"Chess?" and also some Yarn-ish videos

Chess? 
I was charmed by a gent at Le Buzz this morning. The husband and I stopped at Le Buzz for breakfast after a morning walk. A gentleman was seated at a table near the entrance with a chess set laid out in front of him and a sign that said "Chess?". He waved the white king at me and asked if I'd like to play a game. I declined since food was the current priority but I was tickled by the concept. 

A bit later, he had offered a game to several folks and had received a variety of polite and appreciative declines. About then, a young man (maybe 7-ish), his mom and twin siblings (about 3-ish) had come in and the man offered a game of chess to the eldest who had stopped to look at the chess set curiously. He said he didn't know how to play and the Gent questioned "Would you like to learn?". The youngling said he'd like to but he had to ask his Mom. Mom apparently agreed and the youngling came to sit cross-legged on the chair across from the Chess Gent. 

The Gent explained what the various pieces could do and offered a modified version of the game using three black pawns and three white pawns The goal was to get a pawn to the opposite side of the chess board. The Gent did an excellent job of explaining his moves and the pawn's abilities. The youngling was well engrossed and did an excellent job mastering the short version of the game. By this time, the Mom and younger siblings had joined them at a nearby table. Mom was pretty nifty, recognizing this opportunity for her son to learn a bit about chess. She had the younger ones start on their take-home breakfasts and encouraged the elder son in his play. The smaller of the twins came to "help" the big brother and was briefly pulled up on his brother's lap to watch closer. The twin-ling shortly went back to eating breakfast with Mom, the cinnamon roll being more enticing. After both players had each won a few rounds of the pawn-only version of the game, the Chess Gent added a Rook to the play. Again, he did an excellent job explaining the moves/rules and kept the game fun and interesting for the Youngling. They stopped after about 15-20 minutes and Mom thanked the Chess Gent and collected everyone to head out. I had found the episode to be very heartening and spiffy and offered a "Well played, gentlemen!" to the players as we passed by on our way out. 

Yarn-y Goodness

A friend recently sent me this well-known knitterly video so I thought I'd share it with you-all. 

The Last Knit by anneke: 

The above video reminded me of a few of my other favorite Yarn-y videos that I had originally shared here in 2010:

I still LOVE this Natural Gas Commercial featuring Knitting: 

And I am still smitten with the skill, grace and strength displayed by one of the last rug felters in Iran courtesy of Peace Industry: 

 Lastly, just in case the movie sold out before I could get there next Wednesday, I picked up my ticket for next week's showing of "YARN" at the Loft Theater. 

Happy Dance!

Blogiversary #7 - My 7 Favorite Blog Posts

Yep, it's my 7th Blogiversary. And in honor of that event, I thought I'd present my 7 favorite blog posts.

Blogger has a widget to show which blog posts are viewed the most (it's on the left side of the blog - "Oddly Popular Posts"). But the blog posts folks view most often via the odd Google search (like "mini bamboo" or "Sock Summit") or from a Ravelry Yarn Bowl discussion are not necessarily my favorite blog posts.

So, here they be, in no particular order - My 7 Favorite Blog Posts from the last 7 years of blogging:

November 15, 2010 - "The Obnoxious Furry Quilt"

June 1, 2011 - "Godzilla!, Tiny Wildlife Rescue, and Australian Treasure!"

May 31, 2013 - "Sit Long and Prosper"

May 11, 2013 - "Drying feathers and a Loud Chirp!"

July 3, 2009 - "Look! Knitting Blog-stuff. Ok, and more kitten pictures."

June 29, 2010 - "Cat Burglar and Kitty drugs"

December 27, 2008 - "It's officially Winter in Arizona - and we have the Frost to prove it!"

It was rather fun and poignant to review all the blogs I'd written over the last 7 years. There have been a lot of life events, fun videos, paradigm shifts, and kitty pictures. We'll see what comes next, but I'm absolutely positive there will be more kitty pictures. {wry grin}
Thanks for visiting. Blessings Be.

A Streak of Similar Happenstance

Do things happen in your life that almost seem like random but related clusters of odd instances? Like a streak of similar happenstance?

This week, it was random, charming and fun videos that delighted me. Several came from the Wimp.com web site (and were sent to me by several people.)

"Kitten kung fu attacks ceramic cat". Better known as "Enemy Cat" from Karpalo77's YouTube page.
(He mew-growls like our Gryphon.)

I then fell in love with this Ceramics video I found from the American Museum of Ceramic Art.

(Please forgive me if my links go astray, the YouTube links are behaving oddly.)

"Unsung Hero", a Thai Life Insurance advertisement, is particularly lovely:
(It's easiest to read the subtitles if you click on the "Full Screen" option at the bottom right of the video insert or use the link in the title above.)

Heather at CraftLit mentioned this video in a June Tweet - Another reason to love Nathan Fillion in this Parade magazine interview: "Castle's Nathan fillion Reveals His Favorite Reads".
{whispering: "I want to see this again tomorrow" ;-)
Watch the interview and I think you'll get my pun.}:

Lastly, both Heather Ordover at CraftLit and David Reidy of the Sticks and String podcasts raved about "Weird Al" Yankovic's new album/videos. I must agree with their raves - I think Mr. Yankovic is brilliant! The DH and I have been having a great time watching these:

"Word Crimes" from "Weird Al" Yankovic.
{I'm quite sure I'm guilty of these from time to time.}

And referencing another favorite I included in the blog in February, this is "Tacky" by Weird Al:

Can't help but share the joy!

30-day Sweater Challenge

In late September, I noted 2 tweets (from @ShepherdSusie and @CloudyNatKnits that mentioned a 30-day Sweater Challenge. I took a quick glance at the referenced website, and bookmarked it for a closer look later.
The closer look later intrigued me, gifted me with the very nifty "Ultimate Sweater Planning Guide" and I decided I'd take the challenge and try to knit a sweater in October.
{Pssst - I understand there is also a spiffy eWorkbook, online course, video tutorials, sweater calculators and more to support knitters on their sweater journeys. Oh, and the folks that purchase one of the books can also enter the Sweater Design Competition!}

Initially, I plotted to knit the Notre Dame de Grace with some spiffy denim blue Berroco Remix yarn.

The swatch convinced me that the yarn knits up very nicely but it did make me question if it would be a good match for the Notre Dame de Grace. {More swatching, this time with-pattern is planned.}

So....what else would work for a quick-get-ready sweater project?
A perusal of the stash found me looking at this:

It was part of my sister-in-law's stash that I'd purchased from my Big Brother. The pattern was included and she'd even started knitting on the Tofu Tee. There were 8 balls of Tofutsies yarn in the bag and I added a 9th from my stash:

The pattern is pretty much knit side-to-side so the yarn stripes run vertically. The pattern allows for a variety of modifications and calls for 5 balls of Tofutsies. Hmmmm - I literally had more yarn than I knew what to do with.
My SIL had an excellent sense of color. Mine is much less developed {understatement}.
Based on the sleeve the SIL had started, I was guessing this was the color plan she'd had:

The middle ball and next ball to its right have a bit of Olive green in them (a great color on her). While I do like those two balls of yarn, I like them more for... socks. And I must confess with a mildly heavy sigh - the other 3 balls of yarn contain a distinct amount of Pink. {sigh}
I generally abstain from pink stuff so there is more available for everyone else. {That's my story and I'm...} Actually, as previously confessed, I have an aversion to the color pink.

I decided to stray from her original plan, discussed it with some friends {one who is particularly known for her amazing color-sense} and I'm planning to knit the TofuTee with this color progression:

There is still some pink involved, but the progression to the red/grey and then teal/grey to the enticing ball of rainbow yarn {which still contains pink} should make this a Tee I'll wear without grimacing.

I researched the Ravelry project notes of the people that had knit this before me and there was a nice range of helpful comments and pattern alterations to consider. {My thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences on Ravelry!}

I swatched {I know, but I keep hoping}, achieved gauge on the first needle-try {bizarre}, and I even virtuously washed my swatch to see what would happen. The yarn (Superwash Wool, Soysilk, Cotton, & Chitin) behaved very nicely and did not shrink or turn all pink.

It'll be bright, that's for sure. But the pink isn't bugging me too much and there will be a bit more yellow in the Tee since I swatched without doing a section of yellow by itself. Since the swatch, I've decided to include that section.

After all this quick-get-ready considering, researching, and swatching, I sat down and cast on my Tofu Tee on .......... October 17th! {grin} Speedy, aren't I?
And then...I ripped it out last night, having decided to include the yellow section mentioned above.
{wry grin}
Odds are I won't finish the Tee in October, but I'm still hopeful that I might be able to knit it in 30 days.
{No, we're not going to discuss the Hitchiker scarf I cast on in early October for the Knitmore Girls Behm-a-long and the hats I'm also knitting for Halos of Hope. Yet} ;-)
Wish me luck!

The Hitchiker - about a week old

WWKIP and a Gift of Craft from Bookmans

The WWKIP Event days span June 8 through June 16th.
WWKIP = World Wide Knit in Public {which, as I have previously noted, is my standard MO}.
So here's some evidence of Tucsonians honoring WWKIP this week. The Tucson Handweaver's and Spinner's Guild Knitting Study group met at a restaurant this last weekend.

And we knit in public. {grin} 

And a very talented group of knitters/crocheters they are!
{Ladies, if I mis-describe or over-describe your efforts, please let me know and I will make any requested changes!}

 My knitting is in the foreground - I'm swatching for a pair of Jaywalker socks in the purple/black/grey variegated Paca Peds sock yarn.
Just above my yarn is a lovely lacy fingerless mitt currently being developed.
At the top of the picture is a nifty two-tone market bag under construction. {I like it! I don't know why it never occurred to me to use two colors.}

 The bag above is being crocheted from brown yarn and....plastic grocery bags! Very cool.

Her response to my request for a picture of her  handiwork
is still making me smile!

The talented knitter above {note the spiffy knit top too!} had just finished the red hat with the perfect amount of yarn left over {about a yard}.

I'm not sure what she started in the blue yarn after finishing the hat, but I remember thinking the yarn was lovely. The sherbet-shaded rainbow of yarn at the bottom of the picture is a baby blanket being knit upon by a brand new member of our group.

More blue yarn was used to start a lace shawl {I missed the opportunity to get a picture, sorry}.
The charming blue knit in the picture above is another baby blanket - I think as a donation gift.


Bookman's
A couple of weeks ago I found some very spiffy knit-related books at Bookman's.
A couple of blogs ago, I confessed that I was newly smitten with a PBS series: "Craft in America".

This week, I had a stray thought {and some Bookman's trade credit burning a hole in my pocket} and I checked to see if Bookman's had any previously owned copies of Craft in America.

I found two (!!) seasons of Craft in America at Bookman's for $10.00 each!
I also found another book for my library ($8.00): "Beaded Bags and More, Second Edition" edited by Jules and Kaethe Kliot.

It is a compendium of pattern books for beaded bags from the 1920s. {Cool!!}

 

I have an interest in this topic because I have previously knit beaded bags:

Yes, I enjoyed knitting with beads on 4-aught needles. 

But here's the very best part.
When I went to check out, I got the book and 2 videos for Free!
As it turns out, twice a day at Bookman's a random customer receives their purchase for free!!
{Thank you!}

I was very tickled to be "random" on Monday. {happy dance}

Tea Bag Wisdom and Random Stuff

My morning tea has been entertaining me....
{As previously blogged, I am easily entertained.}
...with charming and funny sayings on the Good Earth Original Sweet & Spicy tea bag fob.

• The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.
  attributed to Dorothy Parker
• You're never too old to become younger.
  Mae West
• The tribute to learning is teaching.
  Wise saying from the Orient. 

Who??

I'm not surprised that Matt Smith will be leaving Doctor Who. It's been 4 years. {sigh}
It seems like he was about to be the "new" doctor just a little while ago. I was rather skeptical about that new Dr. because I didn't want David Tennant to leave. However, I did become smitten with Mr. Smith. And now Twitter is bursting with speculation and suggestions as to who should be the new Doctor. Will the new Doctor be a Ginger (red hair)? Will it be a woman? We shall see....

New favorite Series:
"Craft in America", a PBS series. It looked intriguing on Netflix so I queued it. However, the first episode I watched struck such a cord that I seem to be saving it "for later", like particularly wonderful chocolate or yarn. {sigh} I suspect heightened interest in this subject coincides with my current educational pursuits and my questioning if I might eventually qualify as an "artist". This series doesn't appear to be available on my local PBS channel and obviously I'm a few years behind so I should stop "saving it" and savor it!

Patrick Stewart - what an amazing Man. 
Via The Blogess' post today - "A Brave Fan Asks Patrick Stewart A Question He Doesn't Usually Get And Is Given A Beautiful Answer." Well done, Sir! My thanks to you.

My own "Training Marriage" unpleasantness was pretty mild compared to what many women experience. I got off lucky {and divorced} and the current DH is truly a "Dear Husband". I am blessed.

Lastly - the Trekkie influence on my blog posts continue:
I am profoundly tickled with the spiffy Trekkie (and Hobbit) humor in this Audi commercial:
{The car's not bad either.} ;-)

Treasure - of the Knitterly Persuasion

I have recently been gifted with some knitterly treasure - books and yarn. {Gleeful happy-dance!}

Books:
Last week I visited a few of our local Bookman's to see if they'd like to take some of my old books and videos for trade credit. Whilst they reviewed the items I'd brought for trade, I .... uh.... well, instead of sitting down to knit, I looked around a bit. I found 3 books that I couldn't resist so my trade credit was reduced some before I left the store.

Confessions of a Knitting Heretic by Annie Modesitt.
Excellent title and filled with all sorts of intriguing bits of history, techniques (knitting with wire!), projects and essays. I also think it will be a good read.

And it's autographed - although technically not to me.

Knitting on Top of the World by Nicky Epstein.
I couldn't resist this book.
Ms. Epstein includes this book in the "High Fashion" section of her website. I would agree. The pieces in this book are such as I would expect to see on a catwalk - clever, Avant-garde, colorful, and a little mind-bending.

{This "hat" is also a baby sweater}

{This tam inspired a capelet.}

Some patterns appealed to me as-is {bet you're not surprised}:

Irresistible!

Why yes - another bag!

There be dragons!!

Another reality of this book would be that my body type would not show off most of these fashions to their best advantage.

But this is so very Clever!!

However, this book did set my mind a'roaming and I kept thinking of alternative approaches to these patterns. Such as the Tam Capelet pictured above...I love the tam across the back but I'd tone down the front - possibly incorporating the front of this cardigan:

I love the cables but I'm not as tickled with the sleeves. 

This strikes me as an excellent base for a cardigan.

More reality...I haven't knit many sweaters. Ok...I've knit 1...and there was that shell knit under supervision in a class. However, I do have 3 others on the needles...?
I do suspect I'm over-reaching my abilities, but it feels like a good stretch. ;-)

Knitting Color - Design Inspiration from Around the World by Brandon Mably
Yep, it's allll about the color. Ok, and some of the shapes. And the color theory, inspiration, and travel stories. {happy sigh}

I'd like to do this in
Black, Grey & Purple.

 

 


Yaaaaarrrrnnn:
I inherited a lovely box of elderly Angora. Soooooo soft.
{Sometimes you Don't just inherit Acrylic when you're the only knitter a person knows!}

 

And apparently it is also somewhat tasty to the critters that left behind sluffed shells and separated strands. {sigh}

 

There's not a lot of it but I was wondering if I could use it in a Fair Isle Yoke. We'll see. It's currently relegated to the Freezer and it might spend sometime out in the sun in a black trash bag in a day or two.

Oh - I got some excellent advice from Donna Druchunas via Twitter! I'd asked her if this yarn was worth using after it had been munched upon and that I was considering trying to use it in a fair isle yoke.
She suggested, after I'm sure it's clean, to re-wind the yarn to make sure it's "not all broken into pieces".
Further she suggested "Bohus" with this link. That is exactly the yoke style I'd been thinking of but Bohus is a new term/technique for me. Thank you!

The last Tucson Handweavers and Spinner's Guild meeting of the year includes a stash sale. I did succumb to these two purchases {LOVE the colors!!}:

A cone of Chenille

Blue is my weakness.

I dropped off/donated more yarn than I purchased so that eases some of the guilt...
Um, but then I was also able to adopt some other yarn from a donated stash at another Guild meeting so I think I actually enhanced more than I de-stashed.

A cone of cotton and a cone of pretty blue stuff
(we suspect it's acrylic). Possible weaving option?

Left - You are correct, I didn't read the label and thought it was all cotton. {"Duh"... it's Red Heart.}
Right - The primary colors called to me. We shall see what becomes of the primary colors!

 

Lastly - I was shocked no one had picked up this wee package. So either this isn't what I think it is or the natural stuff was hidden by the bushels of acrylic.
I'm inclined to think it's treasure.

Graceful finger art (Not by me)

I recently became smitten with the art of Judith Ann Braun.
I became intrigued when I saw a picture of part of a wall she'd done in an Artist Daily blogpost: "The Art of Your Fingertips".

Some further exploration lead me to Judith Ann Braun's website and I went from intrigued to smitten.

Smitten with her version of a "Pride and Prejudice" T-shirt (scroll down when you get to the web page {I'm also fond of the "in training" shirt}). ;-)
Ms. Braun said "Edirp and Ecidujerp" is Pride and Prejudice spelled backwards, something the honorable Jane Austen was fond of doing in personal letters!"

Smitten with her Text Art - this one in particular:
"Oh May I" (far left text when you get to the web page.)

{No, I personally don't aspire to draw on the level of Jane Austin's writing, but I love that Judith Ann Braun (a real artist/person who can draw) would have this thought!}

And I am quite smitten with her Charcoal finger art.
She has had installations in the Indianapolis Museum of Art ("Without Pleasure All We'd Have is a Bunch of Stuff Vibrating") and in the Chrysler Museum of Art ("Diamond Dust", 2012).

This video shows her creating part of "Diamond Dust" in the Chrysler Museum of Art:
"Without Pleasure"

Another "Diamond Dust" video from the artist.
{Love the fluttering grace of her fingers. I am boggled at how her brain works that she can create on this scale with deft, slight finger movements. Wondrous and excellent!}

I spent a bit of time exploring her website and videos. Pretty cool.
Another favorite: "My Five Minute Life".
(I can't get this video to embed, so you might want to take 5 minutes and go be charmed by Ms. Braun).

I thank her for her clever art, for sharing herself with us, and I wish her good health and continued creativity.

Shopping Vicariously on Dec.28th - Wood and Clay

So, are you reading further because you wanted to see what I meant in the Post Title by "Wood and Clay"? Perhaps you've already guessed.

Today's Vicarious Shopping options are two of my favorites.

Wood - refers to the amazing wooden treasures created by Ken Ledbetter of KCL Woods.
One of the most-visited posts in this blog is the one documenting my first "Tucson Handweaver's and Spinner's Guild Fashion Show". And I'm pretty sure a great many folks go to that blog post specifically to see the pictures of the lovely Yarn Bowl I got from Mr. Ledbetter at the Fashion Show Market.
I also have to say - even though I don't spin - his Modular drop spindles were particularly intriguing. They came with extra shafts so when you filled up one, you didn't have to stop spinning and wind the yarn elsewhere - you just switch out the shaft and continue. Pretty nifty, I thought!
Ohhh - he has Weaving Shuttles. {sigh} Another item for my wish-list.

Clay - Well, of course it's Jennie the Potter!
I specifically visited her booth during the 2009 Sock Summit to purchase one of her lovely mugs (and I was successful). I was less successful at the 2011 Sock Summit - the word was out and the commemorative SS11 mugs had sold out quickly. I have recently seen her donate a lovely bowl to the help "Rebuild Judith's Studio" auction and she created special mug and yarn bowl designs for the Knitty 10th Anniversary.

Jennie the Potter on Etsy. (Don't be taken aback by the current available stock - I understand she will create items "made to order". Peruse the already sold items to get a better scope of what she creates.)

Hope your week is going well!

JS Perry - Clever Cat Art - Dec. 4 Shopping Vicariously

I love this gent's art.
I have a very little bit of it and I always love to see what else he comes up with.

Jamie S. Perry. "A Gallery of Distinctive Cat Art Guaranteed to Make You Smile!"

Some of his prints are now available on T-shirts and Tote bags.

I'm not sure what the rules are of copying an image to paste here for show-n-tell (I suspect it's inappropriate) so follow the links and find whimsical cat art to smile over.


Garlicats.
Asparacats.
Home for the Holidays - Cats in winter hats.
One of my favorites: Generations - Cat Family

Blessings Be and a Lovely Holiday Season to you!

Decorating for Halloween!

About Decorating for Halloween....I generally don't.

I've got friends that go whole-hog when decorating for Halloween. And I'll cheer them on, help them find decorating stuff, and proudly describe their accomplishments. 

Me - not so much with the Halloween decorating. 

I don't throw a party or anything and it's just more stuff for the cats to uh, "rearrange". 

I do carve some interesting pumpkins for Halloween. But I didn't this year and I'm not finding electronic pictures of my past carvings. 

(I'll sit down and figure out the scanner feature in the aging printer soon, really). 

Ok, I have been known decorate my desk at the office. 

Just so I could have these pretties out to admire (and hug) at least once a year: 

{The soft Beanie Baby Black Cat with the wicked orange eyes on the
far left is probably my favorite of this group.)

Most of the above (and several from the next group below) were gifts from my best-est friend-of-most-years, Joyce.

I did purchase the tall, 2nd-from-the-left Kitty in the Ghost dress and "Mary-Janes" is from an extremely talented crafting friend whose ability and imagination never cease to amaze me. 

The black cat draped over the bench handle on the left side is actually a scarf - that I plan to wear tonight to greet Trick or Treaters. 

As you've probably guessed, the Door Handle decoration won't be hung on any doors in my home where the monster-cats can reach it. {shudder}

An extremely gifted needlepointing friend made this treasure for me years ago. 

{The nifty fabric on the back!}

She chooses amazing, creative stitches and selects very specific fibers and colours that add texture and depth to her needlepoint pieces. 

{Did you notice the ceramic "Candy Corn" ears?}

Hmmm - it would appear I actually did do some 
"Decorating for Halloween" this year. 
I decorated the blog!

May you all have a safe and fun Halloween with 
many smiles and just the right amount of 
chocolate, excitement, and friends.