July 02, 2008

LA, New Art and Addiction

For those of you that are worried about the use of the word addiction in my blog title, I'll have you rest assured that it is only my addiction to Noro yarn that we are concerned about here. It's not life threatening (unless I hole up for the rest of my life, knitting, in a small dark cave foregoing proper nutrition and life's basic necessities for the thrill of 'just one more row'). I just can't get over the gorgeousness of this yarn.

Here is a pair of socks I am knitting using very tiny Noro Kureyon sock yarn (color: S95, 70% wool and 30% nylon). It is kinda expensive and the wool is not really that soft per se, but it's the colors that drive me nuts and they way they gradually transition into each other.

I seem to be stuck on that bright yellow-y green at the moment and that vibrant hot pink is just so yummy. The yarn I made my felted tote out of had similar colors and I just finished another hat in Malabrigo worsted yarn in 'Apple Green.' (I'll post that hat soon, but it's not quite done yet). I need to branch out on the color wheel a little.

This is the thinnest yarn I have ever tried. I love the effect. The top of the socks are a basic 3 x 2 rib with the slight 'twist' of using a subtle cable on every fourth row. These are going to be my socks -- my little treat to myself -- as I have been gifting a lot of my knitting lately.

By the way, fellow knitters, Malabrigo kettle-dyed merino wool yarn is amazing. It is made in a small factory in Uruguay, where each batch is hand dyed. The yarn is so amazingly soft, like baby chickens or maybe the inner area of a kitten's front leg, right above the paw.

I visited the Malabrigo website only to find that they had a fire which destroyed most of their stock (but not the factory thank goodness). They are recovering and have started production again. I have called three out of four yarn stores in the area and none of them have it. I got mine in Arizona when I was visiting there. So if you can get your hands on any, grab it!


Fun in L.A.

I spent the weekend with a high school friend of mine, Bob up in Echo Park where he has lived for years in a cute little apartment. Bob and I hadn't seen each other since high school, but around the holidays last year, he and his family traveled to New Zealand and we were able to meet up there and have a reunion. So now that I am so conveniently close in Orange County, it was great to be able to get together again.

We saw Werner Herzog's new film, "Encounters at the End of the World" that has now premiered in small art house theaters around Southern California. I had seen it before, in the galley at McMurdo Station last December. The fun thing about this film is I know most of the people in it. It's the first Antarctic film I've seen which really addresses the people and personalities of those that travel to the ice continent.

Bob and I also visited Griffith Observatory on Sunday. It just went through a 9.3 million dollar renovation which required lifting the entire building 6 inches on hydraulic jacks. Pretty amazing. They added a whole new area underground.

Apparently this whole front grassy area was excavated to get underneath the building, but now it looks as if nothing ever happened.


Here we are with a very heavy meteorite, down in the new underground section of the observatory.


A newly restored ceiling fresco in the observatory depicting the signs of the zodiac.



de la Torre Brothers -- amazing glass artists

This fantastic glass and found object artwork is hanging on the wall in Bob's apartment. It was created by his brother-in-law's two younger brothers, Jamex and Einar. Their website is very interesting if you get the chance to take a look.




The circular thing in the middle is a painted bicycle tire. Click on the images to get a closer look.

Finally, just had to share this photo of my Mom's cat Patchouli...or Choolie...or Choobacca...or Choozilla... finding a very deep interest in a rather large moth on the screen door.

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