15 April 09
Gansey Physics
One of my fellow Ravelers has spent a tremendous amount of time and effort investigating the history of knitting, in particular the knits used by fishermen in the past. In the days before microfiber, wearing something that would prevent hypothermia while at sea was literally a matter of life and death. A store-bought gansey that was not in the least bit wind-resistant launched Aaron Lewis into the quest for how they REALLY did it.
Aaron has a large number of excellent posts but the current one is a great place to start. I am wearied in advance by his stitch-count-per-inch but recognize its wisdom. Added, then, to the blogroll, and at some point in my life I will learn exactly how to use a knitting sheath. (I get the concept, but not the mechanics quite yet, though the sight of those beautifully turned wooden objects that actually have a function has me reeling…)
12 April 09
You Know You've Been Standing In One Place Too Long
…when a squirrel runs up your leg. This happened during yesterday’s outing: I was finishing up this sketch of an azalea in front of the State Capitol at the time.
11 April 09
A Birthday Sketchcrawl
Today was the 22nd Worldwide Sketchcrawl; it was also Numenius’ birthday. We arrived at the Capitol in Sacramento at 10:30 and were asked more than once whether we (two of us) were the anti-bank bailout demonstration. Well, we were, I suppose, subverting the dominant paradigm, that of digital cameras. Raise your right fist full of pens, people.
We went for a quick hot chocolate to the Temple Cafe (open 365 days a year, equal opportunity to all religions) and moved on to the library, where we spent a pleasant hour or so browsing and sketching. On to Art Ellis for some watercolors, rice paper and bookcloth (N took a quick detour to the electronics store), and we ended up at the Crocker Art Museum for a look at the Buddhas exhibition which was excellent and is now in its final week (it ended up being, for me, a crash course in the history of Buddhism, well worth it for that reason alone, but some of the pieces were stunning; I particularly loved the calligraphed palm leaves).
Home, and Thai Nakorn for dinner followed by yoghurt at Cultivé. What a day. A purple day: I used a purple Micron for my sketches for the first time, and azaleas were in profusion…
A post-script: Jobs we’d hate to have #747: the graveyard shift at the bail bond office.
11 April 09
Davis Joins Cooperstown
The city of Davis has just been selected to be the new home of the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame. This hall had been located in Somerville, New Jersey but was forced to relocate due to a redevelopment project. More than 25 communities submitted proposals to be the new home, and the choice eventually came down to between Greensboro, North Carolina and Davis. According to the chair of the selection committee, Bill Brunner, “The distinguishing difference between Greensboro and Davis was that Davis was so bicycling friendly…all those bike lanes and the sheer number of people who use the bicycle as a method of transportation or recreation or sport.” Nobody knows where in town the hall will be permanently located but the city would like to see the hall and museum open in a temporary location in the next six months.
10 April 09
What to Do
The Archdruid Report Offers some very sage advice about what to do in the coming post-industrial future.
Typing is something of a chore so I will give you the punchline: Learn a thing. Give up a thing. Save a thing. Worth a read.
8 April 09
Cat Bite Tuesday
I returned home this evening after waiting out a rain shower to find Pica having a cat bite party with our neighbor Leila. This tale begins with Leila’s housemate Mary befriending a feral cat around here that she’s named Sophia. A couple weeks ago, with Pica’s assistance Mary tried to take Sophia to the vet to get spayed. The cat however bolted when she was almost in the carrier, and early this morning was the time for a second attempt. About 15 minutes after going across the street to help out this morning, Pica returns holding her hand in a paper towel, saying she needs to go to the hospital, and oh, Leila got bit too. The exact sequence of the events cannot be recalled by Pica, Leila, or Mary.
Anyway, Leila came over for a dinner of dal and to exchange war stories and tales of antibiotics (two separate courses for Pica; a big shot and one course for Leila). Mary comes by later and enjoys some dal. All parties are joking about the incident now, except for the poor cat, who is now under quarantine at the vet’s.
5 April 09
Spring
This weekend, I
a) listened to the last exhibition game of spring training. The Giants beat the Dodgers.
b) finished my first sweater in over 30 years. (Also my first top-down sweater ever, my first seamless sweater ever, my first i-cord bindoff ever. Photo soon added.)
c) led a bird walk in Cold Canyon whose focus was birdsong. We heard mostly orange-crowned warblers and wrentits, but on the way down the path heard then saw two gorgeous black-throated gray warblers.
d) met a bunch of Jacobs sheep and their lambs up close and personal.
e) bought a bit of Jacobs roving and a spindle.
f) planted six Japanese cucumber plants, a gift from the landlady. It’s too early to plant cukes, but six is too many, so if some don’t make it, oh well.
g) failed to clean the house.
h) failed to make a start on taxes. Numenius says he is.
i) am currently listening to the first real baseball game of the season. Atlanta is beating the Phillies, 4-0.
j) have somehow managed to get a bit of sunburned cheeks. It was a gorgeous weekend, much of it spent outside despite all the knitting.
2 April 09
Knitting Assistant
Charlie makes the best of finding an interloper in his chair and proceeds to supervise the knitting.
31 March 09
Bolting
The cabbages, turnips, arugula, and all other crucifers in the garden are blooming, turning bitter as you watch. I picked the last two cauliflowers and most of the turnips.
It’s too early to plant summer veggies but not by much, and I have a lot to do before then. Trouble is, a nice big fat shipment of yarn came in, and the birds are on their way too.
And I’ve started making my Depression Sketchbook. It’s not very depressing, though…
27 March 09
Shops Out Of Time
We went to Berkeley today for a family gathering and early birthday dinner and unexpectedly had a bit of time in the afternoon for some shop-wandering, ending up at two stores that though their contents couldn’t be more different, both seemed like reliquaries rather out of time. The first place was the Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles. The friendly folks at the Albany yarn store k2tog directed Pica to go to Lacis to find some fine mercerized thread for lace knitting. This storefront and museum, which has been around since 1965, has a fantastic collection of materials, tools, and resources for textile crafts. But not Joann’s Fabrics sorts of crafts. Rather, these are for crafts that are arcane enough that we were both gobsmacked that anybody still practices these. There were the fifty-seven different sorts of tatting shuttles. The doll’s heads for making interesting tassel forms. The horn thimbles. The Battenberg lace kits. And a full range of corset-making supplies, including both plastic and metal stays; the place offers workshops as well and a DVD on corset-making. Pica found her thread, but the true prize was a specially-made wrist yarn holder, good I think for knitting socks while going hiking.
The second store was Al Lasher’s Electronics on University Avenue which has been in Berkeley since 1960 but I don’t think I’ve ever set foot in there before. Electronics components stores are very thin on the ground nowadays, the professional market for these long having given way to mail-order and now online places like Digikey and Mouser. Nevertheless, Al Lasher’s has somehow hung on, and judging from the numbers of customers passing through, still seems to be doing okay. One woman came in there for wiring supplies to resurrect a turntable she found on Craig’s List, the previous owner having been a photographer who didn’t actually play it but rather used it for a backdrop to a photo shoot. Some of the components I think have been in the store since the 1960s, or as they say on their web page, “we tend not to throw things away.” I particularly liked the two tube-testing machines up near one of the front windows (remember those, commonly found in supermarkets and hardware stores in the 1970s). A sign over these said these testers don’t really tell you that much, other than if the tube is shorted out or not, but all the tubes we sell at this store are good. I didn’t buy anything today, but the store has now been added to my places to shop in Berkeley list.
Today, by the way, is the sixth anniversary of Feathers of Hope!