Huntington Gardens

I took my in-laws to experience the wonder of Huntington Gardens and the Rose Garden Tea room last Monday. As usual, the gardens did not disappoint.

It was a leisurely walk around the gardens, though not so much for me because I was trying to make sure that the in-laws were okay and not getting too hot, tired or overheated. I also was trying to keep an eye on my mother-in-law, who really wanted to take a cutting off some of the plants to take back home to plant (she lives in Southeast Asia).

She said, "I should have brought a larger purse." Ai-yah! I told her that we'd get into a lot of trouble if she did. She did look around for fallen clippings or broken succulents that she could pick up and take, but to her disappointment, there were none.

I took them for afternoon tea for lunch. I knew that the food wasn't really something they're used to, but nevertheless it was an experience that would be memorable for them. They really liked all the fresh fruits, especially strawberries, which are hard to come by and expensive in their country. They weren't too keen on some of the sandwiches or cheese and my MIL remarked that the cheese didn't really taste good or special. Good cheese isn't really available where they live, nor is it a common food -- I think Velveeta is probably gourmet over there. The smoked salmon sandwich with caviar and the cheeses were among my favorites, so I set aside any possible embarrassment of my own gluttony and ate plenty to make up for what the in-laws didn't eat! ;)

My mother-in-law had to take several breaks along the way due to her health, so I took some of those opportunities to take some silly self-portraits with my knitting. In trying to take some of the photos, I unraveled my stitches several times and had to start over with my cast-on at least twice. Oh well. The orange yarn is some cheap superwash wool that I bought a while back. I'm thinking that this will be a sun hat project, but I think the reality is that this project will probably be untouched for the next few months. :-P

Strange, but True

My in-laws are visiting again from overseas. They come at least once a year to visit their 2 youngest sons. My brother-in-law recently moved from NorCal to SoCal, making my in-laws very happy (less traveling for them). They are very nice people and are generally easy-going, but I do get some anxiety when they visit. Even though I'm a modern empowered and self-assured woman, there are certain cultural practices and customs that have been drilled into me as a kid, which I feel compelled to observe to a certain extent.

There are 2 main sources of my slight anxiety: One, I feel the need to clean my house from top to bottom, chauffer them whereever they want me to take them (except Vegas, which is hubby's job), and cook for them when they stay with us. I generally try to be a good hostess with any visitors, but with in-laws there is generally another level in that I try to be a good daughter-in-law. Two, I feel the need to at least eat some of the food that my MIL cooks or bring over.Number 2 doesn't sound terrible, unless you account for the fact that she brings meat and seafood on about a 24-hour transit (not to mention that it's illegal). It's true.

I certainly cannot blame her for wanting to make goodies for her children who are 1000s of miles away from her, and they certainly miss mom's cooking. Having a more sensitive and spoiled American stomach than my hubby's family, I can not stomach the thought of bacteria growth, literally and figuratively (no pun intended). She cooks things that are her specialty, like these shrimp cake roll, some sort of shrimp and chicken thing in a special sauce/coating, and her ultra signature dish: shark fin's soup. Out of respect, I may eat one or two pieces of the shrimp cake roll, because it's fried before serving. I don't really eat a lot of fried things in the first place, but I figure the high heat kills off bacteria. I don't touch the shark fin soup at all. Sometimes she brings the fins and some ingredients and then cooks it while she's at our house. Sometimes she brings it pre-cooked at her home country. A few years ago, hubby and I finally had to tell her that I don't eat shark fin soup. If you've never tasted it, it's crunchy cartilage in seafood broth. I don't eat it because I don't like it, and more importantly, it's cruel the way the fins are harvested. I used to be a Peta member and a vegetarian for over 10 years, so that part is hard to get over for me.

Luckily, I haven't gotten sick from the smuggled meat products, but then again, I barely eat any. However, I can't say that about my husband who got sick eating some suspicious chicken curry, which I had warned him about. My MIL didn't bring any curry this year, and in fact, seemed to have brought less food.

Anyhow, as part of my organizational and cleaning efforts, I decided to build me a new compost bin. For several years now, I have been using kitty litter buckets. I drill holes into the buckets on all sides, including the bottoms and lids, and stacked them near the kitchen door leading to the side yard for easy scraps and waste dumping.


The problem with my recycled buckets is that they are small and fill up quickly. And as of late, some raccoons have been tipping them over, thus making the dumped partially composted scraps a pain in the ass to clean up. So I decided to clear out an area that would not run off into the pool, and build myself a compost bin.


It was very easy to make. I bought some chicken wire, and some stakes (the ones that come in a package, or you can buy them at about $0.70 per piece) so that I didn't have to cut the wood myself. I then roughly measured the size I needed an made 2 L-shaped sides using a staple gun. I then linked the 2 Ls together using some cable holders I found in my toolbox and some extra wire that I bent to form latches (3 in each corner). That way, if I ever needed to move it, or to access my compost, I can easily disassemble it all. I marked the crude latches with some blue tape so that I can see it easily.

Car Knitting and Impish Gnomes

I've been working on a secret project that has an early July deadline for publication in a knitting magazine. Since I currently have about 6 secret projects going, I'm going to give this one a pseudonym of "Leaf Pelfriffs."(Sorry I can't reveal more info at this time). Anyway, the hubby and I were on our way to my BIL's house to welcome my in-laws who had just flown in from overseas.

In my infinite and ambitious wisdom, I decided to work on my project during the dark 40 minute drive (9:30 p.m.). "Leaf Pelfriffs" is designed with cables and some stitch patterns in it, so I was really proud that I didn't drop any stitches in the car (or so I thought), so I continued working. This morning, and about 12 inches later, I discovered that I was missing a stitch. I apparently dropped it while knitting in the car in the dark. Ai-yah! It was far down enough and in a weird spot that it was not an easy fix with some unraveling and a crochet hook. I had to riiiiiiiiiiipppit. ::sigh::

"Leaf Pelfriffs" calls for buttons. I have some fantastic chunky buttons, which includes this chunky bone button at left. But alas, I cannot find my awesome buttons because apparently Impish Gnomes have decided to have a wild party in my craft room.

Luckily, my small jar of various buttons, including some vintage ones were not affected. However, I don't think any of them are exactly right for the this project. (see photos at the top)

I would try to look for my nice bone and tree nut buttons, but as I mentioned, the darn Impish Gnomes partied in my craft room. They must be tiny short gnomes because they don't seem to mess up anything stored above 4'.

I don't have any photos of the floor, because frankly, I'm embarrassed at all the fabric and yarn scraps that got strewn around like confetti by the partying Impish Gnomes.

Ugh, I really hate my white walls. I couldn't decide on a color when we moved into the house, so I thought I'd at least paint it white to cover the original puke-colored paint. I also thought that I could easily re-paint when I do decide on a color. Um, does anyone know how to exterminate Impish Gnomes and hire me some House Fairies?

These two photos above show my bags of knitting UFOs. If you go to the set in my flickr, you can see the notes to identify the baggies.

I swear that once in a while my craft room is organized. You can see the hints of organization behind the labels on my containers. I guess I'll have to find a way to banish those Gnomes once and for all.

The BEST WWKIP Day Ever

Clockwise: 1. Marie, Melyssa and Abraham with Christine grilling corn with her hubby in the back; 2. Seven our new alpaca friend; 3. (l-r) Holly's pooch, Holly, Michelle and Denise L. from the Anaheim Hills group photographing me photographing her; (l-r): Gloria, Victoria, Renata and Rachel chatting in front of the prize table.

This past Saturday was World Wide Knit in Public Day! Many groups in and around Southern California held WWKIP events. Of course this year, my knitting group held our annual picnic to coincide with WWKIP. We invited other knit and crochet clubs from Orange County, Long Beach, Los Angeles and anyone else to join us in the festivities. I think we had the very best WWKIP event. In fact, I think we may have had the best event all around! Okay, so I may be a little biased, but I don't know if the other groups say the following about their WWKIP events:

• We had jugglers and spear throwers who brought juggling and a unicycle. I didn't get photos of the jugglers, but Christine from Long Beach SnB did here!
  

• We had vivacious knitters that tried to knit while hula-hooping!

Above: Zona trying very hard not to drop her hoop and her stitches!


Above: Rachel also trying to keep up her hoop and stitches.

• We had animals at our picnic, including an alpaca! People brought their dogs, some kids brought their surprisingly cute rats and new ATS members Amanda and Margo brought their alpaca Seven, named so for his 7-7-07 birth date. I was really resisting stealing him away in my car, and since he's small, I was thinking that I may be able to pass him off as a rare dog breed or something. ;) Zona snapped a photo of the kids playing with the rat right above my head - eek!.
  

Clockwise: 1. Some kids playing with a pet rat. Rat is on the long-haired girl's shoulder; 2, 3. Seven the alpaca showing off his cute face and new haircut for the camera; 4. Seven smiling for the camera.

• We had musicians singing for us with their guitars. Zona also has a picture of Jeff and his guitar.
  

Jonathan and the kilt-wearing Jeff singing some tunes for us.

• We had several games and contests including a speed knitting war and a mystery fiber game! I didn't snap photos of the finished war fish, but Denise L. did here and here. Zona has a photo of the prize table.
  

Clockwise 1. Robert and 2. Chia working on their Knitting War projects, trying to kill each other off; 3. & 4. Courtney, Shawn, curious boy and Zona check out the Mystery Fibers.

• We had lots of spinners too, including a few very handy and crafty kids who got the hang of spinning in no time!

Clockwise: 1. Kristi spinning some luscious green wool ; 2. Jamie gets the cutest apprentice to help him spin some undyed wool from a small mill; 3. Me spinning some silk; 4. Aliza wanted to learn to spin, so I let her try out my wheel as her brothers watched.

• We had customized name tags! I made about 30-35 name tags for the folks that I knew from ATS and the Anaheim Hills Knit Night. I'm just a little bummed that I forgot to take photos of two of my favorite tags that I made. I made a "King Snark" for Robert, who is undoubtedly the bitchiest and snarkiest member of our group. (Robert wore his tag with pride, btw.) I also made one for Zona's very understanding hubby (Jeff the guitar-playing kilt dude). I gave Jeff a club of his own: S.P.O.O.F. (Supportive Partners Of Out-of-control Fiberholics)

All in all, we all had all the ingredients for a stupendous WWKIP event. We had good food, great people, fiber, prizes, laughs, good weather and an alpaca. Really, what can one ask for? I have more pics uploaded in my Flickr (lots more of Seven).

All this fun would not be possible without our group's fearless leader, Renata who did most of the arrangements, from the park permit to the pop-ups, tables, banner, jugglers and spear throwers!



Clockwise: 1. Karen and Debbie ; 2. Me, Rachel and Zona; 3. Abraham working on his needlepoint while Jamie knits.

I Don't Have A Penis!

To the obviously-phallically-obsessed that keep sending me cleverly disguised spams and ads that sneak past my spam filters:

I don't have a penis, have never had one, nor do I want want one (especially since it seems so prone to dysfunction). So, your ads about penile enlargements and viagra or psuedo-viagra miracles will likely be better received by people who have or want a penis. Your ads are wasted on me and my non-existent penis. Seriously!



Oh, and as for your breast enlargement spams and ads... well, erm, the running joke with my friends is that I stole my girls from other Asian women, hence left others flat. I definitely don't need or want any more boobage. In fact, I have more than enough to spare and may topple over at the slightest zephyr if I get even a smidgen more.

Ah, and don't misinterpret this and start sending me ads about weight loss either - my voluptuousness is not due to my weight. My weight falls into the average weight range for my height, and I am comfortable with my body because I also have a healthy body image. Thus, I have no need or desire to lose any excess weight, and you certainly cannot convince me otherwise.

Now, if you have a miracle cure about how to shrink my girls naturally, then I may not be as mad at you for sending me crap.

Sincerely,
Boobalicious Penisless Healthy Gal

Googling Myself

It's been a while since I tried to Google myself. Then today, I read an email from my friend Jean, who apparently found out a bunch of stuff about my crafty stuff when when googled me.

I hadn't really googled my name before. I have googled "crafty diversions", "homemade yarn swift" and some of my other patterns before just to see what people were writing and blogging about them.

So, curiosity got the best of me and I googled myself. There's still a lot about what I did in my former job, where I did a lot of public speaking. There are some blog mentions and apparently a previous post by another yarn shop.

Then I happily discovered that the editor of Craftzine had posted about my Buccaneer's Booty pattern in a post way back in October 2007. I had NO idea!

Silk and Clay

After months of not spinning, I restarted again, albeit very sporatically, after an invite to Jerry and Debbie's home for some spinning. I had some crappy stuff that I was spinning just to get rid of it, but I really got bored of it, so Zona gave me some of her hand-dyed silk hankies to spin!


It's my first time spinning silk and I'm really enjoying it! The concept of pulling the layers and strands of fibers from the hanky is a little strange since I've only pulled from commercial rovings and rolags that I combed. The downside is that the cap of my spool popped off, so I have to glue it back before I can resume.


My artist sister came to visit yesterday. We bond over many things and are close in age, however sadly, she does not knit, spin or is crafty in the way I am crafty. ;)
She's a wonderful artist though and has designed and laid out many logos and publishing things for me though.

When she arrived, I submitted her to a facial, complete with a mud mask. She's a virgin when it comes to facials. Her mask matches her dress so well, doesn't it?

Metamorphosis

My long promised makeover for my blog and site is finally getting started. First of all, I'd like to apologize to my readers and cyber friends who linked or bookmarked my blog and patterns on their sites. Those links will no longer work since I moved reorganized the directories. Sorry!

I'm definitely remedial when it comes to setting up websites, but I'm hoping to make everything more organized and prettier. (There's no way I could do any of this without the hubby's help and without the aid of FrontPage, which the hubs was smart to install for me. Otherwise, I'd be calling for his assistance every 5 minutes or so.)

I'm trying to "match" up the pattern layout design and logo that my sister designed for me. It's a good thing she's my sister, because otherwise, I'd be paying more than a pretty penny for her services (which IMO are totally worth it). She's a professional artist/medical illustrator.

Mother's Day

I don't think anyone who has lost a parent can go through any holiday without some reflection and some feelings of sadness. For me, this holiday is Mother's Day. I can't seem to escape all the reminders, especially since it has been so commercialized. Everyday, every commercial and almost everywhere in the 4 weeks, I see advertisements on Mother's Day as if it were blinking in neon in my eye.

Last year, I posted an archived photo of my mother. I've decided to do the same this year. Maybe that'll be my tribute. Here's a photo of her on her wedding day back in the 70's:
My dad is putting earrings on her as they are getting ready for their ceremony. The lady with the horned-rimmed glasses in the back is my paternal grandmother.

May doesn't just remind me of Mother's Day. For many years, May 10th was my mom's fake birthday. I have no idea why she said it was her birthday. Her legal sun-calendar birthday is in October. For a while, she told my sister and I her lunar birthday occurred in early May, and that we should just celebrate both around the same time, but later she said it was May 10th. The funny thing is that the lunar calendar and the regular sun calendar do not vary by 5 months!

May is also my sister's birthday (we're 13 months apart), and the month of my wedding anniversary. Here's a photo of my mom and me on my wedding day.

The Mohair Ripper Strikes Again

Remember my CATastrophe? Okay, nothing really horrible has happened, but Whitey Coyote, aka Mohair Ripper, aka Yarn Thief has been stealing yarn and then giving it to me as presents for a few months now. She struck again tonight, and with some pretty funny results.

First of all, some background info: the Thief has expensive taste in yarn (kind of like her mommy). She likes the good stuff, the ones with higher price tags. She's so discernible that I have baited her with cotton and cheaper wool yarns with little success.

Damned Thieving Cat! She looks so innocent and cute in the picture above, but if you look closely, she's sitting on 2 hats made of a blend of merino/silk/cashmere.

Anyway, her new "surprise mommy with yarh presents" thing started a few months ago, when she dug up a small ball of handspun that I purposefully buried under handcarders, bobbins and a rubber mat, away from her. She somehow dug out the yarn, and dragged it from the family room, all the way upstairs to my bedroom.

Granted, I have to admit that I sometimes I miss a ball or two when cleaning up, but the cat has gotten so clever as to open my purses/bags. (Like any proper knitter, I usually have at least 1 project and some random yarns and needles in all my bags, just in case.) If there are 2 balls of yarn in my purse or around the house, she will take the more expensive of the two. Luckily, I take extra care with my projects and keep them better protected than the balls in my purse, although once, she did "gift" me a test sock with all the dpns still attached.

As her thieving skills improve, I take more care to hide the good yarns. But now, I think in her desperation to bring me yarn-gifts and the seemingly rare occurrence of good yarn accidentally laying around now, she has resorted to snatching yarns she does not like, but she still knows yarn values.

Once, though there were smaller remnant yarns in my knitting bag, she somehow opened it and stole a whole unused skein of Lamb's Pride Bulky and dragged the whole thing upstairs. The skein is almost half her size! She left the entire thing intact, because I guess she wasn't that interested in playing with it. She's even resorted to picking up large balls of cotton yarn, which she has ignored for the past 3-4 years, and drags them all the way upstairs. And last week, she even attacked some Knit Picks Cadena, which she does not like, and has ignored for a very long time -- I left that yarn for her as something she could play with when she started stealing my yarns, but she wasn't interested and it sat on a coffee table in plain sight for at least 3 months!

Tonight, she struck again -- this time she stole 2 skeins of yarn I handpainted and put on top of a TV on a narrow counter in the kitchen because I was about to mail it out. I thought my yarn was safe, because it has been kitty-free and really out of the reach of paws, but apparently I was wrong. After finding my "present" in the bedroom, I was just going to put it away as I do with all my yarn presents. But then I got a closer look:
At first I just thought she lost her collar. Then upon closer inspection, it was clear that her collar got stuck to the loosened hank that she dragged from the kitchen up to the master bedroom. And in the midst of trying to get herself untangled in the yarn, the yarn wedged into the split ring that holds her tag. When the safety release finally snapped, she got away, but not without leaving a chunk of fluffy evidence from her neck, which also managed to get caught in the split ring.
Silly cat.

Designing

I just finished writing a pattern for a very exciting accessory item. I really wish I could post the photo and talk about it, but I am planning on submitting it to Knitty or another knitting publication. I can't post a photo, but I suppose I can post a small swatch teaser and tell you that the yarn is a fantastic yarn, and one of my top faves: Savannah DK by The Fibre Company (50%Merno, 20% Orgainc Cotton, 15% Linen, 15% Soya Fiber)The photo is a small snipped of the completed item, unblocked.

For the past few days, I have been sketching and swatching for another book submission. It took me a lot longer than I had expected because I had to chart everything first, as if I was actually writing the pattern to 2 of the designs I submitted. The charting was very laborious and tedious. So in the end, I only submitted 3 total, although I had originally planned to submit double that. I figure that the more I submit, the likelihood that one of them would be selected would increase.

Since I'm still new to the whole design and submission process, I haven't really yet figured out how to do all of it smoothly and in a timely fashion. I start by a rough and horridly ugly drawing or illegible description of my ideas. I then narrow them down for the submission's theme and do a better color sketch of my idea. I then work one or two swatches as necessary for the design. After all that, I photograph or scan the swatches and the sketches, digitally clean up the scanned sketches and add typed details. Then print or convert everything into a PDF packet, and send everything off.

I don't really have anything more recent I can show on the blog because they are still pending, but below is an example of something that I did designed for a charity raffle for my previous employer. As you can see, I knit much better than I draw.

OTHER NEWS AND UPDATES

For those of you wondering about the progress of my projects for Sensual Evening Knits (follow up to Sensual Knits), I still have no updates on the status of the publication. I can't really reveal or say more than that because I'm still contracted to them and have to keep everything secret.

In other recent news, I petitioned to join and was accepted as an associate member of the Association of Knitwear Designers. I haven't really navigated the site and all that AKD has to offer, but I did request a mentor. My mentor is Kim of Dolce Hand Knits. Kim has been a great help and responded to my many questions about the design business while she was on vacation! The ironic thing is that I actually met Kim when I attended TNNA this January. We were both taking a techniques class with Melissa Leapman, crochet and knitwear designer extraordinaire . Aubrey and I later "stalked" Kim at one of the booths and talked to her about her designs and about our shop, Handicraft Cafe. I'm glad we didn't scare Kim off and that she agreed to mentor me. ;)

I Just Turned 29

Yep, it was my birthday yesterday, and I turned 29 yet again.

I really am not a big birthday celebrator. I didn't celebrate or have a party when I turned 30, when I most wanted to, but then again, there were family issues and responsibilities that took priority and precedence. This year, my birthday was a little more celebratory than before, but still low-key. A surprise that I received this year was the number of Ravelers that private messaged me happy birthday wishes due to the little cake that pops up on people's avatars when it's their birthday.


Last night, my husband and I went to Roy's for dinner. Yum! The husband ordered the sushi while I ordered my favorite from the restaurant: butterfish. The very nice and exuberant waitress, upon finding out that it was my birthday, took a photo of us. She later remarked how lovely we looked in the photo and how I looked "like a model...and like a young Kristi Yamaguchi." I was a bit taken aback. I was certainly a nice compliment, since Kristi Yamaguchi is a beautiful and talent person, but the comparison was strange. Maybe she's one of those people that think all Asians look alike or that all black people look alike.

Now, if she had compared my appearances to Ming-Na, even though I don't think I look like her, the reference has been made by more than one person, including my own mother who said we kind of looked alike when I took her to see The Joy Luck Club and some of my husband's former coworkers. One of the stranger comparisons to the actress occurred on my honeymoon in Kauai 7 years ago. I was attending a lei making class in one of the hotels when a woman with young daughter asked me, "Are you an actress?" No. "Oh...you know, you look a lot like that actress from ER. Do you know who I am talking about? I forget what her real name is, but she's Dr. Chen. I really like her." Yes, I know who you are talking about. I think her name is Ming Na Wen. Thank you. "You're not her, are you?" No, no. Are you sure that you're not her?" Yes, I am sure. I'm not even an actress. (several seconds of silence) "Oh...you really look alike..."

Throughout the rest of the class, the woman kept looking at me. Then after the class, she and her daughter kind of followed me for a little bit as I walked from the the place where they were holding the class, through the hotel lobby and through the courtyard. They stopped once I got onto an elevator. I guess they wanted sure I wasn't the actress.

Anyway, the exuberant waitress at Roy's sent us a complimentary delicious and fabulous macadamia tart for dessert. It totally made up for the Kristi Yamaguchi look-alike comment. and Overall the service was great, however the food took a while and it made us quite late to meet my friends at the Napa Rose for drinks and dessert in the lounge. Zona and her husband ordered a Scharffenberger Chocolate Pate with a chocolate shooter. It was sooooo yummy. I also had two deliciously mixed lemon drop.


Needless to say, the dinner, desserts, drinks and good company made me and my stomach very very happy. I was relaxed and actually made it to bed by about 1:00 a.m. and I slept through until 9:30 a.m. Sleeping through 8 hours is remarkable for me. I usually don't sleep for more than 5-6 hours, and for the past week, I've been averaging 4 hours. I think this is a sign that I should go out and eat more yummy desserts and have at least 2 delicious cocktails.

::grumble::grumble::

Argh! I have spent the past day and a half unhappy. I put out free patterns for people to use because I want people to use them for their personal enjoyment. You'll also notice that there is a very clear copyright notice and statement at the bottom of each page. What part of "personal use ONLY" do people not understand? Crafters who sell their crafts even on a small scale should be aware of what a basic copyright means. Even people who don't sell, knows. Now, granted the depth of knowledge can vary.

Prompted by a request by someone asking me to grant him permission to sell swifts based on my yarn swift pattern for a very very small royalty for every one he sells, I decided to look on a certain website to see if other people were not so kind and did NOT even bother to request permission. Lo and behold, what did I find?

I found 2 sellers on this not-to-be-named website. One seller just listed this month and has not sold any swifts. This first person has altered the design a little (changed the look of the base), but it still eerily resembles my pattern and the options I discuss and provide in it. The second person, has sold about 20 swifts. I would say about 98% of it looks like the ones in my photos and the construction definitely is a spitting image of my design. The only thing that the second person didn't do is put in the CD that I used as a stabilizer in Version 1. You actually don't even need a CD, stabilizer or block spacer if you have nice tools that drill straight, but if you don't you'll need one. I think I may have mentioned this in a previous blog post or in the pattern itself.

I'm still on the fence right now about reporting the first seller. (edit 2/14/08, 1:59pm: I should note that the reason is that I was on the fence about it at the time of my blog post although it is similar, I do realize that it is possible that people can come up with similar ideas and designs. When I woke up this morning, I have decided not to do anything about the first seller, because I think the design is different enough that I don't think that this person used my plans.) However, I just shot off a notice to the second seller to remove all listings, and I reported it to the administrators of the website.

This has thrown me off a little because, though I know logically that there are always people who choose not to care about someones creative right, I chose not to believe it in my heart because I so love the knitting community and most of the people I have met through this community.

I do have some plans to sell swifts from my pattern at some point, but I don't have the tools or the time right now, especially since Aubrey and I are still working hard at Handicraft Cafe, which should be launched in the beta phase very very soon. We hope to be able to contract with someone to produce the swifts for us to sell. But this is not the reason for me getting upset about these people selling swifts. It's the fact that they are trying to sell and pass something off as their own design. Now, if they want to design their own easy-to-make, cost-effective and portable swift and then sell it, by all means they should -- just come up with their own plans and ideas! The other upsetting part of it is that I spent a lot of time writing and revising it so that people will benefit and be able to use it, and their violation of that is disheartening.

Oh- please be advised that no part of this post may be printed or distributed without my expressed written permission. This post is for your personal and non-commercial use only. :)

On a happier and related note, I just reformatted the swift pattern onto pdf in my new layout and included the long-awaited instructions for making it on a Lazy Susan! If you are on Ravelry, here is the link. If you are not, again, I am sorry, you will have to wait. I have plans to reorganize this website and don't want to have to upload and rearrange it twice later.

Special Vodka

Vodka-based drinks are my drinks of choice. I especially love vodka-based martini drinks, such as a nice dirty Grey Goose Martini or a spicy and horseradish filled bloody Mary. And for my sweet palette, I like apple martinis and lychee martinis.

Knowing this, my thoughtful friend Aubrey sent me a link to a wonderful and unique infused vodka recipe. Sweet of her, right? I bet its not a recipe any of you would think of. But don't you spend time thinking of ways to make meat-flavored drinks such as Bacon Vodka?

Eww. I've been feeling brackish since.

ETA: After first posting this, I then thought, "Are there people that actually make meat elixirs?" So after a quick search, I am even more nauseous and thoroughly disgusted. I guess, to each's own, right? Here are the finds: Hot Dog Vodka, discussed more here. Thank goodness there aren't that many meat-infused liquor enthusiasts. Otherwise, I may have vomited all over my laptop.

I grabbed the bloody Mary photo under CC from Argyleist on Flickr.

TNNA Goodies - Part 1

Technically, this was not my first TNNA attendance. Aubrey and I went to the one in Phoenix this past summer. The summer one is much smaller and there seemed to be way more needlepoint than yarn. We did meet some really nice and fantastic people in Phoenix though, including David and Terri of Ozark Handspun, Janice Rosema who does some fantastic freeform crochet, and Karin Skacel of Skacel Collection.

We ran into all those folks at this TNNA, which is a stark contrast and a much much much larger event compared to the Phoenix one. We also met some new and very nice people, including knitting and crochet celebs and LYS owners from around the country. I'll start with the celebs, because that what y'all want to hear, right?

For me and Aubrey, TNNA started on Wednesday morning (Jan. 9). TNNA had some educational classes scheduled from Wednesday through Saturday morning, and the market opened from Friday through Sunday. I am so glad that I registered us early, because I got to take 2 fantastic sock classes with Cat Borhi. If you know me, you know that I am not a sock knitter and was not very happy knitting my first sock. And even though I wrote and knitted Buccaneer's Booty, it was only my 2nd pair of socks ever. Anyway, because I am not a sock knitter, Aubrey and I thought that I should hone my skills and take Cat's classes. I truly am happy that I did. Cat is a fantastic, dynamic and fun teacher! She structured the classes very well, with lots of tips, tricks and stories. The first class I took was a Coriolis sock class, where we made baby versions of her Coriolis sock.

The second class was more geared towards making up your own sock pattern by combining different forms of sock architecture. The techniques covered in the class are covered in Cat's book, New Pathways for Sock Knitters and in the supplemental You Tube videos Cat put out to support the book. But of course, sometimes learning in person is very different and better than learning from a book. In the end, I walked away thinking that sock knitting can be fun and enjoyable, especially teeny tiny baby socks. Now I don't know if I'll ever make a pair for myself, since I personally don't wear socks that much, and would feel bad trampling on my own work, so to speak, but I think if my sister the sock lover or my hubby asks me to make her/him another pair, I think I would say yes with enthusiasm instead of mild dread.

In addition to Cat's classes, I also took some business classes and a technique class taught by Melissa Leapman focusing on pleats and gathers. I'll talk about that class in my next post.

One really fun aspect of TNNA is running into knitting celebs and all the book signings. (We tried to go to as many as we could, but we weren't able to go to all the signings because we had to shop and purchase inventory.) There's no dirt to spill on anyone because everyone we met were very friendly and nice.

The first knit-celeb we met on the show floor was Wenlan Chia of Twinkle. We had stopped her booth because we want to stock Wenlan's Twinkle yarns by Classic Elite. She was also there to promote and sign autographs for her new book, Twinkle's Weekend Knits. On the day of the book signing, I wore my Twister cap. Wenlan complimented me on the hat and seemed quite interested in how I made the twisted stitches -- she said she didn't know this technique. So, as to not hold up the line, I promised to stop by her booth again later to show her, but alas, she was busy talking to some people the two times I attempted to stop by and teach her. And on the last day of market, Aubrey and I had to finish some business and did not have time to stop by again. Though I tried, I was disappointed that I didn't fulfill my promise to show her how to do the twisted stitch. I guess I will email her the instructions later and if she likes it a lot, maybe she'll buy my pattern (which will be available after I get feedback from all my test knitters). ;)

In fact, I was so elated to have received so many compliments on Twister from various show attendees, including vendors, other designers, Cat Bordhi and other people from whom we received autographed books, that I felt all warm and fuzzy inside for the rest of the weekend.

While standing in line for one of the book signings, (was it for Debbie Stoller's Son of Stitch n Bitch?), we spotted Cookie A., who we flagged down to ask about buy and selling her patterns for our soon-to-be business, and about possibly teaching a class or two when we do open. It turned out that Cookie was lurking in the vicinity because she was looking for a ticket for the book signing, but there were no more tickets available. (The vendor that sponsored the book signings would hand out a limited number of tickets on a first come, first serve basis.) So, Aubrey, being the kind and generous person that she is, offered hers to Cookie, who was reluctant and hesitant to take it, but Aubrey insisted. It wasn't a big deal to us, since I was getting book too, and we were requesting that the authors sign the book to Handicraft Cafe. I found Cookie to be very cool, nice and down-to earth, and we had a nice chat with her in line.

Yeah, I know this is getting boring because everyone was nice and there's no dirt or gossip to share with y'all, so I'll share the rest of the TNNA details in another post. Next post: more swag, Shannon Okey, Melissa Leapman, etc.

Needle Holder

Since I still don't have the yarn yet, I can't start my designs for the follow-up of the Sensual Knits book, I decided to spend my waiting time designing other things. Last night, I worked on finishing "Super Twister," which I started 2 days ago. I worked in bed as I do many nights, and as always, I'm always looking around the floor, on the bed, between the sheets, etc., etc. for my needles, pens and other knitting things. I always find them eventually. However, no matter how much I looked, I could not find one of my dpns. I thought maybe the snoring hubby or the cats were sleeping on it, but after flipping them all over, I still found nothing. I finally gave up and decided to finish my hat with my remaining dpns, then I brushed my teeth and went to bed.

A few hours later, I awoke to something poking my chest. It turned out that my dpn had fallen in my shirt and decided to snuggle between my bra and boobs. (Since I am abnormally large, especially for an Asian girl, I am afraid of sagging when I get older, so I do wear a bra to sleep on most nights.) Anyway, I pulled my needle out and went back to bed. I don't know why I didn't notice it before. Thank goodness, it was a 5" US #10 (6mm) dpn
instead of something like a #1 dpn -- I shudder at the mishaps that could happen with such a tiny needle. From now on, I will be looking at my boobs the next time I lose a needle.

Petrified Pussycat

Oh the humiliation! This Xmas weekend, we had a special visitor - Lola, a rambunctious 8 month old pit/lab puppy.

Our cats, who have never ventured more than 50 feet outside of our door were not happy with a strange animal they have never encountered in the house. After about 1 day and a half, Brownie and Fat Maggie were not as scared anymore. They still kept their distance but would perch by the window or couch and hiss at Lola whenever the dog got close. However, not our resident bully, Whitey Coyote, who hid behind our headboard in the bedroom whenever she heard the dog in the house. As it turns out, this big bully (who likes to play alpha-cat and beat up on her siblings), is the biggest scaredy-cat of all.

As she was hanging out in the living room one day, poor Whitey Coyote was caught off-guard when the dog was allowed back into the house for the evening. With nowhere to go, she wedged herself between the wall and couch. To further the humiliation, everyone in the house came to laugh at and document her predicament.

Poor Lola was so sad and disappointed that her feline cousins would not play with her. At her house, her best friend is a kitten, so she thought that these feline cousins would play with her. My sister, her boyfriend and Lola have now left to camp in Death Valley. Before their departure, I made Lola a little scarf out of some recycled felted sweaters. The toggle button is also a felted sweater piece. Doesn't she look mighty fine?

Craft Show: Yays and Nays

The handmade craft show I did this past weekend ended up being kind of slow. I have no idea why. There were street signs and ads in various papers. I suspect that one reason is that there was a similar one 2 weeks prior in the same area. Plus, being that it's the holidays, there are lots of shows during this season.

Regardless, I did okay. Enough to cover the fee, and make back my investment for inventory for this show and some chump change. Yay! I had no expectations of how much I would make, especially since I was contacted about this show 2 weeks before it was scheduled, but I actually had thought there would be more people. Anyway, it was fun. I met some great local Etsyians, and have some inventory to list in my shop (when I have the time!). I offered my friend Zona space at my table to peddle her lovely items, so she hung out with me all day and sold some of her hand-knits and handspun yarns.

I didn't dye any yarn for this show, but used some stuff other handpainted yarns I had in stock. I sold a few skeins of yarn, one of the customers was another vendor who kept coming to my table to look at the yarn. She bought 2 skeins at the end of the day -- she lucked out because another customer was debating between the ones she wanted and 2 other skeins. I must also thank JayJay, Marie and Pam from my knitting group who came and supported us.

As far as all the silk scarves I painted, I think the trees with the tiny blossoms are my favorites. I also like the green one on the far right quite a bit.

I did some shopping as well. I bought some YUMMY jam from this guy who makes his own jams, jellies and chutneys, which are mostly made from fruits that he grows! I got a plum chutney -- the best I have ever had (I have bought many at various farmer's markets before) and a jalapeno jelly.

Here's a Nay. Actually, it's a big BOO. There was a girl who sold some screenprinted t-shirts, bags and some hand-knits. She's the kind of hand-knitter I scoff at at these craft shows and fairs. Why? No, it's not because she was selling fuzzy fun fur scarves. Fun fur scarves only make me cringe a little, not scoff. The boo on this vendor is not something that's a matter of personal taste. She was selling the Kittyville hat! The only difference in the hat she sold is that she omitted the earflaps. Everything else looked exactly the same. This type of selling bothers me, because it is a form of copyright infringement. Really, the least anyone can do is to do it in another weight yarn and alter the gauge, or even change the type of stitch used. Even then, I would feel weird about selling it, but that's just me. Maybe I'm being too harsh. All I know is that I would be very irked if I caught someone trying to profit from my original patterns, especially if it's one as distinctly noticeable as the Kittyville hat.

Stuffed

Unfortunately, it's not the kind of stuffed that you get post-holiday. Out of control allergies + cold from flu shot = major cold. Boo! I thought that at least being in bed I could catch up on some knitting, but my head and chest is so clogged that I can't really do anything requiring coordination and concentration.

I did have a nice holiday though. A friend from high school with whom I recently reconnected came over on Thursday night. Then, a bunch of friends came over on Friday for a dumpling / potsticker wrapping party. We even made the skins from scratch!

The one productive thing that I did today was to relist some stuff in my etsy shop. I've been severely neglecting the shop and have not posted anything new. I do have stuff, but I haven't gotten around to photographing them. You'd think that relisting is simple, just clicking a button. It generally is, but I have been without internet for nearly 2 days! waaaahhhh! My wireless connection decided to go kaput and I've been trying to fix it in between naps to no avail. I'm not computer whiz, so I just now discovered and realized that I can plug my laptop to the network.

Anyway, I relisted some of my buttons:

Relative

Excuse my recent absence from blogging. For the past 6 weeks, I've had a variety of visiting relatives from out of town, including in-laws from overseas. So, I've been playing the nice dutiful daughter-hostess. I haven't done much knitting during this time, and I only managed to sneak off to my knitting group once. I was getting serious withdrawals from not seeing my knitting friends. Having some sort of routine is actually refreshing, especially when it involves a wonderful hobby like knitting, and good people like the folks in my knitting group. Also, seeing my knitting friends always cheer me up, even when sometimes I feel so down that I don't want to leave the house or go. It's especially helpful this time of year, when I am reminded by my mother's passing and the passing of my childhood best friend, who died very tragically shortly after her birthday and right before Christmas when we were in 9th grade.

Anyway, my relatives have left and I can now resume my weekly knitting group meetings. Yay! And, I can work on my crafty things! Well, I was not totally devoid of crafty activities during these few weeks, I've been doing stuff like preparing for me and Aubrey's business ventures like ordering yarn (yay! how exciting!) and writing business operations policies (okay, not as fun). I will post some photos and share with y'all all the yummy yarns that have come in fairly soon.
For some time now, I have been talking about a pattern that I had submitted to Magknits, to which the editor had emailed me and said that she wanted to publish it in February or March 2007. When it didn't publish, I emailed the editor, who said that she was going to publish it in April. April, May and June came and went. After that I emailed the editor 2-3 more times -- all those emails were ignored and I received no response. I have no idea why she did not respond, and I certainly understand her perogative to change her mind about publishing my pattern, but all I wanted to know was whether Magknits had changed its mind and/or when my pattern was going to be published. Anyway...I think I will self-publish this pattern. I already formatted it and everything, but I think I want to test it on a different yarn. Here are photos of the lantern purse. I call it "Fu" for the character depicted on the lantern. Fu means fortune or luck in Mandarin Chinese.

Staying In

Luckily, my home, my family and the area in which I live is safe from the multiple fires burning rampant in Southern California. However, even with all the doors and windows closed, the winds are blowing all sorts of allergens and irritants that sneak through the tiniest of crevices into the house. I already suffer from terrible year-round allergies and mild asthma, and all the dust and smoke is knocking my entire body out of whack, even with a slew of drugs. Thus, not wanting to aggravate my lungs and sinus further, I think I will remain a shut-in for the majority of the week.

Last night, instead of going to spinning group with my fiber friends, Carolyn came over to my house and spun on her Ashford Traveler. I had already finished plying "cotton candy" (but haven't yet blocked it) and didn't want to spin undyed roving, so I worked on the lace stole for my stepmother instead. It's going slowly, but I've completed half of it already. I contemplated doing 2 separate halves and then grafting it together, but the pattern is small enough that I don't think it'd obvious which way is which, and so certainly, not worth the trouble of trying to graft over 100 stitches.

I also tried to dry a couple of hats a little before I attempted to block by laying them on a towel on my kitchen table. To my surprise, I found one of the cats on the hats. I had not expected one of the naughty ones to bother with the hats because they were wet, but I guess I was wrong. The gray hat is a gift for a Buddhist nun, so now I have to re-wash it and pick out all the cat hairs. Damn cat!

This is another one of the photos I scanned Sunday night. I'm not sure when it was taken, but I'm estimating that my mom was probably about 20-23 years old in the photo.

Memories

Yes, I've been in the dark ages. I never used a scanner until tonight. Instead, I've been handing things over to hubby to scan things for me. My dad's birthday is coming up soon, so we got him a digital photo frame. I started uploading some digital photos I had into the frame, but then I thought it'd be nice to scan some old photos of my sister and me and upload those as well. I don't think hubby would appreciate scanning hundreds of old photos that have no personal meaning to him, so we finally hooked up a scanner for me tonight.

I couldn't find the baby album that my dad put together for me about 10 years ago. I think it's still somewhere in our garage from our move 3 years ago. Yep, like many people we still have unpacked boxes. Anyway, I still managed to find several old photos and proceed to archive all of them. Once I find my baby album, I intend to archive everything.

Going through the photos was somewhat bittersweet. My dad's birthday is coming up next week, but this week is also the 2nd anniversary of my mom's passing. I don't want to go into details about feelings and all that, since I still want to keep this a mostly-crafty blog, but I think I can sum it simply: it really bites.

Since we scattered her ashes, I haven't visited the locations (half in Texas Hill Country, half in the woods of Northern California). My sister made a special visit last year (she lives a lot closer to the location). Perhaps I will make a trip next year. In the meantime, my visits will be in spirit and via my memories.

Butterflies

I've been doing some back-breaking cleaning everyday for the past 2 weeks. You see, I have many visitors: my in-laws from Southeast Asia, my dad and stepmother from Texas and my godmother from Taiwan. All my visitors are very nice people, but still...there is some stress and anxiety from having out-of-town visitors. I worry about making sure that my house is clean and meticulously orderly (I'm not horrible, but this area is not my forte), and I worry about places to take them. Needless to say, I haven't been crafting or knitting much.

For the last several weeks I have been working on this stole. It's my own design. I custom hand-painted it in shades of navy and blue from my stepmother. The larger center panel is a modified snowshoe lace, but it reminds me of butterfly cocoons. The photo is a little overexposed and it will be much better after I finish and block it. I'm not sure when I will be able to finish it -- I certainly won't be working on it much this month. Also, I've had to rip many parts of it out already. That's what I get for trying to knit lace at knitting group.

Several days ago, I took some of my visitors to the San Juan Capistrano Mission, where we took in the splendor of the building and the beautiful garden. We were lucky enough to see lots of monarch butterflies fluttering happily with the wind. We even spotted some cocoons, and I managed to get some macro shots of the monarchs.

Frogs

When knitters use the term "frog" we generally mean the act of ripping our WIPs, not the actual slimy amphibian creature. Unfortunately for me, and perhaps amusing to you, this post is not about the knitting frog.

Tropical frogs like this green and blue one are cute, but it does not make me want to hold and cuddle them. Furthermore, as a former vegetarian of 10 years, I certainly would not eat one. Hell, I still have problems eating beef, pork and even some chicken.

Last night, I went to eat with my godmother at a wonderful LA restaurant known for its spectacular dim sum and seafood. My godmother ordered a chicken clay pot dish. When the dish came out, I took a piece of the chicken. I thought that the pieces were cut rather small, even for the small wing that I selected, but I ate it anyway. I was surprised that the chicken was tough and cooked differently from other chicken clay pot dishes I had before. It wasn't very good, so I didn't eat anymore of it. Several minutes later, my godmother realized that the waiter got the order wrong (either that, or his Mandarin was not very good) and had sent us theFROG clay pot instead! Ewwww! I tried not to think about the tiny "chicken wing" I ate and focused my attention on the conversations and the yummier food on the table, like the lobster.

However, as I drove home by myself after dinner and without other distractions, I could not help but think that the wretched piece of "chicken" that I ate was more akin to this ugly thing. I felt so queasy. My hubby's response to my frog-eating experience was "yummy," because he's a frog-lover. Having been duped into tasting it, I can say that it is horrid and does not taste like chicken at all. (Hubby and other frog-lovers have told me that frog tastes a little like chicken.)

Ugh. The reminiscing is making me feel icky again. I think I'd prefer to suffer the pain of frogging an entire sweater than to eat another tiny frog leg again.

Beach Knitting

This past Saturday, my knitting group had our 3rd Beach Knitting Picnic. Our previous events were held at Heisler Park in Laguna Beach, which is on a small cliff right over the beach. Due to some renovations at the park, we had to change the location to Aliso Beach. Aliso Beach doesn't have a grassy park, but there are some fire rings right on the beach and it's a rather quiet and lovely beach, as you can see from the photos.


It had poured the night before, and in some parts, it rained pretty heavily Saturday morning as well. Luckily, after a brief shower, the beach was the epitome of a quintessential sunny California Beach. What made the picnic even lovelier were the fantastic ocean waves that resulted from the storm system.


Due to the rain and the location change, we had a smaller turnout than the previous 2 picnics. We still had a lovely group of folks and I even brought my spinning wheel and spun with good company, great weather, and the sounds of crashing waves behind me. And in a classic "Oh, Aubrey!" moment, Aubrey, who is known for losing things, somehow dropped her wallet about 10 feet away from our pop-up tent. I don't know how much time had passed (at least 10 minutes) between her dropping it and me spotting it, but had the beach been more crowded, I have no doubt that someone would have swiped it within seconds. Tsk, tsk.

After the picnic, I went over to my friend Rachel's for a dinner party. Unfortunately, after a couple of hours, I felt an allergy-induced pre-asthma attack coming on. I was allergic to something in her apartment -- maybe her cats, maybe something else. My chest began to tighten as my throat itched and my sinuses swelled. I excused myself from the party and thankfully, by the time I got home, some of the itchiness subsided. I thought I was in the clear-- then,l my right eye started feeling weird and itchy. Uh oh!

When the allergy gets in my eye, the white part of my eye usually swells up, as if it's a giant hive. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the worst eye allergy I've had, and 1 being a mild short-term irritation, this one rated about a 5, because I although my vision blurred a little from the constant watering, it didn't hurt. I only get 10s when I'm in Houston without my drugs. The worst one lasted for more than 2-3 days, watered 24/7, blurred my vision and hurt so much due to the extreme swelling of the white part that I could not sleep or barely open it.

All in all, despite the allergy and having an eye that looked like I had been smoking pot all night, the Saturday turned out pretty fantastic and lovely, especially the beautiful crashing beach waves.

Arrrr, Aye Matey!

Ahoy! Being that today is talk like a pirate day (whoever came up with that??), I decided to go with the them and post my skull sock pattern that I designed for my sister.

I put in instructions for a men's size, and although I think it's correct, please be forewarned that I have not yet tested it.

I don't think I possess any pirate energy in me, but perhaps it's dormant. You see, after reading some historical studies on Taiwan, a part of me wants to believe that I am descended from pirates. Whether that can be really be established or verified is another issue. However, consider this: I belong to the 10th recorded generation, which would date us back to the 15th-16th century. Historical information shows that many pirates used the island during the Ming Dynasty and some had later settled. In the 1600s, after driving away the Portugese, the Dutch established colonial posts and ruled the island. Pirates still surrounded the island, so the Dutch entered a treaty to ensure the safety of their ships with a pirate leader. According to "Island in the Stream," a pirate subordinate with my last name led a revolt with the people of the island in 1652.

I don't know if anyone in my family will be able to give me more information, but I do like the idea that there's a possibility that there are pirates in our past. I mean, saying that you're descended from pirate explorers does have a nice ring to it - it's exciting, isn't it?

Pirate fantasies aside, my next fantasy is that Knitty will select my pattern for their winter issue. Maybe the third time is the charm. I can't post a photo or the pattern that I submitted, while it's being reviewed, and I don't want to jinx it too much. But I guess it's safe to say that I submitted a versatile knitting accessory that can be adapted for both men and women. I knitted it in one of my favorite fibers -- an alpaca and silk blend. yum!

I'm also happy to announce that I recently sold the yarn swift that I had made for a joint Etsy and Instructables contest. A very lovely woman purchased it for her daughter's birthday.

Help Search for Steve Fosset

As the post title suggests, this is no ordinary crafty post. As you may have already heard via your favorite news source, adventurer Steve Fossett has been missing for a week now. Steve Fossett is actually the uncle of one of my knitting friends, a wonderful woman who started the knitting group to which I belong.

Family, friends and volunteers are assisting in the search. If you'd like, so can you. Due to fabulous technology and Google Earth, many people are able to volunteer and assist in the search by reviewing satellite images. It's easy! All you need to do is to download Google Earth, and sign on to your Amazon account to start. Follow the instructions here and hit the "accept hit" button to start.

Information on the satellite image search is on Steve Fossett's website.

Thanks for your help!

Brrr it's cold.

I just came back from chilly San Francisco, where I visited my sister and some friends. It was pretty cold up there -- a stark contrast to the heat in Southern California.

I hung out first with my friend Pipe ("pee-pay") who was visiting from Laredo, Texas where he grew up and currently works. Pipe has a deep fascination for Japan and Japanese culture and history, especially samurai history and old-school anime, so we spent quite some time in Japantown. On his last day, we went to the Asian Art Museum, where there was a special exhibit on Tezuka Osamu, father of anime and creator of Astro Boy.

After Pipe left, I visited with some other friends, including Cristina of String Theory. Cristina came with me, my sister and my sister's friends to a neighborhood garage sale. There were some fabulous items -- like antique sewing machines. Unfortunately, I didn't think I could haul those on the plane, so I settled for 1 slightly used and 1 new pack of heavy duty sheet protectors for $7. The used pack still looked like there was at least 30-40 sheets left in the pack. All in all, it was a great deal, and my beat up knitting patterns will surely appreciate the protectors!

Later, Cristina and her hubby treated me to a yummy late lunch at Burma Superstar. Boy do I miss all the fabulous restaurants and good eats in San Francisco! Don't get me wrong -- there are great eats in L.A. and O.C., but everything so spread apart, going to a favorite haunt sometimes seem such a chore, especially with the notorious SoCal traffic.

Anyway, as for the slippers I made for my sister, I ended up felting it a 3rd time. I don't think she likes it that much -- she complained that the sole was a little floppy and folded under when she walked in them. I think she just walks funny. LOL! I tested them at home and at her house, and I had no problems.
Pattern: House Slippers from Knit2Together by Mel Clark and Tracy Ullman
Yarn: SkiFoggy Yarn from Japan, using 3 strands
Needles: As recommended in pattern - US 11 and US 13 circulars
Notes: I felted the slippers 3 times to get the right size, but I have a front loading washer, so that may have something to do with it. Working the toe and the back lip can be a little awkward. on the circulars. It may be a little less awkward to incorporate dpns when working around the tight curves. Although the felting gives the slipper structure, the sole still can be a little floppy for some people. I'd also suggest using rubber rug spray or puffy paint on the sole for some traction and safety, especially when trying to walk on tiled or wood floors.

My sister really liked her socks. I'm still editing the pattern, so I'll do a separate posting with the pattern link later.

When's Your Turn?

Within a month of getting married, my mother-in-law called to ask if I was pregnant yet. We've been married 6 years, and the questions have not stopped from family and family friends. Most of my friends know better than to ask, because they know that the question is redundant and that they will get a scowl in return. I'm not so fortunate with some family friends who insist on asking me and telling me that I should have lots of babies, though I've repeatedly said "no." The tricky thing is, due to cultural reasons, I can't very well tell them to shove it, no matter how annoying it is.

My dad is okay about the B-word, and respects my personal life and decisions, but he could not help himself recently when I told him that my brother- and sister-in-law just had a baby girl. With some (not much) self-restraint, he finally asked "so, when's your turn?"

For my brother-in-law's baby, I sent them some onesies that Linh and I made when she visited. We borrowed some ideas and created our own as well, and then I designed and edited the images on my Photoshop program. We printed the images on some transfers I had purchased to make sewn labels for my stuff. Because my BIL is a huge soccer fan, I made one to resemble a player's jersey, with Barcelona's logo in front and the last name on the back.


In addition to the cute and personalized onsies, I also knitted my new niece a pair of T-strap booties and a matching hat out of some yarn. I didn't have enough of the right kind of buttons for the booties, so I improvised and put different buttons on each side.

Pattern: T-strap Baby Booties (my own) and Hat set
Yarn: 1 skein hand-painted fingering yarn, 50 %wool, 50 %silk (I purchased from a local yarn supplier that does not have a national or commercial label, nor does it carry this yarn anymore.)
Notes: I'm working on finalizing the pattern and trying it with other more commonly available yarns. I haven't decided whether to post here or sell on my Etsy shop, but if you're interested in it, email me and I'll let you know when I'm done with it.


I wrapped the gifts in some tissue paper and tied it with a really cute farm animal ribbon. I still haven't heard whether my BIL and his wife received or even like the gift. However, I'm sure they're too busy with their first baby, all the dirty diapers, and trying desperately to catch up on sleep!


My mother- and father-in-law will be here sometime in August and through part of September. I don't think I will be able to escape that dreaded question. Maybe they'll be so excited about the new baby that they will forget to ask. Well...one can hope.

We Don't Have A Dog

For the will and not the gift makes the giver.
-- Ephraim Gotthold Lessing

My husband came back from a business trip with an unexpected gift in tow. Apparently, he wandered into a NYC bookstore and happened to see a knitting book on sale, sot he go this for me:

For many reasons, I was quite surprised and a little puzzled by this gift. First of all, my husband has never bought me anything knitting related of his own volition, and this was certainly a nice gesture. (He did begrudging go to an LYS to find me some knitting needles upon my request once.) Secondly, we don't have any dogs, nor are we planning to get one in the near future -- 3 spoiled cats, 0 dogs and some ugly black widows lurking in our yard. Thirdly, my husband has not really asked me to knit anything for him -- he once requested socks, but at my prompting, and as a joke, he once asked for a pirate's eye patch for the fat one.
My husband doesn't really wear sweaters either. The only time he bought sweaters in the 7-8 years we've been together was when Amazon had a great sale on them. Knowing him and his sense of humor, he probably thought getting this book would be ironic and funny, and that I'd probably appreciate anything knitting. However, just to be sure, I asked him if we wanted one of the sweaters in the book or if it was a hint for me to knit him a sweater. He doesn't want one.

Thankfully, he didn't waste his money, even if he meant it as a joke. The patterns in this book don't look as crappy as the title sounds. There are some nice sweaters and many cute doggie things, like the ones in the photo below. Maybe the cute dogs camouflage some of the uglier ones, like the hat on the cover or the variegated yoke pullover on page 32.

Well, whatever my husband's reason for getting this book, I will cherish it and appreciate his first knitting gift to me. Perhaps he or my dad will want me to knit them a sweater one day.

Oh L'Amour

Oh L'Amour, Broke my heart
Now I'm aching for you

Everyone who knows me, knows that I'm stuck in the musical 80's new wave/alternative. (Fortunately for me, I didn't fall too prey to the regrettable fashions back then -- I was too nerdy to!) I'm totally dating myself, but some of the top 80's bands for me, in no particular order, are Depeche Mode, Erasure, New Order, Nine Inch Nails, The Cure, Psychedelic Furs and The Smiths.

I was momentarily brought back to my youth when we recently attended the True Colors concert, organized by Cyndi Lauper, at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. It was Zona, her hubby, my hubby and me. Unfortunately, due to a family emergency, Aubrey and her hubby could not go at the last minute. Unfortunately, we could not find someone available to go to a concert at the last minute, so those poor tickets went to waste.

If I recall correctly, The Cliks performed first. In my opinion, the band sucked overall. The lead singer sounded like a dying hoarse dog. Sorry if this sound harsh or if you're a fan. Actually, Zona and I both agree that the music had a nice sound and power to it...now if the singer could be replaced, or just tuned out, it would've been superb.

Second to play was the 2-member band, The Dresden Dolls. The DD put on a great show, was entertainingly theatrical (guy in a dress) and had great energy. I enjoyed their unique sound and music, but I have to admit, to no fault of DD, I didn't enjoy them as much because I was itching and anticipating Erasure.

Introducing the bands and keeping us all entertained before and after each act was funny woman Margaret Cho, know for some her raunchy jokes. Another guest comic was Rosie O'Donnell, also funny and entertaining, and certainly took the chance to poke fun at The Donald.

The next act up was Blondie herself, Ms. Debbie Harry. Don't get too excited. She didn't really sing any of her Blondie songs. And up her olden age, she really should not have been doing some of the rocker moves. She was waaaay out of practice. Even if I did have a fresh mind (slept 4 hours last night), I still would not have the words to describe her fluttering -- you simply had to see it yourself.
That's a crappy photo of her though. Here's a better one from the SF Gate.

Enough about Debbie. The next act was ERASURE! This is actually the first time I've seen them in concert. Really. Andy Bell and Vince Clark were fabulously entertaining and were fantastic to watch live. Although they looked older, they surely did not act like it. Zona and I danced our hearts out and sang our voices hoarse. Our hubbys must have thought we were temporarily possessed. If you haven't visited their website yet, there an interesting photo gallery, which seem almost more like a photo diary, from 1985 (!) to present.

I was never really into Cyndi Lauper, but after seeing her finale act, I have new found respect for her and her music. She is a fabulous entertainer, and also like Erasure, she still seems to have an abundance of energy and could still rock, unlike Debbie Harry. A rather odd sight of her act was Rosie O'Donnell playing some drums to the right side of the stage for a few of Cyndi's songs.
For the finale all the acts came on stage. They first sang Erasure's cover of Abba's "Take a Chance on Me" and made it extra festive withe all the colorful giant balloon. The final song (surprise, surprise) was Cyndi's "True Colors."

Jeepers Creepers

As part of my fantasic purchase, my spinning wheel came with a set of hand carders and some roving. The roving was old, nasty, wiry, rough and had lots of weird vegetable matter in it. Needless to say, it got tossed. But before I could practice hand-carding, with better roving, I had to clean out some of the residual roving and vegetable matter (or so I thought) from the carder teeth.

I meticulously picked off the fibers between the teeth with a toothpick and ended up with lots of gross fuzz all over my table and my clothes. Besides sneezing at the annoying bits of fiber, I really didn't think anything of it until I saw that one of the little vegetable matter bits had legs!! Gross! I almost threw up at the thought of inhaling the microscopic remnants of these dead bugs. It was very hard to finish getting all that crap out of the 100s of teeth in the carders.
I can't believe that the original owner actually sat there to comb and brush dirty fiber, complete with bugs. Ewww.

Aside from those nasty bugs, I had slightly creepy experience of a different kind this Wednesday. As I walked across the parking lot towards Starbucks for my Wednesday knitting group meeting, I noticed a guy in the donut shop 2 doors down grinning and waving from his booth inside the shop. I ignored this, since I didn't know the guy. But then the aggressive waving and grinning continued...who is he waving at? No one was walking towards the donut shop, not even in the parking lot, and no one was driving away. Then I noticed that he was looking at me, with his body turned in my direction. The waving and sheepish grin was a little odd, but I quickly brushed it off.

Feeling a little bored and loser-ish, Rachel and I decided to depart early, since we were the only ones who showed up to knitting on July 4th. Outside, some teenage skateboarders were praciting there tricks while an older man (in his 40s?) sitting on the edge of a flower bed wall chatted and watched the boys. The older man seemed short and had a slightly rotund protrusion in his midsection and appeared to be Latino. I thought this guy was related to the boys, maybe one of the dads. I walked past them without any interaction and headed towards my car. As I opened my car door, I saw someone waving out of the corner of my eye. I got into my car and waited for a car behind me to pull out, and the man sitting with the skateboarders continued to wave with a grin. Then I realized this was the donut man! He kept waving at me and grinning until I left the parking lot.

I never waved or smiled back at the donut man, because I didn't want to encourage it. I am still perplexed as to why he was waving like that. I guess could just appreciate that someone was trying to make a connection and may have found something attractive or interesting in me from yards away. But, it was so odd! He didn't even say hi, when I walked by, and he sat outside while Rachel and I knitted. All he did was wave fervently and grin. Weird.

She's Done It Again!

My secret pal in SP10 has done it again! She's spoiled me rotten! 1000 thanks to my pal, Becky, who is from my home state and an avid sock knitter. Becky has been spoiling me from day one of the swap. My final package did not just contain one, two or even three yarns, I got a giant bag full! Some of the other fantasitc goodies in my box included sour candies, and my favorite popped rice green tea. If you've ever had this tea, you should definitely try it. It's called genmai chai. If you live in and around the San Francisco area, I recommend supporting one of the local cooperatives and purchase the tea at the fabulous Rainbow Grocery, which has a regular and an organic version. If your're not that fortunate to be able to shop at Rainbow, then you can get the tea online at Adaigio Teas. A lovely pendant from a fantasitc etsy seller features beautiful artwork sandwiched between glass. It's a little heavier than one would expect, but it's quite a unique piece. The only thing I'm worried about is chipping the pendant, since my secret special talent is breaking glass.

Is It Really Interesting?

I don't usually do memes, just like I don't do chain letters. But since I got tagged from Prof. JayJay for the 7 Interesting Things About You meme, and I'm trying to procrastinate, I guess I could give it a go.

The Rules: Tell seven things about yourself on your blog, then tag seven other people to do the same. List who you are tagging on your blog, and leave a comment on their blogs to let them know they've been tagged. I don't know if this is all that interesting. Some probably in the more embarrassing category, for sure.

1. I'm ambidextrous. I was born left-handed, but where we were at the time, it was not as socially acceptable to be left-handed. Honestly, I just think the right-handed people were jealous that left-handers are smarter and tried to squash us lefties. Anyway, I was behaviorally conditioned with candy. I can do most things with both hands, except use a chopping knife. I almost sliced off my thumb once when I tried to use a knife with my right hand. I write with my right, and although my left handwriting is slower and not nearly as nice, it actually is neater than most peoples' regular writing.
2. I speak 3 languages pretty fluently and/or proficiently. I also speak a little Spanish and minored in German in college. I barely speak any German now. And of course, like many people, I know bad words in over 10 languages. It's a special skill, I tell ya.
3. Once at a party, with the fog machine blasting, I walked really fast into a patio door. I couldn't tell that the glass door was shut, and I think the verberation of the impact was lower than the loud music. My friends on the other side didn't even come in to see how I was -- they just laughed until their stomach almost burst and pointed out the large noseprint on the glass. The worst part was that an asshole of an ex-boyfriend was at the party and I think he saw the whole thing.
   
4. I have double jointed elbows. I can make both rotate almost 360 degrees without moving my hand or shoulder.
5. I was voted "Miss Prim and Proper" in the 6th grade. Honestly, I was so boring and nerdy that I don't think the teachers could come up with anything good. I wore giant pinkish-red rimmed glasses and wore uncool dresses my grandmother made. No on believes me that I was anywhere near prim or proper and that I was painfully shy until I was about 20-21 years old.
6. I can't believe I'm actually daring enough to divulge this one. :-/ I have/have had a total of 7 names/nicknames that family and friends actually called me. Including my given, naturalized and married names, I have had 4 different "official" names. At one point, some nuns at a school in Brazil called me Suzy. It's a very long story. My parents had a nickname for me, and one of my best friends, Tedd, calls me Bo-Bo (I have no idea how he started calling me that, but he's the only one who calls me that and usually will choose that over my name). The most unfortunate nickname was dubbed by a former "banana" classmate with bad Chinese skills. He called me "Pot," short for "Pot of Germs," a very twisted and badly translated homophones of my Mandarin Chinese name. Luckily we only hung out about 1 year - I'm sure that all my chemistry classmates who heard me being called "Pot" thought I was always getting stoned or something, and if they heard him call me "Pot of Germs," well...I guess it figures why no one in my chem class asked me out on a date. If any of my friends reading this ever calls me the latter, be forewarned that there will be dire consequences!
   
7. When I was in 4th grade, I got really mad at my sister for being a brat and for gettting me into trouble for no reason at all, so I scraped off some soap and put it on her toothbrush, then I put on a thin layer of toothpaste to hide the soap. She tought I was being nice by pre-loading her toothbrush for her. Of course, she cried at the nastiness in her mouth. I swear, I only did it once and never did anything else that mean to her. She doesn't even remember this incident.
   

Who shall I tag next? I don't have that many blogging friends, and even less who'd humor me on this.

In Recovery

Just when I thought I was finally nearing the end of my recovery from Aubrey's wedding, I got hit with some crafty deadlines.

First of all, the wedding, veil, and flowers all turned out fabulously. Of course, the bride was glowing, gorgeous and flawless. We were all relieved and elated that the famously klutzy bride did not fall or trip on the uneven grounds of the nature preserve -- not once! Whew! Seriously, this is a lady who trips on air on a flat level surface. However, the bride did not lose a special Aubrey touch: She lost her garter, which slipped off her leg somewhere, and she lost an earring, which she later found with a flower from her bouquet inside her bra.



Above: me and Linh. I don't have any photos of the gorgeous arrangements. I hope Linh blogs them soon!


Above: The knitters! It was really nice seeing some of the knitters dressed up for a change. We rarely see each other looking spiffy and not covered in yarn and fiber fuzz.

Soon after the wedding, I realized that I had an upcoming deadline for a contest that I wanted to participate in. Did I ever mention that I'm trying to do something for an Etsy contest? I had originally planned on entering the 3 maximum allowable entries per person, but it looks like I will only be able to do one before the June 15 deadline.

As I was planning out the contest entries, the author of an upcoming book on recycled sweaters contacted me about some of my project/idea submissions. She and her editor liked the things I submitted and they requested that I send them finished projects and descriptions ASAP. So I spent the week after the wedding getting the projects finished and mailed off. In all, I think I sent in about 6-7 projects. From what I can tell, it appears that the book will be some sort of anthology of projects from various crafters/artists. Hopefully, they will select at least one of my projects.

Wish me luck on both (I think the Etsy contest is a longshot though.)!

Things finally appear to be slowing down a little from the recent flurry of miscellaneous crafty activities. Maybe now I'll have more time to devote to knitting and spinning. I haven't done much of either. I had been making great progress on a double knitted hat and was near-ready to decrease. Then, I realized that my image was not right. I failed to check as I knitted and knitted. What's more is that I lacked foresight in planning the design image, so I ended up with a backwards design on one side. *sigh* That's the Zen of Knitting.

Not having time to knit also means no time to spin -- I still don't think I have more than 6 yards of the alpaca lace I started nearly 4 weeks ago. I DO have some new spinning-related news though! I will keep you all in suspense until I can photograph the great news. ;)

Well, before I get to do more spinning and knitting, I do have to do more sewing. I need to make more headbands for the shop. In the next couple of weeks, I will also be making more of my Fortune Cookie purses (like this one I made for Aubrey) for the shop and for two custom orders I received at the wedding.

Frenzy

My apologies to my swap pals for being a little slow to post the goodies I've been receiving. I received this earthy-color themed package from my Secret Pal 10 swap pal a couple of weeks ago. I absolutely love the fancy fabric, and the colors of the cashmere yarn! The chocolate is also to die for -- I actually bought and ate a couple bars of this chocolate when hubby and I went to Belgium for the Soccer World Cup last summer.
From my Dye-No-Mite swap pal, I received an adorable and thoughtful card with cute and furry sheep on it.

Since Aubrey's wedding is fast approaching (this Saturday!!), I've been helping her with wedding sweatshop (photos here) and other wedding things. I just finished making her chapel length veil, made of silk chiffon trimmed with a rat tail lace at the bottom and a pearl and rat tail trim to match her fancy lace dress. Aubrey hired my friend Linh, who's staying with me, as the florist, so we've been running flower-related errands as well. The wedding is days away, and I still have yet to alter my bridesmaids dress. I have to shorten the straps and take it in near my armpits. Luckily, the empire waist means that I don't have to take in the rib/waist as well. I had to buy a size larger to accommodate my abnormally endowed bosom, which my friend Tedd claims that I stole from all the other Asian girls we knew in college.

As far as my other crafty activities, I'm trying to be an overachiever and spinning lace weight alpaca as my 3rd spinning project. Needless to say, the yarn keeps breaking on me -- I keep underspinning or overspinning and somehow failing to spin somewhere in between. This spinning project is testing my patience and tolerance! I don't think I have more than 15 yards on the spool at this point, and I started about a week ago.

I've also been dyeing the past two weekends. Last weekend, I painted some yarn and rovings for by of my swap pals in the Dye-No-Mite swap and Secret Pal 10 swaps. I also handpainted and listed this in my shop:

Then, this past Sunday, I hosted my 5th Wine, Dye and Knit party. No one got drunk, but my klutzy talents did not fail me -- I spilled half a bottle of red dye on my blonde bamboo floors and all over Robert's (from my knitting group) shoe. Oops! Luckily, I didn't spill on anyone else -- I guess it was a good lesson on what not to do for the 3 dye virgins that came. I'm fortunate that only one tiny spot on the floor turned a little pink, but it's barely noticeable. I'm actually pretty proud of myself because this is only my first major dye accident.

And last but not least, I finally remembered to photograph the purse I made for Aubrey's bridal shower gift.


The inside has 2 pockets, 2 magnetic snaps and a key ring hook.

If Only for a Moment

I woke to this morning to find one of my items featured on the front page of Etsy. Unfortunately, being on the front page can last from a few hours to 1-2 days, and I think mine was a few hours. It's no longer on the front page, and I failed to capture the image. Darn! Here's the image of the collection that was featured though:

Lately I have been sewing away, not just in Aubrey's sweatshop, but also in my own. I've spent the last 2 weeks designing and tweaking a couple of purse patterns. I made one for Aubrey, but I forgot to take photos of if before giving it to her.

These two bags below are for my godmother and my stepmother. I decided to let them decide between the two of them which one they want:







I'm call the first design "Gigi" and the second one "Fortune Cookie." I currently have another "Gigi" in the same striped outer fabric but with a fun martini print lining in my etsy shop.

I also made these 2 headbands for the shop, but of course, I also made 2 additional ones for myself to wear. :)

Gluttony

1000 apologies to my swap pals. I was preparing for a weekend of gluttony and did not post the lovely things I received from them. First, I must thank my SP10 pal, who got me a generous $25 gift certificate to Earth Faire for my 30 something 29th birthday. It was frustrating trying to order, as I came across many snafoos and glitches in their online ordering and coupon redeeming process. However, Ellen, who runs the shop, was very responsive and tried her best to be helpful. I ordered a bottle of Soak, Opal yarn and some yummy beads.


My second thank you goes to "Pippins," my Dye-No-Mite pal, who sent me the lovely package below. It's a good thing that hubby prefers milk over dark chocolate. Otherwise, we'd sure have a fight over the mouth-watering dark chocolate in my package. My pal also included a skein of Henry's Attic Kona that she dyed herself, and a bar of handmade natural soap with tea tree oil.
Whitey Coyote and Brownie just had to inspect and supervise my photo-taking. After taking the photo above, Whitey Coyote drooled over the yarn and rolled and rubbed herself in it when she thought I wasn't looking. Of course, she pretended to be innocent and disinterested when she realized that I saw her. Sneaky brat.

Gluttonous Weekend
I spent the weekend with Aubrey and her freinds at her bachelorette party up in the Santa Ynez valley. It almost felt like a college vacation, especially since we stacked ourselves in the rooms like sardines. Although I must say that the nice beachfront hotel with heated pool was certainly more preferable than the cheap motels my friends and I stayed during our excursions. If can can recall correctly, we drank, ate, drank, ate, toured wineries, drank, drank, drank, ate. And as if we didn't have enough already, prior to driving back, a few of us had mimosas and bloody marys during brunch. A few of the many highlights of this festive weekend:

Left: Sadie, the winery pooch, with whom I fell in love and wanted to dog-nap. Right (l-r): Me, Kim, Aubrey, Derrick and Sadie.


Above: We spotted this baby goat in the back of a truck driving in front of us. This cutie looked frightened, tense and very unsteady in the back of that truck. With every little bump in the road and bounce of the truck, the poor goat looked like it would topple over the side. I couldn't help but think that the accident would be imminent and the poor goat would end up under the wheels of a passing car. The goat looked tied and appeared to be blocked in by a bale of hay, but as you can see from the photos, there were no other safety features (like a rail) to prevent the goat from falling off the truck. :(
Above: The beautiful bride-to-be in a vineyard.

Above: At our last vineyard stop, I spotted this amazing tree with beautifully angled and twisted branches. The leaves seemed to glow with the sun shining through, and when I looked up, the branches looked like they were preparing for an intimate embrace.

:: sigh ::

Well, Magknits never published an April issue, and as I said before, waiting sucks. So now it's May. The May issue is up, but my pattern is not in it. I did not get an email about why April was never published, nor did I get one about why my pattern is not in the May issue either. I sent an email to the Magknits editor again this morning and am waiting for a reply. If they're going to publish it, I wish they'd do it already or let me know their intentions, instead of letting me hang. I very much appreciate courtesy emails. If they've changed their mind about publishing it, I just want to know so that I can either self-publish or submit it elsewhere.

I'm starting to wonder if people think I'm a liar. I submitted the pattern to Magknits in November 2006 and still have nothing to show for it. In September 2006, my friends and I taped 2 episodes of Uncommon Threads, which started airing in March, but they stopped the airing schedule midway. I don't know when they will resume, but our episodes belong in the unaired batch. Knitty Gritty probably won't air for some time either (but that's not too big, since I was only a knitster). Well, at least I have this.

You do the Math!

Aside from spinning, I've been working on Aubrey's Wedding Sweatshop as her steward. Literally. She's getting married in June at a nature preserve where there are park benches she cannot move. So, we're covering it up with table cloths and custom sewn bench cushions. How many you wonder? A LOT!

• 29 picnic tables @ 7 feet long each
• 58 bench seats (2 benches per table)
  
• 58 box style bench cushions
• 580 cut pieces of fabric (58 tops + 58 bottoms + 116 long sides + 116 short sides + 232 straps)
  
• 116 foam inserts to cut (2 one inch inserts per seat cushion)
  
• Over 70 yards of fabric = 1000 lbs (well, it felt like it!)
• 4 sewing machines
• 1 bloody finger

We "opened" this sweatshop this past Saturday, spending 5 hours cutting and sewing. The good news is that we've managed to cut about 3/4 of what we need, and we started sewing some of the pieces together. The bad news is that we still have more to do, and I think I saw blue and white fiber fuzz when I blew my nose. The bloody finger belonged to JayJay, who somehow stabbed herself as she cut one of the 580 pieces. Luckily, there weren't any other injuries.

The 5 sweatshop workers that showed up are all of the bride-owner's knitting friends, and I was the only bridesmaid. I bet Aubrey now knows who her truly dedicated friends are now! ;)

"A true friend unbosoms freely, advises justly, assists readily, adventures boldly, takes all patiently, defends courageously, and continues a friend unchangeably."
~ William Penn

Sneaky , Sneaky

Before she and her hubby left for San Diego and the Grand Canyon, Linh gave me a super fantastic birthday present. It's a crafting apron! It's made in a really soft and sturdy cotton twill fabric in a earthy color. The trims and straps are also made from the same twill fabric in lovely earthen shades that reminds me of the Grand Canyon. Look at all the cool pockets for all the crafty tools. I will definitely have to wear this when I sew. I am always misplacing and losing my seam rippers and measuring tape under piles of fabric.

So, as I was trying to get a close-up shot of the pockets with my camera, I noticed a little square outline in one of the pockets...My sneaky girl hid some birthday money in one the pockets! Thanks Linh - You really didn't have to! I loved having you and Nick as my houseguests! I bet she hid it knowing that I would not take it, especially since they already gave us a nice purple clematis and bougainvilela to grace our front door as a lovely thank you gift. Sneaky girl. Thanks, Linh. You know that you are always welcome at my house. I miss you already. :)

Dalai Llama

Unfortunately, that's not his name. His name is Cinnamon, and he's a bonafide camera hog. Cinnamon (right) is one of several llamas that Aubrey's future mother-in-law has on her property. The news on the grapevine is that Cinnamon and all his friends are due for a haircut soon. You know what that means, right? Llama fleece and fiber to play with and spin!! Lots of fiber! The other llamas are pretty friendly as well, or so they seem. I was a little wary of making any sudden movements, because getting spat on by a llama is certainly not on my to-do list.

This past Thursday, hubby and I went to a Galaxy game with JayJay and her spouse, and my friend Linh and her spouse. It was in the middle of a sudden cold windstorm, only we were all too stupid to bring a jacket. If it weren't for all the freebie t-shirts, we would've frozen. It was a nasty windstorm that knocked out the power in many areas. We really could've used a llama fleece for warmth! While the boys enjoyed the game, the girls without the sexy David Beckham to oogle, turned our attention to knitting -- well, as best as we could with our frozen fingers. JayJay and I both worked on baby hats, and Linh (right) worked to finish her very first knitting project, also a baby hat.

Halfway through her visit Linh decided that she wanted to learn, so of course, I was more than happy to oblige. She wants to be able to knit clothing and accessories for her future children. She's a pro already-- here stitches are all pretty even and she really only dropped a 3-4 times. Not bad for a first time, especially working on dpns!! And as you can see to the left, Linh resorted to wearing her unfinished baby hat due the sharp winds. Good thing wool is stretchy!

As far as my own recent crafty endeavors, this past week, I made 3 baby hats for my inventory stockpile for future craft fairs. I'm otherwise stuck in between knitting WIPs. I ran out of one of the yarns for my entrelac stole, so I can only admire it in its unfinished state for now. I'm also working on a lace stole for a friend, and am attempting to write my first lace panel design. We'll see how that goes -- it doesn't seem very promising at this time. If I am itching to knit, I guess I could always try to tackle the many old UFOs....nah!



In shop activity, I also recently listed these:

Left: Reversible fabric headband featuring different Asian prints on either side. Right: Fabric -covered buttons

Left: Fabric covered keychain with a genuine Indonesian batik fabric. Right: A fully lined and stabilized wristlet clutch with 2 interior pockets.

Left: Another Liana kit in Hot, Hot, Hot! colorway. Right: A Dye-No-Mite Surprise Yarn pack. I'm offering people a handpainted yarn package deal If you buy, what you get will definitely be at least 25% less than buying it separately. Details here.

Surprise Visitor

A few days ago, I received a call from my friend Linh at the same time I was about to pick up the phone to let her know that I'd be sending her the baby booties she commissioned me to make as a gift for her pregnant sister-in-law. Her response? "Don't bother sending them...I'll pick them up in a few days." Huh? She's in the Windy City! As it turns out, she and her hubby decided to take a month-long road trip, with southern California as their primary destination. I love it when my good friends come for a visit.

Today, Linh and I dragged her hubby with us to a massive fabric store. Then I helped Linh, who has no sewing skills, execute a prototype for dressing a vase for a wedding she's doing. There was lots of hammering and grommets too. Tomorrow, I will be "forcing" them to go to my knitting group with me for a little while so that we can get the yummy gelato made daily at a local cafe. Yum! Also, Linh will be offering her expertise and creativity to assist Aubrey in figuring out wedding florals for Aubrey's pending nuptials.

In crafty news, I picked up my entrelac scarf/wrap again and am making steady progress (prev. post). I'll have to remember to take a progress photo and post. I'm also nearly done with a swatch of the sunspots lace in Barbara Walker's 3rd Treasury for the Walker Treasury Project (WTP). The WTP is such a great idea, so I volunteered to do 4 pattern swatches for the WTP, but I haven't even finished the first one. Kind of sad, isn't it? In my defense (not a real defense, more like carelessness), I've had to undo many many rows as I worked the swatch. It's definitely not something you can knit mindlessly. Well, volunteers get 3 months to finish their swatches anyway, so I have 2 more months to complete all the swatches. I also donated some stuff for the WTP contest. So if you are thinking about signing up to do some swatches, you should do it this month!

Today, I sold a couple of items, but it seems that my customers were having problems with PayPal. Weird. So, technically, I haven't gotten paid yet. I also finally just got around to posting these fabric buttons in the shop. The purple flower one is from a genuine cotton batik I bought in Indonesia. The yellow flower one is from an Asian print fabric. I will be posting some needle cases later this week as well.

Project: Baby T-strap booties
Pattern: A modified mary jane
Yarn: Valley Yarns, Goshen in Ballet Pink; 48% Peruvian Cotton/46% Modal/6% Silk; 92yds/50g
Needles: US #6
Notions: 4 pretty little buttons.

Yarn Storage Solutions & Hiding Places

So, after reading JayJay's post and hearing about her yarn storage dilemma at ATS today, her problem inspired me to give y'all some of my storage ideas. ;-) Many of these storage solutions could also be good ideas for hiding places, in case your significant other ("SO") is keeping a keen eye on your fiber spending:

• Open a seam in your futon or couch cushion where it's not really noticeable. Remove some of the foam and/or stuffing. Remove the evidence immediately if this will be your hiding place. Then re-stuff the cushion with your yarn.
  
• The above will work for throw pillows too.
  
• If your storage totes are full, and you have stacked them to the ceiling and there's no more floor space, consider hanging your yarn on the wall -- instant wall art and storage. This is especially good if you live in chilly places know for the teeny tiny apartments, like NYC or San Francisco. The yarn on the walls also act as a insulator and can help warm your apartment, thus saving you some $ on heat. Just switch to cottons and other summer friendly fibers was the weather warms.
• You can enhance your bohemian and artsy decor by hanging hanks of colorful yarn over the doorway, lik those beaded curtains.
  
• Stuff balls of yarn into the pockets of coats and jackets hanging in your closet if your closet is already pretty much crammed to the brim.
  
• Toss some of the socks in your sock drawer. You don't need that many. Your SO probably won't even think to look in your sock drawer. Also, you know how your laundry machine eats socks, leaving you with mismatched singles? Well, stuff yarn in the singles. Your SO will just think that you rolled up your socks. But this will only work for small balls, like Debbie Bliss.
• If you have more than one bathroom, declare one off limits and use the tub to store your yarn.
  
• You can put yarn in a plastic bag in your hamper. This works well as a hiding place, especially if you're the person who does the laundry. Or, insist that you and your SO have separate hampers. You'll just have to do laundry more often.
• Knit or crochet yourself a net. Tack the corners to your ceiling and store your yarn there. This is a quick and neck-saving solution if you need to paint your ceiling anyway to cover some unsightly water stain or to make your popcorn ceiling more attractive. Instant ceiling art.
  
• String together all your balls of yarn, like a garland. Hang on your mantle or around the entire perimeter of your room. It'll look really festive, and like you're always having a party.
  
• Stop buying bulk toilet paper from Costco. The storage space you save will make room for more yarn.
• Downsize your pantry. Canned foods have high sodium content, taste tinny and have preservatives in there. Fresh is always better anyway. Besides, the local farmer's marker always needs your support. (Please, I hope you don't have those nasty vienna sausages in a can!) Anyway, yarn can go in the pantry.
  
• You know that bread machine you never use? Isn't there a big cavity in it where the bread is suppose to go? Better yet, sell it and buy a small tub and more yarn, then store it where the bread machine used to go!
• Use the suitcases stilling idly in the garage, waiting for you to fill them up for a vacation. I'm sure you have more than one. You probably just need to reserve the small one for your business trips. Heck, stuff them all. Don't wait until you plan to take a trip to stuff them.
  

I think that's enough for now. It is afterall, about 3 a.m., and this insomniac has got to try and go to bed.

The Kindness of Strangers

This is amazing. I started this blog because it was a vehicle for me to document and show off my stuff, since I'm away from a lot of my friends. I did not expect or hope for much from the blogging, except maybe that I would get a few visitors.

Since I've started, I have "met" many nice, creative and interesting people and have had many visitors. A couple of weeks ago, I "met" Julie, who emailed me to thank me for my yarn swift how-to. Her friend made her one from my instructions, saving her from ever having to wind her yarns on a chair back again. Her thoughtful thank you note was already more than enough. It's always nice knowing that people are enjoying the stuff I put out there on the www, whether they post a blog comment, or talk about it in forums or in their own blogs.

Anyway, Julie went above and beyond and sent me some lovely gifts:

A Snow Patrol snow globe! Isn't that wild? I would never have thought that a rock band would have snow globes, but then when you think of the name of the band, it makes sense!

Julie also sent me a tour book. Now I actually have decent pictures to remember the concert.

Again, THANK YOU JULIE. *hugs*

Snow Patrol

I had fallen in love with Snow Patrol a couple years ago when I heard Run from Final Straw. Subsequently, I, who rarely actually go out and buy new CDs since I'm stuck in my old love of 80s music, went out and got Final Straw and Songs for Polar Bears. Because I really like Gary Lightbody's style, I also got Reindeer Section, which was one of his side projects. And even though my poor Hubby has to compete with knitting, yarn, Gary, and my other hobbies, he ordered Eyes Open for me when it released. Furthermore, when he realized how disappointed I was when I missed them at their gig at the Wiltern last September, hubby got us concert tickets for this tour.
So, this past Friday, hubby and I went to the concert at the Gibson Amphitheater. Of course, I brought my knitting and knitted through the drive up and through the opening acts Silversun Pickups and OKGO. OKGO was okay -- I thought they'd be more fun and interesting, given their creative videos and high jinks at the Grammys.

Left: Gary Lightbody and Nathan Connolly (I think). Right: Gary

The band did not disappoint and gave a wonderful performance to a packed theater. The Gibson is many times larger that the Wiltern. I supposed, that the band's success and exposure on shows like Grey's Anatomy, and ER and movies The Last Kiss did not hurt their ticket sales at all! Hubby says they have a song on some video game too.

A wide variety of people and age range attended the concert. Lots of gay couples too. In fact, while I was in the long line to get my martini fix, there was a group of super fun gay men behind me having a grand ol' time. One of them told me he loved me and my name, and kept hugging me. Aww...they love me. People like that make concerts and the world more fun and colorful. The only bummer to the concert was this girl who sat in the row in front of us, a little to my left. There was now way I could *not* see her, since she was in front and definitely part of my peripheral view. The girl was gyrating to her own rhythm and shaking her ass in her bf's face. Now, I'm all about people expressing themselves and having a good time, but her movements did not go with the music and it was a little distracting since everyone else in my field of vision was moving in similar rhythm to the music. Her gyrations seemed more like she was trying to dance along to some sexy and fast beat Beyonce song in the privacy of one's budoir. I bet if the gay guys behind me saw that, they'd have more than something to say.


If I recall correctly, I took the two pictures above during Run.

All Quiet on the Knitting Front

My hand had been causing me problems all last week. It's my tendonitis and I wasn't using the computer much, so I must have slept on it funny. Anyway, as hard as it was, just like any other obsessed addict, I stayed away from knitting and did not pick up my needles for about 10 days! Ai-yah! I'm sure other knitters out there can relate to the agony and pain of not knitting for 10 days. So my advice for you knitters out there is to use an ergonimic mouse and ask for one at work if you use it a lot in your job. That's how I ended up with the tendonitis. Owwie.

So at my knitting group on Wednesday, I picked up my needles and knitted some lace swatch samples (not worth photographing) for a few projects that I want to do. Yesterday, I resumed working on the Kitty hat I was making for my sister. It's part of a kitty accessories set for her. I already made her fingerless glove gauntlets with claws, per her request. I actually named the gloves "Catty" and submitted the pattern to Knitty. But alas, I was rejected with the response that although the pattern "is really fun but unfortunately not right for Knitty." I'm still not posting the photos yet though because I'm trying to see if there's another fun knitting pub that I can try submitting to. I don't think this is up MagKnits' alley. The option I'm leaning towards is just posting it on Craftster's forum and putting up the free pattern on this blog.

Project: This WIP is a modified version of the kitty hat from the Stitch n Bitch book.
Yarn: Manos del Uruguay, #108
Needles: Using 2 US 10 circulars (don't have a 16")

Another project that I worked on is a simple lace scarf for a former colleague. She requested a fuzzy pink scarf. I admitted my yarn snobbery and told her I don't work with fun fur novelty yarns, so this is what I came up with.

Project: Simple Keyhole lace scarf, my own pattern
Yarn: Knitted 2 stranded with 1 strand of hand-painted kid mohair, and 1 strand of hand-painted worsted weight merino wool.
Needles: US #15

Back from the Bible Belt

I returned from Texas tonight several pounds heavier from all the multiple family get-together and family friend get-together dinners consisting of Peking duck, crab, braised tofu and other yummy and fatty items. Luckily, I wasn't on a diet, nor am I picky when it comes to good food. Although, I think I should go to the gym so that the fat from the Peking ducks (yeah, I had it 3 times) don't permanently adhere to my thighs or my already unusually robust bust. And on Monday night, we went to an uncle's house for dinner and drink, and they served us giant crab legs as an appetizer! Yum! Looking at that is making me salivate like a rabid dog!

On the crafty side, I pretty much had my purse stuffed with knitting projects these past 2 weeks. I knitted whereever, whenever, including that Peking duck restaurant. Aside from finishing a sample for that class I'll be teaching and something for my sis (the one I submitted to Knitty), I also test knitting a pattern that's been swimming around in my head, a neckwarmer for my stepmother, and a lace scarf for my friend Linh.


Above: (click to enlarge) Drop Stitch neckwarmer that self fastens by inserting one of the tips into a gusset. (don't know what the exact term is). I hand-painted the 60%cashmere/40% merino wool yarn. My grandma used to make something like this for us, but hers looked, uh...like a grandma's. I examined one that grandma did, figured out the pattern and updated it with the drop stitch.


Above: Lace scarf with a seed stitch border. I knitting the scarf with 1 strand of that 60/40 cashmere/merino yarn I love so much, and 1 strand of a 100% kid mohair yarn. I hand-painted both of the yarns separately -- the cash/merino has soft greens and lavenders, while the mohair had lime and celadon greens with hints of a mossy brown. I'm really happy with the way it turned out and the way that the colors paired together. I'll post the pattern later.

Happy New Year!

I've spent the past week in the Houston area. Surprisingly, the weather has been mellow and cool. I can still feel the humidity, but it is much easier to bear than when it is hot. I definitely have been spoiled by the nice California weather. So, what have I been doing here? Doing what cats do -- eat, sleep, eat some more. There's the obligatory family dinners and visits followed by visits with family friends and then hanging out and catching up with some old friends. My sister and I attended the lovely wedding of some old friends. The mantra of the wedding basically was "It's about time!" You see, our friends have been together for 11 years longer than some of us have been married and known our own partners! The wedding very nicely done and was almost like a mini college reunion. Plus, the open bar didn't hurt ;) No one but a young cousin of theirs got smashed though.

Anyway, in preparation for this trip and visit, I made sure to pack a good amount of knitting supplies. I made a sample pair of the Liana gauntlets for that class I will be teaching and I made my sister model them for me before I had to send them off. I also am pretty much done with a project I designed based on a request from my sister, which I think I'll call "Catty." I hope to meet the next submission deadline for Knitty. Another project I brought to work on is for a contest submission for Etsy, which I haven't touched. That's not all; I brought more projects to work on. My not-as-ambitious projects include a neckwarmer for my stepmom, which I made too long and have to undo part of; a yarn ball and yarn mouse for my aunt's meanie guard cat Curry, who will claw at you he thinks you're taking something that belongs to the house or if you try to venture beyond the living room into other areas of the house; and a scarf I'm making for Linh, for which I have only finished 10 inches.

I'll post some pix later. Dad doesn't have DSL yet...trying to set it up for him. I hate dial-up. Luckily, I brought my laptop here's a weak but good enough signal from a neighbor's wireless that I found (probably from my uncle's house, which is right behind my dad's.)

I got a flu shot...

...and I'm sick. Yuck. I guess logically, you can still get sick, just not the flu. I was always sick as a kid, and I guess maybe built up some sort of tolerance, so after 23 I would rarely get sick. I've been in bed for 2 1/2 days now. It started on Saturday morning, but I still woke up at 7am to photogragh and post some reversible headbands and a few of the lacy lace-up gauntlets knitting kits on my etsy shop. (see below, click on photo to enlarge)

After I finished posting the stuff, I went back to bed to get myself feeling better so that I could attend my knitting group's holiday party, where I ate WAAAY too much fondue.

The saddest part of being sick is that though I've been good about resting in bed, my head is too stuffy to work on any of my knitting projects. booohooo. I'm currently working on 3 original patterns, holiday gifts, gauntlets for my sis, and a scarf for my friend Linh who will be making a drastic move from Dallas to Chicago in January. I still have to cast on for a scarf for former colleague, lace scarf for another friend/former colleague, a wrap from my stepmother, and slipper socks for hubby. Other planned crafty projects include a project for a contest and other home improvement stuff. whew! I'm tired from writing that list! Must go back to bed and nap before my head explodes.

Resignation

I had resigned from my beloved job about a month ago for several personal reasons. So on Tuesday, my good friends from work took me out for a yummy lunch at , and then they organized a decadent homemade dessert party. YUM! At lunch, I gave my friends special gifts that I made for them.

click on photos to enlarge

We're all showing off our knitted items. L to R: Kim is wearing the seafoam stitch scarf that I made her a while back. This time, I made her a short version of the "Liana" out of hand-painted cashmere/merino yarn. I made Carmen an neckwarmer ascot from a 50/50 alpaca and merinp wool yarn. I don't know if you can see it, but I encorporated dropped stitches into the pattern. Pamila got a lacy merino scarf that I call "Honeycomb" which I knitted then dyed in shades of red, salmon and pink. I'm wearing my clapotis that made back in March.


Left: (ccw) Kim, Carmen, Pamila, Matt, me. Right: Kim looking beautiful as ever, especially with her wonderful scarf ;)


Poor Matt didn't understand why his hat had sticks attached to a cord in the design, and was still attached to the ball of yarn. ha! Aubrey had borrowed my dpns so I couldn't finish off Matt's hat. (I finished tonight a knitting group - yay!) His hat is knit from a cappucino colored 50/50 soy/wool yarn accented by a super soft light green 100% alpaca yarn. I personally think Matt should start a new trend by wearing hats with a circular needle stuck in and a ball of yarn still attached. Tres chic!

The pics below are from the decadent dessert party. click to enlarge.

Left: (ccw) Maria, Matt, me, Carmen. I taught (or tried to teach) all 3 of them to knit. Maria is currently working on a sampler afghan, Matt did some wonderful drunk knitting at our staff training, and Carmen just couldn't do it. Right: Anastasia works in one of our remote offices, so I actually don't see her that much, but I taught her to knit too! Her last project was trying to make a scarf out of a legwarmer knit kit she got at Target, of all places.


Kim and Suzi posing with the gifts the office got me. They got me a GORGEOUS arrrangement of orchids, hydrangeas, curly tulips, monkey tails, and some other lovely fillers. The phallic-looking thing next to Suzi is an amaryllis plant that my former supervisor got me.

I will miss all these people and friends, but not that damn commute!

Crawly Yarn and Craft Crawl

So Saturday was Aubrey's birthday. The girls and I drove Aubrey to L.A. for a crafty crawl. I mapped out all the places we were visitng and hoped to squeeze in, but we had so much fun, the crawl was slow and we only had time to visit one yarn store before birthday girl had to go back home for a special dinner.

We visited:
1) Suss Designs outlet - none of us bought anything at the clothing sale, but we did get some yarn. I bought 3 pairs of big needles for $4 each, 4 skeins of Lamb's Pride (navy and green) for $4 each, and some buttons for $0.50 each. Picture of the booty ---------->
2) Brunch at Cafe M de Chaya - yum yum yum
3) Felt Club's XL Holiday extravagana - I bought some "make art not war" and "make craft not war" buttons for me and the girls, a hand-screenprinted t-shirt of a frog for my sister, and a 200yd skein of hand-painted mohair for $10! Ok, I really don't know if the girl can be selling hand-painted mohair for $10 a skein because mohair ain't that cheap, even at wholesale prices, and does she count her time and labor? Well, at least I benefitted. :D See picture of my Felt Club booty on left.
4) Stitch Cafe - a small, cute and overstuffed LYS in the valley. Aubrey and Zona both bought yarn. I showed self restraint and didn't get anything.

That's all we had time for. If we had had more time, we also would've tried to visit Black Sheep Knittery, Unwind, Skein, That Yarn Store, and Alamitos Bay Yarn Co. I guess that means we'll have to try an plan another crawl some other time!

Teacher, Teacher!

I just finished my first-ever craft fair as a vendor this past weekend. And boy, I am tired! I had attended the same craft fair as a spectator a couple times in the past and as a cheerleader for my friend when she had her booth in October, and there were more people in attendance then this one, which really surprised me because this one's a holiday fair. My booth is pictured above. (I don't know photoshop well enough to get rid of the bluish tint in the photo.) I should mention that my logo was designed by my sister and the sign was made for me by Zona's husband, who also set it up for me!

I suppose, considering the low attendance, and my first attempt, I didn't do to terribly -- not as much as I had hoped, but enough to make me want to try it again. (Did I just really say that? Eek - another craft fair means no sleep for me!) Anyway, the response and interest I received was encouraging. A few people commissioned me to make them some knitted projects of my own design/pattern. I priced and quoted the commission work a little low for the amount of labor involved. But since they were my first craft fair commission work, I wanted to just get some repoire and establish relationships, so I really don't mind that I undervalued my time/labor a little bit.

I sold mostly hand-painted yarns, some knitted items and a few sewn items. The item that got the most response is the lacy lace-up gauntlet "Liana" that I designed to be worn 2 ways and to feature my hand-painted yarns (see picture to right). I sold it as a kit and be will posting it on my etsy shop along with some yarns by the end of this weekend (hopefully). Towards the end of the second day of the fair, some ladies approached me and asked if I would be interested in teaching a class featuring "Liana." Of course, I jumped a this opportunity to add more notches onto my belt. So, in January, I will be doing a demo on the gauntlets and some of the wonderful things you can do to show off hand-painted yarns. Then in February, I will be teaching a class on my pattern using the kit. The photo on the left shows the packaging I chose and designed for the gauntlets.

Attn: Logophiles and Fiberphiles

After spending much time these past 2 weeks madly re-skeinning some dyed yarn in preparation for craft fair this weekend, I started wondering, Is skeinning a word? By all accounts, I think it should be. However, to my dismay, when I looked up skein, it's listed only as a noun. The logophiles and linguistics experts out there who form petititions, committees and decisions about the lexicons and language used in modern English, and who ultimately decided whether a new word should be added to the dictionary, must not be fiber lovers.

Can you believe it? Fiberphile is not a word. However, technophile is. And why not? The suffix -phil (phile, philia) denotes love or attraction, usually of an obsessive nature. There are many types of philia, with pedophilia being the most notorious. Then there are also other more obscure ones:
Lygophilia - love of darkness
Taphophilia - love of graves,cemeteries and funerals
Audiophilia - Love of high-fidelity sound reproduction
Hippophilia - Attraction to horses

Wikipedia maintains a short list. I found AlphaDictionary, which has a bunch o' philias in their list, which according to them, they basically replaced the known phobias from a list from the Canadian Mental Health Association with the -philia suffix. Hey, why not? Makes sense to me, with some exceptions that really leave me agape and pondering:
ankylophilia - love of immobility of a joint -- ?!?!
leprophilia - love of leprosy -- ?!?!
oneirogmophilia - love of wet dreams -- hahaha!!! poor preteen and teen boys!
pediculophilia - love of lice -- okay...I can imagine "Ohh...I just love a itchy head full of lice and lice eggs!"... yuck.

I did find one fiber-related philia -- Textophilia, which means love of certain fabrics according to AlphaDictionary, but I was unable to find a definition for it through Dictionary.com. I think the following words SHOULD be added to English language dictionaries:

SKEIN, skeinned, skeinning - verb. the act of winding or reeling yarn or thread into coils.
RESKEIN, reskeinned, reskeinning - verb. the act of rewinding yarn or thread into coils when the yarn or thread is already in a coil. This act of rewinding yarn is mostly used by knitters and crocheters who dye their own wool.

FIBERPHILIA - noun. the love or enthusiasm for fiber, textiles, wool, and yarn. FIBERPHILE - noun. one who has a love or enthusiasm for fiber, especially in knitting and other crafting that involves wool or other fibers.

LANAPHILIA or WOLLEPHILIA - noun. the love or enthusiasm for sheep and wool! (not related to any weird bestiality or zoophilia festishes or anything, of course! yuck.)
LANAPHILE or WOLLEPHILE - noun. someone who has a love or enthusiasm for sheep and wool! (again, not related to zoophilia or other such festishes and orientation!!)

Don't you think that these words should be added too? These words are certainly being used in our fiber culture lexicon.

On another interesting note, the craft fair this weekend is sponsored by the now-notorious Piecemakers. There were 2 articles in row in the LA Times about the 85 year old sect leader wearing fatigues and a beret as she was getting sentenced for not allowing a health inspector into the Piecemaker's store. This will be my first official craft fair. I should note that my friends and I are not part of their organization, nor do our views necessarily agree with theirs, but the ladies are nice and we're just having a booth at the fair. I attended the October Piecemakers fair, where Zona had a booth, and they had a great eclectic turn out. I hear the December holiday one is better attended and more exciting. How can it not now with the additional notoriety? (hopefully) If you are in SoCal, come by and say hi! Zona, Aubrey and I are splitting a space and we will be selling various yarn and fiber related stuff. Hopefully, I will be able to post some pix of some of my stuff tomorrow, if I'm not too exhausted.

It was a set up, damn it.

After hearing about what my "kids" tried to do to the giant ball of roving Aubrey left behind, Aubrey, who has no kitties, wanted to see what kitty love with roving looks like. So...we left out the roving ball on the floor and I summoned Whitey Coyote. (We tried Maggie first, but she's a fat and lazy cat who refused to move more than one paw and expected roving draped on her.) Whitey Coyote was a little skiddish about the obvious set-up, but she got over it rather quickly and made this wet slobbery mess in no time. If you recall, Whitey Coyote is also the "MohairRipper."

My Celebrity look-alikes

Ok, I saw this Celebrity Look Alike match thing on someone's blog, then I heard it at knitting, and today I saw it on Zona's blog. So...I decided to try it. I tried a few different current pictures and did get a lot of similar hits. I also tried a picture from a couple of years ago.

I wanted to see if how the program worked and if I would actually get similar hits with photos taken both at similar and different times and with photos where I looked a little different. Maybe a little vain too. I got repeat hits on Rachel Bilson, Kristin Kreuk, Tata Young and Christina Ricci.

What's funny is that I was expecting to get matches/hits on Ming-Na, who is known best for her roles on ER and as June in The Joy Luck Club, but I didn't get any matches. Although I don't really see much of a resemblance, many people have come up to that I look like her; surprisingly, even my mom thought so after watching Joy Luck. My most emphatic and interesting encounter occurred when Hubby and I honeymooned in Kuaui. I went barefaced to a free make-your-own lei class at the hotel. A woman and her grandaughter were doing the same. They kept whispering while staring at me. I thought maybe it was 'cuz they thought I looked like shit or maybe I had a huge streak of unblended sunblock on my face. I even rubbed my face to make sure. Finally, the woman asked me "Um, excuse me, are you the girl from ER? The Chinese doctor on the show?" No, I'm not. They kept staring and asked "Really? Are you sure?" Uh-huh. I am not Ming-Na. "Oh...I could swear...." no, no. The lady turned to her granddaughter "Doesn't she look like that doctor on ER?" Then she asked again, "Really?" I shook my head. They tried not to stare. "You look soooo much like her." hmmm... They kind of left me alone after that, but trailed me a little as I headed back towards our room after I finished my lei. It was really weird.

This one is a picture taken just this past weekend, on the 11th at my cousin Amber's wedding.


This picture was taken on the 3rd of this month.


This one is from a picture taken at the 2nd taping of Uncommon Threads this past September. Hmm...Margaret Cho? C'mon!


This picture is from November 2003.


hmmm...maybe I should go to sleep now and stop playing with this. ;-)

Dad's Green Thumb

Here are some photos of my dad's botanical prowess. I meant to take more, but my memory stick was full. I guess I have to wait until my next trip back home to see him. Click on photo to enlarge.


Left: Sugarcane - very sweet, juicy and yummy. Right: Japanese loquat -- it's not in season yet, but the fruit from Dad's loquat tree is sweet as honey.

Left: A bouganvilla bearing multiple-colored flowers. Yup, from ONE plant. Gorgeous isn't it? Right: I don't know why the picture is not loading properly, but if you mouse over and click it you can get the image of a papaya tree. Dad has 4-5 papaya trees in his backyard. I hope I get to eat them. I love papaya, especially organic from Daddy's garden!!

My dad grows lots of really awesome guavas, 2-3 varieties of the white meat ones, not the pink ones you get in Hawaii. He's grown them so successfully that all his friends, their friends, and so forth all want one. This picture shows some smaller guava plants that he grows and sells or gives away. Yum. I wish he lived closer so I can have lots of pesticide-free yummy fruit.

Craftiness In the Genes

My dad is a self-taught jack of all trades. Literally. He has started his own businesses, is a master gardener, is a McGyver, and is very crafty. He never went to school for any of this stuff. I think I got his craftiness genes. He grows all sorts of exotic tropical fruits in his yard, with mostly organic fertilizers, no pesticides, and in Texas of all places. Fruits and veggies that have a hard time surviving in good growing climates like California grow under his green thumb. Some of the things that he has grown since like forever include many varieties of gourd, edible and decorative. See his gourd art, which started innocently over 15 years ago with a couple of penguins. Click on the photos to get a better view.

Cult of Knits

Ah yes, as any crazy fanatical will understand, we want to convert everyone into knitting, because it is the best thing ever! (ok, dark chocolate is pretty darn close on that list). Anyhoo...this weekend I was stuck in the boondocks of Fremont and having to eat crappy hotel food. I was there for 3 days for conference/training. The good part of it is that I suggested that we have a Stitch 'n Bitch circle and they went for it! hooray! It wasn't called SNB -- probably too "out there" for a work function, and because I'm in the legal field, I guess maybe they didn't want to use the name since all the legal hoopla around the use of the SNB between Debbie Stoller and SewFastSewEasy is still ongoing.

So, some fellow colleagues from other offices also volunteered to teach and I think some people really caught on! Noelle, one of the volunteer intructors is pictured above. (Noelle had some super awesome Frog Tree alpaca with her and a really nice colorway of the Bamboo from SWTC.) It was really fun having an evening devoted to teaching people how to knit, and throughout the weekend, during some unstructured down time, we'd gather in the lobby and knit away. My good friend Matt decided to get into the game and he learned to knit this thing that somehow ended up looking like a tie. Others referred to it as a loin cloth or thong. Matt started out with 12 stitches but he kept decreasing. Matt would tell folks that he's a fast learner, but those who know him know that he's full of BS. He likes to make stuff up like, "Oh, I see you are knitting the double back twisted inside out stitch" or some other similiar BS. Of course, it totally cracks me up and make non-knitters really think he knows what he's talking about. I even made Matt wear his masterpiece at dinner as an earring (I don't know why he turned blood red when he put it on and why he just wouldn't remove his hand! ha!). All in all, I have to say that Matt did a great job, especially considering how much wine and beer we had. He's showing off his Loin Cloth in this picture to the right.



This is my friend Kim and roommate for the weekend. Kim is the one for whom I made the seafoam stitch scarf several months ago. Kim and some non-knitting folks were playing cards next to us -- they were really loud and talking a lot of smack. I think Kim was talking so much smack that she didn't even not notice I was taking pix. ;) Am I right? Kim, you still look great.

Lachrymose Farewell

I've written and rewritten this post several times, in different versions over the last few weeks. I thought I'd just save as a draft and see. I guess I should stop wasting time rewriting repeatedly, write a final version, post and just let it pass...

Over the past year, I have been very busy and have been running full steam, so to speak. Part of this is my own doing, and partly due to the many out-of-town visitor that have been coming one after another over the summer through September. For a couple of weeks now, I've been experiencing that weird sore feeling in the back of my throat. I wasn't sure what it was -- I thought I was partly due to things quieting down and me not paying attention to my body, and maybe only a little with the approaching anniversary of mom's passing. Tuesday was Oct. 24. It was mom's birthday. It was the 1st year of her passing. Yes, she died on her birthday. I didn't tell anyone about it. Actually, I haven't even really been able to bring myself to look at all the pictures that were taken when my sister and I went to Big Sur to scatter the remaining of our mother's ashes this past June. I promised to send Sherri, who took a lot of the pictures for us, some photos of the trip, but I didn't manage to send them to her until 2 weeks ago.

Anyway, on Tuesday, I went to work. Work was really hard, especially since over half of my cases suddenly started having problems and urgent matters that I needed to attend to. (Those problems were just things that are beyond my control, but I still have to try and address/fix them.) It was extremely challenging to go through the day, but I didn't cry. I sat at my desk, unable to concentrate much(well, I've had this problem for a few months now). I really wanted to take Tuesday off, but I had already put some stuff off, and so I felt had to just tread on. Once I got home, I crashed. Everything felt like shit. I didn't bawl, but every few minutes, my eyes would well up a little for a minute or so, stop for about 10-15 minutes and start back up again. It was weird. I've never done that before -- Not even in high school, when my best friend died in a tragic and horrific accident. The evening was made worse by calls from my aunt (mom's younger sister) and Auntie and Uncle Yen, family friends who were the only 2 people besides my aunt, my sister and I that my mom would allow into her home to help her. They meant to check up on me. I told them I was doing wonderfully well; my usual response. My aunt's call was a little different -- I could tell she had been crying, which made me want to cry. Because I didn't want to make my aunt cry more by getting choked up and sad, I covered up my unstable voice by telling her that I had a cold, which I do sort of have. Those 2 calls occurred within less than an hour of each other, and needless to say, I blubbered a little after those calls. My poor hubby was at a loss of what to do. He did the best that he could by staying with me and rubbing my back through the 3-4 hour morose silence.

On Wednesday, I woke up at my usual time and got halfway ready for work. I stood in the bathroom aimlessly for 10 minutes and finally decided to do myself a favor and stay home. I went back to bed and spent the afternoon meditatively re-skeining a heap of yarn that I had painted. As Zona says, there must be something in wool that calms people and makes everyone want it. That evening, I decided to do myself another favor and dragged my butt to my knitting group, despite my not wanting to be social. 99% of the time I look forward to Wednesday, my favorite night of the week, but given that I felt and looked crappy, going just seemed like it would take too much effort. As difficult as it was, I am glad that I did go hang out with my knitting group.

Thursday was sort of blah too. Not better, not worse, for the most part, except at the end of the day. I returned a call to a VERY challenging and disturbed family (and that's on a good day for them). Things weren't happening the way they wanted to, and there's nothing else me or my agency can do for them, so they got irate, belligerent and were 50 times worse than they normally are, which on an intensity level. is 200 times more than most people. Throughout the week, I pretty much stayed in my office all day and my door was either always closed or just slightly ajar. I think some of the people in the office kind of knew I was not having a good day or just thought I was extremely busy. I haven't told anyone about this non-celebratory, mournful anniversary.

Actually, I haven't talked or thought about mom's passing, the scattering of the ashes or other moments much, either to myself or anyone else on any deep level. I have talked about it generally though. I have this uncanny ability to talk about tragic things in my life as if I am a reporter, removed from the emotional attachments of the situation, and just talking as a matter-of-fact. I can tell people what event happened, what I observed, and am generally pretty open about sharing; I just present it as if I were reading an assessment and citing some fact pattern. I've always been able to do that, a "skill" of mine that, in the past, has been criticized and misunderstood by my sister and the rest of my family. I rarely cry in front of people, even in front of my husband. I think this is partly because I was always more mature than my peers and was always the one my friends go to for help and advice. My sister also doesn't cry, but to herself, and only rarely. Then again, she's a true introvert and the kind of person who bottles everything up and doesn't let people see the little box of emotions she carries with her under lock and key. I'm actually very very surprised that she blogs some of her very deep thoughts. Well, everyone is different and copes differently. This will likely be the first and last post of this nature for me.

About 2 weeks after mom passed, as she requested, we scattered her half of her ashes in an wooded area in central Texas on a property owned by aBuddhist association. Then in June, I drove up to San Franciso and then went to Big Sur with my sister and friend Sherri to scatter the rest of mom's ashes. She had requested that we scatter the last half of her ashes in California, perferably halfway between my sister and me, nearby giant sequoia or redwood trees. Scattering the last half of mom's ashes was somewhat relieving and did give me some sense of closure, but the journey there was rather tumultous -- I was very level headed and tried to remain jovial and positive, but obviously my sister was experiencing her own emotions and needless to say, we got on each others' nerves, with poor Sherri in the car too. Oh well, a short post run amuck...I only intended to write a brief post and put up the pictures, as a the last unfinished task. Here they are:


Above: Scattering her ashes. To the right and below of where the tree sits is a stream. I know mom would be happy with the quite and peaceful spot we chose for her.


L: My sister next to the twin redwood where mom's ashes rest. R: We tried to lighten the event and got a little playful in a natural tree hollow.

tons o' projects

Those who know me, know that my head swims with tons of ideas and thoughts on a daily basis. Things are finally slowing down in my personal life just enough so that I can try to make some of those ideas and long to do lists come into fruition.

Some of my recent productive endeavors:

• I submitted a pattern to Knitty. If I get rejected, I guess I could also try MagKnits.
• I finished knitting the hat for Jean, but I haven't gotten around to mailing it. I have a good excuse-- for some reason, I have had lots of problems loading pictures onto this blog and I want to document the had before I mail it.
• I dyed cotton yarn successfully and this lady bought it from me while it was still wet!
• I finally signed up for Etsy, but I haven't set up my store.
• I wrote a new knitting pattern for a neckwarmer scarf.
• I just wrote a new knitting pattern for a cool lacey gauntlets which I want to sell at a upcoming craft fair with my hand-painted yarns. I definitely will need to recruit some test knitters for this. Any volunteers?
• I sewed and designed a purse for a friend.

Things that got shoved to the wayside:

• My house is in dire need of a good cleaning.
• My home improvements (bathrooms and family room) may never get done.
• I have tons of dirty laundry
• My plants are dying, if not dried and shriveled already. I did plant new ones, and they'd be dead, if it wasn't for the fact that Henry (who currently stays with us) actually waters my plants for me.
• I haven't been paying attention to all the electronic and computer-related stuff piling up in various corners around the house. I better pay attention before hubby takes over the entire house with all the electronic stuff.
• I have been a neglectful and bad mommy to the kitties. I haven't been playing with them and have not been keeping hubby in check -- he likes to chase the cats around until he catches one to snuggle with. He also makes them dance for people.

Me Stuffy Nose

Damn allergies. or maybe I'm getting a cold. My nose is stuffed and I'm sneezing incessantly. And I ran out of my regular allergie meds, which won't get refilled until Friday! argh.

Well, here's something I've been working on for awhile. I finished writing the pattern a long time ago and have finished knitting half of it. This is the other half. The white part is the underbelly of a dove.This weekend, on a whim I decided to dye a bunch o' stuff, which I intend to sell on Etsy. Let's see when I get around to posting it for sale. I've got to get back cracking on work (my bread and butter job) to prepare for a meeting tomorrow that is likely to be filled with tension. I've gotta get out boxing gloves since I'll be dealing with this clueless administrator and a school that has totally screwed this young man over (many many years) and is noncompliant with a bunch o' education laws. Hmm...do you think it'd be unprofessional to knit at my meeting tomorrow? See, when you are stuck on crafts, knitting and other wonderful obsessions, you come up with these seemingly nonsensical questions. If only I could...

Eek!

What the hell? I've been having trouble loading pictures for the past 2 days! I have dyeing and more photos of the flowers and the veil for Linh's wedding. And I actually have some knitting photos to post too!

I recently just finished writing 2 publications for work and I titled them "Eek!" and "Yikes!" The title for each respective pub is actually long, as are many of the pubs from my work, but I decided to have some fun in the beginning of the title. Writing those pubs kicked my butt because I've been having a lot of trouble concentrating in general, and it is really hard to write very complex and confusing law into a useful publication into layman's terms. What a relief that they are finished. But of course, that doesn't mean that things have slowed down.

Congrats Aubrey!

Yay! Aubrey and her bf of 7 years just got engaged! Mike is Vietnamese, and most Vietnamese I know or know of have HUGE weddings, I wonder how many people Aubrey & Mike will end up having? For those of you who are not familiar with Vietnamese weddings, they are large like many Latino weddings -- full of boundless family and extended families. The smallest Viet wedding I attended was like 200 people. A good friend had a "very pared down list" and had *only* 650 people. A former friend's sister had a unfathomable guest list of 2000.

Congrats Aubrey & Mike!

I Don't Get It...

I don't get it. See the little cube at the very bottom of this page? (scroll all the way down). Well, the cube [Sitemeter] tells me my blog stats, such as how people are getting referred to my blog. The really weird thing is that sometimes about 1/4 of the people who happen upon this blog were doing a search on purses!! I'm not talking about homemade, crafty or artsy purses, but a particular high-end couture one that sells anywhere from $4k to $20k! I am not going to name names again, but I will say that it is all related to a previous little post that I wrote on April 9, 2006 about an LA Fashion District Santee Alley find. Why are sooo many people searching for this purse? How many pages of the search did they click on to get to this blog? The people doing that search certainly is not looking for a crafty blog either -- the stats indicate that these people aren't on my page for more than 1 to 2 seconds. Since this has peaked my curiousity, I typed in the appropriate keywords and Crafty Diversions is certainly not in the first 3 search pages. Weird, huh? Or am I just inexperienced in the way the blogging world and in my knowledge of the way people are using the internet?

On a side note -- I was all prepared to do another post on the 2nd Uncommon Threads taping, but Blogger was having problems again and wouldn't upload any of my pix. Argh! I'll try and carve out some time again (tomorrow?) and do it so y'all can see the pictures!

Small Town Texan

This past week, one of my very good friends came to visit me again. Only this time, he brought is girlfriend of about 1.5 years. Edgar is quite worldly, is familiar with many cultures and loves all types of worldly foods. Edgar, who is Mexican, even knows where some of the best authentic Asian restaurants in Houston are. Furthermore, Edgar even knows which Vietnamese pho restaurant is open 24 hrs, which has the best 7 a.m. pho, and which does not use MSG! Although I've only hung out with him and his gf a few times for dinner and wine, she seems nice. I have never hung out with them for an extended period of time, except now. Well, it just seems a little weird (neither good or bad, just odd) that they are together because they are so different in their experiences. She basically has lived in small town Texas her whole life, except the past 2 years or so, when she lived in Houston. His gf has never been anywhere or tried anything until she met him, and of course there is only so much one can experience in a year.

Her lack of exposure to other things was very apparent this past week -- everything seemed new, including not knowing what a clam without chowder or batter looked like. However, I guess most of it was due to her environment and I must say that she seems very willing to try things. It was a new experience for me too I suppose, because knowing mentally that there are many communities that do not have or foster the pleasures, experiences and stimulation of living in a more diverse and multi-cultural environment is different from hanging out with someone from that type of environment. However, having hung out with someone who has that limited experience reminds me not to take my environment for granted, and that I should always try to experience more.

I Had A Slumber Party!

You are never too old to
have a slumber party, so I decided to have one a couple of weeks ago. I invited a few friends over for the weekend -- Jane, Carmen, Anastasia, and also Maggie and Jean, who flew down from Northern California to hang out!

It was great fun and I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner. We all camped out in my living room (poor sweet hubby stayed out of our way the whole weekend). We caught up
with one another, drank wine, ate and laughed quite a bit. We even had
competitive games of Taboo and Scrabble. On Saturday, I cooked us an all-appetizer lunch. We ate poolside and gave ourselves some pedicures.

After lunch, Rachel came over and joined us as well. Rachel and I taught the other girls how to dye. (It's part of our plot to turn everyone into crafters ;) ha!) I had cut up some white thrift store sweater sleeves for the girls to dye, then we felted them.

The idea is that I will make them something from their dye creations. Unfortunately, so far I only finished Maggie's, but y'all get the idea. I'm still working on the other girls' items, which has stalled a little since my in-laws are visiting from Indonesia, and a very good friend of mine is visiting with his girlfriend.


I also gave each girl some gift bags with some sort of beauty or bath product. I made the bags from felted sweater scraps that I had laying around from all the practice and prototype runs for that DIY network show I will be filming in September.

Owww, My Hand Hurts

And it's not due to knitting. It's sad and a bummer, isn't it? Sad, because I don't knit enough and I've never developed the obsessive-compulsive habit of knitting for hours on end like some of my knitting friends. I really enjoy knitting and the process of knitting, but I really can't do it for that long without stopping and doing something else. Bummer, because I can't knit as much as I used to because of the pain!

Friends - if you love your knitting, take care of your hand, especially if you use the mouse and computer a lot at work!! This could happen to you!!

I've had problems with my thumb for well over 2 years, but it seemed really minor, and it came and went. I usually just thought it was a big mystery. About 2 years ago, I finally went to the doc, who prescribed me Naproxen to reduce inflammation. During that time, I was also on frequent intermittent leave from work to take care of my mom. When I came back full time again, my hand started hurting again, and also more and more over time, especially my thumb and my ring and pinky finger areas. I finally figured out that it was because of the computer mouse! It always hurt during work (and a little after), but it never hurt on the weekend. I could still knit, write and do yoga, and all those things would not bring about the pain and soreness I experienced during the week.

After I realized it was the mouse and self-diagnosed it as tendinitis, which my doc also confirmed, I would be really careful, because my hand would throb by the end of the day (even if I took frequent breaks, wore a drugstore brace, and stretched). I was careful not to aggravate it more by doing things like writing, knitting or yoga (damn downward-facing dog). But those were the things I'd do to wind down and relax from a mentally and emotionally draining job. I have to work...I have emails to read, presentations to create/edit, research to do, letters to write and other things at work requiring a computer and mouse.

Anyway, it got progressively worse -- to the point where it even hurt in my sleep sometimes; I even wore a hand/wrist brace to sleep. Even more dismal is that for the bulk of this spring and this summer, I mostly saved knitting for my knit group meetings. I roughly calculated that in these last few months, I've only spent 20-30 minutes or less a week knitting. This is TOTAL time, not what I was doing before - 30 minutes on the train from work (sometimes also to work), about 20-30 minutes before bedtime a few days a week, and an extra hour or so when I go to my knitting group. This is really frustrating, because I really haven't been knitting long and I'd like to futher hone my skills, AND it's my therapy!

About 1 month ago, I requested an ergonomic vertical mouse at work- the Quill aerobic mouse. It alleviated a lot of the intense humb and hand pain, but now, I'm having another problem! My forearm is starting to hurt up to my elbow because I have to move my entire arm to navigate this large mouse, and I still have some pain in the same areas. :( Well, I'm in physical therapy now. The PT doctor diagnosed me with wrist tendinitis and said that he sees "more people with hand problems from [the computer] than people who swing sledgehammers...God didn't intend us to do this kind of work 8 hours a day..." I hope the PT and everything they're recommending helps. Right now, I am not too optimistic. So depressing and frustrating.

In the meantime, I guess I will have to resort to other (less portable) crafty diversions...

Peace

"Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

I really don't know what to say. Actually, I have a lot to say, but not enough energy to say all of it. I never intended this blog for me to rant about politics. However, I must say that find myself cursing Bush, his spin-doctors, Israel, the conservative right, wars under the guise of protection when they are for gobal positioning, etc. more than once a day. * sigh *

Regardless of any political or religious leanings, like many Americans, I believe in and hope for peace, equal rights and the empowerment of the people who are disenfranchised from the larger system. I ask myself if I should do more or get more involved in groups advocating for peace. I grapple with the social responsibility that we each hold. Then I think that I am not mentally and emotionally strong enough for all the work and fight involved in being more active. I also justify myself by thinking that I work in nonprofit civil rights already and have already committed myself to nonprofit work for 11 years. * sigh * * big sigh *

Anyways, recently I joined a Yahoo Group comprised of crafters of all backgrounds who believe in peace. One of the main goals of the group is to do what we can through our art and craft, although relatively small in the global scale, to assist the victims of war (and politics) -- usually women and children.

"It may be long before the law of love will be recognised in international affairs. The machineries of government stand between and hide the hearts of one people from those of another." -- Mahatma Ghandi

Here are some peace organizations: Amnesty International, Peace X Peace, Global Exchange, Global Fund for Women, Peace Action, MADRE, Women for Women,

"Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding." - Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Even More Vacation Photos

Here they are! I was finally able to reformat some more wonderful picture memories from my trip. Hubby got snap happy and took 4GB of pictures throughout the trip, but I think this is all that I'm going to tackle for a looong time.

I barely knit on the trip, but here I am trying to work on a tank top. To date, I am still on the same back piece and have made no progress whatsoever. I also did not really see any yarn shops (not that I was actively looking) to my surprise. However, when we were in Hanover, a teeny town, I stumbled across 3! The stores were somewhat disappointed with many synthetic yarns and small selections of real wool.

THE NETHERLANDS - (1) An ostentatious castle with a moat in Haarzuilens, the Kasteel de Haar; (2) another view of the Kasteel de Haar; (3) Hey, why buy pot when you can grow your own from a Cannabis Kit from your flower shop!; (4) Sampling yummy yummy cheese at a divine cheese shop in Alkmaar, where they still trade cheese in the old way; (5) An exhibit wall from the Anne Frank House.
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BELGIUM - (1) I loved mussels in Brussels! I had them everyday! I especially like the country style method and the ones in white wine. Yum!; (2) We rented a bike and rode around this cute little town of Bruge. This tower is part of the old city wall; (3) This old lady was asking for some spare change. Of course, I indulged this cutie pie.
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More Vacation Photos

I finally was able to go through my vacation pix and reformat some of them. Hubby actually took TONS -- over 4GB worth! My camera battery ran a little low, but even it it hadn't I don't think I would have taken 4GB of pictures!

We went to Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Belgium. I really wish I also had time to go to Austria and Switzerland, but I guess I need to leave some unexplored so that I have an exuse to go again, right? Originally, for this much needed vacation, I had wanted to go to Southeast Asia, but hubby's friend was able to get lots of Soccer World Cup tickets through his job at Yahoo. So, we changed our plans and went to Europe instead. In terms of vacation travel, I don't really care where I end up, so long as it's somewhere with lots of culture and somewhere I have not been.

I'm not a huge sports fan, but I did go to one game - went to the Brasil v. Ghana quarterfinal. How can you not go to one game? I gave my other tickets to my bro-in-law, who is a die-hard soccer fan. So while the boys went to their games, I was able to go off on my own and see all the sights I could squeeze in and soak in the local culture in the various German cities.

All in all, it was a really nice vacation, especially since I haven't been on vacation for several years. The 2 downsides include the extreme heat towards the second half of the trip (no AC in many places!) and the cost of a European vacation. In one hotel, which was over $100 a night, they concierge almost laughed when we complained that our room had no AC (we thought the hotel had AC), because apparently, the rate we paid for didn't cover AC rooms.

Anyway, here are some Germany and Luxembourg photos. I'll have to add the Netherlands and Belgium photos later. For Fiber Lovers: I did stumble across 3 yarn shops in Hanover, Germany. Also, I visited several places where they had antique linen presses, looms, etc. I'll have to find and post those later.


GERMANY -- (1) At a widow's commune in Hamburg. The commune was actually progressive for it's time because women would otherwise have to go to a nunnery or something. This allowed women some freedom without being totally harrassed an looked down upon by society. (2) "cooking" in the kitchen at the Goethe Haus in Frankfurt. (3) Hubby and me at the Brasil v. Ghana quarterfinal game. (4) I can't believe they let this guy through security with this giant prop! (5) Hubby joining allo the other crazy fans. (6) In front of the Hamburg rathaus (town hall). (7) At the altstadt plaza in Hamburg.

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LUXEMBOURG -- (1) View of the valley in Luxembourg city from the casement wall. (2) Castle in Vianden. (3) Hubby got sent to the gallows in the castle. (4) At the entrance of the Vianden castle. (5) Castle window framing the city view.

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Back to the Daily Grind

I'm Back! Hubby and I came back from our lovely vacation last week. We had a great time seeing all the cool places and soaking in all the local culture and history. I am very proud that I left packing very light, and came home the same way. Hubby cannot say that about his luggage. We led quite a nomadic life over these weeks, and I certainly wore down the soles of my sneakers with all the walking and traveling!

As much as I want to write about the vacation, I am a little reluctant to post the places and talk in detail because I am participating in a Secret Pal exchange in one of the groups I am in. I sent my secret pal postcards from my travels to my Secret Pal, so she knows where I went. We're supposed to be anonymous until the end of August. The group membership is small, so what if she happens to peruse my blog? The secrecy is part of the fun and I don't want to spoil it. Unless anyone out there has better ideas, I guess I will be a little vague and non-specific. :( Bummer.

Without saying where I went exactly...One of the cool places I visited was a Town Hall building that had Gothic and Rennaissance architectures. The Town Hall was first built in the 12th century next to the city's Jewish quarter. Then, in the 14th century and new building was built on top the old one, and subsequent updates, towers and buildings were added in the 15th and 16th centuries. After WWII, damage revealed some of the original structures that were erected in the 12th century -- parts covered up in the 14th century. What they found was a Mikwe, a Jewish ritual bath. It was enclosed, so I couldn't get many pictures, but you can see how deep it is, and the plaque description.

In another city, I visited this traditional open-air museum, where a little homestead and small community built in the early 18th century around some marshlands are maintained in the same manner and lifestyle of people in that time. I went by myself and was able to walk around the property. However, since the open-air museum only had tours of the interiors of the home, barn, blacksmith shop and other buildings once a day (which I missed), I was not able to see any interiors except through the windows.
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Photos: (1) view of some buildings once you enter the property; (2) note the thick grass roof on this building; (3) a loom inside the main house seen through the window looking in; (4) 2 antique spinning wheels, unprocessed wool and some roving in the back, seen through the window looking in; (5) baby goat that followed me as I walked around

Ok, I must go to bed now. I will write about yarn shops I visited on the trip in my next post.

Much needed vacation

I will be leaving first thing in the morning for a real vacation. YEAH! I desperately need one. (Of course, vacations would be even better if one were independently wealthy and could go anytime, anywhere.) I've been traveling a lot these last couple of years, but none of them are happy events, as you may already know or have guessed from some of my posts.

I will keep y'all posted if I get internet access on the trip. My tech-nerd husband is actually going to bring his laptop. *sigh* His reason is that every modern establishment has internet access, many of which are Wi-Fi, and he wants to be able to reference the maps of the countries we are visiting (since he downloaded MapPoint onto his computer.) I don't really believe that vacation should involve a computer, let alone brining one's own laptop, except for the occassional checking-in with family/friends at a computer in the hotel lobby or a seedy internet cafe.

Anyway, we will be gone for a couple of weeks. My godbrother Henry is housesitting and catsitting our needy felines. Henry's family and mine got to know each other when we were neighbors in Taiwan. We were all under 4 or 5 years old when we met.

Now, what knitting project should I take with me? Hmmm.....

Small Town & Other Stinkers

I have been traveling this past week and driving up and down California. I have been living out of suitcases. Futhermore due to my recent schedule and tendonitis from using the computer at work, I have not been able to really knit. :( Last week, I first drove to the middle of nowhere California to do a presentation to people living and working near there. The areas my colleague and friend Sherri and I passed smelled like caca (literally). And, the highlight was a dinky mall across the street from our little in. We were even surprised that there was a mall!

After my presentation, my sister and I met up and we went to Big Sur to scatter the rest of my mom's ashes in a forest of large California redwood trees as she requested. Mom wanted us to pick a place halfway between my sister and me, but Big Sur is much closer to my sister (lives in San Francisco). Sherri came with us and documented the event on my camera for us. It was a wonderful little hike (albeit I found the drive down annoying because my sister ended up being a little bit of a backseat driver) and seleced a spot that I know mom would certainly like. There were no shedding of tears. I suppose we were keeping it at bay and each have our own way of processing. I guess there is a feeling of closure, but only a little since the wound is still pretty fresh.

After the ashes, I drove back up to San Francisco. I had an opportunity to meet up with my friend Jean for brunch at a lovely French restaurant, although the wait was terribly long! Then, my friend Aubrey and I roamed the city visiting various yarn shops. We were good and refrained from purchasing anything.

As bad luck would have it, while parked around the corner from my sister's apartment, someone hit and ran into my car. The *#!@# RUDE JERK did not leave a note or anything, except for broken brake light bits from their car. ARGH!! I had to change my plans a little and go down to the police station to file a report. My car is only 6 months old and the damage is significant enough that I think I will have to get the bumper replaced. :( This is really irritating -- as if I haven't dealt and put up with (fantasically, I must add) in this past year!

Oh, and to add more salt to the wound, I have to leave for vacation on Saturday, so I have LOTS to do. One good accomplishment is that I just finished and sent in my ideas/submissions for Debbie Stoller's next Stitch 'n Bitch book. If they don't get select for her book, I think I'll try Knitty or something. Considering how many creative and awesome knitters there are out there, I think my chances are slim to none, but hey, I tried.

Insomnia Discoveries

I often do not sleep until very very late (3 a.m.) now, despite having to wake up around 5:30 or 6 a.m. to go to work. Insomnia runs in my family. To solve this frustrating problem, I do stuff until I'm sleepy, otherwise just laying there, unable to sleep really annoys me. I knit, I sew, I read, I watch stupid TV...

Tonight I spent time surfing the web (making up for not having time to do so these last 2-3 weeks). I was totally psyched to find that there was a "I knit with Grey's Anatomy" button! My research led me to Knitting Underway, which credited the author of Good to be Girl as the creator of the button.

I was very excited, as only knitting addicts can understand, when first I saw the previewss for this now-infamous episode. I made a mental note to not miss this episode and announced the showing for Grey's fans in my knitting group. In this episode, Meredith learns to knit on large needles (US 15? 17?) and attempts to knit a sweater. Izzy ends up knitting too and by a miracle knits a sweater in less than one day, in between her busy day, with what appears to be worsted or double knit weight yarn (yeah, right).

Anyway, in my insomniac stupor, I am as exicted to find the button as seeing that episode. Woohoo!

Sleeping Beauty

Whitey Coyote taking a snooze near my feet while I was knitting. Awwww...

An Active Weekend Indeed

I've been somewhat of a homebody for a couple of years now. Lately though, I've been getting a little more social and this weekend was very active and fun! Friday, Kim and I went over to Stazee's house for Indian food (very yummy), some drinks and played Scrabble until close to 2:00a.m. (I won - woohoo!).

Then Saturday, my yarn girls and I went to dinner at Thirty-3 and then we went dancing at a bar/club. The entire night was fun, much needed and full of laughs. First off, at the door, the bouncer did not exactly believe Zona looked like her ID. To that she asked something like "Why else would someone actually admit to being 31? I have a child. Would you like to see my stretch marks?" The look of horror on his face was priceless. Needless to say, he immediately sent Zona through and then begged not to receive any more such offers of stretch marks. Then within 10 minutes of walking in, Rachel, who was on the hunt for fine men with rhythm and moves actually did the come-hither finger to a group of dudes. (I couldn't do that drunk!) Last but not least...dear dear Aubrey, who for no apparent reason, while drinking water, standing and leaning on a ledge, suddenly fell. It took some convincing before the bouncer realized she was not even close to drunk and just unexplicably accident prone. Apparently, Aubrey was voted in her high school yearbook as the girl "Most Likely to Slip on a Banana Peel." We also had fun seeing all the Newport Beach OC women (all plastic) and some really weird girl in an aerobics-stlye top who danced in double time. Anyways, I didn't get home until 3:00a.m. and now my thighs are a little sore from all the dancing.

Left: Rachel gettin' her groove on. Center: Something besides knitting. Right: For being a weirdo (awful dancer by the way), I didn't fix his red eye. To his credit, he did take the center photo.

Sunday was a lovely beachy playday. I took my friend Jane (who drove from LA to my house) to Velona's for yarn since I am trying to convert her to the craft. Velona's is a somewhat disorderly LYS with a sometimes crabby owneer, but I love the uniqueness and unpretentiousness of the store. Then we headed out towards a park in Laguna Beach to join some folks from my knitting group in a "practice" beach knitting to celebrate our group's birthday. Many passers-by ogled or stopped by to see what we were doing, especially since Zona brought her spinning wheel. I taught Jane how to cast on and knit. Jane is already crafty - sews stuff like purses and has dabbled in crochet and quilting. (Jane - I hope it's going well!). I can't wait until the "real" beach knitting picnic in 2 weeks!

Taipei, part 3: Knitting Adventure & Butterfly

Throughout my trip, when I had time, I would stop by bookstores to look for crafty and knitting books in Japanese and Chinese. Not that I read Japanese, or read enough Chinese for these to make sense. Anyhow, I bought several books at Page One, located at Taipei 101, the tallest skyscraper in the world. I also bought a few at a Hess Book Store near the Hsin Tien Temple, which carries a large selection of Japanese books.

The night before I left, I met up with Erin, who took me through the wet streets of Taipei (it rained the entire week I was there) to 3 yarn shops. Thank you Erin! Unfortunately, the first shop was closed. The 2nd one was owned by this Taiwanese grandma. She had a nice selection of yarn and some notions. She also had stack of pattern books, in English, Chinese and Japanese, that she lends to customers to photocopy at the print shop next door, but does not sell books. I bought 4 balls of superwash merino that had different color plies of neutrals, grays and browns for 220NT (around $7) The 3rd shop was owned by a couple who, by their accents, appear to be what Taiwanese call Outsiders, Mainlanders or KMT runaways (see footnote below). Anyways, the owner was sort of nice, aside from him poking fun of overseas Chinese-speakers and Americans, thinking I didn't understand any of the languages he was speaking in (Erin and I conversed in English). I bought 4 skeins of a variegated (pink, peach, brown) mohiar/silk yarn for 280NT (around $8.80) each and a Japanese book with both knitting and crochet patterns. (click pictures for larger view)

On Saturday (4/29/06), I went over to my godparents' house for lunch and say my good-byes before my flight later that evening. It so happened that they had a gorgeous butterfly in their house! They had noticed that one of their potted plant was getting eaten up and then shortly thereafter, they realized that there was a butterfly cocoon on the plant. So, they brought the plant in and waited for it to come out. Lucky for me, the butterfly hatched right before I left, and before they had to set it free. (below: The butterfly resting on my hand.)
Footnote: These are people who followed Chiang Kai-Shek. They were chased out of China by Mao and the Communists, fled to Taiwan in the 1949, took over Taiwan and made the people live under martial law. (more).

Taipei, part 2: Top Ten Things I Love/Hate

Top Ten Things I Love About Taipei (in no particular order)

1. Smelling the sweet scent of flowers sold by elderly street vendors. They are sold usually with 5-6 flowers strung together and wrapped in a leaf. I don't know exactly what species or subspecies these flowers are, but I know that they are related to the magnolias. From my research, these flowers appear to belong the the genus Michelia (family Magnoliaceae , order Magnoliales). (Picture 1: Street vendor selling the flowers with an orchid for people going to the Hsin Tien Temple (also Xin Tian, Shin Tien, HsingTien), a religious Dao Temple. Here are some beautiful photos of the temple.
2. LemBu, my most favorite fruit in the world! LemBu is what we call it in Taiwanese, and in Mandarin it's "Lian Woo." The common English name is Wax Apple - I'm not even going to try to spell the scientific name!. The LemBu variety in Taiwan is seedless and doesn't even look like the inside of an apple, but I can't find any links describing that variety or showing it cut open. LemBu is super juicy and you definitely will need to pee frequently if you eat some. Even if you happen to pick one that is not sweet, it is still yummy! On this trip, Dad found some at 80NT per kg (1 kg=2.2lbs; 80NT= approx $2.60). Unfortunately, I have never seen this in the U.S., not even in the Asian markets in California. If they do sell LemBu here, they'd be really $$ and probably not as fresh. (Picture 2: The LemBu I brought to eat on my flight home.)
3. Stinky Tofu!! It's so yummy, and yes, they kinda stink, but in a good way. The stinkier the better! You can find them in small mom & pop Taiwanese-style delis and restaurants in the U.S. I have alson seen them on the menu as "Tofu with Odor." In Mandarin, it's pronounced something like "Tsou DoFu." Stinky Tofu can be served many ways: braised, steamed, as a stinky tofu hot pot, grilled or fried. In Taipei, the there is a street full of stinky tofu vendors one after another, but I can't recall the name. However, the fried and grilled (and better tasting) varieties can be found anywhere, especially at the many night markets (see #4), and are usually served piping hot on skewers. *Drool*
4. I can't talk about stinky tofu without mentioning all the Night Markets (article) in Taipei! The two more well known ones are the ShihLin Night Market and the HuaHsi Tourist Market (also HuaXi), which is also known as Snake Alley. Night markets are more than tourist attractions. The night market in the area of XiMenDing is very hip and less known to tourists. You'll never be without something to do or eat (my favorite activity) at the night markets!
5. How to get to experience all the super things in Taipei? The MRT! The MRT is user friendly, fast, frequent, efficient and clean. (Pictures of MRT) In Mandarin, it's pronounced like "Jieh Yun." L.A. should learn from Taipei. There are many more people per square mile in Taipei and more users, AND Taipei has a better system than the MetroRail system of Los Angeles, which is dismal and uncoordinated by comparison. But of course, I prefer MetroRail to driving anyday.
6. Taiwan-style shaved ice. It's fluffier and softer than the Hawaiian shaved ice that most Americans are familiar with. Go to any Chinatown in any city and you'll find some. In Taiwanese, it's pronounced "Tswhoh Bing." According to Dad, there really wasn't an equivalent Chinese character for "tswhoh" because that's strictly a Taiwanese word, until of late, when people got creative. In Mandarin, it's translated to "Bao Bing." There's also a new "invention" with even finer ice, called snow or snow flake ice. Taiwanese bing (ice) is served with sweet toppings (taro, boiled peanut, azuki bean, mung bean, almond gelatin, tapioca, mango, black pulms, pineapple, etc.) and then topped with brown sugar or molasses water and/or condensed milk. This is also found readily in the night markets (see #4). Shaving ice.
7. The abundance of yummy and fresh bakeries. You can smell fresh-baked sweet breads everyday as you walk along the streets of Taipei. I could eat them all day. (Photo 3: My sister at a bakery near the Shuanglian MRT station.) This bakery has a type of "Pwo Lwo" (translated to pineapple bread in English for the resemblance to the skin-- there's no pineapple in it), with a thick crumbly crust on the outside and on the inside was like an awesome super croissant. yum.
8. All the things to love about a bustling and large metropolitan city.
9. All the specialty streets and districts. If you want cheap wholesale textiles, you go to a certain street. If you want snacks and preserved fruits, you go to another. There's an area where go get your herbs and tea. Etc., etc., etc. Of course, you can find those shops anywhere in Taipei as well, at the day markets and at the night markets. You get better deals and are guaranteed that at least one store will have what you want in those specialty streets/districts.
10. Street vendor and mom & pop food stalls. You'll want to be a little careful with cleanliness of some of the carts and stalls, but when they're good, they're good. There is food everywhere in Taipei and you're sure never to be hungry. There are so many things to write about -- vermicelli soup, onion cakes, potstickers, meat buns, egg cakes, etc. I could go on and on and on.

Top Ten Things I Hate About Taipei (again, in no particular order)

1. The humidity.
2. Mosquitos. Damn, have you ever met Asian tropical mosquitos? They love to suck blood.
3. The heat with the humidity. Really really sucky and suffocating.
4. The uneven pavements and sidewalks. Not good for clutzy people.
5. The VERY aggressive drivers and scooter drivers. They WILL try to run you over even if it's your right of way and WILL yell at you for "running into" their car.
6. The smog. Not good for the skin-- yucky clogged pores.
7. All the other usual things to hate about a very densely populated metropolitan city.
8. Some of the stinky day markets with chicken, pig, duck and fish heads and parts of all sorts staring right back at you.
9. The BAD hairdos of young Taiwanese students! There are more mullets in Taipei than all the midwestern and southern states added together! The mullets there range from short backs to very long backs. Yuck. More mullets here. (Er, my advance apologies if you have a mullet, but please reconsider...)
10. The BAD fashions! I don't even know how to explain. It's like a bad mix of Japanese, Korean, Italian and other runway high fashion NOT made for normal everyday life!

Taipei, part 1: Ah-ma's funeral

Erg, I've been trying to post for over 2 days now, but blogger has been having problems. :(
Anyway, Ah-ma's (grandmother) funeral was a little different from Ah-gong's (grandfather). Tradition and culture still require a praying and prostration session every 7 days, a funeral praying day, the funeral, a 49th and 100th day praying session. Ah-ma's funeral was a mix of Mahayana Buddhist (but more Taiwanese-style), Daoist beliefts and practices, Taiwan cultural and family traditional practices. It should be noted that general Taiwanese spirituality and culture include some Confucian beliefs and philosophies. Above: The altar on the funeral day at the funeral home. There were flowers all around the entire room. Each person that sent a flower arrangement (all done in lillies and orchids) had a placards with their name and relation. Below: The sons and daughters-in-law paying homage to their mother through a series of offerings and eventually also through kowtows. Ah-ma did not have any daughters. Note that the men stand in front of the women and they stand in order of status (oldest male to youngest male) and then the women stand in order of status (their marriage to sons). If Ah-ma had daughters, they would stand between the last son and the highest-status daughter-in-law. The entire funeral process is all quite complicated and I doubt that my generation would likely carry on these practices unless it's an explicit expressed interest of the parent. The prayer days (depending on the day) could mean that you stand, kneel and kowtow to the various gods/buddhas and the spirit of the deceased from 5 minutes to 3 hours to 6-8 hours. And if you are like me with asthma and allergies galore, the burning of incense and paper money will not agree with your lungs and body.

There was an open-casket viewing, which was a little daunting and definitely depressing. I already had to see my own mother's body as she wasted away for 2 years, and in the end, she was mere skin draped over a skeleton in her casket when she passed. It was a scary sight and she resembled a 1000 year old ice mummy. (btw- mom's funeral was simple and without fanfare or real ceremony, just as she requested.) Even though I really wasn't all that close to Ah-ma and she certainly looked much better than mom in the casket, I definitely dreaded looking at her. I had no choice. We had to stand around her casket while the monk performed various ceremonies. (It was easier at Ah-gong's funeral, when it was a closed casket.)

We had to wear these ribbon with old coins around our wrists and these little fabric things on our shoulders for the funeral and every time we had a praying ceremony for Ah-ma. I do not know the real reason for wearing them, but I must say all the differentiation in different styles and colors between grandsons and granddaughters are all very sexiest. This is a traditional and cultural practice that should be done away with in the modern world where women do and work more than men, and thus women should be valued more.
Click on photos above for explanation regarding the things we had to wear.
Left: Burning money after a 2.5 hour praying ceremony for Ah-ma.

Ah-gong's funeral definitely did not include religious Dao practices and there was no burning of money. His funeral was closer to an actual Mahayana Buddhist practices flavored by Taiwanese culture and family tradition. He chose to be buried. (Currently in a temporary, but beautifully designed, plot and will be dug up in 3 years to be put with the rest of the family tombs where all our ancestors are buried.) Ah-ma chose to be cremated (but not to full ashes) and her bones were collected and sealed in a green marble urn. After a year, those remains will also be moved to be with the ancestral tomb. Then every year, their tombs, along with other ancestral tombs, will be swept and cleaned on the Tomb Sweeping Festival. My dad and his brothers take turns sweeping the tombs. We don't know who will end up doing it when their generation passes.

Dear Readers

Dear Friends and Readers of my blog,
Thank you for visiting and reading! I will be going to Taiwan for a week for my grandmother's funeral. An since I don't have any cool family that live there, I won't be able to blog. Unless... My dad wants my sis and I to get some stuff done at the Taipei City Hall in Neihu where there are 2 sloooow computer stations for free use. Or, I could go to an extremely smokey (*cough*hack*cough) internet cafe full of nerdy Taiwanese boys playing some game or something. I am asthmatic so the latter really won't do. For those who know the politics surrounding Taiwan, and I don't really want to rant politics or history, but I feel the need to say (and educate) that I am for Taiwan independence. China is big, selfish and unjust bully.

Anyways, I am an addict, a knitting fiend, a yarn whore, whatever you want to call it. When I found out I had to go, I later thought...I wonder if there's a Stitch n Bitch group in Taiwan? (Mind you, I'm leaving tomorrow, coming back the following Saturday!) None are listed. I love search engines! I found Erin, with whom I've been corresponding, and I'm planning to meet up with her to go Yarn and Knitting Store shopping! Yeah!! I'm interested in looking for Chinese and Japanese knitting books. Hopefully, I'll have lots to report on this mini-adventure.

Do you need to ask? Of course I am bringing some knitting project for the 17-18 hour trip (counting time going to and waiting at airport, and travelling to hotel)!

Happy Knitting until then,
Anne

My "29th" Barfday

Barfday is what my sister calls birthdays, so it kinda stuck with me. Lately, the sun has not been to sunny on my side of the world. Luckily for me, I am generally peppy and optimistic, so "barfday" had been a fitting name for the past 2 years. (I spent the last b-day in isolation caring for a very ill family member.) But it's a little different this year! My birthday was yesterday and not so barfy afterall. My very sweet hubby sent me NINE dozen tulips and 1 dozen sunflowers. One of my friends added to my flower collection by getting be gorgeous orchids. I should open a florist shop in my office! My friends took me out to lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, Mama's Hot Tamales. Besides the cool name, Mama's is a non-profit training restaurant for people in the community and they have awesome food made from fresh produce from farmers markets and/or are certified organic!

Top: View from my chair, behind the desk. (The sunflowers had dye in it, hence the pink water. There are 3 dozen tulips in each vase (minus the ones had given to some coworkers to brighten the entire office) Bottom: View from the door, in front of my desk.

So, I had a good birthday.

Stinky Silk Woes, Part 2

So I decided to be a masochist and tried to dye my silk again. This time I read the section of my dye book on dyeing silk and silk-blended yarns. I soaked (really, I did) my yarn OVERNIGHT and with soap. I started with my snafoo yarn from last time, which leached blue-green water (go figure, because it was baby blue).

Above Left: 1st Snafoo, Part 2, attempt 1: I painted it darker blue (shown) and other shades of teal, turquiose and algae green. After 40 looong minutes and lots of citric acid, the color still wouldn't take, so I tried a different approach.
Above Right: 1st Snafoo, Part 2, attempt 2: I put it in a steamer basket and re-hand-painted all the colors which also was laced with acid. I steamed for about 40 minutes. I still have a Baby Blue Bomb. I can't even see any green. Why? see below!


Above Left: Although I think my water level was a little bit high (only barely touched part of yarn when on high boil), it should not have leached green water. I still have baby blue yarn, albeit a darker baby blue, and it still is not colorfast. :( boo hoo.
Above Right: I am really a masochist. I didn't think nearly 2 hours of Stinky Silk was enough. hmm, maybe something is wrong with that yarn. I should try the extra hank I soaked last night. So I did. I painstakingly hand-painted the yarn, all 500 yds of the 50/50 silk/wool, put less water and steamed for 50-60 minutes. Towards the last 20 minutes, I threw in the Baby Blue Bomb. This one is a little better than Baby Blue Bomb, but it is still leaching color since it hasn't set.

Wait, there IS a rainbow! I miraculously have the gift of foresight and somehow knew that I would be disappointed. So before doing the silk, I unraveled an embroidered thrift store find (new w/tags!) made in Scotland from shetland wool. It was cut and then stitched from the armpits up (maybe b/c of embroidery), so I couldn't really unravel the top third without getting a pile of short yarn pieces that my kitties would drool over. I treated those parts like fabric.

My house smells awful. What's worse? Hot Stinky Silk or Hot Vinegar? Yuck.


Left: The sweater. Right: What I got.

I dyed some of the sweater parts and yarn. Success!! What's even better is that I am able to multi-task and had the Stinky Silk and wool dyeing at the same time. Right: A picture of all the yarns in the drying process. (Click on it and any other picture for better detail.)

Above: The top back of the sweater. I painted the stripes and will be felting it for a clutch.

Soap Opera Drama

When did I end up in a soap opera? I don't even know if I should write about it in my blog. It's mostly about work and about some girl who is causing quite a stir. "KAy" (see post below for explanation). What a trip. KAy is a liar and sort of a thief. I am not exaggerating. I guess I'll sleep on it and see if I'm still pissed before I devote more words to KAy -- she's certainly racking up those negative points!

On a crafty note, I finished the red booties. Woohoo! I'll post a pic this weekend. I still have to decide who to give it to. I'm going to spend the rest of this evening unwinding (literally) -- I'm going to unravel a thrift store wool sweater.

EDIT, 4/14/06:I have not confronted KAy for the 2 things she did. I'm more annoyed at the more recent thing she did to me. She's kind of stupid or delusional for thinking that I or other people would not find out about stuff she says or does. She lacks integrity. Anyway, someone suggested I confront her. I'm not going to. There's really no need; she knows that I know the truth. Her contract ends in 5-6 weeks. And you know those sayings: You dig your own grave. You lie in the bed you make. Sooner or later, she's going get stuck in her own web. I'm going to stop bitchin' and ranting. In my 6 years at this job, I have NEVER seen such behavior. So junior high. KAy is like 28 0r 29. I actually feel sorry for her now.

Crap, Crap, Crap!

My crappy day consisted of ...

• A visit to a client in a psych ward of a hospital regarding services my colleague and I are trying to get for him through the county. The stench of his room was awful-- smelled like shit, literally, and urine. And as usual, because the hospital is not an appropriate placement for him and can't provide the level of services he needs, he was is restraints. A depressing visit to say the least.
• Spending over $1,000 on a close-to-last minute ticket to go to Asia for the funeral of my paternal grandmother who just passed away unexpectedly.
• Having to deal with the 3rd passing of a family member in 9 months. Paternal grandpa, mother and now grandma.
• Having to rearrange coverage and other things at work in preparation for my trip next week.
• A co-worker that is causing so much drama and problems for the short amount of time she has been in our office. (Although, she kisses up to some people higher on the totem pole. Hence we dubbed her "KAy").
• A terrible aching back on top of my usual chronic back pain.
• PMSing.
• Frogging a nearly half-done baby bootie. This was the bootie I was knitting out of the baby alpaca yarn.
• Coming home to a dirty and neglected house, which I have not cleaned in a while.

Well, there are worse things. C'est la vie...

Babies of All Sorts

I'm a proud momma. First of all, I finished my Clapotis late Thursday night. As holey as it is, it's actually pretty warm. I am TOTALLY happy with the colorway and the turn out. I probably should block it since it's rolling a bit, but not before I wear it a couple more times. :) I knitted the sport weight Cashmere/Merino yarn on US 7 needles.

Left: The finished project.
Below: Close-up view. Aren't the colors are lovely?



Scored! Despite having worked in LaLaLand (aka Plastic Land and Silicon City) for the past 5 years, I have never shopped in the Fashion District or in most areas in LA -- walked and passed through, but no real shopping. I'm a transplant, so I don't have many friends here to go with me, and it's not like my short-attention-spanned hubby will indulge me in something like this. So of course, I said yes when 2 friends woke me from my slumber this morning.

Anyhow, I've always though the Hermes Birkin bags were cute. Ever since I saw a colleague with a knock-off she bought from NYC, I've had my eyes on one. Of course, even if I won the lotto, I don't think I would spend even $1000 on a purse or tote, let alone spend thousands upon thousands!! (BTW- the real bags go anywhere from $4,000 to $40,000 for the larger crocodile totes.) I found this lovely and fairly well-made orange one for a bargain $25. There was a green one too, but the orange one is prettier. Rachel got a really nice black Salvatore Ferragamo for $18. We tried to bargain more, but the guy would not go any lower and he was the lower-priced venue. We came across another store that also has Birkins (and even a blue one), but the store charges $35.



Above: Ms. Brownie modeling the purse.

Babies Galore. I am at that age where all my friends are having babies or getting married. In the apst 2 years or so, I've had to deal with a lot personal stuff, so I have been terrible at calling and sending gifts, cards, and other congratulatory gestures. So now that things have calmed a bit, I'm finally making long overdue baby gifts. It's a good thing baby booties are fast to knit, except the ones requiring knitting in the round. I am going to be busy! I would like to make gifts for...

1. ...Nyssa, Tedd's girl, around 1 year old
2. ...Baby, Ann's, sex unknown, expected this May
3. ...Madeline, Kay's girl, now about 2 or 3 ? years old
4. ...Baby, Kay's 2nd, expected Fall 2007 (probably)
5. ...Danny, Nguyen's boy, around 1 year old -- technically our godchild. I am a terrible godmother. Hubby is much worse. He bought Danny a Winnie the Pooh for Christmas and did not give it to him until I put it by the front door to remind him 2 weeks ago!
6. ...Grant, Amy's boy, age 2 months.

Below: I don't know who this will be for yet. It's out of 100% cotton yarn on US 4 needles. I still need to sew it up, but I think I will wait until my next knitting group meeting so I can get some sage guidance on proper seaming.

Below: I think this one will be for Ann's soon-to-be-popped baby. She and her hubby want to be surprised by the sex, so any gifts would have to be unisex. And since this is use what you have month, I'm using this fingering weight 100% baby alpaca yarn that I got about 6 months ago from The Hunger Site, a cool place to shop, support a nonprofit and fight hunger. What's more is that this a fair trade product. I've only made the sole so far. I find it a little challenging to knit in the round with teeny tiny US 1 needles.

Joining the Masses

I've finally joined the masses and started a blog. We'll have to how this goes. Mostly I will be using this blog to chronical my various creative and crafty adventures and diversions form the everyday and mundane. Now if I can figure out how to create links and a project gallery...