Discussion with Mom on Joe's Vest

I talked with my Mom the other day, and she had read the blog about Joe's vest (April 17th post.) From the conversation I gleaned the following information:

1. Mom did not make the pattern changes herself. She is, and always has been, horrified at the idea of deviating from the pattern she is using. So, she suspects that when she was handed the yarn from the American Red Cross that she was also given this pattern. The pattern booklet that was probably purchased with the idea of making something else. She THINKS, but I will need to look at the vests and the patterns, that she knit the two vests for my Dad out of that booklet. Does anyone know or have that pattern? I'd love to have that along with the vest and the note from Aunt Ivadell.

2. Mom had been surprised that Joe had held on to this vest. She had a hard time imagining that it would have meant that much to him.

3. To her surprise, she remembered that my father is still clinging to 2 vests she knit for him in 1941. Dad's are, I understand, (I don't remember seeing them, but will certainly look the next time I am out there) sport weight and have cables. I wonder if one of those was made from the burgundy wool that seemed to be ubiquitous in my childhood knitting? Anyway, I have asked for the vests, to be kept with Joe's (probably in the freezer to protect from bugs until I come up with a better idea) when Dad no longer wants to hold on to them. She said that she asked Dad, the last time they put away winter clothes, if she could finally throw those two vests away. He said, "NO!"

4. Joe's vest was the first thing he had ever had that was knitted for him. There is something delightful in knowing that someone cherishes the work of your hands that much, don't you think? As an aside, I had asked my Dad once if his mother knit socks for his family (he was one of 9.) He looked horrified and responded, "NO! She didn't have the time for that!"

As to the burgundy wool I mentioned above, that is the yarn I learned to knit with. It was on a hank, sport weight, I believe I used size 2 needles. A long stockinette scarf. At about 8 years old, it felt like an eternity to knit on that! I don't remember binding off or wearing it, all I remember is knitting and knitting on it. Dad had a month long vacation each year, the year that I learned to knit I remember taking the knitting along on vacation and knitting while camping. That yarn was always available -- Mom didn't seem to run out of it. I remember winding it up into balls, one person held it and the other wound it into balls. I must have taken some of it with me when we got married, I found a small ball in the steamer trunk when we moved here. I think it is all gone now, but my, it was used for a lot! When I think of my earliest knitting, I think of that burgundy yarn. I still have the pink Boye needles I used when I learned too, even though I now use circulars for flat knitting.

Joe's Vest

My Uncle Joe served in the Air Force in Cerignola Italy in World War 2. He wrote home that winter that he was never warm. My Mother hadn't met him in 1943-44, but as people were encouraged to knit for service-people, she asked for the yarn and knit this and sent it to him. He was thrilled to get it. He kept it and wore it the rest of his life.

Around Christmas his wife, my Aunt Ivadell, asked if I would like it. Of course I said "Yes!" It came in the mail this weekend while we are away. A good friend picked it up from our front porch and kept it safely for us.

The vest has been washed and worn enough that it is slightly felted. The dye has shifted, as you can see by the picture. The collar is still the original khaki on the exposed side, but the inside and bindoff have turned brown. When I first looked at it, I wondered if it had faded in the sun, but it has happened on both sides.

Hm, Mom, I just looked at the booklet you told me that you had used during the war, and I don't see this pattern! The only thing I can think of is that you took a long-sleeved sweater pattern and made it a vest because you didn't have enough yarn. Correct? The booklet is "Minerva -- Hand Knits for Men in the Service" with a copyright of 1942.

Ivadell's note says in part, "I'm glad for you to have it as a memory of two dear people, Mary Ann and Joe."