Meowdemeow Knitting

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-26T16:21:00.000-08:00

A very quick post to wish everyone a great Thanksgiving. Wish us luck--we're making a turkey this year. When you put a vegetarian in charge of the meat, you never know what will happen.

More on the baby sweater soon...

A Poem for Today, More China, Joshua Tree, Baby Update

2008-11-23T21:15:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday night at writing group, Holly had us do the annual poem ritual for our last meeting of 2008. She chooses 20 poems, prints them out, and we each choose the one that's calling to us. (We can't see them ahead of time. She has them rolled up like important documents, tied in ribbon.) The poem I picked is below.

From The Little Mariner

x

Whatever I was able to acquire in my life by way of acts visible to all,
that is, to win my own transparency, I owe to a kind of special courage
Poetry gave me: to be the wind for the kite and the kite for the wind, even
when the sky is missing.

I'm not playing with words. I mean the movement you discover being
written in an "instant," when you can open it and make it last. When,
in fact, Sorrow becomes Grace and Grace Angel; Joy Alone and Sister
Joy

with white, long pleats over the void,

a void full of bird dew, basil breeze and a hiss of resonant Paradise.

Odysseas Elytis
(trans. Olga Broumas,
from Eros, Eros:Selected and Last Poems,
Copper Canyon Press, 1998)

At first, I liked it, but I didn't really understand why I got it. Then, when it came time for everyone to read their poem aloud, I realized it was perfect and I got emotional reading it. There's so much hope and a sense of overcoming badness to get to a peaceful, joyful place. I especially like: "to be the wind for the kite and the kite for the wind..." That says a lot to me. And the last line is so fresh and soaring and wonderful. Plus, it's called "The Little Mariner," which people pointed out is appropriate for the baby. (Below is a picture David took when we were at Joshua tree a couple of weeks ago. It seems to fit the last line, too.)

In crafty-related news, this is a woman who worked at Sina, an internet company in Beijing. I really liked her scarf and sweater (plus, it's USC colors and she did the Fight On! symbol), so I asked if I could take her picture. She very nicely obliged.

Another place we went to just out of Beijing was the Green Cow Organic Farm, owned by Mrs. Shanen (shown below). It was a wonderful experience and a nice contrast to all the huge factories that dominate China. She wants to keep her organic farm/bagel business/restaurant small and fresh and sustainable. (The food was delicious, by the way.)

Back in California, David an I went to Joshua Tree the weekend after I got back. It was very cold and windy, but we still managed to have a picnic and go on a hike. Here we are at the picnic spot.

In China, I started the Baby Surprise Jacket. This is my progress as of Friday at lunchtime. I should be finished very soon and will post a picture of the finished product. I hope the baby will enjoy wearing it.

Finally, I know some of you have been waiting for this. Here's the baby ultrasound from Wednesday. Everything's going really well. The baby's about a pound now (!) and moving around a lot. Even David's been able to feel it. On the ultrasound, we were able to see it kick and move around. Plus, we got to see it swallow, which looked something like this.

Okay. This is a long post, so I'll close for now. Look for more pictures soon of the baby cardigan and my finished Februrary Lady Sweater. Woo hoo!

Back by Popular Demand.

2008-11-08T21:47:00.000-08:00

Well, not really, but I finally caught the blogging bug again. (Just an update on my last post from September 2007. I found the sweater pieces and sewed everything up. Now I have a cool, brown sweater that, unfortunately, is a little scratchy. I should be able to wear it more now that the weather is cooler.)

I have some cool pictures to share. It's been a long time, so I won't try to give a recount of the entire past year (plus!). Instead, I'll just start fresh (like the US did on Tuesday - yea!) and go from there.

Here's me and Thomas the cat just before Halloween. I got the wax fangs (berry flavored!) and scary finger from Holly at the writing group that night, so I had to use them (esp. since I was going to be gone for Halloween). I don't think Thomas looks frightened enough that I'm going to scrape and eat him. He's so fearless.

And, scene change, here I am at the Great Wall! I traveled to Beijing, China at the end of October with a group of EMBA students. The Great Wall was truly amazing, and the section we went to was quite difficult to walk/climb. But I can say I did it! We had wonderful weather and clear air. Whew!

This is the woman who helped me when I went to this yarn store in Beijing. She really didn't speak English, but she spoke knitting. The random guy who was in the shop tried to help because he spoke some English, but he didn't speak knitting. So somehow, between the three of us, I managed to buy some nice yarn. I got some pink cashmere (!) but not enough to make a sweater because even in China, cashmere is expensive. I got some nice cream colored camel, and some Granny Smith apple green wool. All in all, a successful trip to a yarn store. I love doing yarn tourism. And since I'm the only one who knits on these trips (so far, anyway), I don't have any tagalongs. You would only sit in a taxi in traffic for an hour to get to a store if you really loved yarn, right?

Here's the outside of the store. I noticed more yarn stores in Beijing than Shanghai; I suspect that's because the weather gets colder in Beijing, but that's just a theory. Last year in Shanghai, the yarn I found was tucked into the corner of a larger sweater store. Hmm...

We were so lucky to be able to tour the Olympic sites. First, we went inside the Water Cube, which was much smaller in person than it looks on TV. After that, we went to the Birds Nest, which was so cool and impressive. We even got to go out on the field, so I can say I was out on the field where they did the opening ceremony and where athletes actually competed. I'm a big Olympics nut (just ask David), so it was amazing for me to actually be there.

By now, you're probably thinking, wow--Brenda's gotten super fat, especially around her belly. Which is true and a valid point. But there's a reason. There's a baby in there! Don't worry--I got the go ahead from my doctor to travel to China and really had no problems except for finding clothes that fit and the fact that my leg goes numb when I stand/walk too long (it's some nerve thing). Overall, I think the baby enjoyed the trip because I started to feel movement (weird bubbly type of things) that week.

Anyway, because of that, I hope to blog more frequently so I can keep people updated on everything. We'll see. Also, there should be baby knitting to report on. I'm working on the Baby Surprise Jacket from Elizabeth Zimmerman right now. It sure looks funky, but from everything I've read, if I just keep at it, it will magically be a sweater at the end. I got the yarn in Santa Barbara back in September at a cool yarn store called Knit and Pearl. It's malabrigo, lovely soft gray and blue in buttery wool. (By the way, we don't know the sex of the baby and don't plan to find out. I just liked the colors!)

I'll leave you with this cute, tiny hand knit "Open" sweater from Knit and Pearl. I hope to be back soon!

Knitting Confession

2007-09-14T20:57:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post before we head back to The Illusionist.

I have knitted an entire sweater, but I seem to have misplaced most of the pieces I've knit. I know I'll find these pieces, but it's a clear sign that I need to do a lot more decluttering, as FLylady tells me to. As soon as I find the pieces, I do want to piece everything together. It'll be a lovely sweater.

Also, today I was working on the lace for my tuxedo tank from Interweave Knits. I was almost in tears because I had a kind of stressful day. I guess knitting can add to stress sometimes if you pick the wrong project at the end of a bad day. (K3tog on Size 2 needles with linen yarn on a loud, crowded tram heading slowly through downtown traffic? No wonder I was stressed!)

Also, I'm gearing up for two great crafty events this weekend. First, the Yarn Harlot will be at the Central Library downtown tomorrow at 2:00. Of course, I'm excited, but I'm also nervous about just what knitting project to bring. Second, I have Church of Craft at the Eagle Rock Coffee Table at 2:00 on Sunday. Should be a fun-filled crafty weekend.

Now, where did I put those sweater pieces?

At Home In New Mexico and Colorado

2007-09-11T18:00:00.000-07:00

The second party of my vacation last month had me visiting my parents in Aztec, New Mexico. It was so freakin' hot there that we escaped to the mountains where it was indeed cooler. It was just like old times when we'd go camping; I'd almost forgotten how rejuvenating just getting away for a few days can be.

Anyway, no trip slightly north is complete without a visit to Durango. We played two days there, visiting bookstores, coffee shops, yarn stores, and a micro brewery. Here I am in front of one of the yarn stores: Gossamer Threads on East Fourth Avenue. I bought some very pretty cranberry washable wool lace yarn there. (On another day, we went to Yarn, which is just down the block from Steamworks, the microbrewery. Yea for proximity to special beer!)
We camped at Haviland Lake, between Durango and Silverton. Here are Dad and Lucky on one of the fishing docks. (Lucky gets to travel more than me. No, I'm not jealous. Not one bit!)

This is at the summit on the way to Silverton. It's a little hard to tell from this picture, but it is frighteningly high. I was very careful not to lose my step (as I so often do) as I took this.

In Silverton, we enjoyed a jaw-droppingly gorgeous day. I mean, look at that sky, those clouds. Plus, the veggie burger at the biker bar (including real bikers!) was pretty tasty.

We didn't actually go to the Silverton Brewery, but they had a cool truck, huh?
This was a very cool antique store where I found the perfect buttons for my linen tank top (which I swear will be finished soon--I'm having a wee bit of trouble with the lace).

Here are my mom and dad at our campsite after we had a yummy dinner of veggie green chile enchiladas. (I must say that I'm very proud of my dad for being able to plan so many vegetarian-friendly meals while I visited. He's a real Midwestern meat and potatoes kind of guy, so this was especially thoughtful. That's the advantage of going to see them alone because when David goes, the meal planning all revolves around him and I'm left with some freezer burned veggie patty from my last visit.)

Again in Durango, this is a bicycle that is available for hotel patrons to use while they're staying. Isn't that quaint?

My last night there, we went to Wines of the San Juan, a delightful place with great wine and live music. Truth be told, I went on a semi-empty stomach (lunch had been hours earlier). That, coupled with the higher elevation and the fact that I had not one but two glasses, led to a slightly drunk me. Let me tell you, navigating to the Portapotty was indeed a challenge.
This is the band, Foxfire, that played that night. They played some great bluegrass. My favorite was when one of the boys (must have been 16 at the most) sang Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" in a voice that wasn't quite deep enough. Definitely a highlight.

Alas, the week I was home went by much too quickly. Still, I had a great time and would have arrived back in LA calm and relaxed had it not been for the horrible flight drama that eventually had me routed Farmington to Phoenix to Las Vegas to Los Angeles and not getting home, after everything was over, until after 2:00 am. Ah well. I made it home and was so happy to see David, Thomas, and Greta. And work was less crazy when I got back.

Next--fun in LA, knitting projects, etc. Stay tuned!

Knitting Party in Denver

2007-09-10T18:00:00.001-07:00

My time in Denver last month was not without its knitting focus. After all, what would a vacation be if I wasn't Googling "yarn stores, Denver" for addresses and yarn store reviews. Of course, we went to Michael's where I got Tiana her first set of knitting needles (that Niki has claimed as her own, I'm afraid!) and other supplies, but we also went to Knitting Habitat, a very nice yarn store. The woman there let us hold up yarn to Max's face to find a color that worked (purple works so much better than pink for her!). Also, Tiana got to play with a little dog there. Anyway, here we are outside the store.

We had a "girls" BBQ and knitting party one night at Niki and Walter's place. Here are Tiana and Abbey (her cousin) out in the back yard.

Beautiful tofu/veggie kabobs. Ann said, "This is what happens when girls grill."

Here's Ann, Erica (Niki's sister-in-law/mother to Abbey), and Niki knitting away. I had a great time teaching them. Erica did fine, despite the cocktails. And Niki was such a fast learner! I hope she'll keep trying to do some easy projects and not get frustrated with herself. (Niki--remember that it's supposed to be relaxing, and the results aren't always the important thing!)

Tiana and I lounged in the hammock outside.
Here's me, Abbey, Erica, and Tiana. Notice the knitting needles. And, yes Dad, that is a skull on my shirt, but it's for The Venture Bros. Go Team Venture!

Fun Times in Denver

2007-09-10T18:00:00.000-07:00

Once again, I'm way behind in my blogging, but I had to post a few things about my trip last month to Denver to see Niki, Tiana, and new baby Max (and Walter, too, but I didn't see him all that much). We had a great time, but we were a bit rushed. I hadn't seen any of them since the wedding in Dec. 2005, which is far too long. I'm hoping they'll come to LA next month. I've been making a list in my head of all the cool kid things I want to do!

Here's Tiana standing outside her classroom. She had just started Kindergarten the week I was there, so I got to share in some of her firsts. I just can't believe how grown-up she is. It doesn't seem so long ago that Niki was pregnant with her (only 6 years!). I have great hope that Tiana will be a super student. She's already reading up a storm.

Here's Max in her car seat, communing with the animals hanging from the handle. She looks so happy.

Three generations of Boultinghouse women--Ann, Niki, and Max.

We went to Armadillo's, a chain Mexican restaurant that I somehow always eat at when I'm in Denver. Tiana made tortilla sculpture while Max sacked out and drooled in my arms.

My last day there, we went to the Denver Children's Museum. They had a great room where kids could dress up as animals (here's a very serious Tiana as a turkey) and crawl around a nature playscape. She didn't want to leave!

And this was a dress-up room with a big mirror and more costumes. Tiana and her best friend Presley twirled with the best of them.

Niki also posted some pictures (including some I planned to use--she beat me to them), so check out her blog, too.

A Meal Revealed

2007-08-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

This post is so long in coming (middle of May, anyone?), that it would seem the memory of this food would already be gone. But this meal I had in Tokyo was so amazing that I can still taste it. The place was called Bon, and it was a traditional Buddhist vegetarian restaurant complete with my own screened room and tatami mats. Yea!

Just look at how perfect everything is.
On the left, one lone lotus root wheel. I love lotus root!
This soup was thick and full of lotus root, savory broth, mushrooms, and other great stuff. I could have had a meal of just this.
Mmm--more mushrooms, asparagus, a grain type of thing, all covered in a delicious pea sauce.
Something that wasn't on the menu--soba noodles, tofu skins, and a sort of savory jelly something. Very tasty.
Look at this beautiful green dish. Ah! And the tofu was just right.

Best tempura ever. That leaf thing on top was so delicate yet crisp.
Final course--rice (of course), green tea, assorted pickles, and miso soup with tofu. No meal is complete without some rice.
Finally, some fresh fruit. A perfect ending to a near perfect meal.
One satisfied eater.

Check back soon for more updates--things have settled down somewhat.

Welcome, Max!

2007-06-08T09:49:00.001-07:00

A very quick post to say congratulations to Niki and Walter on the birth of their new daughter (we all thought it would be a boy!), Max Hailey.
So exciting. It's all I can think about today.

Here are the stats (copied from Niki's blog):

Born at 5:22 PM on 6/7/07

Weight: 7lbs 8.7 Oz

Length: 19 1/4 in

Head: 13.5 cm (just .5 cm bigger than Tiana!)

More soon!

I'm back!

2007-05-27T17:37:00.000-07:00

Where have I been? Well, it's a long story that most of you have already heard, so I won't bore you with the details. (You're lucky that I didn't just go on and on about the work drama that unfolded from February to March!) Suffice it to say that I've missed blogging and sharing everything with you all.

Anyway, I'm going to ease back into the blogging thing with a quick post about our trek to the Stitch N Pitch Dodgers game on Tuesday. Lots of fun, even more fiber people than last year, and we got a Casa Bianca pizza and desserts from the Italian Bakery in Eagle Rock. Yea!

Niki, here I am working on the baby hat. It's so cute. I'll make baby booties as well.

Look at all these knitters! Oh yeah--there's also a game going on off in the distance.

More knitters with their bags of swag.

We left during the 8th inning so we could beat the traffic (and so we could watch the episode of Lost I missed when I was in Japan).

That's it for now. I have much more to talk about, including the near completion of my first sweater for me. Woo hoo!

David Lynch and Donovan!

2007-01-31T18:00:00.000-08:00

So, two Sundays ago (after Church of Craft), David and I trekked down to Hollywood via the Gold and Red Lines to see if we could score some stand-by seats for the David Lynch/Donovan event at the Kodak Theatre. This was the last stop on a three city tour they were doing to promote transcendental meditation. Hooray! We got in. And we also got to see the neat Kodak Theatre.

And here I am after the event in front of the poster. The David Lynch part was great. Laura Dern read him questions from the audience, he responded, and a man at the piano played brief improvised pieces to accompany the answer. Very cool. The Donovan set was also neat but more of a mixed bag. (There were some songs that neither David nor I could stand. Others were great.)

But just as a sidenote, when I hear American Idol contestants scream, "I'm going to Hollywood!" on the commercials, I just don't know if they realize what they're getting. Maybe I'm just spoiled that I can hop on a subway and go there anytime I like. Too bad we got out too late to eat Thai food. Next time...

Bumper Crop at Church of Craft

2007-01-30T18:00:00.000-08:00

We truly had a great turnout at the last Church of Craft meeting on Jan. 21. It was getting packed in the back room of The Coffee Table--packed with crafty goodness, that is. Of course, it's taken me awhile to post this, so people's names have flitted from my mind. My apologies to those people who get shafted. I swear it's nothing personal.

This is Charlotte who was making the most adorable froggy cards. She also had a lot of neat gadgets that we all oohed and ahhed over. And here's ____ with Ben. They were both fiber types who met at a yarn store. (How sweet is that?) She was making cute crocheted monkeys (I did tell her about my monkey nightmare), and he was at work on a sock. Ben also brought in this neat device that one of the other attendees puzzled over and finally figured out. (She thought it was for colored knit work.)

Here are two people whose names I've forgotten and Susan. Susan brought supplies to make fun felt flower pins. I was sorely tempted to join in the fun, but as you'll see below, I was hard at work on something else. Susan always has such neat ideas to share.

And here's Reverend Allison working on a lovely shawl and Christy of getcrafty.com fame working up her own felt flower.
Finally, here's me with the monstrous laptop bag, Joyce holding up her F**K cross-stitch, and Joyce's friend Misty knitting away. There were others there, but obviously I don't have any pictures of them. Thanks again, everyone. You made my afternoon!

Laptop bag update: major knitting operations are complete! Now there are ends to weave in, and I have to sew the whole thing up and felt it. But that's the easy part, right? I hope this one turns out better than the one I did for my parents. Always knit up and felt a test swatch, I say. Otherwise, you never know what you're going to end up with.

Vegas, Paris, Ice in the Desert

2007-01-24T19:00:00.000-08:00

For my birthday last week, we went to Vegas for one night. I was especially excited because we hadn't been there at all since October, 2005. I was suffering from withdrawal. Thanks to the benefits of traveling in January, we were able to score a reasonably priced room at Paris. Yea!

Guess who's coming to Paris. David Hassellhoff in The Producers! We'll most likely see Spamalot when it arrives in Vegas, but come on, it's David Hassellhoff. (The German professor at Coe had a big poster of David H. in his office. It was hilarious.)

Here's me playing The Munsters 2 cent machine. For any concerned parties, I was supervised at all times on the gambling floor, had a specific and small gambling limit, and was quickly whisked away at the first sign of my eyes glazing over. I have my Grandma Chelo to thank for the gambling gene.
Yeah--this machine at Bally's--it sucked. I really think it's a worse money catcher than the others since it's right at the entrance between Paris and Bally's and practically screams, "Throw your money in here!"
This is the huge wooden horse that's in front of the F.A.O. Schwartz store at Caesars Palace. It's hard to tell, but that's me at the bottom by the leg. We went into the store and were tempted by the large stuffed monkeys.
In addition to lots of walking, a bit of slot action, and trying to stay warm (yes, there was ice on many of the casino lakes), we ate at two buffets. My favorite is still the Paris breakfast buffet because the food quality is great, there are lots of choices, and they have good coffee. Plus, if you time it right (as we did), you can go for a bit of breakfast and then stay for a bit of lunch.

I do love Vegas, but I only ever want to stay for a little while. It can be a very depressing as well as exciting place. I'm so glad we didn't end up getting married there!

Just Like Old Times

2007-01-22T18:00:00.000-08:00

So, when we were in New Mexico for Christmas, we had the great pleasure of seeing my best friend Josh who lives in Madrid, Spain. We hadn't seen him for almost two years (we traveled to Spain in Jan. 2005 to visit him--ah, Granada!), so we were all ecstatic.

Little tidbits about Josh:

I've known him since I was in 7th grade and he was in 6th.
We were in various church choirs and other groups together growing up.
We once had a New Year's Eve party at his parents' house that involved an entire helium tank.
He makes fun of Greta the cat because she's fat. Shame on you, Josh!
He likes the color combination red and purple.

Anyway, here we are in front of the semi-new store in downtown Farmington called Andrea Kristina's. It's a cool bookstore/coffeeshop that--believe me--was sorely lacking during our formative years. (There's even a Starbucks in town now, too. We also went there. We were well caffeinated. Josh, though, had trouble ordering at Starbucks because he didn't know what Venti meant.)

This is a bride mannequin in one of the store windows on the same block as the coffeshop. Tell me--do they really think her crazed expression is a selling point?

The last night we were there, David, my parents, and I went to Josh's parents' house for dinner. We had a great time. Here's David talking to Don, Josh's dad. (I had "Mr. McDowell" for high school chemistry. I remember a lot of stuff blowing up in the lab thanks to my rowdy classmates.)

And here's Josh with his mom, Karlene. I had "Mrs. McDowell" for two years of junior high English (7th and 8th grade). She's definitely one of the first people who turned me on to poetry and the possibilities of the written word. She was also very strict when it came to grammar, so I probably owe her for my side editing work as well. I remember having to do a speech in front of her class. I was so nervous and shy that I fidgeted a lot. Her comments included, "Leave hair and ear alone." God--I can still quote it! She's the best.

I can't wait for Josh to move back to the US so I can see him more often. And maybe he can get Greta to stick to a diet.

Christmas in New Mexico

2007-01-19T14:30:00.000-08:00

David, the cats, and I had a great time in New Mexico for Christmas. We ate good food, spent quality time with my parents, took Lucky the dog for walks even though it was really cold, and got to open presents. Oh--and we went to a candlelight service at the church my parents attend. I ran into some people I knew when I was in high school, and they commented that I hadn't changed at all. I was a bit appalled until David and my mom and dad pointed out that I should take it as a compliment that I didn't look OLD. I guess...

Here we are in front of the tree with Lucky. He's such a great dog even though he drools over the cats when we visit.

My mom and dad and Lucky. Aren't they cute?

Okay. I just realized this is a very Lucky-heavy post. But it's only because when we visit the cats have to stay in the study while Lucky gets the run of the house.

Here's my dad wearing the gloves I knit for him. I thought they would be done for his birthday in January last year, but it didn't work out. I did instruct him to wash them by hand in cold water since they're wool. I hope he listens!

And here's my mom holding up the lacey thing I knit (the one that was originally going to be the veil on Knitty Gritty). You can really see the detail in this picture. Yea!

In other Christmas news, I got my sewing machine, a Kenmore from my dad. Yea! So far, I've made David a pair of sleep pants and did a deconstruct/reconstruct project with a too tight skirt. I'll post pictures of that soon. It was great fun just cutting stuff up and then sewing it all back together again. Maybe I won't be much of a pattern girl after all. (I get frustrated with that tissue thin paper.)

So, that was Christmas, more or less.

We're from California. We can do whatever we want.

2007-01-19T11:05:00.000-08:00

And that includes blogging about the December holidays in mid-January (okay--it's too late to even say mid-January, isn't it?). My goal this weekend is to actually get my holiday cards sent. Let' s see if that happens.

So, on to actual content. David, Thomas, Greta, and I drove to New Mexico for Christmas this year to see my parents. We left after work on a Friday, and traffic until almost Barstow was awful. (40 miles in 2 hours!) We made it to Kingman, AZ and stayed at a Motel 6. Now, here's where the title of this post comes from. There were some really loud, obnoxious people who kept us up until past 1:30 because, well, they were from California and they could do whatever they wanted. (Seriously. David heard one of the girls say this as she was shreaking about a beer run: "I'm from California. I can do whatever I want." So, that's become our new favorite phrase. Except it doesn't work so well when you're in California, surrounded by other Californians. Then it would be chaos, right? Anyway, here's Greta at said Motel 6 (couldn't they have slightly thicker walls? My god!) sniffing around and looking glowy.

The next day we made a brief stop in Seligman, AZ, home of the Snow Cap. Sadly, I've never actually been there when the Snow Cap was open, but it's still really neat looking. This sign was on the side.

And here I am in front. If you ever find yourself between California and New Mexico, I recommend that you drive through Seligman, if only to see what it must have been like driving Route 66 back in the day.

Fast forward past Christmas. Now we're on our way home (750+ miles all in one day). Here's a sunset just near the AZ/CA border. David did a great job of capturing this as we were traveling at 70 (or more) miles/hour.
And, finally, here's Thomas looking out into the night. I like the composition of this picture (again, thanks to David).

Next, Christmas, family and friends...

Craft Fairs and Babies

2006-12-26T10:08:00.000-08:00

So, I went to Felt Club a few weeks ago. It seemed more like the movie Fight Club in that I had to almost battle my way through the aisles. My heart rate did climb, but it was because I almost had a panic attack due to the crowd. Don't get me wrong--it was still neat. But I could only manage to stay a few minutes before I just had to leave. I don't do well with crowds. This was the scene.

On the other hand, the next weekend I went to Bazaar Bizarre at the Shrine Auditorium. In conjunction with that craft fair, there was Swap-O-Rama-Rama. I had such a great time looking at what everyone had made. Plus, I picked up quite a few neato things at the Swap. The best thing about the Swap was that they had stations to redesign the clothes you picked up. I got one thing embroidered and two more shirts silkscreened. And seeing what people were doing with their sewing machines made me wish Christmas would hurry up and arrive so that I could get my brand new sewing machine! (More on that in future posts.)

The same weekend as Felt Club, I went to a baby shower for a co-worker who had twin boys. Here's my friend Elaine holding one of the babies. Ah...

And here's another of the party people holding one of the boys. He's wearing a hat I made (one for each of the babies). So adorable.

Anyway, I wanted to make sure I posted about these things before time got away from me.

Holiday Crafting

2006-12-26T09:58:00.000-08:00

Now that Christmas is officially over and most people have opened their presents from me, I can safely blog about what I made. First, we have the 150 magnets that we made! It's hard to tell in the picture, but we got super creative on these. (By we, I mean David and me. He really got into picking out the pictures, even finding a special Thor picture for his cousin Cliff.) I'm really pleased with how these turned out. Also, it was cool to be able to give people such individualized gifts (including a special X rated version for our friend Josh). I think we ended up giving out 23 sets. Wow! Thanks to the Supercrafty book for the instructions. Oh--and we started out using E-3000 (right name?), but the fumes and lingering stink afterward made me kinda sick. So, we switched to a non-toxic clear glue that seemed to work really well. Yea!

Next is the very pink accidently felted (not by me) wool sweater I picked up for Tiana at Salvation Army. All the felted accents are by me. At first, I just had three dots, all sold color. I played around with it and decided on this. Isn't it cute and just perfect for a 5 year old who lives in Denver? Needle felting is great fun. So far, I've found that I can make a cute cat toy in a matter of minutes. Now I'll have to turn my attention to felted accents on booties for Josh. Just you wait, Josh! (But these won't be X-rated.)

Finally, here is the lacey thing I worked on for the Knitty Gritty show. By making just a few alterations, I was able to turn it into this cool scarf/wrap thing for my mom. Excuse the picture of me in my pajamas.

And here's a dramatic close-up.

Next--Holiday pictures galore!

My Stint as a Knitster on Knitty Gritty

2006-12-14T18:00:00.000-08:00

You can tell that things have been a bit hectic around here, can't you? So, I'm finally getting around to blogging about my big TV debut as a Knitster on a wedding themed episode of the DIY show Knitty Gritty. I did this a couple of weeks ago and managed to show just about everyone I know some picures--except you, dear blog readers. Anyway, they were taping three separate Knitty Gritty shows that day and preparing for some more the next day, so there were tons of knitters around. I got there at 8:30 and didn't leave until 5:00. I'm glad I took the whole day off from work! We spent much of the morning waiting around on some couches and then in the Green Room. I was there with my fellow Knitsters Anne and Aubrey who both live in the OC. Aubrey's getting married next year, and Anne is going to be in the wedding, so it was fantastic they could be on such a show together.

Here's Anne, me, and Aubrey on the set during a quiet moment. The set looked like a cozy knitting lounge. The only thing missing? Soy lattes, of course! That's my wedding shawl on my lap there. I got to talk about it on the show (wow! I got a speaking role!) and show it to the camera. Oh--and yes, they did put a little make-up on me, but it was tolerable. If you know me at all, you know that I'm pretty anti make-up, but I had to make some sacrifices, right?
Here's another shot of me on the Knitty Gritty couch with Anne showing off her fingerless gloves (her own pattern). Yes, that's me with a mic on. Wow!

This was our project--a knitted bridal veil. Here is the host, Vicki Howell with the guest Suss Cousins of Suss Designs. This was after we had wrapped, and they were being silly.

Finally, here's me with Vicki at the Craft table as she was dashing for a wardrobe change.

Some of the other knitters whose blog I read taped for Knitty Gritty, including Yarn Harlot and Marnie MacLean. Overall, it sounds like everyone had a great time. I know I did. (But I wouldn't want to do it everyday--that's for sure. I got SO tired.)

Look for the wedding themed show with Suss Cousins to air sometime late next year on DIY and HGTV. I hope I won't be too embarassed.

Carry on!

I'm back!

2006-12-13T10:44:00.000-08:00

First, let me apologize for being absent for so long. Just like everyone, the crazy scheduling of the holiday season (and the end of the semester) has gotten the better of me. Foolishly, I've been directing people to my blog even though I haven't posted since Thanksgiving. Shameful. Anyway, here's a quick post just to let you know I'm still out here. My plan is to get all caught up today.

I've been doing oh so many crafty things lately. A couple of weeks ago, I purchased my first needle felting kit from That Yarn Store. Look what I did! Yeah--I know it's not that great, but it was my first attempt.

Yesterday, I worked on Tiana's sweater and tried my hand at a couple of felted cat balls. Thomas approved of the cat toys and batted them around a lot. However, the situation grew perilous when he tried to reach his paw over to one while I was needle felting it. Ouch--felted paw! Luckily, no harm came to him.

This is the cute cardigan I made for a co-worker who's due later this month. It's from Mason-Dixon Knitting (which I think I'm going to get for Christmas--yea!). I didn't use the dishcloth cotton the pattern called for. Instead, I used some leftover Blue Sky Alpaca organic cotton. Lovely. It also called for ribbon ties, but I opted to just stitch up the front a bit (done after I took this picture). The mother-to-be said her cat could wear it once the baby had outgrown it! I liked the pattern quite a bit. It kept me focused during the Thanksgiving holiday.

One post--DONE!

Camping at the Beach

2006-12-11T10:38:00.000-08:00

This is old news (back before Thanksgiving) but news nonetheless. Craig, David, and I went camping at Point Mugu State Park. To prepare, I knit Craig these fingerless gloves. (I started them back in February, fiddled with the measurements, knit a cuff, and gave up. The camping trip gave me the motivation to finish them.)

Anyway, we considered this a trial camping trip--only one night and no pressure if we forgot anything. Boy--did we forget something. So, we're all having a nice time talking and keeping warm by the fire. We even got to listen to the big USC game on AM radio (with some Tex-Mex music bleeding through). Then David and I decided to put up our tent. Guess what--we had everything but the poles. I hadn't used the tent since Niki lived in LA (oh, say 6 years ago), and I guess the tent and its poles got separated. So David and I slept in the car. We emptied out the trunk and put the back seats down so we could sleep cocooned in the trunk. I was pretty comfortable, but David had a rough night. In fact, he got up really early and walked to the beach. Craig snapped this picture of a lone figure silhouetted at the beach only to discover later on that it was David.
Here are some strangers underneath the cool bridge that was right by the campground.

And here I am, all grubby.
Next time: coffee pot, tent poles, hot food, lantern. Other than that, it was a successful first venture.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

2006-11-22T13:50:00.000-08:00

Just a very quick post to wish everyone a food and fun-filled turkey (or Tofurky) day. I'll post some great pictures and exciting news over the long weekend. It's going to be so crafty (full of glue and pictures and yarn and who knows what else). I can't wait.

Happy Dia de los Muertos!

2006-11-01T16:59:00.000-08:00

So, on Sunday night after we returned from the work weekend, we went to the great Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Hermon Park on Marmion Way. This is the same Day of the Dead event that prompted me to write this poem about my grandfather way back when.

I love Dia de los Muertos--all the smells (especially the incense and marigolds, even though they mess up my nose), the sights of candles and pictures and food and religious icons mixed with bottles of beer, and the general atmosphere.

Anyway, here are a few highlights.

I especially like the skull here.

Wow--colors galore. Very nicely laid out.

Sugarbutterbex and That Yarn Store were both there at the last moment. Here's Becca all wrapped in shawls threatening Thea with one of Andrea's creatures. No one was harmed in the taking of this picture. You can see Becca and Matt's altar for their recently departed dog in the background on the right.

In knitting news, I've finished "major combat operations" on the laptop bag. But in knitting, as in life, that doesn't mean a whole lot. Yes, the knitting is 50 inches long, but I still have ends to weave in, seams to sew, and much felting, drying, and shaping left. That will come. For now, I'm working on Craig's fingerless gloves that I only did a cuff of sometime last fall. (Sorry, Craig!)

Yea--it's the weekend!

Seasons Do Change in California

2006-11-01T16:38:00.000-08:00

As proof, I offer you these pictures that we took near Camp De Benneville Pines, a Unitarian Universalist camp up past Angelus Oaks on the 38. I've been going there pretty much since I moved to Los Angeles even though I'm not a UU and am not part of any congregation. Aren't they nice to let me come? I went to this work weekend two years ago in early November. I broke my finger loading logs. (Actually I didn't break my poor finger. Some guy who was throwing logs did!) Then, a group of us got stuck up there an extra night due to a snow storm that closed down the roads. It was interesting. This time I checked the weather and stayed far, far away from logs and people throwing them.

We drove up Friday night in horrible, horrible traffic (3+ hours to go just 100 miles) and stayed until Sunday at lunch. Mostly, we raked a 15 foot fire clearance around all the cabins. Raking in the forest is a strange exercise in perserverance and tolerance. Basically, you have to convince yourself that, yes, your actions are making a difference. And then you have to tolerate the fact that there will always be another pine cone, another leaf, another pile of twigs. You can't get everything, nor would you want to. Needless to say, we were exhausted both mentally and physically come Sunday. The higher elevation didn't help, either. Ah well. We got to play Boggle and Yahtzee (brought back childhood memories of camping and playing that game with my parents and their friends), take a walk, and eat good food (they're kind to vegetarians there). We also talked to several people who were very interesting and sweet. All in all, a great weekend. (But boy, did that shower feel good on Sunday night. And sleeping in my own bed was divine!)

Look--changing leaves. Can you believe it?

Here's me at the camp sign just off Jenks Lake Road.

A shadowy road (Jenks Lake Road)

One quick post

2006-10-27T14:10:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time at Church of Craft on October 22nd. Just a news flash for you out there in blog land: the next C of C meeting will be on November 12th at Sugarbutterbex in Highland Park (just up the street from me--hooray!). Thanks to Becca for making this possible.
And now, on to some pictures.

Here's Shele modeling one of the beautiful necklaces she made that afternoon. I'm very impressed that she made two whole pieces of jewelry while I only finished a few rows on the bag (see below)!
Here's Joyce with another of her creations (and a yummy looking iced chai).
Lorelle was working on a knitted scarf, I think. We talked about the dangers and joys of knitting with monkey fur (note--not real monkey fur) yarn. It's so slippery and tangles easily, but it's incredibly soft. I made a scarf for David's Aunt Susie one year. I was almost in tears with all those blasted tangles.
And here's Sonya working on a cute tank top for a friend's baby. Turns out she works in a business school, too. It's weird how crafts and business can go together.
And, finally, here's the dreaded laptop bag laying on my office floor near the trusty printer. It's not quite the required 50 inches, but it's close. I like it, but I'm very sick of knitting it. I sure hope my parents like it and will actually use it once it's finished and felted.

Soon to come--pictures from our volunteer work weekend and from Dia de los Muertos in the park.

Monkey Update & Snazzy Pictures

2006-10-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

The nightmares are over, and the three-armed cyclops monkey is finished. (Truth be told, he's been finished for a month, but I just haven't posted any pictures yet.)
This is the inaugural picture from my new camera. Woo hoo! Many more pixels. Zoom. Wondrous tools. No more dark, fuzzy pictures.

Here he is relaxing on one of our bookcases. (We have SO many books!) David hasn't named him yet. I'll let you know when he does.

In other knitting news, I'm working on what will be a felted laptop bag for my parents with yarn my dad picked out at Tierra Wools. I'm REALLY tired of knitting it and only halfway through. I'll post a picture of that sometime soon. The stripes look nice--it's just very dull to work on.

Here's a picture near the Alumni House at USC. I like to eat lunch on one of the benches near the roses, so one day this week I took this picture. The building is the back of Doheny Library. Working at a university definitely has its advantages.
Last weekend, our friend Craig and I did the AIDS Walk for what we think was the fourth year in a row. I was allowed to join his work team, and we joked that I was a sleeper cell.

I don't normally wear baseball hats, but it had our team name on it. What would I do? My big regret is that I didn't get one of the ice cream bars they were handing out near the end. I talked to somebody on campus who had done the walk. She said the ice cream was delicious, but it just felt wrong to be walking 10 kilometers while eating ice cream. I guess I made up for it last night at the ice cream social at That Yarn Store. Mmm--Cherry Garcia!

Anyway, for the AIDS Walk, I've been able to surpass my fundraising goal already thanks to Ana, Ravi, and Elaine. Thanks, guys! If anyone reading this wants to donate a few bucks, just email me. There's still time.

You don't really get a sense of the sheer number of people in this picture taken from a very slight hill. They said 30,000 people participated this year, but we were out way ahead of most of them and didn't feel crushed at all. (Such was not the case in years past.)

Church of Craft is tomorrow, so I'll try to post some pictures from that!

My New Mexico Odyssey, Part 1

2006-10-02T11:54:00.000-07:00

Once again, I've been away and neglectful. But I have some great pictures to share from my recent (well, fairly recent) trip to New Mexico.

Here I am in Las Cruces with my grandma and my "new" cousin Elizabeth. This is the day of the tornado warning and hailstorm that pitted Elizabeth's rental car hood and broke its windshield. (My uncle's little Honda hybrid was in even worse shape with a completely smashed back windshield and lots more damage.
Here I am diligently working on David's monkey despite the Biblical weather outside. See, David? I promised I'd get the monkey done. (And I did--more on that in another post.)

Here is Elizabeth and me (man, you're short, Elizabeth!) in Old Mesilla for a dedication of a historic house.

We took a trip to White Sands with Elizabeth's two sons, Chris and Joey, plus Elizabeth's sister Prissy and her two daughters. I had a lot of fun experimenting with my mom's calendar while the "kids" buried each other in the sand. Here's one of my self portraits.

After the trip to Las Cruces, my mom and I drove back to Aztec. The three of us (Mom, Dad, and me) drove up to Chama and Los Ojos, for yarn and sightseeing. My dad even bought me yarn, but it's actually for a laptop bag for them, so I'm not sure that counts as gift yarn.

They'd just done a bunch of dyeing the day before, so we got to go back and see all the beautiful colors drying. Beautiful, huh?

And here I am trying to decide what to get. I think what I finally decided was that I wanted to go back and take one of their five day weaving classes where you take a class all day and then get to stay in the cute casita out back. Man--check out Tierra Wools. It's amazing!

One happy knitter!

I'm going to post this, but I have many more things to write about. Finished monkeys, the LA County Fair, another leftover party at That Yarn Store. Stay tuned!

Monkey Mayhem

2006-09-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

This is a monkey divided. This is a monkey unfinished. This is my nightmare.
So, when I started knitting two years ago, the only thing David wanted me to make for him was a sock monkey. No scarves, no hats, no sweaters. Just a monkey. Here we are, two years later, and still no monkey. I promised to make one for his birthday, which was last week. And I've been working on it, but now I have to finish it. All of the pieces above must be assembled, sewn together, and stuffed.

Two nights ago, I had a horrible, horrible dream. I was a student in an English class. The weekend assignment (given Friday afternoon, due Monday morning) was to knit a sock monkey and then make a movie featuring the sock monkey. I was the only knitter in my class, and I knew this sounded impossible. But I tried. When I got to class Monday, we were in a large auditorium. I sat with monkey pieces in my lap, trying to figure out just how to make it look like a monkey before my turn. Meanwhile, other students gave their presentations. Their monkeys were perfect. Their monkeys starred in grand adventures, artsy films, and documentaries that looked both professional and labor-intensive. One film featured a monkey made out of exactly the same yarn I was using. Growing more anxious and not knowing when my name would be called, I tried to piece my monkey together with safety pins, bits of yarn (no tapestry needle here), and whatever else I could find. Did I mention I was the only knitter in that class? And what kind of fucked up assignment was this, anyway? This was an English class, damnit! I woke up before my name was called.

David says that the dream was my overriding guilt trying to get a message into my insensitive, lazy, monkey-hating, thick skull. I mean, how could I possibly even think to start a new project (which I did, on Thursday night) when his birthday monkey lay in pieces. (Yes, his birthday was LAST WEEK!!!) I say I'm just stressed out by work and that stress is carrying over even to my knitting.

(Thanks to David for helping me type this. Some of the wording - the best "wording" - may not be mine.)

What ice cream are you?

2006-09-07T10:51:00.000-07:00

I saw this on another blogger's website and decided to test my ice cream personality. Go on--take the quiz and tell me your flavor. I know I'm not the only one who likes quizzes.

You Are Strawberry Ice Cream

A bit shy and sensitive, you are sweet to the core.You often find yourself on the outside looking in.Insightful and pensive, you really understand how the world works.
You are most compatible with chocolate chip ice cream.

What Flavor Ice Cream Are You?

Lots of pics and randomness

2006-09-03T18:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, so Niki has been chastising me for not posting, and I finally feel guilty enough to do something about it. But I must say that I'm on restrictions for a month due to a certain numbness in my hand. That's right--no mousing or typing with my right hand until October! Work is hard; so is blogging. But there aren't any restrictions on knitting--thank goodness. Anyway, pictures and a few words in semi-random order b/c I don't feel like cutting & pasting. Here we go.

This weekend, we went to Solvang for David's birthday. (Happy Birthday, David!) But I got to do fun things too. Here I am outside Village Spinning and Weaving. What a great place! The people were so friendly, and I even got to help give a pep talk to a new knitter who felt that she was doing things incorrectly.
Random picture of the finished Stranded socks. So cute!

Here's the beautiful alpaca (so soft) hat I knit for Josh's big birthday. The color is peacock.

Here's me next to a huge Hans Christian Anderson head in the small museum dedicated to him in Solvang. There was a cool bilingual edition of The Princess and the Pea that I almost picked up for Tiana. Maybe next time.
Cool windmill in Solvang, just down the street from Village Spinning and Weaving.
Now we're going back in time to August 18th for the Leftover Yarn Party at That Yarn Store. Here is the lovely Frannie tying on yet another beautiful section of yarn to her handmade skein. We had a great time, but I was the only non-That Yarn Store affiliate there. That's why I'm sharing these photos. Please, please please come to the next one on September 29th! Since this is the sort of thing that only benefits from more people (and more yarn), I'd love to see more people come.

Here is my skein, waiting to be wound.

Here is the finished product. Can you say wow? It's so pretty that I almost don't want to start knitting with it. Almost.

Stay tuned for sock monkey updates and more!

2006-08-25T15:52:00.000-07:00

At long last, I'm going to post about the wonderful Stitch N' Pitch game we went to on August 10th. Once again, I apologize for the not such great pictures, but you get the idea.

It was so much fun, even David had a good time!

Here I am knitting away on my sock. The guy in the background got dragged to the Stitch N' Pitch section by a family member, I think, and consistantly covered his face when someone brought out a camera.

Here we are--with many DPNs!

Hooray for Stitch N' Pitch. I can't wait for next year!

You've heard of Snakes on a Plane, right? But what about Cats in a Suitcase? Maybe it could be a sequel. This was the scene as David packed for Missouri last week. Don't they look menacing?

Despite my busy schedule lately, I have had time to create stuff. Take a look at this snazzy bag I made last week at Sugarbutterbex with the help of Jessica. It's an old Nields T-shirt that has lyrics from the song "Gotta Get Over Greta" on the back. Yes, this is how Greta the cat got her name. Anyway, it was pretty easy (easier than the pants--pictured here), and I think I can make presents for lots of people if I ever get my own sewing machine. Hooray!

I have more things to write about, but Blogger's not letting me put up more pictures at the moment.
Just you wait, my pretties!

My Crusoe Sock, Church of Craft

2006-08-08T21:31:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get at least one post in before we go to Stitch N' Pitch tonight. I'm not excited about the traffic or the parking or the racing to get there after work, but just sitting with other knitters (and poor David who neither watches sports nor does any needlecrafting, but he's being a good, um, sport about it) for a few hours sounds great. Plus, I've heard we get a cool Dodgers tote with knitting swag out of the deal.

Anyway, I'm still recovering from the horrible mystery illness. I basically feel okay, but now I'm getting comments that I look TOO thin (who would have thought?). But come on, I was bound to lose some weight because of it. Also, I still feel a little dizzy. But luckily I'm able to eat all the good food I want without any adverse reactions now.

Now, I know you're here for Church of Craft pictures from our meeting on Sunday. Here you go!

Here's Marilynn showcasing an awesome scrapbooking stamp.
And Grace working magic with paper. I must say that I have a pretty negative view of scrapbooking being all hearts and flowers, but Marilynn and Grace both went a long way to helping me see that it can be pretty much anything you want it to be.

Here I am working on my sock. Also pictured is the latte I probably shouldn't have gotten because I felt a little sick afterward. Ah well--it sure tasted good.

Here's Lisa (who models some great hats over at Sugarbutterbex's page) working on what she called "mail art." There's Marilynn again, too.

Not pictured: Lorelle (who was knitting up a very fetching ribbon short-sleeved top), Juanita (who was making up some neato crotched bags out of strips of plastic bags--trust me, they were cool!), and Joyce (who was madly cross-stitching a tattoo-like pattern that said "Mom").

All in all, we had a great time, and I can't wait to do it again. If anyone's reading this and isn't already signed up for the announcement list, just email me.

Finally, here's a better picture of one of my current projects that you saw a glimpse of above.

It is from Knitty, the Crusoe sock. As you can see, I'm finished with one and have already turned the heel on the second sock. It's a cool stranded pattern that's easy but not boring. Can I just say that I actually enjoy turning heels? I look forward to it. The only part I don't like is picking up the stitches at the gusset. But that doesn't last that long. The yarn is Sockotta, and I love it. I'm calling these socks Froot Loops because when David saw them, he said he felt a craving for that sugary cereal. Do you see the resemblance?

Posting now. I'll try to give more regular updates.

Poor Little Blog

2006-08-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

I have been a slacker blogger, but I have many good excuses. There was a company picnic or two, extreme heat, Comic-Con (which took up a full 5 days including travel time), hectic times at work and a new employee, crunch time with a big "side" editing project, and (most recently) stomach flu. So, as you can see, I've been super busy. Let me just say that if any of you wherever you are get the stomach flu, I feel your pain. I don't remember being that sick in a really long time. It came on Tuesday night about 10:30, and I was just barely starting to feel human yesterday. I guess I'm used to the sinus/cold kind of sickness now. I'd forgotten just what it feels like to have your insides turned inside out and then having to regain all the lost fluids. Ick! Anyway...

On to some pictures. I wanted to be sure to post before the next Church of Craft meeting, which is today. There will be great pictures from that, I think.

Here is one of two baby hats I knit as part of That Yarn Store's 1st birthday party last month (Happy Belated Birthday, guys!). The yarn was from That Yarn Store, and as pink as it was, I had some reservations. But it was a real joy to knit with, and the flecks of color kept it interesting. This hat is going to Niki's co-worker who just had a baby girl. The hat's identical twin went to Stitches from the Heart. (Side note: Yesterday I was in Santa Monica for KCRW volunteer training, so I decided to stop by the Stitches from the Heart store since I'd never been there. Wouldn't you know it? They were having their summer sale. So, I picked up some Patons Classic Merino Wool in that Old Gold color needed for USC and Harry Potter apparel. Now I just need the red for some scarves. Also, I got some cool Plymoth wool that will hopefully felt into something really groovy for Niki. Just wait! Anyway, the Stitches from the Heart store was very cool and friendly. Next time I'm in Santa Monica, I'll probably go back.)

Here is the pre-felted booty held together in temporary red yarn. Seriously, the diagram for putting this thing together was so complicated that I had no clue what to do. Plus, I'm a bit spacially challenged, so that didn't help. So, on That Yarn Store's birthday, David O. once again helped me out and put all the knitted pieces together in a way that resembled a booty. Woo hoo! Thanks, David! I've got to knit the second one now and then felt them both. I'll keep you posted.
Back in July, David (the one pictured below) and I had a busy Saturday when we had a work picnic at the KidSpace Museum near the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. We had a good time (yummy Mac-n-Cheese!) despite it being for my work. And if Niki ever brings Tiana to LA to visit us, we'll definitely take her to the museum. I can totally see her getting into all the hands-on activities they had there. It was a very hot day, so luckily we moved away from Pasadena toward the beach to ANOTHER work picnic later in the afternoon. This time, it was a reunion of sorts for all the people who went to Japan in March, and it was at the head professor's house. David even ate beef because it was really, really good beef. I got to try BBQd rice balls. Yum! So, it was hot and we decided to go to the beach after the picnic. Ah, Malibu. At sunset. In July. That's why we're smiling. (And my shirt is wet because we got in the water in our clothes.)
The other big event of July was, of course, Comic-Con in San Diego. We went down with Craig and his friend from 'SC, Corey. My favorite things while we were there were the Lost panel, the Fables panel (with autographed copies of Issue 50 for everyone in the audience--how sweet!), the McCloud family panel, the freebies (of course), the amazing panel with Deepok Chopra and Grant Morrison (if any of you were there, you'll know what I mean), and seeing some great TV and movie projects that are on the horizon. Least favorite things: the heat, the smell (all those people, all that heat), the crowds on Saturday, and waiting in the sun for a long time to see Kevin Smith in Hall H only to find out he was stuck in traffic. (He should have taken the 15!)

I'm sorry to say that these next pictures suck ass. I am planning to get a new camera (with the help of Craig's camera research) as soon as I get paid for one of the editing jobs I've done. These are so dark!

Here is Corey, Craig, me, and David on the last day. Wow--that's a bad picture, especially for Corey who seems to be disappearing ala Back to the Future and David who looks peacefully asleep.

You can skip this picture. It's for Niki. See, Niki? Naruto was everywhere!

And here are some great Shaun of the Dead people. They'd pose like this for anyone who wanted to take a picture. Lots of great costumes this year. Maybe next year I'll have knit or sewn something for myself. But don't hold your breath.

More soon--I promise!

Woes of Work, Joys of Creating

2006-07-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

So, I knew the week of June 26th was off to a bad start when I got a freakin' parking ticket in Pasadena on Monday evening. I haven't gotten a parking ticket in quite awhile, mostly because I learned my lesson the very hard way when I moved out here a few years ago. (You can't ignore parking tickets and you can't NOT pay them.) Anyway, despite the omens (or maybe because of them), the drawstring pant making class I took at the lovely Sugarbutterbex in Highland Park that night soothed my anxious spirit. (Check out their updated schedule on their site. Plus, you can see another picture of me and my pants along with some other people's finished projects.) I was so pleased with how the pants came out and by how unafraid I was of the sewing machine after just a few hours. Thanks to Jessica for all of her patience in teaching me. Here are the pants. Woo hoo--Old Navy has nothing on these puppies.

Plus:

Yes, I finally finished the halter top. I don't think I'm ever going to be fully satisfied with it, but it does fit much, much better than my initial attempt. I might try a bit of blocking to see if I can't get the bust area to settle down. Either that or I'll have to try the rolled-up sock method, if you know what I mean. Ever since I lost weight, I've noticed that my bust just ain't what it used to be.

Continuing on with the bad week of the 26th, I got a new boss (always a stressful thing!), had a panic attack brought on by stress and, strangely, a photo crew in the office with flashbulbs going off all day. I swear I was part of some strange psychological experiment that day. And, no, they didn't take my picture that day. Thank goodness. (On days like that, I always replay the REM song that says, "It's been a bad day. Please don't take a picture.")

To recover from the hellish week of the 26th, I got 4 days off from work for the Fourth of July holiday. We did a bunch of stuff, including seeing the Rauschenberg combine exhibit at MOCA and going to see Superman Returns at the Vista Theatre. Also, we went to a HUGE party at my friend Jeanette's house. This is David and me enjoying the shade after a margarita and lots of food:

And finally, because I feel like I've been working on this post for weeks now, I'll just wrap up. Below are the ribbon pieces David and I made at Sugarbutterbex (again!) as part of the 2nd Saturday event. We enjoyed hanging out with other people and watching Stephanie work her magic with a glue gun. (My creation is the gray one on the left. David's is on the right. What do you think?)

I have more to tell you about from 2nd Saturday, but I'll do that tomorrow. I should just post this already!

Church of Craft Goodness

2006-06-26T16:06:00.000-07:00

On Saturday afternoon, my "new" cousin Elizabeth called and we talked for over two hours. It's been a long time since I clicked with someone so quickly.
In addition to that, I held the monthly Church of Craft meeting Sunday afternoon. There was knitting, cross-stitching, dream pillow making, a small child with markers, and a Mac. This all makes for perfect crafting. The crew at the Eagle Rock Coffee Table are just fantastic, so thanks to them for making us feel so welcome! Now, some pics: Here is Libby finishing her first ever scarf (!), Greg working on his computer, and Stephanie knitting something cute.
Here is Marilynn with her dream pillows and her son Orion. Orion had a birthday yesterday, and he was cool enough to spend it crafting with us.
Here's Greg again, Traci making little knit pouches, Stephanie again, and Joyce who was cross-stitching. They look really serious (well, Traci is smiling), but I promise we had a good time.
Not pictured: Me, since I took the pictures. But I made significant progress on my 2nd time cotton halter top. Last night I got to stop with the ^*&^#$ 2x2 ribbing and move on to the bodice. Hooray. I'll post pictures soon.

And finally, here's Greta at her spot in the kitchen window.

A new cousin, plenty of knitting time, and a happy cat in a window. What else could I ask for?

Baked Goods and Tweedy Yarn

2006-06-19T22:05:00.000-07:00

These are two pre-felted pictures. One is a test swatch for my felted booties. The other is the revised iPod cozy for David. I don't have pictures up, but both projects felted just fine in the sink. The iPod cozy is a much better size (more long and lean rather than short and squatty). David will have to cuff it because now it's too long. Ah well. I'll make him another one.
I went to Unwind in Burbank this weekend. Look what I bought there--on sale! This is yarn for the aforementioned felted slippers. But I keep screwing up on the pattern and having to frog. I guess I should pay more attention. I worked on it when I went to hear A Prairie Home Companion at That Yarn Store on Sunday. While I was there, I ordered more balls of that cool Sockotta yarn (of which I only have one ball) so I can make Tiana a sweater. I also asked them to order some Sockotta self-striping yarn. (I have to have something small to take to Comic-Con, don't I?)
In addition to my yarn lust this weekend, I also stopped by Porto's. See? Here's the bag of evidence. I totally enjoyed my guava roll and a couple of other treats. David also enjoyed the meat pie and potato balls I picked up for him. Ah, Porto's. I wish I could eat your baked goods everyday!

Finally, here's a funny picture of Greta with her paw on top of David's foot. This is how I found them last night when I had finished watching The History Detectives on KCET. Ah--Greta loves David.

Oh--in one last bit of knitting news, I decided I wanted to try again on the Beachy Tank with 2nd Time Cotton that ended up being very baggy. So, I frogged the entire thing. I'll keep you (Niki, who might be my only reader!) posted on the progress because I know you're very interested in projects I have to redo. Ha ha

More soon...

My cat and me = no knitting (or does it?)

2006-06-14T22:00:00.000-07:00

This is a cute picture of Thomas and me in our usual TV watching pose the other night. He loves to curl up next to me and purr the night away. In this case, we were watching the first episode of the final season of Six Feet Under. It was a great episode! (Thomas likes it better when I'm not knitting. More on that below.) And usually Greta is on David's lap, but since it's summer and he's wearing shorts all the time, she won't touch him. (Some kind of aversion to human flesh or something.) Anyway, Thomas is such an attention hog that I'm sure the thought of having his picture splashed across the internet appeals to him. It just means that many more potential hands to pet him.

Why no knitting pictures, you ask? Well, since I finished the socks on Sunday night, I haven't started anything new (and the socks were the last project I had on the needles). It's a very sad fact, but I don't know what to do next. I want to do a Sockotta sweater for Tiana, but I realized I didn't have enough yarn. (Duh--I only have one ball.) So until I get more, I can't do anything. I'm not in the mood to start up a sweater for me yet. So maybe I'll do another pair of socks with this cool pattern from Knit Picks. But I want to do more. I think socks are a good project to always have on hand just in case. I could whip up a quick iPod cozy for David since the last one, once felted, was way too wide and short. Oh--what to do? Tomorrow I have to take the car in for service and I'll be near Unwind in Burbank, so maybe I'll stop in there and see what's what.

Oh--and I went for my finishing lesson at That Yarn Store and realized I have the skills I need to finish. I guess I'm just not confident enough with things like the citizenry stitch (aka grafting). Anyway, I had a good time talking to David and Thea. They graciously offered the Church of Craft a place to meet if we ever need it. (Our next meeting will be June 25. Email me if you're interested.)

I have more to write about a newly discovered cousin, but she's so new that I haven't had time to process everything. I'll write that story some other time. But suffice it to say that it's all very exciting and that it's been an emotional week (but in a good way).

Until this weekend, when I hope to take some pictures of new yarn...

At last the socks are done!

2006-06-11T22:47:00.000-07:00

I felt as though I'd never be done. And I came close to giving up a few times. But--at long last--the socks are done. They are the mismatched Himalaya pair from Nancy Bush's book. Why did they take so long, you might ask? Well, these stripes were all made by me, not by self-striping yarn. I decided stripes can be a big pain in the ass when you have to weave in all the ends. But I was able to finish them during Brokeback Mountain on Sunday night. (Such a good movie, but I almost didn't want to watch the last third because I knew it would be so sad.)
Anyway, pictures of the socks.

My favorite--the less stripey one.

And the second (actually first one I knit, which is a big part of the reason I almost didn't finish) more stripey one. Why do sock on feet pictures make everyone's legs look so stumpy?
I accidentally deleted the one of the two socks side by side, but it's for the best because it was a very unflattering picture. They are so comfy. I can't wait to wear them to work.

In other news, my arm is worse and is actually quite sore. I hope this is a has-to-hurt-if-it-is-to-heal sort of pain instead of just plain old pain.

And in still other news, I went to the hyperbolic plane workshop on Sunday at That Yarn Store (see link to the left) in Eagle Rock. It was great fun. I got to watch David the owner get a man interested in the hyperbolic plane thing even though the man was very fiber-resistant when he walked in with his wife. It was neat to see as the guy's defensive, arms-crossed demeanor changed into a more conversational, engaging demeanor. Fiber can do that to people, I think.

Anyway, tonight I'm going in for my "finishing class" at TYS. I knit up a few swatches last night as I was watching the first episode of Buffy Season 6. I had lots of short scraps of yarn to finish up. Oo--and it's $0.99 papusa night tonight at Las Cazuelas in Highland Park, so we're having that for dinner. (Granted, some of the papusas are only on sale for $1.25. Still a bargain, I say!)

And Niki, I had a dream last night about a spiral staircase that kept getting narrower and narrower until it was squeezing my bones and I couldn't go any higher. Gee--let's all put our thinking caps on and figure out what that means. (Barriers, anyone?)

Good day!

Booties, Soapmaking, Non-Business Stuff

2006-06-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

I just noticed that I like to title my blogs with a list of three items. Must be the way I think or something. Anyway, here are some more pictures and a few thoughts.

I finished the booties in the nick of time before the shower. Aren't they cute? That funky smudge my camera did at the top make them look ethereal or something. (I really need to replace my camera, as the next three pictures will attest.)
On Monday night, I went over to Annie's house for a soapmaking/craft night. I met Annie a few weeks ago at the Church of Craft meeting, and she was nice enough to include me. Here's a picture of all the participants and the finished products (plus some lemons). Left to right: Annie, Jessica, Susan (standing--I met her last summer at Church of Craft), Libby, and me (standing). I had such a good time making soap, eating lavender shortbread cookies (homemade by Jessica), knitting, and meeting some new people. Plus, we did a swap of things we didn't want anymore. Some of my clothes found a new home, and I went home with an awesome black short-sleeve shirt with a cool collar. I hope to do it again soon! (And I apologize if I got anyone's name wrong. I'm really horrible with names.)
Here's a close-up of the soap. Aren't the duckies cute? Soapmaking can be really addicting. I still want to try the lye method, but I need to buy a lot more supplies for that than the melt-n-pour method. Plus, I'm afraid I'll blind myself or something.

Here's a really crappy picture from the shower on Tuesday. The woman in beige is Jackie--she organized the shower (and made us play fun games). The woman in white is Michelle, who's expecting the baby in July. I really enjoy knitting for babies; right now I'm planning my next project for Fatma, Niki's co-worker who's expecting this summer. After that, if I run out of babies, I'll start over on the ones I've already knit something for. And I'm still trying to figure out a cute sweater or ensemble for Tiana that could be ready by the time Denver winter hits. Something tells me it will have to be pink.

In other news, I had a really bad day at work yesterday. To help myself through it, I called That Yarn Store in Eagle Rock and signed up for a finishing class next week. (I've learned a lot about finishing garment on my own, but I feel like I'm still too sloppy. This should help.) It was great just talking to someone about knitting (and crochet too, since I'm planning to go to the hyperbolic plane workshop they have on Sunday at 4:00) and not even think about work for a few minutes. I feel a lot more centered since I took up knitting 2 years ago in June. Looking back, it seems like an inspired decision since I really have needed something to take the edge off in the past two years.

Finally, I'm almost freakin' done with the mismatched socks from Nancy Bush's book. I'll post pictures soon. My next sock project will not include stripes I have to make myself by alternating yarn colors. I want a nice, uncomplicated sock pair that doesn't involve endless weaving in of ends. I'll have to watch a movie and weave in all the ends or I'll get too annoyed. (I already have a skein of Sockotta just waiting for me.)

That's it for today. Carry on!

Artwalk, Finished Knitting, Hot Hot Hot

2006-06-05T17:01:00.000-07:00

At last, after some fiddling around, I finished the kimono for the baby shower. The ties gave me the worst trouble, and I think it's not as clean a finished product as the sweater I made for baby Aydan from the Yarn Harlot's Knitty pattern ("Snake Charmer"). Ah well--it's still cute!
And I was able to do this cute hat in just a couple of hours. It's the kind of pattern that can be adapted to just about any head size, so I might try it again. Can I just say once again that knitting for babies rocks? It's so gratifying--and so fast, too!

On Saturday night, David and I went to the Culver City Art Walk, where we saw many, many galleries and lots of art. Plus, we almost melted in the heat. And we managed to score two free medium pizzas from Pizza Hut because some guy took off with our order. Thanks, Culver city Pizza Hut!
Anyway, here I am in front of one of the galleries on La Cienega.
Here's a door I liked. No, it wasn't a door to an art gallery, but it was incredibly near some art galleries. Does that count? It's so wide and green, with the graffiti just so.
Here's David along Washington Blvd. with a "Lassie Come Home" sign post. It's a long story.
And here I am in front of one of the other galleries. Sorry--I don't know how to rotate my pictures in here yet, so you'll have to tilt your pretty little head.

I'm posting, I'm posting. I have to get the hang of this consistent blogging thing. Please be patient!

It's my bedtime.
Good night!
Brenda

Nearly Finished Projects, Norah Vincent

2006-05-30T14:55:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is the felted iPod holder I made for David. It's almost dry, so soon I'll be able to tell if it's actually the right size.

And here's the nearly completed Koko Kimono, as of last night. This morning on the way to work, I finished sewing up the side seams and begin picking up stitches along the neckline. After that, it's just the i-cord ties and some serious blocking. I think I'll do coordinating booties as well. Knitting for babies rocks!

In other news, I recently finished reading Self-Made Man by Norah Vincent. It was very well-written, informative, funny, moving, all that good stuff. The author went undercover as a man for 18 months. She joined a men's bowling league, spent some time at a monastery, dated women, etc. Check it out.

Only two more days left of this work week. When you take a lot of uncertainty and pair it with the much slower pace of summer, you end up with too much time to worry. I hope to take up at least some of that time with knitting and Harry Potter books on the iPod. And tonight there are two great shows on PBS--"Secrets of the Dead" and the Frontline special on AIDS. (We watched part I last night. Excellent.)

The Buddha and me-and some knitting

2006-05-25T16:49:00.000-07:00

Well, obviously I'm going to have to get better at blogging in a regular and timely manner. Still, I'm excited about all of this--I just have a few kinks to work out. But first, some actual content.

This is a picture of me taken in Japan when I was there in March for work. My "partner in crime" David (not my husband David but the other staff member who was on the trip with me) and one of the 72 (!) MBA students took a half-day trip outside of Tokyo to Kamakura to see the great Daibutsu. It was a lovely day and very peaceful. (After all, going to see a huge Buddha couldn't be anything BUT peaceful, right?)

This is a picture of our two tour guides in Japan (the woman in green and the woman in red), two of the professors on the trip (the man with grey hair and the man with a burgundy shirt), David (again, not my husband David but the other staff), and me. This was taken right before we were leaving for the airport on our last day in Japan.

This is one of the many, many vending machines in Japan. See the red labels and the blue ones? The red stands for hot drinks (and they are wonderfully hot on a cold morning) while the blue stands for cold drinks (again, just what you want when the temperature rises). The simply marvelous thing? They coexist harmoniously in the same machine. Man--I miss the vending machines.

But anyway, in knitting content, I'm nearing completion of the baby koko kimono. One sleeve down, one to go. And I felted an iPod holder for David (this time my husband) over the long weekend. We'll see if it actually fits or if I'll have to adjust the number of stitches. Drat--the pictures I'm trying to share are not uploading properly. I'll put them up when I can. But without further delay, I'll go ahead and post this.

Happy Memorial Day!
Brenda

A Hike, a Dead Mouse, and a Kimono

2006-05-21T17:55:00.000-07:00

Here is the Koko Kimono I'm working on for a co-worker who's having a baby. (And shoot--the baby shower is just a couple of weeks away!) I finished the back yesterday when we were watching Chasing Amy. The pattern is from Minnies by Jill Eaton.

Here is Thomas. He wouldn't hold still for me to take his picture.

Here is Greta. She looks kind of freaky in this picture, but I think she'll look better when I get a new camera. I love her snaggle tooth.

This morning we went hiking (a bit over 7 miles!) with our friend Craig at Topanga State Park. We're thinking of training for a half marathon that's coming up in September. But that involves running, right? I'm not sure...

Oh--and the dead mouse was actually a mummified mouse that I found yesterday while cleaning outside by the too many plant containers I have on the porch. I was a little wierded out at first, but then I became fascinated. I mean, you could see bones (vertabrae, skull, teeth, etc), but there was also this leathery skin. All the juicy bits were gone. David was intrigued as well. Craig and Niki, when I told them about it, seemed less impressed. I guess you had to be there.

So, that covers all the things in my title, right?

Happy Sunday.

Brenda

Hello world!

2006-05-20T18:45:00.000-07:00

This is my first post on my brand new blog, so I'll make it a short one. I've been talking about setting up a blog to talk about my knitting for quite awhile. Now I've done it! Here we go...

Brenda

meowdemeow@earthlink.net