Fashion: Yarn Style

Missoni at Target: Taking the Customer out of Customer Service?

Like many other hopeful Missoni fans, I had been looking forward to the Missoni launch at Target for weeks. Missoni is one of the principal couture designers that features knitwear, and the design house’s use of stunning prints and fabulous accessories has really elevated the craft. As a knitter, I look up to Missoni for inspiration on how something as simple as a scarf can be transformed into art. That is the genius of the Target capsule collections—wearable art, available to the masses at an affordable price. Or is it?

 

Who were the customers that successfully got their hands on Target’s Missoni collection? There were not many, from what I’ve heard. Target had hinted their online collection of Missoni would go live at around 1am Eastern Standard time on September 12^th. I checked that night, but saw only the blank screen with a Missoni teaser photograph. I got up at 5am Pacific time on the day of the launch, to check on the progress of the website, but it was down. I checked periodically between 5am and 8am, but nothing. The site was still experiencing “technical difficulties”—in other words, Target was not prepared for the onslaught of excited Missoni shoppers and the system collapsed.

Between 8am and 9am, I was able to connect intermittently with the website, enough to see a few items, but not enough to purchase any. Every time I put an item in my shopping cart, the entire system crashed (woof!) and kicked me out again. Somehow, mysteriously, I was able to see that the entire collection of Missoni scarves had sold out. How was this possible, when I had been trying for four solid hours to log on and purchase a scarf, and each time was kicked off? Who are these mysterious shoppers and how did Target allow them to buy all the long brown and blue zigzag  scarves while I was left  in the cold?

 

By 9am, I realized that my dream of buying the Missoni scarf was dead. Unless I could find it in a Target store! I strode into the Sunnyvale store, only to find empty Missoni shelves. The only Missoni item that had not been stripped by rapacious shoppers was a black hat with a zigzag-printed stripe. Apparently, customers had waited for hours to get into the store, and the few shoppers at the head of the line had stripped every item off the shelves, piling them into their carts until they could hold no more. So much for designers for the masses. Between Target’s faulty website and their surprising refusal to impose limits on how many items shoppers could purchase from the capsule collection, Target only dispensed Missoni items to a lucky few. As it turns out, Target’s customer service turned out to benefit very few customers indeed.

 

I don’t see how this approach benefits Target in the long run. Between the malfunctioning website and the pillaged stores, my experience of Target customer service does not inspire me to want to shop there again. Even worse, the same day that Target online and stores sold out of the Missoni collection, 21,000 Missoni items appeared on ebay. The same long brown scarf that I should have bought from Target’s website at $19.99 is now on sale for $60-$70 by a competing “retailer”—oops, I am sorry, I mean Target customer. Does this mean that Target sold the Missoni capsule collection only to their competitors? Apparently, the aggressive individuals who ravaged Targets’ stores shopped not as customers, but as entrepreneurs. They have set up their own stores on ebay and are now selling the Missoni items for two or three times the price, right under Target’s nose.

 

Apparently, this is not the end of the story, as another Missoni shipment is expected to some local Target stores on Thursday or Friday this week. For anyone who wants a few Missoni prints to wear, and is not out for profit, here is my advice:

When the store opens, go directly to the discard rack in the changing room. I actually found 8 different Missoni garments discarded there, in varying colors, in the Mountain View store on launch day and was able to try them on and imagine myself for a moment living in a Missoni world. Most of the discards were size extra large or large, it is true, but then it turns out that the sizing of the Missoni garments runs REALLY small. I am happy to say that I was able to find a black and white zigzag Tee-shirt, a purple and green zigzag cardigan and a lovely variegated floral blouse, all of which fit me perfectly, and harmonize with the rest of my wardrobe. Each item cost less than $50, and captured the beauty of Missoni style . If Target had the common sense to limit the number of designer items any one person could purchase from their capsule collections, perhaps everyone would be able to have an enjoyable experience shopping there.

Glam up your Knitting with A Faux Fur Coat!

 

What really amazes me about knitting a coat out of faux fur is that it actually looks like a coat! Most knitted jackets and sweaters have that unmistakable loose drape of knitwear. The design may be called a “coat” or “jacket”, but nine times out of ten, a long knitted piece still ends up looking like a sweater! Take my Lana Grossa coat as an example:

 

This grey coat was on my needles for four years before I finally figured out how to make it come together as a wearable garment. I am quite happy with the result. As knitted coats go, I think this one is rather cool, but it really just looks like an extra-long cardigan. I will use it as a completer piece over other garments in complimentary colors, and I will likely wear it open most of the time:

The coat looks far better open than closed, doesn't it? That's because it is really a sweater. There is no coat-worthy structure here. The drape of knitwear is unforgiving and any knitted garment this long clings to the hips, emphasizing them. That is why I wear it open, over a blouse with a defined waist which really draws attention to the smallest part of my body. Notice that in the first photo of the Lana Grossa coat, where I am wearing it closed, you have no idea of the small size of my waist, as the width of my hips becomes the central focus.

 

After my experience with the Lana Grossa coat and others, I was amazed that my faux fur coat looked like, well, a real coat, with no cling at all!

 

 I actually saw an editorial in People’s In Style Magazine last month picturing a bunch of starlets wearing fluffy white faux fur coats, and I thought wow—their coats look a bit like mine!

The Olsen Twins, featuring faux fur

Boots (see more thigh high boots) Kate Hudson in a Cream Faux Fur Coat

 

It is exciting that anything handknitted can get anywhere close to the real thing. There is something about the Cincillà yarn that gives the coat good body and counteracts the insidious cling of knitwear. After my two successful experiences knitting with Filatura di Crosa's Cincillà, I am convinced this is the ideal yarn to add glamour to my knitted wardrobe! As it turns out, Filatura di Crosa has not discontinued the Cincillà. Instead, they have added new colors to the line, and I see many happy knitting hours ahead. I am going to get a lot of wear out of my coat. It is warm, fluffy and playful, all things I need more of in my life!

 

Why did I choose cream as the color? The key to this style of faux fur is that it is smooth and monochromatic, not droopy or shaggy. 

Alice and Oliver, fur vest

 

Was Alice and Oliver's vest stolen from Big Foot’s closet? Or did someone skin a favorite stuffed animal?

Kensie Faux Fur Vest

 

I personally think that the more faux fur tries to look like the real thing, the more it fails. Even with fur, we want a tailored look, and something that does not make us look like we just came from Planet of the Apes. Also, a fur piece that can be belted is most flattering to the figure, as it defines the waist in spite of the bulk.

 I am sticking with white and cream and black for my faux fur ventures.

Marie Claire's September issue published an editorial that also advises neutral colors for fur, in particular white, black, grey and brown. Marie Claire had a helpful styling section in which they suggested pairing bulky furs with skinny jeans or a pencil skirt, keeping the rest of your silhouette fitted to the body. As intriguing as some of these man-made furs are, if I want the textured color look of real fur, I am not going to "ape" the real thing. Instead, I will wear the vintage Cincilla stole which I inherited from my grandmother.

 

Lauren Bacall Faux Fur Cowl

 

Filatura di Crosa really hit it out of the park with this Cincillà faux fur yarn! I am so in love with the Cincillà! It knits up so smooth, and is unbelievably soft and warm. This pattern, #8 scarf/neckwarmer, is from the Filatura di Crosa pattern book, Cincillà. The dark grey faux fur yarn is knitted in stripes with charcoal Zara. It was a very easy pattern to follow, and fun to do! Best of all, you can switch it from a cowl to a hood if the cold wind is blowing around your ears.

 

I will definitely bring this to Zurich when I travel there this fall. Now that I am familiar with the Cincillà, I am going to take on a more ambitious project—a full, faux fur jacket!

 

This looks more complicated, as I will be knitting the entire jacket in one piece, from side to side. Still, any excuse to play with this luxurious, ultra-soft faux fur is irresistible!

When faux fur is everywhere, I can't resist trying to get in on the fun!

 

Photos Imaxtree. Colored fur from Gucci, Emanuel Ungaro and Michael Kors

 

 

2011 Fashion Trend: Film Noir

Love by Marie Wallin

According to a recent article I read in July Vogue, the Film Noir look is in! Fall and Winter 2011 fashions convey a sense of mystery and sophistication evocative of Lauren Bacall. The marvelous photo display Grace Coddlington put together in the point of view section highlighted the “ice-cool, adult panache” that made films like the Big Easy so seductive.

I love the new emphasis on adult sophistication this fall. It is a refreshing departure from the cult of youth in the media that saps the self-confidence of many otherwise contented women I know. When did life experience and accomplishments become divorced from the glow of beauty for us? For once, adult poise is in, and I am loving every minute of it!

Apart from the fabulous glamour of this shot, I am reveling in the use of fur to highlight the shoulders. As I mentioned in my last post, fur and faux fur shoulder accessories are materializing everywhere, accompanied by fanciful hats and muffs:

 

Perhaps one of the reasons I find this fur trend so exciting is that it is undeniably adult. Inspired by these Vogue images, I decided to find a way to knit something in the same vein. Determined to find an animal friendly solution to this fur fashion, I have stumbled upon Filatura di Crosa’s Cincilla. Although the yarn is composed of wool and synthetics, it is fabulously soft and fluffy, and when knitted up, gives real fur a run for its money:

 

 

 

This yarn has just been discontinued, but I found enough of it to experiment with the film noir look. Inspired by Lauren Bacall, I have embarked on this cowl project:

 

 

In the thick of winter, I plan to stalk around in this fur hood, exuding an air of mystery!  

 

For once, Rowan’s design team seems to be ahead of the trend curve, for they have created some fabulous film noir inspired knits in Rowan Magazine 50! My favorite is Love, which seems like it was made expressly for a Myrna Loy.

 

 Myrna Loy I am not, but due to the democratizing power of knitting, I can wear her sweater. I am really in love with this design. Adult panache indeed! I have paired it with a maxi skirt, in keeping with the fall trend of skirts with hemlines below the knee, and the “mermaid” like silhouette mentioned in the Vogue point of view.

 

Choosing the right yarn for this project was not as easy as you might think. After experimenting with different combinations, I realized it was important to mirror the color gradations of the design, which moves from a darker color at the waist to a lighter, but complimentary color for the cowl. In the end, I decided that pairing neutrals with a similar sheen worked best. I used Rowan felted tweed dk for the ribbed section, and some discontinued Rowan kidsilk night in a pewter grey shot with metallic threads for the cowl. The brown tweed yarn was flecked with grey, harmonizing with the pewter color above. There was also a texture gradation, as the tweed had a subtle fuzz that blended into the must more pronounced halo of the kidsilk yarn. Wearing this top really makes me feel special, as if I have wandered into a film noir world. Now all I need is a leopard-spotted hat, or some fabulous snap-top clutch to complete the illusion. 

Paris: Scarf Style

I am still marveling at the scarves I saw in Paris, and the myriad ways the Parisians seemed to have of tying them. The photo above is courtesy of the website:

http://www.fashionising.com

I guess I brought the wrong guidebook to Paris. Apparently, Fodor’s contains an illustrated guide on how to tie a scarf, Parisian style! Who knew it was such an art? Not me. A California native, lightweight knits are my go-to style, and even the summer scarf trend has passed me by. When I got to Paris, though, I realized what I had been missing. But too late! I didn’t bring a single scarf along, and those I looked at in the trendy fashion boutiques were too costly to bring home. As it turns out, I was due for a rescue. After reading my last post about my scarfless state in Paris, one of my readers, Maria, sewed a lovely scarf for me and mailed it all the way from Germany, along with some scrumptious yarn!

Wow! As a blogger, sometimes I wonder if anyone out there is really interested in my random yarnstylings. I was very touched to receive such a lovely gift! As it turns out, Maria is a very talented seamstress. She has lately designed and sewed a scarlet retro-inspired suit decorated with kidsilk haze rosettes, which you can find on the Bernina website:

http://www.berninablog.com/2011/07/seidentraume-maria-prasentiert/

 

Thank you, Maria! Next time I go to Paris, I will wear your lovely scarf! And the yarn will perhaps become a fabulous winter scarf as well, and some other things I will share as I find perfect projects for them. :-)

 

On a separate, but still scarf related topic, the 2011 Fall/Winter lines seem to have gone crazy with faux fur. I understood, during the recession, the swing to fur in a nostalgia for expensive luxuries. But now fur seems to be everywhere, from yellow and red fur scarves by Sonia Rykiel to a lavender fur coat by Gucci.

 

 

Although this coat looks fabulous, it is real fox fur. Now that there is so much faux fur available that looks like the real thing, I prefer to leave the foxes alone. Celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe has a chic new line of faux fur coats and jackets which are featured in a recent episode 5 of America’s Top Model where the fur-clad models are cavorting in a zoo with a baby leopard. You can find the episode at cwtv.com.

Rachel Zoe faux fur vest

 

 Inspired by the glamour and texture of this latest trend, I have given myself the challenge of knitting something in faux fur. I can’t say that my first foray has been entirely successful. I was seduced by some 70% mink/30% cashmere yarn at Stitches West last year, the mink having been gleaned from brushing out the undercoats of the animals. It was fun to think of knitting an animal friendly “mink” coat, and the booth had a sample of a black jacket that looked like one of  my grandmother’s real furs. However, the skeins of yarn themselves looked like just normal, rough textured yarn in some seriously zany colors, ranging from orange to dark green. I was told that, although the yarn didn’t look like fur, the more you touched and watched it, the more fur-like it would become. Sceptical but unable to resist, I bought one skein of natural, undyed yarn, as the black mink was out of stock.

Great Northern Yarn, 70% mink, 30% cashmere

 

Perhaps I’ve just been checking the manufacturer’s website at the wrong times, but 8 months have passed since I bought my little skein and the black mink yarn still seems to be out of stock. I have been experimenting with my little natural skein, which I knitted into a keyhole scarf:

 

 

 This pattern is the Arwen keyhole scarf, by Tabitha’s Heart. It’s a great one-skein project, and I took advantage of it to explore the properties of the mink/cashmere yarn. When knitted up, this still looks like normal yarn to me, not fur. I have spent time petting the scarf, trying to bring out the fur texture, and I have washed it twice, but still no fur-like fuzz, just a tiny halo. I’m not really sure how much manipulation is necessary to create that transformation, but my feeling is, I am already paying $23 per skein for this yarn, if this yarn is supposed to look like fur, pre-treat it for me so I don't have to spend months of work trying to get that effect! 90% of the projects I saw knitted up with this yarn on ravelry were not fur-like either, so I have gone back to the drawing board. Somewhere, out there, the right “fur” yarn is waiting for me.

 

Inspired by Paris?

Is Paris still synonymous with fashion? When my husband and I ran off to Paris for our tenth wedding anniversary, we packed our clothes with care. As chef David Lebovitz points out in his recent food diary, The Sweet Life in Paris,  “the unspoken rule if you plan to live here is… that you’re going to be judged on how you look and how you present yourself.” I followed this rule many years earlier on our honeymoon, wearing tailored dresses and blazers all over Paris, and received a warm welcome that proved my sartorial strategy had been worthwhile.

 

For our anniversary trip many years later, I was determined to have fun with clothes and put together some wonderful outfits, only to see my fashion castle collapse the moment I stepped out of the taxi into the Paris street. As I eyed the hordes of female worker-bees passing me in the Opera arrondissement, all clad in jeans, button up shirts and neutral-colored jackets, I couldn’t help asking, “where has the joy of Parisian fashion gone?”

 

 

The drab colors and universal jeans were not to be found just in the Opera arrondissement. Even in the super trendy, expensive shopping areas where fashion boutiques reign supreme, the women’s uniform seemed to be the same. Jeans, grey or black tight-fitting jackets, a non-descript blouse. The only spot of color to be seen at all was the fabulous swathes of scarves that almost every Parisian woman sported like one desperate flourish of color against the bleakness of the conformity.

 

 

The street photos are courtesy of:

www.chictopia.com

A wonderful source of street fashion photos.

As you can see, the scarves are fabulous! It is as if the uniform of jeans and dreary dark coats serves only to act as a backdrop for the scarf. 

 

 

Even the men all over Paris wore huge, flourishes of scarves around their necks, leading my husband and I to feel decidedly out of style.

 

The one day during our week-long sojourn that I dared to wear a bright colored printed top on the streets, bare-armed, all the pedestrians fixed me with a pained stare, and shopkeepers addressed me for the first time in English. It seems that prints, bright colors, and bare arms are shocking now.  To test this theory, I showed my Paris knitting friends a photo of the offending blouse, and they all went off into peals of laughter at the thought of me wearing the poppy print "naked" without a coordinating jacket or cardigan. There was almost no bare skin to be seen in Paris above the waist. No bare cleavage, almost no skin to be seen above the wrists. Short shorts with outrageous tights emphasized sexy legs instead.

Perhaps I just wasn’t paying attention to the evolution of Paris fashion over the past ten years, or perhaps I just didn’t want to know. We Americans like to hold onto a certain ideal of La Vie en Rose, and nothing in our media depictions of France contradicts that. Look at Sarah Jessica Parker’s fabulous Parisian ensemble, designed by Sonia Rykiel for her first day in Paris as Carrie Bradshaw in the final season of Sex and the City:

 

What could be more fabulous than this confection of black, white and cream , whipped into a froth of stripes and ruffles? This is the American idealization of Paris fashion!

 

 

Inspired by the delicious ruffled top, I turned to a Kim Hargreaves pattern, Garnet, to knit up a ruffled Paris tribute of my own. Rather than the black and white color scheme of Rykiel’s, I opted for red and rust.

 

My favorite part of this ensemble is the way the top harmonizes with the velvet skirt, generously made for me by my mother-in-law. The black lace top, which I knitted last year, draws the eye to the face and breaks up the bulk that could be created by the ruffles in the bust area:

 

Kim Hargreaves has several versions of this ruffled top, including the  Rosa pullover and Effie, a ruffled top knitted entirely in Kidsilk haze. But I don’t think the ruffled pullover style works well on a busty figure. The cardigan, on the other hand, can be worn open, and the vertical line of the open sweater draws the eye up and down, elongating the figure and minimizing the emphasis on the bust.

 

 

I am quite happy with how the cardigan turned out, even though it did take forever to knit all the little ruffles and sew them on:

 

It’s a good thing I did not actually wear this outfit to Paris. I dared only to wear jeans and cardigans on the streets, venturing a bold print top as a sole stab at independence. Ironically, a romantic ruffled top and velvet skirt seem more appropriate for the streets of San Francisco now to me than Paris. The only exciting fashion moment I experienced during the trip was the shawl parade of the Tricot Opera knitting group, who seemed bound and determined to bring some romance back into knitted fashion, at least!

 

The leader of the shawl knitting challenge, Tima, poses above in a marvelous black gown and purple boa. And another exceptional knitter, Sabine, wearing her lovely orange ruffled top beneath a stunning handknitted shawl, was the first Parisian I had seen wearing such a bold color all week!

 

The Parisian knitters shook their heads when I questioned them about the direction Paris fashion is going.

“It is all very conformist now," they said. "Gone is the glorious fashion of the 1950s here. No one dares to wear bright colors, no one dares to wear a skirt!” This was sad news indeed. But although

 the clothes did not live up to my expectations, the knitters of Paris certainly did! My friend, Sophie, was the soul of kindness and elegance, and the knitters of the tricot opera were so welcoming and fun!

 

 

Now I am left with a handmade momento of my trip to Paris, this design of Kim Hargreaves, Garnet. Although it belongs to a different inspiration, this little ruffled bolero, knitted in kidsilk haze, captures the effervescence of my dream of Paris fashion, which perhaps is all that matters after all.

 

 

 

The White Trend: Spring/Summer 2011

 

White on white is in for Spring/Summer 2011! Everywhere models are sporting monochromatic white ensembles featuring long, flowing maxi skirts with sheer layers of white tops or lace.

 

 

The one trend that I saw in Paris everywhere was white lace! In every section of the department store, Lafayette, from Catherine Malandrino to Zara to Derhy, frothy white lace confections were everywhere! Catherine Malandrino had an amazing collection of crocheted white lace dresses:

 

 I came to Paris with white lace already on the brain, inspired by some of the pieces Kim Hargreaves uses in her latest collection, Whisper, to style her knits.

 

I was really inspired by this lace/knit pairing. The delicate lace with the asymmetrical, flowered neckline compliments the knitted cardigan in a unique way. Here the top is again, paired with Edda:

 

See how the delicacy of the lace softens the bulky knit! Genius!

Inspired to find a fine white lace top that would form the perfect companion to my knitted pieces for summer, I searched Paris high and low.  Although white lace was to be found in every boutique I entered, there was not a single blouse with the asymmetrical neckline, formed by the flower petals, to be found. I haven’t been able to find anything similar here either, so I decided to make something of my own. This doesn't have petals at the neckline, but it is delicate enough to satisfy me:

 

I really struggled to find the right use for this Habu silk-wrapped linen yarn. I selected it because it is such a pure white, and pure white is suprisingly difficult to find in yarn. But the habu yarn acts like paper--when you knit it up into a moss stitch fabric it crinkles and folds like real paper, making it impossible to block. Lace seems to be the perfect medium for this straw-like yarn, just as flexible as it is strong: 

This is Vogues’ Tank #11, which is a 41 row, non-repeating lace pattern complex enough to defy the most acute eye. I had to devise several different anchor points for each pattern repeat to avoid costly mistakes, and the resulting fabric is a delicate cobweb that might be unstable in a regular yarn. To my delight, the habu paper turned out to be the perfect material for this kind of intricate lace, as its straw-like quality allows it to knit up into an extremely stable fabric. 

 

I don't know if it is the lace pattern, or me, but this never knits up to the correct row gage--I have used this pattern twice, and each time the lace panels end up much higher on the neckline than in the pattern design. However, the high neck gives more versatility to the lace, making it possible to wear it in winter as well as summer, since it blends with black just as easily as white:

 

 

Paired with a black cardigan, this could be a great winter piece:

 

So there you have it—if you can’t find that wardrobe completer piece for summer, knit it yourself!

 

Edda: Transform your Closet in a Pinch!

 

Who hasn’t secretly wanted to win a place on one of those makeover shows like Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style, where you are suddenly given a limitless budget to revive your dull wardrobe and get a fresh look? I was so jealous watching the In Style segment when Tim Gunn sent a participant to the magazine’s fashion headquarters. This lady’s frumpy work dress was transformed by an In Style fashion expert, who laid it out with heaps of fabulous accessories, choosing just the right leather belt, trendy purse, metallic heels and color-coordinating cardigan, elevating what was just a summer sheathe to super chic!

 

It wasn’t until recently that I discovered that my own home knitting workshop could provide a magical formula for making over my humdrum clothes. For a regular shopper, it will take hours, perhaps days, and a hefty price tag to locate just the perfect cardigan to elevate a banal work dress to a stand out ensemble. But for us handknitters, all the tools for this transformation are right in hand!

Step One: Select a boring dress:

 

In my case, old zebra print here ($25, purchased in 2009 from Ross).

Step Two: match said dress with eligible balls of yarn from your stash.

Step Three: throw in a design that flatters the figure.

Voilà, two weeks later, a star is born! 

 

I have no idea why it has taken me this long to stumble onto the practicality of knitting cardigans to elevate the existing dresses in my closet. For years, I frittered away my knitting time with quixotic lace making or color work, fascinating in itself but eminently impractical for everyday wear. At a certain point, I grew tired of toiling over pieces destined for tissue paper and a storage box. What is exciting about a piece like Edda is that it is not only pretty in itself, it makes everything else I wear with it look better! Cardigans in this style can go with a limitless number of summer pieces:

 

Somehow, the total sum of this outfit together is greater than the individual parts. The versatility of this cardigan is its best feature. Although the yarn is worsted weight, the design lines, use of waist shaping, and suede tie at the waist keep good figure definition. And the sleeves are summery, but long enough to avoid that dread scrourge—a focal point on the flabby upper arm.

This style flatters pretty much any arm shape.

 

 

To top it all off, it takes only 700 yards of worsted weight yarn to knit Edda. I was able to use up some Cascade Sierra that had lurked for four years in my stash, taunting me with its presence. Now it will haunt me no more! Since I have knitted these last two modern cardigans from Kim Hargreaves’ Whisper, Cameo and Edda, to match specific pieces, it is hard to deny the transformative power of a summer cardigan on an every day dress. Instead of shopping for the latest trendy pieces for this season, perhaps we should all spend more time shopping our own closets and stash! 

A Cameo for Spring

What are your favorite harbingers of spring? Living in a Californian paradise, a lush cascade of roses, honeysuckle and orange blossoms spills from my garden in the springtime, filling the air with delicious perfume. Is it any wonder the roses and butterflies are always near?

What I love about this dress by Ted Baker of London is that it glows with the golden light of spring, clustered over with hundreds of butterflies. If the movie of my life were the glamorous golden age of Hollywood, this dress would fit right in! Unfortunately, I have yet to find an occasion that lives up to that promise, but a girl can dream! Besides, the purpose of clothing is not only to cover the body with something functional. Does our clothing have to be drab? What if, instead what we wear expressed our deepest joys, fantasies and desires?

 

The minute I saw this Pre-Raphaelite painting by John Waterhouse, I saw an image of the joyous life (complete with that gown) I wanted to have! Psyche timidly enters Cupid's garden, which teems with seductive pink and white roses that beguile and inspire. It was the Pre-Raphaelite paintings by Rosetti and Waterhouse, bursting with roses, that inspired me to plant the 35 bushes in my own garden, to serve a living reminder of what dreams and a little passion can do.

 Something about the butterfly dress captured that same spirit. 

These days, I’m not really knitting for the sake of a project

any more. I have a lot of cardigans and sweaters already, so the

clothes I knit have to have meaning. In the case of my butterfly

dress, it called for a companion that was a light spring knit. My

mother-in-law, to my delight, offered to carry the dress with us to

Stitches West so we could find a perfect match. She bought me

three skeins of scrumptious Madelinetosh Pashmina that perfectly

matches the color of the green butterflies edged with black that

form part of the print. Later, I even found that the cloisonné

butterfly pin my grandmother sent me when I was nine years old

formed the perfect closure to tie the pieces together!

 

The pattern is Cameo, from Kim Hargreaves’ latest book, Whisper. There is a hint of retro about the long sleeves of the cardigan that works well with the bell-like curve of the skirt of the dress. The shape of the cardigan adds a touch of warmth and modesty without eclipsing the lovely neckline of the dress. My only complaint about the design is that the sleeves are exactly the same length as the cardigan itself, but when it is closed with a pin, that is only really noticeable from the back:

 

 If this is the closest I can get to living a Waterhouse painting, I’ll take what I can get!

 

 

Smoky Opal

 

For my first shawl project, I turned to Kim Hargreaves, my favorite knitting designer, trusting that she would write clear instructions that would lead me through the shawl maze. I was surprised and delighted by how easy the pattern, Opal, from Winter Blooms, is to follow. It is a simple garter stitch shawl, made diaphanous by the use of size 13 (9mm) needles, and nothing could have been more straightforward than her system of increases from the tiny point to the wide expanse at the top of the shawl.

 

This pattern took only 3 balls of kidsilk aura, in this mysterious smoky charcoal kidsilk aura, which was discontinued by Rowan last year. 

 I think this color goes with almost anything, but I acquired it with a specific ambition in mind, perhaps too large of an ambition--I am dying to recreate this fabulous charcoal wrap devised by Alexander Wang:

 

 

 

8 months later, I am still puzzling over how to structure a neck piece that would begin to live up to his elegant design. In the meantime, I found myself teetering on the edge of an enormous knitting challenge: I had to knit the first shawl I had ever made in my life, and I had to knit it fast—in exactly one week. Why would I take on such an absurd challenge, you might ask?

 

 

Last week, my husband and I ran away to Paris. It was a mad, romantic, unprecedented dash into adventure.  Paris continues to be my favorite city, but sadly, the opportunities to visit have been few and far between. My husband and I honeymooned there ten years ago, but then the challenges of life, financial realities and illnesses intervened. Finally, this year, we decided we’d move heaven and earth to go to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary. That was until I injured my foot and we had to give up on our dream again. But one can only defer one’s dreams for so long. Look at the husband and wife in the Pixar movie Up who devote their entire lives to the fantasy of exploring Paradise Falls together, waiting so long that the husband is left to pursue the dream alone. Determined not to let this happen to us, my husband and I threw ourselves onto a plane, bad ankle, work deadlines and all and many wheelchair rides and several raspberry macarons later, we have rolled back home, considerably heavier in pounds and richer in experience.

 

Not surprisingly, my knitting adventures in Paris were the most delightful of all.  In the photo above, you can see the gathering of the knitters of Tricot Opera in the serene gardens on the Palais Royal. It was the alluring invitation of Tricot Opera which led me, post haste, to plunge into my first experience knitting a shawl. This delightful group of creative knitters was generous enough to extend an invitation to me to join them for their fashion catwalk on the seventh of May. Several months ago, the group resolved on a marvelous challenge: Every one of them would knit a shawl by May 7^th, and then they would meet in the lovely sheltered garden of the Palais Royale for a fashion parade! Many thanks to Tima for setting this marvelous challenge

 

and thank you, Sabine, for making me feel so welcome to the group!

 

I still wouldn't have managed to get there if it had not been for the unfailing kindness of Sophie, who did so much to make my visit to Paris magical. To anyone not blessed with a foot injury, the challenge of getting into the Park Royale to meet a group of knitters wouldn't cross your mind. But as I can't climb any stairs and can only walk a few blocks at a time, getting around in Paris was an enormous challenge. It turned out there was only one way to get into the park without stairs, which I would never have been able to find on my own. I don't consider myself lacking in resourcefulness, but my foot gives out after a few minutes of walking, leaving me stranded, especially when I'm in an unfamiliar setting with no transport of my own. But Sophie, the soul of generosity, was there at my side, and we enjoyed a wonderful time in the beauties of the park by the fountain, flanked by ancient buildings and statues on all sides, before the Tricot opera group started up their fun.

Here are just a few photos of the marvelous knitted creations that were on display:

 

The lace creations were breathtaking, and my pictures do them little justice. To see the full photos and slideshow of the numerous pieces on display, visit the group Tricot Opera on Ravelry.

 

For me, personally, the shawl parade was one of the most enjoyable knitting events I have ever attended! Everyone in the group was so welcoming, and showered me and my friend Sophie with delicious home-cooked meringues, cookies and muffins. Imagine the festive display with the backdrop of magnificent ancient buildings and sculptures in the background. It was an experience I will never forget!