i went to israel: post 3

In Safed (also called Tzfat or Zefat)- blue around your windows and doors opens your home to heaven, directly.

L to R: Sea of Gallilee, looking over Rosh Pina to the Hula Valley across to the Golan Heights (and Syria, beyond), some kind of flower

We rented a car and headed daroma (northward) mid week, immediately admitting our list of things to do and see was totally, insanely, unrealistic. One of the best parts- hell, it was all the best part-- is seeing nature and terrain that is nothing like home. The trees and flowers that we can't identify, and palm trees everywhere, even in high up mountain villages . 

We hadn't made reservations. A day ahead, when we figured out where we'd be, we looked at airbnb and booking.com--and were super lucky 3 out of 3 times. We knew we did OK in Rosh Pina as soon as we saw that gate at the address of our little cabin/guesthouse. Rosh Pina is a small village of artists, farmers and people who don't mind being out of the way, living on the top of a  steep mountain side. That path on the right leads to the hot tub-which is literally on the side of the mountain, and completely open on its far side to enjoy the view. (We did!)

Israel is a country that likes to eat and snack. There is never a wrong time to stop at a cafe or restaurant, and you'll rarely be alone. Every place we stayed--and these were budget-friendly places- had coffee, tea, chocolates, halvah or cookies waiting for us. In this case-, a little bottle of a local wine with two glasses and a happy little porch.

 We walked all over, up and down the mountain top, wandering the oldest part of the village, now an  artist colony in old stone buildings, hiked through a beautiful terraced formal european-style park built by Baron Rothschild in the 1800's, and ate at a Hummusia that has utterly ruined us for anything except fresh homemade, super creamy  hummus served warm with toppings of your choice, dips and fresh baked pita.( Nothing like the supermarket kind. )

 Next day, next mountain over- Safed, the ancient city of the mystics. It's attracted seekers for hundreds of years--there is something about the light and air there. We always had weird trippy experiences visiting, and we were curious if it still had the same vibe. It's much bigger now,  more developed, and has a larger religious population-lots of hippy hasids, many from the US. It is still plenty trippy. It too has an artist colony developed  for tourism, with galleries fancy and funky, on spiffy plazas and down older twisty alleys. Lots of good art, too. More stone steps, more blue windows. I couldn't get enough of them. I am drunk on blue.

We couldn't resist that door on the left. Inside we met Avraham, an artist who came for a visit to study kabbalah  20 years ago, and never left. His artwork is detailed and beautiful and all about the visual vibrations of higher levels of consciousness and sound-. It totally made sense when he explained it, anyway. This one, for example.  (hello all you modern quilters). Or it could be knit, right?

50 Gates of Bina, by Avraham Lowenthal, Tzfat

By the end of the day, we were back at sea level, on the Mediterranean coast, driving from Acco to Haifa.  More blues! I only want to look at these colors. Can you blame me?

i went to israel: post 2

Part 1 here, if you missed it.  Love these colors.
When we were planning-and I use that word pretty lightly-our 8 days, the Dead Sea was a must.  It's a short-ish ride by local bus from Jerusalem- about 1.5 hours south, all downhill into the desert, and close by Ein Gedi, the oasis nature reserve. Day trip!

We suck, I mean really truly, at selfies. I just can't bring myself to get a stick. What I was trying to show, above on the left,  is the view behind us on the trail,that you can see on the right. Climbing on the trails along Wadi David in Ein Gedi, there's the Dead Sea in the distance. On the far shore, in perfect geographic symmetry, is Jordan. 

The whole time we were hiking, I was worrying about ibex.*  They used to be elusive. In 2016,  there are so many hikers along the improved trails, in big loud groups, that I figured no way would I see any. As we got back to the trail head, near the entrance and visitor center, the ibex appeared, grazing near the irrigated trees.

And, an ibex crossing sign near the highway, so maybe not so elusive anymore? Also, date palms cultivated by Kibbutz Ein Gedi, as we left the nature preserve and headed for our second activity. We'd misunderstood proximity, (cough, internet advice, cough) and tried to walk to the nearest beach on the Dead Sea. I wish I had a picture of what two idiots walking down the single highway in the desert at the lowest place on earth looked like. No beach in sight--and you can see pretty far. Happily, an out-of-the-blue cab came flying up the highway. No idea why except divine intervention. Dave had the presence of mind to wave him down for a ride to the beach several miles further, that we'd been aiming for.

It is other worldly. Vast, clear, aqua, smelly, and so salty and mineral laden that it's thick. If you are a swimmer, and try to do what comes naturally, the water throws you off balance, and you simply can't swim. People literally sit on the water and read magazines. In the photo on the left, we are in chest deep water. Just chilling, looking at the desert mountain to the west. As you do. 

The ground is salt crystals, not sand. The air can be scorchingly hot, but it was only in the low 80's F (cold snap!) so we were two happy floaters, doing our healthy soak.

We finished off with the traditional mud bath. It's possible to scoop the mud right off the side edges of the beach but since we were at a "spa" beach, it had been thoughtfully piled into large metal troughs. Mud bathing was in an area with rocks and chairs we could lay on to bake in the sun, while enjoying the view of fiberglass Superman and Elvis, also mud covered. As if the Dead Sea isn't weird enough? Apparently we like mud when we travel- until we were slathering, we'd forgotten that our last international trip included a mud volcano. (scroll down to get to the mud. You can't miss it). Is Mud Tourism a thing? It should be.

The Dead Sea mud has thousands of years of reputation. Good enough for Cleopatra.  Final step was washing off in hot, extremely smelly powerful sulfur showers, located just to Superman's right.  And then, regular sweet clear water showers inside the building, before heading out to the road to catch the local bus back to Jerusalem before dark. 

Knitting? Yes, of course I had a project that was carried with me all day. It never came out of my bag! Too much to look at along the way. 

Part 3 soon. I have this crazy idea I might blog every day this month. Or try to. Though it won't be more than another day or two about the trip, it'll be back to the usual fibery and photo blab. 

* In re-reading my post, I have decided that I need to live a life in which a sentence like this is used more often. A girl's gotta have goals, am I right?

I went to Israel- post 1

No joke! A couple of weeks ago we went to Israel.

Light and stone in Jerusalem. Pretty much everywhere.
It was amazing. The last time we traveled to Israel, Dave and I were both 23 years old.  We ended up staying 2 years. We returned to the US just before our 25th birthdays, planning to to bounce back and forth living between countries as often as we could. But.. .life happened.  It took till this year, when a son who is himself 25,  gave us an envelope with already purchased airline tickets in our names, for the trip. We were speechless, in fact I still can't believe it, and we are already there and back! Also- the son? A keeper.

My closest friend from the Jerusalem days is a photographer there. She welcomed us into her home in the Baka neighborhood, and we joined in daily life. Above, our room in her tile floored flat, and the view from our window.

Debbi and her home.

You can wander all over Jerusalem without ever getting bored. And we did.  So many alley ways .

Our old neighborhood, Nahlaot. It has become bohemian chic. Our former landlords' flat is now the shoemaker's entrance. It is surreal to travel as middle aged tourists for a week, to a place you lived for months and months as, let's say, a more colorful young person.

Israel is easy to visit- and if you love handmade, even more so. Handcraft is celebrated everywhere. But so is wireless technology, and it makes life very comfortable when traveling. 

What photographers do when we get together. 
Apparently, Dave and I  looked more at home than we thought. We were constantly asked where we were from. We'd answer the US, and the reply would be "No, where are you from Here" meaning, they thought we were ex-pats. Dave's beard, which is long enough to exude a Jerusalem-like spiritual quest (but is, in fact, just a beard)  and my rusty but surprisingly returned Hebrew skills helped, I think.

Dave with street art on the closed shutters of the Mahane Yehuda Market, at night. More about this next post.

 Looking plenty touristy, hiking in Ein Gedi, a national park oasis in the Negev desert. Improved access has made it popular (good--but also a little sad). The water levels are so much lower-- we were looking forward to swimming in the waterfall pools. You can see we would have looked pretty silly if we'd tried.

In Jerusalem I wallked by one yarn shop, filled with  mostly acrylics and other non-wool blends, so I wasn't terribly interested (snob? yes) . They had a display, above left,  of what looked like cotton jersey bias trims wound into skeins , called Colombialand. It was very tempting. I wasn't sure what I'd do with it. Someone used it (I think) to yarn bomb/stitch bus benches in the neighborhood I was staying in. Brilliant!-the perforated metal became a canvas.

Street art on the shutters for Moses Eggs in the market at night.

I'll need to have a part 2--thanks for hanging in if you made it this far!

felt balls and then i'm on my way

So I'm getting ready for a trip--for fun- not for work. Overseas! On Thursday.

Sunset colorway.

I love planning trip knitting, I was going to post all about projects  I'm considering taking, the pros and cons,  what yarn la-la-la-la-laaa. but guess what? No time to put it all together visually.  So. You get balls. Felt balls! Aren't they wonderful? My beloved neighborhood friends asked me to teach them how to make felt balls. We're like that. We've done all kinds of things to entertain ourselves over the years.  We've already invested in some felting needles to poke dots and stripes in, the next time we get together.

Trying to force myself to make less organic compositions. Not my jam!

The luscious felting wool is Nash Island Starcroft from Maine. Aren't the colors beautiful? Everyone ordered different sets and they are all to die for.

Next time you hear from me  I'll be somewhere else, and I suspect I'll have plenty to show and tell and maybe even some time to do so.

tahki yarns behind the scenes photo shoot

In late October, I photographed the Tahki Yarns Spring 2016 look book , the Sea Breeze collection.   We're always working off season - so it was time to look springy in late fall.
That's the cover shot, above. We were flying through 17 outfits that day, working as fast as we could. It's magical when you're all running around like crazy changing clothes, fixing hair, looking for good angles and backgrounds and the wind to blow the right way and then -click- it all falls into place.  Also--I am so attracted to these half-poncho half-sweater quasi-shawl knits. You too? 

The booklet is mostly knits with a couple crochet pieces, like that blanket/wrap on the left, designed by Doris Chan. It was warm for the season- lucky for me- but very breezy. We put the wind to work for us. Fringe with some movement slays me.

I'm also a sucker for a lifeguard station. You'd never know the model, Steph, was shivering a little, right?

You can see the rest of what we created from the Tahki link above or on Ravelry  Now, some BTS:
The day before the shoot, a few of us met in Long Beach NY. It may not be the most glamorous part of Long Island but it is super convenient, being just a little east of Queens and reachable by public transportation. There are miles of flat out gorgeous oceanfront beach, and off-season, plenty of parking. Plus, the vibe there is lose, we could just jump in.  Since we were shooting Spring as the leaves were gold and falling off the trees, we put a lot of energy into finding our setting- deciding on coastline, and then which beach would work for logistics like time and budget (oh those again).  The nice thing about a beach is, you don't know the season, except by the clothing. Plus, I admit it. I love a beach shoot.

My first task is scouting. That's Yliana, who works with me as a production assistant, standing in for the model in spots I think might work . Being my production assistant means before the shoot, she helps with general shleppage and organizing--and during the shoot, as a styling assistant. You have to have the right personality for a job that includes testing to see if it's possible to balance on the edge of the lifeguard stand while looking casual. 
I map out a route for the next day, using the best light at each location. We try to scout at the same time of day we'll be back to photograph, and use phone apps to predict the sun's path.  It makes a huge difference to know where the shadows are falling and if a building will block the sun at certain times of day.  Of course, sometimes it is sunny on the scout day and cloudy the next, for the shoot ....or the reverse. Location photography always throws me some curveballs. See those amazing sand ripples on the right? We were so psyched to scout them as a background.  Showed the scout shots to the client when he arrived, he was also psyched. But by the next morning, trucks had come on the beach and flattened out the ridges, pushing the sand into UN-photogenic piles closer to the boardwalk.

Back to our little Long Beach cottage airBnB we stayed in. It had the best bathroom with a big copper tub set in a tiled wall with a skylight. Deeply regret that I didn't get to use it! Instead we prepped-- Yliana worked on a rack for the wardrobe and helped the Creative Director steam out clothes and hang the pieces in order that we'd use them. I think I was laying on a sofa (um...prepping) and that yellow stuff that's artfully out of focus was a flower on a table, between us. yeah, that's right, artfully.

 The next morning, here's our gorgeous model Steph, leading the parade onto the beach--the makeup artist is on the left, and that's my photo assistant Ariana , and the fashion director, Conley, walking out holding a large silk on a  frame, to soften the sunlight. Harsh light directly on yarn is not great--but you can see there wasn't any cloud cover, and we needed to shoot all day, not just in the  delicate light early in the day.

Don't be fooled, they actually like me, despite the faces. On the far left, one of the former-ripples-now-sand -piles. The silk on the frame is just about going to lift the two of them off the ground in the wind. But you can see how it comes in handy, on the right. I'll be photographing from an angle that doesn't show the edges of the shadow --and also avoids that yellow truck. Where did that truck come from? Stuff like this always happens, a heavy equipment drives through the idyllic setting. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the problem solving aspect of location photography work. Studios are way more predictable , and I can enjoy that...but to me, it's not as fun as throwing in a little chaos.

The dance of a happy fashion director when we finished the last of 17 outfits that day--and the It Takes a Village group portrait shot of us all. I know I've said this before, but I have the best clients.

i don't wanna work, just wanna bangoutasweater all day

Has this title already been used? Anyone? Everyone?

I forced myself not to touch this in lieu of work today. I am so close to finished with my Stopover #bangoutasweater. It has been ridiculously speedy. I mean, I have not been timing myself, as others have, but  I remember now, this is why I used to like to knit these scandanavian sweaters- which is what I called them before I learned the so much cooler sounding lopapeysa.  Which gets yousome stares if not said to a knitter.  
Anyway, my progress here, since joining the arms to the body,  was aided by YarnyOldKim  mentioning of Broadchurch- a British detective story.

I am here to tell you, two binge-watched seasons later, it is A-1 knitting fare- a gripping plot, excellent characters, surprise murderers. Though at times I found myself frozen in suspense-- or in  the effort to unwrap their accents inside my head. The seaside Dorset setting is rather fabulous too.
As we speak now, I am halfway between what you are seeing up top, and the collar. I'm adding a little something extra, a 4th contrast color to get my Frank Stella #stellover  hues all in there. It just felt wrong to leave out the beige, and anyway, this is an exercise in stretching myself by using a color I disdain (beige) and a color I like but normally don't use much in my knitting, the Light Red Heather which is sort of a pinky coral red. 

I am clearly embracing it. I found myself frosting the cupcakes for Zoe's birthday party yesterday with Light Red Heather Lopi buttercream. No one complained.

1) I've discovered that you rarely get a complaint when you offer up anything covered in homemade butter cream. I am an unreliable baker but I whip up one hell of a buttercream and 2) Four year olds and cupcakes? Complaints unlikely.  It was as noisy and cheerful as it looks. Four. Years. Old!

random knits, banging out a sweater

This is Meltwater  from Elizabeth Elliott Knits, just brand new released today on Ravelry from that link. One of four stunning designs I shot for her last month--others releasing in the weeks to come. If you are looking for a quick happy-making bulky knit and aren't feverishly Banging out a Sweater, this is the what you need to get on the needles right now. 

Speaking of random,  I am astounded by the assortment that accumulates on my kitchen table each day. I am a natural clutterer. It's cleared after breakfast and by 4 pm...not clear. Recently: the teal indigo mass on the left is now a blocked but not yet fringed shawl. The mug on the right is my new favorite item--a gift from my sister who was in South Africa last summer.The rest is typical. Stuff. 

And speaking of the sweater banging-- my Frank Stella inspired Stopover is coming along nicely.   I got most of a sleeve done on the train in and out of NYC yesterday. I forced myself to knit continental on  it while riding south yesterday morning,  which neatly does the trick of slowing the pace.  I look at my fingers and think "can't you do that move faster?".  Nope.
Why would I do that, purposefully knit slower,you ask?  I didn't want to cruise ahead and leave myself knitless on the last hour of the 2 hour ride home at night. The plan was perfect, except of course I dozed off and now have 2 inches left to go. Oh wait? It's not a race???? 

Anyway, I can't wait to join the three pieces and start the yoke party.  If you follow me on Instagram (I am galezucker there) you will no doubt see it soon-ish.

my delightful lopi yarn source

If you're joining in the MasonDixon Knitting BangOut a Sweater KAL -aka the Stopover KAL  LopapeysaLooza--whatever you're calling it ---you'll love my yarn shopping tip.

Let me preface this.  1) the words "yarn shopping tip" do not roll easily off my fingertips and 2) I love my LYS.I always try to Shop Local. My local clubhouse , Knit New Haven*, does not carrry Lopi. Nor does the yarn shop at the other end of town, The Yarn Basket,  nor my 3rd closest, the artsy and fun to shop at Madison Wool.  So, last month, when I decided to satisfy  my colorwork jones described here with Mary Jane Mucklestone's Stopover, I hit the internet.

I'd seen this Frank Stella piece,  in Kay Gardiner Herself's IG feed in late November.  In an uncharacteristically decisive move, I declared it my Stopover colorway. Or as Kay calls it, my #Stellover.   (always with the great hashtags, that one)

Looking online I had  trouble finding just the right colors in any one shop. I landed on a new-to-me yarn source, Nordic Store and gleefully saw the LettLopi price set at $ 2.49 a skein. And not just some, but ALL the colors.
WHAT?  Lopi is a bargain even at full price (usually $4.50/skein) but this was cray-zeee. I grabbed my  four colors,  added a fifth because why not,  I go to the shipping and WHAT THEWHAT? The 4-7 day shipping price is $21.??? Almost equal to the price of the yarn?

So. Turns out I was online shopping in Rekjavik.  But - I had the exact hues I wanted, and more, and the price was the same- or less- than ordering in the US with shipping. I hit OK and BOOM 4 days later  I had my international mail with this inside .

Yup a video, because Icelandic wool by Icelandic mail gets the full Hollywood treatment.

And also because I hit the video button on my phone by mistake.

I'm going to consider myself a KAL member anyway, even if I already cast on. Without the CC on the bottom ribbing because that's not a good place for me to have a horizontal line. If you know what I mean. I'll have a good chunk of it knit while away this coming weekend- but I bet you'll still be done before me.

* At KNH they suggested subbing Quince Osprey. Different feel but nice option. I also considered Brown Sheep Lambs Pride, my old go-to for scandanavian style sweaters. But- a knitter wants what a knitter wants and in this case, it's the real Lopi and a package from Iceland.

new year print round up; vogue knitting

When we last spoke, I was up to my elbows, wrists  in Trip Mitts. How about a bulleted catch up?

•  Work in print! As the year turned, my office filled with work shot a while back, coming home to roost in the form of books,  magazines and booklets.  I'm thrilled with the spreads-and cover--of the new Vogue Knitting. Note to self: share some of the other recently released work in future posts.  Like the adorable Finger Knitting book in the back here. And the  Faerie magazine pieces. (Don't raise that eyebrow over Faerie.  Read what The NY Times says- raves, really- about it)

• Another view inside the Vogue Knitting. I shot two stories--one on Modern Bohus knits, and one is winter whites.  Normally I'm all about the colors and contrasts but the whites one?  All about texture and avoiding color.  I like turning things upside down like that- makes me see/ think differently. Sort of like how we're supposed to brush our teeth with the opposite hand than normal every so often, to stretch our little brains.

•  If you are at Vogue Knitting Live this weekend in NYC and you happen by the Vogue Knitting booth, let them know how smashing this issue looks. It's been re-designed, looks quite wonderful and fresh. Yes, I'm biased but it's still true :-)

• And-- a  super dorky me with the cover.

• Let the record show that I am at Level 5 Handknits here: an unreleased Mary Lou Egan sweater that is drop dead easy to knit, Honey cowl with my Aristida shawl on top, L'Arbre hat and Trip Mitts.  Yes, I actually did meet my friends looking like that and we  were not at a fiber festival.  I forgot I was wearing the cowl when I added the shawl over it. That's my story.

• I'm missing Vogue Knitting Live this weekend, due to a family trip. I'm the one who scheduled it on the same dates as what is always a fun knitting party time.  I am so annoyed at myself, increasingly with each IG post and photo of friends yucking it up on Broadway. I plan to, at the very least, take advantage of car knitting time and finish a shawl. Maybe start a sweater. Who knows? Caution to the wind! Maybe more mitts. 

 If you're going to VK Live in NYC , here're my recommendations:

- Hit the Marketplace and go straight ot Jill Draper Makes Stuff . Snag some Rifton before it is gone. Love that yarn, and she has some new colorways. Also, the Dragonfly Fibers ladies will be there with their brilliant colorways. Say hi from me.

- While you're hitting the marketplace, check out the Knitty City booth and their special guests schedule. Lars Rains will be there with his new book, Modern Lopi..It's lopapeysa weather. So get on it.  Say hi from me there, too.   The same booth is also hosting Kay and Ann from Mason-Dixon knitting, with their popular coloring book. A knitting coloring book. I bet they'll sign it in crayon.  And...say hi from me.

- I'd also recommend joining Ann & Kay  of Mason Dixon Knitting on their trot through Central Park on Sunday morning. Because  this is something you can't do at any other VKLive.  Seize the day. Might be my 2016 motto.