You know I love Cowichan sweaters. And I love the CBC (and its logo). So who is the genius that combined both of these Canadian icons into one great package? Granted clothing, a Vancouver-based company, which makes all sorts of awesome chunky knit sweaters with intarsia-knit pictures (their website stresses these sweaters are not "Cowichan" sweaters because they are not, in fact, knit by members of the Cowichan band.) some of the designs are really unique, including the Suzuki sweater:

So if you're wondering what to get me for my birthday next week, look no further.

Modcloth CBC Dress??

What Canadian would see this dress and NOT think of the CBC's logo? I saw it while browsing Modcloth.com. Unfortunately for those fans of the Queen's Radio Station, the Mod Future Dress is out of stock. 

A little insight into Canadians on Canada Day

My husband thinks I make too much of the differences between Canadians and Americans. But I believe there are fundamental difference that are harder to spot than "eh"s and "aboats" (I still don't think we say it like "aboot" even now that I've been out of the country for four years and can finally hear the difference).

For one, Americans are taught to dream big. To believe they are each capable of anything. Anything! Can you imagine? Here's what we were taught by the beloved Ernie Coombs on the long-running CBC children's series "Mr. Dressup":

(I transcribed this from an episode on the Mr. Dressup DVD box set, which my friend Neil very thoughtfully gave my daughter when she was born. I have no clue how to rip a clip from a DVD or else I would share it here, though CBC seems to be pretty aggressive on removing its clips from unauthorized sites).





Mr. Dressup is drawing a dandelion and talking to Casey about wishes.

Mr Dressup: When you blow on the dandelion top, these seeds all blow away on little floaty strings. And people like to make wishes on them.

Casey: Do you think, if you wish really, really hard, that the wish will come true?

Mr Dressup: Oh (he chuckles) I don't think they really come true. But if you're lucky, you wish for something that is really going to happen, so that would be lucky that you made that wish.


Then Mr Dressup and Casey talk about wishing on birthday candles, and wishing on a star:

Casey: And people say, "Starlight, starbright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight!"

Mr Dressup: That's right. And if you don't wish for anything impossible, then it might come true.

So there you have it, Canadian kids. The only wishes that come true are ones that you can be sure were going to happen eventually anyway. Like lunch. Or death.

Somebody Buy Me Some of This NOW

How much do I love the news that Canada now has an official tartan? (This one pictured above, obvs). Called the Maple Leaf Tartan, it was designed in 1964 by Toronto garment maker David Weiser ahead of Canada's centennial celebrations (we were 100 on July 1, 1967).

Apparently 11 of the 13 provinces and territories already have their own official tartans. But finally we are unified — from sea to sea to sea (yes, we've got three. Suck it, America) under one big red, green and yellow kilt.

Winter's almost (please?) over, so the time for tartan is nie done. But I still want some of this for next year. If anyone knows where to get some, let me know.

UPDATE: You can buy Maple Leaf Tartan in various forms (from cotton flannel to 100% wool) at Tartan House Canada (Tagline: "Every Body Looks Good In Tartan!"). The prices vary depending on content.

Also, British Columbia's tartan is pretty nice too:

 

Find your province's official tartan at Wikipedia

Cowichan Sweater Makeover

When I was a kid growing up on Vancouver Island (hereafter referred to as "The Island" as Islanders call it), we were forced to wear itchy but unbelievably warm "Cowichan" sweaters, which are either knit by, or based on patterns created by, the native band on the Island. The distinctive hand-knit Cowichan sweaters are knit from thick wool in natural colours — brown, grey, cream and black — like the one pictured at left. They generally have geometric repeating patterns or simple animal designs. Authentic Cowichan sweaters (usually knit by Cowichan women) are expensive to buy new because they're knit by hand. (Which I totally understand: If I knit a sweater by hand and sold it, I'd have to sell it for about $3,000 to make it worthwhile. Knitting takes so freaking long.)

Cowichan sweaters are also bulky by definition because the yarn used to create them is so thick and dense. That's what makes these sweaters so warm. A Cowichan sweater is about all you need to withstand the mild winters where I grew up.

Lately I've been nostalgiac for a Cowichan sweater. There's something very ugly-yet-pretty about a nice Cowichan sweater that says "Screw it, I'm going to be warm. Too bad for you if you can't see my boobs." But, of course, living in New York City and being on a there's-still-a-recession-going-on budget, there's no way for me to find my own used Cowichan. I could knit my own, but (as earlier noted) that would take me until 2012. A quick scan on eBay turns up a few nice examples of authentic Cowichan sweaters — not cheap — and a whole bunch of factory-produced Cowichan-style sweaters that sellers also refer to as "Lebowski sweaters."

Lucky for me, I have great friends. And lovely Sarah found me the above sweater at a thrift store in Victoria. It wasn't super cheap but a steal compared to buying one new, or investing the time to make my own. Many Cowichan sweaters are cardigan-style, with a zipper closure in the front. After trying on this one, I remembered why: they're so hot! And you need to be able to open up the front so you don't die of heat stroke. Coupled with some inspiration from this great blog Grosgrain, whose author teaches how to turn a regular sweater into a cardigan, I decided to have a little faith in my abilities and turn my Cowichan into a cardigan so I could get on with wearing it already.

 

The Results 

It wasn't easy, and all the while I was chanting in my head "measure twice, cut once" — the mantra of carpenters and anyone slicing into something that could entirely unravel with one false move. All I used to make the transformation was some double-fold bias tape and a bunch of buttons. I decided against putting in a zipper because I didn't think my sewing machine could handle it. The sweater is really thick and I had to really ram it through to get the feed to work.

I also took in the sides somewhat to get a less boxy fit. I'm hoping to buy a real camera soon to improve upon the photos I post here (and portraits of my daughter). Law & Order SVU scouted our apartment this week for a shoot later this month and I'm hoping to convince my husband to invest our compensation in a quality camera. More sweater: