Hedy Lamarr was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler November 9, 1914, in Vienna, Austria.

Lamarr was considered notorious even by Hollywood standards for a few reasons:
- Her physical appearance. The Hollywood press of the 1940's referred to her "the most beauti
ful woman in the world."
-
Her risqué first film, Ecstasy. She was 18 when the film was made, and the director filmed the nude scenes in itwithout her permission with a telephoto lens. She felt exploited by the German and turned to the stage.
- Her six marriages. She left her first husband because of the emotional and verbal abuse she suffered. She comments on feeling a prisoner in her own home and that she married each of her husbands for different reasons.
- Her brilliant mind. She was a staunch anti-fascist and used her mathematical and scientific gifts to assist the Allied war efforts during World War II by inventing frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology (FHSS) with composer George Antheil. According to an article in psmag.com,

“Co-created with composer George Antheil, FHSS is a technology that switches radio signals quickly between different frequencies so that the signals are difficult to trace. Though Lamarr and Antheil created FHSS to keep Allied radio-guided torpedoes out of the sights of the Germans during World War II, their patent was dismissed by the United States Navy and left to lapse. FHSS was rediscovered by engineers at the Sylvania Electronic Systems Division in the 1950s and became the precursor to modern technologies we use every day in Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth technologies.”

Unfortunately, the National Inventors Council told her she could better help the war by exploiting her celebrity to raise money for war bonds. And she did it.

Her drug addiction broke her health; She became addicted when given drugs to help her endure grueling work hours. She died January 19, 2000, just as her contribution to technology was on the cusp of being recognized.

Gail Russell was born September 21, 1924 in Chicago, IL as Betty Gale Russell.

She was chronically shy which led to her drinking to cope with the stress of acting and maintaining a public life.  She dies at the age of 36 from the effects of alcoholism.

She was married to Guy Madison who played Wild Bill Hickok in the TV series.

She was in one of my favorite movies as a child, Angel and the Badman, alongside John Wayne.  I found her to have a very endearing presence onscreen.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

#hollywoodknitting #mcknittey #tbt #knithistory

No trip to Galveston would be complete without a trip to the Strand Historic District.   The Strand was originally Avenue B which ran parallel to Galveston Bay.  It was a merchant area near the wharf and the merchant there thought calling it "the Strand" gave it a more upscale sound.  Now the Strand encompasses many blocks downtown and is a shopping and entertainment district.

Here Mrs. Crosby and I enjoy a delightful repast from the Rooftop Bar of the Historic Tremont House.  We just loved watching the cruise ships leave for parts unknown.

Highlights of the Rainforest Pyramid for us were the butterflies.

The new colorways really seemed to attract these lovelies!

Also of interest was the orchids!  

The weather is lovely!  Wish you were here!

Our lodging is at the Sally Trueheart Williams home on Broadway in the East End Historic District.   I would highly recommend it.  It was built in 1928 and it built in a Spanish Revival style.  The renovations to the interior are very comfortable while maintaining the integrity of this home.

Here you can see Mrs. Crosby's new colorways (LtoR: Claude, Beauregard, Nolan and Harper) of Satchel in a deck chair in the front yard.  The colors seem to blend so well with the tropical environs. If you are interested, we have the new colors in Reticule, Train Case, and Satchel.

Here they are waiting in the porte-cochere to go on another excursion.

It is beautiful.  Wish you were here!

One of my absolute favorite actresses, Carole Lombard. She was the highest paid Hollywood star in the late 1930’s. Her final film with Jack Benny and Robert Stack, “To Be or Not to Be”, was in post-production when she died in an airplane crash while on a World War II War bond drive.

Interesting side note, she was second cousin to Howard Hawks.

#tbt #McKnittey #consciouslycrafting #vintagehollywood #hollywoodknitting

An amazing photo of Ann Sheridan in front of nose art of her on a B-52J during World War II.

Ann is a Denton, Texas girl. Her official website says, “Ann Sheridan was born on Sunday February 21st, 1915, in Denton Texas. She came into the world as Clara Lou Sheridan. Growing up on a ranch, Ann became quite the tomboy. She could bulldog a steer. She knew how to ride a horse exceptionally well and she was a pretty good shot with a gun."

She attended elementary school and junior high school in Denton. Wikipedia has her attending Denison High School but that is probably a typo because the Sheridan’s owned a home near the campus of what is now UNT.

Her sister entered her in a Search for Beauty contest which is how she got her Hollywood start.

And, yes, she is a fellow knitter.

Photo credit: Phillip Friddell, National Archives

Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was born December 18, 1916 in St. Louis, MO. According to a newspaper published at the time of her death, "Her 42 movies during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million. She set a record of 12 consecutive years in the top 10 of box office stars. The Treasury Department in 1946-47 listed her as the highest-salaried American woman. She earned more than $3 million during her career."

A pin up photo made if her in a white bathing suit became the most popular pin up photo during WWII. Purportedly, over 3 million copies of the photo were distributed to soldiers. She was known as "the Million Dollar Legs."

As her career reached its zenith, she pushed for more creative control of her pictures. She insisted that her light-hearted musical pictures because that is what sold. The studio often tried to push her into more dramatic roles but she stayed true to that formula and Fox benefitted from it.

She died in 1973 from lung cancer.

#tbt #hollywoodknitting #mcknittey #vintagehollywood

Sophia Loren was born September 20, 1934 in Rome, Italy. She was with one man her entire life although do to quirks in Italian law she could not legally be married to him Carlo Ponti for a while. Rumor has it she had some affairs in that in between time when her marriage was annulled before she remarried Ponti.

Regardless, she knew how to knit and there is a fun sweater pattern named after her.

She is also the inventor or "side-eyes." (Obviously, they did not know the ladies in my family because we were doing side-eyes before it was a documented thing.) She admits in an article with the New York Time she was afraid Jayne was going to go "boom." Sophia doesn't like to talk about it now out of respect to Jayne but I thought it was a hilarious segue to this week's TBT.

I love Sophia in "Two Women" although I found it horrifying to watch. I loved "Houseboat" as a kid. I really do need to go back and watch more of her films. She seems a fascinating actress and pretty straightforward.

She had her first child in 1968 and admittedly slowed down career-wise after she became a mother.

Her last nomination for an American film award was 1964 because she had slowed down to raise a family until 1995.

I frequently read these biographies and think, I cannot relate to this lady at all. Sophia Loren I get and I think I like her. She is a stunning presence in the screen and I love that she is not a small gal and yet completely captivating.

#tbt #vintagehollywood #hollywoodknitting #mcknittey

Jayne Mansfield was born Vera Jayne Palmer in 1933 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Mansfield was her first husband's last name.

Mansfield moved to Dallas as a child and graduated from Highland Parl High School in 1950. She attended SMU and UT for a while. She took acting classes from Baruch Lumet, father of director, Stanley Lumet. She moved to Los Angeles in 1954.

Although she was intelligent (she had an IQ of 163 and a B average at SMU) she was known for her wardrobe malfunctions and outrageous publicity. She is known for being a prototype of the "dumb blonde" along with Marilyn Monroe.

She is the mother of actress, Mariska Hargitay.

She did die in a car accident in Louisiana in 1967 at the age of 34. Although she did suffer head injuries, the story of her decapitation is an urban legend. Her three children asleep in the back seat at the time only suffered mild injuries.

She loved the color pink and was famous for her Pink mansion in LA with its heart-shaped pool. I like to think the yarn she is holding in these photos is pink.

#tbt #vintagehollywood #hollywoodknitting #mcknittey

Science fiction and fantasy

Friday, Robert Heinlein
A menacing knitter.

General Fiction featuring knitting or yarn (according to Woolworks.org):

Art Work, A.S. Byatt
Knitting plays a major role.

At Home in Mitford (from the Mitford Years series), Jan Karon
The first in a series depicting everyday life in a small North Carolina town. Knitting is described at one point as a comfort to the soul.

Bag of Bones, Stephen King
The hero's wife is a knitter.

Cheerfulness Breaks In, Angela M. Thirkell
Plus other titles including The Brandons, High Rising, Marling Hall. Each of her books contains at least one knitting reference, often more.

Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier
Describes a sweater knit of unwashed fleece.

Coming Down from Wa, Audrey Thomas
Knitting at an African girls' school in the 1960s.

Coming Home, Rosamunde Pilcher
England during WWII with mention of Red Cross knitting.

Country of the Pointed Firs, Sarah Orne Jewett
A young woman's life in a New England seaside village, based on a diary from the late 1800s, with knitting references.

The cure for Death by Lightning, Gail Anderson-Dargatz
Mention of wartime sock knitting.

Death and the Oxford Box, Veronica Smallwood
Features knitting as one of the book's themes.

Fall On Your Knees, Ann-Marie MacDonald
Brief mention of sock knitting for the war effort.

The Fever Tree and Other Stories, Ruth Rendell
"A Needle for the Devil" is densely packed with knitting.

Green Dolphin Street, Elizabeth Goudge
Knitting.

High Island Blues, Ann Cleves
Very brief mention of knitting.

Independent People, Haldor Laxness, trans. J. A. Thompson
1946 Nobel-prize winner, mentions Icelandic knitting.

Jacob's Room, Virginia Woolf
Full of knitting references.

Lambs of God, Marele Day
Spinning and knitting in a cloistered religious community.

The Last Continent, Terry Pratchett
Knitting that doesn't fit is discussed in this novel set in Australia.

The Last Resort, Alison Lurie
Knitting mentions, including Kaffe Fassett sweater.

London Transports, Maeve Binchy
Includes an enlightened knitter.

The Man Who Loved Childen, Christina Stead
Knitting is a part of the characters' lives.

The Matisse Stories, A.S. Byatt
One of the stories is about someone obsessed with knitting.

McNally's Gamble, Lawrence Sanders
The main character's mother is portrayed as a ditzy knitter.

The Miss Read series, Miss Read
Many mentions of ladies' knitting, both good and bad (knitting, not the ladies!).

Mister Sandman, Barbara Gowdy
Entertaining knitting scenes.

Odd Woman, Gail Godwin
Knitting and recycling.

Persuasion, Jane Austen
Knitting for charity and as an amusement.

Plain Jane, Joan Barfoot
Main character is a knitter and book is full of knitting mentions, particularly sweaters she's knitting for a friend in prison.

Random Passage, Bernice Morgan
Mentions of knitting with rags in outport Newfoundland.

Roman Fever and Other Stories, Edith Wharton
A daughter's views of her mother's knitting.

The Shipping News, E. Annie Proulx
Lots of knitting references.

Small Ceremonies, Carol Shields
A mystery is created around a quantity of yarn found in a character's husband's desk drawer...since no one in the family knits.

Some Tame Gazelle, Barbara Pym
Many mentions of knitting as a part of ordinary life in her earlier books; fewer in the later ones.

Staggerford, Jon Hassler
Knitting and small town life.

Storm Tide, Elizabeth Ogilvie
Maine lobstermen talk of knitting bait bags and trap bags for lobster traps.

A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
Arguably the most well known knitting reference; not unusual for non-knitters to refer to a knitter as a Madame Defarge.

The Twisted Sword (The Poldark series), Winston Graham
The last book in this series includes a description of handknit stockings and gloves.

Was It Something I Said?, Valerie Block
Mention of knitting as therapy after a plane crash.

A World without Wool Shops, Dulan Barber
A wonderful description of wool shops.

‪#‎mcknittey‬ ‪#‎tbt‬ ‪#‎knitlit‬ ‪#‎ilovebooks‬

Lucille Desiree Ball was born August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York.

Interesting facts about Lucy:
1. She was a distant maternal cousin of Ginger Rogers.
2. She appeared on more TV guide covers than any other actor.
3. She was the first female television producer and the first female television studio head.

She is considered to be the top icon of American television.

What impresses me about Lucille is the number of careers she pursued. She worked in fashion modeling, dramatic theater, vaudeville, movies, radio, and television. She then moved into the studio and production side of television while still acting in Broadway and in movies.

She died in April 26, 1989 in Beverly Hills, CA.

#tbt #ilovelucy #vintagehollywood #hollywoodknits #mcknittey

#knittingsaveslives #tbt #hollywoodknits #vintagehollywood #mcknittey #consciouslycrafting

Just a friendly reminder to Knit Your Bit!

More information:
http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/knit-your-bit/

I was digging around the web today and ran across a great resource, wool works.org. On this site, they had a list of books that mention knitting or have a character that knits. I wanted to share with you just the mystery section for that list:

A is for Alibi, Sue Grafton
Description of a very intricately knitted mauve Aran sweater.

Aunt Dimity's Death, Nancy Atherton
Knitting mention.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Laurie King
In Sherlock Holmes style; also A Letter for Mary where a suspect makes mistakes in her knitting.

The Bookman's Wake, John Dunning
"The night was young, the game wasn't over yet, I was more focused with each passing block. I wasn't going to sit in my room all night knitting an afghan."

The Brother Cadfael series, Ellis Peters
At least one mention in Potters field of an old lady knitting.

Buried in Quilts, Sara Hoskinson Frommer
"'I still can't believe it,' said Annie Jordan, knitting without watching. Like Edna, she couldn't bear to sit idle -- and she didn't count mere meetings as work."

Candle for a Corpse, Ann Granger
Delightful mention of hand-knit sweater given as a gift.

Carpool, Mary Cahill
One of the main characters knits, and another quilts; the book has numerous mentions of their projects. "The nice thing about knitting is, you can do it anywhere. And you can do it faster when you're away from your own phone."

C.O.P. Out, Nancy Herndon
A seniors' knit-in in front of the police station.

D is for Deadbeat, Sue Grafton
Knitting as an aid to learning patience and an eye for detail.

Dead Winter, William G. Tapply
Nice description comparing knitting to solving murders

Deadly Appearances, Gail Bowen
Brief mention of knitting.

Death of an Expert Witness, P.D. James
One of the characters is a knitter.

Deception on His Mind, Elizabeth George
Comment that knitting is a usual part of a woman's possessions.

The Devil's Workshop, Kate Gallison
Knitting mention.

Doomed to Die, Dorothy Simpson
A suspect is a knitwear designer.

Everywhere That Mary Went, Lisa Scottoline
Knitting mention.

Farewell to Yarns, Jill Churchill
Numerous knitting mentions.

The Grub-and-Stakers Spin a Yarn, Charlotte MacLeod writing as Ailsa Craig
Zany book with some scenes set in a yarn shop.

The Hand of Death, Margaret Yorke
The wife of the main character knits, including charity knitting.

Hasty Retreat, Kate Gallison
Knitting figures into the plot.

Ho Ho Homicide, Corinne Holt Sawyer
Brief mention of knitting by a night-shift nurse.

Holly Jolly Murder, Joan Hess
Somewhat snarky comment about knitting.

How to Murder the Man of Your Dreams, Dorothy Cannell
The vicar's husband knits.

Ice, Ed McBain
The main character's wife knits him a watch cap for Valentine's Day.

Impact, Stephen Greenleaf
Another murder with a knitting needle.

J. Alfred Prufrock Murders, Corinne Holt Sawyer
Knitting mention.

The Miss Marple series, Agatha Christie
Lots of knitting by Miss Marple in this well-known series.

Mrs. Malory: Death of a Dean, Hazel Holt
Mentions yarn stashes.

Mrs. Malory wonders, Hazel Holt
Main character owned a yarn shop.

Murder Among Us, Ann Granger
The murdered woman ran a wool and craft shop -- you'll have to read the book to see if this caused her death.

Murder Gets a Life, Anne George
KIP at an airport.

Night of Four Hundred Rabbits, Elizabeth Peters
Main character is a knitter.
"A Needle for the Devil," Ruth Rendell
In the short story collection The Fever Tree and Other Stories. Several knitting references, but the details are inaccurate.

The Red Scream, Mary W. Walker
Knitting mention.

Sadie Shapiro's Knitting Book, Robert Kimmel Smith
Also other titles including Sadie Shapiro, Matchmaker. A zany senior has adventures, solves mysteries, and knits.

Serpent's Tooth, Faye Kellerman
Mention of favourably-received handknit cardigan.

The Silent Cry, Anne Perry
Brief mention of knitting socks using bone needles in this William Monk/Hester Latterley Victorian mystery.

Stitches in Time, Barbara Michaels
Sock knitting.

Thrones, Dominations, Dorothy L. Sayers and Jill Paton Walsh
Knitting under stress.

Tourist Trap, Julie Smith
Brief mention of male knitting baby clothes.

The Trouble with Going Home, Camilla T. Crespi
Dreaming of murder with a knitting needle.

The Veiled One, Ruth Rendell
Considerable knitting content; the murder weapon is a knitting needle.

While the Patient Slept, Mignon Eberhart
The narrator is a nurse who knits during home-nursing work; the author is a knitter and knows what she's talking about.

#tbt #mcknittey #missmarplerocks #knitlit

Patty Duke was born December 14, 1946, in Elmhurst, New York, as Anna Marie Duke.

She was the youngest recipient of the Academy Award in a competitive category when she won the Best Supporting Actress award in 1962 for her role as Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker."

She was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild in 1985 making her the second woman to have been elected to that position.

She became an advocate for mental health issues after being diagnosed in 1982 with bipolar disorder.

She died March 29, 2016, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

The picture of the woman knitting is Jean Byron who played Natalie Lane, the mother of the character played by Duke.

Sylvia Sidney was born August 8, 1910 in the Bronx. Her parents divorced when she was 9 and when her mother remarried, Dr. Sigmund Sidney, he adopted her changing her name to Sylvia Sidney. Another actress retaining her legal name for the screen.

She had her first stage gig in 1926 and her first screen appearance in 1929. She was brought to Hollywood to replace Clara Bow who was becoming increasingly erratic.

She had two stages to her acting career: playing a gangster's girl, sister or later mother and then later when Tim Burton placed her in key cameo roles.

In between, she was a very busy lady. She was an avid knitter as can be seen by the photo of her with a garment. There is a very funny anecdote at moviemorlocks.com about her ignoring a director by tending to her knitting.

She had a line of needlepoint patterns. Yes, she was that Sylvia Sidney! And you can find them still today.

Her son died in 1987 of ALS and she became active in promoting the cause.

She died July 1, 1999 of espophogeal cancer.

Many thanks to the Movie Morlocks site for a great article on Sylvia.

#celebrityknitter #hollywoodknits #vintagehollywood #tbt #mcknittey


http://moviemorlocks.com/2009/02/04/sylvia-sidney-paid-by-the-tear/

I have been invited to see a showing of the 1927 Clara Bow silent film, "Wings" complete with Wurlitzer organ soundtrack. This encouraged me to hunt for photos of Clara Bow knitting. I came up empty but what I did find was a plethora of knitting and crochet patterns inspired by the "It Girl."

Bow was born in Brooklyn in 1905. She was naturally a redhead but darkened the strawberry blonde color with henna so it would appear darker on screen. She was noted for introducing the flapper to popular culture. She had a reputation for outrageous behavior much of which was debunked. She was once blackmailed by a tabloid publisher who was convicted and spent 8 years in prison.

What was true was that she was emotionally delicate. She stayed in sanatoriums at least twice in her life. She had a difficult childhood and the stresses of life in the public eye took their toll.

At one point in her career, investing in a Clara Bow film was considered lucrative because her films made double at the box office what other actresses' films made.

Bow died of a heart attack in Culver City, California at age 60. She was a recluse in the latter part of her life.

#tbt #vintagehollywood #hollywoodknitting #mcknittey

Ingrid Bergman in a Bohus Stickning style sweater. The Bohus Knitting style incorporates purl stitches in color work.

According to Crissy Gardiner on knitty.com, "In the late 1930s, spurred by a depression, the women of the Bohuslan quarries of Sweden asked Emma Jacobsson, the wife of the governor, to set them up with some sort of home-based business to help them support their families during this time of great hardship. While the initial designs were simple, this homegrown knitting movement eventually developed into a couture knitting collective where members would produce incredibly complex colorwork designs on impossibly tiny needles. One of the hallmarks of Bohus Stickning (or Bohus Knitting) is the use of purl stitches alongside knit stitches in the colorwork bands to add texture as well as color."

I like to see that Ingrid was supportive of this collective.

Thanks to David Bauer for the idea for this post

#tbt #vintageknitting #vintagehollywood #mcknittey #consciouslycrafting

Joan Crawford was born sometime between 1904 and 1908 (a 1910 census reports she was 5 while she claimed to have been 2) in San Antonio, Texas. Her birth name was Lucille Fay LeSueur but MGM changed it because it sounded made up.

Crawford had a very successful career in the 1930's but had been declared by theater owners that she and other stars (including Katherine Hepburn) were "box office poison." What is meant by the term, is that the studio had to pay these stars so much that the films were expensive for a theater owner to purchase to show the public. They could not recoup their costs.

"Mildred Pierce" helped her career rebound in 1945 and earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

She died of a heart attack in New York in 1977 and, yes, she did cut Christina and Christopher out of her will.

#tbt #hollywoodknitting #mcknittey

Shirley Temple was actually born "Shirley Temple" April 1928 in Santa Monica, California.

She was the number one box office draw from 1935-1938 but was hurt by the same "box office poison" article that had hurt Joan Crawford and Katherine Hepburn's careers.

Her talent was eclipsed by the rise of Andy Rooney and Judy Garland. Also, the studio system was criticized for placing her in children's roles when it was obvious from her physique that she was no longer a child (She won a libel suit against a British paper when this claim was made personal.)

She made some pictures as an adult in which she was quite good. "The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer" and "Fort Apache" are a couple.

Shirley went on to serve on the Board of Directors for Del Monte Foods, the National Wildlife Federation, and The Walt Disney Company. She served as ambassador to Ghana, Czechoslovakia, and Chief of Protocol. She was U.S. representative to the United Nations under Nixon.

A little know fact, 2 soda companies have tried to name their sodas after the famous beverage invented in honor of the child star but were taken to court to protect her name.

#tbt #Vintagehollywood #hollywoodknitting #mcknittey

The caption in Getty Images reads. . ."England, 1940, Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) pictured with her two daughters Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) and Princess Margaret as they take part in knitting to help with war charities during World War Two."

#knittingsaveslives #mcknittey #consciouslycrafting

#knittingsaveslives #mcknittey #tbt #consciouslycrafting #hollywoodknitting

We are teaching a class the morning of Sunday, April 3, on yarn weights, gauges and skeins. The perfect class for a beginner knitter or crocheter as well as a refresher for a more experienced knitter and crocheter. Sign up and learn more at www.dfwfiberfest.org/class-descriptions.html. Keep posted for more details!

Join us on Sunday morning, April 3, for a whole lot of fun!

Kerr was nominated 6 times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, more than any other actress, but never won.

My favorite movie of her is the "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp." She plays three different characters in the movie. Although not liked by the British Army, at the time, for its gentle, anti-war message, I find it charming.