When it rains it pours

Ah, I do so adore the rain.  Solstice has come and gone, with a lunar eclipse to add to the magic.  I took the week off from work for the Solstice and my youngest son's birthday December 24th.  All of my jobs have been very busy, so many projects, responsibilities and things to do so I was excited to have some time.  Oh the Universe has it's ways of making us relax...well sort of.  My printer went out, two days later my motherboard fried.  I was computer-less for the holidays.  With that, the rain, a bit of a cold and much knitting to do I proceeded to take to the couch and be still.  My pup thought this was the best thing ever and decided to join me.  Now with new computer and printer up and running, me back to work and life beginning to ramp up once again I am happy to have had a few days of forced down time.  I did get much knitting done though I still have quite a bit to do.  I really like that thought.....yum, knitting and puppies, warm and delicious.

yarn is my drug

I have known about this show for months.  I have thought about it, lost sleep over it and gnashed my teeth for it.  I figured I would just use one of my already done felted sculptures and put a witty name on it to fit the show title 'soft'.  But it was not to be.  I had to make something new, something else, something 'soft'.  So at the eleventh hour I decided to start crocheting.  I needed an excuse to crochet like a mad woman, a reason to say to those around me, 'not right now, I'm working on a piece that is due in two days' so I could just crochet and crochet and crochet.  I could ask for tea to be brought, the dog to be fed and the channel changed on the t.v.  I had an excuse to just crochet.  The title of my piece for the 'soft' show at the Future Gallery in Los Angeles is 'hard drugs'.  This show is to explore the meaning of 'soft'.  I made 14 crocheted 'pills' of varying size and color combinations that look like capsules.  I like them very much and they will be very easy to hang.  I just may make a few to sell in my etsy shop, I just may make a few for gifts or even to keep for myself.  Yarn is my drug, and it is delicious. 

yarnafitti? knittafitti?, yarnifitti? yarnefitti?

I have so much free time (this is an untrue statement) that I have decided to take up a hobby....'yarn bombing'. Now, I need to make some decisions here regarding this endeavor. Firstly, what to call it. I was thinking 'Yarnifitti' to go along with the Yarnivore theme, 'knitfitti' is in the Urban Dictionary here. Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Nextly, I need to think about if I want to put a 'card' on each piece with the yarnivore/yarniffiti blog address so people can tell me if they like/do not like it. If they took it, which would be okay too. If they have any suggestions as to where/what they might like to see yarnifitti-ed next and so on. Or am I asking for legal trouble, as in being fined/arrested for defacing property, but since it is easily removable it may not be covered under 'defacing'?
I could make a statement, be passive aggressive, political or social, I am open to all sorts of ideas.
Also, just in case you might be interested in a new hobby.....that involves yarn, knitting, and possibly 'defacing' public property, send me an email and we will talk.
Here are a few images so you can be inspired too....delicious.

flying fish

So I have a school of fish hanging in LAX, the Los Angeles airport in the Southwest airline terminal. There are 60 little wooden minnows flying high and wearing hand knit sweaters....yes, I knitted little fish sweaters. The show is a group show and is titled "Unwearable". I have other fishies in sweaters as well, they are all trout. One with a cable sweater, one with a fair isle sweater, another with a granny square sweater....you get the idea. I just love those little minnows! I do not yet have a photo of the show, but here are a few pics of the fish on land...the little ones look like candy...yummy.

cozy tp

Oh boy! New etsy items. I think we all need a bit of cozy in the bathroom so here are some updated toilet paper covers for your watercloset. I thought about campy, the poodle or doll dress but finally I chose to create my own contemporary toilet paper roll covers. They are simple and sweet, feminine or masculine. I can create them to match any bathroom colors...yup, I am amazing that way. So with my crochet hooks flying and my etsy shop humming I present; mid-century decor for the 21st century, toilet paper roll covers! Get yours today....sweet.

Ch-Ch-Changes and Art

Oh, does life just move along. So many things have happened in my life recently I am just spinning. Still losing weight...yes! My poor old doggie, Mr. McFee passed away, I am working on a series for an art show at LAX. Anne's (my best friend) father passed away, I turned 50 (I am now officially a crone and had a 'croning' ceremony), had to pay taxes, had several medical issues to contend with...am okay now. A big decision about my garden plot with the Long Beach Community Garden Association, I need to let it go. I just do not have enough time, working so many jobs (5), my teenagers, art, running, blogging, my etsy shop. I am overwhelmed, the camel's back is breaking. This last Vernal Equinox (March 22nd) was a tough one. It brought strong changes to many of us, perhaps you have noticed it.
Recently, in Feb. I participated in a wonderful art show at Barnsdall Park in Hollywood CA. It was much fun and the venue was fantastic. I knitted with my giant needles (8ft.long) and joined several other artists in a participatory art experience! It was curated by a dear woman, Edith Abayta. Here are a few shots of the show. The giant needles, Amber knitting on the needles, the longest potholder, which was being made even longer at the event. A knitted forest frolic, that was amazing to see and touch! Oh life, can be so delicious.

couch to 5K

Oh dear, where have I been? Here and here. I am now a runner, it's official. I got a tread mill, pictured, and have been quite faithful to it. Got some new shoes too! cool eh? I found out that I am a 'barefoot' runner. Shoes and I do not play nice. I am a clog wearer and cannot stand anything too tight around my toes, hate high heels and even have difficulty with things against my Achilles tendon. picky?, true, lovable?, why yes, yes I am! So now 27 pounds lighter I finally post. Oh, and one more tidbit....type 2 diabetes. Oh there was an impetus behind the treadmill and weight loss and nifty new shoes...don't let the 'lets get physical' thing be a new years resolution idea. It is for my health. I am now committed to being healthy, eating healthy and exercise. Life, it can bite you in the butt when you aren't paying attention. That was a big bite, no comment on the size of the butt, though it is smaller than it was when it was bitten, at least. So, on with my life, delicious it is.

little feet, big city

Brooklyn New York has a new place to shop... Sunday Love ..... and Sunday Love has some cute new shoes, little baby booties to be exact! I have already knitted up two batches. New York is eating them up... delicious.

i want this icar

The Los Angeles car show has past, but my dreams still wander back to this little darling, a Mitsubishi. The iMiev. It is little, cute and has the most adorable 'face'. The headlights and tail lights are round and clustered like bubbles. The antena has a light on it and is positioned like the lure on top of an angler fish. It runs on electricity and cuteness! Here are some photos of it on the runway. Her head and tail lights, her from a side view and one of her smile. Sweet and yummy!

garden art

It is the end of the summer growing season here and time to pull up all of the beans, squash and peppers from the garden. The summer sun and our plot of earth gave us many beautiful green beans, wonderful little yellow tomatoes and a few Japanese pumpkin. My favorite summer vegetable is the trombone squash, so I left her for last. My dear trombone squash gave me a wonderful surprise. A squash sculpture! Here are some photos of her creation. She worked so hard this season and gave us many delicious dinners, now she will decorate our fall table. Thank you Lady Trombone Squash!

Long, lean and bright green, it has a buttery flavor and is much more mild than other summer squashes. It has a long growing season, takes up quite a bit of room and is a prolific producer. Usually the fruit is long or curved a bit so you just cut off the bulb at the end and slice up the neck, steam, butter and lightly salt.....absolutely delicious.

don't you just love sunday?

Sunday Love, a new shop opening in New York will be carrying some of my work! Coasters and baby booties do ya know. Sunday Love is an artists workshop and store located in an up and coming area of Brooklyn, NY. Green items galore and fun to be had at it's grand opening celebration on October 10th. Their address is 624 Grand st. Brooklyn, NY, so if you are 'in' NY this weekend....be sure to stop by and say Hello to Greer, have a look around and buy things, lots of things, delicious things from Sunday Love, yummy.

pigs toes

My dearest friend moved. Sad but true. She is not in another state, though California is a pretty big state. She also chose to move up a mountain. Up a mountain*. Not a hill, or a rise, but a mountain, like the Sierras kind of (actually) mountain. She did though, leave me her pigs toes. Not a real pig silly! A plant pig, well not a pig a lithop. Lithops are also known as living stones as they do indeed look like stones. Here are some photos of the ones I now care for. I have in my care about four different kinds of lithops. Some small, some smaller and some smaller still. Yes, they do look like rocks...or even little pigs toes. Sweet.

*I have a horrid fear of driving up mountains. I have done it mind you, though with much hair pulling and gnashing of teeth. I really need to be unconscious for it not to be a bother to the driver (read...yellling, screaming, grabbing the wheel and otherwise a bit of a discraction). This is why my friend moving up into the SIERRAS is an issue.

a bowl of yarn

How fantastic is this, a yarn bowl. How long have I waited for this object. How amazing that this potter, Fred Parker, has created it. It is beautiful and perfect. I adore bowls, I adore yarn, what could be better? Yes, few things in life to be sure. I will be acquiring one of these beauties before the year is up. That is if he makes more. They sell so fast and I can see why. Perhaps a special one is in my future, one that has yet to be imagined. The clay still waiting, the idea still in it's egg. Oh yes Mr. Fred Parker, I will own one of your splendid yarn bowls...so delicious.

It's a Clean, Clean Summer...

New in the etsy shop, little make-up remover pads! Eco-friendly, save money, save the planet and save face at the same time...what could be better. They are hand crocheted from 100% cotton yarn, toss in the washer, tumble in the dryer...or... better yet, go one step further and set them out in the summer sun to dry - Hooray for solar power. I have them ready to ship in white and green, don't be shy if you want a custom color just send me a note through etsy and we can chat. Bonus, you can also get washcloths to match, oh so many delicous choices.