so i said i have been making lots of hats, berets to be specific. this lovely orange number is one of the many i've made in the previous month or so. it's made of orange handspun wool that i found at san francisco's amazing imagiknit.
in order to make said berets, i had to teach myself how to use double pointed needles. i've been knitting for three years (as of new years or so) and i have learned and done a LOT of near magical things knitting-wise, but had not done the DPN thing because i was scared! now? i'm ADDICTED. they seem sort of beastly and like this weird, uncontrollable creature at first, but once you get use to them, you get this amazing rhythm going...
speaking of which, i was thinking about this recently: the act and process of knitting really does seem magical. two sticks, a ball of yarn, some specific movements of one's hand, and voila: you've made something. and really, the same things goes for any other fiber art: sewing, crochet, needlepoint, weaving, etc. it's so freaking cool, if you take a moment to actually ponder it.
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i just bought this book on hatmaking/millinery by hatmaker eugenia kim. i'm obsessed! now that my hair is in this short little pixie style, i've been daydreaming about purchasing and wearing and making all sorts of hats. not many people wear hats so much anymore, really! they really make a statement, if one can pull them off and make them an intregal part of their wardrobe. it's so funny that years ago, if one did not wear a hat when in public, it was scandalous. now people usually just wear hats in the winter, like knitted ones. but what about lovely cocktail hats? fabric berets? felt cloches? gosh and golly, there are so many hats one could wear! the options are endless.

this mini beret pattern from eugenia's book is so adorable, and is SO getting made and worn by yours truly.

this is eugenia in her NYC studio (from the WWD accessories magazine). when my hair actually grows out again, i'm going back to something like what eugenia is rocking here, hair-wise. the bob is a classic. it's like a cute little helmet of hair.

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a future project i've given myself: embellishing this thrifted dupioni silk dress with a touch of hand-embroidery. to take it in another, more *me* direction.

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i love these colors together: red-orange, acid yellow, and aqua blue. these are skeins i picked up today, and could not resist. i could just look at them forever and be content, but really, they'll become something soon enough. my mind is already dancing around a few ideas...
