I knitted my own Elvis round neck sweater in approx 1985 - from wool i had left over and not enough to knit it all in the same colour... so did patterns of contrasting colours plus in block lettering knitted in 'ALWAYS ON MY MIND' on the front. The back said 'ELVIS IS HAPPINESS'... looked quite good in contrasting colours...

The sleeves were not as successful as i knitted E L V I S - starting the 'S' just above the ribbed cuff.. unfortunately made the mistake of knitting it too long and when i turned back the cuff of course the 'S' kind of disappeared - so it read E L V I ..... hey stop laughing everyone!!!!

You learn by your mistakes huh!!!

First time wearing it caused quite a stir... fans said 'where did you get that sweater from' so I told them I just made it myself. It started then - ongoing requests to make them and it took a few years before i found an Elvis graph I thought looked 'authentic' and good enough to knit on the back. The tiny profit i made from knitting these gave me a bit of spending money to use for my first trip to Memphis in August 1985 ... and I have slowly knitted more and more ever since.

I love seeing the look on fans faces when they see the garment and try it on - and I cross my fingers each time that they fit well - as most of the time I only see pictures of the fan who may email me or text me or write to me.. so mostly its experience and a good eye for size, so to speak.

I hope you all enjoy reading about the garments and seeing the pictures, and would love to hear from anyone with any questions or suggestions .. or anything about knitting!!

One query I have, which people are always suggesting I should get one of these, is about a knitting machine. Not physically 100% fit lung-wise I would struggle using lots of energy pushing a heavy carriage on knitting machines so would need something lightweight - but doubt there would be one to accommodate the patterns and graphs which I change constantly in some form. It would help even if a machine could do the cuffs and/or front bands even.. but there again I enjoy sitting watching TV with the knitting on my knee (and laptop by my side haha)... and of course cost... as computerised knitting machines I am sure will be extortionate prices so out of the question.. and sitting at a table setting it all up does not interest me at all.. I find it relaxing doing it by hand so ?? If anyone has any suggestions or advice about knitting machines, good or bad, I would love to hear your comments.

Thanks for your interest in reading my notes... and look forward to your comments.

Best wishes to you all.... Lorraine (Lolly)