Junior Deluxe's salute to Kit-Cat

Check out this year's jack-o-lantern!

The best thing I ever bought at a garage sale was a black plastic Kit-Cat clock. It doesn't work. It keeps time for an hour or two, but eventually the hands settle into a position between 4:25 and 7:40. This doesn't bother me too much, since Kit-Cat's flicking eyes are a little unsettling.

I've wanted a Kit-Cat clock ever since I was a little kid. I once seriously considered buying a new one, only to hang back when I considered the silliness of spending $50 plus shipping on a demented-looking novelty timepiece. I really wasn't anticipating ever finding one second-hand. So it was an amazing surprise to spot Kit-Cat's familiar, manic face at a garage sale in Strathcona.

It wasn't a proper garage sale. There wasn't even a garage involved. Instead, some people from a nearby apartment building had spread out a blanket on a bit of grass by the sidewalk. They were selling the usual stuff—old CDs, shoes, candle holders. The kinds of things you own when you live in a cheap apartment. And a Kit-Cat clock. I jumped on it and bought it for a dollar. How many times in life do you get just the thing you've been wanting for years for a dollar? (I've probably used up my quota, but I'm keeping my eye out for a Blythe Doll, just in case.)

Minutes after buying the Kit-Cat Clock, my friend Dave and I saw a poster for a lost dog. I always read lost animal posters, even though they make me sad. This lost dog was a Boston terrier with the phrase “thug life” tattooed across its belly. Naturally, this blew our minds. With his bulgy eyes and black and white fur, the thug life dog bore more than a passing resemblance to Kit-Cat. In the following days, posters for this dog appeared all across the city, becoming a funny little phenomenon of summer 2008. But I always associated it with the garage sale and my day of crazy good luck in Strathcona.

Back Alley Puppet Fight

The BC Dairy Foundation has released some completely bonkers stop-motion commercials:



This commercial is a few months old, but I was watching at work today (while doing animation research) and the craziness of the whole thing struck me anew. Also, the textures of the puppets are really well rendered! There's some very clear crochet, garter and seed stitch.

This is the kind of video my Dad would describe as "very Kat." I would call it awesome and inexplicable. How did this get on TV? Who runs the communications department at the BC Dairy Foundation? Can I get a job there? So many questions.

My Pattern Launch

On Thursday Oct 21, I launched my first pattern. As soon as I heard that it was available on Knitpicks.com, I added it to the Ravelry pattern database and shared some photos with a few crochet groups.



Since then, I've been able to watch people respond to the pattern in real time. It got twos "hearts" (the Ravelry equivalent of a bookmark or a Facebook "like") within the first few minutes of downloading. That number has now climbed to 78! 25 people have added it to their queues. (And only one of these people is a friend of mine).

Watching this reception unfold is magical. A crochter in Norway bought the pattern yesterday, and has already posted photos of the modifications she's made to my design (different colours and a different cuff). I feel like I'm collaborating with strangers half a world away!

I'd like to thank Jeff Christenson again for the beautiful photos he took of my mittens. I'm sure the online response wouldn't be nearly as strong without them!

ETA: It's up to 100 now!

Austin is Magic - part 1

So I'm in Austin, TX for 5 days while Curtis attends the Austin Film Festival and Screenwriting Conference. However, I forgot my camera at home! So I will have to share my Austin adventures in boring old point form.

Notes on Austin

• The Alamo Drafthouse is a great cultural institution. Seriously, they should be given loads of grant money for their contribution to American film culture. For the uninitiated, the Drafthouse is locally-owned chain of movie theatres with innovative programming and innovative ways of screening movies. (Plus they serve food and drinks to your seat during the movie!) Last night, we saw "The Other Network", a program of TV sit-com pilots that were shot but not turned into series. There was a Judd Apatow pilot from the late 1990s staring Amy Poehler, a wacky Get Smart-esque romp starring Steve Carrel, and a show called Five Houses which was one of the better pilot episodes I've seen, period. Today, we went to a Shaun of the Dead Quote-Along, which was terribly fun, even if everyone got so absorbed by the movie that they largely stopped quoting along or waving their complementary inflatable cricket bat. The Drafthouse turns watching movies and TV into an active, social, memorable experience.
  
• The St. Vincent De Paul thrift store on South Congress contains a surprising amount of designer clothes, and the changing room has a big poster that says "REMEMBER, GOD IS WATCHING." I bought a pair of black shorts for $2.50 -- perfect for my Halloween costume!
  
• I was really excited to return to Parts and Labour, a store that sells clothes, jewelry, and other useful items made by Texas designers. I liked their stock last year, but this time I was pleasantly overwhelmed by how much the store had improved. More stock, multiple lines of really great jewelry, and a high standard of design and quality. I bought some great things that I'll post when I get a chance.
  
• The local no-kill animal shelter puts pens of puppies in a vacant lot on South Congress (along with volunteers, pamphlets, etc). There were eight adorable puppies out today, which I was allowed to pet. I almost took one with me. Instead, Curt and I had a serious chat about puppy personalities and what we should look for in a pet. This is futile because our apartment doesn't allow pets.
• Verde sauce!
  
• I saw a poster for a group called "Keep Jesus Weird." The poster was advertising a talk about relationships and why they were scary. The poster had a picture of zombies on it. I'm not sure what to think about this, but it's the only Christian youth group poster that's made me look twice.
• My phone doesn't work at all here, so I have to communicate with Curtis by Twitter when we're apart. Seriously, it's the best solution we could come up with.

Tomorrow is another day of walking around looking at stuff! Couldn't be better.

My mittens are in the WestEnder!

Check it out!



My Inuvik mittens are in this week's WestEnder. (They are the purple striped ones, not the red pair). I haven't seen the print copy yet, because I'm in Austin, TX this week. I'm honored to be included in a page of local and Canadian designers and labels!

Interested parties can buy mittens or a pattern to make their own here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/JuniorDeluxe

The pattern has also been accepted as part of the Knit Picks Independent Designer Program. The pattern will be available for sale on knitpicks.com very soon. This means that you'll be able to buy the pattern and the merino yarn together, as a package.

I am really pleased to have finished my first published pattern and started an Etsy store in the same month! I couldn't have done it without help from my friend Robb, my mom, and my friend Jeff Christenson, who took the beautiful photos I used in the pattern.

Halloween 2010

I hate, hate, hate wearing shorts, but think I'm willing to wear them for this year's Halloween costume:



I'm going as Mondo Guerra from Project Runway!



Now I just need knee socks and a pair of wicked old glasses.

Things I don't understand

Dear Dory Kornfeld,

Today, I saw a girl wearing a peacoat made from sweatshirt material. It was black and coat-shaped, and had all the classic elements of a pea-coat: buttons, a hood, a big collar. It was the usual length. But it didn’t have sleeves.

That’s right, it was a pea vest.

Now I admit that I’ve been charmed by a short-sleeved coat before, but that fancy withered as soon as I realized how impractical it was. Also, short-sleeved is different from sleeveless. The peavest looks like a cross between a nice coat and one of those sweat shirts with the sleeves cut off.

Sleeveless peacoat. WTF.

Yours in bewilderment,

Kat

Please report to the front desk

Okay, so this is kind of old, in internet time, but I still wanted to blog about it. Thanks to my friend Brie for linking this story on Facebook ... what was it ... 10 days ago now?



So 3rd wave feminist icon/musician/activist Kathleen Hanna passed on her shrunken "feminist" sweater to Tavi G., the 13-year old fashion blogger recently profiled in the New Yorker.

I think it's really sweet that Kathleen is connecting with this young woman. I also appreciate that Hanna is encouraging Tavi G. to explore feminist expression in clothing, instead of telling her that an interest in fashion is silly, anti-feminist or un-intellectual.

Furthermore, I love the fact that neither of them seem bothered or ashamed by the fact that the sweater is second-hand and shrunken in the wash. This is not an act of consumerism but an act of sharing and thrift. And while the sweater has cultural significance, it's not some holy relic or a celebrity collectible. Tavi's actually wearing it! (Disclosure: if Kathleen Hanna gave me a "feminist" sweater I would wrap it in archival paper and never wear it.)

This is a story about clothes, instead of fashion. On a recent episode of Project Runway, Tim Gunn drew the distinction between the practical and accessible ("clothes") and the outlandish, impractical and artistic ("fashion"). I like fashion, but I'm more interested in clothes. And you don't get much more "clothes" than a shrunken hand-me-down sweater. I love that this sweater is simultaneously an everyday garment, a hand-me-down, a meaningful statement and an interesting cultural artifact.

Feeling ON

There’s something about a successful outfit that just makes me feel ON. Like, not only am I more confident but I feel more like myself. We’ve talked, at length, about the ways clothes are a vital instrument of self expression, of course, but sometimes I forget just how it feels when you nail an outfit, and you know it’s saying exactly what you want to project.

I had a good read of Marianne Kirby's blog The Rotund this morning. I liked how she captured that right-on feeling of satisfaction she feels when she really gets an outfit together.

Life is short. We should allow ourselves to have as many pleasures as possible, as long as they don't come at the expense of others. If dressing a certain way makes you feel good, go for it.

Hmmm

Have you ever noticed how many of the people on Hoarders love thrift stores?

Here's Vula from the most recent episode, standing in the Goodwill. She says she goes every day. I say, if you went every day, you would find the good stuff.



Sometimes I watch Hoarders when I'm trying to convince myself up clean the apartment. Lately, I've need more convincing than usual. I think the last three episodes I watched involves avid thrifters. Hmmm.