Back from Paradise

Last weekend was spent in Greenwich, NY at Easton Mountain where the 2009 Men's Spring Knitting Retreat was held. Our hosts, Joe and Ted, couldn't have done a better job at organizing the event.

I decided to attend this retreat to restore my desire to knit. My passion for this amazing art was never lost but the desire had waned. As readers of my blog know, I don't post about knitting nearly as much as I should. In California, I knit every day. I think to a certain extent as an escape from my day to day life. I went to Rhinebeck last October hoping to catch the fever but it served as a social outlet and an opportunity to meet Ravelers. Don't get me wrong, I loved it but it was definitely the prelude to the kiss.

In the most simple terms, attending this retreat was awesome. I had few expectations. I was quiet, an observer and learner. And I learned a lot -- to cable, crochet, crochet border, drop-spin and finish. Plus, I visited an alpaca farm and came home with some super stash! Check out the alpaca and the most amazing hand-dyed reds from Briar Rose Farms. Their website is a must see!

What surprised me the most were the men and the comaraderie that prevailed over the entire event -- they were smart, TALENTED, interesting, fun, free spirited and did I say TALENTED. I was amazed by lace, double knitting, intricate sweaters, even crocheted ones and a mathematical marvel that translated into really cool hats!

My afghan square was brought together with the others and will make one unique blanket when its completed. As QueerJoe said in my comments (come on, I had to say it). It's not often that knitting legends comment on blogs like mine. His was the first knitting blog I ever read and I consider it a sublime pleasure to have made his acquaintance. He's an amazing knitter and a great guy. Check out his Niebling lace and drool!

I took a deep breath as I stepped into the car to leave, taking in a sense memory I will look for as the long, hot Summer begins. The only difference is I'll be cranking the central air and letting nothing stand in the way of my knitting pleasure.


This shot of Kyle, Peter & Chuck is from the alpaca farm and was a communal moment as we sat in the grass waiting for the alpacas to introduce themselves.

It was a pleasure meeting all of you and thanks for a great weekend.

I celebrated my 45th birthday since my last post and made a glorious long weekend of it. I dined with the folks, went out with the wild friends and spent a day recuperating on my own. I enjoyed a massage, a swim, some sun and a bit of knitting. I'm not exactly having a mid-life, but instead a bit of a makeover. I give you exhibit A, my new glasses. In addition, I'm sporting contacts for the first time in 2 decades. I love my new glasses but I'm enjoying me sans specs even more! It's remarkably liberating.

The current knitting is for the community afghan project and although I toiled over the gauge, I love the result. The right side is fun and has an interesting movement to it and the wrong side is remarkably all sorts of fun.




Hope you're having a great weekend! J.

Bea always knew how to make us laugh and never seemed to take herself too seriously. It's a loss and an end of an era. God speed Vera Charles, Maude, Dorothy ... Bea, you'll be missed.

A Favor...Bravo Giorgio!

A dear friend of mine has a chance to have his short film shown on Reel 13 on PBS. It's called Bravo Giorgio and it's a lovely piece about a young man, his grandfather and a first haircut. You can see it and vote for it here.

Thats here...

http://www.thirteen.org/sites/reel13/category/vote/

He's in second place right now but I know he can come from behind. Hush your dirty minds. You don't need to register or become a member just hit the link and with one click, you'll have voted.

Thank you, now go vote!

I love stitches! I love stockinette, garter, moss and cable stitches but the 21 stitches I've got sewn into my finger are like an unwelcome guest the morning after too many gin and tonics. The doctor said one more week so there's still little knitting at Casa Knitguyla. I've given up on the television and instead have been surfing the web trying to entertain myself. Praise the Lord for Rav!

You may know but I detest reality shows and really dislike shows that purposefully look to ridicule people's dreams. I came upon this video from the show "Britain's Got Talent", a Simon Cowell creation, seemingly the worst offender! Normally, I would instantly click away after seeing Simon's smug face but something told me otherwise. These kinds of shows should really be about showcasing amazing talent that would otherwise go unnoticed. This piece exemplifies this in every way. I encourage you to go to YouTube to see the whole video there as embedding it here was not permitted. What the judges had to say was remarkably honest and Ms. Boyle's performance in its entirety is Broadway worthy! Cut and paste for the whole piece here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Or watch the abbreviated version here! It'll make ya feel good!

Susan Boyle Sings on Britain's Got Talent 2009 Episode 1 @ Yahoo! Video

Tomorrow I'm finally having my pesky hand surgery with my hottie surgeon guy so typing, thus blogging and knitting will be on hiatus. I'm sure I can get by with some one-handed typing but knitting is definitively out for a week or two.

Maybe I'll organize the stash, patterns and needles.
Maybe I won't and instead just sit around, watch movies and eat bon bons.

Actually, I can't even think about chocolate right now. Tonight, I went to my folks for Palm Sunday dinner and my Mom made all of my favorite things. I'm uncomfortably, Thanksgiving-style stuffed but remarkably content!

I'll leave you with something that can't help but make you smile even in my absence. If someone can find out where this was filmed and why, I'd be most grateful! Consider it a get well gift!

No April Fool's Joke

"Prop 8 - The Musical" starring Jack Black, John C. Reilly, and many more... from Jack Black

I might be the only person on the planet who hasn't seen this but it's a fight that's not nearly over and worth mentioning at every opportunity. If you're having trouble seeing the full video screen, click on the link just below the video and you'll automatically be directed to the original site.

Rant-ish

I follow about 30 blogs and occasionally post a comment when something strikes me. They're usually generic comments like, "Wow, that's some accomplishment. Congrats." or "I love the new project, the details are incredible." Benign stuff but everyone likes to know they're being read, right? That is of course, until we get to know each other and then all bets are off and the real fun ensues.

Anyway, I recently (in the past few months), posted two separate comments to one of said blogs. Today, when visiting again, I realized my comment didn't show up. In fact, that previous comment didn't show up either. Hmmm ... pause. The first time I just figured I was an idiot but when yesterday's comment didn't show up and several others did, I had the big lightbulb moment -- moderated comments and I'm not being approved. I immediately decided to send off an email. Here are the options I came up with....

#1 (insert blogger name here), I think there may be a problem with your blog as my comments aren't showing up. Another blogger.com glitch, eh? Just thought you'd like to know. Be well, Joe (knitguyla)

#2: (insert blogger name here), I apologize if my comments to your blog were an intrusion. Duh, it finally dawned on me that I'm not posting them incorrectly but apparently, you're not approving them. I'm not sure why but I assure you it won't happen again. Be well, Joe (knitguyla)

#3: (insert blogger name here), fuck you and the horse you road in on!

So let's vote, will it be #1, #2 or #3! I'm too lazy pissed to figure out how to add a poll here so just use the comments and I'll decide if they're good enough to publish. Aren't you feeling the kumbaya among knitters? I know I am. All done now.

On the knitting front: The swatching is done. Tomorrow we knit the afghan square and it will be 15 inches....I hope. J.

He's 24, I looked it up....

If you haven't been watching the World Figure Skating Championships this weekend, you're missing out. This is Brian Joubert from France. He came in 3rd, sad. I think he looks cold, should we knit him something?

On my next birthday .... I'll be 39,40,41 ...older! Yes, I've officially entered my dirty old man stage. I'm so glad to share it with you! ;-)

Swatch knitting for the afghan project is progressing but slowly -- following a pattern and watching figure skating do not mix well! The pattern is still a secret but I think it's really interesting and should hold its own next to the others! More of that on Monday. Gotta run now, the Jonas Brothers are on SNL.
Did I say that out loud?

bad blogger, twitter failure and butterfly dreamer.

I got your emails, text messages, tweets and a phone call. Thanks for the concern but I'm fine. It's just too beautiful this time of year to not enjoy the sunshine. I mentioned my new bike a few posts back and haven't lost interest yet. It takes me all over town and now that daylight savings time has brought us evening light, I'm out even more. Honestly, I tend to not post when my knitting mojo is on the fritz. I'm still having gauge problems but continue trying new pattern swatches. I'm enjoying the process and have fallen in love with Barbara Walker's pattern books! During this process, I've tested some amazing patterns and techniques that have been of great interest to me but I still don't have a square for the community afghan. To distract myself or blatently ignore the project (you decide), I've been spending time with my folks who are in town as many "snowbirds" are in this part of Florida ... this time of year. We spent the day at the Butterfly Estates in Ft. Myers last weekend and it was a blast. There's something about butterflies that speaks to me. It's a meditative, zen, massage therapist thing. In my mind's eye, I can see a huge backlit shadow box, the size of the entire wall in my fantasy treatment room that's completely filled with butterflies. Can you see it? How cool would that be? This new complex located in the River District of Ft. Myers has a butterfly conservatory, cafe, gift shop and ice cream/fudge shop. It's beautifully constructed and landscaped to attract every local, native butterfly. I loved it. I plopped my money down for an annual membership and expect to spend lots of time there. It is so serene. I could have spent the entire day there just sitting, reading or meditating but alas, not knitting. The butterflies need to be warm and any wool in that environment would soon felt in your hands. Perhaps I could swatch in cotton? I wish I could have captured them in better detail. Everytime I'd point the camera in one direction, every butterfly in the joint would fly in another. My video skills are a work in progress (you'll see) but if you're patient and don't get motion sickness, there's a few seconds here and there where the magic is definitely present. Enjoy and meet me at the Flutterby Cafe anytime!

Sorry, Blogger doesn't like my video. I'll try to figure it out tomorrow or Mel will send me an email explaining how stupid I am and how easy it is to post a video. I think it's too big but I have no idea how to check such things. Gotta love smart lesbians!

Good night world.