Masha's Illustrated Sweaters

Masha Dutoit is an artist and writer working in Cape Town, South Africa. Following her blog for the last few months has inspired me to keep a sketchbook again and to start a short comic with a few friends. (Our comic is called FrankenBette and the first issue will be finished very soon!)

Masha's drawings explode with detail and texture.


They also frequently feature people wearing sweaters.


And sometimes even non-people wearing sweaters. I especially like those.


Masha also shares reviews of mind-blowing, illustrated books, photography and ideas that make your life just a little cooler-- like concerts from a shower or a homemade wind harp.

Spot the Sweater; Neutral Milk Hotel Edition

It's summer and I'm the only person I see wearing sweaters. But here we have Jeff Mangum wearing one as Neutral Milk Hotel performs "Ghost" in 1998, the last year they would tour as a band.

"Oh Comely" is my favorite Neutral Milk Song. Can you spot the sweater at this show? Hint: it looks like it's an Aran Island Cable Knit. This recording comes to us from goldenpuppy1 on youtube. The last was from defgav.

And here is "the Fool," which came next. More songs from this Knitting Factor show can be viewed here.

Help Me Solve the Mystery of Military Sweater Protocol

Suspiciously, Wikipedia is very hush hush about sweater protocol in the United States Military. I couldn't find page on military sweater etiquette. If I were an enlisted man, I wouldn't know the appropriate times to wear snappy little numbers like this Khaki Commando Sweater (priced from only 39.95 at Army Navy Stores).

Granted there would be more pressing issues. I think the khaki commando would be dashing over a cup of instant coffee, drunk with a group of fellow officers at camp. Tragically, The days when it was hip to wear a sweater on the front line have ended. This soldier looks a bit too...editorial to be taken seriously in accordance with our post-WWII standards of masculinity.

The new, "people wearing sweaters, occasionally" blog

I feel like I'm amputating a limb just because taking care of it is too much work.

But, from here onward if this blog is to be updated, it will be even more erratically. I've alluded to it before, but this sweater blog was done for a class at the University of Pittsburgh called Publishing in the Digital Age.

If for some reason, you loved it excessively, I'll tell you that I might start a less specific blog somewhere else. If that happens, I'll post a link.

Thank you to my 13 readers!

Review of Dress Up Games

I know a little bit about of a lot of things. But the one thing I claim expertise in is online makeover and dress up games. I spent the summer working at the library at my university as a student supervisor, which meant that I told people to do shelve books and played dress up games for 6 hours a day. I would feel confident standing before the supreme court and telling them that "Forever: A Wedding Dress-Up game" is the absolute best that there is. Play it on deviant art.



It has a unique menu that allows you to choose each different piece of the dress and they all go together. The artist really solved a lot of the problems that make these games annoying. The second two screen shots are from the only games I could find that are strictly sweater themed. Neither of them is very fun, because you have to drag the the clothing item onto the body and move it around until you get it in the perfect position. Don't even play them, man.

I was really disappointed with the lack of good sweater games. I wish YavMamemo would make a sweater game! She (or he) is the best!

You can play this Sweater Dress Up Game here. But I wouldn't bother.

This one is called Cowl Neck Sweater, and you can play it here. But, probably don't.

Maybe I should learn how to make my own, non?

Sweaters for Your Insides

Sarah Illenberger is a sculptor based in Berlin and she has made sweaters for your brain, heart and intestinal tract.

I had fun trying to read her bio in German, but I only got a vague sense of what it was about.


Here is what I gathered with my wasted 8 years of German education:

Her work is often practical and she doesn't use a computer to modify her images. Also she has an eye for detail.

This piece is called "Vollig Weichgekocht." Sorry, I can't tell you what that means. If you can't read Deutsch, but you can read English, designboom featured her work.

I'm Going to Call This One a Medieval Squire's Sweater Vest

Anna bought this thing from a friend at an Arts, Crafts and Crap sale at Pitt. I'm really jealous. The belt and the tights with the pattern of the sweater make my imagination go go go.

Like, maybe she's a princess who wants to be a knight, but she can't because she's a girl. And she watches her brothers dueling and training all day while she's stuck embroidering. Until one day when her threads get hopelessly tangled...SHE SNAPS, cuts her hair to her shoulders, knits this sweater with her family's crest and starts kicking ass.

Photo credit goes to Michel Sauret, who whipped out his real camera, a digital slr, when I complained that my point-and-shoot was out of batteries. Anna and Michel both have noteworthy blogs. Anna's is a spunky little food blog and Michel's considers what it means to simultaneously be a Christian and a Steeler's fan.

So click those links!