snap shots of a summer

Dad, looking pretty good for an old guy.

James, looking pretty scruffy.


Mac, waiting for the meat that James is cooking in the kitchen.


Grandma Margie. Beautiful as ever, asked me why I was pointing a camera at her.

Um. Gratuitous shot of the BMW?

Chuck, the ever patient brother in law. With the Birthday Cake Pearl and Tipper made for me. (long story about Pearl not being able to attend my B-Day in Jeddah).

Pearl with her Hedgie (she was still working on her name) and an old pal.

I only put this in here to prove I was there, never pose in the corner of a sectional leaning back in an over sized orange shirt.


This is Lorenzo Foncerrada, the Simple Wood Carver and his fine wood working tool.

That chunk of line and mass will someday look something like this:

Nancy Foncerrada in her favorite spot.

Alicia and a host of Hedge Hogs on the fire escape. (7th floor, what a view)

Alicia being attacked by a brown bear marauding through down town Bourne Texas.

Caleb, Mary and Alicia perusing the dollar cactus table. They drove up from Houston for this...

Final shot from the beach at Coronado Bay.

And a friendly wharf rat.


best, kate

Hedgies at Continental Village

It was a lovely spring (ok scorching 37 c - 98.6 f ) day in Jeddah and Jun came to visit me, Bassma and her kid sister Ebtissam. We went for a walk around the compound and visited with some folks. See if you can find the hedgies in the photo...

This is the waterfall at the pool behind my apartment, not running right now.

Hedgies are good about posing for "look we where here shots" unlike some people we know.


Don't ask how they got up there, I only turned my back for a second - Hedgies like to climb, who knew?


Our day is posted here: Hedgies at Continental Village

Cheers Kate.

Techincal notes: I made Ebtissam from Brown Sheep Nature Spun worsted on size 8/9 needles, with no other adjustments to the pattern.

The pattern for the hedgies is by Debbie Radtke, for Fiber Trends - Hand Knit Designs. and I purchased it (online) from Two Swans Yarns.

Travel with hedgehogs

So this is the dish on the trip to Germany... travel with hedgehogs attracts smiles. Alicia was our tour guide. Being by far the best at navigating from written directions.

I'm not sure how to explain the little guys above, we found them in a toy museum in Munich. I didn't add titles to the photos, so when you get to the ones with the odd looking vintage toys, we where in a tower with six landings. each one had a little room with glass cases full of toys. interesting and some very creepy.

Gunther and Basma had a lovely time. I took the pictures they thought where important for their travellog, and more um conventional ones, sort of, for the "Germany" travelog. We where in Nuremburg, Auerbach, and Munich.

Travelogs are here: Hedgies Tour Germany and Germany 2006-2007.

The pattern for the hedgies is by Debbie Radtke, for Fiber Trends - Hand Knit Designs. and I purchased it (online) from Two Swans Yarns.


Best, Kate

on knitting and Hedgehogs II

I've been back in Jeddah for a month now. We just finished Ramadan, Eid Mubarak yawl. things go back to "normal" on Saturday.

I spent the 2 week break working on knitting. getting it out of my system so to speak. If you read my blog because I'm a graphic artist, all this knitting stuff may seem a little off topic. It's not. Check out my web site: kcarlyle.com most of the posted projects from my BFA/MFA involve knitting. I thought Wallace and Grommet rocked right from the beginning cuz Grommet knits. and there are knitting gags every where.

I get some rather bewildered responses from my CG friends. particularly the guys who are working in the gaming and special effects industries. I spend hours and hours and hours in front of a computer killing my eyes making stuff that has no real substance. I also knit, sew and spend a lot of time in the kitchen. It's all process to me and heads up, I am a girl; despite what my feminist friends where ranting at me during the eighties doing "women's" work will not drag me down into some pit of male domination. I think it's really sweet that all these twenty somethings have discovered knitting. But I will slug the next one who sits down next to me and tells me all about the garter stitch scarf she just made for her boyfriend.

I don't crack on people for spending hours in front of "games" blowing up stuff, and killing the person they're "playing" with. well not very often anyways, no one can explain desktop solitaire to my satisfaction. So I'm not sure why the fact that I knit stirs up such a reaction. I guess I don't LOOK like a knitter. I have had more than one yarn shop employee/owner ignore me until I got to the register and then "see" the sweater I was wearing. "YOU made that?" Maybe I shouldn't head directly for the markdown bin.

Knitting is endlessly fascinating and if you think it's all about ipod covers and eyelash scarves, well you're only partly right. The two books I've had the most fun with in the last year are: Knitting Nature: 39 Designs Inspired by Patterns in Nature by Norah Gaughan and Unexpected Knitting by Debbie New, both of which came back to Jeddah with me. So there they sit on my coffee table, one of my associates from school came over one day and leafed through Unexpected Knitting. "What IS this stuff?" um. what's the title?

I knit. sort of a lot. I finished my Level I Master Knitters [ TKGA ] 3 years ago, with one swatch to resubmit in order to pass. Of course the reknit swatch and the rest of my "Level I" is in a box that I didn't manage to find over the summer. I decided to go ahead and start my "Level II" and tear the storage unit apart next time I get to Raleigh. I seriously doubt I'll be done with the "Level II" by then. (why has it been 3 years? two job changes, I got redirected. I had to quit participating in knitting exchanges when I realized the other participants expected a timely response - most people aren't on the 5 year plan.)

w/e as Alicia would say. The link to the continuing adventures of the Hedgehogs II: Going Home is here,

Hedgehogs I: Francis and Rozis is here,

Again, the pattern for the hedgies is by Debbie Radtke, for Fiber Trends - Hand Knit Designs. and I purchased it (online) from Two Swans Yarns.

More illustrations when school is back in session.

peace, kate

Hedgehogs

This is Francis, he is an english garden hedgehog who lives with my friend Erik in North Carolina.

It had been a pretty boring summer until his little cousin Roz came to visit, Roz is from Africa.

Anouther (somewhat larger) guest of Erik's was in rather a bad mood, so Erik suggested that as it was a nice sunny afternoon every one should pile in the car and go for a ride.

Click here for a photo essay of OUR TRIP around Wake Forest, North Carolina. Click on the first thumbnail for larger vesions of the pics. (You can read more about hedgehogs here.)

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox - the making of a hedge hog - oxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The hedgehogs were knit by the bad tempered person from a pattern purchased from Two Swans Yarns . The pattern is "Huggable Hedgehogs" by Debbie Radtke, for Fiber Trends - Hand Knit Designs. There is a squirrle pattern, but that will have to wait till next summer.


this is the stuff you make hedgies from, feltable worsted yarn, eyelash yarn, a 16inch circular needle and some straight needles. I used plastic eyes with shanks in brown and solid black.

This is "Roz's" tummy and face before the stitches have been picked up to knit the spikes.

below are pics of "Gwen" as I knit her, showing the pick up, short rows and what she looked like after felting, before finishing (she took 3 days to dry, it's been raining in Raleigh).