Bauhaus-inspired rug

About six months ago I had posted something about the Bauhaus exhibit at MoMA that was going on over the winter, and how I was inspired to make a rug modeled after a particular wall hanging by Anni Albers. This is the tapestry in question:

Six months later, I'm happy to report that I've finally finished the rug.

Not quite as many different shades involved here as in the original, but I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

Now for a closer look--don't mind all the wrinkles. I need to get a rug pad to keep it from moving around every time I step on it. If you're thinking you might want to invest some time into doing something similar, I did it by essentially knitting eight different scarves using seed stitch, and then sewing the scarves together. The cotton yarn wasn't too expensive either. Though I wasn't keeping track of how many skeins I ended up buying, the project probably cost me about $50.

Dharma cupcakes

My friend brought these Dharma cupcakes over for the last episode of Lost. I ate way too many but they were pretty awesome. Far more awesome than the ending of Lost.

Andre the Giant Has a Posse

Saturday we went on a walk exploring Mott Haven and Melrose, two neighborhoods in the South Bronx. At one point we saw an Andre the Giant sticker on a lightpost and I said something along the lines of "I'm sure Shepard Fairey didn't actually put that up, but that's pretty cool." And then a few blocks later, we saw this...

Shepard Fairey has a show going on at Deitch Projects (the last one before it closes) and I guess he decided to make a collaborative mural with another graffiti artist, Cope2, while he was here. Here are some pictures of the making of the mural.

I love the Andre damask wallpaper.


On another wall of the same building is this huge graffiti mural (with more on the third side as well) so maybe this is a legal spot.

Funny enough, on Friday night I also spotted a combination of Andre and the Misfits skull on a building in Williamsburg, which I'd never noticed before*. It seems like he really covers a lot of ground when he visits a city.

*Then again, maybe it had been there for years and I was just a bit more observant at that moment.

Muskrat Love

The last time we went to the Woodlawn Metro North station we noticed that there was a paved trail that started right before the entrance to the station. (According to the sign it's called Muskrat Cove--great name.) Last weekend we decided to see where it led. The answer is: not that far. But it takes you along the Bronx River, as well as the Bronx River Parkway, so there's a nice juxtaposition of nature and highway underpass. I'd go again.

Bertoias in the sun

I took this picture a few weeks ago in the courtyard at MoMA. So many Bertoia chairs--whenever I'm there I just want to grab a few and make a run for it (I can't imagine that would end well). I love the shadows they cast.

A visit to Wave Hill (and another epic walk)

Saturday we went out to Wave Hill, a 28-acre estate that has been converted to public gardens, in the extremely un-Bronxlike Riverdale. I'd never really been over there before, and it felt like I was suddenly transported into some random wealthy suburb in Connecticut or Westchester. We're talking $6,000,000 houses with unlikely addresses like West 252nd Street, Bronx, NY.

Despite being surrounded by weird rich people (more on that later), the grounds are lovely, with beautiful views of the Hudson. It's not that large so it didn't take too long to see everything, but we hadn't paid anything to get in (free entry on Saturdays before noon) so that was fine with me.



Here's the aquatic garden, with goldfish and lilypads.

And now, for the "more" I was talking about.

Wait for it...

Bam. Best picture ever. These people were all moving around in slow motion. I guess it's some kind of tai chi class? Sigh...moving along...




The above is actually about a mile away from Wave Hill, closer to central Riverdale. I don't know what the purpose of all those reflectors is, but they look pretty cool.

Right about then my camera died but after lunch at Liebman's Kosher Deli we walked down to the Broadway bridge and into Inwood, drank some coffee at the Indian Road Cafe (on Manhattan's only "road"), wandered around Inwood Hill Park (Manhattan's only primordial forest), and took the subway down to the Lower East Side to see the Styrenes and Pink Reason at the Cake Shop. Which was kind of a mistake, as by the time the show started I was feeling totally obliterated after my 15-hour day and 12 mile walk. I think we have a tendency to overdo it.

Orange cups and saucers

A couple of weeks ago we happened upon an antique store in Westport, CT (on the same trip that I bought the herbs and looked at pictures of midcentury houses), where Dave noticed a fantastic set of plates and cups.

The plates have an indentation where you're supposed to put the cup--more of an oversized saucer, I guess, perfect for coffee and cookies. But they'd also make decent mid-sized plates. We really didn't need any more dishes but I couldn't resist them--I love the orange and the triangles. I have more and more been finding myself drawn to orange things. The color is just so bold and striking.

Dave enjoys his morning coffee out of a new mug.