Over the weekend I attended Vogue Knitting Live! Chicago 2014~ I first attended in 2012, as I was lucky enough to win an attendance package for marketplace access and a single lecture. I purchased an additional lecture, but I couldn’t quite afford to take a class. I hoped to be able to do so last year, but that was not possible either. This year, I was prepared–I registered bright and early, convinced a friend to join with me, and was able to take a few classes. ♥

I wanted to put my frilliest foot forward, but I also wanted to highlight knit pieces. I realized that I don’t knit very many things for myself, which made coordinating a bit more complicated than I originally anticipated. For a bit I couldn’t quite put my finger on why I had all of these ideas of things I’d like to make for myself and so few of them have been projects I’ve worked on. During the event I suddenly understood why. My clothing is primarily a very specific shade of pink. The yarn that I see and buy is typically a clashing shade of pink. I’m going to have to keep my eyes open for “the right pink.”

On the first day I opted to wear a yellow hat featuring my favourite hat pattern. It is pale yellow, so I pulled out a pink skirt with yellow accents. (I did not wear a petticoat on any of the days in attendance, because the classrooms and marketplace can be very crowded. To take up extra space felt rude.) This skirt has always difficult for me to coordinate; it contains a number of pinks that are unique from most of my socks/cardigans/etc. I really like it with this turtleneck in autumn, though.

I also wore a crocheted scarf. A friend and fellow lolita made this for me many years ago as a gift. It’s a nice touch when the weather is on the chillier side. I love the giant rose blossoms on either end~ ♥

On Saturday I really wanted to wear this large cabled hooded pull-over cape. I’ve been eagerly waiting for the temperature to drop a bit so that I could wear it~ (Actually, it was much warmer on Saturday than I anticipated it being, but thankfully the air conditioning in the hotel was intense enough that I didn’t regret putting this layer on.)

It has a very “idyllic forest” feeling to it (honestly everything designed by Tiny Owl Knits does!), so I felt the tiny forest animals on the border of this Innocent World one-piece would set this off well. Additionally, there are hints of the same pale green and a slightly darker green in this dress’s print. It helped avoid the green colour standing out in a way that seemed ungrounded elsewhere.

I pulled my hair up in braids to avoid larger hair accessories. I thought I might want to pull the hood up, not that the weather was really making that necessary, and I didn’t want a larger bow to get caught in the hood. The small bow clip was just enough to set it off.

Sunday was the last day, and that’s when I realized I was running out of knit things to wear. I have a few pullover sweaters, but the weather is not cold enough yet and they are enormous “snuggle up in this and never come out” sweaters that would look very silly with lolita attire. I have a few shawls in colour choices that match nothing. I fell back on this cardigan. I knit it to a longer length that I prefer to wear with jeans, so it hits my skirt at a strange length, but I was determined to wear it.

I opted for a high-necked blouse to avoid a collar overlapping the scoop neckline of the cardigan. I had to wear the tartan skirt because I took a class on knitting a fabric that resembles woven tartan! (I wanted to stay “in theme,” haha~) The gray tights are not my favourite in this picture, but they seemed significantly paler and a closer match for the cardigan’s silver tone in better lighting.

My non-standard attire made it really easy for my friend to spot me in a crowd, always handy at a busy event! A few people approached me over the weekend stating that they met me in 2012 and remembered me from then! One such person was the lovely lady who taught me to crochet at the “beginner’s lounge” two years ago~ I definitely owe her a lot; I’m not crochet-savvy but I can do enough to get around for what I want. I’m really looking forward to next year’s Vogue Knitting Live!

(A more knitter-focused recap of my experience at Vogue Knitting Live! Chicago 2014 here~)