the chunky, slouchy knit beret

ever since last summer, i've been thinking about bulky knit berets. not that i've actually done anything about it, mind you. i just think this whole beret look is so darn cute. of course, since miss HOhan first sported hers last fall, there have been a host of knockoffs. this one from blue sky bulky (VK holiday 2006) is my fave so far.


two more cute designs. the grey beret is from the rowan ribbon twist book (via yarnzilla). andrea tells me the pink cap is missoni, from several seasons back. (via olga), who also happens to have her own amazing version of a chunky beret available for free.

(hugs to olga for your incredible patience in getting my chunky, slouchy brain to comprehend how to post images side by side!)

fake-a-gamo by rosemary

i love this interpretation of the fakie by popular swedish blogger rosemary. (alas, her blog is in swedish, but you can look at the pretty pictures!) the cheery, cherry wool really pops against the blonde hardwood handles, which she salvaged from a vintage bag. and it's perfectly styled with the woolen mittens, knit for rosmy by her mother. check out more fun fakie pics here.

perhaps they'll rename it "vogue crochet"

i was just perusing the vogue knitting site to see if there's been any editorial response to the capecho fiasco. instead, found a sneak peek into the upcoming issue. it contains a letter from VK editor trisha malcolm, announcing her departure from the book's helm. the new editor is former VK fashion editor and editor-in-chief of knit.1 and knit simple, adina klein. out of curiosity, i googled her and turned up this quote from a june 2006 nterview with crochetinsider.com:

i have crochet envy because these days I'm much more attracted to what crochet can do than to what knitting can do: the structure, the organic quality.

it will be interesting to see what impact she'll have on the book.

embracing my inner capecho

dear nora gaughan,

first off, let me say: i still heart you. your capecho is the most innovative design i've ever had the pleasure to knit.

i thrilled to the completion of each puffy, sand-dollary pentagon, despite the alarmingly misshapen capechos-in-progress i began to notice floating around cyberspace..

"have you tried it on yet," became the question on every fellow capecho-maker's lips. "trust the process," became my mantra. meaning, no, i hadn't tried it on. meaning, yes, i was in complete and utter denial.

i finished the body and felt a sharp twinge of panic. i could tell without even trying it on: the thing was huge. but surely, the sleeves would shore everything up. just like the model on the cover of vogue knitting. i finished the sleeves and plunged blindly into the neckband. from there i went straight to blocking. i even threw it in the dryer for 10 minutes like someone i'd read about on craftster.

and then today, i finally tried it on.

and.

it's a capecho, alright.

i guess that annoying descriptor should have been my first clue. let's consider the etymology of the word "capecho." it contains the word "cape," as in that thing worn by florence nightingale or, say, the french lieutenant's woman and "poncho," as in mucho hango, or as the dictionary says, "a blanket-like cloak with a hole in the center to admit the head."

honestly, nora, i think you got a bum rap from the editors of VK. it's not your fault that they completely misrepresented your design on the cover of the magazine. here's my theory: the extremely narrow VK cover model has an extremely large metal clamp stuck to the back of HER capecho, thus creating the semblance of a tiny, fitted jacket (a "tinfijacket, if you will), with barely enough room to admit her tiny frame, let alone a head.

i will admit, i originally fell in love with that adorable little capecho as depicted by that adorable little model. but i am learning to embrace my own capecho, in all of its big, fat, capey, drapey glory.

i will, as the unflappable tim gunn tells us, make it work.

love always,
kate

addendum: thanks for all the nice comments about my capecho post. someone aske me about the size...i made mine a size smaller than my normal bust size. one of my commenters had a great solution to make it look just like the picture. personally, i don't have an issue with the size or fit. i just have an issue with misrepresenting it in the magazine. btw, i have shown my capecho to a bunch of friends who have no idea what a capecho is...and they all gushed over it. go figyah.

more amazing lace

someone has found a way to combine two of what i consider to be life's greatest pleasures: intricate stitchwork and bicycling. behold: a charming bike basket inspired by crocheted lace tablecloths. another scandinavian work of art, this one via design house stockholm.

unchain my heart

these danish designers are pushing the boundaries of our craft with projects such as this lace fence. amazing.

pretend you care

i'm killing two tags with one meme. a little warning: i suck at these things. i think i have performance anxiety or something.

it's supposed to be weird stuff, so here's what i got:

i was hit by a transit bus while crossing the street in ridgewood, new jersey. we were in town for my husband's cousin's wedding. i had just had my hair blown out. somehow, my blowout and i made it to the wedding unscathed. i think i am still getting bonus points from my mother-in-law for that one.

dizzy gillespie held a door for me once.

my lip gloss stash is almost as psychotic as my yarn one.

i'm going to ride my bike across the state of iowa this summer.

i faint every time i get the glaucoma test at the eye doctor's.

i am the only person my husband knows who hates both "caddyshack" and "my cousin vinny."

i once got a ride in the oscar mayer weinermobile.

the word "weiner" makes me laugh.

okay, now i wanna hear some weird stuff from one of the coolest bloggers down under: carson.

son of fakie: $2,450

olga just sent me the link to the new ferragamo knit bag for spring. it is truly gorgeous...but...$2,450?! are they nuts?

valentine hugs

some people buy roses for valentine's day. a bunch of us decided to knit 40 scarves.


and then get up verrrrry early on this blustery valentine morning and hang them up on streetlights and bus shelters along main street in downtown rochester.



our hope: that they'll provide some much-needed warmth in the middle of the biggest snowstorm in four years.




just as we were finishing, we saw a man quietly walk up to one, untie it, and tuck it into his pocket.

inna-crotcha-da-stitcha

any knitting instructor who can refer to a knit stitch as a "crotch" one moment, and turn it into a reference to iron butterfly the next, is a freakin' legend in my book.

that's just annie being annie.

the knitting heretic herself, brought her mad, red skillz to my hometown yarn shop last weekend for a class on colorwork, and yours truly was scrambling to keep up. here is my sad little swatch. it barely deserves to be called a swatch. it's more like a swench. despite my inability to produce anything even remotely close to a plaid, i had a blast. if you can call three hours of working intarsia stripes, checkerboards, and stranded plaid a blast. and god knows i can.

gucci reducci

remember this? i was obsessing about decoding it last summer. obviously, i was not alone.

knit.1 had their own version in the winter 2007 issue.



fashionably late to the party, the frenchies have just launched their own homage to the gooch in the new spring '07 phildar.

personally, i prefer the original design. the puff of the sleeve is what it's all about.



speaking of phildar, this coat may have to go on my list of spring to-ducci's.

UFO alert

at last, a smile from ny fashion week. specifically: benjamin cho. i really gotta hand it to the guy. brilliant.

shades of gray

the forecast for fall '07: gray, gray, gray. when i was six my mother bought me wear a gray wool jumper. she thought i'd look "darling" in it. i refused to wear it; i thought it made me look old. now that i actually am old, i couldn't love the grisly gritty hue more. olga and i were drooling over the top two from oscar de la renta. i'm such a sucker for interesting sleeves. the bottom is behnaz sarafpour. i love the color and fit, the ease of it. it's so simple, but very sophisticated, too.

literati: i heart sart

this amazing cabled cape is just one of the many reasons why the sartorialist is my favorite fashion blogger.

sart is a kamikaze papparazzi (kammakazzi?) for the rest of us, dive bombing headfirst into fashion as it happens, right there on the street. his blog is a shining example of an economy of words with an intensity of meaning. smart sart mostly shuts up and lets his uncanny eye for style do all the talking.

FO: mini-me for lora

a doll for a doll: my little niece lora, the prima ballerina of the family. a quick and fun knit out of blue sky bulky on US 35 needles.