Books I'm Looking Forward to This Year: 1000 Hats by Annie Modesitt

Annie's the ace of hats, particularly the wired brim variety. Also on my radar:
• Stitch 'N' Bitch Advanced: Take It To The Next Level by Debbie Stoller
• Embroidery Companion: Classic Designs for Modern Living by Alicia Paulson

• Simple Gifts: 50 Little Luxuries to Craft, Sew, Cook & Knit by Jennifer Worick
• Brave New Knits: Dozens of Projects and Personalities from the Knitting Blogosphere by Julie Turjoman


Am I missing any others?

Moving On To Something Vintage: Vintage 1935 Clark's O.N.T. Fashions

I had to blog about something if only to shake off the lone Japanese spammer who continues to log in, fill out the word verification and make completely unrelated comments (mostly a series of ellipses linking back to his/her site). Several times this persistent person has commented and I've deleted his/her comment. So I'm thinking it's time for a new post, if only to get rid of this blogger off and his/her obsession with my post about Lady Gaga and her hair hat. I hope. Fingers crossed. So I'm linking to this Ebay listing, which actually appears to be an original pattern unlike so many of the PDF reprints I keep seeing when I type in the words "vintage hat pattern" on eBay. What's really nice is this booklet is a combination of crochet and knitting. So if I were to get frustrated with any of the knitting projects, I could unravel and start up something crochet. Like the cover. Doesn't the model look like a G-man's girlfriend? She's cute. Smart. Ready to go in her hat and gloves.

I'm not going to bid on this pattern. I'm busy with a crochet skirt (the third rendition of a project from the Happy Hooker book plus I'm about to dive in head first (no, I won't get injured, I'm talking figuratively) into the 1937 Sun-Ray ribbing sweater from A Stitch in Time Those two projects alone should keep me busy for at least two months. The skirt should be done within another week or two. The sweater? We'll see how complicated it is and whether I need to take Rogaine after I'm knee-deep for a week or two. However! I'm thinking optimistically. I'm counting on this sweater not to be terribly difficult. But easy. Yes, easy. That it will work up (and down) without pain. I've got 10 skeins of a vintage Fleishers Evermatch in a pale yellow and my 2.75 mm (U.S. 2) and 3.25 mm (U.S. 3) needles. Need to swatch and I'll be good to go VROOOM soon.

A Little Halloween Knitting: Emily Fitzroy in The Bat (1926), Origins for "Batman"*

Vogue Knitting didn't exist in 1926. Nor did Knit1 or Interweave Knits. But if any one of these knitting publication had been around then, you know they would have made a beeline to interview Emily Fitzroy, who knits nearly non-stop in the Bat, the silent film that led to the Batman movies you see today. Here's they no doubt would have heard Ms. Fitzroy say (you can see her in action in the above clip.)
Reporter (R): Miss Fitzroy, you're quite the knitter. We were quite impressed that you didn't drop a stitch in any of the scenes for The Bat. How did you do it?
Fitzroy (F): How do you know I didn't drop any stitches, young lady? I know how to make my marks. I'll have you know I've been knitting nearly my entire life. I learned how to knit and purl when I was five.
R: That's quite young.
F: You mean you didn't learn how to knit at at that age? All my friends and relatives did. If our mothers and grandmothers didn't teach us, we learned in school. How will you ever get married if you can't knit?
R: I learned when I was eight. I was a late bloomer. All of my girlfriends made fun of me and poked me with their pins. Yes, I'll be an old maid already at 20, don't remind me!
F: That'll teach you. Learn to knit properly and you'll get married in no time.
R: Yes, ma'am. Tell me what pattern were you knitting? What yarn did you use?
F: A Minerva pattern for a man's golf sweater. Fingering weight yarn.
R: How did you remember the pattern? Especially in those tense scenes with the Bat!
F: Listen, young lady. I'm a professional actress. I know how to work under duress. This was nothing. I used to knit in the dark when I worked in vaudeville. I'd poke those players with my pins to get them out on the stage on time. More than half of the time they were so stone-drunk they didn't know what end was up. If the poke didn't work, I'd get a lit cigarette. That usually worked like a charm and cut through the alcohol.
R: My. I had no idea. That was before my time.
F: You can only imagine the motion-picture industry was a piece of German chocolate cake in comparison. I didn't have to rely on my knitting skills to make it through the night.
R: Did Roland West know that you knit?
F: Absolutely. He saw me working up a pair of socks on an earlier picture, and he thought knitting would be a great prop in The Bat. It became part of my character, Miss Cornelia Van Gorder. I was so good I was typecast as the knitting grandmother in nearly every role after. I hated Joan Crawford. She got all the best roles - before and after the talkies.
R: You captured your character's nervous energy and confidence. She didn't let The Bat shake her up.
F: Of course not. Miss Cornelia didn't believe in ghosts or spirits. She was ahead of her time in that respect.
R: You mean everyone else on the set was superstitious?
F: Wouldn't you be if you saw a bat, even a make-believe one, everywhere you walked? My co-stars were skittish to even open a door.
R: I see a mouse and I make for the hills. I love that last scene where you-
F: Don't say it! Don't spoil the plot for anyone who might want to see The Bat! Didn't you read what Mr. West said in the beginning of the picture? He said don't ruin it for the others, you silly reporter. Now you can quote me on that.
* I saw The Bat at the Portage Park Theater last week. Excellent! I give it four stars out of five.

How To Get from Here To There: Annie Modesitt's High Society Hat

This is a hat I started and stopped last year, all because I need another skein of Gedifra Wellness. A very particular skein (2115) with a specific dye lot (9100). Since I launched this project long after I bought the original bunch of yarn for a halter top, I've had a really hard time finding a matching skein so I can finish this chapeau. I've searched all over Ravelry, send messages to members, pleaded for help on various forums. I've turned up nothing.

Yet as you can see the hat is cute even if there's no top and the brim is all curly. It has potential in a way an undecorated cake has promise. See I'm like a mother to my hats in progress: "YOU can be great if you want to be. But you MUST try. MUST!" Some frosting is all this little hat needs. However, unlike a cake, my frosting needs to match... or does it? I'm wondering if I'm just making life much more complicated than it needs to be by focusing on blending the new yarn with the old.

Can I tell you what I don't want? I don't want a bucket hat. As you can see from this picture, this hat is supposed to be stylin' in a very 1930s sort of a way. The brim is wired, which you can't see in the photograph, but it is because I've done this in previous renditions. So no bucket hat suitable for camping or baking on the beach. I want something breathtaking, something divine, pretty enough to wear with a ruffle-front plaid blouse and a pair of white summer gloves, suitable for a tea or a wedding.

So what could I do to revive this hat-in-progress? What can I possibly do to take this knitting project from the resting-on-the-couch stage to active, live on a set of circular needles? I'd really appreciate your thoughts. Since this is cotton, it would be nice to wear this finished hat sometime soon before the cold weather blows through and demands wool attire and accessories.

Here are some sober thoughts on what I could do:

• select another skein of Gedifra Wellness yarn in a brighter hue, finish the hat and use what's leftover to wrap around the brim.

Actually, I can't think of another option. I don't want to use a completely different color, for example, brown. I just can't see it looking graceful, just kind of clunky and dumb. Pink? Same thing. Yellow? Orange? Nothing else.

Or should I just let this marinate for another year, fading ever so much more on the top of my couch? Toss it in the garbage (sob!), give away at my next fabric swap? Start a prayer vigil for the skein of my dreams?

That's It. We're Done.

Dear. C-

I've been in denial for the past three weeks. We're not a good match. We never were. I'm sorry. I just don't know how else to break it to you.

Sure, we had some good times. You were always good for long bus rides, hopping on the Metra train at short notice. I loved, loved how you were, time and time again, up for a Dunkin Donuts iced coffee, even though you don't like fast-food coffee joints. I'll always remember the time we were on the El - headed downtown to Martini Park for a little dancing. You didn't flinch an eye when we went around the curve near the Sheridan Road stop, and ditto at Sedgewick. You're such a good sport, and you hate heights, although we were just a several Michael Jordans off the ground, not a full-fledged John Hancock building or even the skyscraper formerly known as the Sears Tower.

Like I said, I've been in denial for the past three weeks. Something wasn't right from the get-go. Something was twisted. I kept overlooking this, telling myself, "No, everything's fine. You're working in the round. That's why the fabric won't lay flat. You're knitting on circular needles."

So I kept going. Determined, as always. Valiant even. I'd unflip - or at least I thought - the oh so pretty lace every time I came to the beginning. Everything would fix itself once I cast off the last stitch I tried to convince myself. Yes, my ribbed tank top would look just divine and dandy.

However, last night I realized that all was not right. This relationship, albeit a circular one, wasn't going to make it through the summer. There would be no more rides on the CTA buses, no more laughs on the ride downtown to Martini Park, not even late nights of "Just One More Row Before I Go" to bed. No more of that. None!

While it appeared that I was nearly at the end of the my knitted Crest Waves, the bottom of my tank top, I thought....I think I'm going to have start over. For one last time, I tried to flatten the fabric, and as usual, it kept twisting. I thought, "I'm going to have accept it that I'm making a lace MOEBIUS STRIP." Yes, what I was making would be perfectly lovely in Cat Bordhi's book (She of the intentional knitted Moebius strip fame).

So unless I wanted something pretty and twisty around my neck, I've decided I'm going to have to frog this work in progress, the second such project in two months. I'm not going to complete any knitting this summer at the rate I'm going. I'm going to have a perpetual Groundhog Dog on the same darn thing. Back and forth on the Red Line, I'll be working on my bamboo needles, the same yarn getting more frayed by the minute. Babies will grow up and go to college before I tie this one off. Budget problems will be solved in Congress. New presidents will be elected. Couples will marry, procreate, move to Saudi Arabia for a job and then back...and all the while I'll be working on the same skein of Lion Brand Cotton-Ease (C.). Yes, I'm a thrifty girl, I am.

Okay, I'm finished venting, C. Like I said, we're finished. I don't want to see you again. I'll take a picture of you, C., just for the memories. I'm defriending you on Facebook...at least for a few hours. You can send me a new friend request later today. I promise I won't ignore or delete it. In the meantime, I'll be back at Arcadia Knitting at 12 noon sharp, to see if I can't salvage this project. Hopefully I won't have to cast on all 220 stitches yet again....just merely make sure I don't twist my work at the beginning. Yes, I'm really stubborn. I want to make this relationship work. Can you really forgive a girl for trying?

Love and kisses (at least for now),
Mary Beth

Sewing One for Me and One for You*

I'm returning to Vogue Fabrics on Sunday for another installation of the Sewing Salon. For the uninitiated (I was going to say uninformed, but I'm working on being more kind), the Salon is kind of like open call at the local comedy club, but significantly less intimidating. You will not be expected to get up on a stage (there isn't one, so this is not an issue). You will not be booed. Your jokes will not be met with silence (you might hear the hissssing of a steam iron). Finally, your sketch or routine will not be met with an over-enthusiastic round of applause the moment you finish ("I really suck. I can tell!"). You're not even expected to sew, but it would hard not to surrounded by a dozen or so sewing machines, two irons and what looks like a mile of cutting boards. You'd have to nearly insane (or half-dead) not to want to even turn on a Viking Husquvarna and watch the needle quiver awake (does anyone know why it does that? It makes me think of a cat's purr.) Truly, you could sit inside the salon (otherwise known as the classroom) and just hang out. Plenty of entertainment holds for even those who don't want to lift a presser foot. Little kids wander away from mothers lost in the dream world known as the pattern books. Admirers or wanna-bee sewers peer in and ask if you're taking a class. Store employees come in, try to shut the swollen wood door shut, slide two metal chairs next to each other, plop down on one and prop their feet on the other (she stands all day!) and open a brown-paper bag lunch in what looks like one motion. Amazing feat (not feet). Anyhow, this is Pat, who works in the notions department. Then there are the ladies who come in to do eyebrow-threading (they always stop to admire my work-in-progress which is nice). I want to stare, but that would be rude. (I do get eyebrows trimmed using the threading technique, just not at Vogue Fabrics.)

What else? You could always explore the store if you're really bored. Three huge rooms! You could get lost or find the fabric for your next project. I often like to go next door to the local grocery store for a soda pop (yes, we use those words here in the Midwest. Our new president will likely too when he goes to Washington, DC) and a bag of Sun Chips. I sneak snacks back into the classroom (what's a salon without refreshments? Not a proper one).

So anyhow back to the Salon, which by the way, summons images of Victorian-era ladies in bustles and crinolines working on embroidery and craft projects using human hair. Most of the time, I'm all by my lonesome with nary another sewer nearby. I love the inherent drama of kindred spirits, like the fellow PatternReview sewer who burned the ironing board. Or the African girl, dressed in native attire, who asked me a thousand questions on how to sew with patterns (like so many of her peers, she can cut out her own patterns, but she's at a loss with our American system of tissue paper pieces, cussing, sitting and stepping on our own pins). I don't mind stitching on my own and hear the chatter just outside the door, it's just much more fun with others. Then I'm not so tempted to spread myself around - a table for my jacket, scarf and hat, another for my purse, still another for my projects.

Anyhow, this Sunday I'll like be working at least one Christmas project (a top I started this year for a friend)...but I plan to do plenty of sewing for myself. It's the whole shopping concept just applied to sewing. You know, buy one for me, buy one for you. That means I intend to finish a couple of hats I started a few years ago and a swimsuit half-born but not baptized in water earlier this year. Oh, I might embelllish some fabric with some of these neat heat-transfer crayons I tested out last night. But that is it. Nothing overly ambitious. After all, I must devote time to eating and enjoying the holidays, no use slaving over the Viking, eh? I do have a knitting project that I intend to finish before December 25th, but I don't need the Salon for that, just the cozy comfort of a couple of loooong bus rides. How about you? What are you working on for gift-giving?
Finally, a couple of hatty links I found yesterday that you might enjoy:
Number One.
Another Burdastyle hat and mittens combo for those of you who like to sew, but not knit.
* The 1930s-era fabric above is from one of the unfinished hats. I actually made a pair of shorts from it a while ago. Not sure if I still have them. I might have given them to the Columbia College study collection.

Dressing Retro, Knitting at Superdawg

For those of you who live in Chicago, particularly the Northwest side, there's no need to explain Superdawg. It just is. I've actually never eaten there, but it made a huge impression on me every time my mother would drive past it on our way home from my grandmother's house in Westchester. With 10 children, we couldn't afford to eat there. All those hotdogs! Fries! Cokes! Forget about it. We only ate out on Sundays at restaurants where kids under age 5 could eat for free, and that was more than half the tribe. So SuperDawg was just a pipedream for us kids. Still is (I don't consider myself all-growed-up to use TMZ's term). Anyhow, the flirting guy-and-girl weiners has been practically burned into my memory...not unlike the burning glow of the devil's eyes at St. Michael's Church in the Old Town neighborhood. Those kind of eyes are most unforgettable in a spooky way.

Anyhow, I don't live far from SuperDawg even today. I really owe it to my taller, wage-earning self to dine here at least once. Here's my idea: what if I created a Meetup.com group dedicated to dressing retro, knitting and dining at this most retro eatery, say, at least once a month? This place is already a magnet for old car lovers. Why not go the extra stitch and dress like it's 1959, order some stuff off the menu (2008 prices) knit for a while and watch the fascinating parade of people that also eat here? It's entirely possible you'll spill ketchup on your vintage dirndl skirt, screw up your knitting pattern majorly ... but we'll have so much fun it won't matter. We knitters could even rotate the location to another old-timey eatery (Russell's Barbeque is another childhood favorite) ...but always always dressing like it's the 1950s! The attire is half-the-fun, folks. You don't have to make anything from the "Father Knows Best" era, just work on something. It could be the latest free download from Ravelry, some embroidery, a crochet 70s beret. You get the idea. I think. I hope. Leave your comments below. I'll upload a poll on the sidebar to gauge interest.

Saturday's List of Hat Links*

While I'm working at an elephant's pace on my knitted hat, I haven't touched my sewing machine in over a month. I'm not certain how the Viking Husqvarna would react if I were to turn it on now. It might give me an electric shock for ignoring it for so long, eat my fabric for lunch or to show how hurt it really feels, just rebel completely and not work at all. Really I think about sewing, and I'm disinclined to do any real-time stitching until there's a day's worth of freezing rain or snow. So there. I also love to dream about hats, and here are some great links about all things chapeaux:

* Two hats from Interweave Knits, Winter 2008.
* One man's impressive collection of hand-knitted hats. He made them all.
* Information on La Fete de Catherinettes, coming up on November 25. Warning: the link is completely in French.
* The Rutland Trail cap from Anthropologie.

* The image above? Drawn from part of my collection of fall/winter 2004 collection of playing cards from Eugenia Kim.

Thursday's Quick Hat Hits

First off, I need to know whether you wore a hat to the polls on Tuesday. I did. Specifically, I wore this knitted topper. Yes, I did what I could to make the planet a little less serious that day (I frequently like to paraphrase Monty Python: "The problem with the world today, There aren't enough people wearing hats."). I'm not sure it worked. Well, ok, I heard fireworks later that evening after 10 p.m. Maybe it was belated recognition for my millinery? Anyhow, here are some quick hat hits if you're so inclined.
1. The hat above? It's Caityquilter's. Yes, those really are zipper roses. Now you know what to do with all those old metal-edged ones you find at garage sales. I've also seen them turned into clip-ons for shoes.
2. Have you wondered where to find high-quality flat wool felt? Here's a link. Now you can make those Vogue Pattern hats. I plan on ordering some soon (the Autumn gold looks beautiful).
3. So you're not inclined to sew, knit or spider spin a hat? Here's a whole blog post on what to buy: Refinery29's 15+ hats for fall.
4. I'm actually knitting another hat, no surprise I suspect given what I've made and uploaded to date. This one's called Dizzy, and I'm the ditsy making it. I will return to sewing in good time. I'm just waiting for some crummy cold weather. It's been like summer here the past few days, hardly appropriate for lowering the presser foot and getting down to business. That I'll do in good time.

Stuck in the Knitting Quagmire

It's been one of those rebellious weekends where I didn't want to sew because it was sunny and why stitch in the ditch when I could be outside basking in the sunshine knitting in the trenches? Of course, any knitting usually calls for some regressive work so all progress made in two days gets undone in a matter of hours...until you have nothing to show for your 48 hours off. Oh well, which is a long way to say that my Aqueduct hat is not nearly complete...although it was FOUR stitches from being done when I tried on the thing and found that it looked like a child's bonnet, which is not the look that I'm after. I compared my work to the picture in the Knitting Millinery book and they didn't resemble twins separated at birth. So it was off to the LYS for major frogging, and then yesterday I found I was off by one stitch, so I did some ripping on my own, and now I'm Officially Stuck because I dropped one of my markers and I'm not sure it's in the right spot and wouldn't you know the LYS is closed today and I likely will not be able to go there until Wednesday earliest, maybe Thursday to further work on the Little Hat That Could? I'm tired of it already which you know in the World of Sewing I would be more than done with whatever I was making and I would have worn it three times already. Really. I need to ignore the the weather and make some face time with the Viking Husqvarna just so I can feel like I'm finishing garments faster than a snail stuck in mud's pace.
So instead of getting a picture of my completed chapeau, you get a scan of Eugenia Kim's 2004 playing cards. Aren't they cool? You'll probably see more of these as other knitting projects get stalled like semis on the highway.

Going for the Gusto*

I'm a knitting wussie. So much of it intimidates me, I wish I could just swan dive into like some other fanatics out there. You know the ones. Those that buy three hanks of Brown Sheep Cotton fleece and three days later whip out a lacy top or skirt. Or those that have at least three projects going at once, and rotate them according to their level of speed like so many pots on a stove. Those lacy knit gloves? Stuck. Put on the back burner. Moss stitch beret? Making progress, but I need someone to help me rip back a row. Sweater? Swatching and blocking that later this evening. It seems to me too that those with large stashes of yarn, in other words, those knitters who get buried by a snowfall of skeins when they open the closet, they're the ones always working their sticks (though not necessarily reducing the collection aka stash). Me? My yarn collection is so small, it scarcely merits closet space. Whereas I'm hasty to cut out fabric and patterns, knitting takes me so much time that if I were running the Chicago Marathon, I'd do best to start now. It doesn't matter that the starting line hasn't been set up yet. Then there's the budget. If I buy any yarn, by golly, I'm going to knit now, not wait until winter when it's suitably cold enough to be doing K2, P2 with 100 percent wool. I don't want my yarn to gather any dust, and I want my money's worth right away. What's more, I really think about what I'm going to do for the longest time. I've got more 100 projects tagged favorite on Ravelry, but nothing queued. I don't even know how to use that function. So it was quite amusing to read in the latest issue of Vogue Knitting, that there are users who actually watch what others are lining up in their list of projects. That would actually be an interesting function to add to Patternreview. Maybe it's already available there. I dunno.

I'm thinking that the knitters who learn the most are the ones who invest the most, whether it's time, money or both. They aren't content to just sit on the sidelines, cheering on players, they jump the pointy fence, stumble on the dirt knees first (ouch!) and play. If they fumble with the bumble, help the opponent score a point, it doesn't matter, they're learning. It's all about the journey, which clearly needs to be the topic of a t-shirt, if it's not already somewhere, somehow.

I think I have that hunger to just make lots of mistakes fast and quick with sewing. I've tossed out dozens of projects. I've gots lots of unfinished projects in shopping bags throughout my home. A closet collection collaborating and planning future growth. Pins dangerously poking about on the bedroom floor, rolling in laughter on the living hardwood floor.

Meanwhile, the knitting needles are lined up nice, prim and proper behind a glassed in bookshelf. Ditto the knitting needles. The yarns are sequestered in a beaten-up shopping bag on a hanger in the front closet. There's nothing remotely knitting-related on my to-do. No "go to Arcadia today," or "test out lace pattern this weekend" or even "stock up on Malabrigo for bolero jacket." There's a bit of lingering fear, a fear of commitment - like how long will it take to make the cute 1930s knit hat in Romantic Hand Knits? Or the pom pom peds - how quickly can I master the pattern to the point that I'm cranking out a pair lickety-split without thinking? I just want to get to the point where I'm done in the way I am with sewing. Materials? Check. Pattern? Cut, cut, and CUT. Stitch, stitch, stitch. A little pressing. Steam here, steam there. I'm done. I'm wearing the sewn garment hot off the iron in a matter of hours.

Knitting seems like it's a lot of pre-crafting plotting. Get enough of same color lot yarn. Swatch. Rewrite pattern that so that it fits you and not your sister. Start project in fits like you're hand-cranking a Ford Model T. Speed only comes after you add ethanol. If you're lucky, you'll have something in a matter of 48 to 72 hours. Nothing, nothing, not even Tinker Bell, comes overnight. A lot, from what I read, gets done within months. Some gets aside and finished a year later. Gosh, what a slow-cooker hobby. Where's the instant gratification - but not a straightforward knit-and-purl scarf - that can be accomplished without enlisting an army of experts in person or online? I just dunno. Hence my hesitation.

Then again, knitting is a portable project as I've mentioned many times before. I'm not quite ready to give it up just yet. But I'm not in love. I don't swoon over skeins of yarn. I'm not ready to buy a drop-spindle let alone a spinning wheel just so that I can say that I not only carded the fiber but I spun the yarn. That's too much, although it does appeal to me in a Tasha Tudor sort of way. I feel the same way about hairpin lace. I've got the tool, but I hem and haw at the edge of the pool. (A fitting analogy given that I'm always in the warm-water pool for aerobics thrice weekly). Will it be cold?

With that in mind, I'm ready to sign off the computer and do something crafty. Will it be Vogue Fabrics or Arcadia Knitting? Vogue is a cheaper fix, Arcadia feels more like I'm signing up for Pre-Cana classes and the pre-wedding jitters are already kicking in. What about you? What hobbies are you ready to try but not quite ready to carry out?

Enough on my knitterly anxieties. A little bit of this and that:

• At Judith M Millinery - a wonderful leopard print beaver hatbody, not always available apparently.

• Upcoming Vogue Fabrics sale. Go Saturday afternoon to beat the rush and hit up the bargains. Also Kwik Sew patterns are 20 percent off (!!!) through Aug. 9. Go. Buy. Now.
  

• Pattern Poll Results. Forty percent of you love McCalls, 40 percent love all big four patterns (McCalls, Vogue, Butterick and Simplicity) ; 20 percent of you like Vogue. I'm the lone star in this crowd: I mostly love Simplicity, seemingly a small-shouldered girl's beeeeest friend.

* The swatch above is from a gauge-swatch cardigan started in Des Moines two years ago. I need more yarn to complete it.

Portable Projects*

Aah. The Portable Project. There's a lot of talk about that now, along with great books to read while sitting on the beach, hanging around for the endlessly delayed flight or on a sidetrack while waiting for a far more important freight train to pass by (this is for American train passengers idled on an Amtrak train).

Consequently, the project becomes hugely important. It's something to do after you're bored watching movies on the laptop, when it suddenly it becomes urgent to do something challenging with the brain. If you've get a well-thumbed paperback, you're set in the grey-cell activity department, and it is actually somewhat tacticle since you've got to turn those wrapping-paper thin pages. But I like digging into making something, a show-and-tell-for the road, a task that you can see progressing as you move along your journey, and hopefully complete before your adventure is finished.

Contrary to popular opinion, knitting and crochet aren't the only projects that you can easily pop into a handbag. Here are a couple of other handiwork entreprises that travel nicely like a well-covered homemade blueberry pie:
1. Cutwork. It could be paper or fabric. If you're not obsessed with perfection and you can handle carrying a little pair of scissors (particularly on airplanes, and I've done this, so it's all right at security checkpoints), this is a great way to exercise your hands and just play. For me, I've been hacking iron-on copper facing into tiny, big, and huge circles. These past two days, I've just sat there with no music, cutting and cutting, little bits of copper paper floating onto my bedspread, floating onto the wood floor. I even got some assistant from an admirer, who with Depression-era thriftiness, folded the paper in half, cut two circles at a time, sparing not one little bit of scrap. I've got lots of circles for my blue knit fabric. One more thought: you could make lots of cut-out for later use. I did that for a hatblock and this folding screen. What's even better, you can enlist fellow passengers that way your hands don't get fatigued.
2. Embroidery. This is excellent if you got your sewing on a hooping, and all your floss and needles arranged on a card. It's fantastic because you can set it on your lap, doze off, and pick it up hours later and know exactly where you are, which is not the case with knitting or crochet, particularly when you're following a pattern. Then you must reread the instructions at least twice to make sure you're on track (an appropriate wisecrack when you're traveling by rail, which I just might do tomorrow morning.) Another on-the-road worthy project is smocking, which is a great, slow way to add detail to a garment. Right now, I'm keen to cut out a square of small print red-and-white gingham, do 10 minutes of chicken-scratch embroidery across each. Then I'll have two pockets to machine stitch to a nice, big full, knee-length 1950s gingham skirt, which I'll make nice and fluffy with a crinoline.
3. Scrapbooking. I'm not sure you could bring a huge project with you, but I'd bring a lightweight blank pocketed binder, lots of stickers, then stick various bits of memorabilia in a sleeve as you park at various destinations. (Hopefully you will not stop on a cloud mid-journey on a plane. There are no postcards there.) Of course, to make it really meaningful you'd need to scribble little notes throughout, comments like: "We were stuck in the airport for three hours but dad took us to McDonald's" or even "We waited out a tornado in this rest area. It was really scary when the wind blew knocked over a garbage can, but we're okay."
4. Letter-writing. I think this is absolutely the best. It's basically like journal-writing, but instead of keeping each day's escapades and thoughts to yourself, you share it with family and friends. You'd need to make sure you have a pad of paper, pen, envelopes, stamps, and most importantly, your address book. Write everything that happens, preceded with "Dear >>>" to put it all in perspective. When you're finished with the missive, seal, stamp and drop it in the nearest mail box. Then you can relive your experiences weeks later when your friends call to thank you for your note. A lengthy letter is preferable than a postcard, which is short, somewhat sweet and sometimes, unreadable.
If all is fails, you can simply take a nap, and catch up on your sleep. Sugary dreams.
* The remnant above is not a part of a Portable Project right now. It's the by-product of my Patternreview tour at Vogue Fabrics last week. Yes, I got 10 percent off of $5.99 for 1 1/2 yards of this 54-inch swatch of stretch lace! I scanned the peachy fabric against a piece of black paper...

Playing Footsie *

I haven't really been inclined to knit socks. Why do it when so many look so functional, and er, like something Rosie the Riveter might have worn to work? I'm all about nice-looking and feminine, and socks for the most part just don't seem to go with skirts and dresses! I mean do you see the models in Vogue wearing socks or even celebrities at the various movie premieres? No, socks are just too practical to be pretty. They're just something to wear to bed or when it's so cold you might freeze some digits down there.

But I've been rethinking my position, only because my fingers are so bored on the bus and the train these days. There's only so much you can read or text to Twitter. So I want to knit something that's easy on the debit card and lightweight to carry. But I want a challenge. I'm thinking I might enjoy making these Pom Pom Peds (or these footlets)...so similar to the dozens and dozens of cotton Liz Claiborne ones I've bought at Marshalls over the past years. I'd imagine the ones I'd make would be so soft and comfy that I would never ever buy any more anklet socks. I'd love 'em so much that I would be inspired to make them for my mother, sisters, friends and bloggers I've befriended over the years. I could even see myself buying those antique darning eggs you often see at the antique shop. (I swear the Antique and Resale Shoppe has a few in a 1940s-era sewing basket I can picture now). Then I would lovingly repair all my homemade socks. (I should tell you I already stitch up any holey socks on my Viking Husqvarna. I just push the heavy knit and 'faux' serger buttons, and stitch away with made-for-knits needle on my machine. Done in 30 seconds.)

So I could see myself phasing out the machinemade in China or Viet Nam sockies in favor of the knitted-at-home ones that can be worn with flip-flops, slippers or my Natural Sport slip-on sneakers (so wonderful for dancing!). But I will never ever wear Crocs (I'm a member of I Don't Care How Comfortable Crocs Are, You Look Like A Dumbass club on Facebook). I might, just might make lacy socks but none of those multi-colored ones that look something the Seven Dwarves might wear to cut down wood in the forest.

Will it be cheaper to make my own? Probably not. But it will keep me entertained on the bus, which I think is almost more important. I'll become one of those knitters who memorize their patterns and can crank out these things like somebody's business with impromptu variations. Wanna a leaf at the ankle? Done. Your initials on the bottom? Consider your John Hancock duly noted. So stripes or even an argyle pattern? A little trickier, but give me a couple of weeks and your feet will be decorated by you know who. And we're not talking about tattoos, a whole other topic.

I figure one of the patterns above will be easy enough to learn. If not, I can pester my mom who has aced the sock-making process to the point she's got a few pairs saved up for Christmas. I won't have to go to the local sock-making store or even yelp for help at the local SnB. I can go to mom's (and raid the refrigerator in the process). And the cost of the yarn - even a nice 100 percent merino wool variety - won't bust the checkbook. I can master those wobbly double-pointed needles. (I had trouble trying to make a pair of fingerless gloves with those things and I ripped up the project without guilt and made a sweater instead.) I can stash, needles, yarn and my ego all in my to-go bag.

Now I must check on all those clean cotton anklet socks drying on a rack in my living room. They feel a little stiff, but wait til I get little socks - handwashed probably - on the same rack. Any of you who come over for dinner on wash day Wednesday (which is really any day I have a $1.25 in quarters and enough detergent) are in for a Show N' Tell. See pretty socks! Touch the little pom-pom I made. Isn't that sooo cute? Bop me on the head if you get such a lame presentation, but don't do it before you eat, ok? If you do, you might not get dinner or even an appetizer. My pride might be sorely wounded if you act disinterested or even laugh at my sockies. You know Chris Evert would love to have a pair of these? She'd probably would have really appreciated two or four back in the day when she wore the machine-made ones on the tennis courts. Now of course that she's married to Greg Norman, she doesn't care a whit about foot comfort on the court except when she's padding around the house late at night nibbling or watching "Dancing With the Stars" (I don't know if she really does this; I'm just imagining.)

Do you think if I made a pair for Rachel Ray, she'd wear them on her show? Seriously. (For those of you who don't like this woman, skip this part.) I thought about sewing her a surplice-wrap top (think the popular Kwik Sew pattern), but I don't know her measurements. I might have to do a FBA (I don't need to do one myself - I'm in the small-bust club). She looks a little short-waisted too. Would her public relations staff give me her measurements if I asked or would they just consider me a wacko? Or could I just get away with asking for her foot size without people thinking I have a foot fetish? But would she show her new socks with gusto pre-cooking on her show? I can't see that. But a top! That would hog the show big time, especially is she spilled some pesto sauce on it at some point. Then it would end up as a clip on the People Magazine funny moments on TV site. But it would be a complete disaster if my handiwork didn't fit right or looked mousy. What's the point of making something that just gets tossed in the Salvation Army donation pile? Pointless, I say.

Really. I'm better off making anklet socks for friends and family who I can actually give to in person. Watch their eyes light up in delight (I hope) and appreciation (they better, or take my knitted loveliness back faster than Batman can fly to the moon.) Now would I make socks for a man. Maybe. But not my brothers - not one of the seven. They wouldn't even put them on unless they were chained to a hospital bed. Then they might. So I'm not even going to go to the Socks for Men department right now. It might be a long while if I ever do. Let's just master the gusset first, ok? I'm going to go order my yarn for Knitpicks. Impatiently wait for my order to arrive in the slow-cooker mail, then go eat at the family household, and then bother the matriarch. I can't knit on an empty stomach or I might go poke someone's brown eye out with a double-pointed needle. Gosh, writing about food made me hungry. Oddly enough, it didn't exacerbate my desire to knit.
* The bag you see above? I crocheted that on a silk shantung lining from Tilli Tomas, which I can't find online anymore. Next time, I'd use more yarn and crochet a little looser, so the bag wouldn't look so pointy...

Robin Hood Meets Black and White Brushstrokes* Part II

Thanks LindsayT, Everyday Sewist, Christina and Sewer-Sewist for the kudos on my Robin Hood Meets Black and White Brushstrokes top. I still have to hem it, which got me thinking (which is hard to do on this day after the Independence Day weekend): Should I make a matching skirt or is that going to be just too dizzying? Vogue 2977's pull-on skirt C has elastic at the waist and free floating panels. Ann Smith did a great job on her matching top and skirt. Then again, I already have a dress in this fabric - am I ready for a third garment in this stretchy, cottony jersey (which, by the way, is very comfortable in our hot and humid weather)? Part of me is ready to move on like the fabric's old beau, but then again, another chunk of me is curious about how black and white would look full-blown from neck to knee. Would it just be an invitation for a graffiti artist to embellish me with a spray can of paint? Or would somebody just hand me a paint brush and tell me to stop goofing off and get to work? In any event, this fabric is LOUD and demands attention much like handsome Hamlet does when he wants to go outside. But my knit doesn't bark, whine, jump and scratch the door. It just simply hangs there, which is understandable because it is inanimate or it was the last time I looked at it. My other thought is to stitch up the top in this jewel blue-toned zig-zag fabric that I bought at Mood Fabrics a couple of years ago. I suppose I could scan that, then I could get your opinion, but I feel lazy right now.

Since I've officially abandoned the crochet skirt pattern (but I could return to in a triple-step heartbeat if I found a great yarn deal), I'm mulling my next knitting project. I'm really loving this Knitpicks cloche pattern. It looks so easy - strictly stockinette from what I can tell, but still somewhat challenging. It calls for Timtex for the brim. From what I can tell on Ravelry, no one else has done this particular pattern. Yippee! I love being the first (or at least apparently so - someone could have tried the pattern but just didn't review it online) to test out a project. The yarn output is small, so the cost isn't a big deal. Of course, I would use something soft, like the suggested Andean Treasure alpaca. Now do I buy it online? Or go local if only get the live help if I need it? This does look sufficiently simple that I should be able to wing it on my own for the most part with some intermittent SOS calls on Ravelry. It also appears this hat doesn't need to be blocked the way the "Romantic Handknits" ones do. (I'm chickening out on hat blocking because my headform block is buried somewhere in my storage locker and I don't want to go there now.) It's either that or a knitted bolero jacket that I could really use and would look great over this dress or paired with jeans. I just don't know. Maybe the cheapest, easiest project win! Aaack!

Shifting the Lines and a Whole Lot More

Did you know that a shift is commonly confused with a sheath? Not me. Both are unfussy dresses that end at the knees. However, a shift tends to be less fitted at the waist and hips (like this Mary Beth creation) and a sheath clings to the body much, much more. I'm glad to know the difference and I'm afraid the shifts rule my dresser although not my closet. In fact, I know for certain there no sheaths in my wardrobe. Which brings me to another term that gets used pretty loosely in the design world. Couture? It actually refers to a tradition of custom-made clothing that originated in France. My friend Eia says that true couture hats are completely hand-sewn. Yes, from start to finish. So my handmade strawberry-shaped cocktail hat I made would fit the bill, I'm proud to this say.

Some more interesting tid-bits for those of you who sew, especially with vintage machines. Zig Zaggers wants to hear from you. I'm not a good candidate now because my grandmother's Singer is is sitting in the storage unit a couple of floors beneath me. I don't plan on unearthing it this year even for an interesting blog post. However, my sister has my grandmother's other machine that she actually got fixed up with a new motor and all, but never uses! I do have a creaky newish serger that I don't like at all, so I don't see it as blog fodder at all. I will likely donate it to this organization for a tax credit when I get around to organizing my linen closet.

If you've got children who want to learn how to sew, here are some tips. It seems like young boys are especially eager to get their hands on sewing machines; they're a little more fearless with it than girls. They just want to put their feet to the pedal and see how fast the needle can stitch. Girls are a little more timid, like they're afraid they might overrun a finger or two.

If you like to crochet, you can actually enter a crochet bag contest for $5. That looks like a ton of fun. Something like that could actually inspire me to use my vintage 1930s cordet, but I will probably procrastinate. It turns out there are only three spots left. Yikes!

What else? Gigi has found an excellent way to organize her paper rolls for next to nothing. It's such a great DIY project that really needs to be written up in Readymade or Craft Magazine. I'd do it too, but I need to borrow her boyfriend, but seeing that Florida is quite a ways from Illinois I just might have to improvise for the moment.

Moving along, I like this hat idea but I'd probably add some netting and turn to the whole thing into a hat-on-a-cocktail-hat concoction. It'd be just thing to wear to a square-dancing event or even to a street festival such as this one.

I'm running out of things to write about on this springy Wednesday morning (summer doesn't begin until Saturday). I'm wearing two things I made today - the chartreuse assymetrical skirt and my long black-and-lavender sweater coat. Will I sew today? Probably not. But I might do some knitting, probably along a long bus ride or something. I'm looking for some inspiration today but not finding it. Pre-bedtime these days, I find myself seriously considering making up Simplicity 2885 in either a white eyelet with red topstitching or using a lightweight lawn I bought at Vogue Fabrics more than a year ago. Or I could just finish up that third bathing suit I started this past weekend. I think I need a little sewing inspiration. I just might need to go to New Machine Party (yes, it's all in caps) at Vogue Fabrics on Monday. Play-time with some new toys always gets me in a sewing mood. Now if there are some complimentary chocolate cookies and juice, I'm so there. How about you? Where do you find your sewing mojo when you feel like it's slipped under a couch cushion?

What Do You Think of Sew-A-Longs, TNTs*

I took my inspiration from this knitting-related blog post. It got me ruminating. I've sometimes been tempted to join the sew-a-longs at Patternreview, but then I get caught up like a spider in a web in other things I need to do work-wise. Somehow, I feel like if I get snared in a Sew-A-Long, I'll just spend more time on the laptop, instead of being social. For me personally, I'm better off going to a Stitch N Bitch for some human contact since I'm often by myself all day long.

On the other hand, a sew-a-long might be the kick in the sailor pants to get going on some projects that I'm shying away from. How do you feel about sew-a-longs? I guess I'm really intrigued after 75 sewers signed up for a coat sew-a-long. What inspired all these people to sign up quicker than lickety-split for this collaboration? Was it the prodigious project? Somehow I don't think people would be as inspired if they were stitching up a pair of undies or an apron. Or does the organizer have a really charismatic personality? I'm sometimes wonder what would occur if I launched a sew-a-long blog. Of course, I'd have to promote it on a crafty web site with heavy traffic just for the project to get some attention. I'm not sure I'm currently known "well enough" in the sewing community to attract more than a handful of participants. Or does it really depend on how "established" you are? Do you need to feel like you "know" your fearless fun leader in order to jump in feet first into a shared, online project? My final thought: do sewers leap on board simply because so many others have crossed the pedestrian bridge? I'll admit the Great Coat Sew-A-Long appeared enticing only after I heard it was closed to new participants. But then again, I could have been one of the lame sewists who signed up and didn't pick up a pair of scissors or even pick out a pattern. It's kind of like how my ace fingers rapidly signed me up to become one of Ravelry's beta testers, but then when I finally did get the invite, it took me forever and a few days to upload pictures of my knitting masterpieces to the site.

Talk of Sew-A-Longs brings me to another related topic: TNTs. This abbrevation and its use online sewing communities cracks me up because the first thing that comes to my brain when I hear, "TNT" is the stuff that's used to make explosives, and not anything remotely to do with sewing, fabric and patterns. But as I understand it, TNT means "Tried and (N) True" as in any pattern that's worth using again and again until it falls apart or out of favor. At one time, I would have said this pattern was a TNT because I sewed it at least seven times, exactly the same way: lengthen the torso by two inches, and using a McCall sleeve. Over and over not quite in my sleep because I think that might be dangerous, I did it. Now I'm tired of it in the way I got quickly tired of "The Rules" which by the way, I actually burned on my porch. I don't think I'll torch my Kwik-Sew pattern. I'll just let it become pals with the dust-mites.

Now there is another pattern that's most certainly a TNT. It's this Kwik-Sew bathing suit pattern. Since the three purply bathing suits I made last year are already falling apart, I feel like it's time to make another trio soon. I was thinking I might try another view this time just to keep the task somewhat interesting. I'm also going to use different fabrics to keep it lively. I at least need to use a print for limbo's sake!

I think that's really the only "active" TNT pattern in my collection. Wait. I take that back. The Santa Monica T pattern falls in the "tried and true" category. I haven't sewn it lately, but I've been thinking about it since I have a scallop-edge stretch lace remnant that would be perfect. The thing I love about this pattern is how easy it is. The hardest part is using a twin-needle to stitch down the neckline. If I didn't do that, this pattern would be almost easy enough for a 8-year-old sewer to make, although I think the darts in the sleeve are a bit disconcerting for someone just starting out. The darts in the sleeves and not the bodice are bit unexpected, don't you think? What are your TNT patterns? I'm eager to hear. I suspect the Jalie patterns I bought in December will become "favs" once I get around to sewing them.

In other non-related sewing/knitting news, Hamlet appears to be adjusting to his new home if all the sleeping he's doing is any indication. He's older dog (11 to be exact), so maybe he needs all extra sleep. He also also has some trouble getting up the stairs, but there's no elevator so that's the way it's going to be found. Since he snoozes plenty, I've found more than a Mount Kilimanjaro's excuse not to take him out for walks. He hasn't been outside yet today, but I have to Dunkin Donuts for an iced coffee. Unless he's begging and whining, "Please, please, let's go outside" in dog-speak, I'm afraid I'm going to put it off for at least another hour.
* Here is my TNT in a pretty floral print that just happens to coordinate with my skirt. So what do you think of my photogenic canine companion?

Polls and other stuff*

The "editor" goofed on the (How has the economy affected your sewing habits poll ). The "mistake" should be obvious if you follow the link. Actually, I might give the topic another shot now that I think about it.

I've got a new knitting-related poll in the left sidebar. Please vote if you're so inclined, which brings me to the results of the "How Likely Are You To Join a French Knitting Club?" poll. It turned out two readers voted yes; two, no and three never. I've seen at least two women knitting (one was making a sock, the other looked she was embroidering a knitted hat) while they were waiting for class at Alliance Française, so they and other Francophiles could be members of my club if I ever decided to start one. I think we might need to show a movie at the same time, and have at least brie cheese and some French bread. There's already a meet-up.com group that goes to local French films, but the group I envision would meet at the abovementioned building, where we could at least control the lights so we could see our needles. I'm not about to try those lighted needles while I'm in the theater, but I could do with some low lights (at least enough to see some basic stockinette stitches, I can't be multi-tasking attempting to make lace). Which brings me to another knitting-related question, for those of you on Ravelry, how many of you would put your ID on a business card? I've found I write mine (thelazymilliner) on ripped pieces of paper, napkins and other ephermera when I meet fellow Ravelry members. I'm thinking that I might actually put my ID on future business cards to save some hassles. Would you do the same or have you already?

Phantomminuet doesn't mess with knitting needles as far as I know, but she did tag me. So here are six things you didn't know about me:

1. I have ten brothers and sisters (two sisters, seven brothers) and twelve nieces and nephews. Maybe I said that in a previous post. I dunno. Now you know definitely. This crop of youngsters makes for some noisy family get-togethers, which I'm glad are thrilled are held at my mother's. Let her deal with the broken picture frames.
2. I shouldn't speak too soon. I might have to deal with my less than fair share of broken items, now that I will be the foster mother of a cute little dog named Hamlet from Blessed Bonds (see above picture) beginning Monday for at least 14 days. I grew up with dogs (beginning with Beulah, a basset hound, to Chico, a furry mutt, and then Toby, I forget what breed he was).
3. I don't wear any rings. Zilch. Not even a Claddagh ring, which I keep thinking about doing since perhaps it bring some new love options my way. But I do like having hands barren in a way. A ring might feel confining.
4. I like making lentil soup from scratch. Two weeks from now I'm going to get the chance to can vegetable broth with two sisters I met recently at this event.
5. I have an air conditioner in my apartment, but I never use it. Instead, I just on any one of three ceiling fans, and crack open the windows when it gets really hot.
6. I've never downloaded anything from iTunes even though I have the ability to do so.

For those of you who like to dye fiber (I would think this would include fabric, although the following information is addressed to Chicago knitters), here's a free event. I'm thinking of going, but I'm not dying any yarn.

Worna Haywood and Judy Chan are hosting a dye day on Saturday, June 7th. No previous experience necessary.

If you are interested please RSVP to Judy or Worna and say what time you plan to arrive so they know how many people to expect.

When: Saturday, June 7, 2008, anytime between 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Where: Judy's workshop at 8217 N Elmore St, Niles, IL 60714
(2 blocks north of Oakton, west of Milwaukee just past "O" streets)

We will supply:
Dyes, burners to heat water, stock pots, steamer,
yarn swift, niddy noddy, microwave, etc.

Supplies you will need to bring:
Animal-based fibers or yarn to dye
Gallon of white vinegar (such as Heinz)
Bottles of water with sport caps (squirt bottles)
Plastic bucket
Plastic wrap
Plastic baggies to take home wet fibers/yarn
Gloves: plastic, vinyl or disposable
Apron or wear old clothes and shoes
Foam paint brush (about 2" wide)

Finally, this weekend I plan to tackle a little knitting (I've abandoned the tank top for now, and plan to make this instead). Sunday I just might do some sewing at Vogue Fabrics, but there's some work I also need to address as well. I've found that I've done very little sewing lately. I think it's because I spend so much time in my apartment so I'm eager to spend as much social time outside of it as possible. At least at Vogue Fabrics, I'll have a sewing machine, no computer distractions, plus I can talk to shoppers if I start feel a little lonely.

Ok, I'm going to tag the following: Svetlana at My Knitting Island, Peacock Chic, and lower your pressure foot. I'm off to email these folks....
* The skirt you see above is another version of the New Look skirt pattern I posted yesterday.

Quite a Bit of Creativity This Weekend*

But I don't have much to show for it. I feel unproductive compared to some other bloggers, who completed projects during these past three days. I see pictures here of dresses completed, skirts stitched and scarfs made...it's enough to make feel like I didn't do anything just because what I worked on isn't done. I was half-hoping that I would start Saturday and finish this tank top by last night, at the latest.

It didn't happen, but not for lack of effort. I do believe I deserve some Gold Stars for buying yarn, casting on 165 stitches on a pair of 29-inch circulars that constantly threatened to gauge out my eyeballs all in one 72-hour period.

Anyhow, my eyes did survive the dangerous cast-on. Then I knitted, purled, did the latter and former again just to get to the fun part: lace. So I did the requisite yarn-overs, K2s, ssks in the proper spots repeatedly. The first time, I came to the end of the row with something six extra stitches. I was sitting inside a tent in this park when that happened, a gentle warm breeze blowing on me, while my three nieces bounced around me, begging for yet another chapter in my unpublished masterpiece, "Ashley & Blake Go To Scotland." But I had my priorities in order, knitting, especially when it's frustrating, takes precedence over a pair of fictitious boy-crazy characters. So I took off five rows of stitches from those wicked knitting needles. And cast on yet again.

So last night having survived a terrible rainstorm that nearly flooded the inside of our unanchored tent, I tackled the knitting one more time. I got the foundation rows all done while I was taking a crowded train back from Highland Park (minus the Aerobed mattress, which just too much to carry when my soggy belongings felt heavy enough).

So while sitting on my couch surrounded by my stuff, I bit the bullion and I did the lace row a second time, which was one stitch short of knitterly perfection. What to do? What to do? What to do? Of course, log onto Ravelry, which I did....and to be extremely frank, I'm ready to cast off yet again (no, not on a rowboat, but all those stupid stitches already on the needle)...and take a break from the whole blessed thing. Maybe in another day or two (when it's warmer and feels a little more appropriate to making something for summer) I'll feel different about this project. I'll be ready to try again with renewed zeal. I dunno. What I liked Best About the Project So Far: I really did enjoy sitting inside the tent blissfully knitting with my bare feet, enjoying what felt like the first day of summer (brutally cut short by Old Man Winter today), I wish I had something to show for this extra-long weekend. Why didn't I sew? I have bundles of fabric happily waiting for me in my bedroom closet. For sewing, I don't have to laboriously count the stitches in the fabric, it just leaps onto the table and wants to be cut into pieces and sewn into something wearable, it doesn't matter what, just something. Even if I just finished up putting the foldover-elastic on a sleeveless top yesterday than I could have something to photograph and show for my 72-hours of no schedule, no nothing and no news. Instead I have a pair of circulars sitting on my couch, waiting for me to pick them up yet again. They'd especially like it if I took off the yarn so they could get another chance to whip me in the face. Now tell me do scissors attempt that? Certainly if they're sharp, you could nick yourself, but attack you while you're holding them with both pair of hands? I think not. Sewing is much more civilized. Trust me I'm not afraid of sharps on my sewing machine, but knitting needles? Talk about the potential for bodily harm. Of course, it is my quest to be busy and truly happy with I make or am I just overly keen to have something photogenic to blog about today? Would I care as much if I weren't blogging? Probably not. Time for some almonds and a mug of green tea.

For those of you who blog - how often do you feel compelled to write about finished projects?
* The fabric above was for this dress. Incidentally, I see Target has also used the same jersey for this dress.

Favorite Stores for Inspiration*

With the Internet, it's easier than ever to browse online to find ready-to-wear that can inspire new sewing and knitting projects. I do that too, but there's something about the serendipitous discovery of seeing something in a window display at a local boutique or even a chain store that can spur creativity in a way that a web link doesn't. It's kind of like buying a vintage pattern at a local thrift store versus doing the same on eBay. I find I'm much more likely to use the Vogue, McCall or Simplicity pattern if it was this amazing discovery...for one thing, I'm more prone to remember that I even have it. When I buy lots of patterns online they jumble together like spoons, knives, forks and twisties in a kitchen drawer. But if the pattern's sufficiently unique with this way-cool story behind it, I'll recall it first before the dozens of others in my collection.

So when I see a dress, skirt or sweater at a store, I'm just more jazzed to recreate it on my own for far less money (isn't that nearly always the goal even if it's not achieved?) than when I see it on my MacBook. Enough of the observations, here are some favorite stores for inspiration:

1. Presence. This is actually quite a large store located here in Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood. It rivals, I think, Forever 21. It even has similar clothes - lightweight dresses, tops, jackets, and tons of sunglasses, hats, and jewelry. Since I don't live far from this store, I'm quite afraid that if I actually buy something here I will see on someone who lives nearby. As someone who thrives on being unique, I don't like this idea at all. But I do like being to browse in Presence to seek out inspiration. It's interesting, but I don't even see a web site for this shop, which makes it even more unique than the competition. I'm going through all the drawers in my brain, but I don't think I've ever bought anything here. But I still like to look, and then go to Hopleaf for a beer or Ann Sather's for a sweet roll. Nothing like celebrating all your newfound ideas with something to eat and drink in that order. I don't think I could shop for clothes on a full stomach. Better to work up an appetite clacking through all the hangers, picking up dresses and tops that manage to fall to the floor. Final observation: You could probably skip this store and still dress quite nicely.

2. Active Endeavors. This store actually closed its Evanston outpost recently, much to my dismay. Great stuff: Anna Sui, Tibi, Tory Burch, and many, many others. Apparently they're going to focus on their online business, which is fantastic for Europeans looking for a good deal, but bad for locals like me who enjoy the whole business of browsing, clucking at the high prices, and then scooting out the door empty-handed but determined to recreate these pants on her own at some point in time. Final Observation: I miss the actual store badly.

3. American Apparel. I've never ever in my short life have bought anything here, but I can build on sewing confidence just walking past this place. "Oh, I can't believe the price of (that top/piece of fabric/too tiny brief/scarf/hoodie). I could make it so better for a lot less." Yeah, right. I'm still working on recreating the neon green skirt tube that I saw on a American Apparel mannequin in December. Final observation: Is it my imagination but do the fabrics used seem fragile, like they might not last more than one season?

4. Francesca's Collections. This chain is probably along the same lines of Presence, but with a lot more picture frames, hand cremes, and palm-sized how-to books than the latter. But I still like the eye candy. Somehow, when I see something I might like to try on inside, the smaller sizes are gone. Oh, well. Less temptation to add to my wardrobe that way. Final observation: There's a definitive emphasis on tops and dresses that show cleavage.

5. Nordstrom's. This is probably my hands-down favorite place to come up with new ideas. The sheer selection of clothes is other-worldly and so much of seems to have cute details and fabric that the lower-priced shops don't. For example, there are the CC California, Three Dots (Textile Studios actually carries Three Dots fabrics), Seven jeans (which I don't think I'll fit into anytime soon, but I still like to look). Final observation: a trip to this magnificent store is not complete without at least looking at the shoes. All of 'em, even if it's a quick, once-over before you head to Starbucks.

6. Anthropologie. I'll admit I'm often on this company's web site, ogling the store's latest and dantiest creations. I like the zoom feature, so I can examine every little corner, stitch, and misplaced thread. As much as the on-line store is well-organized with any easy interface, it's so much better to see all the products in the store. You see stuff you wouldn't see otherwise, and all the soaps, the vintage memorabilia, the wallpaper, everything that makes this chain so widely and the topic of discussion on Craftster, Ravelry and Patternreview. Everyone wants to recreate the Anthropologie for less greenbacks, better fabric and stitching. It seems to be the clarion call of how much you look making clothes if you strive to make at least Anthropologie-inspired outfit in your life. I haven't specifically done that yet, but I wouldn't put that pass my circa. 2009 self. Final Observation: Even if you don't ever make something with an Anthropologie 'look,' that doesn't make you any less creative.
* I'd review Urban Outfitters, but I feel lazy. If you can make it past the really loud music and the tables of books suitable for college students only, then this store can be a great source of ideas. Also, the top you see above? Another Santa Monica Tee shirt made from a knit from Vogue Fabrics while I was living in Des Moines, Iowa.

A Memorial Day Sewing To Do List*

Ah, the weekend beckons. Here it's still cold enough to warrant wearing a sweater coat, scarf, stockings and a hat. And that's attire that would probably be suitable for watching the Memorial Day parade in this town, except I think red, white and blue might be more appropriate.

For me, there's this push-pull quality to Memorial Day weekend. Do I clean? (Perhaps. The dust-mites need to be arranged.) Do I explore? (Metra's $5 weekend pass is an extraordinary deal because there's the bonus holiday on Monday.) Or do I sew? (I've a slew of patterns waiting ever so patiently in my bedroom. They want to be loved and used sometime soon.)

Or do I do all three? I think something in each category would make for a satisfying entry into summer. It actually promises to be 80 degrees here on Sunday, so Memorial Day in this part of the world could be warm for once. It's usually bone-chilling, teeth-chattering cold.

Ah, the cleaning, this is such a challenge (or a brick wall if you want to use "Last Lecture"-speak) because I spend so much time around my apartment right now. I'm much more willing to scrub pots, pans, sink and anything else when I'm not around as much. But when I see dirty appliances almost on an hourly basis, all I can think about is getting away as quickly as possible. But when I don't spend my waking hours here? I look forward to coming home and sprucing up the place. I find that odd. Clearly, I need to do more work out of the home just to keep it clean and put me in a house-keeping mode. Since that's not the case currently, I figure I'll aim for a bare minimum of cleaning the bathroom and doing the laundry, and do any major cleaning after a week away, which might be a while.

Even eight hours away in this space on Saturday might be the Mr. Clean ticket. For $5, I can sew all day long, spread my stuff all over, cut, cut and cut lots of pretty fabric, and then not have to worry about sweeping when I'm done. With a little luck, I could crank out another version of Valerie's top in a soft blue white jersey. This time I'd omit the darts. Another t-shirt or two? Or maybe this dress using some of my leftover stretch lace for a modesty panel? I could start summer with a new wardrobe.

A little travel. Actually, I could be content at this campground. But it looks like I'll be going camping with some siblings and my nieces elsewhere somewhere close enough that it won't deplete the gas tank. Since I lack wheels (even of the Razor variety), I'll likely board a Metra train with my Aerobed, a pillow, a change of clothes to meet my brother at this depot. I'll squish myself into between the nieces, and off we'll go camping. The best part about camping? Getting away and then coming back. I find sleeping in a tent slightly claustrophobic, and I never get a decent night's sleep usually due to a combination of rocks on the ground and noisy neighbors, but at least I have a story to tell upon my return. Remind me to buy some batteries for my flashlight, which I frequently forget to bring.

Shopping! What Memorial Day weekend would be complete without adding to my stuff? I could see myself hopping on the Red Line to go to Hancock's, but Jo-Ann Fabrics tends to have better sales, but I really don't like going to the mall where this store is located. It has to do with snarl of autos that try to kill me as I cross busy intersections plus the assorted buses and trains I must take simply to get to the darn place. But if I do go, I'd love to stock up on thread, particularly Guttermans. I'd also add some patterns to my collection, but no fabric. Zilch! I virtually never buy any fabric from the department stores, unless I plan to stitch up a fleece blanket or hat. Now what would really be fun would be to hit up some antique stores this weekend, I haven't done that in a long while. That would be a different type of shopping...I'd look for vintage patterns, hats, or a vintage display model. Oh, the other fun thing: going to a antique show like the one in Sandwich, Ill., although with gas prices being what they are, you could easily spend more on fuel than on actual antiques. Oh well, it's fun to pretend. What are you doing this weekend? Any sewing, knitting or crocheting on the agenda?
* The shawl you see above? It was supposed to be a skirt, but I knitted a flounce inadvertently at the waist, and I refused to rip out. Anyhow, I get so many compliments on the shawl, and it's sooo warm even now at the end of May. I'm wearing it with the sheer sweatercoat I sewed. It's so cool that you can see what I'm underneath.