Fill in the Blank

Change is...

1. Good
2. Hard
3. Inevitable
4. All of the above.

Life Continues To Say "Gotcha!"

Here you see a portion of my shawl collection which is now spread over every available surface of my apartment. You may ask, "Why is this so?"

Moths have been spotted in my home. It's not an infestation but I have trapped a few so, naturally, I am concerned. My stash is very safely packed but my FO's are not. So, I spent yesterday morning pulling out every sock, sweater and shawl to shake and inspect. Oddly, the knitwear is all fine but a few silk scarves had eggs (old ones to which i am not attached thankfully.) I decided I needed to pack everything in plastic but before I did that I wanted to lay my shawls, which were stored next to the silk scarves, out in the sun for a few hours. I lay them all out in the clear, bright, hot yard, then trotted off to the hardware store to buy a zip-loc bags in quantity. 

Fifteen minutes later, the skies darkened and opened - dropping a torrent of water on all my lovely shawls while I stood dumbfounded and helpless outside the Home Hardware. Damn! (Well, I used stronger language at the time.)

It took 2 hours to wash every single shawl in Eucalan and lay them out on flannel sheets. Everywhere. The air conditioner has been running non-stop to keep up with the humidity. 

At least I have clean shawls now! Also, I am enjoying today seeing the beautiful results of hours and hours of my labour displayed before me.

Vintage Magazine Check-In

Check out these sassy dresses from 1966. This brochure from my vintage collection is Bernat and the featured yarn was Opalette  - 55% virgin wool, 45% viscose. Hmm...I wonder how comfortable that was to wear as a dress? Regardless, I love the silhouettes and the serious hairstyles. I especially love that these illustrations are drawings rather than photographs. Just lovely.

Fast forward nine years to one of my favourite fashion years; 1975 and the McCall's Sweater Book. When I first saw this photo, I thought the sweater sat at the waist. That impression turned out to be an optical illusion caused by the way the model's hands are posed but that's the length I would knit this cardigan. It's the only modification necessary because in every other way the piece is modern and relevant. I can see this delicate thing knit up in a number of present day DK yarns. I think I need this in my wardrobe.

The rest of the outfit? Well, we don't need the polyester trousers or the sharp lapels but a version of that hat has been on young women everywhere this summer. Just goes to show that classic styling is timeless.