Knitting is a harsh mistress

May 31, 2009 at 11:54 am · Filed under Knitting et al

Ritual in transfigured time, Maya Deren, 1946

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Sew productive

March 25, 2009 at 8:42 pm · Filed under Sewing

Time for a very rare appearance from yrs truly as I’ve taken a moment away from my world of craft … about which I am going to blog. Starting now. I was a prolific and truly bonkers seamstress a long time ago. One thing I never learned to do properly was use a sewing machine. I had always taken for granted that my grandma was nearby to fix whatever weird thing I might have done to the thread tension or the bobbin. Anytime I was sewing away from her, things would generally get weird because I tend to improvise. Like that one time I used butter to lube up the presser foot to top-stitch over yellow vinyl. I have not owned up to that craziness in a long, long time.

My grandma passed away in 2000, and I miss her immensely for a hundred reasons that have little to do with sewing. With her passing I inherited her sewing machines and all of her craft supplies since I am the only granddaughter that took an interest. It took some time, but I have made use of almost the whole lot. When I took up knitting 5 years ago I was pleasantly surprised to discover what many of those weird gadgets were! It’s the sewing equipment somehow that eluded me the longest as I sometimes procrastinate over things I’m not entirely sure I understand, like, the machine for example. It was top of the line in its day, and I read a comment somewhere online from another happy old school Viking owner that hers could “sew through sheet metal”. That girl wasn’t kidding.

This beauty has been sitting in a closet for well over 10 years. Once in a while I would pull it out and look things over then sadly put it away because I had no idea what I should do. Vaguely I understood that it needed a tune up, but … what all would that entail? Fear of the unknown.

So a month or so ago I took a basic sewing class with a friend of mine, which was something I’d wanted to do for a while primarily so that I could learn the dos-and-donts of machine use. I went in with nervousness over possibly having “lost it” and came away with a so-so skirt but a revived confidence in my awesome manual dexterity. But that was only the beginning. I had to figure out how to get my own machine up and running, so I hunted down the manual online and got to work. Still on a high from the class, I fearlessly disassembled all the obvious points of entry and cleaned out all the built up fluff & debris which resulted in my getting the motor to turn over. Very exciting

Once the manual arrived I identified all the areas that needed regular oiling, as I had picked up some oil from Joann’s. Feeling confident I could start sewing after performing this rudimentary maintenance, I began. The thread tension was WAY off. And since I have never learned how to determine what the tension should be set at, I had a long afternoon of trial and error. Once my stitches were right, I decided I would make a simple dress. Ha. What a mess. But I did it anyway, just because I could.

And now I’ve tackled sewing in earnest. I helped a friend make a fabulously flowing improvisational wrap skirt, and was thus inspired to make a wrap skirt of my own except this time from a pattern.

It’s on.

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Cursory 2008 Round-up

January 1, 2009 at 11:33 am · Filed under Knitting et al

I came >this< close to letting my quarters run out on this domain, but then seeing that my hosting is paid through the end of 2009 I figured, eh, let the lazy continue. So I've flipped back to an old design and decided to shake out the cobwebs.

2008 was an eventful year! So much so that I could barely lift a finger web-wise. I finished knitting a shockingly orange sweater. And then I started a soothingly oatmeal-colored one. I knit my first pair of socks. I took a new job last Spring. I moved out of my jacked up old apartment into probably the most functional place I’ve ever lived … everything works, my neighbors are fine people with friendly dogs, and my cats settled in almost immediately (as I type Rudy is snoring over in a chair by the space heater next to the window and Bella is parked in my lap a-purring). Several friends have new babies! And I got a new TV which is a big deal.

Music-wise, I had a sort of funny revelation the other day. It dawned on me how many albums I’ve been meaning to get to over the past 15 years or so, and that I basically had my whole life to catch up. And that’s not even taking into account all the 60’s psychedelia and 70’s singer-songwriter stuff I’ve got on my radar; much less any new albums that turn up along the way. That’s all pretty ambitious considering I listened to Deerhoof, Cryptacize, and The Curtains almost exclusively this year. What can I say? Chris Cohen has the Midas touch.

But moving on to 2009, my constant goals are to organize and simplify. To this I will add probably thee most cliched resolutions of auld lang tyme: get more exercise and eat more vegetables. Oh my god, I hate myself for typing it, but really it must be done. I can’t count how many times this year I’ve eaten actual meals of meat & potatoes which is something I have mostly frowned upon my whole life. I blame it on the time I sat down with my uncle, a reformed vegetarian of 13 years, to a meal of only steak & wine. Shocked as I was at the time at his bizarre personal transformation, the meal was delicious I admit. But what are we, 14th century lords wrestling with gout? No, thank you! Pass the brussels sprouts.

So I’m off to make a squash casserole and revel in this cold, sunny new year’s day in my self-satisfied state of not having a hangover. Happy New Year!

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From the Lion’s Mouth

February 10, 2008 at 2:13 pm · Filed under Love, Music & Feelings

Nedelle (2005)

I love singer songwriter albums, famous or obscure, I am game: Cat Stevens, Robyn Hitchcock, Lois, Richard Davies, Mascott, Joni Mitchell, Amy Annelle, Skip Spence, Karl Blau … all provoke the housebound singalong.

Performance so personal, much like religion in my opinion, really has little application in the public sphere (low-key live shows are filed under intimate) primarily because of the usually sensitive nature of the material and the sad fact that herd behavior seems to stomp out honest reactions to beauty and sincerity. The movie Juno comes to mind in the way it sort of splatter-painted a basically cute story with unrelenting, mostly unfunny smart-assery — and the crowd went wild! There’s a cautionary phrase in yarn spinning: don’t kill the baby bird, basically instructing the spinner to relax the hands in order to gently control the yarn without strangling it. Juno killed the baby bird. Er, where was I headed with this … ?

As for letting the little chicks live, Nedelle does it with heart and charm — from her website bio: Hopes of a broadway career ended at a mere 13 years old when a theater director told me “Nedelle, theater is a triple-threat business.” What he really meant was “Girl, you can’t dance.” Humor and vulnerability intermingle so well and often with the sensitive types, take Sarah Silverman, for example. Oh wait, no.

I was born in the year of the rabbit in early May — a bull in the china shop of my own timidity: fiercely opinionated, intellectually tenacious while a reclusive, neurotic, silly ham — oh, how I wanted to be a performer when I was younger. Alas it was not meant to be for a hundred reasons. Nedelle’s recordings satisfy that part of me that loves showtunes and quirky torch songs without really fitting into either of those forms.

I submit the following:

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Lazy in 2007

January 7, 2008 at 10:49 pm · Filed under Meta

I don’t even know why I bother, seriously. But whatevers! ‘Twas a long year 2007, wherein I developed a knitterly deftness at churning out hats–hat after hat after hat. The sweater still eludes me–two sit half-knit in wait, and I am seriously considering taking them both apart in search of sweeter sweater pastures. If my fingers are to graze every single stitch of a lace-weight cardigan I can settle for no less than overall perfection. And on that note, have you checked out my awesome sock pix? They aren’t finished yet, but they sure are lookin’ fine.

You see, with all this knitting my hands are much too busy to be typing out jibber jabber for ye olde TLA. What on earth could I possibly have to say? This is officially the year I started feeling my age (plus 30), as evidenced by my waning interest in the bars and keeping up with what’s going on in the music world. If I had any good excuses one might understand, but this is bona fide not giving a hoot about much other than yarn and Netflix. Before you shed a little tear for me, I will say it rules.

As for my media consumption in the past year, I developed an obsession with the canceled TV show Arrested Development and I’ve been spreading the word (too late sadly). Music-wise I’ve been unambitious, but the new Animal Collective and Panda Bear albums have certainly been worth the ear time. Scout Niblett’s album, not so good as her earlier efforts, but This Fool Can Die Now has a handful of strong moments, title included.

I caught a couple live shows in LA back in the fall that I meant to write about, but … where does the time go? Seeing Joanna Newsom play the Walt Disney Concert Hall with the LA Philharmonic was an absolute thrill, hipster jackass cat calls withstanding. I’m a tad embarrassed to admit I got a little teary eyed, but it must be told because it was that kind of show. Oh, why not …