When we were at the NPG on Saturday I bought a card featuring this this 1919 photo by Bassano which appealed because of the fantastic sweaters the two women are wearing and with such style! My goodness, I wished we'd all looked like that when we took to the playing fields of Manchester; warm hand-knits would definitely have reduced the pain of having to pretend to play hockey in the freezing cold or feigning interest in netball in the pouring rain.
I think I would also have liked some interesting sports socks, because I was never going to win any proper sports 'colours' by being good at games, and they would have brightened many a long P.E. lesson spent staring into space and trying to guess the time. This is why I like the socks I am knitting at the moment so much. It's a Regia yarn from the fantastic Modern Knitting site which could revolutionise the whole world of school socks with its huge range of yarns with brilliant stripes and colour combinations. Just think of the fun you could have devising your own personal school socks and how vivid and cheerful the school playing fields and courts would be if everyone could wear their colours. Although I would have been tempted to lean against the goal-posts and knit while everyone else ran around bashing each other's ankles with sticks...and then I could have knitted during the detention that followed. A win-win situation for me - just not in the sporting way.
I remember deeply resenting the fact that the PE teacher could wear a tracksuit whilst we had to divest ourselves of jerseys and run around barelegged in our horrible nylon PE skirts with matching knickers. And I would definitely have preferred detention to hockey!
Pomona x
Posted by: Pomona | July 30, 2009 at 18:29
I loved that whole pleated skirt and big knicker look! I certainly would have accessorized them with your socks and a cheeky smile at the boys playing football given a chance!
Posted by: Lucy | July 30, 2009 at 19:30
Love the colors!
I just wanted to say I your new book finally arrived and if I can get my older boys let me have a got at it (they are reading first) then I will post a review sometime in the next week or two!
Posted by: kathryn | July 30, 2009 at 22:15
You must be having such fun Jane, playing with all those yarns for your new book. From the hints you're giving us, it looks like it's going to be fab. I hope you've got a crochet book in the pipe line? Because you know I'm well and truly ensconced on the dark side, that is crochet!Infact, I'm totally obsessed with crochet these days, at the expense of my knitting, sadly.
Posted by: vanessa | July 31, 2009 at 09:43
Nice to see you knitting socks again, it's been a while :)
Love the colours, as always.
Posted by: Fiona | July 31, 2009 at 16:01
You have scarily transported me back to the dreaded hockey field -what a nightmare! I was lucky enough to have the handknitted hockey sweater (in brilliant emerald green) but it really didn't make up for the hacked ankles...
Posted by: Penny | July 31, 2009 at 16:35
You have scarily transported me back to the hockey field. I did have the hand knitted sweater (in bright emerald green), but it didn't help the hacked ankles!
Posted by: Penny | July 31, 2009 at 16:37
Love the colours, would you mind sharing what yarn you used?
Posted by: Ewa Evans | July 31, 2009 at 18:01
I couldn't think of anything more horrifying than wearing school colour socks - purple, black and small touches of white and yellow. I still can't wear purple, twenty five years after wearing my lilac gingham blouse for the last time.
Am going to have to lie down now, with a cold compress, and think soothing red, pink and blue thoughts (NO PURPLE !):-)
Posted by: Ponytail | August 02, 2009 at 09:29
great idea: black and white uniforms and rainbowish socks!
Posted by: eliane | August 02, 2009 at 10:40
I adore the NPG. I was only in London for a week a few years ago but I managed to visit that gallery twice :-)
Posted by: Amelia | August 03, 2009 at 00:55