second-hand.

peter and i went to the alameda antiques fair yesterday. it was our first time going there. it was neat, lots of cool stuff to look at, for sure. but i guess i have a thrifters sensibility; most of the stuff there seemed so overpriced. which isn't to say that i won't go back again... :)  i probably will.  but i'll keep my eyes peeled for the deals.

the sky was so blue over the bay. i've said it before, and i'll say it again: the sky seems bluer here than in other places i have lived. it's like a clear flawless pale blue jewel.

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we found a few choice things, nothing grandiose. this orange tray from the 60s/70s and the two enameled metal plates were but some of the things we found for the house.

the bottom of the rectangular plate is the most lovely color, a rich emerald green. i love how it looks against the orange of the plastic tray. mmm, vibrating colors.

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a few pieces of jewelry i picked up at the fair: both plastic. the color combination on those clip ons entranced me: aqua against avocado. i want to use it in things that i make.

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yet another feather and fan scarf, finished.

i'm working on some hand-knitted berets atm, i shall post them soon. it's hat weather now.

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so yes, i've been working more. days slip by so fast...it seems like i never blog, though i want to. sometimes i am at a loss for things to say. and i suppose i have slightly less time. it's ok. while it's quiet i think about what i want to do and where i want things to go, with this blog, and with life in general. still trying to figure it all out.

in the meantime, my fingers and mind are always busy with something, lots of things. i wish i could talk about things but the words haven't come to me yet, and there are also things going on i can't quite talk about yet. soon, soon.

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i'm writing blog entries for work, you can read them here (along with the entries by sabrina, the gal i work with/my boss!): http://blog.stylehive.com/index.php we write about products that have been popular around stylehive of late, which is neat. i get to learn more about stuff i never knew existed. i see so much cool stuff every week on the 'net, new products and makers and designers...much more than i used to on my own. it's sometimes overwhelming to take it all in but fun. it's neat to see what people like and are into, and it is fun because i have always liked to ponder the process of how trends happen and why.

relaxation.

it's been a long, quiet, productive, lovely weekend. i always wish the weekends would never end. this one is no exception. *yawn*, says girl.

thursday we cooked an organic, offbeat thanksgiving dinner for ourselves and a friend we knew from florida way back when, who happens to live in the mission. a spread of a few artisan cheeses and fuji apples, pork roast with rosemary and garlic, homemade macaroni and cheese (from a roux...it's the secret to making it taste orgasmically good), yams with molasses topped with a gouda tinged with blue, and a spinach salad.

yesterday we participated in buy-nothing day...and instead, i dug deep into my mending basket and hemmed and fixed a myriad of things. things i bought ages ago and have been meaning to get wearable. it felt SO GOOD to do that...and rather than buying a bunch of crap that stores foist upon us every holiday season, i made great things i already own more awesome and wearable.

today we took a short bike ride over to the de young museum, which is in golden gate park (and actually visible from our house here on the hill), and i got another look at the gee's bend quilt exhibit, and the amazing wire sculptures by ruth asawa, that almost look like they were knitted or crocheted, in some cases (they very well may be, but it did not seem clear from looking at them). her sculptures were often fashioned in these organic shapes that reminded me very much of sea creatures, or alien life forms i would imagine floating and undulating in a serpent-like fashion through the atmosphere of someplace like jupiter, if that lovely large planet actually supported life.

(photo from the de young website.)

the art that so often moves me is the kind that is made of fibers or akin to fibers. somehow, there is always a thread connecting back to fashion, to the clothes i (and you!) wear on my/our back(s)...somehow, some way.

stuff! and things.

more things falling into place. i found the white vases shown here (on either side of the milkglass vase in the center) @ IKEA. they remind me a little of jonathan adler's vases, which i unabashedly love. the orange rhinestones were a free gift from the bead guy @ san francisco's general bead because he was happy to discover that i loved the color orange. so nice of him! i'm loving all these textures together: the shiny, the matte, the wood, the organic (the shell and the bit of quartz)...against the orange metal tray i thrifted several weeks ago:

an illums bolighus candlestick holder i found yesterday @ a vintage furniture store in the mission:

a handmade needlepoint tote i recently won off of ebay. i have been ridiculously obsessed with anything needlepoint lately. i have always wanted one of these needlepoint totes, for as long as i can remember. does anyone else but me recall that chanel did a riff off this kind of needlepoint in one of their accessory collections in the late 1990s (give or take a couple years)?

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still working on that yo-yo curtain...

i have been knitting a few of these scarves over the past few months...a simple feather and fan stitch, out of smooth wool. i am about 1/3 of the way through this particular scarf. i love the texture...it feels very old-fashioned to me.

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i have noticed that i tend to get involved with lots of projects like the ones pictured here...projects that are done piece by piece, stitch by stitch. i suppose i like the idea of making all these little parts one by one that eventually make a whole. all the little parts and the process of making such things is very repetitive and by extension, meditative. i enjoy the meditative state my mind falls into...it is during these meditative states that i contemplate future projects and pieces i would like to make: other knitting or sewing/clothing projects, paintings i would like to paint, sometimes interior design experiments i would like to try out in my home. i cherish these journeys inside the landscape of my mind. i look forward to these moments of unbridled brainstorming and creative thought, and seek them out whenever possible. these moments often mean being alone, or being quiet...which explains why i spend quite a bit of time alone. but it's okay by me; i'm really a rather shy, introverted person. i may dress loudly and have my opinions and like to go out and socialize at times but mostly, i really crave quiet, productive moments.

i do a lot shopping alone...i find it works better for me. especially for clothes, thrifting, and the like. i know a lot of people like to shop with friends and get their opinions, but i find the presence of another person distracting, and if they like similar things, shopping can quickly turn into competition. when i go shopping, especially thrifting, i sort of fall into a meditative state just as when i'm knitting or making something. i think about where that object will fit into my life, house, or closet, if i *really, honestly* love it, if it has good design...things of that general nature. it's hard to think when friends are around...being alone gives me space to think.

random questionings: do you like to shop or make alone, or do you like the company of others? are you an introvert, or an extrovert?