Despite the weather, I'm trying to:

I cleaned up!

For my birthday last month, my generous brother gave me a gift certificate to amazon.

It's funny. I seem to remember in years past, way before amazon and gift cards, that people used to say giving a gift certificate was "lazy". I don't get it. This way the recipient can get what they want.

So, with the vast array of stuff you can get on amazon, this was a fun task. I looked at books and DVDs and then thought, why not get something I wouldn't normally buy for myself? That's the best thing about a gift certificate.

I remembered reading about Claus Porto soaps and how incredible they are. Here's a little history about this company.

The packaging is exquisitely beautiful and I love the scents I picked out. They're unbelievably fresh and not too cloying.


(Click on photo for a close-up view.)

Aren't they gorgeous? Wish you could smell them too.

It's so humid here right now, you can scoop the air with a spoon. Think I'll give one of these beauties a try later today.

Give it away now

I'm a sucker for knitting books. Whenever we have our umpteenth conversation about moving, I pretty much know what I can part with and what I can't. My knitting books stay!

I try to abide by the rule of giving away one item for each new one purchased. It helps cut down on too much accumulation.

Our local library has a used book shop inside and every so often I'll just pop in and browse. I saw these two gems and couldn't turn them down, especially since they were 2 bucks each.



I just donated a bunch of books to the book shop, including some knitting books I haven't looked at in years. Feels good.

The Cranky Weaver

It's a lovely day here in the 'Dacks, so we decided to take a little drive to an antique flea market in a nearby town.

Some pretty woven items caught my eye, so I walked over to take a look. The weaver was there, working on her loom. Very cool. I liked the colors and textures of the items, so I decided to take a photo. Most of the time I ask for permission, but she was in a deep conversation with someone and I didn't want to interrupt. Just figured I'd take a snap and go.

Seconds later, the weaver YELLS over at me, "Why did you take that picture?" You had to hear it. What an attitude!

I walked over and told her I was a knitter and had an appreciation of all things handmade and just took the picture for myself. She started to rant at me about how people take pictures of her stuff and rip her off all of the time and how does she know I'm not one of them? I assured her I wasn't and then proceeded to show her how I deleted the photo.

By nature I am a calm person, so I decided to stay that way, even though I couldn't believe how abrasive and combative she was towards me. I told her I completely understand her not wanting to be copied and that I have friends who are knitting designers who face the same problems. She kept going on and on about how people from "the city" steal her designs and she does this work for money for her kids and groceries and house payments, etc. I totally get it, but didn't get why her initial reaction was so coarse. I suggested she put up a sign saying no photos, but she didn't like that idea. Whatever!

She sort of half-assed apologized to me, but I was checked-out of the conversation by then. I also changed my mind about buying one of her scarves.

BTW, when I got home I noticed I never pushed the delete button and I still have the photo. As Nelson says on the Simpsons: "Hah Ha."

"Action" shots

There are still a couple of weeks to check out the Knitta Please 69 Meters project on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights.

Here are mine:





There's a nice write-up in the New York Times here.

It's been so gray lately, it was the perfect time to put these up. Still wondering if I could do something like that up here, especially during the countless months of colorless winter.

Button. Button. Who's got the button?

I do! Lots of 'em.

I recently went to this great antique flea market in Washington County in the town of Greenwich. It's pronounced Green-witch, unlike the Connecticut town of the same spelling.

I went with the specific desire of finding some cool buttons, interesting spoons and a berry bowl. Two out three ain't bad.

Here's my button find:



Some nice silver serving spoons:



And as an extra bonus, the only photo I actually got to take at the fair before my batteries crapped out:



Can you imagine those in a child's room? Shudder!!

It's up!

The 69 Meters project on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights has been installed.

There's a nice write-up, with photos, from Gothamist here.

What I didn't expect is the number of absolutely hateful and obnoxious comments that follow this little article.

The Montague Street BID will have photos of all of the meters later in the week, so I'll post mine in action soon.

Do the Math

Housing prices have been going down or staying flat these days, right?
Well apparently the folks here in 'Toga didn't get the memo.

This was taken Christmas Day 2008:



This was taken today, May 13, 2009:



Busted!

See ya!

I promised I wouldn't admit to myself that Winter was over until May 1st. So, here we are.

It's gloomy, rainy and humid here today (but it's NOT SNOW or ICE), a perfect day to put away all of my Winter stuff.

Just a little sampling of things I've made that will be boxed up for a while.



May also ushers in the outdoor Farmer's Market. From now until October, twice weekly, I can walk over and have a fabulous selection of produce, flowers, baked goods, cheeses, herbs and so much more. My family always good-naturedly says, I "leap" through the produce, because it all makes me so happy!

Brooklyn Bound




Those are my pieces for the Knitta Please "69 Meter" projects. They had specific color requirements and that's what I came up with.

I can't wait to see the strip of Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights with all of the gayly festooned meters. The display will be sometime mid-May. You can check out the Montague Street BID site here for more info.