Japantown for Mother's Day

We ate lunch at the sushi boat restaurant (for once, there was no line to get in) and then shopped. I bought several books, and we had "bubble tea" and ice cream crepes for desert. Isn't it cute how they made little faces on our desserts? (last picture). I love Japantown!

1870 Art Center Open Studios

Today, I also visited the 1870 Art Center in Belmont, it's a place that I visit frequently and have gotten to know some of the artists who have studios there. Today I was looking for sculptors who teach classes at the center, there are two: a wood sculptor and a stone sculptor, both very experienced teachers. I also found some beautiful photo prints and tatted bookmarks, everything was bargain prices here, as well.

San Mateo Garden Center Spring Sale

Usually, the San Mateo Garden Center is not open on Saturdays. But today was their Spring Sale, so I stocked up on new plants for my own garden (at bargain prices) and took a few pictures of the Garden Center, which is looking great! The rose garden is especially lovely, full of colorful blooms.

Hunters Point Shipyard Open Studio Tour

I have not been to the Hunters Point Shipyard artists studios for many years, so it was a treat to visit there on Saturday during the Open Studios tour. We saw about half the buildings, so I know where I will go during the next Open Studios in October. This is a free, very inspirational way to spend a day! Makes me want to start painting again.

Visiting Carmel on Easter weekend

It was a lovely day, we found a parking spot on the street near the Old Forge so that's where we ate lunch (I had a huge quiche and salad--half the quiche went home for my dinner). I stopped into Yarns by the Sea for a Knitscene magazine and a skein of sock yarn, then we explored Pilgrim's Way bookstore and the delightful Secret Garden courtyard behind it.

My latest bargains at the Candlestick Antique Market

It was chilly and windy, so about half the vendors didn't show up. But the ones who were there were cheerful and willing to bargain. I didn't see any great textiles, but I did buy a nice little Chinese wood cabinet with lots of drawers and inlay, and a needlepoint cat pillow that will eventually live in Atlanta, after I replace the backing fabric and stuffing. I like the Candlestick Park Antique Market, I just wish more sellers would come!

Why I was late to work on Monday

It took about an hour to get over the hill on highway 92 on Monday, April 11, because a gravel truck overturned on a steep curve and blocked both lanes. I shot this pic just as I was finally able to get past the wreck.

Baby J's Buzzy Bee Blanket is done!

When I saw this pattern in knitpicks.com, I had to buy it! It is so cute, the colors are so untraditional for a baby blanket (yellow and black), and the pattern is such a fun mix of an easy lace pattern and garter stitch stripes. I also ordered Knitpicks Shine yarn to make it. There was one large error in the pattern, but after I figured out what it was, the rest was clear sailing. I did have to wash it when it was done, because a lot of yellow fuzz came off on my jeans when I was working on it.

Alameda Antiques Faire--another lucky Sunday!

My major purchases, a crocheted 1940's afghan and a 1940's quilt, are in a blog post on the Crochet Today website. But I wanted to post a couple of other purchases here: 4 Singer sewing booklets and an interesting toy "slide viewer" that came with tons of mini-slides of insects--I hope Isaac does not read this blog and spoil the surprise (although I might save these for a Christmas present, so he will have to wait awhile).

The other photos are my friend Alice, who brought a very interesting crocheted shawl to Peets a couple of weeks ago. We could not quite figure out how the stitches are worked.

Sketches from Istanbul

I just saw this sketch from a reporter in Istanbul. Gorgeous!

Sending handknitted socks to Japan

I packed up 9 pairs of socks to send to Japan for earthquake survivors, these are all socks I knitted but have never (or rarely) worn. I am sending them to a group called Socks for Japan that I found on facebook.

Another fun craft fair at Ft. Mason

Yesterday, I went to another craft show at Ft. Mason. I was about to leave when I noticed that one of the vendor's names looked very familiar--it was Leslie Lawton, a writer who worked with me at McAnn-Erickson Advertising in Los Angeles, many years ago! She was selling some gorgeous jewelry, so of course I had to buy one of her bracelets. What a small world!

Paper dresses at the Legion of Honor

Today, I saw the exhibit "Pulp Fashion: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave". It is fascinating to see up close all these historical costumes made of hand painted paper. There is also an excellent book about the exhibition, but nothing substitutes for seeing the actual dresses. Another artist, Anandamayi Arnold, was making a paper dress as a demonstration of how it is done, so I snapped a picture of her (no photos allowed inside the Pulp Fashion exhibit, unfortunately.)

The other photo is one of my favorite pieces in the Legion's collection. I walked past it on the way to see the other excellent show that is on display there now, miniature paintings by Arthur Szyk. I saw the book about his work at the recent Antiquarian Book Festival in SF, but had not seen any of his paintings until today. It takes a magnifying glass to see all the marvelous detail in his paintings, they are full of symbolism and humorous details.

My crocheted flower

Last weekend, I test-crocheted a vintage potholder/trivet pattern. I liked it so much, I made this one using some cotton yarn with long color changes from my stash. I love how it came out! Wouldn't it be fun to make a bunch of these to decorate your table?

A groovy new yarn with my name on it!

At the recent Stitches West event, I discovered a lovely pink and green ribbon yarn called Marina! It came with a free pattern to knit a ruffled scarf with just one ball, so of course I had to buy it. It was not the easiest thing to knit, since I had to pull the ribbon out to find the hole for my knitting needle on every stitch, but I managed to finish the scarf on one day.

Brunch at the Cliff House in San Francisco

I've driven past it a million times, but have never eaten at the famous Cliff House in San Francisco until a couple of weeks ago. The food and service were excellent, and the view is amazing! We went during the week, so it was not crowded and there was plenty of nearby free parking.

Monterey Museum of Art

Yesterday, I explored the Monterey Museum of Art La Mirada for the first time. There are actually two locations for the museum, one has traditional art and I visited it two weeks ago (sorry, no photos!)

The La Mirada location is a few blocks away and focuses on contemporary art. The building itself is interesting, it was one of the original old adobe houses that was added onto over the years by various owners. (The art is shown in a large, new addition.)

The show by Ingrid Calame was very interesting. I am posting two shots of her work--one is a painting and the other is a "site specific" piece that will be painted over at the end of the show. A crew of helpers used a crane to "pounce" dry pigment onto the wall using full-size stencils.

The tree photo was taken from the outside garden, which is also very nice.

Angel and orchids from the Allied Arts Guild

Last spring, I visited the Allied Arts Guild in Menlo Park for painting and photography. This scene was in a corner near the plant shop. Today I finally got back into it--eventually, I will add more shadows and depth.

King's Mountain Art Festival 2010

Today I took a quick trip to the King's Mountain Art Festival, one of my favorite craft shows. The weather was gorgeous, sunny but not too hot, but I didn't stay too long, just long enough to eat a chicken and apple sausage for lunch and buy another wonderful vase made by my favorite vendor, Foxlow Pottery. I didn't have any of his work with the deep red glaze, and I also liked the movement of the birds flying around it.