Straus Home Ranch

yesterday i went with a couple of friends to the Straus Home Ranch in Marshall, California. we took the day off to get out of the city and visit some cows. the day started off a bit rainy, but by the time we got to the farm, it was clear and sunny.

the Straus family is quite amazing. they were and continue to be pioneers of organic dairy farming. if only all the gigantic farms could become small farms and use sustainable farming and energy to produce food that helps sustain the environment. food that is far healthier and yummier to eat! we got to sample the new Straus mint chip ice cream and coffee ice cream - DEElicious (and available at Whole Foods and Berkeley Bowl, among other places).


the herders

links AND it's not christmas, but...

this tomte arrived from my mom in the mail:



she got him on her trip to Sweden last month. my mom has a great collection of Swedish tomten and is helping me start one too. here is the new tomte with the old (last year's) tomte:



right now i'm listening to mr. roy orbison. my parents got me hooked on him a long time ago. crying is the greatest song. (also great are leah and it's over.)

some links soon to be added to my links page:

crafty blogs: hop skip jump, naiive knitting, twine and postage, yvestown, red current, my little mochi, crazy for fiber, and the daughters of crazy for fiber mom: bird in the hand, mama unraveled 2

photographer linked from andrea: david nightingale

illustrator: laura heit

creatures: whitewall toys, esserini

blogs: counting sheep, ever so humble

licks

went to see juliette {lewis} and the licks last night. what a fun show! i can't really say how good they are, since i was a bit too tipsy and since i was starstruck by/crushed out on juliette lewis (she is so hot and fun and energetic!). but i do think they were actually good too, despite my bias.

in other news, the mecozy shop has been updated with some new scarves and cozies.

and i dragged out this mini quilt i started a while back and never finished. i'm not sure how i feel about it, but am thinking i'll quilt it finally. maybe that will help it somehow. any suggestions for quilting patterns? it kind of seems like it should be quilted in a V shape with parallel lines fanning out??



i got my first postcard from the postcard swap, from Hanna in Sweden! it's great! i'm going to wait until i have one or two more postcards to post them.

Bird's Eye

so i finally went to Scout, the store in oakland that i've been meaning to visit and share pictures of with you. to my surprise, the space scout occupied is now occupied by Scout and Bird's Eye. Bird's Eye is in much the style that Scout was, and Scout is now more of a bath and flowers store i think. i ended up taking pics of Bird's Eye, now owned by Ari. even though the space is rearranged and different now, i still love the colors! check it out. the first pic is of both stores.













after going to the store with Laurel and her little one, she modelled my newly completed scarves for the mecozy shop. they'll be up on the site by monday i think, but here's a preview. (when i've taken pics of myself in the scarves, i've had to take like ten to get one ok picture. but with laurel, i just take one pic and it's perfect! she's like that. thanks Laur!) i love those hanging yellow flowers too.

portraits of trees

i find keri's april 15th post, "connections," helpful in response to my last post on disappointment/anger.

also helpful is to revisit my grandmother's brother's art (does that make him my great uncle?). i love his portraits of trees. he painted a lot of trees in Italy and i can feel the heat coming off of the pictures and relaxing me. i want to eat the lush paint and feel the leaves against my face. he writes of painting trees,

"Ur dess (fargerna pa palettens) kaos och ur naturens outtomliga rikedom maste jag finna den ordning som ar bildens. Men jag hoppas att bilden bevarat nagot av det oavslutade och ogripbara, levande kaos som jag utgatt ifran och som for mig vittnar om naturens oovervinnerliga kraft."

here are a few of Torsten Bergmark's paintings. (unfortunately the scanner distorts the colors a lot. i'll replace these with photos when it's light out.)


Det Sista Mandeltradet, 1991

Djungel, 1987

Olivtrad och Lianer, 1985

Tack Torsten for dina fina malningar.

shash's anger management

today was one of those days when i realized how glad i am to know some dogs and cats. and to have some good friends. and to have good friends who will stand up for what is right, alongside me. it was one of those days when some people in positions of power in my life did some FUCKED UP SHIT.

i don't know why it continually surprises me when people i have respected betray me or those around them. i guess i would prefer to still be surprised, because if i wasn't, i'd be perpetually depressed and disgusted with humans. i know this particular disappointment will pass. i just have to figure out how to let go of my anger, to stop shaking. i think i will be doing a lot of hard swimming this week. speed swimming. kicking the water with all my might (in my bathing suit that is way too floral compared to all those navy blue speedo swimmers in the pool).

at times like this i think about how privileged i am, and how people who have less power in society than i do must experience so many more abuses of power, on a daily (or almost daily) basis. how do these people keep from dying inside? how do they trust? how do they keep the dream of justice alive? i guess maybe they know some dogs and cats and have some good friends too.

pincushion

crazy pincushion flower:

i don't think i'll make it to the Oakland this weekend to take the pictures of my favorite Oakland store. i was going to combine that trip with taking pics of my friend Laurel modelling the latest scarves to go in the mecozy shop. but i keep buying more yarn and thinking i need to wait to take pics of all the scarves at once. it's gone from three scarves to five or six, and i don't think i'll finish them all by tomorrow. we'll see.
i got my list of postcard swappers from Myra. i am excited start working on my cards and to start receiving cards! thanks to Myra for organizing the swap. check out the cute button Tania made for it.

yummy fabrics

i may have to make a little quilt with these fabrics

pinky "helps" me sort through the mess that happens

store fantasy

Although I love being in my room, sewing, drawing, knitting, I think it would get lonely if I did this full-time. Even though I’m an only child and like to be alone quite a bit. Right now I create at least one day a week and work an office job four days a week. I am trying to figure out how to balance that out more, like work somewhere 3 days a week for 5 hours a day, and then do what I want the rest of the time. Unfortunately, Pinky Leon the cat is not out there pounding the pavement, so I don’t think HE’ll be supporting me in this balancing act.

Sometimes I dream of opening a little shop, maybe with other artist/crafters and all working there various days of the week. We would sell our wares and the wares of other local crafty folks. I am partial to (recycled!) paper goods and little mysterious treasures, artwork, knits and some houseware kinds of things. There would also be a bookshelf stocked with the favorite books of those who work there (I know I have a list of books that I think should be required reading.). And it would have to be cozy of course, with at least one green wall. Maybe a little mural in a corner near the ceiling, something whimsical. Maybe a plate of "cookies of the day" every so often. Like Thursday cookie day. I get the sense that it would be hard to survive as a retail store, but one can dream...

Venus magazine has a “Store of the Ish” that is usually inspiring. In the current issue, the store is Ferdinand owned by Diane Toepfer. “Toepfer likes to think of Ferdinand as not only a shop, but also a meeting place for crafty people. She helps out with an indie crafts bulletin board…sponsors openings for local artists…is active in Spindleworks, a Portland org. that connects the disabled with arts.” I like the idea of incorporating the community into the store and vice versa.

Another store that was featured in Venus is SF’s own Needles and Pens.

This weekend I plan to visit one of my favorite stores in Oakland to take pictures of it for you (if they’ll let me). I go in there and I feel like I’m transported to another time and place. It’s like entering a piece of art or a story. This store definitely has like its own spirit or soul or aura or something groovy like that.

SF sunny day walk

so, frequently i have these urges to move somewhere far away. to a small town or to the mountains. to Oregon or to Sweden. someplace where i can, at some point, afford to buy a house! someplace greener or friendlier or something-er. dissatisfaction. today i was thinking about moving, and decided i should snap out of it and take a walk in the sun of SF. take my camera and notice the good things. here are lots of pictures of some lovely SF Mission and Noe Valley houses and some funky stuff (a window full of shoes and a dino-lizard car-protector. the shoe window unfortunately was very reflective, so it's hard to see all the fancy shoes.)

yellow trim

pink detail

hot pink door

bursty flowers

minty

turquoise

shoe window

dino-lizard car-protector

Svenskar: Craigslist Stockholm CHECK IT

wow. i guess my CL wish was granted. just like that. got this message back from CL:

"hmm, let's see if i can knock this one out real <> 04/08 16:28:33
quick... *poof* Craigslist Stockholm DONE! They do that sometimes - once it has more posts it'll get linked to the main page. Enjoy and tell your friends. :)"

which confused me at first. but it's for real!

mina svenska vanner: check out stockholm craigslist and start using it!!! yippeee

ps. nar bara en stad i ett land har CL brukar alla i landet anvanda den tills flera CL finns i det landet.

linkage and Swedish Craigslist!

Just added a bunch of new links to my links including the below (many of which you may already be familiar with, and many found on Camilla's blog)

Photographers: Loretta Lux, Kathleen Connally
Blogs: Something to Say
Illustrators: Banjo
Clothing: Bird in a Skirt
Swedish blogs and blogs by Americans in Sweden or Swedes in America: Tuula, Bara Jenny, Astons Sida, Stephanie, Stavfel, Give Us This Day Our Knackebrod, and Francis Strand.

Francis Strand captures the idiosyncracies of Swedes, Swedish stuff and Sweden, and does so with hilarity. He writes about things that I’ve sensed or experienced in regard to Swedes/Sweden, but have never been able to articulate this well. He’s like the David Sedaris of Sweden (you know when David was (is?) living in France with his Frenchman. Sorry Francis if this comparison has been made before.) I’ve only read about three months of his blog, and I CAN'T WAIT until I have time to read it from the beginning.

To all the Swedes and Swedish Americans out there: Please ask Craigslist to start a Stockholm Craigslist! I want a Stockholm CL so that I can find sublets and interesting events when I visit Sweden.

You should want a Swedish CL because Craigslist is a GREAT, free resource for finding all sorts of things. In San Francisco (where CL started) almost everyone has used CL at one time or another. It’s great for finding housing (roommates, rentals, temporary rentals, real estate), jobs, for finding activity partners and selling and buying things (furniture, tickets to concerts, etc.) Kolla Craigslist.

CL existerar nu i stader over hela USA och i andra lander (du kan se alla stallen CL finns pa hoger sedan av karmen nar du oppnar deras websida.) Tydligen for att starta CL pa ett nytt stalle, tillrackligt med folk maste begara det av CL. CL ar jatte latt att anvanda ochsa! Prova. Snalla!

powerlines and crafting

soon to be scarves in the mecozy shop...

the green and pink yarns have cashmere in them and they're very soft and light. nice to knit. lately i've been making long, skinny scarves with patterns. i had to use some bright, springy colors to counter the muted or "earth-colored" cozies i'm currently making. here is a preview of two of them.

and here are some powerlines at dusk. i think they're burying powerlines on my street now. PG & E is up to something loud and slow and dirt-producing anyway. in case the lines go away...


and here is the lovely Anya (a friend since elementary school). she sent me this picture of her in her mecozy scarf.

hyacinths

i finally put some pictures up on the studio section of my site.

books and weather

it's an amazingly beautiful day in SF today. just got back from Valencia St. where i bought four new books. there goes my paycheck. i got Unless, by Carol Shields, Fingersmith by Sarah Waters, Woman, An Intimate Geography, by Natalie Angier and Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart, by Alice Walker. i love having a stack of books ready for reading. the first three were recommended by Canadian librarian, Amanda, on her site etc. you can read her reviews of the books she reads. her site has all this cross referencing and indexing (the librarian in her i guess). check it out. lots of good recommendations.

here is the view from Mission, SF back steps this morning. downtown is not as far away as it looks here.

the trees are sprouting/growing leaves like mad these days.
my plan was to do some sewing today, but it's so beautiful out, i might have to go out again.

wow, mailart

so i've just discovered mailart. i know, i'm late.

through camilla's blog (which is one of my very favorite daily blogs - what more could one ask for, she has a CUTIE dog, makes adorable creatures, posts great links, is an artist, her blog has great colors and she's Swedish!), i found fripsmailart and all her great mailart links.

i'm afraid i could get hooked on mailart. the prospect of getting unexpected art through the mail from strangers is really enticing. i'm not sure exactly how it works, but i am definitely going to try it. i think i just pick a mailart person (or people) to mail something to and hope they mail something back. it's practicing letting go (of one's creations and expectations?) and possibly finding a treasure and a correspondent.

i've always loved the Griffiin and Sabine books, which are sort of like mailart, but in book format and with a great story. but this is a whole other, participatory level of mailart!

Gungor

i don't really have much to say today. looking for something to post, i picked through some random pictures i have in an envelope and found this one. it's from Vallsta, my grandparents' old summer house in Sweden. these were the swings behind the house. rusty and simple, but they sure worked! i can remember just how the little wooden plank seat felt. and the wildflowers all around - blaklockor, prastkragor (kalla den anglamarken eller himla gjorden...)- blommorna syns inte sa bra pa fotot. det har var val ca. 1977.

now i'm off to find a snack before American Idol. i didn't watch tv at all for about over 5 years and now i'm hooked on American Idol. and the L Word.

does anyone know why i'm getting a radio station through my computer speakers? it's quite irritating. even while music is playing, there's this faint radio also coming through. i think it's like an AM sports station or something useless like that.

IKEA stole my sheep!

Not really, but take a look at Ikea's sheep!!

My housemate spotted these Mecozy lookalike sheep at Ikea! Now I'm a huge Ikea fan (I'm a fan of most things Swedish), so this is really cramping my style! And they're only 2.99. I can understand that Ikea would make sheep though, bacause for some reason sheep decor has become a popular tourist gift thing now in Sweden. They have all kinds of adorable wooden sheep, sheep magnets, sheep placemats, sheep potholders, etc. I do think mine...


...are cuter than the Ikea ones - more character, but it's still a bit weird! more of my sheep
hm, those Ikea sheep are pretty cute, too...

Gee's Bend Continued

This is a Gee's Bend quilt postcard that I scanned. I have it up in my studio as inspiration. I didn't see it on their website, so thought I'd share it with you. It is:

Housetop -Twelve Half-Log Cabin Variation, C. 1975
by Rita Mae Pettway



This weekend is an East Bay weekend for me. Going with friends to the Milo Foundation store fundraiser celebration in Berkeley, where we hope to meet the siblings of my friends' rescued dog (also known as the cutest dog ever). And Sunday, I'm going to celebrate easter egg hunting! at another friend's house with her family, including her almost 2 year old son (also known as the cutest boy ever).

quilthead and links links links

i got a nice email last week from Amy in Oregon, who is the artist behind Kingpod. you can see her sweet little quilts there and her cute kids clothes and more. this cute cat quilt is hers:

and check out her blog where she's also posted her mom's beautiful log cabin quilt and a link to the terrific quilts of Gee's Bend (I had heard about the women and quilts of Gee's Bend, but didn't know there was a website about them).

it is funny to me that i've found the blogs of some of my SF neighbors through the links of far away bloggers. i found cheap girl draws and mati rose that way. wacky i tell you.

other cool links: sabrina ward harrison - her blog photos are so colorful
one of sabrina's links: muckism - more great photos

another crafty link: www.knitty.com - free knitting patterns!

that's it for now. my mousing hand is freezing!

necklaces and mormor

inspired by the lovely Frecklewonder necklace i got in the mail (after the post office lost it for a month and a half!!!), i tried to make my own knotted beaded necklaces. boy it is hard to get those knots close to the beads. mine are not as professional or lovely as Frecklewonder Jenny's, but they were fun to make.




on another note...

jag hade inte tankt aka till sverige i ar. jag har akt tre sommrar i rad nu, mest for att halsa pa min mormor som fyllde 90 i juli. jag skulle inte aka i sommar for att:
1. det kostar mycket.
2. jag maste anvanda alla mina lediga dagar.
3. jag ar skitradd for att flyga. aven med lugnande medel tror jag att planet kommer att storta. hur kan en sadan tung sak flyga sa langt upp i himmeln?
4. jag blir deprimerad nar jag kommer tillbaka darfor att jag saknar sverige och samtidigt kanner som jag kommer langre o langre darifran varje gang jag aker dit. o jag glommer mer o mer svenska.
men nu ar min mamma dar o jag onskar att jag ochsa kunde resa dit o halsa pa mormor. mormor ar en av mina favorita personer i varlden.
vad skall jag gora??

links

some links:

miele fresca - great knitted treasures and cute tshirts, San Francisco-based

two Swedish designer Lotta's in the U.S.: Lotta of Inleaf and Lotta of Lotta Jansdotter

ANWR information

fuzzy, skinny scarf - just completed 

Pinky-doodle
see more Pinky Leon pics at www.mecozy.com/about

Poodle High Horse

when i was younger i thought poodles were annoying because of the poofy hairdos. at some point i realized it was the owners who should be blamed for the hairdos. and i've now come to find poodles to be quite cute, with the curly hair and the goofiness. they're especially cute when they don't have the silly dos and they look like long-legged sheep.

in the mornings when i wait for the shuttlebus i stand across the st. from the Atlas Cafe. there used to be this guy (well he probably still exists, i just don't see him anymore) who walked to atlas in the mornings with his standard poodle. he was just this regular looking guy guy. with an old tshirt and short hair. sort of a casual/conservative guy. but his poodle had the do with the poofs! it made me wonder if he had a girlfriend or boyfriend who got the poodle trimmed like that, cuz it just didn't go with the guy. the poodle however was hilarious. the guy strolled to the coffeeshop and the poodle pranced. not like a snooty prance, but a completely glad to be alive and sniffin prance. totally goofy. and when s/he? got anywhere near other dogs, s/he did the play bow thing and then leapt up and down the sidewalk. it was pretty funny to see the big, poofy cut poodle run around like a puppy. s/he could care less about the ridiculous haircut!

i like the word poodle and all those mixed with poodle breed names..cockapoo, labrodoodle, goldendoodle. silly. if pinky leon were mixed with a poodle, would he be a pinkydoodle or a pinkyloodle OR a pinkystrudel? he is like a sweet German dessert (that is what a strudel is, right?)

purse i made this weekend. i have yet to figure out how to get this inside my post.  

finally

my new and improved mecozy website is finally almost ready. i forget how long these things take to make!

and here is a link via andrea to beautiful photographs by Gregory Colbert. when i realized these photos were actual interactions between these animals and people, i was moved to tears! the exhibit is currently on display in New York.

sheep n scarves table 

cozy table