I Went On A Little Trip

I was in Alaska. Yes, I took these photos. I cannot put into words how beautiful the land is there, or how sweet the air smelled or how magical the landscapes are. I can tell you it was so beautiful that I wept, that I could breathe deep the exhales of the trees and that I slept there better than I have since I was a child. I do believe that when you visit Alaska ,part of you never leaves.

Fro-Yo Throwdown!

On most days here in sunny Southern California life is good. Beautiful people (Jennifer), beautiful beaches, beautiful weather...but then... there is the ugly, brutal underbelly of it all. The immortal struggle between what is trendy and what is truly good in this sunny hamlet. I present for your review the Non-Fat Frozen Yogurt Throwdown between super trendy Pinkberry and the not as hip(ed) Plato Parfait. Several of us put our taste buds on the line to answer the question ... which is better...
First we tried Pinkberry, it had a slick store front, note the trendy gift items on the cleverly lit up wall...oohh...ahhh...tasty. They have only two flavors 'Plain' and 'Green tea'. We sampled the plain with fresh fruit. Good, sweet, sour with a salty twang, lots of ice crystals though that took away from the creamy-ness we wanted. Then it was on to Plato Parfait. Nice clean sparse space, much more substantial seating, actual metal chairs with padded cushions (at the other place it was plastic fantastic all the way). The plain with fresh fruit tasted more like creme fraiche than the other guys, much better mouth feel and many more flavors (the dark chocolate was decadent). You get free waffle cookies too! So try them both and let me know what you think, but my money (and taste buds) are on Plato Parfait! ..... delicious...eat it up!

Donuts and Gasoline

It's Saturday morning at 5:00 am. Do you know where your concept car is?
Probably in Huntington Beach at the 'Donut Derelict's' car show. I know, because I was there, yes, at 5:00 am on any Saturday you will find them, Gear Heads, Grease Monkeys, Rat Finks and Autophiles wandering around over a hundred cars. Thank the Goddess that they have coffee at that donut shop. This is an 'insider' car show that happens every Saturday morning....and because Toyota has it's offices so close there are often concept cars and cars like these that you will never see on the street. My two sons thought the tops of their heads were going to blow off. Needless to say I was one of the 3 females there. Oh, and the silver car you see a photo of....has a jet, oh baby you heard me right...a JET engine.....vrroooommm-vrrrrooomm and fried dough....delicious.

Four Quarter Friends

I have posted before about my love of Famima!! The Japanese super convenience store. Well, here is yet another reason to love it....just look at those cute little faces! They are Hedgie fobs, yes, little blue hedgehogs wearing green gingham aprons. I just about fell on the floor and flopped around. Would you believe they are only four quarters each? Now, not only do you get an adorable thingawhatchi but you get to put your money in the machine and turn the knob and your new fob friend pops out. You never know which little critter you'll get but you betcha each and every one is just this sweet. After I got my toys I picked out a lovely steamed red bean bun from the steam case on the counter, it was so warm and doughy and red beanie....delicious.

Knit 'Till You Drop...

Here are many happy knitters (who have all been plied with pizza and sweets) knitting away at Alamitos Bay Yarn Company. It was one of their 'Knit 'till You Drop' nights and several (note the empty chairs) did drop! Oh, and don't think this is everyone....nay-nay I say...there was an entire other room filled with knitting fun. In the photo with three knitters you can see Sharlene, Janet and Cindy. On Janet's lap is the AMAZING 'Peace' blanket she has been working on and is almost finished with. It is a true work of art. I have been encouraging her to enter it in the county fair...Really! We had a terrific time and mowed through much fiber.....chomp!

I Can Sew Too!

I can sew, what do you know. I love making bags and I needed a birthday gift. Rummaged through my fabric pile and came up with this lovely combination. This was based on a tote from one of my Zakka books, the construction was a delight, I added the outside pockets for patterns and knitting needles. Oh, I like it! It posed well for the photo in my backyard. Ohhhh I love it when a plan comes together...and I loved the vegetarian sloppy joes Sharlene made for us at the knitmeeting/birthday party....yum!

I Runed My Nalbinding

'Somethings Brewing' is a gallery show that will be up sometime soon. This is my addition to the show. They were asking for a beer bottle cover to fit a given pattern. I chose the medium of nalbinding to create mine. I also added the word 'Beer' in German, needle-felted in runes. Cozy.
Runes and nalbinding go together so well. Needle-felting is much fun too. Thanks to my fiber sister Monica for helping me learn this new way to consume more fiber! eat it up.

Zakka! Japanese crafting....

Oh yeah, I know what you are thinking....'What is she thinking!' Like I need yet another craft to ______________ (you fill in the blank, here are a few suggestions: spend money on, use as an excuse to ignore people, isolate myself even further from reality, add to the pile of things 'I'm working on' next to the couch, use as an excuse to have cereal for dinner...again) I am sure you have a few of your own, all of which I would love to hear about so I don't feel so lonely in my crafting psychosis. But really, the things in these books are so cute, and I want to make each one so badly that I cannot even decide what to do next. So I started a crochet baby blanket because the pattern is easy, so there.... Now, where's my cereal, it's dinnertime.

I'm No Saint...Patrick

Oh happy St. Patrick's day. Here are some lovely (cough, choke) crocheted scarves that I made for a fundraiser. My son is an Irish dancer. It is St.Patrick's Day. You connect the dots. I spent my last weekend at the Irish fair/Pomona Fairgrounds. Last year it hailed and rained all weekend, so this year I thought scarves would be a big seller to raise money for the dance studio. This year it was 90 degrees, sunny and hot. Good for oranges, not good for scarves. We did sell several, much to my amazement. They are fast and easy, just fill in your flag colors of choice. These could be terrific for soccer or hockey too.
About St. Patrick....His claim to fame is clearing all snakes from Ireland. There never were any snakes there to begin with. There were though, pagans. Again, you connect the dots. On St. Patrick's day I do not wear green, I do wear a blue snake drawn on my wrist in memory of the lives lost for religious tyranny.
By the way, the cheese fries (Irish Nachos) at the fair were delicious!

Of Bunnies and Babies

A dear friend of mine is having her first baby. Oh the expectant joys of that first child. I made her two baby blankets and still felt she needed something more. Something special. Something sweet as a summer peach. Something soft as a mouses ear. Something luxurious and expensive. She needed an angora baby cap. So I knitted her one. I adore it. It is softer than a mouses ear, sweeter than summer peaches and luxuriously expensive ( or it could have been, had I not got this yarn at an unbelievable sale). Her shower is Monday....I will wait until the last minute to wrap it so I can fondle it just 'one more time'. This is one of those pieces that will be hard to give away. My glory will come though, at the baby shower, when she opens this present and everyone gasps, then oooohhs and aawhhhs. Oh yes, those are delicious moments, are they not? When our work is admired with the eyes and fingertips of many. I will bask in that warm glow, and then have cake. yum.

It's My Birthday!

Today is my birthday so I decided to crochet myself a tiara and wear it to work. I found this pattern at the midnight knitter ( www.moonarts.com) . It is a very simple pattern and it works up quick! I finished this one in a bit over an hour. I should explain that I am a special education teacher, note: Chalkboard in background, so my students and fellow teachers were taken with envy. I adore my job, and my new tiara! Time to eat cake...yum!

I Got A Rock...

My 11 year old son went to 5th grade science camp for a week. I sent him 12 letters and he brought me a rock.....shaped like a heart!
I adore it....delicious.

Nalbinding Walks the Walk

At an SCA event recently, I had the opportunity to 'walk a maze'. I had never done this before so a walk around was taken. My nalbinding came along and was all the better for it. I recommend this pastime for clearing the mind and planning your next fiber project....yum.

Fiber, Friendship, Food, Fun, Fantasic!

The Yarn Lady in Laguna Hills hosted a Pajama Party...all things knitting from 6:00 pm to midnight.
I went with my friend Sharlene and it was just so fun.
There was food, knitting, games, knitting, prizes, knitting, desserts (amazing), knitting, knitting help, knitting, personal storytime, knitting, and above all ... Fun, friendly knitters.
Just look at the photos. I ate it up.
I won the Vicki Howell knitting book during the knitting question game, I also won a set of knitting needles, the other was just a gift from the evening, I started and finished knitting the red collar pictured in the book, (it is next to the book but it is a bit dark)
Just look at all of those happy knitters.
What a great night... Fiber, Friendship, Food and Fun.... eat it up...yum!

What...that old thing....

Sometimes one must just sit. Sit and play with yarn in simple ways. I have been making mind numbingly simple objects for the last 2 months, busy cranking out holiday gifts, requested work and 'boutique' items. Oh how I long for a zap of creative electricity to fire me up again. I look at this pillow, this 3 year old pillow and remember those fevered nights of knitting and felting, the fire my fingers burned with to create some new sculpture. I suppose this cold (relatively as this is Southern California) winter is calling me to creatively hibernate. Food for thought....I need a snack...where is my stash!

Nalbinding in a Nash...

Yup.... this is my dream. A 1956 Nash Metropolitan. I can see me now

nalbinding away in my adorable Nash Metro. Alas....this is not my car, but one can dream can't one? sigh....I need a yarn snack.

New Year's Resolutions...

Well, it is New Year's Eve....2006's glow is dim and the glare of a new year is shining through. I will make a few resolutions....My first resolution is to hang out at this amazingly cool store more often! Famima!! is the best place to get yummy food, interesting beverages and cool Japanese stuff. My second resolution is to do more Nalbinding, my third is to do more knitting, my fourth and last is to listen to more books on tape whilst commuting to and from my job. It is about 45 minutes from my house to Anaheim (just two blocks from Disneyland) where I teach. I joined an audio book club set up like Netflix so call me 'blue stocking' and I'll be happy. Yeah, happy and eating some amazing item from Famima!! I will eat it up!...You should try it.

Nalbinding for Gnomes

A little gnome from our SnB family sits in style. Modeling the latest fashion in Gnome-wear for 2007. Evan gleefully agreed to don the Gnome-Dome so others could marvel at his Gnome-ness.
Yes, all fashionable Gnomes will be sporting one of these delicious domes....yummy!

Yule Be Nalbinding!

Yule celebration for SCA, Barony of Lyondemere. I had the best time! I was able to get some nalbinding done, do some dancing, enjoy a wonderful bard performance, have my ears tickled by the sounds of medieval singing & music and...of course....feasting! This table was the winner for best dressed. A pouch of nalbinding sits with feast gear with hopes of being finished soon.
Medieval feasts, this one included red cabbage with apples, spatzle(sp?) and gingerbread cookies with pepper! Oh yum....I did eat it up.

It's About 'Inner Beauty'...

Sometimes it really is about inner beauty. This may look ... um.... odd, but in truth, it is an amazing thing. No, it is not a someones colonoscopy... it is not even human at all. It is a gem of the vegetable kingdom. A rare find... a true diamond in the rough. Yes I speak loving words for this strange curcurbit for it is due the praise. Please judge not until you have seen it to the end (of the post below that is).