Post 194-Variations of a Theme

I received my very first knitting magazine subscription in the mail last week. Grandma did me right this year at Festivus and gave a year of Interweave Knits to enjoy. Yes everyone, I am not ashamed to admit it but until last week I was a knitting magazine subscription virgin. I know it's less expensive to get it in the mail, but you have to understand a couple of things, mail service in Chicago usually sucks and I would go postal on the post office if my precious magazine that I so carefully archive where to arrive in my mailbox wet from rain or suffer damaged by being shoved in a box to small to contain it properly. Plus, I rather enjoy buying it from my LYS (or upon occasion the bookstore), waiting to get home to crack it open and slowly peruse its contents several times in complete bliss, it's a ritual. But I will not look a gift horse in the mouth and am ever so thankful that I have it, I am much happier with IK than I was with Simply Knitting that Grandma tried to give me several years ago.
I've looked it over once the other day and tomorrow I will scrutinize it again for fun but already a couple of interesting things have popped up. This first thing was brought to my attention via a lively Ravelry discussion.
How much would you pay to make this dress:


Overall the dress design is cute, I think the use of variegated yarn a travesty and takes a cute possibility and places it in the hall of fugly. Interweave Knits did a Vogue on us and published a dress design that they tried to sell us as actually knitable and wearable (versus Haute Couture or a wedding dress pattern which clearly is not) and put a price tag of....$440 on it, ouch. Of course they don't tell you to make that pattern with the exact yarn used and a decent enough knitter would know to switch out the recommended yarn and use one they liked and could afford, the problem is, and any knit shop owner could tell you, that a large percentage of knitters out there never vary from the yarn/color used in any given pattern published. What the hell? IK, if you want to dazzle us with a really expensive project that makes us knitters daydream about making it with exquisite yet expensive yarn, make it really REALLY stunning, not walking Barney vomit. If I had an unlimited budget and if the dress where in a solid color, any color, I wouldn't think twice about it.

Next up, Eunny Jang, I'm ashamed of you. I'm proud to say I caught this one myself.





They may not be identical twins but certainly fraternal. The colors used, the shapes, makes you wonder...

I wouldn't have caught this coincidence if I hadn't just seen the movie Penelope on my watch instant Netflix, but shame shame. This stuck in my head because not only did I see the movie but I am questioning the publishing of a pattern I'm working that is a variation on a theme from someone else's pattern. What to do? So the other day I made this quick hat from a free pattern. It's cute, very simple, almost basic knitting here. I changed a finishing detail and instead of using an over sized button as written I made a two-tone knit and crocheted flower with button center. Because I have 1 1/2 skeins of the yarn left over I must make something to match because I love a good accessories set. I've decided to play around with making some matching glove covers, the kind that you wear over the cheap stretchy gloves, has a hole for your thumb, comes up to your knuckles and goes half way up your arms. If I take one tiny detail, change it, make it my own and add it to a completely different type of garment, is it my own design and can I put my name on it?
Pictures and examples to follow as soon as the items in question are finished and pattern written up.

Sorry if this post was snarky, I must be feeling more myself now.

OMG!! How did I not know until just now that seasons 1-3 of American Chopper were on Netflix Watch Instant????? I love that show and was so happy that they started to air it occasionally on regular free TV.