The Sweater

By Meryn Cadell

Are you a mod or a rocker?

With the squirrel scarf almost done, I couldn't help starting a new project. I had recently won the giveaway from Acornbud and received this mod knitting bag and two skeins of Koigu Painter's Palette (thanks again!) The bag couldn't be more perfect with my obsession of all things mod.
I ended up casting on for the Nereid Fingerless Gloves. Coincidentally, Acornbud just finished Pomatomus, which the gloves were based on. Great minds thinks alike!
I have been teaching The Squirrel how to knit and we decided to meet at the tea place in the mall before work. While I was waiting, I ordered a tarimisu and lychee sorbet tea while reading the latest Elle.




The Squirrel and Her Fruit was running late so I made some progress while listening to She & Him and Kylie Minogue.

Videos I can't stop watching

I used to act out scenes like this when I was a kid. And there's a scarf so this is still knit related!




This just makes me laugh.

O B A M A

I love Daft Punk.


Daft Punk vs. Adam Freeland - "Aer OBAMA" from Gold Greendot on Vimeo.

Vintage Shopping

Hope everyone is having a great new year! After getting some great resolutions advice from DeviousV, I'm giving last year's resolution another go. So this year, I plan to wear a dress once a month. Now for everyone who knows me, I wear pants and denim ALL the time. But I also love buying dresses. Sadly, they just stay in my closet until a special occasion arises. It's not really fair for all those pretty frocks. So I celebrated New Years Eve by watching Twilight with Acornbud and her son while wearing a dress. The movie was a little mushy and the special effects of the male lead running was a little ackward but I really like the baseball scene.
This Friday, I went vintage shopping with The Squirrel at an actual vintage clothing store. Yes, a vintage store. Cloth just opened up in Honolulu and I couldn't be more excited! The owner, Micah, is an avid vintage collector and her adorable shop is stocked with the cutest mod and hippie clothing for women and men. The Squirrel got an African print dress that look like it was made for her and I found this amazing silver mod dress. It was a little too big but fortunately, free alterations are included with the price. Cloth is located at 909 Kapi'olani Blvd.
In knitting news, I'm putting the finishing touches on a scarf for The Squirrel that has a mushroom on one end and a squirrel (of course!) on the other. Hopefully I can get her to model it when it's done.

Wishing You All A Merry Christmas!

wee little knits

There's a new stop motion animated movie coming out called Coraline. If you go to the site and type in sweaterxxs, it will go to a video about how Althea Crome made the miniature costumes for the main character.



Here's the video:

Jay McCarroll sews with shrooms

Just stumbled upon this at Craftzine, Jay McCarroll is coming out with a line of quilting fabric! I really like the tree stumps, the mushrooms, and the tripped out rabbits (probably from the shrooms). Depending on the dimensions of the prints, I think they would make really cute dresses or lining for a coat. Wait, I never wear my dresses.

It is so hot!

It's September and it still feels like the middle of summer. I miss the fall weather from my childhood. I rode to and from work yesterday on the bike. It still looks like a rusted hunk of junk but I'll try to keep the original paint for as long as I can. The handlebars are functional but are horribly tarnished. Oh well, they work as a theft deterrent right? I'm still working on the fenders but have a scrounged rack in the back and the cutest basket ever. The rack is a little bit big so it slants down toward the front. I spent most of the trip with the basket against my back. I had to scoot forward but then the saddle was uncomfortable. Will have to get a new rack eventually. I rode in my usual jeans which was fine until I got to my destination. Then I started sweating buckets. Ugh.
I did get to explore some quiet streets on the way home. I didn't realized there is a street between Queen and Ala Moana. The road was practically deserted but seeing as I still haven't got a helmet (bad bird!) I rode really slow on the sidewalk.

Buddha & the Art of Bicycle Repair.

As requested, here is the link to the Bike Co op: K-Vibe
They take donations of bikes that go back to the community. A very knowledgeable volunteer helped me get my temporary bike working. Oh yeah, picked up the Schwinn yesterday from Eki Cyclery (they are one of the sponsors of the co op). I was a little worried that the frame may not be the right size but after she adjusted the seat, it was perfect!
Doh! Forgot to bring the camera. The bike is currently at the co op. I need to stock up on steel wool to get the rust off the handlebars and fenders.
Yes, I am definitely still knitting. I'm doing a swap with a co-worker who does embroidery. I'm knitting her a scarf with peace signs and a Buddha. The background will shift from a heathered green to a cream color. The designs will be duplicate stitch. Tried doing intarsia but with the thin lines, it turned out to be a bad idea. Not much to photograph, just heathered green stockinette. I'm still thinking about what to request. Maybe something with owls...and headphones.

old bike

So I called the bike shop and found out that my dream bike was delayed because of "fender problems". Darn it. So I decided to go to the bike co op to get a temporary beater until it comes in. While there, I also saw a rusty old Schwinn cruiser. They set it aside for me to restore but my only regret was that it didn't have hand brakes. It's always raining here so cruiser brakes just aren't safe enough. So i wheeled my beater bike to the bike shop to get a lock for it. As I was getting ready to pay for it, I asked the salesperson if they have any old 3 speeds. She said,"Just a minute", and walked to the back of the store. Next thing I know, I hear her rolling out a bike. Lo and behold, it was an ancestor of my dream bike, a vintage blue Schwinn Collegiate with hand brakes! It will need some restoring but not as much as the cruiser. I'm thinking of repainting it. That sound you hear is the sound of Schwinn collectors everywhere going,"Noooooooo......" I'm picking it up this Friday. Yes, yes, I know, pics.

Shibori Knit Books

I attempted to create a knit shibori piece for the student show last year that ended up looking like a vest with three boobs. Images of a certain martian Arnold Schwarzenegger flick comes to mind. I stumbled upon these two books online today.



I really like the hat on this cover!



Here's the bike I might end up getting: The Schwinn Cream.



The bike shop I checked at won't be getting them in for another month which should give me enough time to save up. I found out Electra Bikes now sell skirt guards separately and they come in cream as well. The tire sizes are the same so they should fit.

School has been absolutely crazy as usual. I turned in my form for graduation this week so I guess it's official. Now if I can just get all my projects finished...

Hairy Badcasts

Nooooo....... no more BeADesignCast's! I've been enjoying this design podcast for about a year now. Great tips for design students and funny interviews with top graphic designers. The show about how "getting a job in graphic design" is like dating is not to be missed. Luckily, a couple of the hosts are starting their own site and podcast at 39point. The Reflex Blue Show starts next month. Yay! More Dew!
I got the chance to finally see the rest of this week's Project Runway. Chris March....wah? He used human hair for his designs. I did like the way the hair caught the light on the runway and the use of safety pins for one of the skirts. Should human hair be regarded any different than any other animal fiber? I think I would feel kinda weird wearing a human hair sweater, though. I wonder how you would clean it. With shampoo? Would you have to use conditioner to keep the fibers from splitting? Kudos to Chris for presenting something so different and interesting on the show.

New DIY magazine

Here's a new web magazine, DIY City. I love the illustrations and they have an overview of some great yarn shops in New York city.

Happy Valentines Day!

Here's to 2008!

Wow, another new year. It really seems like the year just flew by. I hope everyone had a safe and happy new year's eve. On a belated note, we finally got a tree for christmas after more than a decade (yikes!).

Yes, it's hot pink.

From Acornbud, I got these cool skull stitchmarkers. I couldn't wait to use them and immediately put one on my wip. Still need to get a decent pic myself but she always take such amazing photos. Thank you Acornbud!
Thank you Akamai Knitter for the wonderful gift! I adore the Nekko stitchmarkers. Oooo, skulls!
One of my managers was running around picking out clothes at work. When I asked him why, he said you are supposed to wear new clothes for the the new year. That's the first time I ever heard about that. I say, forget new clothes, how about a new bike! During the school year, I like going to Kaimuki for lunch when I'm doing my homework at school. Waiting for the bus takes forever so it would be so cool to have a bike to get around. I've been wanting one ever since I saw an ad for the Electra Townie in ReadyMade magazine a couple months back. Loving the green!

I love the whole flat foot technology for their bikes. It just sounds a lot safer. I still have a scar on my elbow from a crash in the sixth grade on my first bike. When I looked at their site, I saw the Amsterdam Sport and fell in love.

I only wish that the women's one came in black. I know I can use the men's one, but the step through style is more Dutch. Bicyling magazine has a cool video review here.
Soon after, I found an article in the December 2007 issue of Vogue that had an article on bikes. That's where I found the jorg&olif scout.

Not only is it the coolest thing on two wheels, they also have beautifully designed website with gorgeous photos and typography. I know, I'm gushing. I just love the typeface they used for their logo. Must do some research to find out what it is.
So, new year's resolution...save up spare change to get new bike. I'll have plenty of time to decide which one it will be in the meantime.

Designerly

According to one of my instructors, designerly is a word. So in honor of me finally getting a new laptop and all the necessary software to start my graphic design empire, I am going to include design topics in my posts. Yay! So now, as well as my knitting posts, you can read about my rants and ravings about type, pretty websites, and kick ass motion graphics. I have divided my links into crafting and design so they are easier to search.
In the meantime, I've just finished my busiest semester ever! I coded an HTML and Flash Site in three months with little sleep and completed my first internship. Sweet! Is it strange that I actually like homework? I'm going to get my sleepy deprived self to bed now so until next time.....no really!

Happy Halloween

I've been so busy this semester that I had resigned myself to not having a costume this Halloween. But then, inspiration! I had taken apart my ibook and replaced the hard drive last weekend so I decided to be...a Nerd Herder! A what? Go watch Chuck. I love the opening title sequence. One white shirt, a grey tie, and an hour with Photoshop later, I'm a member of the Nerd Herd. Nerds Unite!

Have a fun Halloween!

Don't say the Zed-word

After hearing about attacks on other continents, the undead started showing up here. Good thing they're slow, so you can run around them. I had to work at the department store today and witnessed the aftermath of an attack in the men's section. All that was left was a shirt and pants strewned across the messy table. It took me a while to clean up the mess. When I got back to the retail store, the supervisor was looking a little pale. I saw the movie, but I'm not staying at the mall. As I was waiting for the bus, this guy snatched a girl's wallet. Too bad for him, she and her friends were zombies too. About five or six of them went after him. He got so scared, he dropped her wallet and his own bag. Now I'm holed up at home with plenty of canned goods and water.
Report in if you see any zed-word activity! Check here for more info.

Best Friend Cardigan

First, thank you so much K, for the soysilk yarn!
On the needles....the Best Friend Cardigan from Twinkle Big City Knits! Since I still haven't bought the book yet I got the pattern here. I started off last week with a super soft Bay Alpaca Grande from Plymouth Yarn in a dark grey but the it wasn't bulky enough and it shed fibers everywhere. Also the dark grey was depressing me. So I went back to Isle Knits for something more cheerful and ended up with another Plymouth yarn.....trusty Encore in a lemon sorbet yellow! I'm knitting it with three strands held together to get the gauge. So far so good. I had a couple of false starts because the pattern isn't very clear. The main thing was that the buttonholes are made on the same row as the bobbles. Also, I didn't like how the yarn over buttonholes looked so I made cast-off decreases instead. I finished shaping the armholes and will be working on the collar at tonight's meeting. Oh yeah, photo!

Pretty pretty!

Here are photos of finished garments from Wenlan Chia's Twinkle: Big City Knits. Patterns added to ever growing list:
Groovy Sweater Dress
Karate Sweater
Twinkle Hoodie
Shopping Tunic

I'm also thinking of knitting an art piece for a scholarship competition coming up. It will probably involve shibori and cables.