I'm working on some patterns for a Christmas knitting booklet to benefit pet rabbit rescue. Here's the beginning of a gauntlet mitten.



I fall in love with our CSA/organic farm box more every week. Here's this week's shipment which contained red leaf lettuce, red new potatoes, mangoes, strawberries, blueberries (already disappearing), garlic, spearmint, some enormous Collards, and some sweet onions. Those weird round yellow things in the front right are actually lemon cucumbers. Next week our shipment includes corn and shiitake mushrooms. Find a CSA near you at Local Harvest.

This photo looks like some sort of a stand-off is occurring between Peaches and Jack.



Happy 4th of July!

Brody peeking

By kitty27.

Principessa

Beware of innocence. By One from RM.

Daisy kitten

By SteveFE.

William Wegman Early Videos

Instead of discovering new trends in performative styles on YouTube, I seem to get attracted by the old avantgarde (why does this expression sound so nice?). And so, instead of a shaky home video of a new, unknown artist, here is a shaky video for all those that, like me, enjoy the snobism of exploring once explored territory. William Wegman became really famous not because he was good, but because his dog, Man Ray, was good. And Wegman had the good idea of showing him. And giving him the concepts any good curator provides an artist with. Wegman, of course, made (and continues to do so) a significant amount of other interesting semi-conceptual work (if we can have semi-conductors, can't we have semi-conceptualists?). But a significant part of it shows he knows his A-Bs in market-related works. Publicity is one of his main focuses. Ironic, indeed - and as we know, irony acknowledges its subject's presence and importance. And isn't using trademarking a dog just a brilliant move? I mean this honestly, with just a tiny little bit of irony.
See the first of the videos: choreography, drama, manipulation, humanity, self-consciousness (or lack thereof), individuality, contact, hidden agendas, thought. All this can clearly be found in here. It could pretty much be considered a contemporary piece. Some qualities make it dated. Which is interesting - since we accept it just as well, and enjoy it, and find it quite appealing and strong. So what makes it old? What is it about 70's conceptual art that makes it at once incredibly up-to-date and plainly dated? On one hand, many conceptual works are now being brought back to the scene. On the other, this repositioning has a certain distance that gives it the...space (?) we seem to require.

Wegman also has a (even) lighter side to him: these videos are sometimes closer to what we know as Saturday Night Live humor than to what we think of as video art. Man Ray rocks once again...

via

Technoratiart, contemporary art, new art, vvoi, vvoitek, modern art, cool

Simba

A (sometimes too) playful kitten. By gotigersjf.

Asparagus kitten

We minded Alana's beautiful kitten for the weekend. He immediately
found a home underneath Beth's couch cusions. By Lachlan.

CALEDONIA SOCKS

(NOTE: There were several errors in the heel of this sock pattern. I've reknit the heels and fixed the pattern and I apologize to all who had trouble. )






These warm socks have a rolled edge on top and a two color ribbing. They're perfect for those who aren't experienced with stranded color knitting and may have tight tension when knitting with 2 colors. The main stranded section of the socks is on the foot so you don't have to pull it over your heel. Plus they're knit in worsted weight yarn so you can finish them quickly.

Copyright 2006, Nanette Blanchard. All rights reserved.



Size: Women's Large, size 8-9 US

If you plan to resize this pattern to fit a small foot try reducing the size of the needle to a size 5 (US) dpn rather than reducing the number of stitches of the sock. Try the sock on as you go and if you feel it is going to be too long, omit the last 3 rows of the Chart A pattern. I usually start the toe decreases on a sock when the sock reaches the top of my fourth toe.

Materials: Worsted weight wool yarn in three colors. For the mainly green socks I used both Wool of the Andes and Peruvian Highland Wool. 2 skeins Color A: Moss Green, Less than one skein each Color B: Burgundy and Color C: Pumpkin Orange. For the mainly black socks I used black, orange, and lime green.

Needles: One set of four or five dpns in size 6 US (4 mm), or size needed to get gauge

Notions: Tapestry needle to weave in yarn ends and to kitchener toes

Gauge: 9 stitches to 2" (5 cm) over stockinette stitch. To save time, take time to check gauge.

With color 1, cast on 44 stitches. Join, being careful not to twist. K 4 rows plain. Do 2 color ribbing as follows:

Rows 1-3: *P2 Color A, K2 Color B, rep from * across.
Row 4: *P2 Color A, K2 Color C, rep from * across.
Rows 5-7: *P2 Color A, K2 Color B, rep from * across.

(I find it is easiest to do 2-color ribbing by holding the purl yarn in my right hand to knit continental and the knit yarn in my left hand to knit English/American.)

Begin color striping sequence as follows: K 3 rows Color A, K 1 row Color C, K 2 rows Color B. Repeat this stripe sequence 6 times or until desired length to ankle. End by doing 3 rows Color A.


Heel: Sl next 22 sts to first dpn, next 11 sts to 2nd dpn, and next 11 sts to 3rd dpn. Work back and forth in rows on first 22 sts of first dpn only. Row 1: (RS) *Sl 1, K1, rep from * across. Row 2: Sl 1, p21. Repeat last 2 rows 9 times more, then repeat row 1.

Turn Heel: Continue on 22 sts. Row 1: Sl 1, K15,SSK, turn. Row 2: Sl 1, P10, P2TOG, turn. Row 3: Sl 1, K10, SSK, turn. Repeat rows 2 and 3 until 12 sts rem. ending with a WS row. With RS facing, knit across 12 heel sts.

Gusset: With empty dpn, pick up and knit 14 sts along side of heel. With 2nd dpn, knit across 22 stitches from next 2 dpns. With 3rd dpn, pick up and knit 12 sts along other side of heel, then k 6 heel sts - 62 sts. Beginning of round is now at center of heel. Rnd 1: Knit. Rnd 2: On first dpn, k to last 3 sts, ssk, k1; k22 sts of 2nd dpn, on 3rd dpn, K1, K2tog, K to end - 2 sts dec. Rep rnds 1-2 until 44 sts rem.

Work Chart A below.

The color pattern doesn't perfectly match up at the bottom of the foot but it really won't be noticeable. I used duplicate stitch to add the center stitches of Color B to the pattern rather than do 3 colors a row for that row.

Toe: Make sure you have 11 sts on first dpn, 22 sts on 2nd dpn, and 11 sts on third dpn. Round 1: On first dpn, knit to last 3 sts, K2TOG, K1; on 2nd dpn, K1, SSK, knit to last 3 sts, K2TOG, K1; on 3rd dpn, K1, SSK, knit to end - 4 stitches have been decreased. Round 2: Knit. Repeat rounds 1 and 2 until 16 stitches remain. K sts from first dpn on third dpn so you have two dpns with 8 sts. Kitchener stitch the two sets of 8 sts from each dpn together to finish the toe.

Finishing: Block socks under a damp towel. Weave in ends.

Make a second sock.

ABBREVIATIONS

K - knit
P - purl
St - stitch
Sl - slip
DPN - double-pointed needle
RS - right side
WS - wrong side
K2TOG - knit two stitches together
SSK - slip 1, slip 1, knit two together
PSSO - slip 1, knit 1, pass slipped stitch over
REP - repeat
Kitchener Stitch - Thread a tapestry needle with yarn tail from the mitten top. Working from right to left, with right sides facing you, for front knitting needle, pull yarn through 1st st as if to purl, leave st on needle. For back knitting needle, pull yarn through 1st st as if to knit, leave st on needle.
Now continue these two steps until all sts are worked. Front needle: pull yarn through 1st st as if to knit,slip off needle; pull yarn through next st as if to purl, leave on needle. Back needle: pull yarn through 1st st as if to purl, slip off needle, pull yarn through next st as if to knit, leave on needle.

Reflective resting kitten picture

Silly kitten needs his rest, but would be lonely without his twin. He likes to sleep here. In the original size, noseprints can probably be seen... in person, the mirror is covered in noseprints. A real Narcissus kitten. By RBertieg.

Anne Wenzel: the reference game

I just can't stop thinking of references when I look at Anne Wenzel's work. Is this proof of lack of originality, or of a feel for Zeitgeist, or of knowing how to play with what she sees? Or is it just an obsession of mine...?

Functional Confusions remind me of a work I saw once in Paris (was it by Jeff Koons?) - a pillow made of glass. And of surrealist games.

Here> Arcimbolodo, Dali from the Slave Market... (this is a landscape from sauerkraut and saussage combined with a plastic reindeer)

Yves Klein, as well as some contemporary Japanese art, very happy-like, and a slightly punkish Sarah Lucas kind of thing (also Paul McCarthy - this is butter cream...)
Oh, and notice the dimensions of the last two works : the deer installation is 41cm x 23cm, and this last one is also a model of an exhibition. I find it gives the work a specific lightness that a 1:1 scale wouldn't necessarily have.


And this? Any ideas?

Snoozing kitten

By el7bara.

I totally forgot about the photos of Santa Fe we took last weekend.

The first photo is going toward the plaza, the heart of Santa Fe, with a view of St. Francis Cathedral.



Here's a close-up of St. Francis, the mother church for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. Something was going on - a Father's Day procession or something and there were all these outdoor altars and rose petals everywhere and the church bells rang for a solid hour.




There was some sort of art show in the plaza, a common occurrence. Spanish Market and Indian Market are the two largest but I couldn't figure out the theme of this one.




Outdoor art is very popular around here and some of these cool metal sculptures moved in the wind.

Here is some outdoor art in front of some public building just north of the plaza.

Furry Friday

These two little ragamuffins are part the cat family that lives outside our home. By eye of einstein.

June is traditionally my least prolific month in the knitting department. So what is the best thing to do for more inspiration and motivation? Come on, you all know the answer.

BUY MORE YARN!



I have decided that I need more colors in the yarn stash. I don't have the storage space for a zillion colors of three or four weights of yarn so I've chosen worsted weight. I actually prefer socks and mittens in worsted weight because they're warmer and it saves time when I'm designing my own projects. I'm now going to try to collect all the colors of both Wool of the Andes and Peruvian Highland Wool. I think that will be enough colors to work with for any purpose.

Tomorrow, June 23, is Best Friends Day. The world's largest animal sanctuary is asking everyone to perform one act of kindness for animals to celebrate. I donated again to the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee. It does my heart good to see all the retired zoo and circus elephants romping around in 2700 acres of beautiful land. I love getting their email newsletter and am also totally addicted to the Elecam and enjoy checking in to see what the elephants are up during the day. Watching them goof off and roll around in the pond is absolutely hilarious.

Sleeping Ciro

My little Ciro shielding his eyes... :) By Pikkus.

Stuck on you

By Kevin.

I'm almost finished with the socks but I want to write up the pattern to post here on the blog. I think it might be a good first stranded color knitting experience. Plus I think working on this will distract me from thinking about how freaking hot it is here.

Peaches pretty much does the exact same thing all day every single day.



Blogging Project Runway has a photo of the upcoming Season 3 designers. One of the contestants lives off the grid and makes all her fashions via solar energy. I can't wait.

Dalmatian puppy

Dalmatian puppy

Hello honeyy...

puppy picture : Hello honeyy...

Growing kitten

By nightrose.

Chloe

Chloe peeking put around the arm of the chair. By Finiky.

I went through Madrid again today and thought you might like to see some of the photos from the Hollywood version of a small funky town.

These shops are actually art galleries but in Hollywood I guess all small towns need a candy store and a bakery? I do wonder how all these changes affect local businesses - most have signs in front of them to disregard the stuff for the movie set and come on in. The benches aren't normally there and they lined the street with bark.




Believe it or not the Madrid general store usually looks like this complete with a bookshelf of free paperbacks on the porch. They added even more Christmas lights and a bunch of ristras. The movie equipment in the front of the photo was just left there - since they don't shoot on weekends they had various people sitting around keeping an eye on all the stuff all over the town.



Here's a new gazebo, a ton of new grass, and various set items for the fake chile festival. They also had carts full of chiles and an old yellow pick-up truck full of watermelons.




Here are some fake gas pumps in front of an art gallery. They also had a fake ice cream shop selling kumquat ice cream (yeah, right), a fake post office, a fake bicycle and lawnmower repair shop, and a fake beauty shop.



This entire building is new - a fake diner. You can see the yellow tape around the front to keep us non-movie people out.






I also took some Santa Fe photos and I'll have those and a photo of the socks on another day.

Cat on a Mac

By wseltzer.

Tim Crouch - "An Oak Tree"

If you want to know what Tim Crouch's An Oak Tree is about, and what it is like, first read his own description. You can also read the great reviews, although it might not be necessary after the first text. If you want to go deeper, there is a work called An Oak Tree, by Michael Craig-Martin, which inspired the piece. Now, join me.

This is not about hypnotism. Contrary to what Tim Crouch suggested after the show, I don't think a spectator is ever in a state of semi-hypnosis.
And this is not about hypnotism anyway. Although it might seem so - since it's all about the idea of believing in a world that isn't real. For the spectators, this means that we need to imagine most of the story. We get little fragments, bits and pieces, interpreted in a very "minimalist" way. The rest is our job. And that's fine, since we get lots of hints and aides in this imaginative work.
On the other hand, for the invited actor (every night a new one, and who doesn't know anything about the show) who simply follows instructions, believing in a world that isn't real means being manipulated. Doing things just because you are told to do so. How will you deal with it? And who are you when doing them? Are you the person that's trying to obey, are you some sort of an instant character, or are you yourself that decides to be someone else?
All this appears on stage in Tim Crouch's new piece. It is a true gem, a balanced, daring performance that left me fascinated by the mechanisms of belief and obedience. The story is a sad one, one of those tragedies that bring about the relief of melancholy. But we know it's just a story. We are being reminded time and again that this is all fake. Jumping in and out of the role, and insisting that the second actor not interpret (he simply doesn't get a chance to really go for it), Tim Crouch makes sure this doesn't become a psychological drama. One could even think the drama is taken away through all these theater and manipulative tricks and halts. But exactly the opposite happens: because it's so apparently dry and distant, we have breathing space. And we are forced to make the distance and imagine it all ourselves. Can you be any more distanced than having actors not act? Actually, you can, and Tim Crouch was - in his first play for adults, My Arm (before that he only made theater for children). And I think he went too far. In My Arm, the different roles were played by objects brought by the spectators. And since they were randomly chosen, they really had nothing to tell us. And it made little difference if we were watching, or just listening - the objects were sadly disposable. This time, though, everything changes. For suddenly, Tim Crouch, the master of objectification, has a challenge: a human being. And this human being on stage looks incredibly powerful and attractive because of the very fact of being one of us. And no matter how submitted he becomes, his presence is never disposable. The game between obedience and liberty is very subtle (little to do with gameshow situations). It has to do with orders, with subordinating oneself for the sake of something that is beyond you. And this is a little disturbing. We feel that Tim Crouch is using the actor, that although he doesn't ridicule him, he could, and this very possibility is discomforting.

The first night I saw it, the invited actress (the gender of the actor is indifferent to the play) was Cathy Nadan from Forced Entertainment. It was an unbelievable show. And although Tim insisted that no show is better or worse because of the actor, that they are simply different, I had a different impression. The next day I went to see the show again, this time with Teatro Praga's André C. Teodosio. He is a very good actor and it went fine. But it also confirmed what I'd suspected: that previous night was something special. You see, you have a show where it's all about instant reactions - reading from a text, repeating what you are told, making the actions you are told to... and you have an actress that has been doing exactly this (well, not only) for some 20 years. Maybe that's why she simply didn't let him manipulate too much - she gained a very delicate, and yet powerful, autonomy. It looked as if the role had been written for her: the perfect amount of an "amateur" attitude, just the right touch of pure theater interpretation, and above all, going with the flow as if this were the most natural of all things that can possibly happen on stage. Because of that, the strange feeling that it's a one man show after all went away, leaving us with what one of the best things the stage can offer: a true performance, where people do things and react and make us wonder how come we never see anything that pretty.

Technorati: theatre, theater, performance, art, contemporary art, new art, vvoi, vvoitek, modern art, cool

Kitty

By blamfoto.

Kitten meets toy

The end. By bakshi.

Eliot

This is Eliot - one of four kittens born to a stray that found us last spring (2005).

Sadly, she was hit by a car a year after she moved in with us (to the day) but we still have Eliot and two of his siblings. By Hugo Heriz-Smith.

Pole

Marcin Maciejowski, Emmigrant, oil on canvas (2006)


found at this great Polish blog about art, where you can discover some excellent contemporary works by artists both Polish and foreign.

Technoratiart, contemporary art, new art, vvoi, vvoitek, modern art, cool

Guess what I've spent 3 days working on??? One collar.







It is the first collar I've made with a neckband and it is a camp shirt with waist darts, McCalls 3541. I'm pretty sure monkeys wrote this pattern. Finally after 7 tries and re-cutting an entirely new neckband, a talented woman from Pattern Review gave me some excellent advice. She even has her collar advice online HERE. The shirt fits well and I plan to make more with fabric I like a lot more.

I'm almost finished with the first sock. I was initially thinking of knitting a pattern on the foot similar this sock from the first little Vogue Knitting sock book that I also knit with worsted weight yarn.



Instead I went with a Fair Isle design chart.I should have these done soon - I still haven't decided if I'm going to finish the Unst lace socks.

Gazing kitten

By Ms. Tea.