The Golden hands project begins!

So, I've started a little early! I was so keen to begin the Golden Hands project, and I had some downtime in the Christmas-new year period, so decided to get started! I'm starting with the Crochet chapters in Volume I as the projects are small in size and so won't be too hot in this warm weather. I've done very little crochet, so I'm really looking forward to learning this new skill. Crochet Know-How Chapter 1 hasn't any projects, just an excellent summary of crochet basics, including information on yarn and hooks, a guide to tension and casting on. Crochet Know-How Chapter 2 begins with the simplest stitches - double crochet and treble stitch. The project is a pair of pot holders, one in double crochet and one in treble stitch (see picture above). I inherited crochet hooks of every shape and size from my mother-in-law, so I don't have to buy any tools - I had a bit of knitting cotton in my stash, and purchases 2 new balls to use in this project. I recreated these pot holders in 4ply cotton. The originals were only about 12 cams square, so I made one small one and two larger ones as I thought they would be a more useful size. They took about 2.5 hours each, and I'm quite pleased with them. Picture below shows my first Golden Hands project.

How?

I am going to just start at the beginning of Volume 1 and work my way through all of the projects. Each of the main techniques (knitting, crochet, embroidery, dressmaking) has a chapter in each issue, starting with the basics of the technique, then building up skills step-by-step. Other chapters with more advanced projects are interspersed between these basic chapters, for those who are more experienced in that particular technique. I think that I will do both types of projects - I'll begin with the basics of each skill and work my way through, and include the more advanced projects as I come to them. I live in a warm climate, so I'll try to arrange it so items such as knitted jumpers are completed in winter, and cooler projects are worked on the warmer months. I'll definitely work the step-by-step chapters in the proper order, but I might do a bit of knitting, then a bit of embroidery, then I maybe one of the more advanced projects, to suit the weather. I also travel away from home a lot, so I'll probably have a portable project on the go most of the time as well. How will I find the time? I hope to spend an hour a day on this project, and maybe a couple of hours per day on the weekend, depending on what else is happening. I think I should be able find an an extra hour in the day by not wasting time - I'm the type of person who can mooch my way through a whole day drinking coffee and reading the paper, so I think that the structure and discipline of this project will help me manage my time more effectively. I am semi-retired, but still work a few hours a week, and also do casual work from time to time. I don't want to take away time from my more "creative" work - embroidery, quilting and felting, so this project will force me to find little bits of wasted time that I can put to good use. I also spend time reading, researching family history and swimming with a masters Swimming Club. I can't really cut down on the miniscule amount to housework I do, and the there ie always shopping, washing, ironing, cooking. I also have to pay at least some attention to my husband, family and friends! I estimate that it will take am about a year to complete the projects in one volume, so I'll be in my 70s when I finish (if that happens!). I'll attempt all the items, except the dressmaking and home sewing projects - I don't really enjoy dressmaking, it is hard work for me, and I don't have the pattern sheets that came with original publication. There are also some very outdated knitted and crocheted clothes for adults and children that I won't attempt as they will take a lot of time and there is no way I will be able to wear them!

New year, new project!

Golden Hands magazine was a part publication that was published by Marshall Cavendish from 1975. It was devoted to needlecrafts - knitting, crochet, embroidery and dressmaking, as well as some more unusual crafts such as macrame, lacemaking and daisy work. The magazine was issued each week and built up into a detailed reference work, containing excellent instructions for techniques and many, many projects. My research reveals that there were 75 issues of the magazine and because this was so successful, and other 15 or so were issue that had a slightly different emphasis - a more creative approach to the traditional crafts, and the introduction of some new crafts such as candle making and millinery. My set of Golden Hands is in 18 volumes of 5 magazines bound together, including the last 15 issues. A friend of my mothers worked for Paul Hamlyn, distributors in Australia for Marshall Cavendish, and I think I got it about 1980. I paid $10 for the whole set, which was a bargain even back then! Why the project? I am a keen needle worker and have attempted many crafts, but my main loves are embroidery and quilting. I do enjoy knitting, and have taken it up again recently after a long pause. Those yellow-bound volumes of Golden Hands have sat on my bookshelves for a very long time! Over the years, I have often browsed through them just for the pleasure of looking at the 70s fashion, or looked up a technique, or occasionally attempting a project. I always think that I would love to make more of the projects, but somehow never seem to get around to it. So 2014 will be my year to begin the Golden Hands Project.

This is the cover of the first issue of Golden Hands magazine, and the cover of my Volume 1. The beautiful ball of wool and the golden reel of cotton always make my fingers itch to get sewing or knitting. In 1975, when the first Golden Hands magazine was issued, I was in my last year of school and worked part-time in a newsagency, and I think I bought the first few magazines (or more than a few!) but these single issues are long gone out of my collection.