Have Yarn Will Travel

Winged Thing
Originally uploaded by ladylinoleum

Well kids, I embark on my first trip of the new year next week. Off to the colder climes of New York City. Aaahhh Manhattan, an environ in which I've spent a lot of time working and playing AND as a result, a locale that I've come to think of as my home away from home. Seriously, I average 1-2 weeks a month there at this point!

Needless to say, I also spend a lot of time flying around in a big metal tube, which I've come to terms with as it affords me relatively uninterrupted knit or crochet time. This, I love! Sitting in uncomfortable seats and trying to get the frakin' video system to run without a hitch, not so much. Nonetheless, I usually take comfort in knowing that my yarn, needles or hook will pretty much get me through any travel-related irritants no worse for the wear.

Aside from figuring out which project to take along with me on a journey (this can take hours, even days), I've gotten really good at toting my crafty gear around in a user-friendly, I'm-packed-in-like-a-sardine-seat-conditions-so-my-stuff-needs-to-be-easily-accessible kind of way...

First and foremost, I do NOT attempt to bring along a new project. Too many variables here from gauge to yarn amounts needed to sustain me for the trip to possible reference books needed if directions elude my poor little brain. Nope, unless it's already on needles or ready for immediate hook insertion, it ain't making it into my bag.

Second, WIP, yarn, and collateral supplies must fit into my Eagle Creek Pack-It Cube. If this stuff exceeds the confines of my zippered containment system (and I have the biggest one they offer) then this stuff gets to see me again when I return home from my journey.

Third, I have a small zippered pouch (fits inside the big cube) for stitch markers, tapestry needle, crochet hook (knitters, you should also have this with you at all times...makes picking up dropped stitches A BREEZE), smallest post-it notes I can procure from the cube farm, a small pair of scissors (or the Clover ninja star thread cutter), a pencil and/or a pen. Oh, and this little pouch is attached to a lanyard so that I can wear it around my neck during the flight. This way I don't drop anything and my supplies are easily accessible.

That's my patented Have-Yarn-Will-Travel system and trust me kids, it works. I do not have trouble going through security (even toting my little scissors), I can obtain my crafty cube easily out of my larger travel tote when crammed into my seat and I can easily manage my crafty implements when seated for the duration of my flight. Definitely makes for happy trails for this yarn obsessed Lady of the Linoleum!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

In the last five weeks I have been to New York twice and London once. Needless to say, all of this travel has complicated an already complex lifestyle and unfortunately it has also had a negative impact on my ability to knit, crochet, weave, spin, dye (haven't stoked up the dye pot in ages), sew, DESIGN and blog. I mean let's face it, my life has undergone the ultimate sea change: still divorcing (almost a two year process at this point); lost my home earlier this year, currently residing in a space the size of a milk crate; job responsibilities growing faster than I can keep up with (hence the constant travel); daughter on the verge of adulthood, squawking at me constantly; and there is always a silver lining...I find myself in an affair of the heart with an amazing man. Needless to say, keeping up with the tidal wave that is my life can be a bit challenging and trying to be creative despite these many perplexities has been a Sisyphean task.

Nevertheless, I am creating, albeit slowly and on a much smaller scale than in previous years, but create I continue to do. I haven't started much of anything new in the last several months for I am a creature of discipline if nothing else. As such, I am making a concerted effort to finish anything and everything that became stuck in stasis due to the great life upheaval of 2009-10. I make progress on these myriad WIPs while crisscrossing the country (the globe) in a flying tube, sitting in those ubiquitous vinyl seats gathered around airport gates, on my 60 minute lunch hours where yarn and not food has become the ultimate focus and if I'm awake enough to tackle anything else at the end of a workday, while sitting in my overstuffed chair in front of the television as I try desperately to watch all of the previously recorded programming on my DVR. Making has taken a backseat to moving at this point.

Now, I am nothing if not adaptable. I have gone through similar periods in my life where the act of making/creating was threatened by the stress of my daily responsibilities. However, making/creating is a very powerful force in my world and while it's daily importance has lessened to a certain degree as life happens, it has not disappeared completely. Further, I'm positive that my creative spirit will endure the current constraints as well as those that may occur in the future as I am an artist at the core of my being. Always have been. Always will be. I will make things because this is who I am. This is what I do. I just need to figure out how to navigate the current landscape and adapt my process accordingly. Not always easy to do, but definitely attainable.

So, in working through my current conundrum, I've come up with a few solutions that I will be actively pursuing going forward:

1. Finish all outstanding WIPs. Getting through these projects serves as a metaphor for closing the door on the past and readying myself for the future, thereby allowing me a clean slate to begin new work.
2. Notation, notation, notation. Time for me to begin recording my ideas and conceptions in a journal/notebook again. This has been a traditional part of my process that I have allowed to lapse over the last year. Time to dig out my notebook and return it to its proper place in my purse. Never leave home without my "spell book" and quill!
3. Smaller, lighter, faster. Size and portability are key when one is trying to create while trapped in a tube. I will try to fit all projects and accoutrement into the same carry-on size bag for every trip. Not only does this serve to simplify my packing, but it makes the project wrangling in a small space headache-free.
4. LadyLinoleum has a laptop and will promise to use it. Blogging IS possible to do from a big fluffy hotel bed while inhaling room service, at least this is what I'm told.

So peeps, you will be seeing quite a few changes 'round this here bloggy over the next several months, but I do promise that your Lady of the Linoleum will still attempt to entertain you with a cadre of smaller crazy creations, one-off patterns here and there, a bit of humor and wisdom as she sees fit and hopefully, myriad on-the-road crafting tips! As always, I thank you all for your continued comments, emails and support. Literally, you all are THE ONLY REASON that I'm still taking up residence in cyberspace. Big hugs all around!

Stay tuned kids!

Patch Me Up!

So, yeah, I've been doing a bit of traveling and hiking lately. As such, I have been wont to record my expeditions in a format that suits my personality. What method have I come up with, inquiring minds want to know? A wearable one of course!

I bring you, my very personalized trip record jacket...



I purchased this lovely tapered-at-the-waist military cast-off at my local surplus store for a mere $9.95, upon making my decision regarding format of this, uh, journal. Now, I just comb the wilds of our state (and, hopefully, eventually, beyond) for gift shops and visitors' centers in search of patches. It's like I'm a girl scout on a scavenger hunt! Weeee!

So far, my right sleeve holds a few state and national park patches...



My left sleeve is becoming an homage to Smokey DA Bear...



One can see forest and national park emblems emblazoned on my chest...





And I've even done a bit of embroidery meself...



Gives new meaning to the term, eagle scout.

Anyhoo, I plan to do a few more embroidered patches of my own for this special item of apparel as well as A LOT more collecting as I continue to get my outdoors on. I may eventually need a matching bag...

Love these evolving type o' projects!

Cougar Crest Trail

Took this at the top of Cougar Crest Trail last weekend in Big Bear. We made it to the top at dusk. I love the light at that time of day.

Back from Alaska...

A few months ago my mom suggested that we take a family vacay. Perhaps a cruise to Alaska? I nodded in silent agreement, thinking hells to the yes, I need a break. After the year I've had, planting my arse in a deck chair for a week and whittling away the hours with needles/hook and/or book in hands sounded nothing short of heavenly. As a result, my mother, younger sister and glorious offspring boarded the Star Princess in Seattle a few weeks ago bound for the wild north.

Now, let me tell you all right now that this was my first cruise and I would be lying if said that I was anything but skeptical about the whole notion of cruising upon accepting my mother's suggestion. It's not the sitting on the boat for seven or more days with which I had an issue (after all I do have a penchant for all things seafaring...Argh!). Nope, it was the fact that cruising just seemed so typically tourist to me...you know, organized shore excursions, 24 hour a day buffet, gold sold by the foot on the Lido Deck...because of this I just didn't consider myself to be the "cruise type". I mean my idea of a vacay is flying to some exotic destination, getting the lay of the land and traipsing about the alleyways and interstices of a city or some other random environ, soaking up the local culture like a sponge. Conversely, a cruise just seemed like it would sanitize my travel experience and, well, I like to get dirty. *wink*

Despite my reservations, I relented and told my mom that the offspring and I were in. I'm glad I did because it turns out that I rather liked the whole cruise experience as did my child. Most of all, I loved seeing the daily smile of delight on my daughter's face as she indulged her senses and discovered a part of the world she had only previously heard about...



My daughter's smiling face!

Speaking of discovery, onto Linoleum's look at Alaska!

As I said, we began our journey in Seattle...



We boarded the ship around noon, dropped our stuff off in our cabins and of course headed to the buffet for the first of many shipboard meals. The fact that I did not gain any weight on this vacay was nothing short of a gift from the gods because I can assure you, I never missed an opportunity to tie on the feedbag during our trip. Hey, when in Rome...



Anyway, we left port at around 4:00 pm that day and sailed northward on calm seas to our first stop Ketchikan, Alaska...



Located on Revillagigedo Island, in the southeastern part of the state, Ketchikan is a town with a year round population of about 7,300 residents. Their economy is based primarily on fishing and tourism. Yep, every couple days during the summer months three or four cruise ships pull into port and dump 2,500 people per boat onto the docks for some serious shopping and sightseeing. Actually this is true for all of the Alaskan cities/towns on the cruise ship route...It's nutty.

Not in town to purchase a Rolex (oh yes, jewelry stores abound in these little hamlets along the cruise routes), my little landing party opted for a more cultural experience...Totem Bight State Historical Park. My child is a totem pole aficionado...



The tour about the park was awesome as our tour guide was a lifelong Ketchikan resident of Tlingit ancestry. He led us about this rain sodden environ through spectacular scenery while simultaneously giving us his insights into his culture's mythos.


Oh fungi, how I love thee oh so orange-y.



A rad clan house.


Spookerific branches.








More spooky branch action. It's pics like these that inspire my designs.



Okay, so that shore excursion was well worth it. Next destination? Tracy Arm for some glacier action!

So, Tracy Arm is essentially a fjord. We didn't actually disembark from the ship. We just sailed up the fjord and the pilot maneuvered the vessel as close to Sawyer Glacier as possible, weather permitting, so that we cruisers could catch a glimpse of nature's retreating glory.






I found the color of the blue ice captivating.


My sister (left) and daughter bundled up against the cold.


Oh, the cruise ship traffic abounds...

Later that day our ship arrived in Juneau and we readied ourselves for another shore excursion, the Mendenhall Glacier.



More Alaskan photo opts...


My sister (left) and daughter hamming it up.


I love this pic of my mom and offspring.

Needless to say, we had a great time despite the cold and cloudy skies. Oh, but wait! There's more...after hanging out at the Mendenhall Glacier we were bused back to the boat in order to sail to our next destination.

Stay tuned for more Alaska peeps...

Missed you guys!

Portland: Day Two

Day two in wonderful Portland began with another class at the Knit and Crochet Show. Jenna and I were both enrolled in the class, which was all about the ways of the sock. More specifically, the ways of creating Coriolis socks, taught by the inventor of this particular method, Cat Bordhi. Needless to say the class the filled. Sock knitters are nothing if not dedicated to their craft. However, Jenna and I are more casual about knitting socks, so we absorbed all of the great tips and tricks during the morning session of the class and decided to forego the afternoon session in favor of a bit of Portland exploration.

We hopped a bus to NE Alberta street in search of some crafty wares. This turned out to be a fantabulous idea as not only did we find tons of treasures, but there happened to be a street fair going on that day as well. Icing on the cake as far as I was concerned.

First Stop, Collage! This place is filled to the rafters with paper goods, scrapbooking materials, stamps, stickers, brads and crafty tchotchkes. It's nothing short of superb. I picked up some Halloween themed items as well as some stuff to make ATCs.

Next up, Close Knit! Okay, we didn't go there to purchase anything. Jenna and I had done enough damage in the Marketplace at the Knit and Crochet Show after all. However, when in another city, it is always good to go and check out the local fuzz. Close Knit is such a great store! Lots of stock from Manos to Rowan, including some hand-painted hanks from local makers. The staff was friendly and the feel of the place was wonderfully cozy. If I lived in Portland, I'd be there all of the time!

Our final craft stop on NE Alberta Street was Bolt Fabric. Another petite brick and mortar packed with quality stuff. Find tons of quilt cottons such as Mendocino, Pop Garden and Garden Party, unusual buttons, embroidery patterns, floss and a good selection of books. Definitely worth a perusal.

Damage to our wallets sustained, we hit a local taco truck before hopping a bus and cab to the other side of town.


Jenna sits propped against our chosen lunch venue.

Across town, Jenna and I hit Knittn Kitten. This store was a find! Vintage craft materials, fabrics, yarns and books. It's quite literally a thrift store for craft junkies. Brilliant to be sure! I increased my current collection of McCall's Needlework with a few purchases from this shop.

Our afternoon spent, we girls headed back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner with a colleague from the cube farm. Jeff and his wife, Mary, picked us up from our home away from home and we drove over to the Pearl District for a evening meal at Bay 13. There we indulged in a couple of bottles of Westrey Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley to start, combined with Grilled Flatbread topped with mushrooms, carmelized onions and fontina cheese, Sweet Potato Fries with a side of horseradish aioli, Steamer clams in Thai chili, scallions and cilantro. We followed that up with seared Ahi Tuna, Maine Diver Scallops and Beef Tenderloin for our main course. Our plates looked as if they'd been autoclaved at the end of the meal. So, yeah, the food was good!

After dinner Jenna and I parted ways with our fellow cube farm inmate and spouse and hit the pavement in search of Powell's.

Oh. My. God.

If you are a bibliophile, then this is your heaven. Below is just one floor to ceiling bookcase of many in the craft book section of the store...



Amazing. I know I speak for Jenna when I say that I would move to Portland simply to be close to Powell's. Yes, it's THAT good.

Not a bad Day Two right? But wait, there's more...

How do two crafty chicks end a craftacular day in a fantastic city?

DOUGHNUTS!

Oh yeah, Voodoo Doughnuts...


Classic Buttermilk.


The ever popular Voodoo Doughnut, pierced by a pretzel.


My fave, the Maple and Bacon Doughnut. Oh yeah, two crispy strips of pork atop a rich maple glazed fried dough log...Yum!

All I can say is, thank God we had to walk 10 blocks to get to the Max...

Portland: Day One

Portland was a blur. Jenna and I flew into this fair city to our north last Thursday evening and began a whirlwind three days of Knit and Crochet Show participation, meet-ups with friends, eating, shopping and general jaunting about town.

Friday morning began with a bit of breakfast, pretty standard hotel eats, and a short Max ride to the Oregon Convention Center for the Knit and Crochet Show where Jenna and I then parted ways. She went to go get magical with the mobius while I immersed myself in hairpin lace. Now, if you've been reading this blog for any length of time, then you are probably aware that I am a sucker for process. Yep, I love to learn new techniques! So, when perusing the class listings for the Portland Knit and Crochet Show, I was immediately attracted to Jennifer Hansen's class and she did not disappoint!

The all day hairpin lace extravaganza was divided into two distinct parts: general technique in the morning and learning how to join the lace strips in the afternoon. It took me a while to get used to holding the loom and managing my yarn with one hand and working my hook with my remaining hand. Eventually, despite the trial and error, I did get into a groove and was churning out strips of lace faster than I originally expected. I still felt like a hairpin lace tard though.





After lunch, it was all about "the joins". As Jennifer explained, once you get the general technique of making hairpin lace down, the artistry happens when the strips are connected. She taught us several techniques beginning with the cable join. All joins were very interesting to work with and I was amazed by the variety of connections available. Also, Jennifer is a great teacher! If any of you ever have a chance to take this class at one of these shows, I highly recommend it. Hairpin lace is an awesome technique.

Intrigued? Go to Jennifer's website for more info and tutorials. Oh, you can buy her wooden hairpin lace looms there too...

After classes finished for the day, Jenna and I hightailed it back to the hotel for a meet and greet with one of my favorite bloggers on the planet...Jimbo!


Jimbo standing next to his latest and greatest hook, Diplohookticus.

This master of the hook and his lovely wife, Carol, whisked us away to their son's humble abode where we were wined and dined in style with their amazing family. Our evening runneth over with wonderful food, outstanding wines from the region, homegrown micro brews to make even the seasoned aficionado weep, not to mention great conversation and lots of laughter. I hated to leave! It was a special evening of very special people. And if this experience alone wasn't enough, Jim gifted me with a lovely rubescent hook...



It's stunning!

Jimbo, you're the best, bar none.

More to come...

And Away She Goes!

It has been either crafts or travel on this blog for some time now. This post differs little in that regard. Although, this time my upcoming travel is in the pursuit of craft, combining those two subjects quite nicely.

Where am I headed off to you ask? To Portland, Oregon, that's where!



Why am I headed to the middle of the Pacific Northwest? For the Fall Knit and Crochet Show peeps! I've already been to the Summer New Hampshire venue after all. Gotta try the show to my north. It's only fair.

Best part? My good buddy, Jenna, will be accompanying me on my jaunt northward. We have each signed up for two classes apiece. I'm taking Hairpin Lace with Jennifer Hansen while Jenna gets magical with the mobius and we both finish up with Cat Bordhi's Coriolis Socks class. Having been to this show once before, I have learned that less is more when it comes to classes. In New Hampshire I took 6 classes and well, I was totally burned out by the end.

In addition to class time, we girls intend to sup with Jimbo! Love this man. Cannot wait to meet him in person! Oh, and we have also planned a run to VooDoo Doughnut (and I mean run...got to work off all of the fried dough we intend to inhale somehow). There will be lots of other activities as well. I'll be blogging from Portland so as not to deprive you all of the blow by blow, or rather, the fluff by fluff.

After the show, Jenna returns to LaLaLand while I hop a plane to Vail, Colorado, for my annual work retreat.



Have no fear, even though there will be work involved, I also have plenty of fun stuff planned as well.

See you from the road everyone!

Left Las Vegas...

...Last Friday. Sadly, I'm back (and sufficiently detoxed at this point). I traveled to the searing city in the desert last week with my Mom and sisters, Natasha and Stephanie. We had a lovely time eating, drinking, shopping and oh yes, playing the slots.

I'll let my little mosaic tell the tale...



From right to left:

1. My sisters Natasha (left) and Steph (right) waiting patiently for their morning meal.

2. Liberace's bowties. Love that guy.

3. A little terrier sculpture plucked directly from Liberace's boudoir.

4. The Wynn Resort. We were first-timers at this hotel. It's quite lovely. Great food too! We ate at Daniel Boulud Brasserie for dinner our first night in town.

5. Boo-tay adorns the front of the Riviera.

6. Rainbow Sprinkles anyone? Pour some in your morning java at the Peppermill.

7. Just like the real thing! Well, okay, not really.

8. Peppermill Restaurant. Great breakfast to be had at this Vegas institution.

9. One of the many Liberacemobiles.

10. I need this outfit!

11. Fireside Lounge at the Peppermill.

12. A must see if you're into the King of Bling. Get thee to the Liberace Museum!

Happy Monday everyone!!

Spinning in Solvang

Well, I wasn't really spinning in Solvang. I was actually indulging my spinning habit in Solvang to be more precise.

Yep, Jenna and I headed up the coast on a beautiful SoCal Sunday because we had heard that that there are several fiber haunts in the little Danish settlement just north of Santa Barbara. More importantly, I needed a drum carder and apparently these fantastic tools are readily available in ye old Solvang along with all the Danish pastries one can consume. Twist my arm...

We arrived just shortly after 10:00 am and parked in front of one of the ubiquitous windmills dotting the village.



Before we commenced shopping Jenna and I headed over to Mortensen's Bakery for a couple of pastries. I had a lovely, flaky rasberry danish with an H2O chaser while Jenna had similar treat filled with apples. Yum! Tummies topped off, we were ready to begin our search for fabulous fiber.

Our first stop was at Thumbelina, a cross stitch shop.



There I was able to pick up a canvas of Viking ships and several cross stitch pamphets from the 60's and 70's. Great finds! Okay, I'm a cross stitch novice at the moment, but for stitched Viking ships, I will definitely jump into this craft feet first!

Next we mosied down the street in order to peruse Rasmussen's upper floor. It's basically an alcove filled with fabric, yarn and findings. Nothing I haven't seen before, but definitely worth a walk through.

Finally, our Solvang raison d'etre, Village Spinning and Weaving.

Oh. My. God. All I could have hoped for and then some.

Needless to say, I've been to my share of yarn stores in Los Angeles, the greater US and Europe (this does not include online yarn shops). In short, it's takes a lot to wow me. Regardless, I was definitely wowed by this store. Filled with yarns that are surprisingly difficult to find in LA brick and mortar stores such as Alpaca (not Misti Alpaca mind you, just lots of Peruvian Alpaca available in enormous 600 yard hanks), Buffalo Gold (spendy, but beautiful), Inca Organic Cotton (love this), cones of bamboo (yes, cones), perle cotton, tencel and linen, I kept wondering why I hadn't made the trip to visit this establishment prior to this moment. Then my heart went all aflutter upon discovering the enormous amount of spinning fiber and requisite tools occupying the entire right hand side of the store!

You should all be proud of me as I showed some serious restraint in that place. I didn't buy any yarn. Not one piece of string. I know, that's just wrong. However, I have enough yarn to open my own store at the moment, so I just kept my cool. Don't worry though, I did drop quite a bit of cash on the newest member of my spinning clan...



Meet my new beautiful Louet Drum Carder!

This is sister equipment to my Lendrum...



My Hitchhiker...



My itsy bitsy Babe...



And of course, the progenitor of it all, my drop spindle...



I also bought roving. And no, I didn't need any roving, but what can I say? I'm weak.

Jenna left the store with a fairly large alpaca haul (good girl!) and we topped off our shopping extravaganza with chocolate from Ingeborg's and pasties to go from Olsen's. Wallets light and spirits high we made our way back down the coast to West LA. Definitely a wonderful Sunday if there ever was one!

If the shoe fits, buy it!

Nothing like shopping for shoes in New York! Actually, I shop for shoes pretty much everywhere I go. It's a sickness, I know. I averaged two pairs per day while in the Big Apple...



Hey, no cracks about the sparkling Easy Spirits. They were an emergency purchase during a mid 45 block walkabout. My Vans were killing me!

Love New York...