Finally. Now Lizzie is happy!

Still waiting for the hatmaker!

Queen Elizabeth and I spend all day together. We waited and waited... but the hat maker still has not shown up. So we decided Her Royal Highness would come out and briefly greet her people and wave....

Hat Research

Last night I located in my stash some very soft and fuzzy light grey alpaca. The hair is knitted, sewn and all coiffed. Perfect.

This morning I looked for the box of notions I gathered when I was sewing outfits for my girls' American Girl dolls... a few years ago now. Came upon a treasure trove of tiny little buttons in all colors, ribbons, flowers, etc. Again: perfect.

Now a little research:

All I need now are the signature pearl earrings, 3 strand pearl necklace and some kind of brooch. Perhaps even some little colored feathers. Must go shopping...

Biggest decision of all: WHAT COLOR OUTFIT????

(PS. I doubt the Queen will wear those dark shades to the nuptials.

And what was up with that Butterfly Bonnet Beatrice donned?

Queen looked miffed!)

Knit Your Own Royal Wedding~ Fiona Goble UPDATED!

First of, a disclaimer: I am NOT a Royal Watcher. Not at all. Now, I will admit that when I saw this book KNIT YOUR OWN ROYAL WEDDING, by Fiona Goble, I thought I needed it just as part of my knitting book collection.

I really do enjoy knitting little objects that look like the real thing. Have knitted quite a few of them, some of them posted on Raverly. But this is just too funny and very cleverly done I must add. Lots of credit to Fiona Goble for coming up with what is probably the most unique way to commemorate this event. But then, I am a knitter. Yes, of course, I ordered the book. I even overnighted it because I was inpatient to see it (even though all the images are viewable online). I thought about downloading the digital version of the book onto my iPad for instant gratification, but there was something about the tangible experience of perusing the actual book that was irresistable. And let me tell you, if you have not seen it, it is a hoot! As I was chuckling at Harry with the red hair in conversation with the groom, the Queen surrounded by her corgies, and Camilla with her hat and pearls, visions of the Royal Wedding party knitted with of all the left over sock scraps stored in my boxes started to dance in front of my eyes. Oh the colors I could use! The tiny buttons. The little decorations. The shiny embellishments.... Am I nuts??? I really do not have time for this with over 400 projects in my queue and enough yarn to last me through 2012. But it is fun to think about and I might have to try just one. Just one.

UPDATED with WEDDING VIDEO! Thanks for that Cheryl!

(Images are from the book, Knit Your Own Royal Wedding, by Fiona Goble)

Halle Berry sweater reverse engineering

About a month or more ago, my friend Emily emailed me a photo of Halle Berry wearing a gorgeous sweater. The question: can you knit this? OF COURSE, I said. Always up for a challenge, I thought, why not? Well, the main reason: lack of time. But that aside, I was at my LYS the same day buying yarn. The first attempt rendered a fabric too thick and heavy, albeit beautiful and luxurious. Went back a couple days later for other yarn. The second attempt resulted in a combination of two yarns to get as close as possible to the fabric in the photo. I was curious to see of anyone on Raverly was discussing this sweater and sure enough, there were already some folks wondering about it. In no time I had the front almost done and then got really busy at work. When I picked the project up yesterday, I realized I had forgotten some things that were very clear in my head a month ago. Together with my friend Paul (an AMAZING knitter), we poured over the fabric, remeasured, recounted, redrew, and reworked until we figured we got it right. Gauge is VERY VERY crucial on this project, much more so than any other thing I have knitted. My next task is to finish knitting and see what the sweater actually looks like. I really do think we are on the RIGHT track. Normally I would whip this thing up in a couple days, but I have my taxes to do today....and since I am self-employed, this is a HUGE task. Ugh.

Update: today I took down the photos and some detailing information, after I realized someone was trying to take credit for the work I had done, under the guise of wanting to be a "test knitter". Right after I provided info on my project, she posted on her own blog that she had done a mock up, was crunching numbers, and commented on the specifics of the yarn I had suggested on my blog and in my email.

NOT COOL.

For those who are interested in knitting this sweater, stay tuned. More info to come soon.