)) is a 

Lena Special and is full of spool knitting

patterns both practical

and novel,

to suit just about everyone.

Spool knitting is becoming more

popular as so many more of us are

exploring different textile methods.

Don't forget that you can combine

spool knitting with many other crafts and

also add embellishments to

your creations. 

҉҉҉҉҉҉



           

When looking on the internet ............

Knitting Nancy could appear in the least

likely of places, or maybe that is

'images' of Knitting Nancy.

I found this recently when

looking on the internet.

I thought that you may be interested

in seeing it too!

 http://www.amyoxford.com/teachers_cert.html

 

 You will have to scroll down the page

just a little to Maddy Fraioli and her

needle punch rug -

"My Good Friend Nancy"

You can click on her photo

to see a larger version.

This is one I have that is similar ...

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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!!

                                                                        

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