The Grosgrain-inspired Leaf Sweater

I just the love the mottled sunlight that filters through the metal gate that keeps intruders from entering our apartment via the fire escape outside my kid's bedroom window. Now and then my husband will claim to have OCD, but as fas as I can tell, his condition only flares up when it comes to making sure that gate is locked before we all go to bed at night. (OK, he's also OCD when it comes to checking CNN's politics webpage during election time — which is ALL the time in the U.S.)

Anyway, here I am this morning in a newly revamped sweater that I got at a clothing exchange last winter. It's a nice sweater, but kinda boring so when I saw this sweater over at the amazing Grosgrain blog (where the very talented and prolific Kathleen is posting tutorials for all sorts of embellished sweater projects this month), I was inspired to make it...better. See hers:

 I'm not going to post instructions or anything. She's already done a great job of that, and if you're interested, go see her site and tutorial. I should note this whole thing took maybe a half-hour. It's a super quick project. The thing that takes the longest is felting the sweater used for the leaves. I had to wash and dry it three times before it was felted enough. Here are some close ups of the neck and wrists:

Sometimes, Just When you Need It, Something Great Happens

See that photo at left? So crisp and clear. OK, maybe the photographer shouldn't have amputated the poor girl's right hand like that. But two-year-olds move so darn fast, I can hardly be blamed for crappy composition.

Anyway, the quality of this photo is much better than what I'm accustomed to posting here. That's because I borrowed my friend's Nikon digital SLR — both to get some better pictures of my new doll carriers (pattern coming soon!), and to take it for a testdrive.

Since I'm starting an Etsy store (as soon as humanly possible for a lady who's busy with a toddler all day long), I need a real camera that can take quality photos of the things I make and sell. My five-year-old point-and-shoot just can't cut it.

So I asked my photographer friends to recommend what they'd think is the best entry-level digital SLR I could get for the best price. Well, it turns out entry-level still means upwards of $500, which left me super bummed out.

UNTIL (and I'm serious, this was the very next day) a Law & Order SVU location scout knocked on our door and handed me a bag of gold. Well, it didn't exactly happen like that, but that's pretty much how it feels. They're using our apartment for one day, which will allow me to finally invest in a proper camera. The timing couldn't have been better. If I believed things happen for a reason, this would be the example I would site for the rest of my life. But I don't really. I do, however, believe in luck. And we had it this week. Oh, and it pays to tip your building's super at Christmas (it's a New York thing). He's the one who told the location people our place would work for what they needed.

Winnign Chinches

Yesterday I saw this sign taped to an old orange couch on the sidewalk with the trash. I asked my Dominican friend what it says. You guessed it: "chinches" are bedbugs.

Doll Carriers Coming Soon!

I've been working oh-so-hard these past few weeks on two things that are 100 % related to this cuteness:

I'll soon be posting a free, downloadable pattern and tutorial for the above doll carrier (pictured above on Lucy who had so much fun running around in it yesterday). AND (this is a first for me!) I'll be opening my own Etsy store soon to sell doll carriers for those too lazy to make their own. Kidding, of course. I friggin' hope you're all too lazy to make your own.

Both (pattern and purchasable carriers) will be available with lots of time before the holidays.

Cowichan Sweater Makeover

When I was a kid growing up on Vancouver Island (hereafter referred to as "The Island" as Islanders call it), we were forced to wear itchy but unbelievably warm "Cowichan" sweaters, which are either knit by, or based on patterns created by, the native band on the Island. The distinctive hand-knit Cowichan sweaters are knit from thick wool in natural colours — brown, grey, cream and black — like the one pictured at left. They generally have geometric repeating patterns or simple animal designs. Authentic Cowichan sweaters (usually knit by Cowichan women) are expensive to buy new because they're knit by hand. (Which I totally understand: If I knit a sweater by hand and sold it, I'd have to sell it for about $3,000 to make it worthwhile. Knitting takes so freaking long.)

Cowichan sweaters are also bulky by definition because the yarn used to create them is so thick and dense. That's what makes these sweaters so warm. A Cowichan sweater is about all you need to withstand the mild winters where I grew up.

Lately I've been nostalgiac for a Cowichan sweater. There's something very ugly-yet-pretty about a nice Cowichan sweater that says "Screw it, I'm going to be warm. Too bad for you if you can't see my boobs." But, of course, living in New York City and being on a there's-still-a-recession-going-on budget, there's no way for me to find my own used Cowichan. I could knit my own, but (as earlier noted) that would take me until 2012. A quick scan on eBay turns up a few nice examples of authentic Cowichan sweaters — not cheap — and a whole bunch of factory-produced Cowichan-style sweaters that sellers also refer to as "Lebowski sweaters."

Lucky for me, I have great friends. And lovely Sarah found me the above sweater at a thrift store in Victoria. It wasn't super cheap but a steal compared to buying one new, or investing the time to make my own. Many Cowichan sweaters are cardigan-style, with a zipper closure in the front. After trying on this one, I remembered why: they're so hot! And you need to be able to open up the front so you don't die of heat stroke. Coupled with some inspiration from this great blog Grosgrain, whose author teaches how to turn a regular sweater into a cardigan, I decided to have a little faith in my abilities and turn my Cowichan into a cardigan so I could get on with wearing it already.

 

The Results 

It wasn't easy, and all the while I was chanting in my head "measure twice, cut once" — the mantra of carpenters and anyone slicing into something that could entirely unravel with one false move. All I used to make the transformation was some double-fold bias tape and a bunch of buttons. I decided against putting in a zipper because I didn't think my sewing machine could handle it. The sweater is really thick and I had to really ram it through to get the feed to work.

I also took in the sides somewhat to get a less boxy fit. I'm hoping to buy a real camera soon to improve upon the photos I post here (and portraits of my daughter). Law & Order SVU scouted our apartment this week for a shoot later this month and I'm hoping to convince my husband to invest our compensation in a quality camera. More sweater: