Fighting the fight

I had to forgo SnB and getting my car serviced yesterday. I am fighting off a cold, I think. I woke up yesterday with a sore throat and a bad headache, so I stayed in bed. I got up around 8, talked to the service desk at the car place, Ellen at Farmer's Market, my sister in Bodega Bay, Brit and Alyson. Fell asleep on the couch and woke up around 3. Had weird fever dreams. Today I had to drop out of helping Brit with Cat Nippers, a volunteer group of vets, techs and cat lovers who spend one day a month spaying and neutering feral cats. Brit and I are always on vaccination duty. It's a lot of fun and I've made a lot of friends there, but I just couldn't make it. And I lost out on taking a lot of photos for this blog! All I've seen this weekend is the TV and Zulu.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with admiring Mr. Z...

Today the sore throat is gone, but the headache remains.

I'm pretty excited about an opportunity coming up. My cousin, Bud Tedesco, is a professor at Riverside Community College and has asked me to talk to one of his classes! They are even paying me! I've got to plan a lecture and am going to use some of the videos we've done in the past. Should be fun. I was interviewed for a documentary one of his students, J. Baker, did last year on women in the film business. She was terrific.

Still working on that blanket. I had started another bargello project at SnB last Thursday night, just to remind myself how it's done, then ripped it out, but I will try again! I have these yarns already for that purpose:

The yarn is Art Yarns Ultra Merino 8 -- just gorgeous.

A Visit with Brit and Hank

Brit came by today with her friend's dog, Hank. He is a 2 year old pit bull and couldn't be sweeter or more well behaved. We went for a long walk through the 'hood, and the other dogs barking didn't faze him.


Brit and Hank

Zulu, needless to say, hid in the studio. Whenever Brit is around, he thinks he is getting carted off to stay at her house. He doesn't mind that, but I think he really hates to be uprooted. He hides from me when he's at her house.

I'm progressing on the blanket. The baby shower is on the 18th and I'm sure I'll finish it before that. It's over half way done, though I spent Thursday night at SnB unknitting more than knitting.


Blanket and Cat

My bargello knitting was a big hit Thursday night. I may start another one after the blanket, but I think I'm ready for some really big needle knitting. These tiny size 2's are driving me nuts!

My sister, Rosalie, gave me a book a while ago called Feng Shui for You and Your Cat . In there it said that if your cat likes to hang out around the front door, it's very good feng shui. Mine is excellent, apparently.

Oscars and stuff

Here are Alyson and me on our way to the O****'s! I'm wearing one of my outfits I got in India and Alyson is in a gorgeous tuxedo coat. We met at Pam's house because she was hemming up Alyson's new pants. So we got a photo with her, too.



We had a wonderful time -- we got to walk down the red carpet and oogle some stars. We saw Maggie Gyllenhaal getting her lipstick refreshed, Jennifer Hudson getting whisked away from some adoring fans and we were right behind Sally Kirkland, swirling around in her pseudo butterfly dress. I think she's nuts, but she was definitely having a good time.

I couldn't find a evening bag I liked, so I knitted one!


It came out a little small, but it served its purpose. We ended the evening at Casa Vega in Studio City. It was delicious.

Mr. Z? He stayed home with a bottle of wine and watched it all on TV....

Crochet extraordinaire

Have you seen this? It's a woman crocheting herself into a tube. Anyone from SnB West Hollywood game to try it?

Crochet Cocoon

I had the worst traffic going to SnB last night. It took me over an hour and a half to get there, but I was very glad I did. Allison was using an incredibly beautiful Noro yarn and I had to buy some. Hey, I didn't agree to that "knit your stash" thing. She has a great store -- Super Crafty. Check it out.

Because of the traffic and the fact Annika and her husband were there with Sam, who charmed the pants off everyone in the room -- what's cuter than a happy red haired baby? --, I completely forgot to show off my bargello knitting.




I did have some help with these photos...

Progress so far

How did I end up with so much crap?

I did get to the sewing machine FINALLY and the first thing I did was steek the bargello patterned throw I made years ago. My good friend,Estelle Carlson , taught me this method, but it is knit up in a tube and then you have to cut it. I didn't have to lie down for a while, like Elizabeth Zimmermann said I might -- I was pretty calm. I'm bringing it to SnB tonight to show off.

Estelle passed away a year and a half ago. I miss her terribly. We traveled a bit together and it was she who got me back into knitting. Here we are in San Miguel, Mexico, sitting outside our hotel room:



She died too young -- she had just turned 70. She had Lou Gehrig's Disease. Damn.

I'm still working on that baby blanket. I'm not even half way yet, but almost. Why, oh why, did I use size 2 needles??



To end, the king of the Scratch Lounge:

Anticipation and camellias

I have a few things to do to get ready for the weekend. Saturday night is the awards banquet for the Motion Picture Sound Editors group which I am attending and Sunday, of course, is the Academy Awards. I have read about all the lawsuits regarding using the name "Oscar" or "Academy Awards" without permission, so I'm playing with fire a little bit, but I think I'm safe. Michelle has offered to do my hair for Sunday; the sound editors will just have to see me as I am.

The last time I went to the A*** A***s, I took my neighbor, Charles. He is the best neighbor anyone could have -- all my friends are jealous. He is retired now but I still get the call every once in a while to see if I'm hungry for dinner. He is a great cook and brings me dinner on a tray with dessert and sometimes a flower. I saw him this evening and he gave me some camellias from his garden (he has an excellent garden).



Aren't they gorgeous? There are several bushes of these white camellias growing outside the building I work in and every morning I am awe struck by them.

I got off work early today and stopped by Michaels. They had these great magazine boxes on sale!! I got a bunch for my studio.




And, OK, I got some yarn, too. Not much, though.



Here's a holler out to Ellen and Frank, who will both be at Stitches West this weekend. I'm sooooo jealous! I will miss them both tomorrow night at SnB, Farmers' Market.

I'll leave you with Mr. Z in one of his favorite spots in the house. Why is water coming out of the faucet so much more appealing than the water in the bowl?

Starring Mr. Z

OK -- I've gotten some grief about leaving out the obligatory cat photo. Is everyone happy now?

The Long Weekend

I am at the end of a 4 day weekend. I've been busy and lazy, knitting and eating, getting out and staying in. Friday I did nothing. It was wonderful. Saturday I got my taxes done, picked up Brit and met Ellen and Larry at the Farmer's Market to celebrate Mardi Gras. It was fun! Music and good food and crazy people -- check out Ellen 's blog for photos. (I forgot my camera in the car.) Afterwards, I dropped off Brit and went for a hair cut. I go to Luxe on Sunset, right by the Junction. Michelle is terrific and I always enjoy being there and spending time with Fanny Brown, her bulldog. On Sunday, I met Alyson at Polished for a manicure/pedicure, shopped at Michaels ( I actually resisted buying any yarn!!) and was home by 4. Brit came out and we went for coffee, after worshiping Zulu, who is really who I think she comes to see.

Today, I'm still organizing my studio. I got some books up and found a basket full of woven belts I got in Mexico a couple of years ago. I attended a knitting workshop in San Miguel de Allende for two weeks. It was unbelieveable wonderful. The workshop was sponsered by The Knitting Basket, which is owned by Irene and Bill York. They have been doing this for a few years. I learned the modular knitting technique, created by Horst Schultz. This is what I made:






The belts -- they were for the shoulder straps on these and any other bags I planned on making. You see how far I got. Another project waiting for completion.

I really love those bright colors.

I also went shopping at Macy's President's Day sale and bought some jewelry to wear with my Punjabi silk outfit for the Academy Awards.



Can't wait!

Getting started

I had the day off and decided it was time to start organizing. I piled all the yarn (that I could find) onto the floor and separated it all by color. This is it, so far:



I found out I have a LOT of pink -- who knew? -- and tons of red and blue...and green and yellow and orange. I have a lot of yarn. I still have some empty drawers, though. The bin in front is the "cheap" stuff -- Red Heart, etc. I want to save the drawers for the good stuff! I now have two trash cans full of Ziploc bags and plastic wrap from all the yarn I forgot I had. I even found some needles I forgot I bought.
Zulu watched for a while, got very agitated from all the stuff getting thrown around and finally retired to his Scratch Lounge. I have one of the prototypes, because the inventor, Frank, is a friend of Brit's. He LOVES it!




It was a gorgeous day -- this is the view from my back yard:



You just can't beat February in Southern California.

New Room! New Room!

Well, it is installed and gorgeous!! Here are my new storage units (still empty for now):

The desk area --



And the drawer units and book shelves --




At last -- a place for all my yarn!!! and books about yarn!!! and maybe room for fabric and my books about quilting!!! I'll have to see if there is any space left... Here's the stuff that has to fit in there:


(Not counting the fabric in the garage. It's a disease.)

And the supervisor, who was uninterested in the whole process--



Now, to start organizing...

Parties and laundry

Brit's birthday party was a success. I saw Ellen and Larry and met her friend, Joan. I had just read Ellen 's blog on how she met Larry through Joan, so it was characters in a story come to life. I gave Brit the beret for her birthday. She said she was wearing it today! I need to make one for me now.

I've started the baby blanket. After a lot of tries with a lot of different patterns, I am using the knitted bias blanket from Knit Baby Blankets!. This is it, so far:



I'm starting a Fibonacci sequence next. The blanket in the book was not striped, but I like the way this is turning out.

I've spent most of today doing laundry and getting the studio ready for the Elfa units that will be delivered (and installed!) on Tuesday. I could possibly have a room finished by the weekend. Unbelievable.

This is Mr. Z helping me with the laundry.



Irresistible, evidently.

What a week

The highlight of my week was the SnB night at Farmer's Market. Actually, it's always the highlight of my week, but this week I really needed it. It was long, difficult and stressful. I'm glad it's over.

I started another project -- so much for my resolution to finish what I've already started. I was inspired by Annika to make the Fingerless Gloves -- a free pattern on Knitty.com. I've finished the left one.




I'm using Lion Brand Pound of Love, color Denim. It knitted up quickly, so, if I don't get too bored, I may finish the right before next Thursday.

Tonight is a birthday for my friend, Brit, and her boyfriend, Ted. It is at his loft in the Brewery, a rabbit warren of artists' lofts downtown. And, yes, it used to be a brewery. It's a potluck -- what to bring? I don't cook much, but I'll find something.

And the cat. What is it about your bed that is so irresistible?

Zulu and art

A quick history of Zulu. He was a rescue cat I got from Brit, my vet friend. She is partial to black cats and he is the second one I've gotten through her. The first was Aretha as in Franklin. I didn't name her, either. She was very partial to people and hated other animals. She was quite tiny, but would go after any other thing on four legs. She ran into the sliding glass door a couple of times to get at a raccoon. She died of cancer after I'd had her a couple of years. I took a year off of pets and then got Zulu. He had been living with a family in Oregon who kept him outside. Need I mention that they had had him declawed and lived next to a national park? He slept in a cardboard box in a carport though the snow and rain. Brit finally got them to send him to me. He is a little nutty (who wouldn't be?) but very affectionate. He's big on kissing and hugging. I've had him for over 6 years now.

A beauty shot:


Zulu and his twin, the door stop:


Just a note about several art show with knitted pieces. They are reviewed in the Los Angeles Times Sunday Calendar today. Check out these examples of Art Knitting:





Pretty cool, huh?

bear-ets

I got tired of the socks. I decided to finish the hat (beret) I was making from a pattern by Lily Chin. It turned out pretty good.



I had a hard time taking my own photo wearing it, so I got a model who was sitting around the house.



It uses bulky or chunky yarn. I used Linie 157 Tessa for the heathered yarn and Lett-Lopi for the black. It knitted up really fast, so I'm encouraged to make a few more for gifts.

Zulu? He's right here, checking out the back yard.



I'm going to the Oscars!! I got the tickets last Wednesday. My old college buddy, Janice, can't go -- she's the reason I tried for the tickets in the first place -- but my good friend, Alyson, is joining me. I am planning on wearing one of the outfits I got in India. I'll take plenty of pictures.

IQ?

My pal, Alyson, emailed me an intelligence test that I can't stop playing. I'm up way too late, but I can't shake the urge to be a genius. I already scored high enough, but I WANT TO GET THEM ALL!!! Here is the Intelligence Test, if you dare -- Good luck!

I'm still on the same stupid sock. Progress so far:


I don't know why I picked a pattern for size 1 needles.

And, of course, the cat.



He is eating again.

I missed the WeHo SNB tonight -- damn! I'm sure it was a blast. Next week, watch out! Maybe I'll have one sock by then...