California Time

If you want to see the sunshine, you have to weather the storm. --Frank Lane

We've recently revived our tradition of visiting Southern California in January. When we book it, it always seems like such an extravagant thing, even with careful planning to get the best flight and hotel deals. But when January rolls around and we're starting to get tired of the grey/rainy/frosty/snowy days, the prospect of going somewhere warm and sunny is such a balm for the soul.

This year, we decided to try a new place called Thousand Oaks, which is a little bit north of Malibu. We found a nice Airbnb there with a full kitchen and bathroom and laundry, so it seemed like a pleasant and relaxing place to stay. It has a little orchard of oranges, lemons, and pomegranates just outside the door. We've been plucking fruit to enjoy from time to time. There really isn't anything like a freshly picked piece of fruit:

Thousand Oaks is nestled in the Ventura Valley, away from the coast. It's always interesting to see this side of California: the dry, arid side where a lot of the settlers and ranchers would have lived in the old cowboy movies we've all seen. We've taken some hikes in the local area to enjoy the scenery (and to work off some Christmas treats). I like to see this side of California to remind myself that normal people live here: it's not all Disneyland and Hollywood. There's so much more to it:

Of course, it's hard not to be attracted to the beaches when you're here. There's such a different vibe when you approach a beach in Southern California. Everyone is there just to enjoy the waves and feel alive in the sunshine:

We did spend a day in the city for the hubby to meet with a client. I did a little bit of shopping and exploring:

I met Batman while I was walking. He's as impressive in person as you can imagine:

And we could not pass by this place without stopping for some treats and bringing some croissants home with us. One of the main rules of travel is: never pass a bakery without sampling the wares:

One thing I did differently this time was not packing any yarn to knit or crochet.  I know! It seemed like a sacrilege, but we were determined to do this trip with carry-on baggage only, so I had to be strategic about what I packed. This time, I decided this might be a good time to figure out an illustration that I want to add to some fabric that I dyed last spring. The fabric looks a bit like a dried riverbed, so I thought it would be interesting to add some African elephants to it. 

The trouble is, I want to show it from above, and given that I'd never drawn an elephant before in my life, trying to do an overhead view was going to be a big ask. So, I packed a little sketchbook, some pens, and some tracing paper, and I've been trying out different ways to figure out how to make my vision come to life. I thought it would be nice to show a herd traveling together, and I tried out some silhouettes to see what that might look like:

After a couple of evenings of playing around with it, I decided what I really liked the best was a pointillism-style illustration. I went back to the "drawing board" and I think I'm almost there. And I think I may change the concept from a herd of elephants to one large, lone elephant traveling on his own. I drew it onto some tracing paper so that I can place it onto the fabric in different positions to see where it looks best. It's getting there. It's the first time I've really spent time on a "study" for my art, and while I found it a bit frustrating to draw the same thing over and over again, it's really a good way to really know the thing you are trying to draw really well:

I did take breaks to do some doodles. I had drawn some circles in my sketchbook before Christmas when I thought I might do some cards with Christmas decorations on them, but they were sitting empty until this week. It was fun to just fill them in:

But of course, part of my packing strategy was to save room just in case I found a yarn store to visit. And wouldn't ya know it... I found Eva's Needleworks in Thousand Oaks! That store has been in the same location for the past 36 years, which is an eternity by retail standards these days! And as soon as I walked in, I breathed in all the yarny goodness:

When I visit California, I always feel like a plant-based fiber feels right, so I came away with this lovely Huasco Coton by Araucania:

But I also couldn't walk away from this alpaca yarn either.  I actually walked away from it because I've seen Concentric by HiKoo back in Canada. I came back to it because I've never come across it in this colourway. How could I pass up those blues?

Anyway, this has been a photo-heavy post, and we're still here for another couple of days, so I'll save the rest of my flood of pictures for my next post. I hope you're doing well during these short January days. When I get home, it'll be full-on sweater weather, and I have something to share for that as well! Till next time...