klimt bag

This one burns the eyes: it's a heady mix of reds, pinks, oranges and magentas, with some eye-popping gold, turquoise and yellow accents. It it warm and not at all subtle. Sometimes things take on a life of their own, a personality which dictates the direction for itself. I did the actual knitting over a year ago, and was a bit non-plussed by the final objects. It rested untouched in my UFO box for AGES, until a week ago, when I finally got myself together enough to sew it up into a bag for my niece F, who loves pink and purple (gawk), and who is the loveliest kid on wheels.

She is a teenager, so therefore quite choosy about how she adorns herself- we'll see if this graces her presence or not. It's a tough call- but I DID ask her about colors, and she gave me a very very clear, firm response of "pink and purple". Duly noted.

I lined it with some very soft silky stretch oyster colored velour (left over from a pair of palazzo pants a friend had made and passed onto me, until they got too worn in the seat and ended up in the craft-fabric bin. It's lovely stuff, but did I really ever wear these??
did they look good? It's hard to imagine- I am rather short, and long drapey light colored flowing pants do not really sound like a good idea...)

I then caged several vintage buttons from friends I am visiting. These I stacked to make the clasp, which has a velvet ribbon stitched with silk yarn to wrap around it. I am away from home, finishing this, so it is the product of improvisation and unforeseen results.
Yes Virginia,
this is another last-minute-before-Christmas-on-the-road-craft-project ...
I did my usual three-ribbon strap, a rather gaudy mix of coral Velvet, pink giant rick-rack and orange grosgrain ( Thank you local Jo-Ann fabrics in the mall!) I am not so sure about the colors, but hey, it's not for me.

The bag is knit in a soft mixture of chenille, wool, angora, metallic yarns and a few fluffy novelty bits and pieces. It is tactile to the nth degree, and the design of the big ovals was inspired by the wonderful knitting of Kaffe Fasset.
I hope that she likes it.

The perfect Coat....

I love this coat by Koos Van Der Akker, available as a Vogue sewing pattern!
See here for details on the pattern.

I saw this and laughed- it is terriffic and is missing just one thing to make it a truly great look: knitted accessories.

This coat is the perfect foil (and vice-versa) for the crocodylia scarf,
and a pair of really smashing fingerless mitts.

Winter time means a lot of rather boring bundling up and facing chilly winds. It gets old really fast, but I am thinking that a smart, quirky ensemble might just keep a grin on my face as I brave the great outdoors...

However, this is "dream sewing"- I don't actually have time and between work and the holidays there is SOOOOOO much to do, none of which includes embarking on big sewing projects.

The Crocodylia scarves on Ravelry look so great- I am just delighted and amazed. I am hoping to actually see someone walking down the street wearing one!

I made a chunky cashmere eggplant colored one for my Mom- looks great on her,
but the drape is a bit too, well, drapey. The stiffer wool version is still better, more sculptural....