  | ||
|
Spill Guts Here. It's gotta go somewhere, know what I mean? Can you stand it?
purls before swine
Geek Knitting
West Indian Parade
West Indian Parade
Dog/Cat Wrestling
|
2.27.2003
 Ms. Vicki, who took home this prototype 5g tie shoulder tank in one end burgundy raw silk, and a pink cotton strand. 4 rows of every other stitch eyelets on the bottom, about 5" of a slip stitch pattern around the waist, for shaping. This was made on a machine, but could easily be knitted by hand. I'm considering posting the pattern. Spending the morning pinning the HK cotton medallions I've been knitting recently, to pale pink or dk. khaki ribbed cotton tops, and then sewing them on. Will be adding some gold and silver metal studs bought in the garment district yesterday. Huge bags of 1000. Will be studding many things this spring and summer. PASSAP (pictures as seriously soon as possible, that's for you, Mar). Got the Amanda Jane pleater home finally, have not had time to play with it yet. 2.25.2003
Ok, a studio building renovation day since 10am, running around getting building supplies: new cylinders, 2x4s and 2" moulding, copper pipe, faucet sets, making keys, phone calls, and art directing construction work, so Tom the painter can come back tomorrow. And FINISH! Oh sheeet! I'm so fucking tired of construction topics and hardware intricacies. Sure, the pleasure of fixing up lasted a few weeks, but then frustration and boredom replaced excitement as time dragged on. It's almost over. Too soon to get giddy. Next week.
I do really like all my artist tenants, the building has a great atmosphere, and there's already some cross-pollination. My knitting studio is not even mopped or moved into yet at all, as I have to get the rest of the building functioning completely first. Spent yesterday working on the 5g machine. Made 1 wool shoulder awning, a red cotton sideways knitted skirt, 2 tie strap tanks in cottons mixed with silk. Pix on the shop mannequins tommorrow.. 2.23.2003
Enjoying some chicken vindaloo with a friend at Curry Shop on 5th ave last night, when...a manhole right outside in the street exploded. The lights in the restaurant had been flickering, never a good sign. We paid and beat it out of there. The smell of electrical fire and heavy smoke covered the street. Most likely a failed transformer due to all the cold, snow and salt. Or...... these events have simply begun to follow me around town!
2.22.2003
Added Nurhanne's Advanced Lace Knitting link to the Elsewhere page. These patterns are incredibly beautiful and fun to knit, and her links page will keep you busy for days plus really inspired. I love that site. Getting deeply into knitting these medallions right now. Avoiding putting the ( now dry ) studio back together again. I just want to concentrate on strings of stitch numbers. My version of self-indulgent, usually combined with chocolate, dark.
The rehab mortgage loan program I'm researching is called a 203(k), and it is totally legit (whew). If you're really interested in this stuff, here's a bit more info. 2.21.2003
For the record: I am not getting a mortgage for a million dollars. The thought of that makes me feel queasy. It will be significantly less, if the deal goes through. I want to start my "Empire" small and steady. {:->} I asked yesterday which bank was fronting these loans, and found out it's a private group of "multi-millionaires from Wall Street ". Hmm. I happen to be quite fond of my kneecaps. Will proceed slowly and with Caution.
If you sent me an email, and I did not reply, it may have gotten eaten by the very aggressive spam filters I use. I've been on the web for 8 or 9 years, and I get literally HUNDREDS of spams a day, the filters control the filth stream down to about 20 - 30 a day. Apologies. So how about an entire Crocheted Stove or Fast Food? {thanks, Ranjit!} 2.20.2003
Just got back from a meeting with the agent I met the other day regarding the program to purchase a building with no money down. I easily qualified!!!!!! Oh Shit! This is beyond exciting. There's a sadly rundown 2 family brick building a few blocks from where I live now, in Scaryville( :-> that's not an exaggeration.) that I want, but I'm going to look around also. It may be in contract already. I've gotten pretty good at judging which neighborhoods are on the up and up, and I think that street has 1 - 3 years to gentrify. Right now the houses are a steal.
Hearing back from the bank this afternoon regarding my loan limit, which he estimated at close to 1 mill. Sounds like alot, but buildings in Brooklyn are expensive. It obviously pays to have good credit and own businesses. I'm really psyched. Donald Trump, get outta my way. My very appropriate Lesson for Today: The best revenge is living well. Speaking of which, how incredibly beautiful is this knitted lingerie? {via the charming LocQueen}
Studio bldg. update: Hired a local guy to finish the construction work, then Tom comes back next week to finish painting. *sigh* Please be over soon. (As I contemplate buying a rundown building in a "transitional" neighborhood, it occurs to me I might actually be insane. Or .... just tired of renting. Probably the former)
Handknitting hard spun cotton medallions for insertion in some long sleeve T's for the shop, modifying some of the excellent patterns in the book: "Motifs, Borders and Trims in Classic Knitted Cotton" by Hewitt & Daley. I love that book. It's OOP, but if you locate one, I'd snag it. Pics in a day or so. My darling Elph remained dry and out of harms way!  Know what this is? I treated myself to one yesterday on Ebay. (It's a fabric pleater to make smocking faster than by hand, WAY faster.. ) I've wanted one for oodles of years, and now it's on the way to me! If you want to play with one too, go here. 2.17.2003
Best snowstorm all season! Going out soon to attempt a shovel job at the shop and studio building! It's up past my chubby knees most places! Dog was way over his head this am.
Loving this! Fired contractor working on the studio bldg. yesterday. He just wouldn't finish, holding up tenants and the painter, and he was extremely nasty to me a few days ago when I suggested he had to finish before the painter could continue. There's literally less than one days work left, which has been sitting undone for a week and a half, whiile he spent his time at Freddies, the local pub. Then I got an invoice listing almost exactly twice the hours he actually worked ( I checked the progress every day), and he will not return the key to the building. AND he called me a bitch on the way out, which made me laugh till tears came. Laughed like that a few days ago, too, when Anna and I were cleaning up the huge, disgusting pile of street garbage that had accumulated outside the front of the building. She said, "instead of working on the construction, we should have gotten _______ to do THIS". How right you are, my dear. He didn't bother putting down tarps over the carpet in the building, and now they are trashed with dust and ground in compound. Incompetence is more common than not, I think. And I was trying to do him a favor by giving him some work. Whatever. Children, can you say "Belligerent Drunk?" The only time I wasn't extremely kind and patient with this person was the night early this month that I stopped in to see what was going on, and found him using power tools, stoned off his ass. Appalling and stupid. Now have to try and get the key back, or just change the lock, which I was thinking of doing anyway. Out into the White... And Later... Went to the shop to clear the sidewalks, which were strangely windblown and clear, and found this obstacle:  The snow shovel is INSIDE, of course! hehe And if you want to feel happy that you have a nice dry stash tonight, look at this soaking wet mess:  Managed to save about half of it by re-skeining and letting it dry. Comprised of cashmeres, alpacas, mohairs and other lux yarns saved for years in a wooden dresser, that also got destroyed. *sigh* A nauseating sight. Installed 2 lockable doorknobs myself this afternoon after the studio bldg. shovel job. Required one philips head screwdriver. Not rocket science, I assure you. Didn't even remotely make me feel like getting drunk. 2.16.2003
Going through a major Metallica phase. It's the perfect soundtrack for this month.
Spending time not running the shop rewinding wet balls of yarn into skeins to try and save them. Not fun. Started researching a new place to live, and found out about a program here in Brooklyn that lets you to buy a building with no money down, and assists you getting loans to renovate it. Have a meeting on Monday to see if it's a scam or an interesting prospect. Could be making many more trips to Home Depot. 2.14.2003
Actually, it's a renters market right now, and I've decided to look upon the last year in this hellhole as a "transitional period". I was planning to move the studio out of the apt. anyway, the new studio is now ready to go. I'll be able get a more well-maintained one-bedroom on a nicer block. Have a lot less to move now, too (unfortunately!!!) Will be taking my sweet time finding a new place. Figured I lost close to 3 or 4 grand in material possessions this "crisis". Concentrating first on moving the studio the rest of this month. It's got to be a somewhat quick move, as I need to continue working without too much of an interruption, already lost a whole week of work time. What's that obnoxious saying about lemons and lemonade? Somehow, this is a wake-up call and an opportunity to make my home life better. Learning when to call it quits, instead of being so tenacious. It's important to know when to walk away, which is hard for me. I'm a fighter by nature. Not depressed.
2.13.2003
The past 4 days consisted of: 4 separate multi-gallon horrendous floods, and 2 days with no heat in below freezing temperatures, an apartment and studio in wet chaos, soaking wet rugs all over the place: I GIVE THE FUCK UP. Looking for a new apartment in Prospect Heights or Fort Green, Brooklyn.
Not in a good frame of mind lately. 2.11.2003
Just in: Why bother with a Willie Warmer, when you can knit something much more realistic? No balls? Ouch! And when you're finished, you can knit yourself one of these, or if you're like me, these. (submitted by my twin, Alexandra) More fun than a box of chocolates three weeks out of four.
Comprehensive collection of 2003 Fall fashion show pictures here, including the inventive knitwear designer Liz Collins. 2.10.2003
I'd love to visit Japan, and here's one reason why: Japanese Nipple Scarves.
It's Fashion Week here in NYC again, and Style.com has pictures of the shows. Be sure to check out the inimitable Pierrot, knitwear designer to clowns and trannies, apparently, and a few regular girls thrown in there. Some nice knitting ideas, if you can get past the visual bombast. Can't not mention the little article The Perfect Red Lipstick. I MUST have #4. Knitted 2 color-patterned handbags to be lightly felted today, lined with silk fabric, and hung on handles. Pixs when they're done. Started making wooly ponchos and large wraps for spring last night. Studio building renovation work proceeds at a snails pace. 2.09.2003
My apartment might be.... ok *is* probably cursed (thanks for bringing that to my attention, Ranjit). Last night gallons of dirty water began spewing out of the 2 risers (tall 8 ft. heating pipes in the top floor apt's., used instead of radiators). I was reading in the bedroom and heard splashing sounds. Bottom line: piles of sweaters, 2 rugs and wool pants in the bathroom got soaked, and 2 boxes of precious videotapes and other animation stuff, drawings, boxes of charms from when I was a teen, etc got soaked in the studio. The water jet just missed a huge storage container of cotton yarn, gathered over a 12 year period. Ran and got a bucket and a pot to catch the water, till it stopped spraying a few minutes later.
Man, you've got to be kidding. What could possibly be next? I've so had it with this apartment. What can I do to appease the miserable ghosts that haunt this place, and want to mess up my stuff? This building needs an excorcism ( or a competent plumber!). Fresh flowers just ain't cutting it. Electricity is still being fed into the building from a line attached to the street light, after the main Con Ed line from the street failed a month or so ago. Endlessly dealing with this horseshit is really getting boring. Have been making necklaces with semi-precious stone beads and sterling and 14k gold heart shaped charms on them for the shop the last 3 or 4 days. Spring clothes are starting to come in. Knitting more circular lace medallions on #2 needles for insertion into cotton tops like last year. 2.07.2003
DangerousChunky is especially good today. Carolyn, how do you so consistently find this wonderful stuff?
It's a raging snowstorm in Brooklyn today, getting buzzed on caffeine now in preparation for shoveling the sidewalks in front of the shop and the studio building, which I actually enjoy. Not opening the shop today, going to spend the afternoon KNITTING!!! Yes, FRIGGIN KNITTING! What an unusual treat! I am way behind on a slew of custom orders, got to make a dent in that. Progress is moving slowly on the studio bldg. renovation, it's definitely going to last another week. *sigh* 2.06.2003
Took a Myers-Briggs test today, I'm an INTP:
"The INTP takes her energy from the inner world of thoughts (and, maybe, emotions). She prefers dealing with patterns and possibilities, and making decisions on a logical basis. Her life is flexible, following new insights and possibilities as they arise. She is quiet and detached, and adaptable (up to a point - sometimes she may stop adapting, insisting that there is a clear principle at stake). She is not interested in routine, and will often experiment or change things to see if they can be improved. She operates at best when solving complex problems that require the application of intellect." Scarily accurate. Took this test years ago when I entered the Forensic Science program at John Jay. Got the same score then.
Finally! ElectroTextiles. (via NYT, reg req.)
Well, the new issue of Vogue Knitting came in the mail today, and I was disappointed that the 2002 Knit Hat Show didn't make it in. We were supposed to, but I guess not this time. While my paranoid brain suspects the RedLipstick site is not mainstream enough for the readers of VK to wander through, it most likely was one of those arbitrary decisions that have nothing to do with anything except not enough room, whatever. At least I've had enough life experience to not have told everyone beforehand! It would have been really nice for the participants, though. 2.05.2003
My body hurts. I'm small, but relatively strong, and I'm TIRED of lifting things up and shifting them around. No knitting. My hands are like lobster claws. This better be over in a week or so.
2.03.2003
Charlie (theatrical set designer and my construction guy) and I spent 3 hours in Home Depot yesterday morning. It was almost deserted when we got there, and it was great. So many possiblilties in all those brand new building materials. I long for a hand truck.
2.01.2003
I had an incredibly fun and busy day. The studio building is coming alive. It's creating a huge bunch of energy somehow. The thrill is making something from nothing, think of it as an 1800 sq foot sweater. It IS a big thrill. Artists are moving in, fixing up their studios and getting ready to work.
It took me exactly a year minus 2 weeks to restart the life I had before I began working in offices and living with X. It's a more stable, exaggerated version. Ideas coalesce over time and gain more strength, even if they're dormant. Today I had a conversation with a man that I had just met that lasted for over an hour and was effortless. I just didn't have to fucking explain. I haven't talked to/listened to someone on my same wavelength for, I don't remember how long it's been. We are complete opposites in almost every other way. I want to continue the conversation. I feel good right now and happy. I love my life, my friends and my pets. Shop is closed for re-arrangement tommorrow. Got the birch shelving delivered tonight. Home Depot in the morning with Charlie. I *love* Home Depot. Last winter I got rubber cooks rugs for the shop and orchids that are still thriving. This time it'll be doorframes and sheetrock, slop sinks and 5 gallon buckets of white paint. Plan to have the knitting studio marginally functional in a week or so.
Supervising renovation work again, and I realized today that while I definitely do NOT want to do it alot, I really enjoy it. In the past two years and a half I've orchestrated the renovation of a house, a store and now a commercial building. Having competent people to work with makes all the difference.
Some birch wooden shelving units I've been looking for have also unexpectedly appeared, so the shop is also getting a redesign/rearrangement. That should only take half a day or so. In a major step in personal growth, today I got a large 4 drawer file cabinet, an old heavy one, dark green, from the thrift shop down the street. I'm deeply drowning in paper, piles of it, this will change my life. Somehow managed to have 3 businesses without one, believe it or not. Can't avoid it any more. Those things will hold sweaters and yarn, too. ;-> I love focusing like this. A plaid game of logistics. |
|
