who needs sunblock?

Monday was one of those few sunny day we've experienced this summer (and spring) and I spent the day happily shuttling back and forth to my dyeing area in the garage minding my crockpot full of yarn, hand-painting hanks of yarn, rinsing and hanging them out to dry in my breezeway. The light was so ...light!

Yesterday we stoked up the BBQ so we wouldn't forget what a grilled burger tastes like, we did errands with car roof open, we wore sunglasses, we took the dogs to get ice cream...

The sun didn't last long. This morning it's back to being overcast and threatening rain, not good for dyeing, barbequeing, photography or painting the house.

I was trying to shoot a picture of the results of Monday's dyeing to email a friend this morning---the light from my back window did little to enhance the fiery results.




I pivoted to see if the schizophrenic's worktable had better light for photography---

Not really! So from the worktable cam this morning---socks in progress (SIP), over-dyed Tweed (removed that pesky tweed detail!), punchneedle embroidery in progress (PEIP)and threads, threads sorted to be dyed, knitted edging in progress (KEIP), bulky knit hat waiting for button, finished embroidery waiting to become buttons and pins, the always open Barbara G Walker pattern book, hanks waiting to be wound...and all of this with the Ott light switched on because it's too dark at 9 am not to have lights on!

No need for sunblock again today!

fathers day antimacassar

My father requested that I make him a chenille rug last winter after seeing the multi-colored, stashbuster rug in my etsy shop. He threatened to buy it for the back of his Design within Reach leather couch, a robin's egg blue leather minimalist piece of furniture that doesn't need further enhancement but...I promised to make one especially for him and his couch. Got started on it in late winter, stalled in early spring, realized that Father's day was coming up without verifying it on the calendar, hurriedly finished it two weeks ago and mailed it off prematurely.



I called it an antimacassar! You know those lace doilies that your parents or grandparents might have had on the headrest and arms of an upholstered chair. This is just a big shirred cotton antimacassar!




I'm not taking any chances that my dad might be peaking in at my blog, so I'm posting this on Fathers's day so I won't spoil the surprise! I'm sorry that I can't be there in person to deliver the rug and make french toast. Happy Fathers Day!

button hunt

I used to collect buttons until I found out there were rules involved. Several years ago after buying a big batch of mother of pearl buttons at an antique show I wanted to know more about the buttons and joined a button collectors club. I lasted about a year and a half--nice group of women but the rules involved in sharing your interest were beyond my capabilities and so was the price range these women were dealing with at this stage in their collecting careers.

Saturday I went to Southbury CT to shop the vendor showroom at the Northeast Regional Button Association's Annual show. I had been to this show when I was a practicing collector, 8 years ago. Then it was overwhelming to walk into a meeting room filled with buttons, everyone talking about buttons, boxes full of 9" x 12" cards full of buttons and tables filled with boxes! I was totally absorbed in the hunt and unwittingly aggravated the tendonitis in my shoulder by looking at all those cards of buttons, every last one of them. The circumstances mystified my orthopedic surgeon who obviously wasn't a collector.

Yesterday when I finally found the Crowne Plaza at exit 16, not exit 11, not exit 14 or 15 I was greeted by one of my former button collecting mentors at the door. Once inside the familiar room it was much less stressful to be looking for buttons for resale. I said I wasn't a collector for 2 hours or so, then I saw a button that awakened my acquisitorial spirit: an ugly worn wooden button shaped like a squished stump. What else? A log button! (See the ugly one on the lower right of the picture!)



I happily hunted my way around the room in search of more log specimens, tucking manila envelopes full of buttons for resale into my bag for a few hours and then had to concede that I was buttoned-out, just couldn't look at another one. Packed it in and headed south on Connecticut's leafy route 25, I was still absorbed in button euphoria. Well, not exactly euphoria, maybe two steps below euphoria. I would have been euphoric if I found these buttons along the roadside and paid nothing for them, but...

Log specimens examined---

glass in the desert

I saw an amazing installation in the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix last week. My friends in Phoenix had shared their night photos of this wonderful display of Dale Chihuly's work earlier this year and I hoped it would still be up when I was in Arizona. It was and I'm so glad I got to see it. I took 200+ photos before sunset, but without a tripod I was less successful when the sun went down.









I loved this show! I loved the Desert Botanical Garden, the hard-scaping, the plantings---all of it! I have more photos but I found the links at the Desert Botanical Garden and Dale Chihuly's even more informative, take a look!

naturally...mostly

Was going to keep my blog updated as I traveled from the West Coast through the Southwest (on Southwest) but it was less and less about making things than it was about family and not making things.

I did make progress on these socks while in Sacramento:

When I was in Albuquerque I did get a quick visit to Village Wools before going to the airport which delighted my Mom and my sister-in-law. It's a great store, lucky Albuquerque! Found some BrownSheep yarn that isn't carried on the East Coast or at least I hadn't run across it--NatureSpun in fingering weight and Jarbo Garn in a single fingering weight---in a natural colors which I intend to dye and maybe felt.

In Phoenix I misplaced my list of knitting stores but ran across Tempe Yarn and Fiber---they were a fun group. I mentioned Ravelry and they suggested I take a look at their Fred Made me do it group. There I added to my natural color collection to dye---with a few skeins of BrownSheep's Top of the Lamb single in sportweight. I'm smitten by singles in any weight.


What this all boils down to is this---when I returned home to Long Island Spring had sprung more fully and there were new cygnets in the Lake. I caught the mother swan paddling away from our bulkhead and only snagged a few unsteady shots.

Their taupe color reminded me of my natural yarn collection. Of course the natural yarn will eventually be dyed unlike the cygnets. Which reminds me of one more thing: I was shown a book on my trip called Why Paint Cats. I was amazed at the images inside. Amazed and creeped out! It's full of images of "painted" cats. People spent inordinate amount of time air-brushing and painting cats like this one, that I just swiped from website engaged in discussion about painting cats. :
I'm thinkin' how I would even go about painting my black dogs...they barely get baths, so I don't think this is gonna happen and oh, the ethics seem to be a question too!

on board...round one

When I finally land in Sacramento I am always delighted to find the public sculpture in the Southwest terminal---by Brian Groggin (look at his website! what cool work!!). I love these columns of suitcases! They just crack me up. I wish I had made them.



This crossing was surely a sign of our economic times. The whole Southwest flight from Long Island to the West Coast Southwest flight felt like a local subway route. Though the first leg from Long Island to Chicago was roomy, quiet and deceptively short enough. Then a quick board at Midway to the interminable flight to take me to the West Coast. This time the plane was loaded, every seat taken, more in character with most Southwest flights I take. Prior to boarding there was some confusion about the destination among the passengers in line, we all had the same flight number and 4 different destinations. San Diego, Sacramento, Seattle and Spokane. Geez! I wasn't prepared for another stop. Guess I didn't read the itinerary correctly---I have to compliment Southwest on how good a job it does of obscuring those details. It was disappointing after 4+ hours on board the crowded plane that the destination was indeed San Diego. When it was my turn to deplane, after another take-off and landing, I felt sorry, momentarily, for those continuing on and grateful that Spokane wasn't my destination, this trip.

The memory of the flight fades quickly, luckily, because I have 4 more Southwest flights to take.

I usually look forward to these flights for the opportunity to knit for uninterrupted periods of time and because it distracts me from the tedious passenger job. As soon as we were airborne I had my needles out and clicking away on a pair of socks. I thought they would be the perfect, portable project for this trip. I had only completed the toe and a few rows of the foot before leaving home and was sure this would be a breeze, so I included more yarn for second pair of socks.



But I can't tell you how boring this knitting is!!! I will though. Ugh. I knit for hours on those #1 needles, like knitting with angel hair pasta with only two rows of pattern to remember and it felt like I made little progress. Knowing knitters and unwitting civilians asked what I was knitting or who was the lucky recipient of my knitting efforts? The answer: if I can bring myself to complete even one sock, it will be for my husband and his pumpkin colored shoe(s).

Dennis asked me if the socks would be finished when we met up in Phoenix. I assured him he wouldn't be needing wool socks in Phoenix this time of year, so it didn't matter if they're finished then.

Knitting, when it's not for yourself, is an act of love.

fiber field trip

I got on the train and went into NYC yesterday for a fiber field trip with my knitting in tow. (I didn't think about taking my camera so when it struck me that I wanted to take pictures I did have my phone.) The SUN was so BRIGHT, because it's finally Spring, that I could barely see the image on the tiny led screen---lucky that they are even pictures of something. Manhattan has it's tulips going.


It was a much larger shot of the center islands on Park Avenue filled with tulips and the multi-story buildings in the background, but the image is too large to extract from the phone and I don't understand image editor...the rest are at least viewable.



...so train to Manhattan, subway downtown, oops!, subway uptown to 86 St, walked south, oops!, walked north. I get so distracted I spend a lot of time backtracking to most of my destinations. Ah! The Guggenheim appeared so I was going in the right direction.



And finally the Cooper Hewitt at 91st.



and the entrance billboard for the show....



I have been anticipating this exhibit and was happy to finally be on it's doorstep. There are impressive felted pieces in this show----the yurt-ish conservatory installation...the sunlight space was luscious.




So much work, so much wool--silk?---netting draping from the ceiling....I saw the video of the artist working on this piece on Martha Stewart's website. I could only think how much I wanted the artist's set-up---big tent outdoors, big tables, garden hoses spouting with hot water and assistants. Sigh.

Other than the conservatory, the exhibit is intimate, darkish rooms. There were samples of industrial-created felt, and hand-created wet felting, but not so many pieces of knitted-to-felt. I was distracted by a couple that were looking and babbling in a foreign language as the woman pulled out her camera to snap a few pictures, prompting the guard to her side. They apologized and then went into the conservatory, continuing to take pictures throughout the rooms. I took my phone out and took the conservatory pictures (whoohoo and usually I'm such a girl scout!), poor as they are---I was not to be outdone. I will have to peruse the catalogue to remind me what I saw, like the Urchin Poufs---knit with rope size "yarn", Slices of large logs of spiraling felt colors, Textile stones, ---it was all good stuff! I wish I had been the only one in the exhibit and was able to touch and examine everything! The catalog pages will have to do.

I spent a fair amount of time in the Cooper Hewitt Museum shop wishing I could make a gift registry of all the things I loved and needed.(Get out much?) It's the kind of environment I like to shop in and be shopped for in.

Back on the subway at 86th, to 33rd. South on foot to Habu on W 29th, my old neighborhood. (I do much better south of Times Square.) 29th, 8th fl. No problem.



Looked at the sample book, looked at the small sale baskets amassed on the floor with tiny hanks of interesting fibers...chose two tiny hanks, both silk. Done. Outta there. Though I did try to palm off the dollar coins from the metrocard machine and the young Japanese speaking woman was not to be fooled by my funny money. (I was forced to buy pastry in Penn Station to get rid of the coins.)

So much for my fiber field trip! The weather was lovely and the city was teeming with people on their way home. I knit on my wooly experiment all the way to Stony Brook. When I got home I realized that I needed to rip it all out. Sigh.