She & Him

To celebrate me starting a new internship today, here's the new She & Him video for In the Sun!

Winter Olympics 2010

It's time for the Olympics and it's taking place in one of my favorite cities, Vancouver! I'm hunting for patterns for the mascots but looks like I'll have to figure it out myself. The growing list of sports I'll be tuning in: ski jumping, snowboard half-pipe, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, bobsled, and speed skating (long and short track). What events are you looking forward to?

Happy New Year!

Shouldn't we all be in flying cars by now? Last year's resolution worked out really well with a record of six dresses in one month. I'm still thinking about this year's resolution. The front-runner is creating one desktop wallpaper a month and posting it on the blog. I already have a couple of ideas written down. Another is to carry a camera around with me more often. I feel like my creativity is being stunted by working so much lately. Need to get cracking on that career. Hope everyone has a wonderful year!

Another Holiday Post

I ended up making cornish game hens and a couscous salad with roasted red peppers. After dinner, we watched Stardust, which truly is one of my all time favorite films. So full right now...Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy Halloween

I managed to get most of my costume done. Just didn't get a chance to finish adding the trim. Unfortunately, I was only able to wear it for a couple of hours at the first job today. The manager at the second one was rather anti-Halloween. We weren't even allowed to give out candy to the trick or treater's at the door. That is usually my favorite part of working on Halloween. The kids get so creative and the toddlers are adorable! The candy were "for customers only." So instead, we looked longingly out the door while the store was completely empty of customers. The kids did get their revenge when a group of them came by while I was on my break and grabbed handfuls of treats (cue diabolical laughter). The Dadster gave me a great idea to add on to the costume for next year. It can easily work as a Steampunk costume with an elaborate top hat and some fingerless gloves. Ooo, I can knit that! Sweet.
There are a lot of drunken revelers at the block party downstairs so I got to wait for the light next to Thing 1 and Thing 2 for Dr. Suess on the way home. Hope everyone else is having a wonderful Halloween!

Wenlan Chia Sewing Book

Another Twinkle book! It's called Twinkle Sews: 25 Handmade Fashions from the Runway to Your Wardrobe.



I really like the top part the the dress on the cover. I haven't been able to find any preview pics online so that means a trip to the bookstore tomorrow.

Kawaii Craft Notions

I walked into Shirokiya after work and discovered their craft section. Why didn't anybody tell me about this!? They had the cutest Little Red Riding Hood ribbon, lots of japanese print oilcloth and silly buttons. I must have spent half an hour looking at everything. The oilcloth would be perfect for a skirt guard for Carly (the bike). I just can't decide on what print to get. The price for the oilcloth is comparable to Reprodepot, too, about $14 for 1 & 1/4 yards. Everthing else was a little overpriced but sooo cuuute.

Pirate say what?

In honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day. Savvy?

Armwarmer or a hat

Alright, I finished one of the armwarmers and am on row eight of the second one when during the last knit meeting, Extragalactika told me about a hat pattern also based on Pomatomas. I really like the hat but I already knitted so long on the armwarmers. Aack! What to do now? Do I keep going and finish the armwarmers or do I frog it and make a hat?

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.