Jengibre

Gryffindor House Scarf

Gryffindor House Scarf
Originally uploaded by Jengibre Wear

Here is a great Christmas present that I made for my very good friend. We are both Harry Potter fans...and he loves the House of Gryffindor, so I made him this scarf patterned after the Gryffindor House scarf from the first Harry Potter film (Sorcerer´s Stone).

The scarf is over 84" long and is super wide (like 10"). If you look at the picture closely you will see that it is folded. And doesn´t my friend have such a handsome smile?

For Real?

I was alerted to this crocheted clutch purse by my man Ken.  Its for sale at Neiman Marcus for $675(you can check it out here).  I am in shock.  I don´t know what material the clutch is made of (the description doesn´t say), but unless the clasp is made of solid gold (and I´m sure it´s not) and the fiber is pure silk, then I am super surprised at the price.

I think its a testament to the fact that crochet can sell for crazy prices--if you market it correctly.

It seems that this clutch uses one of the variations of the Catherine´s Wheel--which is a simple stich, but its a bit annoying to execute (at least it is for me).  I think I know what I am going to be making for this year´s Jengibre Wear accessories collection.

Crochet Runway

I have been on a search for crochet on the runways of various designers.  I just learned that Chris March, a contestant on Season 4 of Project Runway, designed a dress (pictured above) with a hairpin crochet front, and a hairpin crochet shawl/stole.  Very impressive. 

The dress is dark in color, so it´s difficult to see the hairpin lace details--but what a relief to see a solid example of crochet on a fashion runway.

I just read an article that Stella McCartney used crochet for her Fall collection, shown for Paris Fashion week,  but when i went to look, i saw some lacy pieces, but I couldn´t be sure whether it was crocheted.  Perhaps it was.  But it was thread crochet (which Im not so hot for).

DIY Trunk Show 2007

It just occurred to me that I have never shown pictures from the DIY Trunk Show from November of 2007.  Probably its because I don´t really like any of the pictures from the show.  And I look like a monster.  But its all good.  This show gave me so much in terms of courage and pride in my work.  And I sold so much that I took my buddies out to avec (a restaurant) afterwards where we kept the party going...

Handmade Chicago and the Garden of Envy

Handmade Chicago was a total success.  It was my first showing at this venue and the people couldn´t have been cooler. And my sales were great so that always helps.

Things couldn´t have been rockier however.  I wasn´t prepared--I left tons of stuff at home (including my digital camera, so no pictures--boo hoo).  But I sold a number of items, including my Garden of Envy Atelier Jacket:

Going Crazy

Happy New Year! 

It´s been a while.  But I have been going crazy trying to crochet stuff for Handmade Market (which starts in a few hours).  I have made a few ponchos, scarves, and jackets.

I don´t suspect that I will be anywhere near as successful as my debut at the DIY Trunk Show back in November of '07--which was literally the single most individually proud moment (yeah pride is bad) that I have had as an adult--and yes, that includes me graduating from college and law school.  But today should be nice.  But I still have a lot of work to do--shawls to border with single crochet and tags to make.  So I´m off...pics to follow shortly...

A Teetotaler at the Stoli Hotel

I had the fortune of going to an event here in Chicago called the Stoli Hotel.  It was a promotion from Stoli (the vodka maker) to get people to drink their alcohol.  My was it an experience--and I don´t even drink alcohol.  It was amazing.  The warehouse was set up like a hotel. There were four rooms a blue room (Stoli blueberry), an orange room (Stoli orange), a cream colored room (Stoli vanilla), and a red room (Stoli raspberry).  There was the Stoli Spa where they gave complimentary massages, facials and manicures.  There was even a section for Club Stoli--where they played this ultra fast techno music that was a bit too much for me.

Anyway, I felt like a VIP.  So I tried to look like one.  I wore my "vacation in the Hamptons" seersucker outfit, designed (and made) by Michael Knight while he was on the third season of Project Runway (it was the outfit he wore for the "Jet Set" episode).  But my hair was a mess, so I crocheted this hat from Afya Ibomu´s "Get Your Crochet On!".  Its the Lively Up with a bib.  For the crown of the hat I double stranded Red Heart Super Saver Color: Earth & Sky.  For the brim and bib, I double stranded Red Heart Super Saver Color: Espresso with Caron´s One Pound Color: Nutmeg.  The combination I think was off the chain.  Hope that you enjoy the pictures.

Random Thoughts

I have a lot of things to report.  First off, I am going to be selling my crocheted items at The DIY Trunk Show on November 17.  I am nervous as hell.  I´ve never done anything quite like this before.  I´ve decided that I am goin to be selling a lot of things that I´ve already been making (like the mesh poncho, mesh wrap, mesh jacket, Mandisa head wrap).  But I am also going to make some scarves, hats, different types of ponchos, and sweaters as well.  I´ve thought about throwing in some baby items, but that might be a bit too diverse.  I am nervous because I haven´t really started making a lot of merchandise.  So I am going to be a busy bee in the month of October.  I hope I don´t fail. sigh.

Secondly, I have been a yarn whore again.  I won´t say how much I spent, but I´ve been buying yarn at Smiley´s Yarns (they had a sale) AND at Joann´s (who had a sale and free shipping).  The big thing at Smiley´s was that they were selling Lion Brand Bouclé for $.99.  It´s like, I couldn´t let that stay in the store.  I also bought enough Lion Brand Thick and Quick Chenille (in black) to make me a pea coat.  i am pretty excited about this actually.  I realize that I don´t make enough items for myself.

Well, I bought damn near a hundred skeins of the bouclé in random colors (which will make some great wraps for the DIY Trunk Show).  And I bought a lot of regular worsted acrylic and homespun from Joann´s.  So i´m pretty geeked.  There´s a new place that I  have decided to look for cheap yarn: yarnsale.com.  I also want to get some large tunisian hooks from goshyarnit.com.

Finally, I´ve designed a nice v-neck sweater vest.  I am very excited and cannot wait to post pictures.

Verano Overalls

Who said that wearable crochet is just for the ladies? 

The Verano is a personal gift to myself, and my homage to the overall, which was super popular in men´s urban fashion circa early 1990s.  I tried to make a simple design that a dude could rock and have fun with.  The Verano, which is actually a shortall (not a pair of overalls), is meant to be worn in the summer, and is perfect for lounging around, walking on the beach, or cruising the city pavement with eclectic style.   

The bulk of this project was done in 100% cotton, Peaches & Creme (color: Ecru).  The strips of variegated color are acrylic, Red Heart Super Saver (color: Earth and Sky).

Diamond Mesh Poncho

Who would have ever thought that a granny color like country rose could look cute?  Again, I paired this country rose Red Heart acrylic yarn with Moda Dea´s Cache (color: siren), and I think this chunky poncho has just enough weight without being too bulky or too light.  What I love about it is that it can be worn asymmetrically off the shoulder, or it can be worn more conservatively on the shoulders.  I think this is a clothing item that can work well for  women of various ages.