This is a picture of What to Wear in an Ice Storm. It is an Irish Cape made from an authentic pattern from the 1800's. Because it is my nature and I can't help it I tweaked the pattern a bit by making it a little less full at the top and a little more full at the bottom. And I also lined it with GoreTex so that it would be both water and wind proof. But the fabric itself was woven on the AVL (otherwise known as the Big Freaking Loom) by me. It is my first piece of fabric that I wove on the loom and is a striped wool warp woven with white merino which makes it both soft and misty. I also lined the detachable hood with linen to hide the GoreTex and to boost the Authentic Irish Feel. The ice storm in question was the one that took out power to most of the Eastern Seaboard last weekend and bedecked trees and powerlines with incredible beauty in order to make up for the inconvenience of the electricity thing.

This cape is a gament that I have been longing to make for decades. But the Hawaiian/Arizona/Virginia climate doesn't really call for being seriously swathed against the cold. That is one of the reasons that I am so happy to be back in Maine, the land of freezing cold temperatures, drizzling rain and sleet, and galeforce winds....to which the Irish Cape is cheerfully indifferent. Here.....look at this picture.

Now you see the genius of the hood. It pulls up to completely cover your face, blocking the wind from every direction except the little bit in front which allows you to see where you are going. And you can pull the folds of the fabric completely around yourself without exposing your arms or your hands. With a warm woolen socks and a good pair of boots (see them there at the bottom of the picture) you are completely swathed up in warmth and cheerfully indifferent to the weather. Plus you look like something out of the past wandering about the streets of Portland, Maine. You would think that this is way too theatrical a look for the modern woman, but I have had a surprising number of inquiries as to where garments like this might be found. Alas, you have to make them yourself. Here's another picture

I am setting out to wander the streets of Portland incognito. No one will know it's me..........