New toys

Two cool toys arrived in the mail for me today: Wild Ginger’s PatternMaster Celebrations, a (sewing) pattern-making software with a set of predesigned patterns targeted at bridal and evening wear (read: AIDS Lifecycle tutus!), and Alice Schlein‘s Network Drafting: An Introduction.  I’m thrilled by the arrival of both.  PatternMaster will allow me to design my own AIDS Lifecycle costumes, and also allows for pattern drafting/alteration (or so it promises).  I know a little bit about pattern drafting, and have several books on the subject – looking forward to being able to do more.  Network Drafting will allow me to understand, well, network drafting – which allows you to make gently patterned curves in weaving patterns, which is hard to do with conventional methods.  It also apparently allows for shading, not just black-and-white.
At the moment my plans for AIDS Lifecycle costuming are fairly vague.  I think I want to do something like the warp-dyed striped shawl I wove earlier and make that into an outfit somehow.  I also think I want to do something with this champagne silk I bought awhile ago:

I have some rich red silk velvet that I think would make a beautiful wraparound collar for this outfit – with red velvet piping on the bottom, over a metallic gold organza tutu, I think it would be a tutu fit for a queen.

Oh, and I have decided on the pattern: I’m going to knit an abbreviated version of Sharon Miller’s Unst Stole in white Jaggerspun Zephyr 2/18.  It’s a lovely 50% silk 50% wool yarn that has the slight halo of wool and a nice sheen from the silk.  I’m knitting up a test swatch now.