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Last weekend it was Victorians, this weekend, Craftsman homes. Every November the Pasadena Historical society hosts a Craftsman weekend. Lectures, tours, modern craftsmen sharing their wares as well as people selling antiques. My only interest it the home tour.

I don’t go on this tour every year, I sort of pick and choose what kind of house tours I want. As much as I love Craftsman homes, I wouldn’t want to live in one and I find the darkness inside and the dark colors a little overbearing. So visiting these homes is fun. I have no interior pictures, we are only allowed to photograph from the street.

I managed to get a picture with no people. Its’ fun seeing the people milling around, sometimes you want to see the house. This one is smaller than I thought, the wrap around porch is deceiving. The second floor is just one large room. Most of the rooms are very small. The owner is an architect and he opened his garage/studio to let us see. He did a wonderful job renovating the house while staying within the parameters of Craftsman.

The next house was by far the most impressive. I have to say, on this tour we saw a number of houses that weren’t Craftsman, sure they were built in the correct period, that is not enough. More on them later. This beauty is by the famous Greene and Greene architects – the brothers who went on to build both the Gamble House (very near by here ), as well as the Blacker house, which in many ways is more impressive. Btw, the stained glass doors of the Blacker House were the home of Doc Brown, the mad scientist in Back to the Future.

This house was originally built as a bungalow in 1901 for a Katherine Duncan. She was a very successful seamstress. Ran her own business, built her own house. Yay for needlework! In 1906 she sold to the Irwins who hired the Green brothers to turn it into a true craftsman house. There have been changes and upgrades through the years, but in general, the interior is still very much Craftsman.

A side view of the house. The home is going on the market right after this tour. It is listed for under five million. For an original Greene and Greene, that is probably a very good price. This has happened before on a number of tours I’ve been on. We tour an interesting house, only to find out its’ for sale. I guess its’ a good way to have an open house with other people in charge for a day. Who knows, the people out today are probably the ones who would want to buy this.

I do love all of these details.

Right across the street is another Greene and Greene. Predates the remodel of the Duncan-Irwin house. It was because of this house that the Irwins hired the Greene brothers. The house wasn’t on the tour, I was a little surprised to see the gate ajar, so I snapped a picture, from the sidewalk of course!

From here on out, the homes weren’t really craftsman. This is the Childs-Torrance house. Yes, owned by the man who went on to develop the city of Torrance. Sorry, this isn’t Craftsman. It is that early 20th century house that has left the Victorian vibe behind, but doesn’t have a definite style. The home has historic designation, but, it’s a mess inside. Not falling apart, but no work has been done here in years. Most of the interior isn’t Craftsman either. I think the owner still lives upstairs, but mostly this is used for filming. There is so much work involved, I’m not sure anyone will ever want to restore it, even though it is eligible for major tax breaks. In my opinion, it’s ok to let this one go and build 3 or 4 newer houses here. Time does march on.

Right across the street is the Garfield house. This is also a real Craftsman Greene and Greene. Lo and behold, I find out that my friend Hillary grew up in this house! I need more information! The house was built for Lucretia Garfield, widow of President James Garfield. My friend probably lived there in the 60s and 70s. I knew she grew up in a Craftsman house in South Pasadena, but not that this is really an historic home.

Right next door, a very early Greene and Greene, they had yet to develop their signature style. So this one is pre-Craftsman by a team of brothers who were still finding their way. The little we saw of the inside was nice, but nothing amazing. Except there were Batchelder tiles around the two fire places. Just green/tan tiles, no design on them. But hey, these days, a Batchelder is a Batchelder.

I have no picture of the final house. A huge hedge greeted us on the street. Although the property is over an acre, you see nothing from the street. the grounds themselves are jungle like, very mature trees, a lot of greenery and water. The house was a converted carriage house. Rather small and the interior was 100% Victorian! Tchotskes everywhere, every inch of the walls covered with paintings. Very overwhelming. So the surroundings are lovely, but I couldn’t last in that house for more than a few minutes.

Another comment, this really bugs me. People now bring their dogs everywhere – into restaurants, markets and even on this tour. I don’t care that the dog is small and they are carrying it. Dogs do not belong on a home tour! The final house had a bird in a cage, what right do they have to march in with their dog??? Really, it steams me. But the same people who will complain about others breaking laws they approve of, have no compunction about breaking laws themselves. Don’t get me started on ‘service dogs’. These were pets and as such should stay home.

Leah

Halloween is over, but I have some images left from last week. Very interesting wallpaper in the Octagonal house in Heritage Square. This is original to the house, otherwise known as arrested decay – which is something I really like. Not sure why the wall paper took on an orange tint here and there.

I think it was the front parlor that had this paper, here it is peeling and fraying.

Speaking of arrested decay. From Heritage Square I hopped over to the Brewery Art walk. I didn’t wander this time, just went to see my friend Teale Hathaway. I’ll show you what I bought from her in a minute. But oh my, her boyfriend! Marshall is an incredible photographer. One series that really grabbed me was one of chairs in abandoned rooms. Arrested Decay. So I bought one. A photo of a photo isn’t great, but omg! The details here. He took this picture in an old abandoned brothel in the Arts District. The building has since been demolished. As in the Octagonal House, here we see the remnants of wall paper and paint on plaster, as well as chunks of plaster that have either fallen or been ripped off to expose the brick. There is so much more detail here that has to be seen.

It is now hanging over my chair in the breakfast area. Which means I have to stand up and look at it. Which I do, This is the best place for it, so here it is. Every time I look at it I discover something new.

I bought this fabric remnant from Teale. (the pumpkins I made a number of years ago). She has a line of decorator fabrics and was selling off some of the strike offs. Don’t know why I’ll do with this, but I will use it for something. As you know, fabric is like paint, you need to have it around for projects.

Speaking of pumpkins, Aytan and I carved a pumpkin. Well, he drew out the design.

I did most of the carving.

A black cat stopped by the day before Halloween. I hope he stayed hidden, since Halloween is a very bad time for black cats.

Before Trick or Treat!

This is the piece de resistance. No, Einav wasn’t happy, and I don’t know how Yoch managed to keep that hot mask on while trick or treating.

Leah

For those who don’t knit, frog means literally ripping out rows of knitting. Not one stitch at a time but all at once, then one has to painstakingly pick up the stitches again. Why is it called frogging? Because, rip-it, rip-it, ribbit ribbit.

I had the feeling that I have too many stitches on the shawl, before the next pattern I had to add quite a few. The only way to see if this was true was to pull the shawl off the needle which I did. Can you see how wavy it is?

Here you can see better. Also, the idea is that you add a row of increases, then knit without increases for the duration of a pattern and you sort of have a half circle. This is not a half circle.

I had gone and bought more of these stitch markers because I didn’t have enough with all the increases. No matter, stitch markers never go to waste. They often get given away to fellow knitters who need them, but they don’t get wasted.

After the frogging, not a half circle. I know, the yarn I’m using is much thinner than the pattern called for. Also, the pattern was free, which means it probably wasn’t tested. So when I picked up the stitches and started knitting again, I even decreased a little. Since I enjoy the process of knitting, so be it, I’m spending more time knitting, but I know I’ll be happier with the result.

I finished the Clipper ship. I’m very pleased.

There is a row of appliqué flowers underneath. Still having fun.

I started with the center rose, since there is a lot of overlap on the leaves. But as I lay down the next flowers I realized that the overlaps aren’t symmetrical. So, I’m haphazardly appliquéing part of a flower and fitting the next piece underneath. It’s all part of putting the puzzle together and you know I like puzzles.

Daylight savings is almost over, we won’t be coming to the beach after school for a couple of months. So we had to do it now.

I love these two! And I love beach! Win Win!

Here they are, ready for Halloween. btw, Cam thinks he’s an astronaut, he doesn’t know from Starwars.

Leah

I’m not a big fan of true crime. I’m not even a fan of detective stories. But they are all the rage these days. Anyway, it’s been a few years since I’ve been to Heritage Square. The outdoor museum of old Victorian homes.

As much as I enjoy this place, I hardly ever come here. Sarah, a fellow knitter has been a volunteer here for years and she posted about the True Crime event, seeing it was the weekend before Halloween. So I went.

Hmm, I don’t remember a sign on this house. I think it’s the Hale House, pretty well furnished inside and out.

Yup. The sign is just here for the event. Inside this house we were introduced to the story of how Griffith J. Griffith tried to murder his wife. There were people inside acting the part, someone as Agnes Mesmer, the wife. Her arm in a sling, her eye covered with a bloody bandage. The volunteers (not professional actors) tried to tell the story in real time. Which didn’t work all that well. Let me just say, Griffith got the final word. He managed not to be convicted of attempted manslaughter. She divorced him and lived another 30 years. In order to clear his name he donated 400 acres of this Rancho Los Feliz to the city. Today it is Griffith park, a wonderful urban park. And that is what people remember about the name.

I do enjoy that some of the houses are full of old time artifacts. Like this typewriter.

I didn’t get a chance to ask, what are embroidery forms? Maybe it is the pattern that then will be transferred onto cloth. You know me, anything to do with textile arts will catch my attention.

For some reason I aimed my camera up. Btw, although this house is much more gingerbread than the White House next door. It was less expensive, this was a case of ordering every decorative item possible and putting them all into one house.

Here is Sarah, extolling the virtues of alcohol while a temperance lady stand outside and harangues people. Sarah has been involved here for years, her daughter Vivian who is quite a young lady these days participated as well.

Some more roof lines. Simply because it always pays to look up.

In another house we heard the story of Hattie and Minnie Woolsteen who were accused of murdering a dentist. Something to do with a love triangle. Here is Hattie telling the story, she was quite dramatic. Oh and once again, the sisters got off scot free but left Los Angeles and went back to Wisconsin.

A beautiful Victorian dress, from the back. I’ve been following some historic costume designers lately. It’s a lot of fun. They would be able to tell me how accurate this dress is, and exactly which part of the Victorian era it is copying. Me, I’m just enjoying the view.

They haven’t the funds to renovate the Church, one can only peak in the windows.

Inside Colonial Drug. The building is a replica, all the items inside come from the original in Highland Park, which is the neighborhood this museum is in. My friend Barbara is the granddaughter of the original drug store. Her family helped built the building as well as donate everything in it. I think there is still a warehouse of stuff. Her grandpa was quite the pack rat. Here a real pharmacists discusses the poisons and medicines of the day.

Back in the day, pharmacies sold beauty products. A whole display of rouge compacts.

I highly recommend a visit to Heritage Square. If you go on a regular weekend, you get a lot of history. This time it was just a fun event. Oh and there were plenty of visitors in costume as well.

Leah

I hardly go there any more. A massive rebuild project is in the works. Once it’s finished years from now there will be 10,000 less square feet for displaying art, which may be a good thing, since modern art isn’t worth it.

Speaking of modern art, I did go to see an exhibit, because why not. As a former docent, we have walkthroughs, and I don’t have to pay for parking. So the exhibit is called Material Matters, Chinese artists use unconventional materials to create ‘art’. Most of these artists came to fame outside China, China lets them back, because why not publicity and all, I don’t think any of them were born, raised and brought this art to public view only in China.

So here are a few of the things that I did like.

There were three garments. Made out of thick PVC and embroidered with fishing line. This of course is an emperors outer coat. The museum does have some sample of the real thing, in silk.

Along the edge, a Phoenix, mountains and clouds. By now, you should know me, I love textiles. Even when it’s a facsimile in plastics. The artisans who embroidered this really did an amazing job.

A close up of another garment, here the sleeves have the cloud shape.

I’m pretty sure the embroidery was done by hand. I’m not seeing signs of machine embroidery. If so, real big kudos to the embroiderers.

Next one maked me a little queasy, I’ll explain why.

A house made out of human hair. What bothered me was the scope, all I could think of was all the hair and teeth taken from Holocaust victims after they were gassed. Another docent shared the same feeling. But, I do know that people sell hair all the time and that in the Victorian era, people made jewelry and pictures as mementoes of their loved ones who died – using their hair. The scope of this still made me uneasy.

Braided and dyed.

This one bothered others much more. Didn’t bother me in the least. So there you have it, different people react differently to things. As you can see, it’s huge. and, it’s made out of….

Cigarettes. That is what bothers people – smoking cigarettes. Well, they should be pleased about this then, no one is going to smoke theses.

I am impressed, creating this massive tiger skin out of cigarettes is quite a feat. I knew a woman once who had the real thing on her floor. She was somewhat bothered by it. Not enough to remove the rug. Me, I simply don’t have and won’t have any kind of carpet made out of animal skins.

Using the material to it’s fullest, when looked at from another angle, the color changes. Because now I am looking at the tobacco side of the cigarette.

White tiger

Grey tiger.

Then we have the artist who uses porcelain and makes large installations with huge quantities of repetitive objects.

He calls this flames, to me it looks like warped bullets. Well, art is in the eye of the beholder.

An extension to the May Co building. A new museum of Hollywood and movie history. Taking shape very nicely. I spoke to a LACMA guard who is positioned here. He loves watching the building grow and is very impressed with the engineering of the dome. I think he was Thai, his accent wasn’t great, but I did understand that he used to be an engineer, so for him it is especially meaningful. Also, as an immigrant, he took a job, he is working and proud of it, even if being a museum guard isn’t being an engineer. Clearly, being in the US of A, is worth it, even if the job is a ‘lessor’ job.

What is this new building you ask? Park of the new construction?? No not at all. Every year LACMA spends a fortune to put up this temporary structure as part of their massive fundraising gala. I guess this year Leonardo Di Caprio is the honoree and tickets start at $10,000.

No thank you, honestly, maybe he should just donate the amount that the gala costs. Oh but then people don’t get to see and be seen. Let’s be honest these days, that is what charity is all about. Helping people in need – that is why we taxed beyond our means.

Leah

We’ve been seeing a lot of small local theater. It is time to up the ante, and go see Broadway in Hollywood. These days, the homeless are taking over my neighborhood, I can’t walk on the sidewalks anymore, if they don’t have a tent there, some scooter blasts me off into the street. So it’s about time that I enjoy what this city has to offer, since it is intent on showing me it’s ugly face on a daily basis.

So I bought a package of four shows. And was able to buy tickets to Hamilton as well. I think that show has been out for seven years, it’s about time I got with the program. Yes, we took the subway to the theater. For us it is very convenient, it is close to our house and lets us out literally across the street. Yes, we saw Anastasia. My son reminded me that we had seen the movie, I’m getting old, I have no recollection whatsoever. Anyway, a fully staged Broadway show is amazing. Really, so I can’t complain that I only spent $50 a ticket. Sure, we were in the back of the house, but no obstructions, we saw everything. Well, not the faces of the actors. Next time, Joel is bringing Opera glasses (ie. binoculars)

This is Art Deco at it’s best, both inside and out. Built as one of the last Vaudville theaters it showcased movies as well. But, since it wasn’t built solely as a movie theater, it found it’s way back to being a theater for live productions. For more information: Pantages theater

At one point Howard Hughes bought the theater to show the movies he was producing. I guess that explains the airplane.

Look at that ceiling! Btw, the theater was renovated in 2000, what an amazing job they did.

The interior design here is the height of Art Deco. Look at these lights.

There are quite a few fountains. I’m admiring the tile work. I can’t find out who made these tiles. Just looking at the bright colors, these colors were achieved using very toxic materials. I wonder if it was Rufus Keller, he developed many of these colors for Calco Tiles. They were later used by Malibu tiles as well. The vibrancy is amazing – not achievable by modern techniques.

Tile in the women’s bathroom. This is standard 1930’s tile, boy are those colors 1930s as well.

Ahh! These mirrors! Had to get a selfie.

Caught someone else’ image as well. I like how this is both water fountain and mirror.

I simply couldn’t stop snapping pictures. No photos allowed during the show. But if they prevented us from taking pictures of the lobby! Thank God they don’t.

This is as ornate as it gets! A little over the top! I usually think of Art Deco as being simple, not so overdone. Well, everything can be overdone can’t it?

Even the airduct registers look more Art Nouveaux or Beaux Art.

Which makes sense. This theater was built in 1930. Art Deco was still young, so it’s easy to see how things hadn’t been quite streamlined yet. Interesting fact, the theater was built in 1930 for $1.25 million. And the renovation done in 2000? 12 million, that is quite a lot of inflation.

Leah

Although the decorations went up early this year, I’m seeing less decorated houses. There are houses near me that were decorated last year and aren’t this year. I don’t think people moved, I think they got tired. It will be interesting to see if they put up Christmas decorations.

I have no interest in the gore. There is still plenty of that. Give me one of these ghosts. Cute but not threatening.

Or these fellows. The pumpkin is more threatening than the ghosts.

This is a great old timey poster. Btw, this house is full of decorations. I share their home every year. They decorate for most holidays which I love. It takes time, energy and a place to store everything!

Same house. I think putting these ornaments on the tree is new this year. What a cleaver idea.

Some closeups, because I had my macro lens.

I do love purple. They should hold on to this one for Mardi Gras!

I love how nature is in tune with the season as well.

This one is from the desert.

The magnolia tree has more interesting fruit than flowers.

Here are the bright red seeds. Soon only the pods will be on the ground.

Leah

The layout will probably be non traditional, but I am loving this slow meticulous hand appliqué.

Most of the sails are done. They are easy, large pieces. Yes, there are sharp corners, I’m getting better at those. I have an image of this block that I downloaded from the internet. Not many people have made this block, some people really simplified the flag. I decided to go with all the details I could.

With my macro lens, you can see every stitch. Luckily, people don’t have macro eyes.

Yes, I am impressed with myself. After this block I will probably start a machine project. I’m in no hurry to finish this. Want to simply enjoy the process.

Some more flags. Much simpler, I do want the ‘American’ flag to stand out. I know, it’s a suggestion of the flag. There is only so much I can do with appliqué and that is fine. At some point I need to share the information about this clipper ship. One of the things I love about Elly Sienkiewiecz is all the historical background behind these blocks. Which is also why I enjoy Barbara Brackmans’ Civil War quilts blog , so much information about 19th c. quilts

Some trusty tools, my needle minders. I bought the butterfly and received the bee at the same time. They have magnets, so I can drop my needle on the butterfly and not lose it. Being so intricate and colorful, you don’t see the needle.

I’ve been sharing a lot on IG as well, many people have stopped blogging. I enjoy it. Even though I don’t write long dissertation posts, I still feel that more information is shared in a blog post.

Knitting, it’s happening. A while ago a friend gave me this circular needle holder. It really works! The larger the shawl, the easier it is for stitches to fall off. This prevents that happening.

Light and shadow, it’s almost like it blocked the knit, so you get a better idea of the lace.

Another contrast of light and shadow.

At this point, the rows are getting much longer, this will be a half circle shawl. I need to go buy more stitch markers, the next pattern is a 10 stitch repeat and I’ve run out of my stitch markers. I’ve only marked half of the row! Now it’s true, I’ve lost markers, I’ve given many away – so off I go to buy some more.

Leah

I’m always looking for interesting things to see. I’m finding that there are people on IG who are sharing good information about things here in Southern CA. This is how I found out about Kimberly Crest in Redlands CA. I planned to pay a visit on our trip back from the desert. Unfortunately there aren’t many times to take a tour, so we had to plans carefully.

What happened? Were we transported to the Loire valley in France? First of all, traffic on the 10 was very slow, so Waze sent us through Beaumont and on a backroad into Redlands. That was actually nice, seeing the outskirts and farms. Then we drove up a hill and as we walked up, this is what greeted us. WOW! Yes, the woman who commissioned this home wanted a Loire Valley Chateau. She got it.

You would think that my previous image was the front of the castle, but no, that is the back. Here is the entrance, through a gate, then drive up to the Port Cocheres, so people can get out of the carriage or car, while being protected from either hot sun, or rain.

A very unassuming front door. Well, it is made from quarter-sawn oak, but still, average size, entry way is very plain. Right now, it’s decorated for Halloween.

A view from another angle. We couldn’t take photos inside, so I’m sharing a lot of the outside.

In France these decorations would be carved of stone, here, they are made of concrete. The original owner only lived here a few years, then she sold the home to the Kimberly’s. Of Kimberly Clark. At the time their business was lumber, later, they would convert cellulose to bandages in WWI, and then develop Kleenex and other paper products.

The original interior was very rustic, not to the Kimberly’s taste. So they hired designers from Tiffany Co and oh my, the interior is amazing. One reason why is that one of the daughters, Mrs. Shirk was widowed in WWI, she had no children, so she came to live with and care for her parents. So Kimberlys’ occupied the house from 1906 until early 70s. At that point Mrs. Shirk made sure the home was run by a foundation and that the city became the care takers. So there never were young children, she was probably in her 30s’ when she moved in and lived until 100. Another sister came to live there as well, but they were old school. Why change decor that worked so well?

The home is in great shape, the furnishings and decorations are in great condition. It is so rare to see that in an old house. Usually, things change, even if the same family stays there. So I highly recommend, if you are coming or going to the desert, stop by on a Friday or Sunday, there aren’t many tours – but boy is it worth it. I understand why they don’t want photos, which is all the more reason to go visit yourself.

What a gem! the gardens are beautiful as well. Oh, and in discussing the family, the name Bergstrom was mentioned, a son in law, married to another sister. He designed the terraces, pools and the hardscape of the gardens. We were told that is big claim to fame is that he designed the Pentagon. I immediately asked if he was in partnership with John Parkinson in LA. Indeed he was, so many of our famous buildings downtown were designed by him. I love small world stories!

Since Mrs. Shirk didn’t have children, she loved having them around. So at least once a month there would be a tea party at her expense on the back lawns. The tradition continues, this weekend they had a Star Wars cosplay event.

The foundation supplied lemonade and cookies as well as some lawn games. How fun is that!

The gardens are available for photography as well. We saw a Quincenera, as well as what looked like an anniversary photo. I don’t know if this is a magazine shoot, but it sure looked interesting.

I have stopped in the past to see the University of Redlands, downtown looked cute. We were tired and wanted to go home, otherwise, I’d have stopped there for coffee. If you have the time, get thee to Redlands. Just driving the streets we saw a lot of Victorians as well as a few Craftsman homes – all in decent shape. This is a town that takes good care of itself.

Leah

I finished these two quilts months ago. Three weeks ago, a friend had her fourth daughter.

Nothing better than a baby on a quilt. Even if she doesn’t appear very happy here.

Much better! Yup that is an incredible head of hair!

Trust Mama to get the best picture of all. This little peanut is only 3 weeks old but very alert. I know she’ll love the quilt.

Sisters on the quilt!. Through the years I have made them dresses, another quilt and a knit blanket. They are delightful sisters.

I started appliquéing the clipper ship. You’ll notice the two long masts? Ooops, I had to remove them to make way for a sail.

That is more like like. I’ll have to share closer images of the sails. The fabric isn’t solid white, there is a very faint blue batik there. I think this will be much easier than I thought.

It’s that time of year, making items for my friend Roberta. In true workshop manner. She designs, I sew. Works for both of us. These projects are pretty quick and not up to my standards of perfection. She is happy, so it’s all good.

Leah