All Wrapped Up

Today, in the continuing adventures of My Major Kicks Your Major's Ass, I got to go to a mall to do some research. Too bad I picked what might possibly be the most depressing mall in Montréal. Décarie Square is a mall on life support. It's most notable feature is that it's home to the Dollar Theater. Actual cost of admission: two dollars. It's one of those places where most of the chains have moved out, except for Winners and a single brave Ardène's. There isn't a Sears, at the Décarie Square mall- there's a Sears Liquidation Store. The units that aren't empty are rented out by local operations, like the Cell-Tec store or The Handbag Two. No, I am not making those names up. I was particularly taken with Quelque Hose, a store which sold well, hosiery. The store must have been forced to diversify after it was named, because it also sold greeting cards and novelty t-shirts. In the corner, a machine labeled Animaland swirled stuffing in a glass box, rather like a popcorn machine. You could stuff your choice of toys, although from pig to dog they all looked as morose as the mall's paint job. I almost bought a couple of tights and a teddy bear just to salute the store's punnery though.

Now I'm back from the deadlands of consumer society, and getting the taste out of my mouth by pouring over knitting patterns. I want to make a stole out of some lovely dove gray Zephyr I picked up at the Stitch Niche over reading week. I don't want the patterning to be overly traditional and fussy- it has to be either eccentric or geometric, because the dress I have in mind for it is a cute flowered halter dress that walks the line between a touch of retro and time bandit from 50s suburbia. There's a crinoline, for god's sakes. The top contenders are (all pictures c/o the pattern sources):
Hanami Stole, Pink Lemon Twist

Stole Notre Dame, Birgit Freyer
Cobweb Lace Stole, Michele Rose Orne
Arctic Diamonds Stole, Donna Druchunas
Who will be the victor? I don't know- I have a purple cardigan that needs blocking.