An Ode to Colors

In an attempt to get "with it" I stalked my dear friend Jesse's pinterest through her blog, leaving not one but two comments, caught up on all the blog posts I have been out of the loop on, forgot what I was doing, closed it, opened it, failed to find a link to pinterest, opened pinterest itself, searched for "model blue hat" trying to find her board of pinned items, failed, scrolled through 10 billion pictures of blue hats (I mean there could only be a few right?), got side tracked and ended up just staring at amazing pics.....

They were so inspiring, I felt like putting a few up here.

Source: landscapelifescape.tumblr.com via Evelyn on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Evelyn on Pinterest

Source: 28.media.tumblr.com via Evelyn on Pinterest

AHAH! I actually found it. No wonder. Tee hee...... It wasn't blue.

Source: tumblr.com via Andrea on Pinterest

Hair Stylish

I am definitely on a roll here. I got my kniting charts congealing into something sensical, I am brewing up more ideas, I found my itsy needles and a whole bunch of forgotten knitting patterns in the basement. One of which is St. Brigid. If you don't know what that is, IMO it is the be all/end all of cable patterns. Seriously, it blew my mind when I stumbled upon it years ago (and blogged about it apparently).

Today I have been painstakingly knitting my "Evelyn" pattern to make sure there aren't any errors in the chart or in the written instructions. It has been tedious to say the least. I put it down every 10 sts and check, then recheck. Really though, measure twice, cut once.

My real interest in posting has to do with hair. Mine is quite long and bleck! right now. I may as well do something with it. I have been inhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifspired by recent movies like Jane Eyre 2011, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, etc.

Regarding Jane Eyre, I could not describe the movie better than this "It Took a Century to Get 'Jane Eyre' Right." The other versions that I saw just turned me off and missed the mark.



















Getting back to the bit about their hair... Ironically, in these movies the women's updos are pretty terrible. But they are interesting.
































I thought surely there must be an interesting and beautiful version. Why can't I learn how to do my own hair?












YouTube to the rescue! Whoosh!






























Thank you TorrinPaige and Kaley

Its ON like Donkey Kong!

In the last 10 minutes more exciting things have happened to me from a knitting perspective than the last few months combined. Well, buying that cashmere yarn from Springtide farm while petting 30+ goats was pretty high on my list of happy moments. Anyways.......

1. I just purchased Intwined Pattern Studio software. I can't even believe it. It's not cheap, but then it's software. By comparison, I guess it is equivalent to 2 or 3 balls of good yarn. AND it will go a lot farther than 2-3 projects.

2. Five minutes after I purchased Intwine download, I check my email and I was finally accepted into the Yahoo group for Knitting Pattern Software! I have been waiting for that email for a month or two.

So basically this means I can go full steam ahead with some designs that have been floating around in my head and in doodles in my notebook. I tried so many different ways to cheaply (well, "Free"ly) make electronic knitting charts but they just all crashed and burned. I tried to get down with FontForge and Excel and even Paint. OMG. So frustrating. I'm sure I was pretty close on each front to having a "working" template but it was just too annoying. Also, they would have been pretty freaking slow to deal with even if working properly.

So....my projects include

1. Charts for a version of the Anthropologie Sweater "Cabled Pathways". It is really beautiful and my Aunt-in-law wants to try making it herself. The Anthro sweater was $$$$$ and she didn't want to splurge. I did recently find it for less than half the Anthro price at ModCloth.com. I don't totally love a few aspects so I may make a few changes. Anyway, the charts for my modified version will be available soon (for free of course) on Ravelry.


At the ModCloth price, I highly recommend just buying it outright. Its really beautiful.


2. A fingerless mitten/glove pattern entitled "Evelyn". It was inspired by a very specific swatch pattern, Jane Austen movies and my new love for Lolita clothing.













3. A ponch/shawl design that I am SOOO excited to put together! Right now I am doing to research to pick and combine specific leaf/acorn/bobble stitches that look nice together. Did I mention I am really excited about this one? Its something I can't wait to make for myself and wear for fall.

How Austentatious ..... ;)

I mean, seriously???? Mark that isht on my Calendar and call me Mrs. Darcy. OMG OMG OMG! {{{jumping up and down}}} My secret is out! I love Jane Austen! Absolutely brilliant. To prepare for her celebratory day, there are even helpful vocabulary guides such as THIS one. {{{More Jumping}}}

Interestingly, I discovered the most fantastic clothing genre at the same time as I have been watching Austen movies on Youtube. FYI - PeriodxDrama has ALLLLL the bestest period dramas (who would have thought) and I am now BFF with KeepVid.com. While not the best quality (you get what you pay for), I have been falling asleep to Persuasion and Mansfield Park for the last 3 nights in a row. PeriodxDrama even has oooodles of BBC versions that I would have never heard of otherwise. TeeeeHEEEE!

Back to the clothing though... I am possibly the LAST person to be in this loop. It is a bit like Steampunk but with a Victorian flare. It goes both into a goth realm but also a frou frou girlies ruffled realm! What more could I want. I have apparently been in LOVE with LOLITA forever and never even knew about it.






















(From Morrigan NYC)

On the surface it would seem that it evolved as a union between victorian girly girl clothing mixed with the highly provocative Japanese "innocent" schoolgirl/childlike (ICK) clothing style. However, there is actually a very intelligent undertone to the whole thing. I quote:

Lolita is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, first written in Russian and published in 1955 in Moscow and 1958 in Paris, and later translated by the author's step-brother into English. The book is internationally famous for its innovative style and infamous for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, middle-aged Humbert Humbert, who becomes obsessed and sexually involved with a 12-year-old girl named Dolores Haze for whom his private nickname is Lolita.

After its publication, Nabokov's Lolita attained a classic status, becoming one of the best-known and most controversial examples of 20th century literature. The name "Lolita" has entered pop culture to describe a sexually precocious girl.

Don't you just <3 Wikipedia.

Furthermore:

But Lolita thumbs its nose at Japan's fashion establishment.

The look is little girl, tea party cute, starting with black hair ribbons or tiny bonnets and moving to frilly dresses and thick platform boots or Mary Jane flats, often augmented with a lace umbrella to protect the as milky as possible complexion on sunny days.

Designer Naoto Hirooka: "I think many Japanese women feel intimidated by high fashion in the West and feel that they can never live up to the refined beauty that they feel Western women strive for," he said. "So, instead, they shoot for a cute look, one that doesn't require tall, curvaceous bodies and instead emphasizes girlishness."

Hirooka said the escapism of Lolita is also a reaction against conformism and the expectations on young Japanese women to quietly assume their adult roles as wives or workers in this country's male-dominated society.

"One of the salient points about Lolita is that it is really a fashion that is not intended to attract men," he said. "The women are creating their own world into which they can get away from the pressures of the larger society."

Now how interesting is that? It is exactly Victorian mentality! You can read the rest of it here.
























While I am not going to wear anthing extremely sexual out in public, I am seriously drawn to the highly tailored Modern Victorian peices I am finding. I just can't get over it. Most of what I like is extremely expensive but then, look at it. It actually has structure to it and took work. This stuff isn't just a single layer of cheapo material with some print all over it. There are layers, and boning, and complications! I am certainly not going to pay hundreds each for separates (some of those skirts are freakin $$$) but I may invest in a beautiful overcoat. Particularly if they are stinkin fabulous, right down to something like a little rabbit cameo!



























To be continued.............

Austentatious Continued....So What??? Sew Buttons!

For real, a ruffled shirt is how much??? Well I never! .......... Lolol. (Straight Face) So seriously, how can I incorporate this Lolita business into my closet?

For example:























15,540.00 JPY = 202.018 USD

Umm....No. That is just a plain cotton shirt with some ruffles on it. Wait just a minute. So....how about I take a plain cotton shirt and sew some ruffles on it? Bingo!



There are sewing books for Goth Lolita versions but I really like English frills and roses and browns (even though I admittedly wear a lot of black. It goes with everything.) But there are tons and tons of resources for free sewing tutorials. Yay! FYI - I am all for altering store bought items. I don't know if I would have the patience to sew something from scratch. I really like the idea of trying something on, making sure it fits, and then adding on to it.

Here are some links I am pursuing.


Lolita Handbook: Scroll down to see how to make that same white cotton lace ruffle shirt!






















Ruffled Shirt Tutorial (Her website is Da Bomb)

Historic pattern collections also abound.



























The Ladies' Treasury of Costume and Fashion

If you are sewing from patterns, here is the motherload of pattern collections: The Costumer's Manifesto.














However, there is always the random item that is perfect but just can't be replicated at home. :)













On a serious note. There are many more reasons to sew your own Lolita outfit rather than buy one. Ironically, those $$$$$ outfits you can purchase are mostly made in China. And we all know where those come from. Remember that quote I referenced last post?

Hirooka said the escapism of Lolita is also a reaction against conformism and the expectations on young Japanese women to quietly assume their adult roles as wives or workers in this country's male-dominated society.




























Wouldn't it be EXTREMELY ironic and philosophically F'ed up to purchase one of THESE outfits from a woman enslaved in an Asian clothing factory???

Country Hourly Wage
United States $8.25-14.00
United Kingdom $7.58-9.11
Venezeula $2.73
Costa Rica $2.19
Guatemala $1.21
Colombia $1.20
Honduras $1.02
Philippines $0.94-1.00
China $0.93
Peru $0.92
El Salvador $0.92
Jordan $0.74
Malaysia $0.73
Nicaragua $0.65
Bahrain $0.57
Thailand $0.56
India $0.55-0.68
Mauritius $0.55-0.65
Vietnam $0.52
Egypt $0.50-0.87
Mexico $0.50-0.53
Sri Lanka $0.46
Pakistan $0.37
Indonesia $0.35
Cambodia $0.24
Bangladesh $0.21

High Tech for the Commoner.... I'm Lovin It.

As usual, I was poking around the web reading about something TOTALLY UNRELATED when I discovered the niftiest thing EvAR! Or at least, the niftiest thing of this five minutes. I'm sure everyone has seen 3D modeling utilized on TV in some way or another. I think I first watched a program about 3D carving or etching used to make accurate topographical maps or even architectural models. Very cool but its not like I'm ever going to be able to play around with that kind of technology. The things I would make. I say that and yet seriously, what would I make??? I'm not sure. It just the POWER of it all. I just want the option to snap my fingers and have my will done by a machine to make some awesome object of my imagination. Well apparently, even I could do that as long as the snapping was accompanied by some mouse clicking.

BEHOLD.....Shapeways et al.

The Basic Concept.... Whaaa??? That is Neat.


Oh the possibilities....and luckily there is some competition so perhaps with some shopping, a good deal can be found.

Another company is I.Materialize.

One chicky is using this technique on etsy (which is where I first discovered that a mere mortal had access to this kind of thing).

She makes pretty little planters so anyone who has a pet plant can take it with them anywhere. OR, someone like ME who likes to steal leaf cuttings to propagate plants for free can increase their success rate. Her shop can be found here.

Cold, Cold, Getting Warm, Warmer!

I can't take credit for this, but it is amazing No? I found it on the blog of J. Rothman.
My hold up is that I can't find a spider that I like. I can't draw worth a crap and I really prefer it to be metal. HMMMMMMm of AnNoYANce!


However, this image by Shane Waltener is pretty to look at and quite toasty.

Oh What a Tangled Web we Weave....

I have been thinking a lot lately (Nothing unusual there) and have been encouraged by a fellow Raveler to resurrect my blog. You see, I have lots and lots of projects going on all the time but have completely neglected writing about them.

On the topic of Itsy Knitsies, I have been recently inspired by the Spider. I sincerely hope not to knit a "tangled" web per-say and it will definitely be free of deception. Ironically, deception is exactly what spider webs are all about. Not really my cup of tea however and I think I have concluded a non-painful outlet for my tiny interest. Itsy Knitsies should be Itty Bitty! Duh?! I think I kinda screwed my ambition over the first time by making something relatively large for the scale I was working at. Yes, yes - it was for a MOST IMPORTANT contest but seriously, that was a bit much for a first go-round.

Second, what to do with an itty bitty FO? I am thinking in terms of abstract swatches which are good for nothing and are usually the ground work for larger works. All these ideas congealed quite nicely into a most literal translation of the aforementioned. TeeHee. If you haven't guessed - well I'm not telling. This idea is definitely a mole hill and suspense will at least slightly turn it into a mountain. ;)

P.S. Did you know aforementioned was one word? I typed afore by itself and was slapped on the wrist by spellcheck. The correct spelling seems to be very strange and long.

Picture: "Spider Woman" by Susan Seddon Boulet

New Project: Pysanky

I am on the hunt for an electric kistka. I found this video to be interesting. Although Pysanky is most often associated with Easter it was originally a pagan art. I have been researching patterns from many different cultures and hope to become proficient at pysanky.

Disgustingly Beautiful

I absolutely become repulsed by the killing of animals for fashion. Its just the epitome of frivolous massacre and torture. I am however, intrigued by the furniture below. My imagination is swept away to a land far far away in a time long ago. In my mind these creations were used by tribal royalty. However, they have actually been formed in the here and now and its just disgusting. The aligator skins are not attractive to me at all, even ignoring the cruelty factor. The tails thrown in here and there just look out of place. Creativity wise, these things are very extreme.





More can be seen here.

Tiny Bubbles.....or errrr Costumes?

In a random fit of googling through ancient costume images I found modern day miniature costume creator Serena Partridge. Too cool!

I have been working on my next itsy project for a week now. I finally found some decent threads. I wish I had special ordered them for that contest but I still would not have won. Truly I did not have a good concept to go with my work. The work itself was enough for me. My goal was to make something tiny and extremely difficult. I like nothing more than challenging myself. Eventually I will be able to work past figuring out a new skill and move into the realm of meaning.

I have put about 8-10 hours into this new project and will post a picture later. After it was about an inch long on the needles, I actually dropped a stitch! WHAAAA??? It fell about 5 rows down before I found it. Luckily it was a collumn of just kniting unlike two stitches to the left or right which involved S2K1psso every other row. If I had dropped one of those! Omg, I can't even imagine the mental pain and suffering. To avoid mistakes, I have been working only when I am wide awake and not bored. I can only work 1-2 hours at a time with my current setup. I don't think its very good for my eyes to work much longer on something to small for more than 2 hours at a time.

To distract myself from it, I have been learning to cook new recipes. Tonight I will cook one of my favorite dishes. I have not made it before myself but have had it for years and my Persian friend's house. Her Mom is the best!!

Persian Cooking - How to make Tadig Rice from Macaela VanderMost on Vimeo.

Follow Up - Itsy Bitsy Knitsy

Soooooo! I am so excited that I managed to finish that darn thing and submit it for review. I didn't win, or even get an honorable mention but I DO HAVE THIS!

The contest was to win one of the most beautiful dolls in the world by Marina. They can be seen on her website: www.enchanteddoll.com

Evidence! It is actually touching a doll - AND - despite not having a dolly of my own, it came out just the right size. I had to knit by the seat of my pants according to online measurements.



It has been MONTHS since I mailed that darn thing and I haven't had the heard to knit since. It took hundreds of hours. Literally, it was my very first attempt to do something so small. I totally screwed up my fist little swatch and had to restart. The discarded piece was only 1 cm long but because I wasn't used to the needles, that first bit took two weeks to finish. I almost had a heart attack. But I did it!

And now I'm ready to start another one. "Psycho"

Itty Bitty Knitty

Waaaay back in December of 2009, I started a tiny knitting project. To make a long story short, it fell off the needles in a very devastating turn of events when I stupidly brought it with me on vacation. You see, its for a contest and time is of the essence. I was away for 10 days and somehow thought it would be efficient to bring it along because I would have soooo much time to work.

Yep....

However, I started it again last week and am at least back to where I was when it fell off. The pattern doesn't look like much right now but here is picture of my gauge swatch. It is ultimately going to be for a doll. :) Yes. A doll. Because I am obsessed with them suddenly.
I'm not going to say what kind of doll until after the contest. Just in case there are some other crazy knitters out there who want to trump my humble design. :) I have to say, now that I am finally getting the hang of these tiny little things - its pretty fun.

Japanese Knitting

Finally a blog that has some seriously useful explanations!

http://www.jessica-tromp.nl/knittingpatterns_breipatronen/japanese_knitting_stitches.htm

I finally got over my Glowsticking 1 day freak out obsession. Now I am back to knitting. I have two active projects on needles.

The first one is a cardigan for myself that is taking forever but is beautiful. Its the Rambling Rose Cardigan from Interweave. Luckily I decided to knit in the round because I don't think I would ever finish it if I had accomplished the front and then had to start over for the back! Oye!
The owlie "No-No's" are coming to mind (see "Wesley The Owl" by Stacey O'Brien). Very serious, "No, No, No" head shaking.
My other project is for my future Enchanted Doll. I have no idea when I will be able to afford one but I am knitting stuff for it anyway. I have started with the smallest needles I could get from Hobby Lobby but will special order (or make) smaller ones in the future. Right now I am sticking to lace and will move up to cables later. I actually intend to sell my prototypes. Hooray 4 Etsy! I am having an easier time visualizing a knitting project when it is smaller.

Fennec still has a sweater brewing in my head. It already has a name - Dapper. How dorky am I? I have a few different versions but recently was inspired by the concept of armor. I don't want the actual sweater to look like battle gear but I think constructing the layout similar to armor will give it the detailed "togetherness" I have been struggling with. While Googling horse armor, I came across this gentleman's interesting website. Love it!There is no way either of my dogs would put up with any of this but my imagination is very satisfied. From there, I Grandpa Simpsoned my way over to this Fairy Festival. I'm totally going next year! Forget attending, I'm just gonna move there.


Which makes me think of a great idea for a housing community. Omg! I wish you could see what I see. But now I can't tell you. It was just that good of an idea. I actually typed an entire paragraph about how cool it was until I got to the end and realized that it actually was cool and not just me being myself. So, I deleted it...because I may copyright/patent the idea. :)

Beauty by the Sea

I randomly found this bead by Sarah Hornik on ebay. I think this is the most beautiful bead I have ever seen! Wow. It's very large for a bead and I have no idea what I would ever do with it. I think it should be in a shadow box illuminated from within. I loves it! Absolutely beautiful.

Itty Bitty

I finally got with the program and started knitting a couple things for my coworker. Her baby shower is this coming Wednesday and the baby is due in three weeks. Luckily there are tons of super cute quickie knits out there. I have been dying to make the Upside Down Daisy Hat!!! Woohoo! Finally a reason! :)

The yarn I picked isn't an exact gauge match but is a great choice - Fixation by Cascade Yarns. Its stretchy (aka forgiving), machine washable (woot!) and has the colors I was looking for. Excellente.

I CO 72 stitches as called for by Snarl on Ravelry who made a newborn sized hat out of my yarn. Her hat is cute too but I really wanted to make a hat with petals. I also read some knitters who thought the Daisy Hat was too long for their baby's head so I subtracted a half inch. I THINK it will be OK. I may end up extending it by putting on an edging or something because I'm paranoid now. It looks like the perfect length??? I found that this link was really useful for baby hat dimensions.

Because Fixation shrinks lengthwise, I made extra long petals using this basic pattern for felted flowers from Michaels.

Large Petal: (Make 4). With MC, cast on 3sts, leaving 4-inches [10 cm] end.
1st row: (RS). (Inc 1 st in next st) twice. K1. 5 sts.
2nd and alt rows: Purl.
3rd row: Inc 1 st in first st. Knit to last 2 sts. Inc 1 st in next st. K1. 7 sts.
5th row: (RS). Inc 1 st in each of first 2 sts. Knit to last 3 sts. Inc 1 st in each of next 2 sts. K1. 11 sts. Work 5 rows even.
Next row: (RS). K1. Sl1. K1. psso. Knit to last 3 sts. K2tog. K1. 9 sts.
Work 3 rows even. Dec 1 st each end of needle on next 3 rows. Cast off rem 3 sts.


They blocked out to the perfect size after washing. Yay!

And.....Back to Knitting

Fennicker's jacket is going very very well, let me tell you! I still ONLY have the damn collar finished. I finally decided on a chest piece however. I am going for some kind of Celtic triangle. I have no idea how to make it so far but that's not stopping me.


This website has been extremely useful in learning different kinds of increase techniques.

Some designs I am trying to learn from include:

Vikingùr Vantùr

Durrow Cable

Now to just manipulate all these concepts to give me something that looks like these.