Grandma

My grandmother passed away on Saturday. She was having throat problems for a couple of years now, but two weeks ago she had another bad episode and went into the emergency room. She died two days after being moved to another hospital.

I wasn't able to finish her sweater in time.

If anyone would like to take over the knitting, I would be happy to give it to you. The night of her death I took the needles off the project, and placed it all in a bag. I know that if I try to work on it I'll just be reminded with every stitch how I'll never see her again.

It's nice yarn, it would be a shame for it to go to waste.

Fiber Arts show starts tomorrow

Framed Fibers: A Study in Abstraction
January 13 through January 21
Opening Reception: Saturday, January 13, 7 pm – 10 pm


Framed Fibers features works by local artists that incorporate the
fiber arts -- felting, weaving, knitting, etc, -- with an emphasis on
color and texture.

Featured artists include Regina Vorgang, Cameron Taylor-Brown, Sadonya
Antebi, Drewcilla Annese, Amy Bouse, and Karen Lockert.

And while you're in the area, check out some of the other galleries
open during Second Saturday: http://www.nelaart.org/

NELAart is also having a fundraiser tonight from 7-10 at MorYork
Gallery. Tickets are available at our shop, participating galleries,
or at the door.

Dyed sweater

Here's my grandmother's sweater so far.

It's a cardigan, really. I'm planning on making the top of it a yoke (adding the sleeves to the body and knitting the rest in one piece). And no, I'm not gonna do a fairisle yoke, the variation of the skeins will probably be exciting enough. And yes, I do realize now that I have a light stripe. I tried switching between skeins for much of the sweater, but evidently I got bored. I'm wondering if I could a little dye directly on parts of that stripe, then microwaving it, a la kool aid style.

Dye Job

My first attempt at non-koolaid dyeing (I'll try and get a pic of the pink bunny slippers). The hope is that I'll dye and knit a sweater for my grandmother's birthday, January 14th.

I like the sound of deadlines as they woosh past.

new yarn

We have a new yarn - recycled silk. oooh. It's even nice sideways.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays everyone!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend full of happiness and an enjoyable time with family and friends.

I've been tagged

RULES: "Each player of this game starts with the "6 weird things about you." People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says "you are tagged" in their comments and tell them to read your blog."

1.) I once owned a snake.

2.) I get little bumps on my fingers when I get cold.

3.) I think the special google logos are cute.

4.) I can't spel.

5.) I own Ricky Martin's Vuelve.

6.) I own Jingle Cats. It was a gift, really.

What have I done to you Anonyknitsto deserve this? And yes, I do realize the irony in my annoyance with memes doesn't stop me from playing or spreading around the holiday cheer to you and you and you and you and you and you.

Kool Aid Dye!

I'm making my little sister bunny slippers from Happy Hooker. I've decided to make it in white, then cool aid dye it pink.

Here's my first cool aid dye experiment, using Cherry flavor, though I think I'm going to use pink lemonade on the actual slippers.



We didn't have white vinegar at home, so I used apple cider vinegar.

I soaked the swatch in water first.

Then I mixed the vinegar and kool aid in a glass, put in the swatch, then microwaved it.

Suddenly the mixture boiled over, and I had to leave the room because of the smell.

I've since read that kool aid is already acidic, and vinegar isn't necessary. oh well

Stripe hat

My latest project.

It's for me. True, I do have Christmas presents and preemie hats and sweaters left to do, but I had a hat vision and had to make it.

I used 5 bobbins for the stripes, so there was much wrapping and tangling involved, but it fun.

Stitches hats

Our charity event was a lot of fun. Hats were made, eggnog was consumed.

Here are some of the hats donated:

Money for knit stocking

During the past week we had 2 requests for hand-knit items.

Let me know (thea.yarnstore at gmail.com) if you're interested, and I'll pass on your info.

1) knit stocking. red and green stripes.

2) I just had a baby and am looking for folks that are interested in knitting or crocheting baby items for me. I have the patterns. I would like hats, and stockings. Something of a fairly good quality (although it doesn’t hv to be cashmere of course!) but something that will last for years to come and can be passed on to his own children someday.
There are also so many items that I want hand-knitted for him. I hv saved many pics of items that I like, especially knit dolls. Sock monkey style!?

shawl pic

What's next

I finished the shawl! yay. It's too dark to take an adequate picture right now, but I should be able to take one by Wed.

Next on my list is a drop stitch scarf with ribbon yarn. We sold the previous store sample, so I'm making another one.

After that I'll finally be able to work on my growing list of presents and gifts.

I'm also going to try and make before Friday night a hat for Knitzilla. Why Friday - a representative from the group will be at the store on Saturday for our charity knitting day. I'm thinking of a black hat with red diagonal stripes. We'll see.

The Christmas presents I'll need to make are a mobius head shawl, possibly with the outback mohair and Noah's pirate socks (half done), and a slew of bookmarks to stick in a few Christmas cards. Jessamy wants bed socks, slippers, and a hat, but she's going to be in SF for Christmas, and last year we just had late Christmas with her.

My sister asked for a sweater. Fortunately her birthday's in mid January, so if I shoot for having it done by Christmas, it should be able to finish it by mid January.

Charity Knitalong

Hi all.

The holidays are a season for giving, so why not use your knit and crochet skills for charity.

Here's the deal:
Everyone who participates in our December knitalong should email me (that@thatyarnstore.com) with your name, blog (if any), and the # of items you pledge to make for charity between Dec. 1st and by Dec. 31st.

Here's what we hope to accomplish with our CHARITY KNITALONG:

100 hats for Stitches from the Heart.
25 preemie sweaters for Stitches from the Heart.
25 hats for Knitzilla.


Participants:
Hilda - 2 preemie hats
Marisa - 3 preemie hats
Terry - 10 preemie hats
Thea - 10 preemie hats, 1 sweater, 3 knitzilla hats

_______________

The special charity knitting button will be available soon. We'll also have a button for those that meet or exceed their pledges.

The charities I'm focusing on are Stitches from the Heart and Knitzilla. But feel free to send your items to other charities.

We have a $25 gift certificate for the most charity items knitted or crocheted (we'll need a picture of your items to share).

Keep checking back for updates. Thanks for getting involved!

If you're in the LA area and would like to knit with others, That Yarn Store will be having a charity knitting event (including reps from Stitches and Knitzilla and a preemie hat knitalong) on Dec. 9th from 11-1.

Check out Bev's Country Cottage for preemie measurements and patterns.

Charity hat done

I just finished the template for my preemie Stitches from the Heart hats.

I used DK weight yarn, and size 5 DP needles.
Here's the pattern - CO 50, work in k1, p1 rib for 4 rows. Work 8 rows in stockinette.

Decrease as follows:
Row 1: *k5, k2tog*, repeat from *, ending with k1.
Row 2: *k4, k2 tog*, repeat from *, ending with k1.
Row 3: *k3, k2 tog*, repeat from *, ending with k1.
Row 4 and all subsequent rows: *k2, k2 tog*, repeat from *, ending with k1.
Stop decreasing when you have 9 stitches left. Cut end, bring end through the 9 stitches, weave in ends.

Look we're famous!

In case you missed it, That Yarn Store had a whole two paragraphs in a semi recent LA Times article about Eagle Rock.

Here's some excerpts from recent press and ones from the past.

Side note: the kid on the front page of that article looks just like one of my identical twin cousins - coincidence, probably, but please don't ask me which twin it looks like.


LA Times, Calendar Section, Nov. 16th
[...]
Late on a Wednesday morning, David Orozco is sitting on a floral couch knitting a baby blanket. Barefoot and bearded, he isn't the sort of owner you'd imagine for a yarn shop, but this isn't your average knitting store. In addition to offering classes and selling yarns made from bamboo, hemp and yak hair, the store is a community gathering spot of sorts. Set up like a living room, with a couple of well-worn couches and rocking chairs, this strip-mall outpost regularly hosts special events, including a monthly Spin a Good Yarn Night (where knitters share stories while working their needles), yarn swaps and Spanish conversation nights.

The concept is "a place where people could come and hang out and talk and have it be supported by a business," said Orozco, 55, who runs the shop with his wife and two of his six children. He chose Eagle Rock because the retail space is fairly inexpensive and "the cultural mix of the community is such that there's all kinds of people here and all kinds of economics."


LA Weekly
November 15th
LA Vida-Knitting Factories
Where to stitch ’n’ bitch in L.A. [...]

That Yarn Store

This place is more than a knit shop: It’s an art gallery, a literary salon, even a language-immersion center. On Spin a Good Yarn night, patrons read poetry, passages from novels, or just a good joke; Friday Night Fun might mean a movie or live music underscored by the soothing click-click of knitting needles; on Spanish Conversation nights, knitters are invited to habla español. Owners David Orozco and Sarah Todd, along with their brood of eccentric kids (ask them about Borneo), are constantly thinking of new activities to keep knitters from feeling lonesome. Their upcoming Yarn Swap and Thanksgiving Leftovers night (November 24) is a clever way to use up uneaten stuffing and old balls of leftover yarn. There are weekly classes for beginners, a Men’s Only night and — just in time for holiday generosity — a Quick Gifts class (Saturday, December 9). That Yarn Store, 1578 #4 W. Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock, (323) 256-YARN or http://thatyarnstore.com.

LA City Beat - 7 days
9/14/06
HUMAN TOUCH
Most objects and adornments feel better in your hands if you sense the hands that made them. All day today through Sunday, see handcrafted fine art and objects, including creations by more than 45 jewelers working in a wide range of materials, at the 1st Annual Santa Monica Arts Festival (Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 1855 Main St.; $7.50, $6.50 seniors, free for kids under 12; Americanartsfestival.com). Hourly demonstrations throughout the weekend include ceramics, water color, and weaving. But if it’s fiber that really gets you going, hit That Yarn Store in Eagle Rock, where this evening they’re holding a “Singles Night” so people of both sexes, any sexual orientation, and all knitting skill levels, can needle each other in search of true love (1578 W. Colorado Blvd., 323-256-9276; 6 p.m.-9 p.m.; free; Thatyarnstore.com).

LA City Beat - 7 days
5/18/06

THREAD BARING

Got a yarn to tell? Don’t know yarns that well? Satisfy both needs tonight at That Yarn Store in Eagle Rock. The family-owned, “community-oriented gathering place” is hosting its second “Spin a Good Yarn Night,” featuring poetry, jokes, improv, and other kinds of ways to tell a story while your hands are busy making mittens, or scarves, or a sexy ’70s crochet bikini. Bring your needles, or your active storytelling or listening skills, and see what “purls” your pals will come up with. Say, isn’t that James Frey in the corner? 7 p.m. Free. 1578 W. Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock, (323) 256-9276. Thatyarnstore.com.

Begone with you

Got an email a few days ago about a call for unfinished knitting projects, to be used as set pieces for a play.

So I dug up my first attempt at a scarf.







Yes, it does have a cable down the middle. But, it also has crossed stitches, new yarn joined in the middle of a row, and I thought two skeins would be enough for a scarf.

I briefly considered keeping it for sentimental reasons, but seeing as I don't actually remember knitting it, that excuse wouldn't work. Plus, I'm genetically predisposed to hord crap, and although I'm doing pretty good at the moment in terms of stuffage, this scarf just might be the gateway garment. Next thing you know, I'm 70 years old and still holding on to my gauge swatches afghan squares.

If anyone wants to share postage, bring your knitting to the store, affixed with all the necessary info.

________________

Dear Knitters,

Got an old knitting project that you don’t plan to
ever finish?
Half done socks?
Five inches of a scarf?
Now they can be part of a touring theater piece!

Help performer Kristina Wong demystify the
knitting circle and unravel the deep psyche of the
master crafter in her new solo show “Wong Flew Over
the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Your donations of unfinished
knitting pieces from around the world will be included
as part of the set for a live serio-comic exploration
of maintaining sanity in times that seem almost
fictitious.

All contributors will receive “set construction”
program credit for the life of the show. (Please
forward this notice to all the knitters you know)

Your friends in crafting,
The Cuckoo’s Nest

WHY UNFINISHED KNITTING?
“Wong Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” originally
set out to explore the sky-high rates of mental
illness and suicide among Asian Pacific Islander
Women. Asian Pacific Islander American women have the
highest rates of suicide in the country in a statistic
that seems to be widely unpublicized and often
disregarded. The unfinished knitting collected
represent incomplete intentions, women’s work,“spinning a yarn,” and loneliness. During the show,
Kristina uses the knitting pieces to represent
“unravelling” women and even unravels some of the
pieces during the show. These knit pieces may also be
displayed as part of an art installation later in the
run.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING:
Please include the skein of yarn (if there is one)
attached to your unfinished knitting. Include the
knitting needle it’s sitting on, or if you want to
keep you needles, pull some waste yarn through the
loops so that your piece doesn’t unravel in the mail.

On a sheet of paper please include the following
information. This information is all optional as it
may be displayed as part of a public installation of
this work.

Name (or alias)
Gender
Age
Ethnic identification
Where do you live/ Where are you from?
What was the original intention when you cast on
this piece?
What reasons do you have for not finishing it?
Any information about this piece that is pertinent
to its history or to your history.
If you are interested in knowing where “Wong Flew
Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is touring to, please include
your email address.

Note: Your name and hometown must be included if
you want to be credited for “set construction.”


DO SEND:
Unfinished knitting, all different shapes and
colors that can be unraveled if pulled at the string.
This could be the sleeve of a sweater you never
finished, the first scarf you started, or any other
piece of knitting that for some reason or another you
have not managed to finish nor do you anticipate will
represent incomplete intentions, women’s work,
“spinning a yarn,” and loneliness. During the show,
Kristina uses the knitting pieces to represent
“unravelling” women and even unravels some of the
pieces during the show. These knit pieces may also be
displayed as part of an art installation later in the
run.


YOUR KNITTING WILL NOT BE RETURNED!
At the end of the run of “Wong Flew Over the
Cuckoo’s Nest,” the remaining pieces will be stitched
together to create blankets for charity. Any attached
skeins of yarn will be cut and also given to charity.

TIMELINE:
* Knitting received by December 1, 2006 will
appear in the Berkeley premiere of WFOTCN on December
9 and the run at MACLA in San Jose December 15-16.
* Knitting received by March 15, 2006 will appear
in the East Coast premiere of WFOTCN March 23-24 at
the Painted Bride in Philadelphia, PA.
* Knitting may also appear in other national
performances of this show.

MAIL YOUR KNITTING TO:
KRISTINA WONG
WONG FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST
PO BOX 251664
LOS ANGELES, CA 90025 USA

Please do not send anything COD.

QUESTIONS/ PRESS INQUIRIES?
Http://www.kristinawong.com
k@kristinasherylwong.com

Felted Sachet

I needed a break from the never ending shawl yesterday, so I made this 3 hour felted sachet. I'm thinking I'll use it for a felting class.


December 9th is our charity knitting event.

I'll be posting in the next few days about how you can help and take part in our charity knitalong.

Pictures!

Hey, here are some pics from the last couple of events.

Live Music tonight!

Music Night
Featuring Lorin Hart and a special musical guest.

November 17, 7 pm

"Lorin Hart is like Buddy Holly's girlfriend, a downtown cowgirl, and her songs sound like the fairgrounds" --Tom Waits

Join us for a wonderful evening of music and heart.

home.earthlink.net/~lorinhart