that's just me being me

'member what i said about obsession being patient? well, i draw the line at a library that transfers books via pony express. saturday was the day i located the sole copy of knitting counterpanes in the entire monroe county library system, if not the world. (in case you haven't been hanging on my breathless posts about the various iterations of the sal f. bag shown below, this is the book that holds the secrets to decoding said bag. and in turn, the universe.)

naturally, it is shelved at the most farflung library branch. being as lazy as i am obsessive, i requested to have it transfered to my local branch. turns out getting bode to stop being bode would have been way easier. the book is due to arrive on thursday.

help me god

according to today's NYT, this "crocheted" bag is "The Get." duh.

p.s. there is a different and new sal f. bag on neimans that actually IS crocheted. only the brainiacs there refer to it as "knitted." guess it's the old george costanza opposites. btw, there is also a clever crochetress out there who has decoded this one.

p.p.s. to my local girl kelly b. who wanted to know where i got that lace book. found it at the village yarn shop. i think they had a couple other copies. i think you can also get it at the library if you don't feel like ponying up the 20 bucks. also, i'd be happy to bring it to a chix with stix meeting if you care to peruse it there...lemme know.

the F bag

enough talk about the ferragamo "crocheted carryall." today, i finally decided to take action.

my first mission: locating the stitch for the counterpane used in that bag. i remembered seeing a book on counterpanes at LYS. well, today i went in search of it. and believe it or not, they were actually sold out. on top of that, it's out of print. the good news is, the library has it. ah yes, the library.



naturally, i couldn't leave the shop empty-handed. so, i picked up this great lace knitting reference. it is chock full of delicate, ethereal borders and inserts. the lady who wrote it basically spent her whole life collecting and transcribing vintage lace patterns. god love her. in it, i found the exact border that jenny atkinson used in butterfly. it would be fun to try another butterfly with a different border from this book.



i also picked up a skein of classic elite provence, a ropey, egyptian cotton with a slight sheen that might work for the F bag. jess over at the mouthwatering fig & plum also suggested a jute yarn. i found this himalayan jute online that's less than five bucks a skein. i think it needs a strong fiber with a firm hand. but i don't want it too scratchy. cotton would actually be great if i can find something stiff enough.

oh yeah, i also i found a pattern for the curlicue fringe. it's actually the corkscrew foliage from the floral scarf in VK holiday 2004. there is also a great curlicue tutorial here.



the hardest part will likely be coming up with the perfect wicker frame. i've been all over the web looking at pursemaking supplies, basketmaking supplies, and the like. there are a ton of cool wicker bags on ebay, but none has a top that could be separated cleanly to appropriate the F bag wicker frame. if i could find a cool enough frame or handles, it might not matter that it's not wicker. but i'm not ready to give up yet.

that's the beauty of obsession. it's very patient.

ferragamo decoded

thanks to PnP for the tip to check out my obsession, decoded. to be sure, it's a great knock-off (despite its lack of curlicue fringe--the detail that makes the bag for me) and even comes with its own bamboo handles. at 72 smackers, it's a steal compared to the orig. still, i'm determined to muddle through this one on my own. so, i'm off to the yarn store to snag a book i saw there last time on counterpane scallops. as for the yarn, i'm thinking it needs to be something fairly stiff...cotton rope or linen rope...or maybe even something with a touch of raffia. any suggestions from you fiberphiles out there?

rebecca vs. rowan

i love everything about this issue of rebecca, which arrived in the mail yesterday. i want to make all of the above. in no particular order. my fave is the blue bell-sleeved kimono-coat. this would be so beautiful in kidsilk haze "trance."

in the same package, but seemingly from another planet, is the rowan spring book. while i love some of the designs (namely, carolina) i am a tad mystified about some others. namely, the entire pirates of the caribbean section.



who does this guy think he is--john galliano? or johnny depp playing john galliano playing keith richards? anyway, i'm not sure any of the above could pull off the wearing of the concho belt "necklace." (though i would like to know who waxes his eyebrows.)

here's another that had me scratching my head:



i can only imagine the exchange that led to this fetching ensemble. let's see, shall we go with the pucci headscarf or the hat? yes. how about this stack of bracelets, necklaces, earrings and tyrolean fanny pack? hmmm...is that all you've got?

and what's with the oversized floral print shirt? it looks like they snatched it off a guy in sansabelts at OTB. the end result: carmen miranda meets fred mertz. in a final blow to minimalism, they apparently couldn't resist topping off their creation with a rabbit foot key chain. (no, i am not kidding. click on the image and you will see it with your own eyes.) the sad part is i really like the knit top she's wearing.

[sigh.] where the HELL is my chiffon?

it taunts me

flipping through the new saks catalog the other day, i came across the IT bag. again. the bag that has been taunting me. and haunting me. the bag that every craftphobic manhattan copy editor insists on referring to as a "crocheted carry-all."

this is the best view of this bag i've seen yet. i can't stop looking at it. and dreaming about how i'd rip it off. sorry to blather on incessantly about this. for all my blathering, you'd think i would just pony up the 1650 USD and be done with it. yeah. right. i just bought a new dishwasher for less than that. and trust me, if i could have knitted that, my husband would have taken up needles to help me get the job done.

why do i get so darned obsessive about these things? seeing it over and over is just reaffirming my initial desire. and i know the actual possession will never match my obsession with simply wanting it.

dear stephanie,

let me start by saying this was the hardest call i've ever had to make. but, after many sleepless nights and some mighty deep soul-searching, i have decided to sit this olympics out. it's not that i don't love the whole concept. and no, it has nothing to do with my injured groin or the fact that this could jeopardize my contract with red heart. it's not even that i don't feel that i can give 100%. (and lord knows, i can't.) let's just say i'm trading in my dreams of olympic gold. and i'm okay with that. i hope you can find it in your heart to understand.

roses in the snow

taught a flower knitting class at the rochester civic garden center the other night. complete photographic evidence here. a flowery good time was had by all, especially after susan brought out the layer cake, complete with buttercream roses...can we stop knitting now?

sweet carolina

yowza. this KSH patt from the new rowan book is beautiful, isn't it? seems destined for heirloom status.

think pink

ooo la la! some of the most amazing handspun i've ever seen is right here the colors and textures of this yarn, all this yarn, are so amazing. i want to eat them.

what would YOU do?

check this out and tell me if i'm crazy.

i just got back from a birthday lunch with my mom and a couple of my friends. one of them was nice enough to give me a gift certificate to a yarn store i have been going to for years.

i was showing my presents to my hubby and suddenly realized i was missing the gift certificate. stupid me left it on the table inside an envelope. i called the restaurant and spoke with our server. she remembered throwing out some envelopes after we left. when she went back to retrieve them from the kitchen she was told the garbage had already been dumped.

sooo, i decided to call the yarn store to see if they might understand my dilemma. luckily, the owner answered the phone...i thought: she knows me, she knows i'm a good customer...surely she'll understand and offer to reissue the certificate. it was worth a shot, right?

i told her if she would be willing to do it, i would come in and spend the $20 certificate PLUS buy double that in yarn for a knitting class i'm teaching next thursday. she was like, we don't do that...we don't keep track of gift certificates. then, she said, i know you are a good customer and i know you aren't lying, but i can't just can't afford to do that. (yeah. right. whatever.)

ok, it was $20 worth of yarn, not $100 i was talking about. plus, i've spent a ton of money in that shop over the years, AND sent my friends there. i realize it was my fault to have left the gift certificate in the restaurant, but am i out of line to think she should have cut me some slack?

rasputin 'n' santino

of course, it is doubtful that rasputin ever did a walk-off in five-inch stilettos, but the dude WAS notoriously kinky. not to mention a man of the cloth. a new episode airs tonight. i will probably have to put down my butterfly and watch.