dress doctor

just a quick check in...since it feels like it's been forever. and it has. but i have a litany of excuses:

a.) working, working, working.
b.) pete got the flu. i took care of him while he was sick.
c.) subsequently, i got the flu. this post is actually an ill-advised dispatch my from my fever-addled brain. i feel like "poop on a stick" (my fave silly expression to say when i feel like doo-doo).

anyway, before i got sick, i did some restyling on some thrift finds:

dressdoctor

i've been like a dress doctor lately, fixing up dresses i find at thrifts that need a little surgery to make them more wearable, more me.

one: got new buttons along the sleeves (which are open, it's pretty neat), and was shortened quite a bit.

two: was shortened, and has a tie in the back to tighten the bust, made from fabric that was trimmed off from the bottom.

three: used to be strapless. shortened it, and used the trimmed off portion to form the straps.

four: hacked off the bottom, made a channel for elastic, so it has a bubble shape. more of a tunic length now.

***

back to bed. *cough* more in a few days when i'm feeling more human.

this and that.

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.one of many berets 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.

***

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.

saturday night hat by eugenia kim

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

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. eugenia kim's hairstyle

***

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. thrifted green silk dress

*** 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... yarns

dallyings and dabblings...

yet another knitted cowl! made of 100% wool worsted. has stripes of sequins. i've been wearing it with everything. i made it back in december....but just now got to taking a photo of it. just a simple little thing, a bit of mindless knitting.
sequin stripe wool cowl

a restyled canvas guatemalan dress i thrifted several weeks back:
thrifted guatemalan dress
it was actually floor length, with slits on either side up to the knees. it's now an empire style dress with pleats under the bust, and an a-line skirt. the sleeves are actually wide bells, which is hard to discern here, of course.

***

i had a long wait for the bus yesterday on my way to go thrifting, so i entertained myself my taking a few snaps:
golden gate.

orange and green

waiting for the bus.

pretty houses on clayton street, san francisco

ashbury debris

loans home nurses association american401k loan costsfica loan 401k repaymentselect loan account services and payplan30 plant nuclear 2003 billion loanformula loan amortizingloan abc reeder guidedocuments malaysia home aia loantexas personal $20,000 loan dallasamegy home loans bank