Friday, October 30, 2009

Costumeology: The Knitted Pirate

Pirate garb is de rigueur at ChezLinoleum. As such, I've been knitting and crocheting my pirate-y stripes for the last few years in an attempt to create a fully knitted pirate look.

My costume began with this piece...



Draping oneself in one's flag is the ultimate display of one's pride methinks.

In succession, came the crocheted and knitted versions of this sweater...





I currently have three of these little sweaters in my closet. Great with skirts. Fantabulous with jeans. And absolutely amazing with...BLOOMERS!





Oh yes, upon immediate discovery of this Knitty pattern, I knew that I must knit a pirate-styled pair.

I wore this lovely ensemble to our annual Stitch N Witch gathering last night...



Even though I am just a mere deck hand at the moment, I did win the coveted "Best Use of Yarn" Prize while making merry at our fete. Yipee!

I see a knitted frock coat and perhaps a crocheted tricorn hat on my list of projects to complete for next year's Halloween season...Aaaarrrrggggghhhhh!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Costumeology: The Dark Fairy

NOTHING makes me happier than donning a pair of wings (or fangs, or tutu, or pirate garb, etc.) before hitting the streets of LaLaLand to go about my daily routine. Now, under normal circumstances, I would be looked upon as a few eggs short of a dozen if I decided to show up to the cube farm sporting a clown fro. However, October cannot be considered "normal circumstances" so digging the tutu(s) (yes, I have more than one) and wigs out of the back of the closet became priority one a few weeks ago for this is the most spooktacular time of the year!

This particular Halloween season brings three dress-up opportunities for moi and y'all know I'm not about to wear the same costume three times. Mon dieu! So, lets take a looksee at what I've thrown together for one of my upcoming alternate egos, shall we? Without further ado, I present to you my Dark Fairy garb...



Now, every femme fairy needs an ethereal little skirt, don't you agree? Yeah...So, even though I have a plethora of tulle in my closet, I didn't have any tulle related vestments in this keen red and black color combo and no standard pink sparkly fae wardrobe would do for me this Halloween. Nope, I'm looking to personify the classic trickster fae folkette. As such, I worked up this cute little dark netted number last night in the span of hour...And what a satisfying hour it twas too!



These beauties have been adorning the wall of my closet for months! Oh, don't worry, they weren't at all lonely for I have LOTS of wings.

Anyway, are they not spectacular???

You know you want a pair...And you can purchase them here along with many other amazing versions. Her wings are awesome and really well made.

Anyhoo, as I said, these lovelies were sitting in my closet for eons, urging me to marry them off to a sampling of perfect accompaniments. I was obliged to comply. Just look at how amazing my wings look with their tutu comrade...



But wait, there's more!



No self-respecting fae would be caught dead with the ears of a human! Nope, only pointy elfin ears will do this All Hallow's Eve!

Um, am I the only one around who has spirit gum in her cosmetic case year round???

Ahem...Let's move on.



Lastly, I purchased this very cool kit from Sephora to aid me in achieving each of my spooktacular looks this season. Methinks the store should offer these boxes of wonder the rest of the year as well. Come on, you can picture it. Ice Queen makeup for winter. Flower Fairy makeup for Spring. Golden Goddess makeup for summer. It would be amazing right? Yeah, I agree, retailers have no vision.

My Dark Fairy costume just needs a little liquid leather and fishnet to top it off. Then I'm good to go!

Ahhh, Halloween, how I love thee!

Monday, October 19, 2009

Stella Circular Shawl

OMG, October has been a blur! So much so that I have been unable to post during what has to be my most favorite time of the year. I haven't even had a chance to unearth my harvest decor for goodness sake!

*Sigh*

Despite the current madness, I have still managed to maintain my daily fiber regimen. Oh yes, still designing as well as randomly crocheting, knitting, spinning, weaving and sewing, albeit in a lower gear. As such, I have a FO from an OPP (other person's pattern) to present to you...



This is my version of Kristen Omdahl's Stella Shawl. The pattern can be found in her book, Wrapped in Crochet, one of my current favorite crochet tomes. Upon first inspection of this book, I knew that Stella would be my first project. I mean, check out the pic below direct from the book's pages...



The shawl is simply gorgeous. Further, the project gave me a perfect excuse to purchase an entire bag of Blue Sky Alpacas Suri Merino! What a lovely yarn to work with, so soft and luscious.

I had a blast crocheting my Stella. The directions were clear and without mistakes. As such, I motored through this WIP, completing the shawl in less than two weeks. I am very happy with the results and intend to make another after the craziness of the holidays subsides.

Happy Monday everyone!