Tuff Granny Throw

I've been doing a bit more crochet recently, than I ever have in the past. There was a free pattern on Knitpicks.com that I had seen some time ago, using the large Tuff Puff yarn that they sell, which is basically barely spun roving.
The throw worked up extremely quick and the pattern was ridiculously easy. (Pardon the light streaming across the photo above, that's my only large enough, decently lit space, to photo completed work and the sun wasn't having it)

Just know, that if you ever come visit, this throw will most likely be on the bed you're staying in. Decorative greeting piece and all. It's not a full size blanket, but a decent lap/leg warmer, for sure.

SHOES!!!!

I know, I'm all over the place! Knitting, crochet, drawing, painting...what is going on?

My sister-in-law had me hand draw Disney quotes on a pair of shoes for her at Christmas, so when she went to Disney World a few weeks ago she could wear them. She liked them so much she asked me to paint a pair of shoes for her for Daytona's Bike Week which is coming up.

She asked for a particular kind of sugar skull and some phoenix's that are apparently a "thing" with the Harley Davidson crowd.

The sugar skulls turned out fairly well...had a bit of trouble with the fabric paint I was using, but I think they look ok.

The phoenix's were a lot of fun to paint, I didn't have a clear idea of how they would turn out, but I'm fairly pleased with them.

Hopefully they won't get too scuffed during bike week...

I'm pretty proud of them.

Materials used: 1 pair 7.5 size Bob's in black canvas; Tulip matte fabric paint in White, Orange and Red; One small paint brush and several wooden toothpicks.

More posts to come this weekend, I've finished one of my WIPs!

Day 372 in California

Today marks 372 days that I can say I've lived in California. Let's dive in, shall we?
The scenery is beautiful in California. The people have attitude problems. There is the reality that is Los Angeles, in all it's dirty, grimy, interesting glory; and there is the perceived reality of fame and fortune, that is not necessarily an accurate portrayal of Los Angeles. I think my bigger problem with California is the city of Los Angeles- not with the state itself.

I love San Diego. But I don't live there. I've been told I would love Northern California, but that's a day of driving to get to, so I haven't been yet.

There are definitely days, living in Los Angeles, that I dream of getting in my car and heading directly east as quickly as possible to clear that state line. But those days have grown few and far between. I don't see myself staying in California, let's put it that way. But there is a calmness and a laziness that I feel in this state that hasn't left me screaming to get away. California just feels like a vacationing destination, not a permanent living destination. It's possible to live in California, don't get me wrong; it's just not my cup of tea. I'm not a winter sport enthusiast or a lover of the beach and laying out in the sun. Hell, the ends of my hair have already started to bleach out and I spend next to no time outside. I used to do a Valley-girl impression, that's, sadly, an actual accent here (not necessarily in the Valley, but more toward Malibu).

I don't enjoy how people honk their horns if you start to slow down at a yellow light; or when you don't pull into the intersection on a red light; or if you actually come to a complete stop at any intersection that indicates you should stop. I also don't enjoy the lack of parking lots and instead the absolute need for everyone to know how to parallel park (believe me when I say, if I have to parallel park to go somewhere, I skip it- whatever it was, it wasn't that important).

I do enjoy the fresh produce here. You'd be surprised (anyone who doesn't live in California) how amazing fresh lettuce tastes. I do enjoy that once the sun sets, you need a sweater. I love that people are terrified of rain here, so much so that some people leave their work places early to beat the possible .05" of rain that may or may not fall. I enjoy that there are acts of nature out here that I haven't seen anywhere else I have lived (I don't like the damage that can be caused from them, but it's interesting to see new things)- like the landslide that is currently taking place in Santa Clarita: Read and watch the news about it here. (Side note...Channel 5 news in the early AM, weekdays, actually has a Dallas, TX fan favorite anchor- Megan Henderson- I missed her when she left, but I'm glad I can watch her deliver the news in CA.)

It's a mixed bag of feelings for the most part, but overall I don't see this being my forever home. Sure I'll add it to my vacation destination list (San Diego, not so much LA), but I'm not going to put any roots down here. I'm thankful for the opportunity we've had to be out here, to see it for myself, but I'll be happy when I can return "home".

Wisconsin meet California

A fun thing happened this past week, my friend Jess came to visit!!! Her first time in California; First time on the West Coast; and first time seeing the Pacific Ocean.

She brought alcohol...from Wisconsin...because there's no comparison in any other state. The alcohol from Wisconsin is amazing!

I believe there are a total of 8 wines from 3 different Wisconsin wineries; 2 bottles of brandy; one bottle of apple brandy; one bottle of absinthe and a bottle of horchatta (from 2 different distilleries in Wisconsin). It was like Christmas! A very inebriated Christmas!

Shockingly we only managed to open one of these bottles in the week that she was here...it was the absinthe, which proceeded to burn a hole in my esophagus...I guess 180 proof will do that (Don't worry, there was plenty of other alcohol consumed).

I won't recount in detail everything that we did, but some of the highlights included seeing a real life bum fight in the middle of an entrance ramp to the 101 on the first full day of her visit; TMZ Tour; Wax Museum; Temecula wine country; Pacific Ocean; Malibu; Exploding Kittens (the card game, nothing malicious); drinking and getting to hang out with one of the best friends this gal could ask for. It was a great time.

Some of the wax figures, at Madame Tussauds Hollywood, looked fairly believable while most did not. It was a little disappointing. I'm not sure it was worth the price of admission. But I think we were still in a fairly jolly mood from the TMZ Tour to make up for it. (Seriously, if you are in Hollywood and haven't gone on the TMZ Tour, just go...it's hilarious.)

We each downed a tropical drink while enjoying the Pacific Ocean view from Duke's in Malibu. Very little talking this day, I think we were both just too enamored with the ocean to communicate.

The very last day of her visit involved eating at a Shakey's Pizza for lunch (Wisconsin should not have let these leave the state...SO GOOD!)
It also included one of the best experiences I have had in California. One of my co-workers gave us tickets to the Zac Brown Band on Friday...At the Hollywood Bowl. Doesn't get much more touristy.

While I learned that the people of Los Angeles are all out of their minds (which I already suspected), I also learned that Zac Brown Band puts on a pretty spectacular concert. The fact that they played Bohemian Rhapsody might have been my favorite...that and Chicken Fried (of course).

The only thing that really topped the alcohol from Wisconsin might have been the size of the beers at the venue:
Exhibit A:

That's basically a 32 oz. beer...and no I wasn't drinking a Heinie...Dos Equis....but was it worth $16? I haven't decided.

Anyway, I had a blast, and I hope Jess had an equally good time (We can just forget about the Malibu wineries that sucked and remember the awesome time in Temecula).

(Photo Credit: Jess...the one on the left)

I can't wait for her to come back to visit...or for me to go back to Wisconsin...

Moral of this post...Wisconsin still has the best alcohol. Plan your trip accordingly...
Wollersheim Winery: http://www.wollersheim.com/
Fawn Creek Winery: http://www.fawncreekwinery.com/
Spurgeon Vineyard: http://spurgeonvineyards.com/
Wollersheim Distillery: http://www.wollersheim.com/wineryvisit/distillery
Minhas Distillery: http://minhasdistillery.com/ 

Knitted Pie?

I haven't been posting!!! I know! I'd say it was laziness, but that's not it. 

 

I've been doing some baking...I've made 2 pies in two weeks along with some other sweets. Lemon Meringue is apparently my pie.

 

In other news, I finished that sweater I think I've mentioned a time or two...

It's being blocked here, and shocker, it doesn't fit me. Well, it sort of fits me, but isn't flattering at all, so I won't be wearing it any time soon. Back to knitting socks, I go.

Adult Coloring Books

I am probably posting this well into the recent fad of Adult Coloring Books. But I thought it was worth sharing anyway.

Way back in 1994 my mom purchased the above book, "Roger Burrows Images 3: The Ultimate Coloring Experience". I'm fairly sure she bought it for herself...but some how I have managed to own it for over 20 years now (I'm just going to be in the corner barfing for a moment while I process how old that makes me now...)- There are literally only 5 pages in this book that I have managed to add color to in that time.

A couple of weeks ago, I happened to find it again- in one of the boxes that I was unpacking (yes, still unpacking...it's a slow process over here). So I decided to scan the 6 main patterns that repeat and send them to my parents to see if they remembered the book. While they didn't say anything about remembering it, I could picture my mom's face: Pursed lips, slightly turned up on the corners in an all-knowing grin as she narrowed her eyes in my general direction, saying "So that's where my book went, uh-huh."

Anyway, I actually chuckled to myself when I found it again (...gulp...20 years later...still gagging)- particularly since the Adult Coloring Book phase has sprung up recently. Not to detract from the amazing images in the current incarnations of adult coloring books- but to find out that my mom was ahead of the curve on this fad made me smile to myself (although, was she ahead of the curve? Or is the fad just repeating again?).

I've been doing some coloring since I found the book again...so maybe one day (hopefully not another 20 years from now) all the pages will have color.

To my mom- thank you for letting me "borrow" the book for so long. Nothing like loaning a book to someone who never gives it back, right?

Goings ons...

I've been productive...in a job sense- not so much in an art sense.

As I mentioned a few Friday's ago, in this post, "I need a little mind numbing pain found in the monotony of a desk job, in order to find the pleasure in my creativity". While I'm not to the point that I feel comfortable enough with what I'm doing to let my mind wander for very long, I do have moments through out the day that do get the creative energy going.

I'm just going to put it out there, instead of hiding...I'm working as a temp loan processor at a Brokerage firm. For those that may not know (probably don't care either), I was a loan processor ten years ago, right out of college. The experience wasn't the best and I never would have imagined that I would be doing it again, but the place is good; the people are extremely nice and helpful, and the day goes by so quickly that I feel amazed when five o'clock hits.

The best part about the job is the view...I wish I had a picture to show you. Imagine a view from a second story window that has a one story building in front of it, only a few trees separate the parking lots...Then sprawling from one edge of the window frame to the other (across the entire wall of windows) is the mountains. Occasionally those mountains showcase amazingly puffy white clouds hovering just above the tops and growing enormously throughout the day (They are part of The Angeles National Forest...Mt. Gleason; Mt. Lukens, etc).

That's my view.

At least it has been for the last 2 1/2 weeks.

We'll see if it becomes a permanent gig or not. I'm just enjoying learning how this whole loan processing thing goes again (it's amazing what a brain can retain and forget in ten years). It's definitely getting me prepared for the day that I buy a house...learning what to do and what not to do and what's normally required in order for a loan to fund...all that fun stuff.

Fingers crossed I carve out a little time from reading and sleeping to work on the drawing of my niece, this weekend.

Hope you all have a great weekend!  

More ranting, less art-ing

We've officially spent one whole week in our new place. It's gloriously quiet. I think I might be in love with it.

The week was spent barely unpacking anything. The spare room has so many boxes in it, it's not even funny (but that does mean I get to park my car in the garage!). There's still a bunch of clothes that are packed in suit cases that haven't been unpacked from the move. I entertained a guest briefly on Tuesday; got my car registered in the state of CA on Friday and set up an interview with a temp agency.

That's right, folks-I'm looking for a J.O.B.

Not that I haven't enjoyed my "early retirement" (as my former co-workers called it), but I miss a steady stream of cash flow, and mingling with other people on a regular basis (even if they will end up driving me crazy, eventually). It's really the cash flow...I need to pay down some debt that I have incurred over the last few months, and no offense to the talented artists who have figured it out, but my stuff isn't paying the bills. 

I'll still be knitting and drawing in between "assignments" for the temp agency, but I've just got to get a better schedule going for myself to make this whole CA thing work.

As for the car registration experience here in good-ole CA? Well it wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be. I didn't go to the DMV. There is a DMV Vehicle Registration Experts on Laurel Canyon Blvd. in LA that does registrations, title transfers, etc. They don't do CA driver's licenses, but anything pertaining to your car they do, and they walk you through EVERYTHING, so you get the most bang for your buck. Best customer service experience I've had, anywhere, since I've been in CA. I got my license plates and registrations before I left the building and my car is now California ready...which means I'll probably be getting honked at a whole lot more (why is everyone so up-tight when they drive here? I thought it was supposed to be a relaxing, go with the flow, type of place?). Total time spent at the DMV Vehicle Registration Experts? I got there around 11:45am (after driving around for 15 minutes looking for parking...street parking, don't park at the Post Office), there were two guys ahead of me. Waited about 10 minutes (if that) before I was speaking with John-the registration expert. Since he had to do a VIN inspection on my car it took a whopping 3 minutes extra, but I was out of there before 12:30pm. Even with an appointment at the DMV it would have taken close to an hour and a half to two hours, from what I've heard.

No fun pictures this time, guys...sorry!

The Move

I've been a little busy the last few weeks. Gonzo and I finally moved out of the bad apartment situation and into a house rental a few miles to the north.

It was a painful process, to say the least. For those that don't know, or for the curious- I have degenerative disk disease, which basically means I have arthritis in my spine-which was diagnosed about 6 years ago and it has only gotten worse, pain wise, over time. Am I 75? No I'm 33, I've been having back problems since I was 26. So for me to physically move anything is next to impossible if it weighs more than 10lbs. Well, that's not entirely true. I can move things that weigh more than 10lbs, I just can't bend over to pick them up. So this move involved Gonzo lifting items to place in my hands while I remained in a standing position.

I gained several bruises, and yeah, my back is in some pain- but Gonzo and myself managed to move all our furniture and personal belongings to our new place, in 3 days. Sure, most of our belongings are stored in a garage for the moment, but by the end of this week most of them should be put up in the house.

The important part is we are out of the worst apartment I have ever lived in. Since 2001 I have moved 10 times. There was only one apartment that I lived in that I was in a hurry to move out of, and it was for no other reason than it was section 8 housing and I really wanted to move to a really cute place closer to where I worked. In all of the places I lived in Dallas, TX- I never experienced the kind of crap that went on at the place in Glendale, CA.

I could go into detail, but I already posted a Yelp review with a 1 star rating, because I couldn't leave a zero star review. Just be cautious if you ever want to live in Glendale, CA. Pay attention to all reviews you can find about places or landlords, don't ever think "Oh, it can't be as bad as they say", because, quite frankly, it can be-and it can be worse than what is stated.

The cactus photo at the top of this post is a plant that is at the house we are renting. It's so peaceful and awesome here! Maybe soon, I'll have some cactus drawings or paintings up here. 

Friday!!!!

Friday's aren't nearly as exciting as they used to be. When I was in school it was almost my favorite day of the week (Saturday was truly the best day of the week when in school, let's be honest); then once I started working at a movie theater in Dallas it became the most hilarious and joyful day of the week if I worked a shift...the theater alternated between playing Rocky Horror Picture Show and 3D Porn staring John Holmes. With Rocky Horror, it was fun to see all of the people show up in costume (it was not fun helping to clean up the theater afterwards); and with the 3D Porn it was hilarious to see the many ways people tried to hide their shame when they had to get their 3D glasses from me (also, not fun or hilarious to help clean the theater). Once I joined the desk job task force, Friday's either became the day that nothing was accomplished or the day that we scrambled around like mad, attempting to get everything done before we sprinted to our cars and pretended we didn't hear phones ringing on the way out of the office. Hell, even when I was at Moroch they did a First Friday's drinking afternoon on the first Friday of every month (but those of us in billing usually had to pass on drinking to finish up month end billing).

Friday's when you don't have a job, feel like any other day. Which, to be quite honest, is getting pretty boring. I've always said that if I didn't have a job, I would make use of my time by working on art, or knitting or writing. I have done a little bit of all of that. Probably more knitting than the other two. But for some reason, my creativity seemed to die when the last job ended.

...I kind of feel like my whole life has been a lie. That the "I'll be more creative if I don't have a job or have to go to school" mentality was so far off. I think the sheer boredom of not having to do repetitive bullshit, day in and day out, for some manager who doesn't give a crap that you aren't being able to express yourself the way you want during work hours; the sheer boredom of not being tasked with some of the dumbest shit you have ever seen in your life; the sheer boredom of dealing with people you would rather throat punch than listen to for another second, but fear jail time so you keep your hands to yourself...it's the sheer boredom of not having to deal with the shit end of life that makes me uninterested in being creative.

That sucks.

I need a little mind numbing pain found in the monotony of a desk job, in order to find the pleasure in my creativity? That completely sucks. To realize that at the age of 33, sucks even worse.

Don't get me wrong, if I could find a job working with creative types, that would totally stoke the creative fire that is dying inside me...it's just, in a town like LA...getting your foot in at these places unless you are a complete badass from the get-go is like being Jon Snow and not getting killed at the end of season 5 of Game of Thrones (spoiler alert...heh)-it's just not going to happen.

That's the end of my really long rant on how I used to like Fridays...and then it, some how, spiraled out of control and into the depths of why I don't post more art here. My bad, guys.

Happy Friday? 

New Art

While attempting to learn my surroundings, I came upon an art store in Glendale, CA. It's called Swain's. Hopefully the locals will forgive me if this is a place that is common knowledge. I'm used to the typical Hobby Lobby's, Michael's, Joann's and even the Dick Blick's of the area. So to find a new place that I can shuffle through isles at, was exciting.

Since I've been having a bit of an artists-block recently I treated myself to a new sketchbook. A new Strathmore 5.5 x 8.5 in sketchbook with Toned Gray pages. Hopefully I'll get a lot of use out of it.

Since I went with toned gray pages, I also picked up a set of Woodless Colour Pencils (note the spelling of color...these are manufactured in Czech Republic). Yes I do own a ton of Prisma Color Colored Pencils, however I have developed an allergy to them...not sure if it's the wood or the lead itself, so I tried these. No allergic reaction.

While my creativity is trying to come to the surface I decided to do a zentangle to loosen up. It didn't look right in black and white so I took out the new colored pencils to see what would happen.

Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

I've still got a realistic pencil portrait drawing to work on; I want to work on my digital painting skills some more and I've got plenty of knitting items to work on (I'll probably post progress on my friend Jess's fully blocked Cowl/Shawlette soon).

We're still attempting to locate a different living situation as this apartment has worn through my last nerve, so I'm sure there will be a bit of non-activity here soon...once we get something and start moving. Until then, though, I hope to get off my lazy butt and post more.

Baby's Sweater

I just finished sewing the buttons on this knitted sweater for my niece.  It took me a little longer than I had anticipated, as I vanished to parts unknown for two weeks and only took along socks to knit instead of a nearly completed sweater.

Originally I picked this sweater for the awesome cable that runs along both sides of the front.  I love cables...they take forever (sometimes), but I love knitting them.  The pattern I used was from the book "Baby Basics to knit for new moms"...which, no- I'm not a mom- but I'm not sure my sister-in-law will be picking up knitting needles anytime soon and the pattern was too cute not to make.  

I found the cute little white buttons while I was visiting parts unknown...at a Hobby Lobby...yes, parts unknown have Hobby Lobby's. 

The yarns are ones that I picked up during the Yarn Crawl The pinkish-purple yarn (Stripes on the front and sleeve color) was a yarn that was in the basket I won at The Altered Stitch; the speckled yarn is from Ancient Arts Yarns called Unwind Hello 1 Speckled and is from their Hello Kitty line of yarn colors- that I picked up at Unwind.  I figured my barely over 2 month old niece could use a sweater that has a little Hello Kitty inspiration in it, right?

Since I know how kids are with knits I am anticipating my niece's hatred for me for sending her an itchy sweater to wear...One day she'll understand it was made with love. 

The Price is Right

Spoiler Alert!!!
Let me start off by stating the obvious for those of you that know me: No, my name was not called to play a game or win prizes and money.


But I was in the audience with Gonzo's mom, Dolores, and sister Rena.

They visited us in February and Gonzo's mom wanted to go- honestly who wouldn't?  Well to be honest, leading up to it, I wasn't that interested in going.  It was more of a "I don't have a job and nothing better to do, why not?" kind of moment for me.
But I'm going to tell you why you should want to be on The Price is Right.

If you are in LA, it almost seems like a normal thing that people do.  If not attending an episode of The Price is Right, then it's attending one of the many other shows that shoots on a regular basis in town.  But The Price is Right was almost magical.  I'm so glad I went.  I'm so glad Gonzo's mom got the tickets and invited me to go. 

Yes, I'm sure you've all heard, or read about the cattle call lines that you have to wait in for hours on end, which yes, it's true.  But few people talk about the comradarie that takes place in line.  It's basically 3 1/2 hours of waiting in lines and you begin to pick out people you would like to see get their name called to run up and take a stab at the price of some random prize.

This guy was hilarious when it was interview time and even had a poem for Drew Carey.  I really hoped that he would be called, but he wasn't.  


I did not want my name to be called.  The entire time I was in line, I didn't want my name to be called.  It wasn't until we were in the studio that I then wanted my name to be called.

Here I am cheering in the hopes that maybe just maybe they'll see how eager I was, now that I was in the studio (behind the person with the blue sleeves).

And again, super excited that someone was getting their named called...still not mine. 

The studio is so bright!  If you've seen the show, you have some idea- but in person it's so much brighter.  The stage is much smaller than I thought it would be.  The crowd, much smaller than it looks on TV.  It's all much, much louder in person than on TV.  So loud in fact, you can't really hear the names being called, you have to rely on watching the cue card guy to hold up the card with the name that's being announced.  The cheering from the crowd is so loud that I missed the descriptions of several items that were on the episode so it was hard to know what we were cheering for.

Drew Carey is actually hilarious during commercial breaks.  It was like we were getting a free comedy show while we just happened to be audience members for a TV show.  It was fantastic! He interacts with the audience and genuinely seems like he wants to know everyone.  He's a class act, that Drew!
He actually suggested a restaurant that he frequents, to some people who were there from out of town and we ended up going afterwards and conversing with one of the waiters about Drew and how awesome he is.  He's actually really great at suggesting things to do around town for people who are new to the area, which was fantastic for us.

George Gray, the announcer also interacts with the audience and banters with Drew, both while filming the episode and during commercial breaks.  Just another added bonus.

The taping is so quick- basically done in an hour (just like the show) that you will be sad when it's time to leave.  But you will be excited for who ever won their showcase.

You might even attempt to congratulate their loved ones on the way out.

Side note about this particular episode: The two people in the showcase were named Amber and David.  Gonzo's real first name is David, so it was like some alternate version of ourselves were on the stage.  It was a good inside joke.  

David won his showcase on this Earth Day episode, but I was rooting for Amber.  Amber Stoner was her name and the jokes that were cut out of the broadcast were hilarious.  I was actually pretty disappointed in seeing the episode that aired as it wasn't nearly as comical as the taping had been (another good reason to go to a taping).  

The right Amber was selected for this show.  She was really enthusiastic and properly jumped on Drew Carey several times. 

 

I'm in this shot cheering like a crazy person for Amber Stoner when she guessed the right amount and got to go on stage.

Yes the whole process basically takes the entire day.  The likelihood that you will actually have your name called is slim.  Even if you win something the taxes are so ridiculous you will probably leave empty handed anyway, but to witness the whole thing is so much fun. 

I purchased a shirt while I was waiting in line, before the taping (the store is closed after the taping)- I've worn it several times since then, and each time, when in public, I have at least 2 people ask if I won anything.  That's the funny thing about this town.  They know that if you have a shirt, you must have gone to a taping, it's not just one of those random shirts you can buy at a Wal-Mart.  Now I can actually tell people that I did not win anything...what a relief!

Here's Dolores (dead center with the pink shirt and Navy blue sweater) waving slowly so the camera would get a shot of her when one of the contestants was called. 

Here's Rena, showing the appropriate amount of enthusiasm when nothing exciting was actually happening.  (Her dark hair blends into the guy's shirt behind her)

So, moral of this post- if you're in LA and you have a least a day to do nothing, go online to get tickets to The Price is Right and wait in some lines- meet some fun people you might not normally associate with, and enjoy the taping.  You won't be sorry!              

Angeles National Forest

A few weeks back Gonzo and I had managed to leave our noisy apartment for the solitude of nature. 
And by nature, I really mean "driving thru nature".  Quite frankly that's because of my crazy fear of wildlife in this state.  Mountain Lions and Bears, oh my!

Anyway, that's a totally unrelated topic.  I just wanted to share some of the gorgeous pictures that Gonzo took while we were driving thru the Angeles National Forest.

Can you believe this view is only a few short miles away from LA?  Ok, well this particular view is quite a few miles into the Angeles National Forest...but even as you are driving into the Forest itself there are some pretty spectacular views:

It truly feels as if you are no where close to any sort of city life.  The traffic is minimal, unless it's a Sunday morning and you are driving toward Newcomb's Ranch.  Then it might be a little congested with motorcycles or sports cars doing meet ups, but for the most part you'll probably only see a handful of vehicles.

Make sure you take a jacket as the further up the elevation you go the colder it gets.  I believe on this particular day I was in a skirt and t-shirt...and flip flops (I honestly didn't know where we were going and it was 80 something in LA).  We went all the way up to 7200 feet I believe, and I was pretty chilly as night started to fall.

The views are amazing and there's plenty of turn-outs so you can stop and take photos (but limited cell phone service, so make sure you check your vehicle to make sure it can survive the trip and not leave you stranded).

(no that's not a spaceship, just lens flares)

There's, I believe, 80 or so miles of road to drive down.  There's several ski slopes along the way that you can stop at if they are open.  I think we only went roughly 50 miles in, as we got a late start and the sun was setting before we even made it back to civilization.

But as you head out, particularly at dusk or dark, you can see the sprawling city of LA on your way out and breathe one last sigh of relief at the lack of people surrounding you, before you get back in your car and get caught up in the craziness of it all. 

If you are ever in the LA area and need a break from the traffic, or the people, journey to the Angeles National Forest for a bit, and forget about your worries...unless of course you encounter a mountain lion or a bear...then you should worry. 

Some Knits and some Comedy

Aside from some laziness on my part, I really have no other reason for not posting sooner, so I won't bore you with the details.

This post is going to be a mess of randomness, so be patient.

I've already begun using the yarn that was purchased and won at the L.A. Yarn Crawl.  Gonzo had asked for a hat out of the blue Rowan yarn- and since hats tend to be quick knits for me, I just dove right in.

There's a bit of a point at the top that I will probably go back and alter at some point, but Gonzo didn't seem to mind it, so it might stay.

I'm in the process of knitting a sweater for my niece.  This image is from the book "Baby Basics to knit for new moms" (no I'm not a new mom, but they have some cute items for babies, so I got it...I will also make note that there are mistakes in the pattern, so I'm taking my time on it to make sure I straighten it all out)

Using the splatter Hello Kitty yarn with stripes of the Irene colorway yarn from the basket I won.  As soon as I'm done, I'll post some pictures.

With that out of the way, I can tell you about my Monday night.  Gonzo managed to get us passes to the free Beta Test at Meltdown Comics/The Nerdist.  We got there kind of early, so we wandered Sunset Blvd.

Got some words of wisdom from some graffiti art; ate some Chipotle; walked some more; then stood in line for a good long while.  We made some line friends, one of whom gave me a Nerdist temporary tattoo for holding their spot in line.  The other entertained us with banter between her and the store employees.  While there is a good chunk of LA that is unfriendly, I've encountered a slew of very friendly people who aren't trying to recruit me for a cult. 

Anyway, a Beta Test at The Nerdist is where Chris Hardwick and special guests test out new standup material to find out if it's good enough to use. 

Apologies for the blurred picture, but I won't apologize for the fact that I am essentially making eye contact with Mr. Chris Hardwick here.  If you don't know who he is, there is a search engine called Google that you might want to type his name into to find answers.  I have no other photos from the set because a few moments after I snapped this picture Chris encouraged us to just be in the moment and put our cell phones down.  He didn't say we couldn't take pictures, but he was right...we've lost touch with just enjoying the moment.
The other surprise guests were Ron Funches, who I've seen on TV, but is also in the movie "Get Hard" with Will Farrell and Kevin Hart.  Doug Benson who was on a movie called "Super High Me".  Yes the theater smelled like pot (if you know or have seen either of the above mentioned then you know they get high...a lot).  Both were funny.  Chris Hardwick was, perhaps, more funny.  That's probably my opinion only- as I could relate more with his material than the other two.  But they were all entertaining and hilarious and definitely made my day. 

Not really anything else going on at the moment.  I've got some drawings I need to work on and will post those later.  Hope everyone had a great Easter!

2015 LA Yarn Crawl

Sometimes there are weekends where there are no plans and something exciting happens.  On Saturday I was fully prepared to blog today, about our drive thru the Angeles National Forest...that still had snow in some areas where as the rest of LA was baking.  But then something truly amazing happened on Sunday.

Let me start off by saying that Gonzo is truly the best guy a girl like me could ask for.  Sunday morning started off with me in a grumpy mood due to some unforeseen apartment problems.  Gonzo, being the guy that he is, wanted to put a smile on my face and do something that I wanted to do, even though it was a rare weekend off from work for him and he probably just wanted to sleep late and veg out in front of the TV.

I asked to go to 2 yarn stores.  I knew about the 2015 LA Yarn Crawl that was happening, but I hadn't pre-ordered a Yarn Crawl Tote Bag, or really read the rules.  I just wanted to visit a new store and go to the one I was already acquainted with (the yarn crawl is an event that 29 yarn stores in LA County were participating in, where you could get free patterns, enter in raffles, get free buttons from each store, and shop at a discount on certain items- all in 4 days). 

We drove all the way to Wildfiber Studio in Santa Monica.  Gonzo is a good sport in yarn stores, he always manages to find at least one skein of something and insists I make him something.  He found the last ball of Rowan Pure Wool Worsted in a beautiful blue color, which he has requested a hat from (I will have to come back here to purchase the Rowan yarn I need to make a sweater for my dad):

I was persuaded at the register to obtain a passport before I left the store so I could decide if I wanted to visit any other stores or just turn the passport in at Wildfiber Studio to be entered to win a gigantic basket full of yarn, books, knitting notions and all sort of goodies.  I opted to hold onto the passport for a bit.

Gonzo, again, being the guy he is, figured that since we were in the area that we were in, we should hit up some other stores instead of rushing off to Unwind.  So we made our way to Compatto Yarn Salon.  I looked around, received my Yarn Crawl Stamp on what I was now referring to as my bingo card; obtained the now coveted button (that should go on the Tote bag that I was so irresponsible to not pre-order).  I didn't see anything that I absolutely couldn't live without at that exact moment, so we got back in the car and headed to The Knitting Tree L.A. I may have gotten a little carried away at this store. 

Three skeins of Madelinetosh Hand Dyed Yarns that I am absolutely in love with.  The colors from left to right are: Citrus; Ophelia; Chicory.  I plan on making at least one pair of socks from this group using one of the colors (I can't say which because they will be a present for someone that I haven't already made socks for), the other two may be knitted into shawls for presents. 

At this point in the day I assumed that Gonzo was done with all of the Crawling that we had done and was willing to either stop at the final location of Unwind or get some food.  He had a different idea, since we were in the area he wanted to see what other yarn stores might be close so we headed to Needlepoints West. These women were so welcoming!  Extremely helpful!  Once in this store I was so very thankful that Gonzo had said we should go here, as this was one of the stores that had a yarn colorway that I had been absolutely in love with since I saw it online.

Delicious Yarns made this awesome colorway specifically for Needlepoints West.  It's called Two Sweets- Sport Weight Color: Yarn Crawl 2015.  It's a beautiful self striping yarn that is brown heavy with splashes of pink and purple.  It's absolutely gorgeous!  I also obtained the free Cowl pattern that came with the purchase of this yarn and was told to call them for "tech support" if I ran into any problems when knitting it.  I'm still not sure I want to make a cowl with this yarn, but I might!  I want to point out that had I just been driving by Needlepoints West, I probably wouldn't have stopped.  I thought this was a needlepoint only store- I didn't realize they had such an amazing selection of yarns.  So very glad we stopped here!

Since we moved to CA, I have been meaning to stop by the Yarn Over Truck.  It's a truck that has yarn and knitting notions and drives all over the place stopping at various locations to sell their wares.  I'm happy to report that we drove all the way to The Purl Side in Glendora to locate (and get 2 shops taken care of in one stop) the Yarn Over Truck.

I feel like I unbuckled my seat belt and jumped out of the car to run to this truck before Gonzo stopped the car.  I received my stamp and several buttons while on the truck and a couple of free patterns.  I knew I wanted to buy yarn, but the truck was getting crowded, so I headed into The Purl Side to check out what they had. I saw several things here that I might want to go back and take a second look at, but didn't purchase anything.  I received my stamp and button and a free knit pattern and headed back to the truck.  There was yarn I needed to purchase to go with the free pattern I picked up when I had boarded the truck a few minutes earlier.

I picked up a skein of Anzula Luxury Fibers Hand Dyed Yarn Cricket in Navy and Minty.  These will definitely be making two presents for people. 

After fighting thru some bad traffic to head to Burbank to get to Unwind we finally made it.  I'm on their mailing list and was well aware of their Hello Kitty yarn colorways that would be in the store during the Yarn Crawl...I just prayed I wasn't too late to get a skein.  One of the particular yarns was gone...which is what happens when you wait until the last day and nearly the last hour of the event to shop...

But I did purchase the above colorway.  This is by Ancient Arts Yarns called Unwind Hello 1 Speckled.  I have a very special niece who will be getting a sweater out of this.  Originally I had intended on dropping off my passport at Unwind to be entered to win the giant basket full of goodies, but the kind women at Needlepoints West had told me there was another yarn store not too far from Unwind that I might want to checkout.  So we opted to head to The Altered Stitch to see what they had and figured that if I didn't like their basket, we could just go back to Unwind so I could drop the passport off.

Well things changed once we arrived at The Altered Stitch.  I was in love with this store from the minute I walked in the door.  The staff was very friendly (truly all of the yarn stores we visited had friendly staff, don't get me wrong- there's just some places that you instantly click with people, this was one of those for me).  They showed me all of their Crawl yarn specials; stamped my passport; gave me the button; gave me a class schedule; didn't hassle me when I couldn't make up my mind and wandered the store so many times I looked like I was casing the place.  I had promised Gonzo that Unwind was the last store I was going to buy yarn in...but there was a skein I saw and fell in love with.  I have no idea what I'm going to do with it.

Republic of Wool Hand Dyed Yarn for The People in the color Wild At Heart.  Again, I have no idea what I'm going to make with it, but I'll be happy to stare at it on a shelf until I figure it out.

Good news was right around the corner at the checkout...I qualified to have 2 raffle tickets put in the bucket for the 5pm drawing for a basket of yarn goodies (not the large basket that the passport would enter me in for, but a smaller just as awesome basket).  I almost said no.  We had been out since 11am and it was nearly 5, surely Gonzo would want to eat some food (since we hadn't stopped at all), or go home and rest.  But they said "there's only 6 other tickets in the drawing"...so I said "yeah, do it!  Put me in!".  I hung out for the next 20 minutes or so, while Gonzo went across the street in search of food.  I could tell there were regulars in the store, and I made some small talk with a few of the people both employees and yarn crawlers and touched nearly every skein in the place.  Gonzo made it back in time for the drawing and lets just say, I'm sure there are some Altered Stitch store regulars who have now painted a target on my back.

Because I won it!!!! 
This post is already becoming a little long, so I'll just list out what was in it instead of posting individual pictures:
- 1 "Comforts of Home: Simple Knitted Accents" book
- 1 bottle of Eucalan wool wash (laundry soap)
- 1 bar of luffa soap (smells delicious)
- 1 bottle of hand lotion
- 1 bottle of bath salts
- 1 bottle of bubble bath
- 1 wicker bee purse
- 1 pair of US 10 sized ChiaoGoo knitting needles
- 4 skeins of an unidentified self striping pink/purple/yellow/red yarn
- 3 skeins of an unidentified self striping blue/green yarn
- 2 shawl pins (could be stitch holders)
- 1 set of red gem stitch markers (5 total)
- 1 set of green gem stitch markers (5 total)
- 1 Black Tie Affair yarn in Costume (pinkish)
- 1 Black Tie Affair yarn in Aria (blueish)
- 1 Art Yarns Regal Silk in color 502 (stripping yarn in blue, yellow, green, pink)
- 1 Anzula Luxury Fiber Vera in Irene (light purple)
- 1 Stitch Cafe skein in color 5011 (light salmon...so soft!!!)
- 1 Stitch Cafe skein in Coral
- 1 set of Double Pointed Needles in a fabric drawstring bag.  Size US 3

Oh and I dropped off my passport at The Altered Stitch, so fingers crossed!  Maybe I'll win the grand prize basket?

So Sunday, for me, was AMAZING!  8 of the 29 stores visited in 6 hours, too much yarn purchased and a basket full of stuff I don't know what to do with (at the moment).  I feel like it was Christmas.  I kept doing a happy dance in the car on the way home while singing "I won the basket! I won the basket!"  and I only sang that to myself because I haven't won anything in so long it feels like a different lifetime ago.  

Next year I'll be better prepared.  Maybe more organized, like a certain woman Unwind video'd showing her tabbed binder with maps and what free pattern was going to be at what stores.  Truly a work of art in itself.  I just wasn't prepared for the amazingness of The LA Yarn Crawl.  Hope you all had fantastic weekends too!