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!

white, "the eagle's eye (for children)" floral pullover

It's been a hard Thanksgiving break for my family and I. We lost my grandfather in 2007 and my Uncle this summer. This year only one grandma, my dad and I were able to sit down to the meal together, because of work and illness complications.

Also my mom and I had a lot of blow-out arguments regarding my life and choices. I'm feeling very beaten down.




But the good news is that at home I found a sweater that my friend Christine gave me in high school. I really love it, but it never quite fit. There was an adorable picture of her wearing it in fifth grade on facebook, but it's gone now, so you just get me. Sad.

Thanksgiving Breaks

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon has slowly been growing on me post the Great Conan O'Brien. Fallon's interviews are the stickiest part of the new (eh, 9 months isn't too long) show. I wish he would let go and be crazy. Watching his interviews is like watching two acquaintances catch up on the boring details of their lives. I want to be laughing my head off.

I did find some nice Thanksgiving, ebay sweaters on the Late Night blog, thanks to Cory Cavin. It might not be too late to buy one.

Have a Great Thanksgiving!

(Sorry classmates, I'm in the country lands with a very slow internet connection. I don't have the patience to leave or respond to comments.)

Althea Crome

Her Royal Highness, Queen of Public Transit

I think it was the 61f that I was on just now. There I encountered this elegant woman in a royal, white, hairy sweater jacket carrying a scepter in the crook of her arm. The passengers rightfully relinquished the coveted front seats.


At first I thought the scepter was a ruby encrusted silver cane, but I think it was actually an umbrella.

I'm so glad I got up the courage to take a picture. I don't have a camera phone so when I'm capturing essences without permission I can't be very covert. Against my specific instructions the flash went off, but her majesty was unphased. She's probably accustomed to paparazzi.

I'm starting to get all nostalgic because I'm leaving Pittsburgh in a month and may never live here again. I'm going to State College for lord knows how long and perhaps it's the Port Authority that I'll miss most of all. Literally. Tearing up thinking about it.

sweater vests as fuel for political performance art

During the Canadian Federal Elections last year, Marg Princess Warrior (Mary Walsh) burned pale blue sweater vests in twisted effigy of Stephen Harper, conservative, incumbent Prime Minister. I've never actually used "effigy" in a sentence before, so here's to hoping I've done a respectable job, eh?

"Does he think that putting on a blue sweater vest is going to make us think 'my goodness, what a kind-hearted, cozy, cute little PM?' And forget all about the fact of his soul sucking evil work of planning to put fourteen-year-olds in jail for the rest of their lives?"

Marg Princess Warrior: The Stephen Harper Sweater Vest Bonfire from NL PRESS on Vimeo.

That "eh" was too much, right? I'm such a spaz.

Home

I recently found out that my parents are putting their house on the market this spring. They've been planning to move to Northern Pa to be closer to my father's job. He's been commuting to Corning, NY for a few years, since the State College factory closed. So this will be my last Christmas in the house I grew up in. Everything is happening too fast.

This is a picture of the book pile in my old bedroom. Not to be arrogant but it was hands-down the best bedroom in the world. My mom and I painted clouds on the ceiling when I was in fifth grade; I think we were inspired by a Sherwin Williams commercial. I made those woodland creatures to be chess pieces during the art camp I taught when I lived at home two summers ago. No sweaters, just a little insight into the life of your narrator.

Today on Modcloth.com

The only thing I've ever bought from Modcloth.com was a clear plastic umbrella with goldfish printed on it. It ended up costing me over $200 because I overdrew my bank account and had fees. Banking is for the birds. Anyway, I love everything they sell, even though I can't afford much of it. Today they're is an amazing angora and wool cardigan that I needed to repost. Here is how they sell it.

"We won't be surprised if you end up in front of a street style camera in this grey, wool and rabbit hair blend cardigan! This printed cardi is overflowing with features to make it an instant wardrobe classic. An oversized fit and ribbed hem and sleeve cuffs are sure to provide a cozy, comfortable fit [...] Delve your hands into the deep kangaroo pockets, throw up the roomy hood, and zip up the hidden, silver, center zipper before you embark on your day of fabulous fashion fun!"

Can they write any more sickeningly cute? I still love the site. It's like looking at Vogue, you're not going to buy anything but the pictures are almost enough.

Aran Island Sweater

This is a water proof sweater, because it's made of lanolin. Click on this image to make it larger. You really need to see the details to understand the significance of the pattern. Rick bought this sweater from a woman in a one-and-a-half story cottage on Aran Island when he was sixteen. It was white then.

According to Rick, all of the families on the island have their own pattern. The fishermen wear these sweaters to sea, and if they shipwreck, they can be identified by their family's pattern. The central pop-corn panel represents a field and the hope that it will end up being full. The diamonds represent nets for industry and enterprise. These nets are empty, signifying that the family is not wealthy. The cables separating the panels represent strength and steadfastness.

I found a site (clanarans.com) that sells Aran Island sweaters and it looks to me like this one is from the Murphy Clan. If you have an Irish last name (I don't) you can look up your family's pattern on the site. It's exciting that a sweater can have so much cultural significance.

Green Popcorn Sweater Jacket

Jess and I sit one cubicle apart at work, where we try to raise money for nonprofits over the phone. According to her, our high pitched voices play off of each other until we are both very extremely squeaky. "You already contributed to the Nation Associates? Well consider this a thank you call and remember, The Nation is nearly 800,000 dollars in debt thanks to Time Warner."

She wore this Kelly green sweater on Thor's day this week. So far, this is my favorite on the blog. I've never seen anything this good at goodwill, but she claims that's where it's from. The only problem with it is that it stretches like gak.

White Guess (Wrap)

I'm kind of at a loss. This sweater isn't very unusual, but how do I classify it? Not a cardigan, too long and no buttons. But not really a shall or a wrap. Not a poncho. I guess I've been pretending to have a better sweater vocabulary than I do.

This is Megan. I noticed her studying in the Great Room of the Cathedral of Learning. She took a very long time fixing her headband for the picture.