Tigerflight!

Knit fast and leave a good looking yarn bomb!

tigerflight — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 20:41:28 +0000

Who- You! Me! Everyone we know!
What- Cover the facade (and marquee) of Jimmy Valentines with knit hearts- size to be determined by you but preferably ranging from 6″-26″ (and preferably in the colors of red/white/pink)
When- NOW! Seriously. NOW. Start knitting! This is going be their part of Artventures on H st which is a cool event for H street NE. Follow the link to find out more (i mean it’s all about art and food and who doesn’t like that?)
Where- Jimmy Valentines is located at 1103 Bladensburg Rd. NE Washington DC 20002. It has no sign. Really. That’s part of its charm. Also really.
Why- Because, to the best of my knowledge, there has never been a yarnbombing of this size in DC. This place is really rad and I can’t imagine a better pairing.
How- I’ve found some links to make hearts and I’ve included my own method. I’m not a teacher, I’m not good at explaining stuff. I can try to make it more clear but really I don’t care if they’re misshapen or wonky. I think the wonkier the better! really!
Once you’ve completed a heart (or 7) (and told your friends) you are welcome to drop them off at Jimmy Valentines (1103 Bladensburg Rd. NE) or Little Miss Whiskey’s (1104 H street NE DC) or contact me and I’ll figure out how to get them.

Please don’t keep this a secret! Tell your friends! Enlist your aunts! Let’s cover this building with yarn!

I’ve found a few free patterns for hearts- here and here. But really, it’s pretty easy- this is what I did to test:
Cast on 3 stitches. knit 1 row.
2nd row: knit 1, make one, knit two, make one, knit one.
3rd row: purl entire row.
4th row- knit 1, make 1, knit to the 2nd to last stitch, make one, knit one.
5th row- purl entire row
6th row: keep increasing on the knit rows- making one new stitch inside the last stitch on either side.
7th row- purl. purl all the odd rows or every row you’re not increasing on.
When you get to a width you like, divide stitches in half. let’s for arguments sake call them left side, & right side. So put something in the half of the right side stitches to hold them.
With the left side stitches- knit & purl a row, not increasing. So you’re keeping it the same width- dig?
On the next stitch row- decrease at the begining and end of each knit row but keeping true on the purled rows. (you can decrease by knitting two together. or your favorite decreasing method. I’m not picky)

Now move your needles to the right half of the stitches. do the same decreasey thing. Does it look wonky? that’s ok! IT’S CHARM!!!!

Favorite things- muppets

tigerflight — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 12:40:10 +0000

I don’t really have anything to add to this, oh wait, yes I do.
When I was little, and the Muppets were on TV, it was a reprieve from our usual bed time of 7pm (I was 5 or 6 at the time, and you know what? I still think that’s a good idea…I went to bed at 8:30 until probably 5th or 6th grade and never after 9 until highschool. And i think then 9pm was enforced, but I digress…) The Muppets. Probably changed my life. I remember seeing Debbie Harry on it and it was like….DONE. I wanted to be Debbie Harry so bad. Except I wasn’t blonde. And I couldn’t sing. And punk scared me a bit when I was little. So then I wanted to be the drummer for the Go-go’s many years later.
Anyway, digressing again- Please to be watching the Muppets take on Bohemian Rhapsody. It is so well done and I found myself loudly laughing many many times

Favorite things- ephemera

tigerflight — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 12:21:54 +0000

I used to be a prop person- meh, I still am. I think what made me a good prop person was my love of…just, stuff…One of the coolest things I think is ephemera. The luggage tags and post cards and ticket stubbs and dance cards and old valentines and notes scrawled on the backs of receipts or business cards that people tuck into books, dictionaries, the linings of train cases only to be unearthed generations later sometimes by grand children, sometimes by strangers curious as to the previous lives of an item they may have bought or inherited.
One of my personal favorites is an old LAX space-agey luggage tag I have tucked away….somewhere….but now! NOW! I had no idea these even existed! Prescriptions for whiskey from the prohibition era.
Some of them are quite beautiful
I saw one that had a nice note from the doctor suggesting the pharmacist give the intended patient only ‘the finest available’. But now I can’t find it.
Perhaps if you have someone in your life who enjoys whiskey, this might make a nice gift.

My favorite things- have you met the internets?

tigerflight — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 02:41:53 +0000

Sometimes I seriously have to wonder if I’m too old for the internet….I had to ask someone what a ‘meme’ was, I still don’t understand 4chan and tumblr? Well, that I actually like.
Truth is, I started blogging back in February of 2000 which seems….so long ago. And it is. This february that blog will be 5 years away from driving. And i still write there. No, I’m not telling you what it is….back to the tumblr thing…
Tumblr -where people dump links and pictures and sounds is pretty nice looking and tend to be fun. It’s also where you can find stuff like this: Kim-Jong Il looking at stuff
It’s kind of amazing. And cheers to you sir or madam for compiling a bunch of pictures, offered without comment, for our enjoyment.
I think maybe that’s why I like it so much. A lot of the internet fills in the gaps for you. Or is hell bent for snark. While, it can surely be argued, ‘How is posting a picture of the leader of Northern Korea selecting radishes not snarky, not even a little bit?’ and it is- but don’t you look at it wondering- is that a face he’s making? Will he be eating that radish? perhaps he’s attracted to the, ahem, shape?
Well, that’s for you to decide…

(every time i say this, i never follow up, but I’m going to really try to do a series of short posts on some of my favorite things. ) (and no, i won’t be giving anything away….probably)

Craftiest bastards you ever did see

tigerflight — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 20:05:20 +0000

So it’s that time of the year again, Crafty Bastards is a mere 5 days away. I’m unusually non-stressed. I take that back, there’s a modicum of stress, but it’s no where near where it has been in years past.
This year, I’m probably the happiest I’ve ever been about my stuff. Including the largest fleet of owls I’ve ever amassed for one show- it’s up over 55 now (usually it’s about 35-40). here’s about 45 of them clumped on my couch in a weird self portrait
I like that you can also see my Working Holiday poster above their heads. These are indie rock owls.
I’m also going to have around 20 squirrels. It might be 21 if I bring this guy. I like him so much, I might keep him.
I get asked that question a lot-if i ever keep the things I make. I try not to, because if I did, i would really have no room in my apartment which is already crammed full of records, books, and board games. it’s really kind of shameful.
Also- if you haven’t already- please vote for me (tigerflight) as Craftiest Bastard! i think this should work:
VOTE HERE

Um….so what else is new?

tigerflight — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:13:01 +0000

Best intentions, am I right?
This has been a pretty shitty summer (sorry mom). The majority of my summer was consumed by Arts on N which went pretty well. I don’t know if I’ll do it again, or work with the Arts Commission, again…we’ll see. As it is, I need to get my tail in gear with my own stuff for Crafty Bastards.
Then last week…I can’t talk about it. let’s just say that something big happened and it is bad and I’m going to be very sad for a very long time. Maybe i’ll post about it here, but I’m going to try to be positive here, right?
Sometimes when you’re depressed people advise you to count what you’re thankful for. And that’s a good idea. It’s also a good idea when you’re happy…really truly happy…to pause and look around and think ‘yeah’. And remember that so when you’re at your lowest again, you can think back to that moment and know that things will get better. because they do. Or they can. Things wax and wane all the time. Money, friends, creativity. It’s important to let yourself recognize this cycle and know that when you’re at your lowest, soon you will be at your highest again.
Trust me.
Anyway- things I’m excited about- crafty bastards. And a whole bunch of new fabrics from Buttons at the Shakespeare Machine. They’re so lovely. They’re going to make some great animals.

Check yourself

tigerflight — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:53:04 +0000

So, I moved to DC, kind of accidentally in 1998. I mean, not entirely by accident, but if, say, the fax machine hadn’t malfunctioned or if I had gotten an internship with a theatre in Princeton, NJ as opposed to the Shakespeare Theatre in DC stuff would be really different. I moved here, only ever visiting DC once. It was in college; some friends and I came down to DC to see Sebadoh and the Dog Faced Hermans. It was a phenomenal show and one of my favorite college memories.
All I really knew about DC was the music scene. I listened to a lot of DC bands…plus Dischord, Simple Machines records and Teen Beat were all here, so how bad could it be?
I’ve gotten to know a few of the musicians here…some I even grew up listening to…and some who have left an indelible mark on my life. Like Clark Sabine.
Today marks the one year anniversary of Clark’s passing from something as malignant and simple as melanoma. I’m guilty of this as well, but I’d like to use this day to implore (maybe order?) you and your love ones to have your moles checked.
It’s simple. It’s effective.
And in the mean time, read this lovely eulogy about my friend Clark

My friends are superheros!

tigerflight — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 18:13:00 +0000

My friend Jon Wye gets more done in a day than a normal person can do in a week. It’s mostly because he’s crazy and doesn’t sleep (or eat, so if you’re ever in New York City, please stop by his store and bring him pizza or something)
He’s an inspiration, the amount of stuff this kid does on his own, including risking life and limb to hang his sign up. Lucky for you, he had someone video tape the whole thing. Watch it here:

See you tomorrow~

tigerflight — Sat, 22 May 2010 13:34:35 +0000

First, a great big thanks to the amazing folks at Art Star in Philadelphia. The show was so well organized, and the volunteers they had that helped me schlep my stuff up to the tippy top were nothing short of amazing!
I learned a lot about wind that weekend…we’ll see if it sticks.
Tomorrow is Handmade Mart in Silver Spring. It’s run by Debbie & kim who also do Fenton Street Market
This will be my third time at the Handmade Mart. I’m making more squirrels- they were really popular in Philadelphia!

But first, it’s a trip to Eastern Market to buy fresh veggies for the week. Eastern Market is one of my favorite things about DC. If you visit, make sure you get there super early on a saturday morning for breakfast at the lunch counter. Holy smokes, their french toast! yum.

Ok, early errands and then more sewing!
xoxo
beth b.

where to find me

tigerflight — Fri, 07 May 2010 19:51:41 +0000

The month of May is a busy one for ol’Tigerflight! Next weekend (YIKES!) is the awesome Art Star Craft Bazaar in Philadelphia on Penn’s Landing. The weekend after that is Handmade-Mart in Silverspring, MD.
And between the two, I have a painting in the 12×12 show at the cool ArtDC gallery in Hyattsville, Md

Lots to see and do! Oh, also, it’s my birthday in two weeks

See you around!