Miserable kitty!

Ginger has a little sore on the side of her face, and she keeps rubbing it against things (maybe it itches), which makes it worse. So the vet put this "cone of shame" on her--she has to wear it for two weeks. She does not like this, but I think she's getting used to it. When we take it off, she will not know what happened...

Vintage pattern haul!

At last week's Alameda Antique Faire, I found a bunch of old crochet booklets at a great price. One even had the original "daisy" loom attached to it. I already have some of Elizabeth Hiddleson's vintage patterns. And I also purchased a hardcover book, the cover has no picture on it so I photographed one of the interior pages--the book is titled "Crochet Patterns" by Jean Kinmond, pub in 1971.

Alameda Wolfman!

I snapped just one picture at the Alameda Antique Faire yesterday--this booth that had all-black merchandise and a lovely Wolfman mannequin! It was a hot, sunny day, which made it very tiring to walk around, but I still enjoyed it. Found several vintage crochet booklets, a "daisy" tool to make yarn flowers, and a black lacquered jewelry box with mother of pearl inlay and several drawers. I think it will make a nice dresser for Ellowyne.

Ginny gets some new dresses

Today, Ginny wanted to do a photo shoot to show off her two new dresses. I knit the blue one using the same pattern as the Nanako doll I made during the Ravellenic Games. It was a bit loose on Ginny, so I sewed the white daisy trim around her waist and trimmed her white crocheted hat with blue flowers to match. The pink crocheted dress came from a vintage pattern, and also needed a narrow ribbon belt plus lace ribbon straps. Ginny decided to wear her vintage bonnet with this outfit.

A sunny day at the ballpark!

Yesterday, I attended the baseball game at AT&T Park in San Francisco--it was the Giants against the Washington Nationals, and the Giants lost (boo-hoo). Luckily, it was a HOT, sunny day so I crocheted on a cotton washcloth while watching the game. This ballpark is right on the bay and has gorgeous views...

Food adventures

We drove up to Skyline Boulevard and had lunch at Alice's Restaurant, then went wine tasting at Thomas Fogarty, which is nearby. The weather was perfect, warm and sunny--just beautiful. The fancy dish (tuna tartare!) is from the day before when we ate lunch at the Cheesecake Factory in Hillsdale. Good eats!

Amazing Gaultier show!

This show was very crowded when we got there (2:30 pm on a Saturday) but we got tickets, luckily. It is an amazing show, here are a few pics I took:

Competing in the Ravellenic Games!

For the past three Olympics, I have participated by making knitting or crochet projects on Ravelry--they used to call it the Ravelympics, but had to change it to Ravellenic Games this year after receiving a letter from the official Olympic committee. Anyway, everyone who completes an "event" receives a special graphic they can use as a "medal." I finished a crochet top that was entered in the Lace Longjump, so I received this medal.

Dolls at the Alameda Antique Market

Aren't these ladies gorgeous? I looked at all the dolls I could find at the Alameda Antique Market yesterday, but bought only one tiny Ginny purse ($3). There were several "fake" Ginny dolls--if they don't have the name Ginny stamped on their backs, they are imitations. I also saw some vintage doll clothes but could not tell if they would fit Ginny, so I didn't buy them. All I brought home were a couple of vintage knitting magazines and 2 sets of unused linen hankies from Penney's ($10 for 8 hankies in different colors). I want to try crocheting edgings on them using some of my vintage patterns. We had lunch at Fenton's in Oakland afterwards, and I shopped at Piedmont Yarns and at Piedmont Fabrics down the street, but didn't buy anything there, either.

San Mateo County Fair

This year, I volunteered for the crochet booth at the San Mateo County Fair again. It was in the only air conditioned building on the fairgrounds and the temps got up to 100 degrees that day, so it was a very pleasant job. I got a lot of crocheting done on some tiny doll patterns and also enjoyed some fair food. I have already posted most of my photos on the magazine's site, but I saved a couple for this blog. One is the display case of vintage dolls, including a Ginny. (The fair has a section for "collections", that's where this was shown.) The other is a guy in a great Walking Tree outfit--he must have been on stilts since he was very tall. I wonder if he also goes to the Maker Faire? The worst thing that happened that day was when I stopped at the 1870 Art Center in Belmont to get info about a wood carving class, and discovered that ALL of the artists have moved out! I managed to contact one of them (Ruth Waters) and she told me that they have found a new spot in Burlingame--I'll post more info when I find out where it is. I have been visiting the 1870 Art Center for years, but now it exists only in my memory (and photos I have posted on this blog). Sigh.

Wood Turning Show in San Jose

We checked out the American Association of Woodturners Show in San Jose on Friday, there were some amazing examples of what can be done with wood and a ton of skill and time!