MEGA Knits

38 degrees in Los Angeles??

It's COLD in Los Angeles!  I almost broke out my Mom's old mink coat last night, but it was raining. Yes, I know the cute little mink animal must have gone out in the rain, but I didn't want to risk a skunky-smelling coat.  Also, so many of my friends are animal lovers and do not condone the wearing of mink, that I might have come home with red paint all over this vintage creation.  I braved the cold and rain by running from the car to the house with an umbrella perched over my hair-do.

It's still cold this morning.  This got me to thinkin'.  I have tons of vintage knit patterns lining my bookshelves.  I've been collecting these old pattern books since I started knitting as a little girl, way back in the 1960's.  I've been rummaging through my books and have come up with some fabulous chunky knits to whip up for this cold snap.  Behold:

Fat yarn, large needles...these sweaters are quick and jiffy to work up!  The only problem with these chunky and bulky knits is that I'm rather chunky and bulky myself.  These types of sweaters just add to that bulky Babushka-lady look of my ancestors.  Oh well...who am I to go against my Russian roots! 

These MEGA knits are coming around again in fashion circles.  Take a look at some recent runway favorites:

Please note that these high-fashion MEGA knits are shown on clothes-hanger skinny models.  

Eh!  Who cares!  I'm freezing.  I'm gonna whip out my size 13 needles and double up some yarn and knit a SUPER-CARDI this weekend!

Happy New Year, my friends.  I'll be here at Chez Bloom Underhill under a pile o' yarn!

New Year's Eve

Altered Dorothea Lange Image, "Dust Bowl Mother"

New Year's Eve is Amateur's Night.  If you're really a hard-core party-er, you'll be out drinking and dancing 'til dawn on ANY other night of the week except New Year's Eve!  This is what HBO TV host John Oliver says about New Year's Eve in New York:  "New Year's Eve is like the death of a pet, you know it's going to happen but somehow you're never really prepared for how truly awful it is.  New Year's Eve is the worst.  It combines three of the least pleasant things known to mankind:  Forced interaction with strangers, being drunk, cold and tired and having to stare at Ryan Seacrest for five solid minutes, waiting for him to tell you what the time is." 

Hahahahaha!  I agree.  Up until I was in my late 30's, early 40's, I used to LOVE New Year's Eve.  We always made elaborate plans for the evening....parties, music, fancy dinners and more.  Now that we've advanced in years, I find the whole evening a let-down.  For the last decade or so (with a couple of neighbor's parties thrown in), Larry and I usually go to an early evening movie and then dinner at an out-of-way, non-festive restaurant like our local coffee shop or Thai place.

This year we'll be doing more of the same.  We have a movie picked out at the Landmark, WLA that starts at 4:05.  Hmmmm?  Where to go for dinner afterwards?

I found the vintage photo below in the L.A. Public Library photo archives.  We will NOT be with the gang on the Strip tomorrow night.  Ho Hum.

New Year's Eve on the Sunset Strip, 1968.  Herald-Examiner Collection

Procrastination Projects

I made lots of stuff in 2014.  All of the photos below are of pieces that I finished.  There are so many more projects that I completed but did not photograph.  Many times I think of my knitting and crochet practice as procrastination.  Instead of doing what I should be accomplishing, I sit down with some yarn.  I am the Mistress of Procrastination.  See the fruits of my dilly-dallying!

All projects notes are on my Ravelry page.  Next, I'll procrastinate a bit more, take a look in those many tote-bags sitting around the house and maybe finish a few marinating yarny projects.  Farewell to 2014!

Vintage Photo Friday

1965.  Cinerama Dome, Hollywood.  Security Pacific National Bank Photo Collection

Boxing Day.  The day after Christmas.  Stores and restaurants are open.  The city is bustling once again.  Larry and I decided to take in a flick.  We drove to Hollywood to see "Birdman" at the ArcLight.  We liked the movie.  It needs to be seen on the big screen without distractions. Yes, it's all about pesky actors, but without actors many of us here in tinsel town would be out of jobs! The performances are excellent!

1963.  "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" opens at the Cinerama Dome. Security Pacific National Bank Photo Collection

I always love visiting the Cinerama Dome in front of the ArcLight Theaters.  It's a geodesic dome designed by the architectural firm of Welton Beckett (1963).  The theater was built in  just 16 weeks!  That wacky movie, "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" premiered there. I remember seeing this movie when it came out.  More than the movie, I remember sitting inside the theater and looking up toward the honey-comb, domed ceiling.  After the movie my Dad walked us around the outside of the theater to check it out.  Wow!  I'd never seen a round building up-close before, except for the beautiful Capitol Records building (1956) a couple of blocks away.

Even though the ArcLight complex backs up and almost surrounds the Cinerama Dome, this building is still cool.  It has been preserved and still shows movies...even in cinerama!   The building looks terrific today.  I snapped a few shots.

2014

The Star of My Blog

Have a safe holiday weekend.  Go OUT to the movies.  Movies are your finest entertainment.

1965.  Photo by Howard Kelly.  The Cinerama Dome is just left of center in this aerial photo