So the Apocolypse happened, that's no excuse for being late.

The Apocalypse is coming!   

Doomsday Knits is now available for pre-order from Coopertive Press.  

When Alex put out the call for designs for Doomsday Knits her concept really appealed to my whimsical side.  I figured after the Apocalypse (and personally I think it will have something to do with a critical build-up of Ikea allen wrenches) people would need to be able to carry all of their worldly possessions with them, so multi-function items would be a must.  I started thinking about how I could incorporate additional functionality into knitting.  What else could a knit item do besides keep you warm and look good?  I finally settled on a scarf with a built in lunar calender.  That makes perfect sense, right?

Lunar Progression

After civilization falls and Monday morning staff meetings are a thing of the past, survivors will still need a way to keep track of the passage of time.  Lunar Progression is a large cozy scarf with a built in lunar calendar!  At one end is a circle set into a diamond with buttons at the four corners that mark the four quarters of the lunar cycle.  The pointer moves freely on its button pivot point.  A button is moved along the length of the pointer to tick off the seven days of each quarter. 

On the other end of the scarf is another circle with a pointer and 13 buttons around its perimeter to mark the 13 lunar cycles in a year.   

The pattern in offered in 3 different lengths.  The 80 inch is "standard" scarf length.  The short 47 inch length is sized to wrap once around your neck then secure the tail through the slot at the other end, keeping your neck and chest warm.  And then there's the extra long version, which at 110 inches can be wrapped around your entire body in any number of ways for warmth, for fashion, or just to intimidate your enemies with your knitting prowess. 

Thanks to Cephalopod Yarns for providing their "Traveller" yarn for the sample.  It is soft and sqooshy and the color is amazing!  It was a real pleasure to knit with.  Thanks also to Vivian Aubrey for the lovely photographs.

Check out the entire Doomvember blog tour here and have a Happy Apocalypse!

Steampunk Bar-Mitzvah

As usual a whole lot of time has passed filled with everyday life stuff not worth posting about.  Of course, mixed in are the really fun exciting things but I'm usually to busy making them happen to post about them so here's a recap of the last few months;  costuming, bar-mitzvah planning, Steve got a job!, more costuming, more planning, drowning under out of town guests, fantastic bar-mitzvah (very proud momma here), oh, and some knitting in there too.

Sam decided he wanted a steampunk themed bar-mitzvah!  In addition to creating costumes for Steve, Sam, and myself, I became adviser on several others.  Basically I ate, drank, and slept steampunk over the summer. 

Before I get to the costumes, here's my favorite picture from the day, Sam and my dad posing together.  I bought that tallit for my dad when I was in Israel in 1986.  He loaned it to Sam to for the bar-mitzvah. 

On to costumes!  I did some knitting for the event including making myself a mini-top hat.  I kinda love the copper butterfly!

The rest of the costumes were mixtures of found garment lightly to heavily modified and embellished.

Miss Amelia and I went shopping at Goodwill and put together this lovely outfit.  I made the fascinator for her by embellishing one of the suede bar-mitzvah kippot! 

That's me on the left.  The corset is my sample of the Isambard Corset over-dyed with black cherry kool aid to make it the right color for the outfit.  The bustle skirt I made from a sari silk wrap skirt.

Steve and Sam looking very dapper!  For Sam's coat, I replaced the buttons for these really cool twist lock closures.  Each one is mounted on a square of leather sewn to the coat.  Steve's hat lights up! 

Totally off topic and fairly personal, but important I think

The depression/clothing spiral: 

I'm feeling down so, like a lot of us, I decide to go shopping as a pick-me-up. I walk into the store ready to buy myself a little splurge. Something to validate the idea that I'm good and special and deserve a treat. I look for that thing that I'll just fall in love with, that will make me feel good every time I put it on. But I either can't find it or can't afford it. But I really wanted a treat and now I'm feeling defeated so I convince myself that I actually like something and buy it so I can feel successful. But I don't really love it so it sits in the closet. Then every time I see it I feel guilty because I wasted money on something I don't use. This makes me feel bad and...

I know I'm not alone in this. How do you cope?

Hat Couture - It's almost here!

After months of working and waiting I am so happy to announce the soon to be released:

Hat Couture
By Theressa Silver
Cooperative Press

A book of hat knitting patterns with interesting shapes and lavish embellishments that will change how you think about hand knit hats.

Thirteen uniquely shaped hat patterns.
Full instructions for sewing various shape fabric embellishments.
Notes about yarn choices.
Notes about where to buy and how to choose embellishments.

It is my hope that this book will serve as an inspiration to knitters to push the boundaries of traditional knitting, to be daring, and to knit fabulous hats! 

 
Want to see more?  Check out the sneak peeks on Ravelry!

More on that costume

Well, it's almost the big day!  The Needles and Artifice book launch party is just 2 days away and I think I'm ready.  The leather vest I posted about earlier is complete as are a number of other pieces.  This has been such a fun project!  Here's my haul from ONE of my trips to the crafts store.

I used the leftover red leather from the dress to make a wide belt complete with assorted attachment points for all the gear.  It buckles in the front with the lacing in the back.  The pouch is for my iphone.

I had way too much fun making the assorted do-dads.

I've been going back and forth for quite a while about what to do for a coat.  After several attempts to re-purpose existing garments, I finally resigned myself to the idea that I was going to have to sew it from scratch.  I started with the coat from Simplicity's Steampunk Costume but left off the front panels and the ruffles.  The belt will go over it and hold it closed.  I'm thrilled with the fabrics I found.  The outside is linen and I am madly in love with the striped cotton lining.  One last piece of the red leather was the perfect touch for the collar.

And, of course I had to have a hat!  The hat itself I bought last winter at a vintage shop.  New ribbon, feather, and metal rosette and it's got steampunk flair!

 

A pair of brown leggings and my swashbuckling boots (complete with buckles) finish the outfit.  Hopefully, I'll get some good pictures on Saturday evening so I can show off how it all looks together.   

_______________________

I didn't get pictures the night of the party but here are a couple taken recently showing how it all looks put together.

 

Coming Soon!

Just a quick peek at Minuet Scarf which will be coming out in the Feb. issue of Creative Knitting.  I love this picture!

(Photo courtesy of Annie's)

It's not knitting but it is pretty cool.

Oh good grief!  Has it really been this long since the last post?!?!  I've been in the middle of a bunch of stuff so not much to show knitting wise.  However, I have the great fortune of being friends with Amanda Williams, one of the lovely and talented Ladies of Mischief.  Their book, Needles and Artifice was released this past fall and I get to attend the official launch party next month.

Soooo... I need an amazing and steamy outfit to wear.  I contemplated to going the corset and bustle route but decided to indulge my childhood swashbuckling fantasies instead!  I shall dress as a mercenary for hire, ready to go where adventure and money take me.  What does such a person wear you ask?  Well, in the perfect world she'd wear thousands of dollars of stunningly tailored clothes but this is reality so I'm dusting off my sewing skills and seeing what I can scrounge together.

I already own a pair of great boots so they were the starting point for the outfit.  My next task was to sort out a corset/vest type item.  After much thought (and sticker shock looking at ready to wear corsets) I remembered that I owned a red leather dress that I bought for a $17 at Ross about 15 years ago and never wore because it never fit right.

 First step was to remove the lining and cut off the facings so I could alter the neckline. 

 

I took off the lower section and opened the seams part way to create vents.  After much consideration, I decided that the best way to lower the neckline and create the exact length I wanted was to lengthen the shoulder straps so I opened those seams too.  

I cut the front to a more flattering shape for me and attached buckles.

I cut strips from the removed lower portion to create the longer shoulder straps.  Here it is complete with grommets for the buckle and some of the grommets for the vent lacing.

I see a whole lot more grommets in my immediate future.  I also bought a long dress at Goodwill to be converted into a coat, started a knit shrug, and will create a waist cincher/belt thing from the remaining red leather.  More photos coming soon!