Curiosity

As you know, I’ve been thinking a lot about photography and trying to find ways to keep that shutter snapping.  I have had a particular shot on my mind a lot lately, and I’d like to share it with you.

If you’ve been to San Francisco, and in particular, Golden Gate Park, you know that two windmills sit (or once sat) on the ocean side of the park.  One day I was at the base of the Dutch windmill playing around with the camera.  There was a hole in the base and I peered inside.  I was curious to see what the condition of the working parts of the, then lifeless, windmill looked like.  Total darkness filled the inside cavity and I could not see a thing.  I tried again and again looking into the hole hoping that at some angle I could get a glimpse of something, anything, inside.  Then a brilliant idea hit me.  I stuck my digital camera in the hole, snapped a shot, then pulled it out to take a look at what was inside.  Eureka!  It worked, so I did it again.  And again, and again, and again!  And then, when I got home, I put it all together and got this:

So go stick your camera in a dark hole and see what you find.  Just don’t hold me responsible if you get bit in the process. 

Project FOAM

I’ve been thinking a lot about photography lately.  I have several friends who are amazing photographers and have been much inspired by their photos of their journeys and surroundings.  I always keep a camera on me, but I need to step it up and consciously get out there and shoot.  Fortunately, Betsy, of JoeandBetsy.com, has started her own photo assignment, Project FOAM.   Each day, take a picture of “Food, something Outdoors, something Abstract, and a picture of Myself.”  Today I did just that.  Here is my collage:

I’ll keep up as best as I can and post more on the Project FOAM Flickr page here.  Let me know if you take on Project FOAM.  You can find Betsy’s original post for Project FOAM here.

Hot off the needles…

I started this scarf last weekend at the knitting retreat in Bedford.  Minh wanted to try the pattern but needed a little help with the chart, so I told her I’d do a knit-along with her.  The cables were a little tricky at first until I got the rhythm of the pattern, then it was a breeze.  (Of course, sometimes one forgets to pay attention and crosses the wrong way and has to rip back, but still, pretty breezy.)  The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Silk and Merino Worsted and has been in my stash for a little over a year.  I bought it last year when I went to Stitches Midwest with Susan from the half-off bin.  It is a 50/50 blend of silk and merino and is incredibly soft.

Ravelry users can find the free pattern here:  Rippenschal

3rd Annual Fall Knitting Weekend

It’s hard to believe this is our third knitting retreat into the woods.  What started as a casual suggestion a few years back has turned into a yearly pilgrimage from the city.

We scheduled our trip East to coincide with the Bedford Fall Foliage Festival and a stay at the Bed and Breakfast at Whitetail Wetlands.  The B&B has only 3 bedrooms, yet we were able to sleep 6 comfortably in just two of them.  The largest room had a large outdoor balcony overlooking the goat pen.

When we arrived Friday we settled in to some knitting while Lisa made her signature homemade pizza.  Inside, the seating area (including couch, coffee table, rocking chairs, and baby grand piano) became knitting central.

On Saturday, after a lovely breakfast, we headed to the Bedford Festival.  Most roads in the commercial district of Bedford were blocked off for the festival and tens of thousands of people packed the streets.  I was very excited to return to our cars to get up close to The Coffee Pot.

This two-story relic began as a lunch cafe serving up burgers and cokes.  The landmark was eventually saved by a preservation group and moved to the county fairgrounds where it now stands.  The inside is now one, small, empty room, but it would have been great to see it as a working eatery.  We continued with the roadside attractions by heading to Gravity Hill.  When we reached the appropriate section of the road we put our cars in neutral and they began to roll backwards up the hill!  We put a soda can on the road and it too rolled uphill.  And we were all very impressed!

On Sunday morning we had a special treat as Jerry saddled up the horses and took us for a ride through the property. 

The grounds were so beautiful and inspiring that many of us took little jaunts with our cameras to break up long stretches of knitting.  I’ll leave you with some pictures of my walks and rides throughout Whitetail Wetlands.

Doing my part for the G-20

If you haven’t heard, the G-20 Summit will be in Pittsburgh at the end of the month.  The city is in a frenzy getting ready to take on this massive event. Besides all the necessary safety precautions, Pittsburgh is trying to improve its image and make a good impression.  I liken it to cleaning the house before the in-laws come to town: dusting those usually neglected corners, bringing out the good linens, and sending that couch-surfing, lazy brother out of town for the weekend.

I’m doing my part by helping the Pittsburgh Beautification Project spruce up some unsightly, abandoned buildings by installing Warhol-esque paintings in place of boarded up windows.  Beth and I spent the afternoon painting flowers on giant boards in an empty warehouse.  It was a lot of fun getting messy for the cause.

Obviously, Pittsburgh will not be taking the world leaders on tours of our once-beautiful, tree-lined neighborhoods since Duquesne Light has hacked the trees to a diseased looking state.  (It needed to be said.)

Taking a stab at crochet.

I still haven’t been very motivated to knit, but crochet has been coming up a lot lately.  Last weekend, for instance, my aunt, after several attempts at learning knitting, decided to go back to crochet.  I tried to help her with the crochet, but my knowledge is limited.  After several attempts, I gave up.  This week, a group gathered to crochet hats to take on a mission trip to Guatemala.  The group was willing to teach crochet and had donated yarn at the ready.  I have enough of an understanding of crochet to get something started, but there were a few details that I lacked that kept me from crocheting rectangles with straight edges and 90-degree angles.  The hats we were making were perfect practice patterns.  We crocheted rectangles that were then seamed and the tops drawn together to form the hats.  Having veterans within reach was really helpful and I managed to complete one neat rectangle to make one hat. And, before I forgot what I learned, I started another.

I still prefer the look and versatility of knitting, but I love that crochet is much faster, especially when doing charity work.

The problem with baby showers….

Just off the needles is another Sweetheart Cardigan in Araucania Ranco Solid, this time in pink.   It’s for friends in the Bay Area that are expecting their first baby any day now.

This will obviously not fit her for some time, but I have a theory.  At baby showers, mothers-to-be get lots of sweet little outfits for the newborn.  But very soon the child has outgrown all those gifts and the parents need to start shopping.  Wouldn’t it be nice to have something that fits after the first couple months??  (Well, it makes sense to me, plus, I absolutely love this pattern and I knit it in the smallest size which will fit a 12-24 month-old, so I’m sticking to my theory!)

Stitch ‘n Pitch

Yesterday was the Fourth Annual Stitch ‘n Pitch at PNC Park.  Mixed among diehard fans in section 130 were a number of women knitting and crocheting in public.  In addition to our little swag bag of knitting goodies, we enjoyed a nice July afternoon in the beautiful park where we watched (or forgot to watch) the Pirates play the San Francisco Giants.  I started a baby sweater for some friends in the Bay Area who are expecting their first baby next month.  How appropriate, then, that the Giants won 4 to 3.

Where’s the “knit” in Knitsburgh?

I know, I haven’t had a knitting post in a while.  Truth is, I haven’t really been knitting much.  I mean, I’ve been nibbling away on a few projects, but nothing that I could blog about.  But, since today is the baby shower, I can show my most recent finished object.  This Baby Surprise Jacket is for my friend Rebecca.  Her and her husband are expecting their first child in August.  I love that they are waiting for the birth of the baby to find out the sex.  It’s a little challenging knitting a unisex garment, but also nice to not feel compelled to knit a pink or blue sweater.  This yarn is from the Kaffe Fassett Design Line for Regia.  While I’m not a fan of Fassett’s designs (too over the top for me), I do love his colors.  I have been admiring this yarn for some time and was thrilled to be using it for the sweater.  The Baby Surprise Jacket is a great pattern for varigated and self striping yarns.  And I love that I found matching buttons (Parker Button)!

San Francisco, part V

Finally, the final days of my trip to SF with Beth.  First…. THE MAKER FAIRE!

I specifically planned the SF trip to coincide with the Maker Faire. There are so many words to describe this event:  DIY, kinetic, art, craft, inventive, bizarre, steam punk, musical, flamable, deconstructive, robotic, and big, big big!  The fair is held for two days (we went for one) and it would take at least that to see everything.  I cannot do justice in explaining the whole event.  For that, I would suggest checking the Maker Faire website here.

Here are some of the things I managed to capture.

When we first entered the event, we were in awe of all the things billowing smoke and fire.  A steam train, a giant flower sculpture, the Crucible’s firetruck…  as we walked around there’d be a sudden blast of fire here or there.

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There was a life-sized Mouse Trap, just like the board game.  And, although we never caught it “in action”, it was still something to marvel at and a nice trip back to childhood. 

Yep, bathtub, wacky stairs, and boot on a stick… it was all there!

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There were many musical acts, and most included an accordian.  According to Beth’s guide book, the accordian is the state instrument for California.  (We cannot find the official state instrument for PA, but we have our theories.)

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There were crazy, handmade bicycles and several art cars.  One car was full of tiny plastic windmills.  Two little girls were walking away from this car with marks on their fingers squealing “they write!”

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Around every corner was another robotic creature walking through the crowd… even replicas of R2D2 beeping and whirling through the crowd.

It was great to just find a place to sit and watch the “parade” pass by.

One of my favorite parts was the hall containing the kinetic sculptures.  We managed to catch the interview with 5 of the artists and then see the works in action (literally).  I wish I had taken more pictures, especially of the plastic bottle “wave” sculpture by Reuben Margolin.   Here’s a little snippet of video, though. It was truly spectacular and beautiful.  Hung from the ceiling of the convention center, hundreds of plastic, 2-liter bottles moved in a slow wave.

In the same building were many other wonderful sights and sounds and lots of hands-on playing.  I once owned a piano that needed to be deconstructed to be removed from the house.  I was just a teen living at home at the time, but would have loved to have hung on to the portion with the strings. 

My absolute favorite part of the day was when we were sitting on a bench watching and listening to people play on this theremin-type exhibit (I think it was built around a Tesla Coil).  Those eerie sounds made the perfect soundtrack for this creature that suddenly appeared.  So cool!

On Sunday I took a beautiful ride on the Larkspur ferry from the Ferry Plaza to visit my brother. (Note that San Francisco Fog vs. the bright blue skies across the bay.)

Scott had been preparing his yard for his garden and I arrived just in time to help put everything in the ground.  What a treat!  Squash, tomatoes, peppers, beans, peas, and lettuces.  And, in true Scott fashion, the garden was a handmade masterpiece of beautiful reused items.  I love the coiled rebar to hold the climbing cucumbers and the iron plant stand as tomato cage.  Take a look:

Also in true Scott fashion, he brought out the ugly teeth and made me wear them. Oh, the things my brother can make me do!

And that’s the trip.  Just a sleepless red-eye back to the ‘Burgh, and then it was June.