Cutie Pie!

Ah, this brings back memories of my college days at the University of Connecticut where I spent more time visiting the barns (it's an agricultural school among other things) than in the library.  Spring was the best time with all the lambies being born.  In the evening, the babies would be all tucked in with clean hay and soft glow lights in their pens surrounded by their siblings with mom planted securely in the middle of them all.  It was a quiet and most peaceful nursery.  My roommate made such fun of me.  Where's Suze, people would ask.  She's down talking to the sheep.  Ha Ha.  One night I absolutely insisted that she join me on my evening rounds.  I wanted her to understand and bless her heart, she did.  She was entranced and finely understood the pleasure of being in a hay-strewn barn at dusk with well-cared for animals breathing lightly on full stomachs, nodding off to sleep. There's just something about that.  

University of Connecticut's Agi Center

Blue Sky's Done It Again!

I don't know how Blue Sky does it.  Twice a year they come out with new colors, new patterns and oftentimes new yarn.  Their marketing and packaging are extraordinary.  They just added 3 colors to Extra, a luxury yarn we debuted at last year's yarn crawl. They are: Canyon, Mist, and Ocean.  When I sprung these yarn samples from the muslin bag, I gasped and said ....ohhhhhh! You will too when you see them!  We'll have them in for our San Diego Yarn Crawl which starts September 17-20.  It's a Don't Miss!

A Knitter's Approach to Summer

From Debbie Stoller, the author of Stitch N' Bitch, who knows what Summer is all about!  We've got some beautiful Worsted Cotton by Blue Sky Alpaca that makes the most beautiful baby blankets. It's organic, incredibly soft, and has a worsted weight gauge (rather unusual for cotton) so it works up faster than most.  Check out the their incredible color palette which has grown more beautiful with the years!

Jilly Mini Skein Bundles Are On Their Way!

Jilly (which we debuted at last year's San Diego Yarn Crawl) is an amazing super wash merino lace weight yarn by Dream in Color.  Dream in Color has put together two bundles of six Jilly mini skeins; one in a cool colorway and one in warm.  One bundle makes Arcoiris, the pattern shown here designed specifically to showcase Jilly's dreamy colors and soft texture.  Our shipment left the warehouse last week and I'll be waiting in the window for the UPS delivery hoping for its arrival.  Can't wait to get my hands on it!  You know I will let you know!

Nothing on Your Needles? Cast on this Perfect Summer Project!

Notched Hem Tank Top by The Purl Bee is a free pattern that is all the style with the side panel inserts and equally long front and back pieces. This was knit in Habu's Knitted Linen which is exquisite and at $14.10 a ball, with 14 balls needed for the medium size, it should be!  For a more cost effective solution, knit this in Plymouth Yarn's Linen Concerto, a drapey rayon linen blend finished with a touch of cotton. Linen Concerto has a bit of a sheen and with an interesting twist of fibers that adds texture.  And unlike indigo, it is colorfast and won't dye your hands or needles blue.  Best of all, it's just a little more than half the cost of Habu's Knitted Linen.  So don't just sit there, knit something!

Not Just Knitting

This here dresser top is a New York Roundabout design made from judipatuti's delectable fabrics! It's a quilting process called paper piecing and it was a challenge for this newbie to learn!  We took a class at Rosie's in La Mesa but it wasn't until I got home to a quieter environment with no distractions that I was able to finally figure out how to do this!  Plenty of ripping out, I can tell you.  But by the end of the project I had it down.  And now I am working on a flying geese quilt which involves smaller pieces.  I am using one of judipatuti's charm packs of coordinated fat quarters which makes a beginning quilter's life so much easier!  If you haven't seen Judy's 2015 summer collection yet, you must come visit us!  It is so inspiring!

Why May Day?

Happy May 1st!  As I was sitting here contemplating the new month, I wondered how Mayday became the universal distress call that it is.  Bottom line?  It's from the french word for "help me".  And here's the detailed explanation!

WHY PEOPLE ON PLANES AND SHIPS USE THE WORD “MAYDAY” WHEN IN EXTREME DISTRESS

This is an excerpt from our new book: The Wise Book of Whys, available in: Print | Kindle | Nook | Audiobook

Today I found out why those aboard planes and ships use the word “Mayday” to indicate they are in extreme distress.

In 1923, a senior radio officer, Frederick Stanley Mockford, in Croydon Airport in London, England was asked to think of one word that would be easy to understand for all pilots and ground staff in the event of an emergency.

The problem had arisen as voice radio communication slowly became more common, so an equivalent to the Morse code SOS distress signal was needed.  Obviously a word like “help” wasn’t a good choice for English speakers because it could be used in normal conversations where no one was in distress.

At the time Mockford was considering the request, much of the traffic he was dealing with was between Croydon and Le Bourget Airport in Paris, France. With both the French and English languages in mind, he came up with the somewhat unique word “Mayday”, the anglicized spelling of the French pronunciation of the word “m’aider” which means “help me”.

Four years later, in 1927, the International Radiotelegraph Convention of Washington made “Mayday” the official voice distress call used only to communicate the most serious level of distress, such as with life-threatening emergencies.

When using Mayday in a distress call, it is traditional to repeat it three times in a row, “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday”. This is to make sure it is easily distinguishable from a message about a Mayday call and from any similar sounding phrases in noisy conditions.

In situations where a vessel requires assistance, not from grave and imminent danger, a distress call of “pan-pan” can be used instead. Essentially, it means you need aid, but you don’t need support personnel to necessarily drop what they’re doing right that instant and come help you, as with a Mayday.

Like Mayday, pan-pan is the anglicized spelling of a French word, in this case “panne”, which means “broken/failure/breakdown”.  Also, as with Mayday, one should state it three consecutive times: “pan-pan pan-pan pan-pan”, followed by which station(s) you are addressing and your last known location, nature of your emergency, etc.

If there is no reply to a Mayday or pan-pan call by the Coast Guard or other emergency agency, and a couple minutes have passed since the last one, some other radio source, such as another ship or plane that received the call, should transmit their own Mayday call, but on behalf of the ship or plane that first made the call, repeating the pertinent information they heard when they received the Mayday message.

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:

• Our book whence this article came: The Wise Book of Whys
• What the SOS Distress Signal Stands For
• The Origins and Meanings of 9 Pirate Words and Expressions
• When Julius Caesar was Kidnapped by Pirates
• The Dogs Aboard the Titanic

Bonus Facts:

• Making false declaration of “Mayday” in the United States can get you up to six years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
• Contrary to popular vernacular, you would never actually say “over and out” in an official radio communication.  Why? Because “over” means you’re done talking and are expecting a reply.  “Out” means you are both done talking and are finished with the communication, not expecting a reply from anyone.
• During the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, even though four planes crashed, only one was able to make a Mayday call. Flight 93 crashed into a field in Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, and made two Mayday calls to Air Traffic Control in Cleveland. The first call was at 09:28:17. Captain Jason Dahl can be heard shouting, “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday” over sounds of violence. The second Mayday call came at 09:28:50 when someone in the cockpit shouted, “Mayday! Get out of here! Get out of here!”. No one knows exactly when Flight 93 came under the control of the highjackers but by 09:31:57, highjacker Ziad Jarrah was making announcements to the plane’s passengers and inadvertently to Air Traffic Control in Cleveland.

Into Every Knitting Life a Little Math Must Fall!

Amy Herzog, creator of Custom Fit, has just come out with a knit app tool box that helps calculate gauge, button hole spacing, armhole shaping, etc.!  It's brand new so there are no ratings yet.  It's $4.99 on iTunes. May be worth a try!  And don't you love the title of this post which I found on the app page?! It's so true!

My Best Friend Thelma

Knitting Thelma has been an exercise in patience!  For all the time I spend on her, she should be my best friend.  Don't get me wrong. I love this pattern because it's the ultimate summer knitting project.  You can do it blind-folded on the beach since it's all garter stitch and there's no shaping.  And I love Mixer.  It's a fun, fun yarn to knit with.   However, I'm going to tell you right up front that it is a time-consuming knit.  I think that's because of the variation in textures.  Even in garter stitch, it's hard to get any momentum going.

Now, before I owned a yarn shop, this would have been a perfect project for me.  But I'm not a leisure knitter anymore. I'm always cranking out samples and one season ahead in terms of projects.  So if I spend more than a few nights on a project, it seems as if it's taking me forever to knit.  It looks like I started this April 5th!  Being the fast knitter that I am, over 3 weeks is an eternity for me.  But the end is in sight  and I totally believe that this design is going to be well worth the time.  And by god, I am going to finish this before I launch into the Fall projects I've been dying to knit!

DIY Window Treatment

Dare I say I almost like Pinterest better than Ravelry? I'm always poking around there looking for trends in knitwear and Fall 2015 designs.  And while I'm at it, I stumble on some other very cool things like this window pelmet box.  A 20 minute job and all you need is a foam core board, fabric, batting, duck tape and a stapler.  A regular old stapler.  I had this beautiful judipatuti fabric left over from a quilting project.  Turns out it was exactly the size I needed for my kitchen window.  I love how tailored this look is.  It's neat.  No frills, no gathers, no curtain rod.  It's just so pleasing and it's amazing what a difference it makes to soften up the kitchen.  So if you've got 20 minutes and the inclination, think about giving your window(s) a new outfit for Spring.

Tomato Sighting!!!

Oh my.  I've got some! The rain has brought fruit to bear and I am beside myself with joy.  I try not to count my chickens before they hatch but I have 5 tomato plants and 4 of them already have tomatoes and plenty of flowers.  I want very much to can tomato sauce this year and make tomato jam. Last year I didn't pick the best tomato varieties but this year, I think I've nailed it. Fingers crossed and thanks to the rain gods.

A Dark Dive on a Rainy Day

I'm a very poor sport about rain.  Yes, I know we need it desperately.  I just wish it didn't happen during the day. Yesterday, it was cozy though snuggled in bed with 10 good books and my dog Purl at my feet but I was restless. Ya know, I just want to put a flannel shirt on and comfy old jeans and sit in a dark dive bar in the afternoon.  Is that weird of me?  Whatever.  So we went to Filippe's in Little Italy where it is always dark inside and kitchy Chianti bottles hang from the ceiling with names handwritten on their straw jackets. Oh the table clothes are red and white check and the walls are panelled circa 1958.  They serve full carafes of cheap Chianti for under $12.  We call it grape juice since it doesn't pack much of a punch or taste like much.  And my dear husband, indulged me.  We ate anti pasta and meatball sandwiches with melted provolone on sub rolls. And it was the perfect thing to do.  I came home heartened and sat and knitted for hours thinking...the rain isn't that bad after all.

Blue Sky Worsted Cotton is back!

Blue Sky Worsted Cotton is an organic worsted weight cotton that is softer than baby cheeks.  It's machine washable and the color palette is outstanding!  We're starting to beef up our supply since this yarn makes the best summer binkies.  We have a free garter stitch pattern with an eyelet border for beginning knitters who want to knit their first baby blanket.  You can do it!!!!

House of Belonging

As I was cleaning off my desk this morning, I came across this beloved poem by David Whyte, perhaps my all time favorite.  I am so fond of it that years ago, I printed it on this Pillow of Sei Shonagon, that I knit in Eurofax.  These words also appear on the header in my blog.  Perhaps I've shared it with you before but it is worth repeating.  The pillow still sits on an antique rocking chair in my living room.  And it's one of the things I'd grab if I had to vacate my house quickly taking only my favorite things with me. It puts everything in perspective.  

House of Belonging

by David Whyte

I woke this morning in the gold light

turning this way and that

thinking for one moment

it was a day like any other.

But the veil had gone from my darkened heart.

I thought it must have been the quiet candlelight

that filled my room.

It must have been the first easy rhythm

with which I breathed myself to sleep.

It must have been the prayer I said

speaking to the otherness of the night.

And I thought this is the good day 

you could meet your love.  

This is the black day someone close to you could die.

This is the day you realize how easily

the thread is broken between this world

and the next 

and I found myself sitting up

in the quiet pathway of the night.

The tawny close grained cedar

burning around me like fire

and all the angels of this housely heaven

ascending through the first roof of light

this sun has made.

This is the bright home in which I live.

This is where I ask my friend to come.

This is where I want to love all the things it

has taken me so long to learn to love.

This is the temple of my adult aloneness

and I belong to that aloneness

as I belong to my life.

The Underappreciated Garter Stitch

I'm not afraid to say it.  I love garter stitch.  Yep, that simple 'knit every row" stitch where we all start out.  We all know it's virtues...it lays flat (versus stockinette), it's reversible, and so easy you can knit it in the dark.  This picture is a photo of Berroco's Mixer which is a fusion of different fibers.  Some are like thin silk ribbons, some are like cotton string....so fun! And the pattern is Thelma, an over sized tee with drop shoulders.  Easy, easy, easy.  A perfect knit for the Spring.  Knitting is rather slow with this highly textured yarn but an absolute pleasure.  It causes me to slow down and really enjoy the steady rhythm of it all. If you're up for a drapey, shimmery (but not too) knit, check out Thelma.  Looks like this design would flatter all body types.

Jenome Sewing Machine Missing from the Grove

We don't know whether it was during the busy Spring Walkabout or when but Judipatuti's Janome sewing machine that she teaches students to sew with has gone missing. It hurts, ya know?  The foot pedal and electric chord were not with the machine so whoever took it won't even be able to use it.  While I doubt whoever took it reads my blog (!) I can't help but put out a plea for it's return.  We want it back.  No questions asked.

Cherry Blossoms in Paris

Paris in Spring

Oh can you imagine the sweet fragrance of this evening in Paris? This photo brought back a a lovely memory for me. My sister lived in D.C. for many years and during my Spring visits, we would drive through Kenwood, a stately old neighborhood with brick houses and grand lawns. The cherry trees lining the streets formed a canopy.  When a slight breeze caught the blossoms, it snowed pink flowers.  The lawns and streets were blanketed in these fragile blossoms and it was absolutely magical. Although I have never seen the cherry blossoms in Paris, there is always tomorrow.

Haggens Has Arrived in North Park!

Overall, living in the 'hood is awesome but we have been a little deprived in the grocery store department. Sprouts has been "meh" lately with the fruit and veggie spoil rate pretty darn high.  So DH and I have been searching for convenient nearby solutions.  (God, I hope this isn't too boring!  When I start writing about recipes, shoot me.).  A customer told me that Food Bowl (right by our house) is a good place for fresh produce. WHAT?!# Alrighty, then.  So we tried it this weekend and actually had the pleasant surprise of being able to identify what we were eating with our eyes closed. Imagine that!

And then today we were driving down University and noticed that the old Albertson is now a Haggens.  Huh? So we pulled over and I went in to check out the goods. I am excited to report that it is beautiful. Really! Lots of organic veggies and fruits and a big selection.  I love bitter salad makings and they actually have radicchio (not easy to find).  And aisles and aisles of stuff.  They carry Bread & Cie and Sallie Rose breads (my personal favorite is the Chiabatta).  A darn good cheese selection.  Prepared foods that were actually tempting.  So run, don't walk if you're tired of the Von's shuffle and if Sprouts has let you down.  Here's to the neighborhood moving on up!

Fickle with Color

So yesterday, I'm on my knees over the Spring color combo of lime green and pale grey.  This morning?  I'm on to Pantone's Marsala which is pictured here.  When I saw this picture on Pinterest I literally gasped out loud.  I LOVE THIS COLOR SO MUCH IT HURTS!  And it's not just the color, check out the textures! I've been monitoring Fall fashions to stay on top of color and knitwear trends and that's how I discovered this. Wine is this year's Fall color.  Deep.  Rich.  Sexy, no?

Spring green!

One of the best things about owning the Grove is that I get to bring in anything that suits my fancy...like these awesome felted laptop cases, wallets, and eye glass cases.  Cut-outs were all the rage at the L.A. Gift Show. Aside from this collection, our clothing vendor has brought in leather-like purses with cut-outs in crayon colors.  As mild as our change of seasons is in Southern California I still feel them and am grateful it is Spring and that bright colors are popping up everywhere!