Giulia's editor likes to think she's clever. We've been looking at our nice but unremarkable winter pull-on hat/beanie (purchased for 50 cents at a thrift shop) & feeling ho-hum about it. That is until this a.m. when Erica showed the way: pom-pom it. *smacks forehead* 
We're awfully floopy here at GG Central. So, here's a recent post from GG's editor's blog. (To avoid the first-person pronoun--oh it's exhausting, truly--the text is here.)
Made4Aid now sells items through a new Etsy shop. GG will be featuring items from the shop this month & next. 
While GG is busy attending to her ailing editor (lap sitting), we bring good news. Now go away. OK, a little joke. Please visit Made4Aid & see a number of lovely & varied bags for sale to benefit Haiti, via Oxfam, this week. This is a bit of a detour from their Darfur WFP project & a worthy one, of course. There is a very cool stripy laptop bag that beckons. There are also gorgeous photographs available for a set price. Please do visit & perhaps make a bid. It is easier than you can possibly imagine. We can vouch for them completely, having made three transactions last summer & autumn. All these auctions end on Sunday 31st January, 9pm New York time.
This gorgeous, aptly-named long cable scarf is at Made4Aid as of this morning. A similar one was nearly ours but we dropped the ball of yarn, so to speak. This would make a great holiday gift. The bidding began at $15.00 (!). Try to beat that anywhere. Anytime. Can be used as a gelato substitute if you're on a slimming regime before the holidays. Ahem. Now scurry on over & just try to take this away from us. 
This is a beautiful, unique bag. There are more photographs, description, & details on the Made4Aid blog. We urge you to at least visit. There are more lovely things available for auction as well. The end-date for bidding on this particular bag is this Wednesday, 28 October 2009, New York time. Take it from GG's editor: you will forget if you don't visit now.
Made4Aid Monday begins...Sunday. GG's editor bid on this darling bag but we're featuring it--to be fair. (Care to make it interesting?) This bag reminds us of our days in France. But we never carried a vintage-fabric lined string bag...with a little inner purse, yet. From those stylish artists at Made4Aid:
People, people...why are you shopping at cookie-cutter establishments? Surely you would like something ( for yourself or for a gift) unique. Well, if so, please go to Made4Aid & have a look at the lovely items up for auction. (Made4Aid also welcomes comments on their posts, not just bids.) It is NOT an annoying create-a-profile-password-thing. You do not have to be a blogger. Leave a comment with your bid on an item post. If you have the highest bid, you can pay via Paypal or send a check with a good old postage stamp on it. You're making us look bad! That's the real truth...we admit it. Oh woe....
[repeat from 17 September 2008... but with additional photo & new collage. Still love these earrings & boots & still read Flamenco World. The power struggle with the cat is mostly over; we give up. We won't give up on the causes on this site, though. But we do need to rest...so more repeats this week. Apologies.]
GG's editor has had a lamb-sheep fixation forever. Her paternal grandparents had lambs-for-wool on their farm. Sofia Barão's l'oiseau rare shop has some charming handmade petit mouton-themed accessories. Inspiration for holiday gifts? Oui. [For those disinclined, or with no time, to make their own, Sofia's prices are very reasonable. But contact her soon as she lives in France.] One wonders if GG fancies a little lamb (as a pet!)...we think yes, absolutely.
GG's editor has always loved small purses, especially framed coin pouches. These from JPATPURSES on Etsy don't have frames but they are adorable, affordable, & on sale right now. The seller was featured in July; here's her profile interview. She's really smart & has great taste not only in fabric but in books & film, too. The picture at top is a public domain illustration (maintained by karen's whimsy) of a small purse. If you're handy, we suppose you could copy it. If not, Vogue has accessory patterns...
These have a different function (keeping warm in style) but they remind us of Renaissance ruffs. Again, these are from the Canadian shop knittles on Etsy. Instead of a new coat, they zip up what's already in the closet; it could serve as a signature piece. There are short scarves, along with the cowls, here & elsewhere on Etsy's site, called 'scarflettes.' The knittles artist refers to them as 'clouds of warmth.' Poetic, non? Naturellement, GG wants one & her editor admits that it would be chic. However, we intend to pick up the knitting needles soon for a scarf (to be worn by a human), not an Elizabethan cat ruff. GG Central Management expects & is prepared for a protest, GG-style. 
Knitting & knitwear still on the mind (head). These are lovely & new on Etsy's Canadian knittles shop. One can buy a copyrighted pattern [in PDF format] or have something custom made. These are chic, flattering, & easy-to-wear simultaneously; not always the case. [As for the title, our Canadian artiste named the hats Rose & Azure & Autumn Bloom. GG's editor loves those very words & they popped up in an Etsy tag search.] 
GG cannot believe her pink-tipped ears: is her editor (her employee, after all) recommending luxury purchases? Look at the news. What about her Premium Feast cat food?! No, no. We can't buy a thing but... if we could, these (& many more) handmade clutch purses from Red Ruby Rose on Etsy are lovely & tempting. 
GG's editor had this in mind for a while & then it was on A Cup of Jo yesterday. Ah well. Garance Doré has a terrific selection of photos & text under 'foulard'. This look is lovely but definitely for a jeune fille. (The jeune fille here is Jessica in London & we love her style.) bisou!GG Central