A Medley of Knits From The Past Year...

First, the "Aviatrix" hat I made for my friend's two yr. old daughter, Adelaide. Originally, Adelaide's mum Maegan bought the yarn hoping to take up knitting herself. Finding she was just too busy being a first time mom, she threw those knitting supplies my way instead. The flower was an added detail.  Very fun to make! It's from a crochet flower tutorial I found on youtube. 

Here is the "Druidess Beret". The pattern comes from a lovely British lady known on ravelry as Princess Pea. Her pattern is based on the Druid Mittens pattern by Jared Flood.

This black cabled hat named "Fenimore" by Jared Flood came out way too small. I must have been dreaming about George Emerson or Mr. Darcy when I was knitting, because I really messed up on the directions. It probably fits a five year old. My sister made the same hat (actually I think she gave me the pattern) and hers came out much, much better. Hopefully she'll post her version one of these days, so I'm not the only one putting things on this blog, cough, cough!

And here is the premier of my first knitted sweater, "Owls" by Scottish knitter Kate Davies. It was a great pattern, very well written, and not too difficult for newer knitters. I've thought of sewing button eyes on each of the 20 or so cabled owls, but that would mean buying a butt-load of buttons. We'll see...

And my proudest knitted achievement so far: "Henri" the bear. I made this for my cousin's newborn baby Griffin, but I'm told his older brother Julian has since absconded with Henri. Guess I'll have to make another one. The mug was a gift from my sister. Can you guess which movie that quote comes from?? --L

Mad Man, Mad Woman

I finally checked out the "Madmen yourself" site after admiring my sister's Peggy-like character on a past VV post. I love the swanky, vintage style illustrations. Tom made a mad man of himself as well, and he thought we should post them on the blog. So here you have are our early 60's alter egos...

"Hi boys, I'm here to help. Cookie, Don?"

What's Tom doing with that buxom blonde?? Doesn't look like a nursing job to me!

Catching Up - Travel Addition

Hi friends!  It's been quite awhile since I've posted anything here on VV.  It's been a fun year full of travel - both for fun & work.  Here are some pics I took along the way of some pretty spots and tasty foods.  Coming soon: a post featuring my crafty projects from the year.  - S

Ottawa, ON

Scone Witch Cafe - Ottawa, ON

Victoria, BC

Victoria, BC

Camden, ME

Burlington, VT

Smiley's - Colorado Springs, CO

Colorado Springs, CO

Coolest thing on Youtube!

This is what I watch when I'm in a slump. How can you not get up and dance after watching this??  He's a self taught dancer who makes videos from his basement and bedroom. I particularly love the "gentlemen series"where he dresses in suits and hats, dancing to music that sounds like a fusion of big band swing and hip-hop. Tres cool! --L

Summer Fashion Show

I tried these various outfits on so I could figure out what to wear to a yearly meeting in Boise, ID (and I promised my fashion guru sister I'd show her some of my options). I don't want anything too dressy or uncomfortable since I end up walking a lot of miles around the city while I'm there, plus the hall where my meeting is held is freezing! (hence the "jeggings"). My sister might recognize a particular skirt amongst the offerings. 

Necklaces are vintage, blue stretch cords are Free People, Sleeveless pink top w/ blue/red flowers is Ketz ke, sage green cropped blouse is from ark & co, sandals are from Payless (non-leather, of course), tomato orange cardi is from the Gap, as are the aqua leggings, and the multi/swirly teal/orange/gold top is from BB Dakota. I know none of these outfits are astounding, but it's pretty much all I've got. Any suggestions? --L

May Florida Canoe Trip

Okay, so my bossy little sister (heh, heh) gave me an assignment; I am required to put a post on this blog, due by the end of the weekend! I'll admit, I've been a complete slacker when it comes to this blog of ours. It's been, like three years now? So I formally apologize to those readers of voguevigilante, for my negligence. I definitely do not get the perfect attendance award (sorry, Max Fisher). Anyhoo, here it is... Tom and I spent a little over a month visiting friends and family in Atlanta, GA, central Florida and South Carolina recently. During the Florida stint we took a great canoe trip along the Silver River. We dragged Tom's dad along with us, who was pretty tentative about the whole thing. He thinks we're a little too spontaneous, sometimes. It ended up taking nearly a full day to canoe the whole river, then turn around and paddle back. Swimming and Fishing were prohibited, and we soon discovered why. There were alligators, loads of alligators, and some were quite large. We felt safe settled in the canoe paddling along the tranquil river until a few hours passed and we all desperately needed a break. Our buns had gone numb! Fortunately we found a shallow cove of sorts where we climbed out and very attentively stood next to our boat for about 10-15 minutes, watching out for sneaky gators. Though I would probably choose a shorter run next time, it ended up being a wonderful adventure with amazing views of Florida wildlife including cypress trees, egrets, turtles, alligators, beautiful iridescent fish and the most exciting sighting.... well, you'll just have to watch the video!  I'm still trying to get the hang of using a video camera as well as editing software, but I hope you enjoy this little taste of what Florida may have been like before the onslaught of suburbs, amusement parks and shopping malls. Oh, and it wasn't easy keeping the camera still in a bobbing canoe, not to mention hearing some of my father-in-laws comments! --Sister L

Meet Annie

My little orange kitty happens to love yarn too....
<3 S

Hello Again

It's been a long time, I know.  The VV sisters have had a busy year... work, cats, snow... well, that's my excuse anyway.  But I have been knitting in my spare moments.  In fact, this winter has been so cruel that I have become a total home body and spend much of my time curled up in front of a movie or British tv program, knitting away.  So, here I am, at long last, sharing a few of my projects.

Orchid & Fairylights Hat by Tiny Owl Knits

Terra Shawl by Jared Flood

Autumn Leaves by Pickles

Sorry the pictures are not too amazing.  I've been lazy with my picture taking and have been using my iPhone rather than a proper camera.  To see more details on these projects, check out my ravelry page (and be my friend if your are also on ravelry).  I am also working on a very pretty cardigan right now.  I hope it doesn't take me forever to finish.  Oh, and I'm also part of a small weekly knitting group... we don't have a name or anything fancy like that, but it's fun to meet & talk & knit & share:)  I'll try to get Leiza to post something soon too... she's made a very sassy shawl/cowly thing.  Toodles for now, dear readers. -S

Gnome Home

Oh I really love my gnome home!  I think these little fellas are going on my needles soon. -S

Crafty Update

Once again, the VV girls have been taking a rather long blogging hiatus.  Our apologies!  I thought I'd throw up a few pictures of recently completed knitting projects.  Here we have a wee hat & booty combo I made for my friend's new baby girl, Sammie. 

 

Also, I made this quick and easy cowl for myself.  It was starting to get a bit too chilly out here in Boston and decided to use up some of this left over yarn.  It was a fun and simple pattern, can't remember where I heard of the stitch, but this is pretty much all you need to know: 

Row 1: k1, p1 (repeat)
Row 2: k3, p3 (repeat)

Then just knit it to desired length (I made it long enough to wrap around my neck twice), sew the two ends together into a loop, and voila!  You have yourself a cozy cowl!!!  I've also been working on some sewing projects which I hope to share pictures on here soon.  Until then, Happy Autumn to you all!!! -S

Jumpology

I am completely enamored by these series of photographs taken by Phillippe Halsman.  After taking formal photos of various celebrities of the time, he asked them to "JUMP!" and these are the results.  Here are some of my favorites.

That monkey's for you, tom.  Enjoy - S

Red, White, n' Blue

Happy (late) Independence Day!  Just coincidentally I finally finished my red cropped sweater just in time for the holiday.  It was much to hot to actually wear it this weekend, but I had to at least take some red/white/blue styled photos.  The pattern came from KristenMakes, I very sweet & talented gal.  She was a delight to work with!  Also, I should say that I am spending my summer in Boston, land of our founding fathers, which made this holiday all the more exciting... yes, I'm a history nerd.  Or as they say in I.T. Crowd, a "Standard Nerd!".  I'm sorry for our blogging hiatus, I (or my blogging sister) will try not to let that happen again. - S

Mrs. Darcy

I'm pleased to announce that I FINALLY finished my first cardigan (not counting a couple of shrugs).  It took way longer than I had anticipated and I came across more than one challenge, but I learned a lot along the way that I think will help me with future knitting projects.  The pattern is called Mrs. Darcy (hence the title of this post). 

Here are my final thoughts on the finished product:  I love the color, the neckline, the twisted rib detail, and my rad little black/white vintage buttons.  What I don't like is that it has stretched out soo much already.  I think it's my poor choice of yarn.  I used Vintage Wool by Berroco which is a synthetic/wool blend.  I think if I went for a pure natural fiber, it would have held it's shape better.  Anyhoo, those of you who are also interested in knitting this little lovely pattern, here's the lovely girl who designed it along with her FREE pattern.  I just discovered that her pattern is no longer available, sorry folks.  But the good news is that she's reworking it to be published in a book:) 

Leiza also finished the sweater she's been working on for as long as I've been working on this.  Unfortunately, she directly went out of town for a couple of weeks and hasn't taken photos yet.  Hopefully she'll be able to share it will y'all soon!!  Cherry-O! - S

A great reader?

I have always wondered what that quote from Pride and Prejudice is all about:

"Miss Eliza Bennet," said Miss Bingley, "despises cards. She is a great reader, and has no pleasure in anything else."
"I deserve neither such praise nor such censure," cried Elizabeth; "I am NOT a great reader, and I have pleasure in many things." 

Was there such a thing as a "nerd" or a "bookworm" back in the Regency period?  For why else would Elizabeth quickly dismiss herself as a "great reader"?  I ask this only because I find that I love to read and would take praise in such a comment.  I was musing the other day on how many books I've read this past year (yes, I'm referring to a year ago to date) and I was able to count 11, possibly forgetting one or two.  And in thinking about the books I read I thought it would be nice to share my top three.  So here goes:

This book epitomizes my favorite style of book:  historical mystery.  It was beautifully written and threw in some fun twists and turns.  I've since by trying to find as many books like it, but so far none have measured up.  Thumbs up to you on this one, Ms Setterfield.  I hope she'll keep on writing!

I'm sure this one is a no-brainer, but just in case some of you book lovers out there have not read this, do so now!  It was insane, amazing, inspiring, and at times disturbing.  The fact that it was a memoir made it all the more awesome.  I was pretty much reading it all the way through with a completely astonished look on my face like "I can't believe this is all TRUE!"  nuff said.

Last but certainly not least, I bring you Flipped.  Yes, it is a young adult book, but the message it gives will be worth it for anyone to read.  I think I read it in 3 days, but I wish it lasted longer.  It just makes me smile thinking about how sweet this story is.  And an added bonus is that Rob Renier was filming the movie version near by last year.  We snooped around hoping to a part of the film but with no luck.  I can't wait to see how the film turns out, I have high hopes!


Ok, well, that's my little musing on books.  If anyone has any recommendations, I sure would love to know them.  I just picked up The Help, which I know is a best seller.  So far so good:)  Hope y'all have a happy weekend!! -S

Road Trip!

 The past few days have been spent touring the mid-west on a mini road trip.  I really needed to get the heck out of the chilly Michigan weather so we headed south to Bloomington, In.  It was soo lovely and hot!!  85 degrees, that's what I'm talking about!  We did some very fun exploring, I'd never been there before so it was fun to check out a new town.  Leiza and Tom were looking out for some very cool historic farm houses.  The picture below was a very typical thing to see them do on the trip.  

On our way back, we headed towards Ohio by way of the Ohio River where we stumbled upon the town of Aurora.  It was founded around 1815 and the architecture just blew my mind!  I wish I took more pictures.  This large mansion was called the "Steamboat Captain's House".  It sit atop of the hill and overlooked the river and the town.  Amazing. 

These were just a few snapshots of the trip, but I'm very sad I forgot to take more.  Another stunning house we explored had original painted linolium floors.  Has anyone seen that before?  We also stopped in to a couple kick-ass antique stores where I stumbled upon some great finds.  Please check out our etsy site to see some of the new treasures.  Cheerie-O! -S