Homeway House

Yesterday, we were invited to the L.A. Conservancy's volunteer party at Homeway House in View Park, L.A. The tour was conducted by the current owner of this beautiful 1932 Spanish Mediterranean Revival home. The home was built in 1932 by Frank K. Colby, Vice President of Barker Bros. Furniture Company. There are so many notable features in this home: Arched doorways, carved wood doors, bottle glass windows, Malibu tile, painted canvas walls and ceilings, a variety of rock fireplaces, and many different designs or themes in the various rooms. The panoramic views from many of the rooms in the home are spectacular. I only wish it hadn't been a rainy day! The architect was C.E. Noerenberg who designed many other public and private buildings in Los Angeles.

We always have a great time at L.A. Conservancy events. This was a very special tour. I urge you to join the Conservancy and partake of it's wonderful programs while helping to preserve historic architecture in our beautiful City.

Vintage Photo Friday

Trip to San Diego and CoronadoEllen, Roz and Ken
The Ferry Boat to Coronado Island

This was waaaay back in the mid-1950's. I was a mere toddler. Too bad the color photos are so faded. Apparently they were NOT Kodachrome! I remember my brother's Balboa Blue outfit with the captain's hat. My Mom was wearing her red and green plaid sun glasses....so chic! Me? I'm in my sensible gray flannel winter coat!

Ken, Roz, Ellen and "Bambi" @ San Diego Zoo

Ken, George and Ellen,
Flamingo Area, San Diego Zoo

Have a wonderful weekend!

Seen in L.A.

Seen at Light My Fire, Original Farmers Market, Los Angeles.
Here are a few more choice bottles:

B-Days @ Sometimes Sunday Crochet

Carol & Natalie wish for a happy year!

This past Sunday we celebrated birthdays for the January babies, Natalie and Carol. We had a lovely lunch at the Minestraio Trattoria, Orlando Hotel. After lunch we walked back to Beth's house where she had a yummy lemon cake along with beverages waiting for us while we crocheted.

Lori is crocheting a gorgeous Noro blanket!

It was a sleepy Sunday and all the treats were welcome. I think Natalie's face says it all here about Beth's delicious lemon cake!

SnB @ Heritage Square

Roosters @ Hale House

A few weeks ago, Larry and I drove out to Highland Park to attend the second Saturday art crawl, NELA. We left a few hours early so I could attend the Stitch 'n Bitch at nearby Heritage Square. My friend, Heather put this group together in expectation of conducting another yarn-bombing with the group. This time the event will be at the 18th Street Arts Complex in Santa Monica sometime this summer.

Larry, Heather and Dana @ The Palms Depot

I believe that the Heritage Square SnB will be meeting at the Museum every second Saturday of the month from 4-6pm. The Square consists of eight historic buildings from the Victorian era from different locations around Los Angeles.

It was fun knitting in a Victorian mansion for a few hours. We were in the salon of the William Hayes Perry Residence. It just happened to be one of those really cold days in early January. Our knitted and crocheted items were very welcome accessories in that drafty old house! The Christmas decorations were still up, so it was quite festive.

The Museum holds several events throughout the year, movie screenings, picnics, Victorian fashion shows, re-enactments and more. My friend, Sara is a docent and asks that everyone vote for Heritage Square as the best Museum of the year.

Lincoln Avenue Methodist Church & the Octagon House

Potholders

Daisy Potholder

Last year I made quite a number of potholders (see below)....some for swaps, some for gifts and others for myself. I LOVE crocheting potholders! They are small projects that can be finished in a few hours. You can be as creative with color as you want. I think of them as beautiful little mosaics or jewels.
The 2011 Potholder Swap on Ravelry was announced the other day. I missed this swap the last two years, so I'm really looking forward to participating this year. If you're a member of Ravelry, you can read the instructions for the swap here. Check out the Flickr group to see some of last year's entries. Wow! Gorgeous!
Swap members are required to make 5 cotton potholders, double-sided. You have to use the same pattern for each of the five potholders, but you can change up the colors any way you'd like. I've decided to crochet Maggie Weldon's Daisy Potholder for my entries. I've finished two potholders already! Since I'm using a lighter weight cotton than the pattern calls for, I added a couple of extra rounds of double crochet and a picot edge to the design. This is a supremely satisfying project.

Potholder Backs

Last year's Potholders and Hot Pads, below

Vintage Photo Friday

Traveling with Freda and Sam Katz

Ocean Cruise - Early 1950's
Freda is on deck next to woman in swim attire,
Sam is next to Freda wearing their Mae West Life Preservers

My grandparents traveled quite a bit when I was a child. Grandpa retired from the building business at the early age of 50, managing his various apartment buildings as his retirement project. He was a member of the Shriners. The Westwood Shriners planned lots of excursions and my grandparents participated actively. Most of the photos are from the early to mid-1950's.

Freda (right, laughing) next to Sam in Fez, smoking cigar

Freda & Sam (right), Enjoying a Feast in Japan

Wherever you travel this weekend, remember to wear your fez! I hope you have a wonderful adventure, just like Freda and Sam!

So Long Auntie Frances

Frances Berman Bloom 1920-2011

Sad, but not tragic. My Aunt Frances passed away yesterday. She was almost 91 years old. Frances had a long and happy life, married to my Uncle, Mort Bloom. I spent lots of time at their house when I was a youngster. My cousins, Amie, Barbie and Carol are all close to my age. It was a never-ending slumber party at their house, with Aunt Frances joining in our fun.

Frances in the early '70's

Frances and Ellen, 2008

Frances (green dress), Ellen (waving), 1956

Ellen, Carol, Barbara, Amie Bloom, 2010

Frances was a talented actress, as well as an enamel artist and fiber arts talent. She was an excellent cook and always ready to offer her home and hospitality to all. She was quick-witted and had a marvelous sense of humor. We talked about knitting ALL the time. I will truly miss my Auntie Frances.

Auntie Frances and Uncle Mort, 2007

Yarny Inspirations

I have many unfinished projects to complete. I want to start new projects for the new year! Some recent inspirations.....How many UFO's do you have sitting around?

Weekend Celebrations

Larry and Rick

We continued celebrating Larry's recent birthday throughout the weekend. It turns out that Rick's b-day is 5 days earlier than Larry's, so we had a little b-day dinner at our house on Saturday for the occasion. Yes, my dinner was fine....Latin salad, chicken mole', rice, Oaxacan succotash.

The divine wine and flourless chocolate cake were supplied by our guests. It was a fun evening, filled with laughter and good times.

On Monday, our friends Audrey and Jeff came over and we zoomed toward USC, ending up at Mo-Chica Peruvian Restaurant at the Mercado La Paloma on Grand Ave. Many of Audrey's friends had been here and gave rave reviews. We had been to Mercado La Paloma before to eat at Chichen Itza, a Yucatan-style restaurant. Mo-Chica was a totally different experience. The food was very continental and elegant. I've never eaten such marvelous cuisine....EVER!

We started out with the recomended ceviche. It's way different than the tomato broth-based ceviche we're used to. It was good, with unusual accompanying ingredients.

Ceviche

There are many Japanese living in Peru, so their cooking methods and ingredients have intermingled with the typical Peruvian beef and potatoes.

Audrey had arroz con mariscos...rice with seafood. Jeff had arroz con pollo....rice and chicken. Larry had oxtail risotto and I had seco de cordero...lamb shank with all kinds of amazing sauces and side ingredients. Check out the menu for exact descriptions. The ingredients for all of the dishes were all very fresh and inventive. We shared a passion fruit crème brulée for dessert! Yum!!

Mariscos

Pollo

Oxtail

Lamb Shank

Passion Fruit Crème Brulée

The table service was attentive and helpful. Only two of the many restaurants were open at night. I'm sure this place is booming during the day. The atmosphere was food-court fancy, but definitely not deluxe. Remember, you can't eat atmosphere. We were recently at a trendy newish restaurant in Culver City and the food at Mo-Chica was waaaaaaay better. Of course, there is no alcohol served at this mall. You might have to smuggle in a flask. We were so pleased with the food and service at Mo-Chica, that we will definitely visit again. I can't wait to go back and try other dishes! Thank you, Audrey and Jeff for introducing us to this restaurant with such tasty food!

MLK Day, Knit Version

Saw this online today, originally uploaded by Owl Knits.
"Margaret from "MasonDixon Knitting Outside the lines." Knit for local art exhibit in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr."

VPF - Interiors

Denny's Coffee Shop, 1970

Like many people, I've always been attracted to mid-20th century coffee shop design, especially the interiors. They have large windows so you can see the warm and inviting atmosphere inside. This type of architecture was designed to allure people sitting in traffic. Coffee shops of the late1940's to the 1970's usually exhibited "theme" architecture known as "Googie," after the premier coffee shop space-age design. You can read about the origins of this type of architecture here.

I came across some coffee shop interiors on Facebook, highlighted in the group, "Photos from Mid -Century Modern and Historical Los Angeles in the '60s, '70s, and '80s." I was immediately captivated by the bright and cheerful interiors. The early coffee shops remind of Tomorrow Land at Disneyland!

International House of Pancakes, 1970

The architecture firm of Armet and Davis desgined many of these space-age style coffee shops in Los Angeles, including Denny's and Pann's, featured here.

Pann's Coffee Shop, 2010

I'm not sure who was responsible for the IHOP (International House of Pancakes) A-Frame design, but I love it! Johnnie's Broiler in Downey, now a Bob's Big Boy was originally designed by Paul B. Clayton.

Bob's Big Boy, Downey, 2010

Have a wonderful weekend. Stop by a coffee shop if you have the chance!

New Noise @ NELA

On Saturday we drove up to Highland Park for the Second Saturday Art Walk...NELA. Future Studio hosted our friends, Jeff and Mona for an interesting musical art event called "New Noise."

Jeff's Circuit-Bending Sound Art Equipment

The art patrons were encouraged to participate in the circuit bending with various toy electronic instruments on display. Below, Larry rocks out!


Amy Inouye, Art Gallery Proprietor, was wearing her Elvis tribute dress in honor of the King's birthday.

After some snacking and schmoozing, Jeff cranked up the circuit bender and started his performance. It was highly entertaining and cacophonous.

Jeff Boynton performs

We ALWAYS have fun at NELA! Join us next time...held on the second Saturday of the month.