Crafstylish Beret, Elgin Vintage Fashion Show and more....

Some quick hits for today:
1. The cutout beret was featured in a Craftstylish magazine late last year, I wanted to write about it at the time, but I couldn't find an online image and promptly forgot about it. Here it is again, with all the directions, etc. Instructions call for felt, but I'm tempted to use some faux suede in my stash.
2. The Midwest Vintage Clothing, Jewelry and Textile Show, now a once-a-year event, starts tonight in Elgin. I really had a tough time trying to decide to go tonight or tomorrow.

The advantage of tonight:
* express train to my destination from downtown Chicago
* shoppers dressed up in various vintage outfits, all competing fervently for a free pass for next year's show. Outfits are great conversation pieces. I remember one couple that used to come as a World War II boyfriend and girl each year. One year, it was army uniforms. The next, dress up for a night out. Yes, they did win at least once.
*cool stuff (somehow all the mint-condition red shoes and hats in large sizes seem to go in the first hour) that you won't see the next day (duh!)
*live music, dancing.

Downside:
* train rides add up to at $16 round-trip
* train ride home is all stops, plus I need to transfer to another train in another station within minutes or wait another hour
* it's cold, dark outside this time of year

Advantage of going Saturday:
* $5 all-day unlimited pass on Metra (our commuter rail system)
* cheaper ticket admission
* leisurely shopping
* Sunshine!
*Dealers more willing to negotiate

Saturday's downside:
* all-stop trains
* best stuff is sometimes gone
* almost library quiet in the show...ugh!

Anyhow, I've decided to go tomorrow. I'm looking for patterns and yarn! Yeah, the knitting vintage fever has gripped me. Over and out, friends, have a great weekend.

Just a Bad Foster Mother (to a dog)? Not Eloquent Post on A Stitch in Time Sweater

Last night I was all set to write a post on being an iPhone knitter. It was to be a sweet little post about how wonderful it felt to sit on my bed, knitting a sweater, logging the rows on my StitchMinder app, checking email, reading different blogs while listening to my radiator clank and wet snow drip, dripping on the windowsill outside. Really romantic.

But now I just feel mad...at the dog (above) that I'm taking care of temporarily. Yes, I'm a foster mother to a beagle. I don't know if I should name her? She's just a canine...out of control. Ok, I requested cute little dog who doesn't bark (got that), low maintenance (not so sure about that part)...but did I know she would jump on me constantly (I hate that!)? Did I know that she basically has to go to bathroom moments after she eats? Did I even know she also leaks mere seconds after drinking water? No, no, and NO! This dog has had....four accidents in the last 48 hours. Four! I'm ready to...hurl. Yes, I'm ready to hurl. First accident was inside the crate No. 1. Accident number two, nameless pupster did number two on the kitchen tile. Number three? Combo of No. 1 and 2 in THE CRATE. Yeah, I had to wash her this morning. Yuck. Then nanoseconds after I cleaned her and inadvertently ignored the "I gotta, gotta go. Take me on a walk!" dance, she did no. 2 in the office.

For the moment, nameless puppy (she's two years old, still a toddler in her canine world) is in the crate and has been there all day. I'm not dying to let her out...only to let her jump on me. This is a roundabout way to say, maybe this dog isn't for me? Never mind I haven't had her chew anything significant in the last two days. Never mind she hasn't barfed as dogs sometimes do....I'm just ready to hit "Return to Sender." I can only cope with so many mishaps in a 24-hour cycle.
does that make me a bad foster mother?

Top 10 Sewing Jokes: Still A Hit Nearly Two Years Later

I don't have anything relevant to say today. I'm knitting and not sewing, which means the serger is uh, getting dusty and I'm not practicing threading it. I know, I know! I'll regret it earlier. It was going to change my life in 2010. Well, it still can...once I lift it out of the box. If it snows...I'll practice. With a bottle of beer. I promise.
In the meantime, a reprise of my 10 top sewing jokes, an apparent hit according to my blog statistics tracker. Tell me if you agree.

What Does It Take to Learn How to Thread Viking HuskyLock 936?

I'm afraid the answer is a drink. Or a couple of drinks. I feel intimidated by my Huskylock, which is incredibly funny considering I'm a proud owner of a well-used Viking sewing machine (736 series). Anyhow, this new Huskylock,* or at least new to me, has been sitting in my home for two months, virtually untouched. Ok, I did take it into Vogue Fabrics for a lesson recently. Have I practiced threading since? No, my excuse has been a cold, a long-lasting one. Even in the recovery stage, I've yet to break out the serger. I'm afraid of the creature. It's not the knife section. It's those lower loopers. I'm certain I could thread the upper loopers just I like I would a sewing machine...but the three lower loopers. Ay-Ay-Ay! Would a drink (preferably a Guinness, of course) loosen me up enough to give it another try? Or would I just get frustrated, have another Guinness and get depressed? If had enough beer, I'd be under the table getting cozy with the sewing machine and serger pedals!

Give me your thoughts. How did you learn to thread your serger? I'm thinking I should do what newbie knitters do...they have someone else cast on and off indefinitely until they are confident to do it on their own or they are FORCED to do it by themselves or be very, very bored!

And for the millinery-inclined among you: check out these cloche-brim hatblocks (MBC3, toward the bottom of the page). Nifty....

*Btw, did you know Husquvarna sewing machines are now made in China? Yes! As you can imagine, the quality has gone way down. My Huskylock was one of the last sergers made in Sweden. I'm so thrilled to have a quality machine. I'm sad that Viking, once a quality manufacturer, has gone downhill.....

From my other blog: Last Rites: Simplicity 9973

The blog post for Simplicity 9973 is an oldie in the Internet world: June 2006. But someone left a comment there today. I swear there was another back when I originally wrote and posted the story, but it doesn't seem to be there now. Oh well. Anyhow, if you're sew inclined to read this fictional story, follow the link.

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.