hi! it's not snowing at all!



boston woke up to a luscious little snowstorm, windy and bright and drifts a-drift. my roommate and i perched in the kitchen, drinking tea and wistfully wondering why we didn't go out to get milk last night, watching the parked cars across the street get slowly but surely buried under the snowpiles. the wheels came first. there was no chance of really navigating outside for a bit today, so i spent the afternoon perusing a gazillion fall collections at fashion week (juicy liucubed fashion reporting to come), reading the nytimes, and doing a little domestic baking.

i actually made two small recipe batches: green tea poundcake, which i scrambled together with some aunt jemima mix and some tea leaves that had been unintentionally steeping overnight; and the insanely rich one-stick-butter-per-dozen just like mom's cupcakes off of the food network website. no food pr0n for public viewing, heehee, though the green tea cake came out pretty sweet though flat (there wasnt that much batter to begin with). i improvised with the cupcake recipe; i couldnt find any baking powder in the apartment, so i substituted 1/4 of the flour with 1/4 of the pancake mix (which, i checked, had some leavening in there). i think that was a clever remedy. i also drop-bombed chunks of dark chocolate in each well of cupcake batter before baking. this afternoon, while tucked inside while the world was whirlin' and stormin' and snowin', the whole place smelled so wonderful and buttery! nothing like a girl in the kitchen... :)

i also finished seaming the last few bits of my james coviello sweater. finally, a new FO to my name!



isn't it cute? all spaghetti + meatballs.

project: james coviello sweater from vogue knitting holiday 2005
yarn: lion brand wool-ease thick + quick in charcoal purchased from windsor button
needles: size 15 wood/bamboo
started: around december 2005, exact date unclear...
finished: 2006.02.12

i love the undulating bobbles, and the mix of cozy playfulness and textured sophistication. so, here's where i need advice from you all on construction, tidying/tucking, styling. the jacket is warm and wearable, but it doesnt seem to visually fit me in the best way. i'll show you what i mean...




i wouldnt call myself necessarily tiny, though i am on the whole somewhat petite. (can you tell? i stand 4'11.5" :) ) there you have some before-jacket, and after-jacket, pictures. i'm just wearing jeans and a tshirt, but once i don the jacket i become football matador femme. a bobbly one, to be sure. does this look totally hideous? i shouldnt be self conscious but i dont want anyone to recoil in horror either.

i think what is mostly bothering me is the lower areas of the jacket, like where it fits under my bust. it's quite roomy under there. any suggestions? i was thinking perhaps to create a ribbon tie (either a closure, or perhaps a belt?) at the bottom of the front, to secure the lower section together. however, i dont want to get SANTINO'd away and go trim-crazy :) or is there an easy fix, a la pin + tuck, to make it drape a little better?



here it is with a dress; not necessarily the best color match, but i wanted to test it out in terms of silhouette. a bit better, yes? though it is still quite billowy under the arms. do you think it would work as well with a top/skirt ensemble?

if you guys have any suggestions on how to best wear this sweater (which includes give it away to a lovely gift recipient) or manage its misgivings, i'd love to hear. i looked back and forth to the photo in the knit magazine, and i think my shaping and all is correct to the pattern; the key is that the model has no bust! ah, details, details. you live and learn. :)