Back to Reality, but First...

Oh my, longest blogging hiatus ever!  The SF trip was wonderful.  
May I please move into the apartment with this view?  Since then it's been pretty hectic, so here's a little recap.  

Just wish I had pics of hanging out with Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef: Shauna, Danny and their extremely adorable daughter, and with Diane and Todd, a.k.a. White on Rice Couple.  Good food and chatting about how they collaborate on their blogs as couples: they made this video featuring their new cookbook both of which brought happy tears to my eyes.  So inspiring that I may actually try cooking! and I'm very lucky to have spent time with them.  
Justin already covered some of the yummy things we ate, but there were some crafty things I liked too.  After working hard on Fashion Week NYC it was a luxury to be able to do as this window suggested:

This awesome building is The Contemporary Jewish Museum and the colorful Mexican banner from The Museum of Craft and Folk Art.  

Right next door is the Indian restaurant Amber where I had butter chicken and met Marisa from Food in Jars, a canning blog: I totally want to try it this winter!

I spent quite a while in this exhibit of glass blown sculptures by Loretta Hui-Shan Yang: they were substantial, yet delicate.  After the vessel and flower are created separately they need to be joined at just the right temperature, or both pieces will shatter.

I couldn't believe this luscious fountain could be found in the middle of the city!

And yea, it's touristy down at Fisherman's Wharf, but I love the water and the sweet faces of the sea lions.  The lobster bisque and dungeness crab I had for lunch were pretty good too.

The Blue Angels were in town for Fleet Week and they roared overhead much to the shock of everyone within miles.

I adored this turtle bread from Boudin Bakery so much that I wouldn't let anyone eat him.

Britex Fabrics has 4 floors of beautiful bolts, patterns, supplies, notions and a very helpful staff and I bought some vintage lace.

At The Ferry Building Marketplace I wanted to fry up these pimientos de Padron right there.  

Instead, I got some lemon shortbread from Miette, and later, a very flat, portable umbrella from Kinokuniya in Japantown.

Snapped a cool window display of sewing spools and this crocheted dress at Louis Vuitton

but forget which store created this very large display of paper butterflies and sequins that spanned 3 windows.

At ImagiKnit I bought some soft pink Heather Prime Alpaca.  More on that soon...but I wish I could make it to the book signing on November 21st with Twinkie Chan for her new book of Crochet Goodies for Fashion Foodies, cool.

How was the coffee at Little Bird Coffeehouse so good and how did the baristress create this lovely swirl?

Everyone told us it was unusual for it to be so warm (in the 70's!) and in our walks up and down the hills we spied this doggy Halloween costume

and a display of angel cats!  

Oh, to be on vacation again...

In Between Weekends

I wish I could tell you more about this beautiful Korean sewing book from Nobel Bookstore in the H-Mart shopping complex in Ridgefield, New Jersey.

I've tried Google Translate, used the Google tool bar on this Korean Sewing Factory website and am working through Rosetta Stone, but I have a long way to go.  Maybe now that my work for Fashion Week is winding down and it's almost Friday again I'll have more time. 
Last Saturday we had lunch on St. Mark's Place

and spied a very cool Singer sewing machine at a sidewalk sale, kinda like the ones lining the walls at the AllSaints boutique in Soho.

A colorful collection of glass bottles and jars made me think of this great article from Martha Stewart Living and some of the photo shoots I've visited where they've had lots of different props.

On University Place we passed Gigi K, a shop full of interesting stockings....made me want to pick up a crochet hook again since I haven't used one since I made a few little animals.

At H-Mart on Sunday we had bibimbap, one of my favorites

and bought more ingredients to bring home

to do some more cooking too

and ended the weekend with a nice, quiet meal at home.

I've always admired the fascinating Japanese craft books at Kinokuniya by Bryant Park, so it's great to have a Korean bookstore nearby too.

Maybe I'll be able to interpret enough to make a fun project someday.

Crocheting Blind

Completed: January 30th 2010.  Pattern: Lion Brand Yarns, Yarn: Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in Dusty Rose and Fun Fur in Soft Pink

Such an innocent-looking amigurumi flamingo, sitting by the sunny window.  I've mentioned before that I heart Lion Brand: their adorable shop has a beautiful selection, cozy work space and ultra-helpful staff who helped me order the fun fur for this project online, then had it delivered to my house in a few days with free shipping. 

So, why the worry?  When I saw this pattern I instantly thought of my friend fashion designer and graphic artist Mika Wyche.  Her gorgeous designs are created with all organic materials and are inspired by nature and animals and one of her dresses has a silk-screen print of a flamingo, and she has a flamingo painting in her living room.  I was so impressed when she told me she went camping in Africa and saw a flock of flamingos fly away.  I didn't even realize they could fly!  I've made a few amigurumi before and really enjoyed them and this one seemed simple enough. 

She looked a little bit like a pink alien before I sewed her beak on, but that was simple.

Things were going as usual until: the fun fur.

It was hard to see the stitches amidst all the fur!  I felt like I was sort of just guessing on where the crochet hook should go next, but eventually it worked out and the bird had a head and a body.  Then it was time for the legs.  I'm no stranger to amigurumi birds: my 1st project was a turkey, and then there was the penguin so this didn't intimidate me.

Here's one little leg in progress.  Now with only 4 stitches around it was a very tight space to work in and I wasn't even sure if what I was looking at was even a stitch at all.

At last, time to sew her together.  I'm usually not so into this part, but it was a cinch with just 2 tiny legs.

I finished around 11:30 p.m., so I got this kind of cool, funny night shot.  Kind of went with how I felt while I was making it, like I was crocheting blind.  But it ended well: I hope Mika likes it.

I heart Lion Brand

I'm in love with Lion Brand Yarn Studio.  They have a cozy, bright shop full of very affordable yarns (with a different type discounted each month), supplies, books, classes and a very helpful staff!  I took the Beyond the Basics Crochet class with Stacy and she was so warm and helpful.  I stopped in last night and her Beginner's class was in progress with about 10 newbies.  When I found out that the Soft Pink Fun Fur yarn I needed wasn't in the store, they brought me to the computer (where you can also print out free patterns), and ordered it online for me, waived the shipping charge and said it would be delivered to my home in just a few days.  They also have a lineup of special events that I'd really like to get to when I have some time off...

34 West 15th Street between 5th & 6th Avenue
212-243-9070

Full moon, new month

December 1st already, the last month of a super busy 2009.  I'm getting back into my crafts after a long hiatus, so I'm making lists full of holiday preparations: snowflakes to crochet, socks to knit, candles to pour, penguins to felt, cookies to bake, and all of the craft stores, yarn shops and flea markets to visit around New York City.  And thinking about this article on "The Zen of Crafting".