plumage

thanks to "anonymous" who sent me a link to this wonderful anny blatt feather yarn. along with shaggi and the amazing plumage MK wore to the costume institute gala, i am loving this texturific feather trend. could it have anything to do with the fact that i grew up with a mother who has an extensive collection of feather boas?

fendi gives you wings

my feathers for the shaggi bag came the other day. they're very philip treacy. or vegas showgirl. i'm not sure which. although i'd love to evoke either one. or both. a couple of visitors have commented on the shagging technique for the cut loops. one technique is to simply snip them. but then you have to kind of lick your fingers and twirl the ends in between your fingers to make the blunt ends come to a nice point. another technique is to run the scissors on a diagonal along the strand of yarn, much as a hairdresser would do if he or she were doing a layer cut.

while searching for shaggy inspiration, i came across this shagadelic item on the wonderful andrea tung's blog--from a 2005 post no less! her shag technique involves knitting a base and then rug-hooking it with yarny bits. this might be worth exploring for shaggi. i like the idea of the sturdiness of a seed-stitch base for the bag. might even provide a bit more substance to plug these marvelous feathers into.

quote of the day
clothing only needs to keep you protected from the elements, past that what you do with it is your option.
~the sartorialist

making things

congratulations to one of my fave bloggers on the publication of her gorgeously photographed deck of knitwear designs. hats, mittens & scarves is a collection of 25 cozy and quick knits. can't wait to get my ice cold, unmittened hands on a copy of this baby.

hooked

cheung lik creates stunning jewelry including heavy metal pieces with a dose of fiber.

shaggi

or shall i say "loopi"? here's my initial take on the brilliant fendi "to you" handbag with the gedifra gigante from the lovely marcia. i love the colorway, but i'm not sure about the thick & thinness of the yarn.

here it is pre-snip...


...and post...


for the truly handbag-obsessed, even more fringe benefits here.

oh, tim

lighten up, will ya? i think this bag is a gas. can't you just see SJP and kristin davis totally fighting over who was gonna get to carry it in the scene above?

but the really exciting news is this amazing treasure trove of knit goodies, from my friend marcia:

as soon as i receive the feathers i ordered, i'm going to start playing with the burly spun. the yarn in the actual fendi is pretty loosely plied...more like twinkle soft chunky than the burly spun, but the color is just perfect for the bag that shall be named SHAGGI. i love the gedifra gigante, as well, but not sure the thick and thin will give the right effect. it will be fun to experiment though.

kniterial girl

rowan's carol meldrum takes the notion of celebrity knitting to a whole new level with her recently released knitted icons. also features chairman mao, mr. T, gandhi, and amy winehouse. not sure i want to dwell too long on the technique of knitting chest hair into a borat doll though.

[via my crafty pal peggy.]

freaky folk

just found out about these adorable stitch kits at one of my fave local gift shops. you stitch and stuff them yourself--either by hand or machine. these kits remind me of a similar stitch kit i had years ago from the rochester folk art guild.


speaking of which, check out this great silkscreened poster i just found in the guild's online shop. i like the unicorn the best. but maybe that's because i had a unicorn on my wedding invitation. don't ask.

fo: rowan wallis

now i know why the duke of windsor abdicated the throne. wallis from rowan 38 definitely lives up to her irresistible namesake. destined to become my fave new sweater! i think i was in love from the moment i pulled it over my head. knit of rowan kid classic in a beautiful aubergine. the lace pattern was easy to memorize. in fact, this is the first lace project in which i was actually able to knit and talk at the same time. not to mention, drink wine.

a few pattern notes: the pattern called for 7 skeins for the small size. i adjusted the pattern slightly in length. had i made it exactly to specs, i would surely have run out of yarn.

p.s. to jason: don't worry...i cast on for your sweater...more on that to come soon.

killer scarf

she must have fallen down the stairs when she spotted the price tag. $2,250 for this OTT number by giles.

via my knitpal chris