What a beautiful place for a retreat - nestled north (I think it's north?) of the Golden Gate Bridge, we were at Point Bonita YMCA - bunkbeds, staying up late, knitting and learning...

The grounds were beautiful - we saw deer, racoons and even a skunk (who was cute!) - I was enamored with the fog, cool temperatures, drizzle, moss and atmosphere - it's not what I'm used to in Los Angeles, that's for sure! 

a short and easy hike down the pointe brought us to this big steel door through the mountain - it is the entrance to the path that leads to the lighthouse - and is open only a few hours a day a few days a week - I loved the rust colored algae or rust or whatever it is around the door - the color was so beautiful!

I tried to get a photo of the bridge at night - and while I was very still (sat my camera solidly on a post, set the timer, did long exposures) I didn't take into account the mist and fog in the air... it's fuzzy because San Francisco is a bit fuzzy - it's misty and hazy and foggy and I LOVE it!!

Here are some other photos from the trip - I had a great time and suggest any guy who is interested in knitting visit the Men's Knitting Retreat website or the group on ravelry!

Poor Darrellllll... (founder of menwhoknit.com) - when are ya gonna get out of the brigade? :)

a view from inside a part of the brigade (used for WWII I think) - not sure what this really was, but we thought it'd be a great place for a bar or dance club - that is; if they'd put up some railings...

Mr. Farris again taking great photos of the city and the bridge...

me and my buddy Michael - he helped me immensely with my circular sock knitting machine... (and he MADE a pair of socks on his while doing so!) - see that sweater?  he made it - an insanely talented guy - can't wait to learn more from him and the other guys next year!

and last but not least, Point Bonita Lighthouse - a beautiful spot... (and I got great cell phone service out there!)  I know I didn't show much knitting on this post - but knitting WAS done - I just didn't photograph it... I got about half of the front of a sweater done, and took a few classes as well.  we learned twined knitting, hand spinning on a drop spindle, freeform knitting/crochet, mosaic, and entrelac among other things.  Wanna be involved next year?  please do... just get in touch with the guys who organized it and they'll email you as it gets closer.  WonderMike and HizKnits from Y Knit were the ones in charge this time -- amazing men - along with everyone who attended...

I can't wait to go back!

I went with a friend from school to an art supply expo in Pasadena on Sunday.  There were probably 100 vendors there, selling brushes, paint, canvases, and all kinds of neat artsy stuff.  We hung out at the Golden Acrylic booth and learned about OPEN - their new acrylics that stay wet for a day... (instead of 10-40 minutes!) - we also went by Duho Studios - a company that was making exotic wood panels for painting - BEAUTIFUL - I bought some goodies at a few booths, including loading up on pallette knives and mediums and gels at the Liquitex booth.  I discovered white ink there also - which I'm excited about and think I may use in a project very soon!

When I got home, I did some messing around on the abstract landscape - I added some texture with string medium that I tinted with inks - it's the consistency of honey and drips in neat long strings... I also put on some crackle medium and some medium that has a type of sand in it... To be honest, I'm not overwhelmed with this piece quite yet - I don't love the way it looks and have no clear direction as to how I will finish it.  I WILL say, however, that after visiting all those booths and reviewing some of the literature I brought home, I am looking forward to working more on it tonight. 

in knitting news, I continue to work on the striped sweater I am test knitting.  The more I work on this the more I love the pattern (and idea) and the more I dislike my color combo.  I just don't know if I'll wear it because the colors are soo bright... but I am not giving up; I wanted to do this more than anything and I'm clicking right along with the pattern... I will reserve final judgement when I try it on...

I will say this though... I am already trying to decide what the next color combo will be for this pattern.... I might use neutral beiges, or different greens (now THAT's a surprise coming from ME!) - or possibly if the gauge works out different skeins of noro kuryeon... we'll see; I don't want to get too ahead of myself - let's focus on finishing this one!

I found an awesome vintage easel online (yeah, craigslist!) for a great price - it's over 7' tall and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! - I haven't figured out exactly where I'm going to put it (it's REALLY big) yet but I have a feeling it'll end up in the garage.  We are thinking that if we clean part of the garage out I'll have room for my yarn storage system and my painting and circular sock machine stuff - it'll take some doing though - we're due for another yard sale!  (if only we had the time to do it!)  This photo is from the listing... I can't wait to get the area set up so I can paint - it'll be awesome!

We went to Alamitos Bay Yarn Co. for their sale but didn't find anything - all the wool (the stuff I loved) was not on sale - so we headed to Yarn Lady (in Laguna Beach I think) and I bought yarn for the buffalo sweater.  I started it yesterday, hoping to get gauge after my muddling around - but ended up with a back that's only 17" across - not quite big enough... I think I'm going to have to double the yarn to get the right gauge (which I believe means doubling the quantity) -

I also used a little mohair yarn along with the normal yarn - all the way through... and I think it makes everything blend a bit too much - so for the next try I'll use the yellow mohair on the oatmeal yarn, an orange one with the pumpkin yarn and a chocolate one with the brown - we'll see how that works... (that also means that while doing the rows shown above at one point I'll have like 30 yarns hanging in the back - 2 for every color - 3 colors in a motif, 5x across the row - not that I'll be working with all fo them but holy cow... that's a lot!) - it's doable though and I love the sweater so I'll keep working on it!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! 

... and here's a little treat for those of you who might not know... may I introduce to you (or remind you of) the one...the only; Alberta Hunter!  there's a wonderful documentary out there about her life... she had an amazing story - it is also a musical ("My Castle's Rockin'") ... check her out!

Last night I delivered my entries for the 2008 LA County Fair and while I was there, they asked me to make a plea to the other guys who knit in the Los Angeles County area - so here goes....


Guys - the LA County Fair is having a "Men Who Knit" competition on September 7th, 2008 - (the entry info is attached below).  If you call or sign up soon (get in touch with them for the details) I believe that with your paid entry fee of $5 they'll send you a pass to enter the fair that day!  I plan on going and hope to see and meet some of the other L.A. guy knitters there! 


While I was there dropping my knitting off, I met a few amazing artists who were turning in some beautifully framed needlework - I think that there's an entire "fair culture" that I don't really know about - people who do this year after year... This will be my first fair as an adult (I entered paintings and sculptures during my High School years) and I look forward to seeing my pieces on display with others from the county!

If you entered in the fair this year (or have in the past) I'd love to hear some comments about your experiences!  so far I think it seems like a neat experience - it's really early for drop off - before doing this I had no idea that the entries had to be turned in over a month before the fair starts!  I guess that's so that there's enough time to review, display, judge and award ribbons before the whole thing begins!  The LA County Fair runs September 5-22 at the LA County Fairgrounds (Fairplex) in Pomona, CA!

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It's a LOT of fun to work on this piece - I am enjoying using my mannequin to help me figure out where to put new bits... I spent the morning sitting out in the back yard with the TV on (yes, we have a television in our backyard) - enjoying the cool/warm weather and watching some mystery show... pretending to know how to crochet and making random bits of crochet and knitting.  piece after piece made and stuck into a ziploc baggie...


I have purchased a few books online that should help me with my crochet skills - While I want to make more and more for this piece, I think it'd be wise to wait (it should only be a day or two!) until some of those books arrive and I have the chance to learn some new stitches!  (I'm anxious though; I love this working without a pattern stuff!!)

Once I had a lot of bits done, I started to attach them to my fleece - which I bought from Ozark Handspun!  I haven't discovered yet just how much of the fleece will be visible by the time I'm done with this piece... it's a "work in progress" which as you know means that I have no idea what it's gonna look like finished!

Freeform can be a little challenging - there are some colors that I think work good, but then once I stick the piece on the wrap, they stick out - like the purple does in this picture - but as I keep going things seem to work themselves out.

I'm gearing up for work - getting ready for another full week - I hope everyone had a nice safe weekend! 

I finished my "Memory Vest" - designed by Kristen Kapur in honor of her father - the pattern is beautiful and easy (you can get it through Ravelry or through her website) a simple donation to help fight alzheimers grants you the key to make your own... this is the first cabling project I have made and I loved doing it - I made an excel spreadsheet that lists out each chart and its repeat - it helped me keep track although I was still able to mess up a time or two and forced myself to rip back... but I did it and I'm proud!  I can't wait to model and show it off! :)

On other news, I have a friend that has posed a challenge - her grandmother passed away while knitting a baby sweater for her yet to be born great great grandchild - the lineage is all a little confusing to try to write - but the jist of the story is that there's no pattern and only the back was completed - my friend would LOVE to get the little baby sweater completed - and I know that we can figure out the sweater pattern issues, but I'm not sure what the stitch pattern it!  If anyone has any idea, please email me and let me know what it is... once I find this out, we can figure out the rest of the pattern.  It's part of the family history that this wonderful lady would knit each newborn a sweater - and we want the future first great great grandchild to have this sweater that was started for him/her..

 

help?  Thanks for any info or thoughts you have!!

This is my new dress form / mannequin - I got it through Studio Rox online - they're made in NY I believe and it looks a lot like the ones from Abercrombie and Fitch - pretty vintage looking - I must admit I would prefer a "real" old form, but the chances of finding a MALE one (yes, this is a "male" form) and in my size (36" chest; I'm a small guy) is pretty far fetched.  The plan for the form is to use it for designing, assembling, etc. and mostly for assembling components in freeform knitting... He doesn't have a name yet... any ideas? - for now it will live in the office - next to my rusty "K" and my EEG machine - which I got from a Dr's office in Pasadena - it's one of the original prototypes for the real one - from the dr. who helped invent it - (I know, I know... I'm strange)

The form arrived quick via UPS, in 2 boxes and is a cinch to assemble, although the directions don't make a ton of sense... I plan on re-doing the metal plates that cover the arm holes - making them wood, and replacing or painting the knob at the top with either wood or something - I already changed out the screws on the armholes to be brass to more match the gold paint they made them... I love my new toy! 

On the form right now is the zip up cardigan I made earlier this year...

while I was cleaning up this afternoon, I ran across more of my squares for the mitered square blanket!  It inspired me to clean up the next batch of squares that I have completed - these 10 make a total of 20 squares completed and ready for assembly - I pinned them to size and blocked them out so that they're all ready to go when it's time.  I have about 30-40 squares to go before I'll assemble... If you ever make the mitered square blanket, be sure to weave in your ends as you go or they'll make you cry.  I'm happy to say that 20 squares are knitted, blocked, trimmed and all ready to go when the time comes!

I also finished the rust raglan sweater this past weekend, but haven't taken any photos of it - I'm also days away from finishing the snowflake sweater - it needs its zipper and then it'll be done too! 

I have revised and updated the shop a bit - I completed design for the first of the Animal Rescue card series - here it is - featuring Willow - my 3 legged baby - it's up for sale on the shop now - remember, proceeds are going to an animal rescue center - what better way to send a note than to have it do "double duty" and help save a pet - This critter is my life and soul - along with her sister (Winky), they are beyond wonderful and loving.  Anyone who has a rescue animal understands - but those of us lucky enough to harbor animals that were not only saved but also have endured tragedy know a special love.  Willow is missing her leg, Winky is missing one of her eyes (the rumor is that she was the victim of a nasty fight) - they are both lucky now - sleeping in the sun during the day...

If you have an animal you'd like to feature on the animal rescue card series, email me - I'm accepting contributions of photos - and if you're in the Los Angeles area, and you have a rescue pet you'd like me to photograph, get in touch and we'll work something out!

On the knitting front, I have finished the back of my "Dr. G's Memory Vest"... I am *almost* done with the snowflake sweater... I just knitted a square for a blanket that will be auctioned off to raise money for Breast Cancer research... and this past weekend I organized the yarn to continue the trudging along on my circle blanket.  Lots of knitting to do... I just need more hours in the day! :)

We had a pretty calm holiday 3 day weekend (HOORAY for 3 day weekends!) - on Saturday, I went to Simply Knitting and knitted with my buddy Terri - and I was able to get lots done on my Dr G's Memory Vest!  the snowflake sweater is AWOL right now - the lady who is fixing the shoulder seams for me was out of town on a trip... so I didn't get that one back... it's OK though - instead of focusing on finishing that sweater, I got to devote lots of time to this one! 

After knitting, I went to my nieces 8th birthday party at Chuck E Cheese's - if you don't know about this place, its a crazy kid land that has been around forever... when I lived in Fountain Valley, CA (during around 6th grade), my neighbor and I would pretend to have a Chuck E Cheese theater in his playroom.  He would go to the restraunt with his portable casette tape player, record the shows that the animatronics perform, and then go back to the playroom, and transform the closet into a stage - we'd throw fishing line over the clothes rod, and tie stuffed animals up so that we could pull the line and make them bounce up and down to the music.  He made a set for the animals, and we re-created the feeling right in his playroom.  it was crazy.  (I wish I had video of this, but I don't) -

That being said, I'm 33 years old now, and I don't love Chuck E Cheese anymore... I think of it as "germland" more than "funland" - icky and full of uncontrolled kids, snotting and sneezing all over the place, screaming and flinging pizza.  (ick!)

On Sunday, we had a party at my partner's parent's house - there were probably 40 people there - mostly relatives and a few close family friends - it was a LOT of work and sent us to bed early last night.  Today we spent the day cleaning up and taking advantage of deals at the grocery store... loading up on soft drinks (Ralphs had 5 12 packs for $10!)... napping... and washing cars -(just enough to get the dirt off) nice and relaxing.

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend - the good news for this week is that for those of us who had Monday off, it's a 4 day work week!  I am still knitting on the vest tonight and relaxing... in the next few weeks I want to try to organize my knitting and yarn stash - to get an idea of what projects are in my queue... but not today - not tonight... only a few hours before sleepytime... :)