| thanks, laura! |
tuesday 07.06.2004 |
 |
last week i got to see laura from the java station knit group of wonderful santa barbara. she was up here visiting her folks in mill valley and generously set aside time to spend with me. thursday evening we briefly hit the yarn collection before gabbing for hours at the strawberry starbucks. saturday we hit dharma.
dharma dharma dharma. it's just about the best yarn store i've ever seen! it's huge and loaded with yarn. their prices seem real reasonable with manos del uruguay at $1.50 less than what i'm used to seeing. i had a great time checking out the unusual stuff like hemp yarn and the real raffia. not to mention the spinning and tie dye supplies.
we actually went to dharma twice but i don't think i saw all the yarn. i need to go back. i'm set on getting some plymouth outback variegrated wool yarn in sage+brown, much like the colors of schmeebot.
laura and i spent a lot of time discussing ponchos and their various constructions. she sent me the link to the instructions for the poncho i've been drawing and making. guess what? it's been free for ages on knitty.com!
 bah!
that's my poncho. yes, it's on the carpet. urgh. i'll have to wash it eventually because i've dragged it all over the place by car, ferry, bart, emery go round, etc. i went with the sewing version because of the stripes intrinsic in the yarn. horribly knotty and filthy yarn, by the way. don't waste your money on noro kureyon. it's over rated. i'm one skein away from done. can't wait to start a seamless one with a practical and beautiful yarn like brown sheep lamb's pride.
|
|
|
| pillow friday |
friday 07.09.2004 |
|
is it friday again already? hard to distinguish the days when everyday is my personal holiday. it's a tough life.
a quick update before i have to catch the ten bus into the city. i'm going to meet jg for lunch again today if i remember which stop to get off. yay!
in knitting news, you would be proud to know that i have been knitting like a mutha. i have even started up a new afghan. it's about 54" wide by 8" long right now but i can't show it just yet. i have to find a good surface to photograhp it first.
things i love about the bay area:
. low fog
. bridges
. shopping
. japan town!
i've been to little osaka twice now and both times i would go home hyper inspired! cute cute cute! regretfully, i took very few pictures because i don't feel comfortable using the camera when i'm with friends. i took this one while i was alone:
 furniture store front
i believe that orange pillow is made of knitted felt; the fabric looked thick and fuzzy. i like that it's got a neat fortune cookie effect to it. i used to know the mathematical name for it. i hate math. anyway, isn't it super duper? simple, too! it would make such a cool gift item, don't you think?
now look at this one! it totally reeled me in. it was standing among colorful frogs and cats and cows but they all paled in comparison.
 eggcellent find at moritaya
solves the egg chicken egg chicken egg bit in one fell swoop. clever, huh? i'm a sucker for this sort of cuteness. 2" wide by 3" tall and stuffed with foam beans. super simple construction. i want to make a life size one as a pillow except... except i don't sew. may be i can knit it? hm...
ok, off to see my hunk a burning love in the city. i'm going to check out hayes valley after lunch and see what the hype is all about. have a great creative weekend, everyone!
|
|
|
| live, from san jose! |
friday 07.09.2004 |
|
my once-upon-an-esprit-store friend, aka half of the green duo, has a blog!
yay, jenn!
|
|
|
| knitters wanted |
monday 07.12.2004 |
|
last night i spoke with ecm about her and maura's effort on starting a knit group on campus. said she distributed handmade flyers about the event. can you believe it? handmade!
if you're on or near the ucsb campus, please consider showing up. it's tomorrow, tuesday. come and knit, crochet, spin, gab, etc. drop me a line and i'll hook you up. ecm and maura are awesome people so i know they'll make an excellent group. if i wasn't here in hurricane gulch sausalito, i would be there!
here's a computer printed (much less passionate than ecm's) flyer for the knit group near cyclone south street. might you be interested?
|
|
|
| knitted nudity |
tuesday 07.13.2004 |
|
last friday i spent an hour shopping in the happenin' hayes valley area. i wasn't thrilled by the three blocks of boutique shops and restaurants. trendy, yes. attractive, no.
 cards collected friday july 09
of all the stores i saw, only two were worth browsing inside. i'm never comfortable with the feel of boutique shops. you know, the sort that has a total of eighteen garments on the hangers and the clerks look you up and down even before you set foot inside. most were so snooty that i couldn't stand to stay long enough to grab a business card!
anyway, i did find two semi interesting storefronts. i'm all about storefronts these days.
 ponchos all over the place
those are constructed the same way i made mine. nice ponchos, but terrible color combinations. speaking of which, schmeebot has been getting a ton of hits from people searching for "knit poncho pattern." i wish i could see what everyone is making.
i found another neat furniture store front. look.
 the eye catcher
another clever pillow. nice blanket, too. i regret not going inside to take a closer look at them. that bear is sewn but i bet it's easy to knit up part by part. assembing them may be tricky though. it doesn't matter. i'm adding it to the must make list. too cute!
last but not least, have you seen this?
isn't it hillarious? i understand it's an announcement for an artist's exhibition a while ago. too funny!
|
|
|
| some knitting but no show |
wednesday 07.21.2004 |
|
i'm surprised that the knitting bloggers' ring hasn't already cut off schmeebot. aren't you?
well, i'm keeping very busy. i've been out and about most days getting a feel for the greater bay area. i'm knitting, but not as much as i did the weeks before. i have been watching a lot of it though. that's right, watching.
i borrowed the six hour series from the san francisco library. i've been playing the tapes morning noon and night for almost a week now. it's all elizabeth, all the time. like knitter's heaven.
 schmeebot loves elizabeth zimmermann
so, yeah, i'm busy. i'm not doing much worth writing about though. i suspect my schedule will be choppy for at least another month so this blog will be sparse. hopefully i will have the time to elaborate on the stuff i'm doing now.
until then, in the words of ez, good knitting!
|
|
|
| fuzzed |
monday 07.26.2004 |
|
even though i've been busier than usual, i've managed to squeeze in some knitting. i'm running around a lot so i decided to make small things like beanies. i have always loved knitting beanies; they're portable, fast, and they make great gifts.
i've made two so far since last week, one of which is made of a loosely spun single ply thick+thin yarn. it knits up beautifully except, sigh, it's all fuzzy looking. it looks used! i've been staring at it wondering if it's suitable as a gift. i'm reluctant to give something that looks like it's well worn. look.
 pesky fuzz
has this happened to you? what's the etiquette on giving things with unwanted fuzz? help me, please.
i got the whole idea about knitting beanies (for gifts) from a board sport shop. seems like knitted beanies are all the rage. i've never seen so many that have a decidely knitted look to them.
 lacey
 aran
 cables
 refined
 fancy ribbing
 stylish but simple
aren't they inspiring? i'm most impressed with the aran beanie. reminds me of ez knitting hats as swatches for sweaters with complex patterns.
finally, look at this one. i found it online. it's crocheted and it looks like something i'd find in japantown. too clever!
 ribbit
 don't froggit!
|
|
|
| more cute stuff |
thursday 07.29.2004 |
|
i was back in japantown last week. cuteness town. i came very close to buying this book from kinokuniya. only if i could sew!
 the skirts section
 my favorite
i had seen this book at a glance before. there are two volumes available. they feature all sorts of crafts: ceramics, embroidery, crochet, felting, etc. i like how the projects are creative as well as functional. it would be a lot more functional to me if they had english translations.
|
|
|
| edwards for prez |
thursday 07.29.2004 |
|
the knitting group at habitat books didn't happen tonight. i forgot about it altogether. i ran down 45 minutes late only to see empty chairs. i didn't even bring any knitting. bonnie told me that the regulars had all decided to stay home to watch the democratic convention.
in other news:
tonight i got a great lead on the artist who knitted those infamous suits. her name is anna maltz.
thanks to lost brass key for the neccessary clues that helped me find the talented anna. i had taken a picture of the info on the flip side of the picture but it turned out all blurry. i meant to go back to the urban knitting studio to get that information but it's been difficult.
did you know that i had a run in with the vile owner of the urban knitting studio? she found schmeebot somehow (internet search, she said) and some two weeks ago, when i stopped in like i usually do when i have to wait for jg, she accosted me. she said that i committed copyright violations of, get this, the yarn! that i'm not allowed to take any more pictures inside her store, and that i should take the picture of the knitted nudity down before the artist sues me!
despite the bullshit, i offered to remove the pictures of her store from schmeebot. she said that it wasn't necessary. in my defense, i explained to her that the pictures were not of the yarns alone, that i only showed images that i like of the store space, and that my blog is not for profit. it is solely for sharing with friends, family, and a very specific group of people (knitters).
also in my defense, although i didn't say this to her face: when i took that picture, the store attendant saw me doing it but she didn't stop me. in fact, she happily elaborated on how she had seen the exhibition. i must add that i like the store attendant at the urban knitting studio a lot. not the owner, the attendant.
as much as i didn't want to post that nudity piece without the proper credit, i couldn't stand withholding it from fellow knitters. i have tried to go back to get the information twice and both times the owner was there so i didn't want to go inside and risk losing my temper.
you can bet that i won't be taking/posting any more pictures of the urban knitting studio. nor will i ever want to write about it again after this entry. i was very careful not to plug it inadvertently when i first wrote about discovering it. i had expressed that talking to the owner was not my cup of tea. i wonder if that's what ticked her off.
bringing this copyright violating entry to a grateful end, i want to thank lost brass key for having left the helpful comment. thanks!
ps: wanna see more of the anatomically correct suits? how about this?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
