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Two blogs down, two more to go :-) The best part of fixing this stuff up is finding new pictures to put in the rotating headers, I think. I nearly doubled the area for graphics by cleaning up the extraneous texty stuff up there. Given, it isn’t really friendly to anybody with screens under 1280, but it’s been a LONG time since I’ve met anybody running something like that. Also, I just heard that WordPress 4.0 is coming out soonish? That freakin’ terrifies me. Might just have to clone a blog just to test out the new update, in case it’s one of those cases where everything breaks for a month the minute you press the button. *shudder*
Hmm. Apologies for the service interruption – it appears my sites might have been down with the cache.php bug as early as this last Wednesday. Have it somewhat patched up using Perishable Press’ three-file fix, but still am seeing a few odd things happening here and there. I’m gonna back these things up and take a closer look soon. Hopefully, there will still be something left after I’m done :-)
And, in news of the fashion-related, I am considering perming my hair. Yep, the traumatic memories from mother-inflicted high school hairstyles must be starting to fade, hmm? Nothing crazy, just something for body since my roots have a tendency to flatten rapidly… much like our land-whale of a cat Misu. Plus, I hear that they have a much wider and gentler selection these days. Will still have research the offerings here, since it seems the hairdressers of Rauma are not entirely familiar with my type of hair, but hopefully this will happen for the summer. Kinda want to do some color, too, but not sure whether that will be a good thing, health-wise, since my hair will need to be bleached and that might be bad for the perm part. Decisions, decisions…
Hey look, it’s Sunday again! That means I should be updating this blog :-) With spring right around the corner and a big move coming, I figured it was as good a time as any to inventory and catalog stuff before packing. I’d been doing a haphazard job of keeping track of my yarn stash on Ravelry already, so today that was cleaned and updated to more accurately reflect what’s going on in that big box of fluffy cat-bait. Luckily, my yarn collection has not had time to grow very much here in Finland. I’d only brought over a small bag of must-haves when we moved and have been trying to only purchase enough for specific projects over the past couple of years. However, I’ve lately been picking up larger batches of yarn from various trips. That, combined with the leftovers from various projects, has resulted in a nice colorful jumble at the bottom of my yarn box. I have a HUGE pile of yarn amassed back in California which I will pack and ship over when I next visit (probably in summer of 2013), so it’ll be nice to have some sort of order before that messy yarnbomb of a parcel arrives on our doorstep. I’ve always been fond of seeing what other people have stashed, so I thought I’d pop up a little gallery of what’s here at the moment. And hey, if anybody is interested in swaps or shopping-and-trading, definitely drop me a note! We’re drowning in nice wools up here but finding any other fiber tends to get a bit difficult, so I’m always looking for options.
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I am currently working on a lace tam using this. It’s a soft alpaca fingering weight that’s really nice for hats and scarves and anything else that’s going to be right up next to the skin.
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Used this color to make T a scarf and still have 2 balls left. A matching hat to go with that scarf is on the agenda, and possibly one for me too.
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Made my favorite smocked tam with this color. Not enough leftover for a scarf so I’ll probably save it for colorwork.
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Strangely enough, the hat I made with this felt completely different from the previous white version. Also have leftovers saved for colorwork.
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This is Novita alpaca fingering, which doesn’t feel quite as soft as the teetee. I think that’s due to the previous having a tiny bit of manmade fiber plied in, though.
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Novita is the predominant maker of yarn and knit/crochet stuff here in Finland. This is their wool sock yarn, which is also good for sweaters.
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Leftover ball from my striped pullover.
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Leftover ball from my striped pullover.
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Novita also makes a slightly lighter weight sock yarn called Nalle, which is nice for finer gauge sweaters (and socks, obviously). I’m especially fond of the aloe-infused variant of this, which feels nice on the hands while you’re using it.
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Normal un-aloed Nalle, which I used to patch up one of my favorite cardigans earlier this winter.
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I planned to make T some socks with this ball, but was thwarted by lack of DPNs at the time. So it got shoved back in the queue.
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I have four large balls of this generic acrylic baby yarn because it was on sale at the store. I think I was planning to make a lace blanket out of it, but we’ll see.
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This pretty silk blend by Rowan was on sale when we were in London this past January, so 8 balls of it ended up coming home with me. It will most likely be a top or cardigan one day.
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Found this pretty purple cashmere merino blend by Sublime at our local store this winter, too. It is scheduled to become a turtleneck some day.
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This silk blend was an impulse buy from iKnit last spring. I only got three balls, so am still trying to decide what to do with them. Probably a short-sleeved top.
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Two balls of vintage mohair blend that I brought from my Cali yarn stash. Still have no idea what they will be, but they’re just so nice to pet :-)
So a little less than a year ago, I posted some early pictures of dress choices for our wedding. Of course, I knew at the time that there would be more than one (or even two) dresses, since Asian weddings just don’t work that way. Combine that with my wardrobe mistress background and the help of several lovely attendants, and you have a costume change wedding. Selected photos from the event and some dress pictures, mostly because people have asked. I’m still in the process of putting up the official gallery website with all the guest photos, so hopefully this will buy me some time until that’s set up :-)
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Dressed for the civil ceremony the day before. There’s a poofy petticoat under that dress that made it VERY difficult to get into the front seat of the car.
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On the way to the reception. T was totally rockin’ that morning suit.
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Front of the church gown.
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Side of the church gown.
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Back of the church gown. There was a tie-up ribbon to turn the train into a bustle, but it proved so hard to find in the rush of the day that we never used it.
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The veil. Which managed to go flying out of my hair at one point, but was thankfully saved.
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A comfy little satin shrug, because there was no way I was going strappy in October.
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Side of the shrug. This was also great because it went well with all three white dresses.
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Back of the shrug.
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The whole retinue outside the church after the ceremony.
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An awesome shot of my gorgeous bridesmaids.
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This was the same short asymmetrical dress I used for the civil ceremony, sans the petticoat. It was dubbed the “dinner dress” because it was the only one that I could comfortably move around in without tripping, which was important while making our way back and forth from the food tables.
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Front of the dinner dress, without the shrug.
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Side of the dinner dress.
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Back of the dinner dress.
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Then we had the Chinese tea ceremony part of the evening.
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Front of the tea ceremony gown. Red is the color for weddings in China and Taiwan.
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Side of tea ceremony gown. Yes, that slit does go really high up on the thigh. I totally had garter belt showing.
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Back of the tea ceremony gown. That’s a phoenix pattern on the jacquard, if you’re wondering.
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Then we had the dancing portion of the evening.
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Back of the dancing gown. This was by Sue Wong, and the only designer garment I actually bought.
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Side of the dancing gown. It was really fun because those chiffon strips moved when I twirled.
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Front of the dancing gown. I also love this one because it’s totally re-wearable for many other occasions.
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Me, T, and my family at the end of the evening. On later reflection, I should probably have had T change into white tie for the latter part of the reception, but that would have probably been too fussy for him.
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A shot of my bouquet.
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A shot of the Irregular Choice platforms that nearly stole the show.
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They matched the colors of my dresses so well that I nearly fell out of my chair when I first saw them.
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The rings.
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I loved what Nicki did with my hair. And how well it lasted all day!
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The wool Lolita coat to go over all of the dresses as the night wore on.
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It had to have a full enough skirt, in case I was wearing one of the petticoats at any time.
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Love the corset detailing on the back of the coat, though we didn’t have time to proper corset lacing on it.
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It also had a cute detachable capelet!
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I full plan to wear this out again at some point.
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Capelet!
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It also came with detachable faux fur trim.
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Which probably is a bit over the top, even for me.
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Then again, this IS Finland, so fur doesn’t raise eyebrows nearly as much as anywhere else.
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The cute printed lining of the coat.
Wow, has it really been 3 months since my last “what I’ve made recently” update? Guess the holidays and new job really made the time fly o.O
  
A hazy blue poet pullover. My fourth sweater and first one to venture into the sort of shaping I’d like to do more of. Bishop sleeves and a bit of a stand to the collar also make me happy. I might do a summer-weight version of this one of these days as well — it’s a versatile and wearable pattern base for all sorts of sleeve variations.
  
A slouchy white alpaca winter hat with smocked headband. The pattern shows up so prettily in the light color. I definitely want to work some smocking into my next sweater as well.
  
A slouchy black alpaca winter hat in mini-cables. This pattern on this one didn’t turn out as visible as I had hoped. Partly because of the dark color and partly as a result of my tendency to knit loosely, I’m guessing.
 
 
A reversible, personalized cotton superhero cloak for my friend’s little boy! This was done as a Christmas present, actually. I did it in black and red because I figured sometimes you want to play the hero, sometimes you want to play the villain. Afterwards, I noticed that most other people were making them in red and blue. So maybe I was the only one who wanted to also play a villain as a kid? I dunno. Either way, black is flattering and useful for many things, so I can’t see any wrong in it.
And finally, a poofy princess skirt for the same friend’s lovely little girl. I know I always wanted one of these as a kid. Heck, I’dve probably worn the skirt *with* the cloak, so she’ll get one of those this year as well.
 
When it comes to accessories, few things are as gratifying to wear as a well-made pair of gloves. There’s just so much detail and construction that goes into making them, y’know? Fingers are always the first to go numb and the last to heat up when the temperatures plummet, and that can be a real nuisance when the majority of your time is spent doing things that require high levels of dexterity. There are many wardrobe pieces that one can skimp on and still find perfectly suitable knock-offs. A good pair of leather gloves is not one of these.
Back in November of 2004, I bought a pair of buttery Italian kid leather gloves with the softest cashmere lining out of some catalogue that I no longer even remember the name of. I was still in California at the time, so there was no real justification for spending that much on accessories other than because I’d always wanted a pair. Seven years of heavy use later, I still consider them one of the best investments I’ve ever made in cold-weather wear. They’re quite beat-up now, but age has only made them softer and more comfortable. Unfortunately, they are also a bit on the baggy-and-wrinkly side, so don’t necessarily look as nice on dress-up nights as they used to.
I found the above pair of cashmere-lined lambskin gloves this afternoon while out shopping with a friend and snapped them up in an instant. No brand tag, or I’d share. Am loving the little Victorian-esque details and the feel of smooth, new leather. They are also a little longer than my other pair, so there will be nice wrist coverage. I have no doubt that they will also be with me 7 years from now. Now, if only I could find a pair in something other than black.
It’s been a while since my last crafting update and I’ve made a handful of things since then. Been mostly concentrating on knitting since I started last spring, trying to pick projects each time that are both functional and instructional. These are the results! Pictures link to corresponding Ravelry pages.
  
A classic wool pullover with just a few modifications to sleeve and hem lengths. I didn’t mean to make it in Finnish colors, but it was what I had on hand so I went with it. I <3 stripes! A garment with many firsts — my first time knitting with more than one color, first time pick up collar stitches, and first time setting in sweater sleeves. Also, this is my first sweater to actually fit the way I’d imagined it would, so I’m sort of excited about that.
 
One of two ribbed alpaca scarves made for the husband to add some variety to his neckwear. This one is a seeded rib that looks really nice with suits and darker coats. Tweaked to be skinnier and longer, to work better with his preferred way of wearing scarves. Making dude scarves is always something of a challenge, since it’s all about finding that fine line between restraint and style.
  
A grey wool ribbed short-sleeve sweater and my first project done completely in the round. This turned out a bit bulkier than I’d expected due to gauge issues with my loose knitting. Still, it’s quite wearable for layering and gave me a reason to use up some of the extra purple ribbon I had left over from the wedding reception :-)
 
A simple, squishy ribbed scarf made of fluffy-soft alpaca. My first shot at ribbing, this also proved to be a very forgiving combination for missed stitches. Good thing, too, because I didn’t learn how to unravel and pick up stitches until two projects later, so had to basically start from scratch if I wanted to delete a mistake before that!
I have a lot of scarves. Even before we moved to Finland, where you actually use them for more than half the year, I had a lot of scarves. My mom was paranoid that way. Back in Cali, however, they tended to just sit in a giant pile that was occasionally rummaged through on a windy day. As we enter my second Finnish winter here, though, I decided we needed a better system for making winter accessories easily accessible. Thus, the wall o’ scarf. It’s a IKEA belt/scarf/tie hanger nailed to the wall. Right next to the coat rack and across from the drawers where we keep the gloves and hats. So you can’t put on a coat without coming face to face with the whole collection and have enough time to ponder what will go with your particular outfit before you finish getting dressed. Convenient, no? Now, if only I could find room for a bag/purse rack…
Taking a few minutes from the wedding-planning madness to say a sad farewell to my clunky burgundy Deréon frames — I was very fond of them and sad that they only lasted for two years. Two hard-wearing years, mind you, factoring in the amount of travel and the somewhat reckless manner in which my eyewear sometimes gets tossed into bags. Still, I wasn’t quite expecting them to CRACK IN HALF one morning in the middle of making breakfast. Luckily, they did not fall in the frying pan. Unluckily, it happened a few days before we left for a family trip to Bulgaria, sending me on a crazy last-minute run to the optician for some contact lenses to last me until a new pair of glasses could be made. And to make matters worse, I’d managed to crack my only other wearable pair of frames just a few weeks before. Talk about your weird luck. I’m such a pack rat that it was hard to part with these, even though there was no way to salvage them. So into the trash they go, and this blog post is mostly to soothe the ickiness I feel over having to throw them out.
So, remember ages ago when me and my two best buddies were turning out a huge pile of these wizard robes to order? We refer back to that time fondly now as “our little sweatshop that could.”
Well, let’s just say that you can’t make that many robes without having some extra fabric left over. So several years after I moved on from that venture, I still had a healthy amount of fabric in Hogwarts house colors lurking in my fabric closet. Quite a bit of it is still waiting back in California for the next time I come over to haul back more of my crap from the parents’ house. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the last couple of times I cut something out from fabric, I immediately turned to the wizard robe leavings.
I haven’t done a lot of sewing in the past couple of years, though, due to various life-changing events taking up most of my time. Frankencloset items and t-shirt makeovers don’t really count as fully-fledged sewing projects in my head, since a good portion of the hems and seams are already done — you’re just creatively editing a garment. Sort of like a box of pre-mixed birthday cake. My hands started getting twitchy for something a bit more in-depth this past weekend, so I dug through my work-in-progresses and pulled a burgundy dress that I’d traced out back in California more than a year ago. Recreational garment making is quite soothing — something I’d forgotten after all these years of work-related sewing machine time. It was a great way to get my mind off the whirl of wedding planning concerns for a day.
  
Yeah, the darts are a little mismatched because I didn’t bother with any of that meticulous measuring-and-pinning stuff ;-) It’ll mostly be worn with a cardigan or shawl, so none of that will show anyway. Good to know that my zipper-setting skillz are still intact, too. The last repurposed robe fabric dress I made was this little thing:
  
Also used mainly for layering. The fabric is a polyester twill, so it’s best for fall and winter when its heat-trapping qualities are most appreciated. They go especially well with my collection of turtlenecks and long-sleeved tees that are too wildly patterned to be paired with anything else. That was the last of my robe fabric here in Finland, though, so there will probably be Finnish fabric shopping in my immediate future. Mmmm, fabric. A couple more layering pieces and I’ll be back in shape for that Regency ballgown I was planning to make this Christmas…
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