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April 30, 2006

Fiber retreat

Just back from a great weekend in Deer Springs organized by my spinning guild. We were above the clouds, the weather was wonderful and I spent two days doing some of my favorite things with people I like.

Fiber retreat
Ah, the view!

Fiber retreat

Fiber retreat
Our cabin.

Fiber retreat
Una, our master felter, who gave a great felting workshop on how to make hats and bags. I hope to get pictures of some of the items from other friends who were at the retreat. When I am enjoying myself it's hard to remember to stop to take pictures.

Fiber retreat
Andrea, spinning in her jammies between coffee and pancakes.

Fiber retreat
After a painful beginning – I had to frog two weeks' worth of work – I changed pattern and I am now working on a sweater from Poetry in Stitches, although in an entirely different color scheme. I had planned on finishing my Aran sweaters at the retreat, but ended up spending all my time working on my first Fair Isle project. Now, I am very happy I did.

Fiber retreat
We had been told that there might be a llama shearing during our stay and we could have the fleeces, but in the end it was too cold for that.

April 28, 2006

Confessions of a color junkie

Some people, when they feel the need to procrastinate, clean up their garage, update their address book or engage in other similarly useful activities. Me, I do something colorful. No, I don't mean that as a figure of speech: I do or make something that involves color. Since my job keeps me at the computer most of the day, the easiest trap to fall into is to start playing around in Photoshop. I figure it's better than raiding the fridge.

Here is some recreational design that kept me entertained for a few hours.

April 27, 2006

Leonardo's machines

Just started sorting out the pictures we took last year in Italy. Whenever we go, it's to visit family and friends and we only do the tourist thing for a couple of days or so. Last time we went to Firenze (Florence), Ferrara, and a couple of small hillside villages in the Appennini mountains. Home is in Romagna, with family being in Ravenna and most of my friends in Faenza and we usually end up taking only day-trips from there.

In Firenze, we went to Giardino dei Boboli and then to an exhibit of Leonardo's machines. We both had looked forward to seeing life-size constructions of machines from Leonardo's drawings and I really enjoyed the show. Ben thought the craftsmanship was not quite up to par, but I couldn't tell.


Ornitottero (Ornithopter)
The ornithopter is a flying machine with wings like a bird's. Although it looks very much like a modern-day hang-glider, the ornithopter was meant to be operated by the pilot using pedals that would flap and twist the wings.



Ornitottero Verticale (Vertical Ornithopter)
In this model, the paddles were meant to move in the air as those of a boat in water.



Self-propelling car
This machine is thought to have been used for stage performances, and motion was provided by coiled springs placed under the wheels.



Bicycle

April 26, 2006

Learning Kanji (Part 1)

If you’ve decided to learn kanji – the characters at the base of the Japanese writing system – you may be overwhelmed by the amount and variety of available self-study material: books, magazines, CDs, websites, software, electronic dictionaries…

What you choose will have to do with why you want to learn kanji and how deeply. Are you planning a vacation? Studying for a language proficiency test? Is your company promoting you to the Tokyo branch? Whatever the circumstances, there is something just right for you.

Two main approaches to studying kanji. One focuses on a core of frequently used characters; the other on a systematic approach to learning all the joyo kanji – the 1,945 kanji published by the Ministry of Education as the minimum requirement for adult literacy.

Here are a few selected books.

  • Japanese Characters, ISBN 4-533-01359-7.
    Great little book with hundreds of charmingly illustrated kanji and a wide range of useful information on topics such as hiragana and katakana – the syllabaries used in conjunction with kanji to transcribe the Japanese language – and tips on how to decipher a menu or the signs around town. Historical and cultural notes scattered throughout the book will help you put it all in perspective. Useful, affordable, and it fits in your pocket.
  • The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary, ISBN 4770028555.
    Perfect for beginners and advanced students alike, this dictionary presents 2,230 kanji. For each it includes meaning(s); stroke sequence; on1 and kun2 readings; radical3 pattern, examples of compound words, and more. The entries are clear and the characters organized according to several criteria – ranked by frequency, listed alphabetically by on-kun reading, indexed by stroke number, and grouped by pattern. If you have more than a passing interest in the Japanese language, this is a must.
  • Read Japanese Today, ISBN 0-8048-0496-6.
    In spite of the misleading subtitle (you will not master written Japanese simply by reading this book), this is a useful introduction to 300 kanji. Best read sequentially, for its narrative quality and because each group of characters builds on the preceding one.
  • Kanji Pict-O-Graphix, ISBN 0962813702.
    Very much a picture book, this shows more than 1,000 kanji, each illustrated by a stylized drawing – not necessarily a faithful representation of the original pictograph, but useful in establishing a recall pattern. Entries are grouped by topic and you can tackle them in any order.
  • Remembering the Kanji - Vol. 1, ISBN 4889960759.
    This is the most comprehensive flash card system with 2,042 kanji, grouped by radical, each with its primary meaning and mnemonic notes. While this is a great system for memorizing several related characters in a short time, it comes at a price: you will only learn the meaning of a kanji, not its readings; and by ordering kanji by their radicals, the book introduces early on words that you’ll hardly ever encounter. Do you really need to learn the kanji for "gall bladder" in lesson two? And if you are still eager to try it out, be prepared to part with $42 for the book and $130 for the companion flash cards.


  1. On reading = a kanji’s reading derived from the original Chinese pronunciation. Typically used in compound words.

  2. Kun reading = the Japanese native reading of a kanji.

  3. Radical = one of 214 basic kanji that stand by themselves and are also used as components in more complex kanji. For instance, the kanji for volcano is made up by the characters for fire and mountain. In this case, fire acts as the radical, or root, of the compound kanji.

  4. More on this subject at Learning Kanji (Part 2)

UFOs

Leaving Friday with two friends to go to our spinning guild retreat in Deer Springs. Twenty girls and one guy cramped indoors for two days of spinning, knitting, felting and God knows what else. Wish I could pack the kitties, especially Kelvin, who likes to try new laps and really enjoys this kind of meetings. He usually ends up sitting for hours on someone who is either knitting or spinning on a single-treadle wheel. Double-treadle is too bumpy of a ride, even for him.

This is him on Janet's lap at the last spin/knit gathering at my place. A true bundle of nerves who doesn't know how to relax.
Kelvin and Janet

He won't be lacking laps, though, as every time I am out for more than half a day, Ben and Ed schedule a video game tournament and those guys can sit on the sofa for hours playing Halo 2.

Gotta figure out what to pack, but one thing's for sure; I will bring my oldest UFOs, *three* Aran sweaters (all from Aran Knitting by Alice Starmore) that have been in between 80% and 95% state of completion for years. I guess I fit the stereotype of knitters who hate to sew. I'd rather knit another sleeve or even larger piece than put the whole thing together. Luckily, my friends will help me snap out of it this weekend.

Here are the offending items, all from Alice Starmore's Aran Knitting:

St. Brigid
St. Brigid sweater in progress

Na Craga #1
Na Craga sweater in progress

Na Craga #2
Na Craga sweater #2 in progress

April 25, 2006

California Republic banknotes

After the last presidential election, there was a lot of talk about the feasibility of a California secession. For what I can tell since I've been in this country, it's something that comes up again and again with spikes of interests tied to specific events. At the time, I was frustrated by the whole affair and wanted to do something, however silly. One weekend, I designed these banknotes for the spurious California Republic.

California Republic 20 dollars

California Republic 50 dollars

California Republic 70 dollars

My boys

I live with four boys: my partner Ben, our housemate Ed, and two British shorthair cats – Kelvin, a classic silver tabby and Piper, a British blue. These pictures were taken about two years ago by our friend Vahe, a professional photographer specializing in outdoor photography. Check out his falconry pictures

Piper
Piper, a.k.a. Pipie, patatino, signor beanbag
Photo Vahedala

Kevin
Kelvin, a.k.a. cicciottino, bombolombolo
Photo Vahedala

April 24, 2006

Japanese craft books

It's not just the cute file folders; I like all sorts of Japanese things. I love the wabi-sabi essence of traditional Japanese arts and the whimsical quality of contemporary graphics and design. I started buying Japanese stickers years ago at a paperie on Melrose – Soolip – and now I add to my small collection whenever I see something that catches my fancy.

Lately, I have also started buying Japanese craft books. So far I have three books on felting, one on stuffed toys and one on natural cord bags. They are gorgeous, not to mention their logical structure and easy-to-follow instructions. See for yourself.

felted bags book spread
Handmade Felt, ISBN 4-579-10798-5

felted shoes book spread
Handmade Felt, ISBN 4-579-10798-5

felted jewels book spread
Handmade Felt, ISBN 4-579-10798-5

aranzi aronzo fish book spread
Aranzi Aronzo, ISBN 4-579-10921-X

aranzi aronzo monkey book spread
Aranzi Aronzo, ISBN 4-579-10921-X

Felted leaf bag book spread
Handmade Felt (My Felted Bags), ISBN 4-579-10891-4

felted horse book spread
Small articles made of wool felt, ISBN 4-309-28044-7

cord items book spread
Handmade bag and zakka of natural cord, ISBN 4-277-43052-X

Cute file folders

I have a love for all things Japanese. Whenever I go to Kinokuniya Books in Little Tokyo, I buy a few new plastic folders. I just can't help myself; they are so damn cute. And I often give them as small gifts to friends who share my addiction to "kawaii". Here are some of my favorites.

rilakkuma plastic folders

monokuro boo plastic folders

April 23, 2006

London, dahlin'

After almost seven years, I finally visited my brother in London. I got back on Easter evening and am still struggling with jetlag. I don't travel well; still waiting for the "beam me up" technology that will free me from the getting there part of travelling. It was great to almost forget about work for ten days, see the family and all that, but I am so happy to be back.

While I was there, I managed to indulge some of my fiber addictions. Took a color-knitting workshop at Loop in Islington and made several visits to Liberty's. In spite of the severe downsizing – they closed down the front building on Regent Street last month – I love the remaining Tudor building and spent some time in the needlepoint and yarn department. Their needlepoint section is amazing; I've never seen that variety of kits anywhere else. Of course, I didn't make it to Erhman Tapestry so I can't compare, but there's nothing like that in Los Angeles. The yarn section is primarily a Rowan-Jaeger affair with negligible representations of a few other brands, but then Rowan and Jaeger are my favorite brands so who's complaining?

I fell in love with Rowan Scottish Tweed 4-ply and bought quite a lot in four colors to make my first Fair Isle sweater, or so I thought. More about that later.

Rowan Scottish Tweed 4-ply

I am still in catching up mode, both on the house and work front, and I am setting up this blog so ta-ta for now.