Favorite Excuses to Wear A Hat?*

Here's my running list of excuses to wear a hat:

1. I'm in a bad mood and I need compliments, car honks and whistles to get me out of it.
2. I relish the idea of wearing my fedora and posing next to any "Public Enemies" poster I can find with the behatted Johnny Depp. Getting harder as newer posters get slapped on top of older ones.
3. I long for a waitress/waiter to treat me extra nice when I sit down to eat in their workplace.
4. I'm feeling vaguely like the brooding guy in a coat, hat in the famous painting Nighthawks painting by Edward Hopper.
5. I need to keep warm but I don't want to carry a jacket, but hope a hat and a lightweight scarf will do the trick.
6. I want the train engineer to toot his horn when I wave to him.
7. I don't want to be bothered, cancelling out #1.
8. I'm eager to hide my messy, unruly locks which really need to be washed.
9. I can pretend it's the 1940s just for a minute or two, although I'm truly happy to be alive now.
10. I must match the bottom half of my body with the upper part. A black hat usually does the trick.
11. I duck outside and I know it's going to rain. A hat, even the straw variety, will protect me even if it self-destructs during the process.
12. The link for the Ginger Spam salad recipe on the top of my Gmail account page doesn't seem remotely appealing, but wearing a hat does.
13. The dust bunny population is exploding in my closet, which requires me to open up and clean off the covers of a few hat boxes. Some hats of the vintage variety clamber out onto my head. Creepy.
14. I seek to impress my various nieces and nephews with my eccentric aunt image. A cat or two would round out that perception.
15. Feeling bloated, a hat takes my mind off of how crummy I think I look. Amazing how the head doesn't gain pounds? I'm not talking about the neck.
16. I don't want to wear a necklace, but a hat feels....just right.
17. I can focus better since a hat, particularly one with a brim, limits my peripheral vision.
18. Putting on a hat makes me think of the various sewn and knitted hats that are waiting to be completed and I feel really guilty.
19. I can flag down the bus driver to stop on a dented dime and pick me up even if I'm not standing at an authorized stop.
20. I need a story to tell at the end of the day. A hat worn somewhere, somehow guarantees it, don't you think?

What are your favorite reasons to wear a hat?
* Picture taken at the intersection of Lawrence and Clark Streets in Chicago yesterday.

Summer of the Fedora, 2009*

Here in Chicago it feels like the summer of the Fedora, a style that pops up on locals regularly at this time of year. As predictable as crowds spilling out into Clark Street after a Cubs game, dandelion dozens after a sudden storm and the crush of CTA buses bunched together during a routine rush hour. However, what makes this year different is how many women are wearing this hat. They wear it with t-shirts, jean cut-offs or a maxi dress, flip flops. Super casual. Nothing slick, nothing high style. Something to wear 'em to the beach and back home. It takes care of the bad hair, cool weather, "I don't feel talking" mood all in a fell swoop. Well, that's at least what a hat, particularly one as sleek as a fedora, does for me. Lately I've been wearing my black straw H&M hat, purchased for $7, and I'll be breaking out the same hat, white straw trimmed with a sky-blue grosgrain, just as soon as I feel like I have something remotely matching on the bottom three-quarters of my body.

Browsing around on online, here's what I like of the fedoras I've seen to date: this menswear striped one from Target and this collection at Villagehatshop. Honestly, the more I think about it, you couldn't go wrong shopping at these two Chicago stores: Hats Plus and Optimo Hats (they made all the fantastic hats in Public Enemies). Hats Plus is more affordable with ready-to-wear hats, and their selection of Kangol toppers is phenomenal. Phenomenal! Optimo is all about the pricey custom-made hat you want to store in a special box, wrapped up in tissue paper. Here's a link to a Los Angeles Times story on hot hats on the runway.
* A series of goofy photos I took with the "Public Enemies" poster at the South Boulevard stop on the Purple Line in Evanston. The Johnny Depp posters are disappearing even though the movie just opened. Boo hoo!

No Pattern Left Behind: the Second Fabric Swap*

It wasn't quite the sunny, hot pre-Fourth of July weather I pictured. And to be honest, I wasn't quite in the mood to spearhead another swap, even though I had organized it. I just wanted to nurse a pomegranate martini and swing dance at Martini Park. However, I'm a responsible community organizer, so I follow through on what I'm say I'm going to do. So off I trotted to the Rogers Park Public Library with my box of sewing dollars, a loop of lottery tickets, and vintage Carson Pirie Scott yarns (one box Kelly green, the other black).

Even though I advertised the FREE event on Craig's List, I still only had about eight fabric collectors show up, a little more than the first event. I'm not sure if it was the cool climate, a weeknight or Americans were still mourning the death of Michael Jackson. Who knows?

In any event, I found myself enjoying myself once I unconsciously put myself into Zone. It's just so much fun to meet other sewing and knitting aficionados. In no particular order, I enjoyed meeting:

* Leslie, in her sweet black and white check homesewn halter dress, was waiting in the room next door with her box of patterns and fabric when I arrived with my supplies.
* Mary, who I actually know through her work at Big City Swing. (She's a dance instructor, particularly skilled at the Charleston.) I would never have guessed that she's a quilter although with her great 1930s retro dress style, it makes perfect sense. She left with a few tote/bag patterns, and fabric, of course.
* Calicosarah, who actually convinced me to bring back the box of black wool/poly yarn that I contributed. A consummate knitter, she had all sorts of knitterly knowledge that I'm only beginning to understand three years into the hobby. I admired Sarah's sunny yellow dropped-stitch scarf that she made from a skein of Lorna's Laces.

There were others that I didn't get a chance to chat with quite as much: Lee, Jess, and two other moms whose names escape me. I'm grateful that all came, and we such a good time, and came away with some new goodies. I personally got a fuschia knit and pretty trims from Calicosarah's collection, another swishy pink and blue sky knit print, and a watercolor woven. Sheesh! I'm all set until the next fabric swap.

I don't want to omit Ruth, my regular Vogue Fabrics free sewing demo partner. She was at the swap last time with her daughters. This time her oldest didn't want anything to do with the sewing dollars, which we incidentally didn't use. Not enough shoppers! Erin McKean was also there dumping an unfinished knitted sweater in addition to fabric.

Anyhow, some of you may know Erin is leaving Chicago next month for the lovely city of San Francisco for a new job. In Fabricspeak, she's leaving Vogue Fabrics to shop at Britex. I knew you'd get that. Anyhow, she's been very emphatic about wanting another swap before she departs. It has something to do with de-stashing. Does anyone fully understand that concept?
So I promised to organize another exchange to help her out. Next time I promise to make the event more inviting to knitters and quilters. You'll be able to bring knitting needles, YARN, and bags of fat quarters. How exciting can that be? Stay super-tuned while I return to the library to set a date.
* The picture above has nothing to do with the swap. It's completely gratuitous. These are two of perhaps a dozen smocked, unfinished dress panels now at Vogue Fabrics, in Evanston.. These two are in the remnants section, near the cash register. There are more hanging on the wall in the silk room. They're each $23.99, a little pricey in my sewing book. All you had to do to complete 'em would be finish the bodice edge and edges and stitch up the back. Done!

Quick and Dirty: Free Fabric Swap, TODAY

No pics at the moment. If you want to unload fabric, notions, zippers, patterns, (but no remnants or pets), please feel free to come to the Rogers Park Public Library, second floor at 6 p.m. See previous entries for details.

Listen Ladies: New Free Fabric Swap, Tuesday, June 30

It's the same deal as last time. For those of you not there during the debut, read below for the lowdown. Feel free to spread the word wide and far on the Internet, Twitter from the moutains, telegraph from the local Western Union. You get the idea. I'll do a Craigslist post.

Time: 6-8:30 p.m.

Date: Tuesday, June 30

Location: Rogers Park Public Library
6907 N. Clark St
Chicago, IL 60626
2nd floor, south room

What?: Fabric Swap

What's a Fabric Swap?: We'll be exchanging fabric, notions, patterns using play money, probably Monopoly dollars. During the set-up, we'll have a little show and tell. Wear your favorite sew garment for prizes.

Anything Else I should Know?: Since this is a swap, no money/check can be exchanged on the premises. This is important. Anybody caught paying real U.S. dollars for items in the swap will be lashed with a tape measure or forced to count pattern pieces.

What can I bring?: Any type of fabric that's at least 1 yard long, 45 inches wide (I don't want to deal with remnants), notions, patterns are acceptable.

How can I help?: Thanks for asking. Here are some specific jobs we need:

1. Several cashiers' to help establish a 'value' to the fabric and pass out Monopoly money to 'sellers'
2. Several organizers to put fabric on various tables tagged according to fabric type (silk, cotton, polyester, knits, etc.).
3. A barker to call out lottery numbers so 'shoppers' can orderly browse items in the swap.
4. Someone to organize show and tell part of the swap.
5. Foodie to round up snacks for hungry shoppers. "Shoppers" are encouraged to bring chips, beverages, paper plates, and napkins.
5. A driver with enough room in the car to cart leftover unwanted fabric to local Salvation Army.

Where can I park if I drive? What about public transportation?: There's a parking lot behind the library. Call for details. You can easily get to the Rogers Park Public Library on the no. 22 bus. It's also two blocks west of the Morse Red line stop, a block east of the Rogers Park stop on the Union Pacific North Metra line. For those of you with horses, there is no place to park your animal. Sorry.

Can We Just Skip The Drop Spindle and Get to the Spinning Wheel Already?

Yes, I'm completely willing to skip the drop spindle and just get to the spinning wheel now. The drop spindle is just too slow for my taste. Why ride rickshaw when you can really pick up the pace in a sportscar? When I see people making yarn this way, I just see wanna-be spinners dropping a spinning top on the floor over and over. Makes me think of novices with yo-yos, and how they continually let the discs graze the ground. Over and over. Dropping anything to floor repetitively gets on my nerves. My brothers used to dribble a basketball in the house hardwood floors while we were growing up. I'd just say, "Can you please stop????" And they'd continue on annoying me until I grabbed away the ball away.

Anyhow, let me back up. I'm taking a beginning weaving class at the Chicago Park District. I'd don't really care about the looms, I just want to learn how to make my own yarn. I mentioned my quest to a friend, she suggested I take an $18 10-week class, which started this past Saturday. The teacher would probably let me spin to my heart's contentment, she said.

So I signed up last minute with my wad of cash. Hustled my bustle to get to the 9:30 a.m. class. Perspired profusely on the way wearing my not so comfortable Born sandals. Breathlessly made it up the stairs to the classroom, which was locked. Not a soul in sight, unless you count the bodies in a nearby room stretching their limbs in a yoga class overlooking Lake Michigan.

Happily, a Park District staffer unlocked the room. I entered what looks like the Adult Woman's playroom. Loom after loom after loom, all 20 or so covered with cotton sheets, they all looked like player pianos covered in white. The sheets, you know means "Hands Off!" in adultspeak.

And there was this device, which I think is a carding machine. Crank crank crank! Now I did some carding as a kid at Pioneer Day at Crow Island school. By hand, it gets old fast. But to build muscle tone pumping the wheel on this thing? Could be fun. Could be addictive. Could call for some Guinness beforehand, off-site at a local lounge.

I'm not precisely sure what this textile in progress is, but it wasn't covered up with a sheet, but it looks like a bargello print in progress. The Missoni people in Italy, who are obsessed with zig-zag motifs, would love this, and I do too. Must find out more.

The roving reserves, a splendid system to store raw fiber. Old oatmeal containers, stacked. How do they stay shoulder to shoulder? I'm completely curious.

Here's a close-up of the roving stored, in case you're curious.
Here are I am waiting Teach (name's apparently Linda), who never arrived. For about 10 minutes, I was ready to storm the Park District Office and demand my money back. Instead, I waited for a half hour. I figured if I had my knitting and I could be patient, impatiently working my hands, which must be busy anytime I'm awake. Boy, was it hot up there, I didn't turn on the fan, but I could have. I was afraid of dust flying everywhere, and sneezes by the truckload. So I sweated it out in more ways than one. Finally, another student, Lori, arrived. She apparently took a parked bicycled near the door as a sign that Teach was here. So well-hidden among the looms, that was the one contraption I didn't see. Finally, I go downstairs to the office desk to find out Linda won't be in today. At least, the class is still on for next week.
Class over early, I headed over to Vogue Fabrics in Evanston where a big annual Custer's Last Stand festival. Here are I am testing out the latest Viking Designer sewing machine. The free project of the day was making an Ugly Doll with felt. Gosh, this machine knows when you're going to turn. It would make itty-bitty adjustments if you even thought about lurching left or running right. Talk about Big Brother at the presser foot. I just looked for an overhead camera watching my every move. There was none. Spooky.
Here I am posing with my Ugly Doll, with a girl who made her Ugly doll in a plush purple. so pretty. I think my Ugly Doll will going with tonight to Vogue for free sewing demo tonight.
Anyhow, I'm ready for next week's spinning adventure. Wish me luck in talking Linda into letting me skip the drop spindle.

Appealing Appliques ($2 each!) and Simplicity 2584

I finally got back on track with my knitting project which is excellent because I feel another long bus trip coming on. Yes, my joints are telling that we are going somewhere soon somehow with a project too. I frequently tell myself I need the intellectual break of reading, but my creative side won't hear of it. Not even listen for a mere moment! Even though there are three library books at my disposal. Three!

I wish I were sewing though, which is a weird whim especially since I have a sewing machine within arm's length. I just need to turn it on. No, I want to be among people, purchases, and plum piping (yes, there's cording right outside the classroom door at Vogue Fabrics in Evanston.).

Anyhow, next time my fingers, the pedal and presser foot and I meet, I'd like to consider the above pattern. The pattern illustration had me on the fence, but this rendition has me thinking, "Yowza. I must make this!" and cast my thoughts back to the above applique at Vogue Fabrics (Evanston), snipped carefully in the middle. Same silhouette at the neckline facing in the pattern, by far easier to stitch, I'd imagine. I'd do mine on linen just as CostumeDivasDirtyLaundry did in her version. I'd make mine graze the knees so I wear to other places besides the beach....What do you think?