Tattoo Tuesday

I love getting mail.  And I love that I have to go to the post office to get my mail.  I like the anticipation and the at last feeling when an awaited something finally arrives, and I also like the surprises that sometimes come (but maybe not so much the bills that arrive all too often).  Also, living so very far from any decent shopping of any sort means that I rely quite a bit on the postal service to bring me things I might otherwise purchase in person.

I currently have a couple of subscriptions that deliver monthly goodness to me, and ensure a steady stream of mail-based happiness.  The newest one is a Tattly subscription of temporary tattoos.

I can't even remember now how I stumbled across Tattly and their subscriptions, but I'm glad I happened upon them when I did:  I hadn't realized when I placed my order that the subscription service was a limited time offer.  I have often thought of getting a real (really permanent) tattoo, but then often end up being glad that the desire passed without me actually acting on it.  I worry about ruining the lines of a formal dress (not that I wear formal dresses all that often, but I do like to keep it classy when I do), or having something become utterly revolting-looking as I age and become wrinkly and saggy (why make a bad situation worse?).  And too much changes all the time for me to settle on something--a design, a phrase--that would be lastingly meaningful.

But a temporary tattoo?  Well, I'd be willing to temporarily tattoo myself with pretty much anything.  I even think that these Ta-Ta-Toos are hilarious, although I do feel rather guilty that they amuse me.  Part of it is certainly that all the tattoos are simply photoshopped onto the same chest in all the product shots; I mean, the company couldn't find anyone with a remotely okay-looking rack to actually test-drive these in real life?  Anyway... my Tattly tattoos are much classier.

Last week, as soon as my shiny metal tin arrived in the mail, I slapped my favourite of the designs on my forearm.

I really like this pipe-smokin' bunny rabbit--so much so that I rather wish I had another one to wear again sometime.  I feel like the little guy lasted okay.  Here he is after one week on my arm:

Definitely mostly worn off.  I often push my shirtsleeves up, and unfortunately I aimed a little too high on my arm and managed to place the tattoo precisely where the cuff of my favourite (and most-often-worn) hoodie gets pushed up to.

I'm sort of rationing the tattoos--as much as I want to put them all on at once and look completely silly, I also want to drag out the fun--so I'm only putting on one per week.  Rather than burn through my favourites first thing, I decided this week to go for a still-acceptable-but-not-really-loved design, "You're Late."

This one was hard to put on by myself; I didn't manage to line it up on my wrist quite right, and the strap on the underside is a little smudged.  I won't mind, however, if this one doesn't last the week.  It'll be fun for a day or two, but then I'll be glad to go back to the most beautiful watch in the world.

Finished: Autumn Leaves

I finally finished my Autumn Leaves sweater a few days ago.  I am really surprised that something yellow actually looks good on me.  I haven't worn anything yellow in years and years and years--entirely convinced that my complexion couldn't handle it--but I decided it give a shot because the Fug Girls seem to so often say that anyone can work a yellow with the right red lip.  Of course, this meant ignoring that I myself rarely wear much on my lips beyond lip balm...  Fortunately it looks alright even when all  I've done is rolled out of bed and into some clothes.

(Hideous curtain courtesy of Ben's apartment.)

I am reasonably happy with the finished product.  It's hardly the most flattering sweater I own--I've started to think of it as my Butterball sweater--although I think part of the problem is wearing a Stanny underneath.  A silky camisole would probably help the sweater drape more naturally, but... it's January in Dawson City, so a sweater that has 3/4 sleeves and is full of holes needs to be worn with caution.  And a touch of miner-from-the-creeks fashion is always appropriate in this town.

Anyway, Stanny or not, I probably could have knit the 38 1/4 size rather than the 43 1/4.  The Cascade 220 sport seemed to bloom more than I anticipated, and I think the style of sweater would generally be more flattering with negative ease.  Also, it ended up quite long from underarm to neck, which adds bulk to the lines.  I did add an extra pattern repeat to the body of the sweater as well as on the sleeves (below the join), and I do like the extra length.

I'm not 100% certain what to say about working with this pattern...  I actually found it quite hard to follow, and I'm a little surprised that everyone else on Ravelry seems to give the pattern such good reviews.  Part of me thinks that if I can't say anything nice then I shouldn't say anything at all, but then again--wouldn't some constructive criticism help other people interested in this pattern?  This post from Hungry Knitter is a good read!

I certainly don't want to dissuade anyone from purchasing this pattern and making this sweater.  I think the concept and design are beautiful and unique, and I am very glad to add this piece to my closet.  But...  I do have some comments.

The Sleeves
I think the sleeve instructions for the 43 1/4 size tell you to do too many increases.  You don't need to do ten paired increases to get from 5 repeats of the pattern with 3 purl stitches in between each leaf to the arrangement of stitches called for in the pattern (5 repeats of the leaves with 4 purl stitches in between, with 1 extra stitch on each side of the  stitch marker at the beginning of the row).  I chose to do just enough increases to end up with the called for arrangement of stitches rather than doing all those 10 increase rounds.  The sleeves are plenty roomy without the extra increases.

The Yoke Decreases
Everything went to hell after I attached the sleeves to the body.  Well, not so much straight to hell, but... I think the instructions weren't as clear as they could be, and there may even be an error in the pattern at this point (remember, I worked the 43 1/4 size; with other sizes it may be different).  Unfortunately I didn't keep notes as I was going along, but if I remember correctly the first two (maybe three?) decrease rounds worked out okay, but then after that what I had on my needles didn't match up with the pattern and if I had made a mistake somewhere, it was so far down the sweater that ripping back was not an option.

I ended up choosing to ignore the exact instructions in the pattern and proceed with what I understood.  Basically, to work the yoke decreases, you 'finish' a leaf and then on the next row, you purl together the one remaining leaf stitch with the purled stitches on either side to eliminate that "vine" of leaves.  I think it's a cool method, but would probably be easier to understand if the instructions described these decreases in a different manner, and perhaps included a photograph or two (there are plenty of included photographs but they are all show the whole sweater--no close-ups).  I knit the correct number of decreases on the correct rows, but maybe didn't finish off the right leaves?

The Neckline
One reason I chose to this pattern is because of the cool v-neck look on the sample sweater.  However, I don't think that the larger sizes have this neck line.  Mine is definitely round, and I notice that other examples on Ravelry have quite a round neckline as well.  Also, my neckline is quite wide compared to what I was expecting.

Oh wow... this ended up long.  I thought a lot about this pattern after I reached joining the sleeves.  I guess the short story would be proceed with caution, although like I said before I don't want to dissuade anyone from purchasing this pattern.  I do realize that I could fix the underarm bulk with some frogging and re-knitting, but it doesn't bother me so much to make all the extra work worth it.  I would rather move on to something new (I mean, I have already moved on to something new).

Winterizing

It snowed for the first time on October 16th this year.  And today--only November 3rd!--it is -26°C out!

I have been slowly getting ready for winter over the past few weeks: got the car checked out, shrink-wrapped the windows, put away my summer-only clothes, brought the parka out of storage, and so on.  I also knit a new hat:

The stitch pattern is from some ancient knitting booklet that lost its cover before the internet was invented, and I just free-styled the rest of it.  It didn't turn out quite the way I had envisioned it, but nevertheless it looks lovely and is very comfortable and warm.  The yarn is Purple Label Cashmere Sock Yarn from Tanis Fiber Arts in the Royal Flush colourway.  I love Tanis Fiber Arts yarns;  I have ordered from her a few times (see the previously completed Swimming Pool) and have yet to be disappointed.

Despite the slow progression of preparation for winter, the fact that the ground is covered in snow, and that it is so cold out, is somehow shocking.  This is my third winter up here, so you'd think I would know what I am getting into.  Perhaps there is a difference between being physically prepared, and being mentally prepared.  Although wouldn't accomplishing one simply lead to the other?

Clearly the answer is that I need to be knitting more.

Post-Scipt:

I have to add: it is now 1:23 pm, and only just now has the sun risen above the hillside to cast direct sunlight on my cabin.  Daylight hours are so short already!

Watch and Learn

Recently I treated myself and ordered one of Mr. Jones' beautiful watches.  I think his watches are not just beautiful but also thought provoking and unusual.  I chose the Cyclops, and really do think of it more as a piece of jewelry rather than a timepiece.  Whenever I look at it to try to figure out what time it is, I just get distracted by how pretty it is and forget why I need to know what the time is.  It is very relaxing in this way.

I also love how it reminds me of the Chromatic Diet from Sophie Calle's Double Game, in which she responds to the use Paul Auster made of her in his novel Leviathan.  I read Double Game in the library a week or two ago (although I have not yet read Leviathan), and really enjoyed Calle's work.  She seems like the best kind of crazy (and so very lucky that her father was willing to fill her bank account with francs until she made it as an artist).

Often when I look at the watch, I try to relate the mood and feel of the colours to the activities I commonly undertake at that particular time of day.  What makes 4 am or 4 pm green, anyway?  Considering that I have clocks almost constantly in sight--on my laptop, my work computers, my iPod, my cell phone--a watch that makes me think of something besides time is a very pleasant thing indeed.

Have I mentioned how pretty it is?  I would like to collect twelve nail polishes that exactly match the watch so that I can alternate but always co-ordinate.

Meat & Potatoes #WTF

Well... technical difficulties down at the station today, apparently.  The transmitter and web streaming were both down, so no radio show this week.  I hadn't realized just how deeply it's-Sunday-therefore-I-radio is engrained in me; it was very disconcerting to think that I should be on the radio when I wasn't.  Very disconcerting, but also productive:

Two extra hours in the evening gave me time to finish my Diane Kimono Dress.  Which I then wore out to a late dinner with Ben and got all wrinkly.  And it's clinging to my ass funny because it's raining and cold out and I had to wear tights.  And cotton tights + cotton dress = nothing good.  Details to follow.

Screen Print Skirt

Recently, Sarah MacIntyre spent a month as Artist in Residence at Macauley House, and was kind enough to host a screen printing club at KIAC while she was here.  I missed the first weekend (filmmaker Santiago Giralt, also at the Macauley House in May, was hosting a workshop on directing actors) but made it to the following two Sundays.

I've done some screen printing in the past, beginning with a workshop with Todd Stewart during his residency last year (check out his blog posts from February and March to see the amazing work he created while he was here), as well as a of couple sessions cranking out pillows and t-shirts for the film fest.  Sarah definitely had a few different techniques than I've used before, and printing in hot summer weather has different demands from printing in cooler conditions.  Everything dried so quickly!  I was particularly interested to learn that you can print using stencils; I've only ever used photo-emulsion before.

I brought two pieces of muslin to the workshops, and layered a few different stencil prints across the breadths to create this:

Which I then sewed into this, keeping with my pledge to go pantless:

(I like how, if you peek past my left arm, you can see my refrigerator collage with all kinds of KIAC events included.)

I used the same basic design from Sew What! Skirts that I used for my first skirt, except this time I used a sewn-in elastic waistband.  I used bright red thread to match the screen printing ink and to stand out against the creamy muslin.

I really embraced all the "misprints" that happened while working on the fabric.  I love how one print is never really identical to all the other prints from the same screen or stencil; it adds so much character.

I am tempted to add more red thread to the skirt.  I've been looking at Kathryn Clark's work lately, and feel that something similar to the stitching on some of her foreclosure quilts could look really amazing on this skirt.  Or it could turn into a hot mess.  I can't decide (and if I'm going to be hand stitching anything, I should be working on my quilt).

I'm also going to be embracing wrinkles in this skirt.  The muslin creases something terrible, and the printed areas tend to 'hold' the creases no matter how much I iron.  Next time I wash this, I will probably twist it up and make all sorts of on-purpose wrinkles, so that it will look like it's supposed to be that way and not like I'm lazy.

There are a few more photos up on Flickr.

[I have to edit this and add my thanks to Marigold at Hideous! Dreadful! Stinky! for including my skirt in her five faves round up.  I'm really quite honoured and so very glad that people like my artsy-fartsy mess!  So many people are making such beautiful skirts and dresses; it's really very inspiring being involved with the Summer of No Pants.  Don't miss the Flickr pool.]

The best laid plans of...

After dreaming big about many lovely designer fabrics to be found on the internets, I went shopping at JoAnn.  Which was kind of a big deal, because I did have to drive over 1500 km to get there.  I had contemplated visiting Anchorage quilting shops, but too much Big City Driving would have interfered with my desire for a relaxing holiday.  So JoAnn it was, and it was fun.  I was able to get all those handy-dandy notions like elastic and thread that you can't get here in Dawson, and of course picked out some pretty fabrics.

The polka dots at the top is a light corduroy, and the other two are quilting weight cottons.  I also picked up some muslin for linings (if needed) and some sky blue cording to jazz up the polka dots (because multi-coloured polka dots are in need of jazzing up?).

After getting everything washed and ironed last Sunday, it took me until today to actually cut into something and start getting pantless.  Using a helpful copy of Sew What! Skirts, I whipped up this drawstring number:

I'm not really sure what it looks like on me--no full length mirror in my cabin--but my attempts at self portraits out in the yard look alright (except that I will have to watch out to gather the fabric evenly around the drawstring and prevent things like the weird crease seen below).

Not that it was easy to line myself up properly.

It ended up plenty big--I worked with lots of ease, figuring that too big was better than too small.  I could trim away some of the excess, but I did such a neat job of finishing my seams that I don't have the heart to do any of it over.  I am definitely happy with my craftsmanship on this one.

But it won't be work wear...  Before I started my new job on Tuesday, I had visions of myself sitting at a desk all day long, looking cute in skirts and high heels (like the blue ones at left, a treat from the delightful ShuzyQ in Anchorage).  But I only wore the heels to work once (on my second day) before my boss suggested that I dress more casually--as though I could have to "jump into a helicopter at any moment."  And he was right: besides spending two dirty days in the hangar doing inventory, on Friday one of the pilots asked me to "help" him with a power check, and we were up in the air before I could even grab my camera, never mind changing clothes if it had been necessary.  But giving up a classy work look for the occasional helicopter ride is a worthy sacrifice.  Plenty of time to wear skirts out of work, and lots of awesome Threadless tees to match.

Wish List

This weekend I discovered The Summer of No Pants challenge over at Hideous! Dreadful! Stinky! and, while I'm not usually a jump-on-the-internet-bandwagon type, I just... had to join this.  It is hilarious to me--and also nicely timed.  Next week I start a new job, and I will not be required to wear all black all the time.  So why not celebrate with a new summer wardrobe of colourful skirts and dresses?  I may even have to buy a pretty pair of heels to celebrate getting to sit at a desk all day long!

The challenge is to sew four skirts (or dresses) in four weeks, and I'm thinking the challenge is really going to be to narrow down all the great choices out there to just four.  Four may have to be a jumping off point.  I've managed to limit myself to free patterns for the most part, largely inspired by links from Hideous! Dreadful! Stinky!, but have just gone wild picking out pretty fabrics.  If I could make it all--meaning, if money were no object--here's what I'd do...

• This elastic waist skirt or maybe this "fluffy back" skirt in this fabric by Laura Gunn;
• Flirting the Issue Skirt in Innocent Crush voile (with this as a lining) by Anna Maria Horner;
• This reversible skirt in two of Valori Wells' linens: this one and this one;
• Copy one of my favourite skirts--a grey denim one from the Gap, of all places, pictured above--in this wild corduroy with some accents of this corduroy (also by Valori Wells--I guess I'm a fan);
• The Diane Kimono Dress by Kay Whitt in a just-below-the-knee version with these three fabrics: one, two, three;
• This t-shirt skirt, made with finds from the local thrift store;
• This hilarious upcycled jean skirt is too funny to pass up;
• and there are at least two, if not three, dresses in my closet that I could make more wearable by turning them into skirts, pictured below.

All three dresses are spectacularly unflattering--the top two being shapeless fashion-hipped mistakes purchased right here in Dawson.  The third was bought on-line (and on sale) from J. Crew.  All can easily go under the rotary cutter without the slightest bit of worry.  I'd like to try out this ruffle technique on the J. Crew dress, keeping the style of this petticoat skirt in mind.  It's the right kind of fabric and god knows there's enough of it.

And in honour of joining The Summer of No Pants, today I wore my LBD--one of the dresses in my closet that I do like--paired with Converse sneaks when it was warm during the afternoon, and then tights and gum boots to keep me warm in the radio station.  Here's a backyard self-portrait:

Look at that green grass!

LBD

For the past several weeks, my uniform when leaving the house for anything other than work has been: rubber boots, jeans, sweater, puffy vest.  This is an improvement over the winter's uniform, which involved much more insulation--much more.  But last week I was required to do some speechifying--apparently being vice-president of one of our local community organizations means more than just lolling around being fed peeled grapes--and felt like I had to look the part.  Having unsuccessfully torn apart my closet last weekend looking for something other than jeans+sweater+vest to wear during film fest (I did shake up the foot wear a bit, because it wouldn't be film fest without my cowboy boots), I wasn't prepared to fall down that rabbit hole again, so I decided to try to actually shop here in Dawson, and was quite surprised when I was actually successful.

Shop #1 was a disappointment.  I tried on two dresses.  The first one made me look like a mouldy marshmallow, and the second showed so much cleavage that the polka dots and ruffles on the dress were rendered unnoticeable.  Shop #2 felt like a long shot when considering my options, but thirty seconds inside the door and I found the right thing in the right size.

It's the Natalya wrap dress by North Face.  A little casual for Outside, maybe--but certainly Dawson-style formal wear.  It's been years since I've owned a little black dress, and it was exactly the right thing for my speechifying.  (Also exactly the right thing for speechifying: not sounding like a nervous twelve-year old during a public speaking competition.  Apparently some things are harder to come by than dresses in Dawson.)

Killer accessories always help along a nothing-dress like this one.  I chose to pair it with one of my all-time best ever purchases: my agate necklace.  I bought this on Portobello Road on a trip to England with my parents when I was seventeen.  It has proved to be a successful grown-up sort of choice, considering that I wanted to go to Portobello Road because of this movie.  The necklace has gotten a lot of wear in the many years since I bought it, and it rarely fails to garner a compliment or two.  It's not quite like the Queen of Sheba jewels Carrie picks out in the movie, but I probably get better mileage out of this necklace than I would have out of a rhinestone tiara.

While I do have a few pairs of heels hiding in a box under the bed, I was not interested in risking life and limb for the sake of fashion in this town of mud streets and wooden sidewalks.  I know from experience how easily a stiletto heel can get caught in between the boards...  Fortunately I have a healthy supply of cowboy boots on hand, suitable for many (if not all) occasions.  The boots are another fashion souvenir of sorts--I picked them up in Nashville a little over a year ago, because "three pairs of boots for the price of one" falls into the category of irresistible.

I expect to wear the new LBD pretty often this summer.  With several boxes of jewelry to chose from and a dress that will look good with anything from flip flops to gold satin pumps, it will even be an excuse to bring out some of my lesser-worn pieces.

The LBD's next planned appearance is this coming Friday, when I will wear it accessorized with these lovely mammoth ivory and chrysocolla earrings (and the handsome man who gave them to me, of course).

Pretty Pencil Crayon Earrings

I ordered these adorable pencil crayon earrings from Huiyitan on Etsy a few weeks ago, and postal service from the UK to the Yukon being what it is, they finally arrived yesterday.

Etsy is a lifesaver up here; the options for local shopping are pretty slim, and Etsy has the benefit of providing lots of pretty things to look at, lust over and sometimes even buy--plus the fun of waiting for something to arrive in the mail.  I love getting mail.

I wasn't looking for anything in particular when I found these studs.  I was using the "surprise me" function on the Etsy Explorer, and they were impossible to resist.

They are pleasant to wear--although fairly large studs, they are very light and even after wearing them for a few hours, I don't find myself fidgeting with them the way I do with heavy jewelry.  Highly recommended.

Fighting Off the Cold

My winter gear is a motley collection of old ski stuff and handknits, and most of it is pretty inadequate when the temperature really drops like it did last week.  My feet are consistently and comfortably warm--but that's because last winter I shelled out and bought a proper pair of winter boots, which are rated to -40.  I am determined to keep upgrading, and to that end I bought an absolutely hilarious but totally wonderful pair of mittens.  They are huge:

They fit overtop of the handknit-mitt-and-store-bought-liner combo that I usually rock:

They definitely reduce my hands to flippers--I have no dexterity whatsoever and can barely open doors while wearing them--but they are oh so warm.  They aren't quite the $350 hand-beaded fur beauties I saw at the TH Christmas bazaar over the weekend, but for $25 the synthetic shearling is working just fine.  Now I just need to survive another three weeks until I can go shopping outside and get myself a parka.  I really like the looks of this one...