Announcement!

I am turning 50 this year in September, and Jaya and I are throwing a big birthday bash on at Cafe de la Paz in Berkeley. I am sending out my Save The Date emails, hope to get it all done before we go off to Lark in the Morning music camp.

I am planning a GREAT party, one not to miss! If you don't know this restaurant, you should. The food is fantastic. So, that's ONE reason to come. I am having a great band, Greenbridge, play. Tim Hart on whistle and bodhran, Michael Mullen on fiddle and guitar, and Tom Wagner on guitar and vocals. Michael does vocals too, and I've asked him to sing Isn't it Grand at the party.

Next, the White Rats Morris team are going to dance. When Jaya first saw morris dancing, he said, "Oh! It's Monty Python cheerleading." And for most morris teams, that's pretty accurate. But the rats bring a bit more to it, as you'll see. Their costumes, for one thing, are not the traditional morris garb. I'm glad I have become involved with the team as a musician (or Muso) and I've been very impressed with their dedication and skill.

After the rats perform, the party will continue with a regular open irish/celtic music session. Dancers are welcome to dance, singers are welcome to particpate, sangria will flow and great food will be available throughout.

Now before you all go shopping for a great birthday present for me, I have decided to ask folks to contribute a charitable donation instead of bringing a gift. I have chosen the Family Path organization (formerly Parental Stress Service), where Shay Black is Administrative Program Supervisor. This group offers a 24-hour Family Support Resource Hotline, a 24-hour Foster Parent Advice Line, Emergency Respite Child Care, CalWORKS support counseling and Positive Parenting Classes. They also provide counseling for infants, children, adolescents adults and families.

Shay helped produce a cd a couple years ago celebrating the parent-child relationship, “Hold My Hand”. This includes contributions from such noted artists as Joan Baez, Mary Black, John McCutcheon, Maria Muldaur, Steve Seskin, Linda Tillery, and others. The cd will be available at the party for a contribution of $20 or more.

I'm very excited to be beginning the second half of my own personal century on this planet. Gathering friends together to share music and good times is the best way I can think of to get it started.

Chained to my desk

Well, at least it's a nice desk! OK, I'm not actually talking about the DESK, which is just a piece of laminated wood propped up on a filing cabinet and sawhorses. I'm talking about the SPACE. Thanks, Lisa! (Lisa moved to Boston, so I moved into the nicest space in the office.) I have a window to my right, and one behind me, so I have light and air and... oh yeah, work.

Which is why I'm spending an inordinate amount of time in front of this desk. For the time being. I get to sit on the big green ball, and bounce a bit. And when nobody else is here, I listen to Cast On, Brenda Dayne's knitting podcast, or I turn my Irish music up. So there are good things. And putting together the magazine is actually fun. It's just NEVERENDING at this point!

ANOTHER new project

This silk twisted wonder yarn I got on Ebay has been calling to me. And the loopy mohair came, too. So I looked through all my books and magazines, and I found this pattern. I am thinking if It fits at all, I'm going to love to wear it. And it seems to be quite forgiving size-wise. So here I go:



It is knitting up soft. Mostly purple in appearance with every other color in the rainbow showing through. Jewel tones. I'm excited. And it's kntting on size 10 1/2 needles.. shouldn't take forever. I'll keep you posted!



I didn't have time to post this picture from our last session here. Jaya and Jason both do marial arts. At some point during the evening, Jaya stood on one leg while playing a tune. Not to be outdone, Jason stood up and joined him. I couldn't compete in THIS arena, but I COULD snap a picture!



Last weekend, the Dunsmuir House Scottish Games were held. I went on Saturday to man the session tent, only to arrive and find... No tent! My friend Vic Entriken has been arranging this session for the past several years, and he's tired. We had a circle of chairs under the trees. This was not the best, but we did have a lively session, at least for part of the day.

Our neighbor, the stone carver, decided to take a nap. The music must have been soothing, because he was out for a couple hours!



On the way out, I stopped to see Molly's Revenge. I bought their new CD, Raise the Rafters.


Here's David Brewer in his element. I did a motion blur in the background, so it really looks like he does, running around on stage. He jumped off the stage at one point, playing his pipes. This kind of energy is what Celtic music is all about.

Memorial For Sid

We had a memorial for Sid the cat on Saturday, July 1. Attending were the three Sid moms, Janet, me, and Alison; Sid dad Jeff, and friends. Pictured above are Linda, Anne, Cordelia, Bruce, Janet, Alison and Jeff. Phil, Jaya and I were sitting at the picture vantage point.

Janet wrote 'The Story of Sid's Nine Lives' which she read. She and I provided some music, but although we HAD rehearsed, we didn't rehearse what we actually played, and I'm afraid I floundered around for the beginnings of the tunes. Luckily we were among forgiving friends, but I don't want to do that again.


From 'The Story of Sid's Nine Lives'


Sid found his favorite toy at Sharon’s – The Bear. When Sharon’s daughter Magda was born 22 years ago (or so) Sharon sewed this teddy bear for her firstborn. Sadly, “nobody really loved this teddy bear” said Sharon, “but Sid did.” Sid had been “fixed” a little late in his maturity and he would occasionally do this “happy dance” of kneading the bear’s legs and then gently moving his back end up and down. After he’d “done the bear” he would hop off the bear and give himself a short bath. The behavior seemed alternatively peculiar, amusing or natural – but it wasn’t the least bit messy and generally didn’t last long. It seemed to go along with Sid’s masculine physique. Anyway, once each of his Cat Moms got used to it – nobody really minded – and the teddy bear never complained.

Sharon's note: He may not have complained, but he showed the signs of being a REAL bear after he became Sid's bear. Notice the missing eye. Anyone who loves The Velveteen Rabbit will know what I'm talking about.

After the memorial, we went back to Bruce and Anne's for a potluck. Lots of Sid stories were told. Bruce threw some chicken and salmon on the barby, and we had a nice evening. Sharon and Julie joined us there, and we did a musical recap for them.

I made a chocolate cake in the shape of a bear, I should have taken a picture! It was frosted with whipped cream with ground chocolate mixed into it. I used the America's Test Kitchen recipe for Chocolate Sheet Cake. It makes the BEST chocolate cake.

Finished Projects!!

Jaya left yesterday morning for Tel Aviv. We talked on the phone this morning, but I won't hear from him again until tomorrow. I had a worried moment in the shower tonight, had to reassure myself that he'll be home on Tuesday, and everything will be fine.

I'm taking the opportunity to catch up on my blog. The first order of business is THE FINISHED PROJECTS!! I love it when a plan comes together. First: The BAG.



Here it is, handles and all. And filled it with the same kind (different colors) of yarn I used to make it. There are probably 12 skeins in there. I'm so proud of this. I know now that I picked up the stitches wrong when I made it, but after felting you can't tell at all.

Here is Andrew's scarf, all complete:


It's actually two stripes short, but I ran out of yarn! The last burgandy stripe is a couple rows short. I probably ran out of yarn because I made all the stripes one or more rows too long.. but actually I don't think that accounts for a whole stripe short of each color... there are only 9 burgandy stripes.

Anyway, i think it's plenty long. And because it was knit in the round, the fabric is doubled. This sucker is WARM. Andrew may be able to get by without a jacket when he wears this in the fall!

I have some leftover fringe. I have some leftover fringe from the very first scarf I made, too. I just saw a 'scarf' in the OneSkein book made from pompoms. What a good way to use leftover fringe! But it's either very edgy or downright hokey. I think the pompoms would have to be made out of very wonderful stuff for this scarf to be wearable. By me, anyway!

Next, is the whistle sock. MONTHS ago, Jaya asked me to knit him a tube that he could put his low D pennywhistle in. He was using an old knee sock, and he thought it would be cool to have a custom knitted 'sock' for it. He puts the whole thing into a plastic tube, the fabric cushions the whistle. This is the whistle he bought when we were in Galway.

I used some very soft yarn that I got in the bargain bin at the knitting show. Was it April? I still haven't used most of that yarn, but this skein was perfect for this project. This blue is the color of Jaya's eyes.

I used #3 DPNs and knit the tube in the round, just like a sock. He wanted it longer than the whistle is, so it can fold over at the top. I closed the bottom just like I make a sock toe, with short rows. And for a refresher of Kitchener Stitch to close it up, I went to the Knitting Help website. These movies are wonderful! They take you through everything with very clear verbal description and the visual as well. Just a fantastic resource. My mother found it, I've bookmarked the site, and I go back to it when I want to see something again. I wish she had a movie for Tubular Bind-Off. That's one I can't seem to master.


And now, THE STASH

I have discovered shopping for yarn on EBay. I have to stop, because I now have purchased 3 lots of yarn and some needles, and I just have to pledge I will use it before I buy anything else. Well, SOME of it.

I have only received one of the lots so far. This is 10 skeins of handspun silk from Sari remnants. So it's recycled. And the colors are gorgeous. See?





The yarn isn't very soft, and the seller recommended knitting it up with mohair to add some softness. So the other two lots I bought are to use with it. They should arrive next week. I got 10 skeins of Purple and Blue loop 80% Mohair, 20% Wool.


I think it will be gorgeous with the Sari Silk. I'm thinking of knitting a kind of loosish shawl, but I really haven't decided.

And then I got some 50% Angora 50% Wool yarn, 6 skeins. While I was shopping for the Angora, I discovered a seller who spins 100% Angora yarn from her own Agora Bunnies. Drool. But it is much more expensive than the commrcial stuff I bought, and I've gone a bit overboard as it is. I'll buy from her another day.

The angora yarn I bought is pink. And I think this will work very well with the bright Sari Silk colors, too. So maybe two shawls? Scarves? I have enough for a larger project, so I'm not sure. Anybody have any pattern ideas?


Now, of course, this isn't everything. I'm still working on Jaya's socks and the Christmas socks. But I couldn't help myself, I started ANOTHER sock. The mosaic pattern from the Sensational Knitted Socks book by Charlene Schurch.

I think this pattern is yummy, but it's late, and I am not going to take the time right now for a picture. I'll post one later on.

I have more catchup to do, but I just am out of steam, so I'll tell you all about the Dunsmuir Scottish Games and Sid's memorial service another day. Probably Monday. Oh! and I learned how to spin last night! My first lesson, anyway. More pictures to follow. Goodnight.

Pride Parade

Sunday, I marched in the Pride Parade with the White Rats Morris team. I had an amplifier plugged into my fiddle, that I wore with a guitar strap. I was one of four musicians, Lee on fife, Shay on banjo, Richard on clarinet, and me on fiddle. The parade goes for about nine blocks on Market street in San Francisco. It seems that each thing you see is more outrageous than the last. It was a lot of fun!

Before the parade, the White Rats bell-up. For most morris dancers, this means strapping bells attached to leather thongs around their shins.

The Rats do this too, but as an addition, we also attach bells to our arms. With monofilament. Yes, through the skin. Yes, it does hurt. But the reactions on people's faces are more than worth it. This is Laura getting her bells attached with Ari's expert help. This was Laura's first bell-up, and she's taking it in stride.





Here's a shot of the whole team. We had 15 dancers this year! That's gotta be a record!

In Memory of Sid

Two days ago, our dear friend Sid was killed by a car. He lived with Janet and Jeff since May of 2003, before that he lived with me in Hayward since Mothers Day, 1999. He came to me from Alison, with whom he had spent a year in San Francisco. Alison got him from the SPCA when he was five. He was extremely wary of people then, especially men. But he became much more trusting with time.

Sid was a gorgeous animal, with a regal bearing. He was a good companion. The only annoying habit he had was a loud meow, which he used when he wished to go outside, which was frequently. Sid enjoyed attention, and loved to be combed. He was the best company.

He will be missed.

Please add a comment at the bottom of this post, to share memories of Sid.

Sid with Janet and Jeff


Sid and Jeff




Sid in the Fiddle Case

One of Sid's favorite places. If my fiddle case was open and available, Sid would curl up in it.


Sid on the Piano

I have another picture somewhere of Sid sitting on the piano resting his chin on the edge. He loved to rest his chin on wood.

Knitting Update

I continued knitting the second Jaya sock at Ardenwood. Another inch or so, and it will be time to make the heel. Size one needles make this project very slow, and when I do finish, they will be a pair of warm wool winter socks. Jaya won't be able to wear them until it starts getting cold, anyway, so I'm not in a super hurry.

Here's the second sock next to it's future owner.


And now, on to some exciting news... the felting of the entrelac bag!!!

Here is a photo of the completed bag, before felting. I put it on paper, and drew an outline around the bag, so you will have a reference.


As you can see here, the bag is quite large (about 30 inches across if you were to stretch it out) with a loose knit.

After I took the picture, Dean decided he would try the 'needle method' of felting.

I didn't let him get very far with this, but I think he would have continued as long as I allowed it!


Here is Dean, before I shooed him away. Very industrious, isn't he?



I put the bag inside a pillowcase, and then into the washing machine with some other clothes to balance the machine. Short wash, hot water wash, cold rinse. I just set it on the maximum time, which is 18 minutes agitation in my washing machine, and let it go for the full cycle. Here's what came out! It is a bit bigger than I was expecting, but the felting worked great, nice and tight.

Then, I stuffed the bag with plastic bags, to get the nice round shape I want. I just have to let it dry that way, and it will be a perfect round basket to carry my projects in. I may make another, smaller one for my socks.




The only problem with this is, I didn't make the handles yet. I was impatient to see what the felting would do, and I thought I could put them in later. However, now I can't find all the holes I made in which to insert the handles! They have felted up too tightly to find!

I shall have to poke new ones after I get the handles done. Next time, I guess I need to make everything and assemble it before I do the felting.

I'm really enjoying the felted results of this bag. What a difference!

Another Packed Weekend

This weekend was another fun-filled time... first, Jaya and I went down to San Jose to deliver the Daewoo to Melanie. We had a nice visit, and lunch across the street at Alberto's. Then we drove over to Guitar Center to get me AMPLIFIED!

I'm playing fiddle in the Pride Parade for the White Rats on June 25. It's hard to hear the music over all the parade noise, and we've always used these little tiny amplifiers. But I didn't have one of my own, and the tiny ones aren't a whole lot better than nothing. So I went shopping.

I almost bought another little fender amp like the ones Lee has. But when Jaya heard it, he said my fiddle was drowning out what was coming out of the amp! So I went for the BIG one! Granted, this isn't exactly a large amp. But I have to CARRY it through the parade, and it's 10 times bigger than the little Fender. I got a nice padded strap for it, and a cord that plugs into my fiddle pickup. I am SET.

Saturday night we went out drinking and dining with folks from work. Lisa is leaving us, so this was kindof a goodbye dinner. Meredith and Lisa both took the DRINKING part seriously, having 4 martinis and 3 margaritas respectively.



Sunday we went to Connie Doolan's house concert. She was excellent. At the break, when I told her it was going well, she said, "When I look out and see you, I think about my posture and my breath!" I've been her student for a couple months, and we're working on that with me.


This little girl just couldn't stay awake. Connie teaches kids, and I don't know for sure if this is one of her students, or the daughter of a friend, but she was just too sweet for me not to snap her photo. They're all angelic in sleep, aren't they?


After the concert we went to the movies. Our choices were: Thank you for Smoking, or RV (Robin Williams). We saw RV. It was cute, a little like the Chevy Chase vacation movies, but I prefer Robin William to Chevy Chase, so I enjoyed it.

And then we went to the Tango! There sure are a significant number of people who can really do the Argentine Tango. I was impressed. Jaya and I danced, and we had fun, but we're still working out how to do it.

The Expanding Bag

Would you just look at the size of this bag? It is very loosely knit, I'm using size 10.5 circular needles, But as you can see, it's over 30 inches wide! Now, this is supposed to shrink down to something like 11 inches, so, we'll see!

Memorial day weekend was mostly stay-at-home for the Carls. We were going to go to San Jose on Saturday, but I wasn't feeling well, so we didn't. We had people over Saturday night for session, (see posts below) and that was fun. And then Sunday, we were going to go to Niles on the train, but Jaya wanted to stay home and sew, so we stayed home. We did get to the Starry Plough that evening. I sang 'I can see your Aura'. I said I learned it from Stevie Coyle, which I did, but Lonnie Herman admonished me for not giving credit to the author, Mark Graham. I hadn't known he wrote that song. Since I'm learning another song by Mark Graham, when I sing it at the plough, I'll give credit to him for both of them.

Today we saw The DaVinci Code. I enjoyed the movie. It kept me engaged, and I enjoyed it as much as I had enjoyed the book. I have to review the book, though. The ending in the movie is not quite as I remember, so either I am misremembering, or they changed it. My recommendation is, if you enjoyed the book, you will probably enjoy the movie.

Ballydesmond Polka

Click on the picture to see me playing the Ballydesmond Polka (in another window). Now, if I had a newer camera, we might have sound, too!

Session Saturday

Here's the latest shot of the bag! I've got one diamond in each color complete, that's half of them. Then comes another row of yellow triangles, and then back to the main color and closing up the bottom. It's half done! This project has gone quickly.

Today is the fourth Satuday of the month... EBSP session day! EBSP stands for East Bay Slow Players, we're a group of folks who like to play Irish and Scottish music. We are all different levels, so depending on who shows up, we play at various speeds. Turnout was pretty good for a Memorial Day weekend, seven of us counting Sharon S., who's taking the picture.

Jaya also took a movie of me playing the Ballydesmond Polkas. But this site won't let me upload it. So if I figure out a way to link it here, I will. For now, here's the picture.

I do realize none of us are smiling. That doesn't mean we aren't having fun. Playing music is WAY fun. It's just that it also requires concentration. And smiling just isn't that important when you are concentrating.

Couch Potatoes and Fiddles

All the triangles are finished. I had to show you what this looks like. All the triangles are still on the needles, one side anyway, so with ten of them all around it looks like some kind of flower. Now comes the fun part (I hope), filling in the colored diamonds.



There is a spot near where we live that Jaya and I like to go walking. We took a rather brisk walk up there last night, a nice thing to do before coming back home and being couch potatoes. Am I still considered a potato if I'm knitting?





Yesterday I picked up my personalized plates. The car is now complete! Royan is the name of my acoustic duo (Janet Lenore and myself). And the fiddle quote is one I found when I was looking for the difference between a violin and a fiddle. I love that quote. I don't feel that my playing exemplifies it yet, but I'm working on it!

And actually, maybe it does. I play because it's fun. Otherwise, I wouldn't do it. If practicing alone was more fun, I would probably be better than I am!

Earthquakes and Entrelac

Yesterday, as I was waving goodbye to Jaya, Dean tore out of the front door. He does this on occasion, and comes back shortly, but it wasn't until I was actually leaving for work that he came back inside. There I was, armed with a can of catfood to lure him in after I had dumped my stuff in the car, and he just pranced inside. So I went and dumped, and came back to give him the catfood anyway.

Last night, when we returned home after our Argentine Tango lesson (maybe my feet aren't both left ones, after all), I heard a ruckus in the office, and as I opened the front door, Dean raced out. Marilyn ran from me once I was inside. I opened the front door twice, and each time, Dean took off again. He's usually the calm one! He came back inside when Jaya came in, and a little while later, while we were sitting on the couch, we felt a small tremor. Aha! THATs what had them spooked! I have always heard stories about animals and earthquakes, but this was my first actual experience with it.

The entrelac works! I had read over the instructions, and I just couldn't envision how this was going to work, but it does! I made a triangle! Look!

Now I just have to make 9 more, and then we start the colored diamonds. This will be interesting! It's all so loose now, but the felting will fix that. I hope it tightens up enough to be a thick-walled bag.

Colors

When the colors I had chosen for this bag first arrived, I was disappointed with the yellow. It didn't seem to contrast enough with the other colors. So I ordered some other choices. They FINALLY arrived yesterday (Knitpicks takes 14 days to get to California... and then another couple days to get to me!) and now I think I like the yellow better than any of the new choices. What do you think?



Marilyn doesn't care. She just likes to watch. Or is she sleeping?

The Bag

Well, I just had to start it last night. There seems to be something magical about starting a new project. Nevermind that I have four others that aren't finished yet. No, I won't abandon them, but I have been waiting to start this one and I just didn't want to wait anymore! And there is also something wonderful about using size 10.5 needles, after using size 1s. It's so gratifying, how quickly I see progress with the project.

This is a felted entrelac bag, that I will use to carry my other knitting projects. I have made felted things before, but I have not made anything with the entrelac technique. We shall see how I do following a pattern! I tend to jump into things before I know what's what, luckily I know people I can go to for help if I get into trouble.

The holes you see are there for the cord to knot through. Everything will tighten up nicely when this is felted, it will be very dense, and a lot smaller. This will be my sock-project bag.

I have some more yarn on order, I changed the colors from the original design, and I don't like my choice for the white. So the daffodil yarn will probably be replaced when I get the other yarn. I figure I can make felted slippers with the leftovers from this project!

Here's a closeup of the bag as it will be, taken from the picture on the pattern. My camera made a mess of the colors, and I can't focus very well up close, but you can get a general idea.