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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
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4.30.2003
Whoa, just got into the shop, and found a letter from the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum informing me that I've been nominated for a Fashion Design Award! My first reaction was to start bawling! Surprised myself with that, not usually an easy crier. Been feeling for a long time that I've been laboring in total obscurity, just appreciated locally, (we're talking tiny Prospect Heights, here), which is mostly ok, since my reasons for doing what I do are not generally externally motivated. But still... I'm a part of a larger community, and recognition is always nice. I have to get a bunch of paperwork and images together by the 14th of May, "if I accept the nomination"! Ummm, let's see......Ok, I accept the nomination!
Very excited to be nominated. Thank you to whoever you are who nominated me. Deep, sincere thanks. Just to keep my feet on the ground: Last years winner was Geoffrey Beene. I'm still a very tiny fish, the smallest. The honor for me is getting nominated, clearly.
Ok, the news is this, No 2003 Knit Hat Show will take place. It was fun, but the responsibilities were overwhelming and the shop was in the red after all is said and done. Thanks to the talented knitters who participated in the 2002 version! Tried to do something altruistic, and it simply cost too much in every way. Time to focus on promoting myself, rather than other people.
On to the next idea. Design and coding work on the online shop still in progress, may go ahead and just set-up initially with PayPal, then switch over to a shopping cart when there is more time. Will have almost all embroidery/ jewelery work in it, until Fall. Writing a press release and testing embroidery sew-outs this am. PE Design 5 software is buggy, really buggy. Really annoying. I'd be less annoyed if it wasn't so expensive, and I could have gotten a hacked version. Guess this is what windows people deal with all the time. Not used to it, mac software is far more stable. 4.28.2003
Wallowing in embroidery software every free minute, this program is deep. Woring with assistant this afternoon to get chores done. 2 days off fully accounted for unfortunately. All I want to do is go to the beach and lie in the sun in a bikini and feel the wind on my skin.
Ready for the next embroidery machine model up, got to make this one pay for that. Some pictures of what's getting embroidered tommorrow, perhaps. 4.25.2003
Hired a part time assistant, Luciano, to help me with chores. He doesn't mind getting me a double espresso, either. What a relief.
Got the PE Design 5 embroidery software yesterday, and was up till 4am running it through it's paces, it's quite a handful. The pc laptop set-up is working brilliantly. Downloading pc fonts and dings and other software on the mac, then burning them onto a cd for the pc. Rather proud of myself for getting this mixed system to work seamlessly. USB scanner will work on either system. The software reminds me of a prototype 3d scanner we had at IBM, sort of worked, but the software tweaking you had to do to get anything usable was endless and miniscule. This is more advanced, but still as obtuse (so far). I have seen some fantastically technical work done with it, so I know I just need to get used to it. Thank you again for the laptop, Charlene!!! I actually am starting to feel some affection for it!! 4.23.2003
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
-Kahlil Gibran, mystic, poet, and artist (1883-1931) Science Geek Alert: I had a really inspiring evening last night, thanks to my dear friend Sam, who got us tickets to this sold out event. We went to the annual Isaac Asimov Memorial Panel Debate at the American Museum of Natural History. This year's focus was "The Big Bang".  Panels from the left: James Peebles , Alan Guth, Paul Steinhardt, Lee Smolin, David Spergel, and standing, Rockstar moderator and Host, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Director of the Hayden Planetarium and astrophysicist. All astrophysicists or physics professors of enormous distinction. These are the guys who do the research and conjure up the theories. The map above the panelists is an image of the entire sky, the difference in colors is a the visual representation of temperature in different areas, which reflects a less than 1/5000% difference. That means that somehow, the temperature of the entire sky is bizarrely stable. We also learned that we only know what 4% of matter is, the other 96% is a mystery. (Well, I think I have about 68% of that mysterious crap crammed in my studio!) How fuckin incredible to hear these guys debate. Always considered lectures a great luxury. I mean, you are being handed one of the most valuable thing on earth: information. We all know information is power. I bought "The Inflationary Universe" by Alan Guth, because I got the most visuals while he spoke. Dr. Guth kindly signed it for me afterwards, and I'm reading it tonight. The other bonus for me was that the event was at this particular museum, which I've been coming to since I was born, and have very nostalgic feelings for. I volunteered there 8 or 9 years ago, cleaning and cataloging pot shards from an archeological dig. The next picture is in the American Indian room, where the book signing and afterparty took place. Age 12: I had my very first kiss here:  (no tongue, with classmate Paul Pellicoro) Realized why I've always really loved Tlingit Indian weaving patterns, look what's on the wall right there! This place is exactly the same. A lovely evening, all around. Thanks Sam!! 4.21.2003
Met my brother Richard at Kennedy Airport for dinner tonight, he had a 2 hour stopover in NYC on his way to Iceland for business. Which means, I get some real Lopi! (If I'm lucky). Rich knows nothing about yarn, and what he actually ends up buying could be anything. I advised him to go to a yarn shop, not a tourist shop.
We'll see what comes back... 4.19.2003
Latest Japanese Fad: Golden Turds. Whoa. Always looking for cool things for the shop that no-one else has, but I think my dividing line stops well before these. Some of them are scented. Would not be a-smellin those.
Working on new shop-online sitelet design. Researching to find the correct stabilizer for the embroidery machine. Still cold here, spring is being coy this year. Rearranging the furniture, throwing away the amazing amount of superfluous items that somehow accumulate in multicolored strata on every flat surface. Getting mentally & physically prepared for the move to the new knitting studio. I love working at home in 'jamas, so it's not an easy move, although the studio is literally 1.8 blocks away from my apt. Still have to get dressed and go there. Thinking about what's posted on this blog....in response to emails about putting too much of my life out here. I would say it's literally 1 or 2 percent of what goes on in my life. That's nothing. You have no idea of the soap-opera dramas that frequently take place, or my love life, where I go, who I see, What I do, who I do it with, or any other myriad subjects. Nor shall you. {!} Thank you very much. Any stalkers should be quite bored by now. 4.17.2003
Working with the organizers of a late May Art Walk to include the studio building. This will be a nice bonus for the artists in residence. Excitedly awaiting the arrival of aforementioned embroidery software. First commission is an embroidery of one of my friend Anna's sculptures (they're pretty large) on a black muscle tee for her show, which opens April 25. Should be an interesting experiment.
I have no energy today, it's really cold again and all I really want to do is go home and watch tv and knit in bed with my critters. But I'm going to be disciplined, and stay here till 8. Sometimes, the shop is boring. It is today. 4.16.2003
Apparently there are some very sound physics principles that indicate Parallel Universes do exist.
Opens up a whole other imaginary can of worms, doesn't it? My mind boggles. Oh if I could get a peek at what's happening over there, how interesting it would be. What would be happening now if I had just made other choices? Not usually a person who questions/second guesses/regrets my decisions, but I've made one or 2 enormous life choice boners over the last 5 years, and it would be so interesting to see what would have happened if I'd not made them. If I'd gotten out of a bad relationship long before it became catastrophicly destructive. {Speaking of which: here's an exercise regime right up your hairy alley, Mark.} If I'd stayed at IBM. I'll never know, and the 10 minutes I've alotted myself to contemplate this fantasy is now over. Eating: Blood oranges, smoked gouda, cinnamon toast made with orange spice pumpkin bread, french roast coffee (light w/milk, no sugar), sushi every other night, side of seaweed salad. Happily wearing: Leaf green puma sneakers, like rubber slippers, make me run faster and jump higher. Excellent for Murph's early morning park runs. Handknitting: Halters. Trying to find: Tearaway iron-on stabilizer. Not anywhere in the garment district? What the fuck? Do I have to go to the midwest to get it? Buying: Stargazer Lilies for the shop this week. Dusting off: Le Banana Bike. Spending the morning: at the Post Office! Had a very interesting conversation with a women who said she works at InStyle magazine at the shop last week. We were talking about my inability to get press for the shop, and as she explained it, I don't have enough mass marketed merchandise, and so no one wants to give press to a one of a kind piece (s). I had to carry dozens of something, and then be able to order more. Apparently, one of a kinds are to be ignored, because only one person could have it, and it wouldn't be fair to stir the acquisitional lust of the masses without being able to quench it. It's a "business", after all. Well. You are Full of Shit, madame. Your sincere comments made me more determined to stay the course of my vision, and your mass marketing mindset can kiss my ass. Now for sure, I'll never get in that rag. :-> In a parallel universe, I suppose I'd be making frantic plans to mass produce some items, and fawning all over her and her ilk. Improbable, if not downright ridiculous. 4.15.2003
I am now in possession of a kind of cute Dell laptop, fully accessorized and ready to go, many thanks to the excellent Charlene, who visited on Friday. It's small and solid. Finally prevailed procuring dongle-protected embroidery software on ebay yesterday. Digital embroidery set-up now only lacks a small usb scanner, remedied next week.
Abraham Lincoln, Alexander the Great. Running errands all day. 4.13.2003
Congratulations, Kate! #15 from the yesterdays comments is the winner of the Gauge Queen Tee Shirt! It was a very tough call, and I thank all who left a joke behind.
4.11.2003
Nake-ID Knits has posted a knitting glossary you should read.
Got my shirt order in, and embroidering some "Gauge Queen" tees this am. WIll take some pix this afternoon at the shop. CONTEST: Just embroidered the first Gauge Queen sleeveless top, it's red, size large (8-12), 100% cotton, and has a few small imperfections like: I forgot to change the bobbin thread for the lettering (orange, not black), and I really don't like the type of interfacing I got. Minor issues, but I am a perfectionist when it comes to the things I make. Pink ball of yarn (upside down, to my eyes).  SO... The funniest joke left in today's comments gets it, FREE. No limitations, clean or dirty is just fine, go for it, knitters, and I'll pop this baby in the post to you Monday, when I send out tons of things that need to be sent. This contest will close Saturday night at Midnight. Make us laugh. We all need it. 4.08.2003
Taste is everything.
Heads Up, Girls. Another manly knitter has poked his head up outta the sand! I think Kevin's Tammy is beautifully made. Soft. The testosterone gently floating into our online sea of knitted estrogen is making me tingly! hehe It's LimeWire's fault. Listening repeatedly to a smarmy assortment of Abba and Bee Gees for the last couple of days. Would NEVER pay cashmoney for this music, but it's so very enjoyably reminding of my teens. Didn't get into the hard stuff until well into my twenties, studied mostly classical. Not even Metallica till a few years ago. 4.07.2003
Researching shopping cart options for online boutique. Pretty boring, but no way around it. I can use paypal, but this is ultimately more expandable, less expensive and has many more fine-tune tweaks. The talented Liz Maryland is going to help me build the sitelet, but I'm going to have to administer it, and I have to understand how the software works. So very dry. I'll never be a programmer. Better stick to pretty graphics and colored string.
There was a snowstorm today! And it was my day off. Ignored my mile-long to-do list, and stayed home all day and rested, researched and designed. Spent quality time with my pets, thoughts, music and a clay facial. I need desperately to go into the city and run errands, but I'm not going tomorrow either. Maybe wed. morning. There's a ton of SNOW outside. Absurd. 4.06.2003
 There's nothing funny about this. Nothing. Those eyes are like sharks eyes. Dead. {fake smile digitally removed}  This is the last one I'll post here. Pervert. Who decided this was an appropriate, delightful figure to expose innocent children to? Really, I'm half kidding, and half not. 4.05.2003
The Cecilia Kufi Hat pattern on Sweater Project.
Always been extremely lucky in the way that if I am thinking alot about something, that thing comes to me. Or, maybe I just start noticing things around me that are suddenly relevant, either way, it works beautifully.
Naikan. And the other side of the coin:  ............Run, Sassy, RUN! Looks like Bozo is measuring you for the stew pot! You'll fit right in lengthwise! Kat Coyle was also in the grandstand when she was an impressionable child. Here's her memory of the event. We should start a support group. Probably one exists already. 4.04.2003
After appearing on the kiddie "Bozo the Clown TV Show" with a "grandstand" of other kids when I was a very young child, I developed a hideous and sweat-inducing fear of clowns that persists to this day. I believe they are the embodiment of insanity and uncontrollable evil run amock amidst a sane, naive populace.
Researching Bozo. I'm not the only one that instinctively feels this way. Bozo is an archetype at this point. A very powerful image. Uh, playing with fire. He revolts me. Do you hate clowns? I am completely aware that I go off on tangents, focusing completely on a few subjects at a time while mundane daily responsibilities get delayed/ignored. It's a deliberate action that I've cultivated my entire life. I am not disorganized. The strong satisfaction that comes from that focus, combining new knowledge with what I know already and the resulting experiments is the only way to explain why I work so hard. Why it's worth it to deal with the high volume of daily stress of running the shop, and the life I'm comfortable with, that I chose. Thinking about choices alot lately. I definitely need a break from knitting, I've been too immersed in the subject for 2 and a half years, and my eyes are glazing over. I just don't want to talk about it anymore, I'm not going to stop doing it. Making pictures and scenes with thread will be a good side path. Of course, some knits will get embroidered along the way, anyway. 4.03.2003
Been researching my options for using the new embroidery machine, oh man, it's SO much fun. Found out there are libraries of already digitized patterns on the web, like embroidery clip art. I'm afraid I'm getting a crash course in Middle American taste and sensibilities. I've been pretty well insulated from this, both by design and geographical location, and I ignore as much as I can, focusing on the high and low, which I find much more interesting. Feeling a bit traumatized by the images I'm finding, like this one:
 Is it me, or is this bizarre? I do like it, though, don't know why....:-> What about this one?  A little girl's dream come true, or a seriously disturbed artistic rendition of a mythical creature? Both? One idea I'm definitely doing, and I dare anyone to copy this one: Big white cotton underpants with the smiling, embroidered head of Bozo the Clown, for those evenings when you definitely want to be alone. An incredible deterrent in every way. I'm really making these, watch me! You'll be able to buy your very own pair on this here site. Searching out the best big white panties I can find. Soon, I'll be able to make my own original embroidery designs, but with stuff available like this, it's going to be great fun to mix it up. 4.01.2003
Designed all am, and ran business related errands all afternoon, then did 6 weeks worth of laundry on Vanderbilt Ave, and found a $20. bill on the sidewalk on the way home! How very, very bizarre. I thought at first it was one of those horrible porn ads that have money printed on the outside, and then they're folded over, and of course everyone picks them up off the street, and opens it to find a sex ad. But it was a real bill. Believe me, you NEVER find money on the streets of Brooklyn. Must be a loose stitch in the continuum.
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