When I started this blog on in August of last year, I had no idea where it would go or what it would bring me. It began and continues out of a passion for crochet, a fascination for design past and present, and a love affair with the arts. What I didn't know was that it would open the door to my meeting, virtually or in reality, some extraordinary people. There are too many to list here and there is a risk that my feeble brain would leave one or more of these gorgeous people out, and that is a risk I dare not take.
Charlie and I had the great fortune of hooking up, literally and figuratively, with the amazing Inga of rockpoolcandy and her equally extraordinary husband, Andy. They were en route back to Ireland after spending time in LA, where Andy had work in a gallery show. I took this with my new fancy-schmancy camera at St. Germain, a fab little bistro in my nabe:
One of the things we talked about, and I share this with you because I find it so important, is how much I admire the treasures we gather through self-determination. Inga and Andy are both perfect examples of this - both are successful, working artists whose work touches people in incredibly personal ways. They've gotten to where they are not by sitting on their asses and waiting for things to happen, but by taking action and setting into motion a myriad of possibilities. While I can't compare myself to the likes of them or to any of the many fabulous people I've been privileged to meet through this blog, I like to think that subwayhooker has opened a few doors by exposing me to people I treasure. Whether I've met you in person, on ravelry or crochetville, or via email, I'm humbled by the lovely, gifted and warm people I'm proud to call friends.
And just in case you think this is my way of weasling out of having to show some progress in my own crochet projects, I give you the status of the Betty Shrug:
While right now it has a more than passing resemblance to the stripe on Charlie Brown's t-shirt, I assure you it has many new squares attached to it, methodically and by the book. While I am sorely distracted by wanting to start a slew of even newer projects, I am resisting so I can finish one bloody thing. Anything.
Oh, guess who's going back to Napa? That's right, Charlie and me!!! We head out Thursday for a long weekend of eating and sampling this nation's finest wines. Next weekend, it won't suck to be me!
Today, dear hookers, I bring you some tasty vintage crochet courtesy of Dritz. There's no date on the publication, but based on the styles, I'm safely guessing early-to-mid 50s. Okay, blasphemy alert, but one of my faves is actually knitted, that being the jacket above done in chenille. I mean, how freakin' sweet is that jacket? Okay, love the crocheted skirt too, but it's really all about that jacket. All I can say is, not in this lifetime.
Next up is this hot little strapless number that is indeed crocheted. I love the fit on this and the marvy details with those dragon scales crawling up the skirt. Hot.
But if I was to bare my soul, I'd have to confess my affection for this dress. So simple, so fitted, flattering, and feminine. I am all about the simple pieces you can dress up or down. Me? I'd do this in black or charcoal, natch, but if I didn't know going in how boring this would be to make (nothing but single crochet - ugh) I'd want one in red. Or striped. Or tipped. Anyway, it's another fabulous and I think, timeless piece.
You all know that I don't really advertise much, but I wanted to give a shout-out to two phenomenally talented friends of mine. But I don't know who to talk about first..........
Tossing a coin here.......
Okay, first up is my amazing friend Mark Brown, who's show China -- the Whole Enchilada opened last night as part of the NY International Fringe Festival. It is an astonishing show - by turns a funny, slapstick, irreverent, and serious 90 minute romp through 5,000 years of Chinese history. The tickets are a bloody $15 for a show that you will absolutely love! Go see it -- NOW! And not for nothing, but Mark has ANOTHER show running simultaneously off-Broadway -- Around the World in 80 Days, based on the Jules Verne novel. I've seen this show several times in various incarnations (it's played everywhere) and it is simply fantastic!
Next up is my EQUALLY amazing friend, Danielle Dayen, writer and photographer extraordinaire, who just put up her FamousRed Etsy shop of her gorgeous note cards featuring her photos of the wildflowers of Transylvania. This remote area of the world is one of the last places where there is little agribusiness happening, meaning that there are blissfully few pesticides in the environment. This lack of poison gives the wildflowers free reign to grow as they wish and blossom for Danielle's camera to capture. Which she does. Check out her site and start drooling....
Some of you may know a bit about my past - gallery owner/director during the heady '80's, wardrobe supervisor and costume designer forever, and producer of the weekly performance art series, "House of Ill-Repute in the '90's" Or you may not. To remedy this, I did what any self-respecting blogger would do - I've created a new blog.
sCRAPheap is a new blog of old memories meant to recount and/or catalog those days in the arts. It's sometimes craft-related, so hookers might want to check it out from time to time. Or not - it's up to you!
But for those of you interested, I'll post alerts on this here blog so you know when there's something new (old) on sCRAPheap.
I've shamed my own damn self into getting off my butt and crocheting something. Whoa there - no, it's not finished or anything, so don't fall off your chair, please. But I got over a glass hump, as it were, and have now connected three motifs and am well on my way to the fourth.
I bet you're embarrassed for me, aren't you? Seriously, you are. You're thinking that with such an exciting headline, I MUST have something amazing to show for my weeks of apparent slothfulness. Yeah, not so much. I embrace my inner sloth, so I have little to show but an internal vow to see SOMETHING through to the end. And the truth of the matter is this: from a purely technical standpoint, I am doing a dreadful job here. But as god as my witness, I will persevere and get this mother done.....sometime. I swear.
Hey look, here's a closeup:
So Taste3 was amazing, but my guess is that the bulk of you don't give a crap. I don't blame you. This is a blog about crochet.
So I bet you are all wondering what wildly creative new example of crochet expression shot forth from my hands during those 12 hours in the air, aren't you? I'd be asking the very same thing. And the answer is..................bupkis. Yup, that's right. Nada. Zero. I have a half-assed explanation for it. Wanna hear it?
So I'm trying to make the oh-so-gorgeous "Betty" shrug from "Vintage Crochet," see? And the first medallion comes out all spiffy-like, see? And I start the second one and all is just swell until I have to join them together. And it just isn't working. Not nohow. I am following the directions to the letter, I think, and it just ain't coming together in a way that is pretty enough to inspire, well, continuing. And the truth is, I do have the smarts enough to fix this issue, I think. But at cruising altitude, I just didn't care. So I did nothing.
I read David Sedaris's new book, which is laff-out-loud funny. I listened to podcasts. I played Peggle, a stupidly addictive iPod game. Emphasis on stupid. And addictive. And essentially from the time we landed at SFO till the time we got back on the plane for the return haul, I didn't have a moment to hook. No time to find the LYSs that are hidden in Napa (ooh, please let me know if you know of good ones as we are going out there again next month for fun)(and there's nothing more fun than dragging the hubster to yarn shops).
And so it goes.
So I can brag about being invited to Margrit Mondavi's house for a private champagne reception. I can natter on about calling Ted Allen over to our little exhibit and exhorting him to taste Chrysanthemum Champagne and Long Jing-infused handmade truffles. Did I mention hiking at the Mt. Veeder Winery? It doesn't matter, does it? Because at the end of the day, I have about 47 unfinished projects, any one of which I could have, should have completed while on those endless flights between San Fran and New York.
But no.
What about on the subway, o SubwayHooker? Yeah. About that. I'm promising myself and both of my readers that I will be hooking again soon. Maybe this dry spell is due in part to the fact that I am MISSING THE CGOA EVENT IN MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE! I desperately wanted to go. Desperately. But it collided a bit too close for comfort with my business trip and I just couldn't do it. But so help me god, I will be there next time!
I hope that Vashti, Dora, and all my friends had a great time in NH!
There are times when I'm not thrilled with my job (the one that neither costumes nor crochets), I'll admit it.
I'll wait quietly as you are blown over with a feather.
Done?
But by and large, I consider myself pretty fortunate with the gig that's developed over the many years I've bled for my paycheck and benefits. And one of the payoffs happens next week when I get to go to Taste 3, a wine, food, and art conference in gorgeous, seductive, saliva-inducing Napa, California. Oh, I'll be working alright, but peppered in all that nose to the grindstone stuff are going to be some pretty sweet moments when I get to rub elbows with some legends of wine and food. The really hard part will be when I have to control myself and act like I somehow belong in that crowd. Hell, I'll be having champagne with Margrit Mondavi, widow of the late wine guru, Robert! In her house! I mean, sweet mother of crap! How did THAT happen? Perhaps it's all some huge mistake, some software error that will no doubt be discovered as I'm about to take that first sip of champagne.... ["uh, we're sorry ma'am, but there seems to be a terrible mistake here. Next stop, Guantanamo"]
But there I'll be. I've been sweating over what clothes to bring and more specifically, what crochet projects to bring. Because if you've read this blog before, you'll know that there is no love lost between Continental Airlines and me. They suck, they blow, they bite....words fail me. My company is paying beaucoup bucks for my crapola coach seat and I can guarantee that I will not be able to open my computer during that endless flight to SFO, no not even once. Oh, right. I did, in fact, perfect the technique whereby I shove the lower half of my laptop under my boobs. That works just fine. But I'm not in the mood for that this time around, not nohow. Instead, I'll be working on this fabulous wavelength scarf using some unidentified yarn I purchased at the Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck last year. I may resume work on the cover shrug of Loop's Vintage Crochet, reviewed in this here blog, oh, about a month or two ago.
Anyhow, there will be four days of wine, food, and crochet in luscious Napa Valley. Ya really can't complain about a gig that takes you here....
One of the things we talked about, and I share this with you because I find it so important, is how much I admire the treasures we gather through self-determination. Inga and Andy are both perfect examples of this - both are successful, working artists whose work touches people in incredibly personal ways. They've gotten to where they are not by sitting on their asses and waiting for things to happen, but by taking action and setting into motion a myriad of possibilities. While I can't compare myself to the likes of them or to any of the many fabulous people I've been privileged to meet through this blog, I like to think that subwayhooker has opened a few doors by exposing me to people I treasure. Whether I've met you in person, on ravelry or crochetville, or via email, I'm humbled by the lovely, gifted and warm people I'm proud to call friends.
While right now it has a more than passing resemblance to the stripe on Charlie Brown's t-shirt, I assure you it has many new squares attached to it, methodically and by the book. While I am sorely distracted by wanting to start a slew of even newer projects, I am resisting so I can finish one bloody thing. Anything.
