I love this ribbed cardigan from "Winter Sports Fashions," a leaflet published in 1957 by Bernhard Ulmann yarn company.

Cozy!

The sweater is worked from cuff to cuff in a front post/back post rib pattern.  I especially like the little dots of the opposite color at the color changes.

Interestingly, the materials list calls for Boye Non-Inflammable Crochet Hooks, which perhaps were a new development in the '50s.

This clever headband is from "Brunswick Accents," a 1970 collection of patterns for accessories.  

I was intrigued that the instructions call for very narrow elastic to be threaded through the wrong side of the top and bottom edges.

I like to use elastic in some of my hats and headbands.  It's a way of ensuring that the hat/headband edge stays the same size -- especially if the yarn is not very stretchy (such as cotton, silk or rayon) or if it has poor recovery or tends to grow (such as alpaca).

By the way, the very tall stitches in this vintage headband pattern are treble stitches with extra loops on the hook.  You start this stitch by wrapping the yarn over the hook 4 times (instead of the usual 2).

The best new year's resolutions, I think, are those that are fun.  (One year I decided to put more pom-poms on hats!)

For 2018, I want to share favorite images from my collection of crochet magazines, books and brochures.  

Here's my entry for the first day of the new year:

​I love this image -- the cover of a 1934 pamphlet titled "Bucilla Cotton Crochet Ensembles: Hats - Bags - Collar and Cuff Sets - Belts."

Decidedly and delightfully matchy-matchy!