fern

We just returned home from our family vacation to Cape Cod. It was really nice and after not having gone on a vacation in five years well deserved. We had a really nice time. I love the Cape for it's ability to work beautifully for both adults and children and to have the ocean or the bay to choose from. I love the way you can wind your way around country roads finding all sort of wonderful places to visit. I will show some pictures soon and talk about some of the places we visited but, first I wanted to show you this shawl you saw the beginning of that I knit while I was there.

The pattern is Herbivore by Stephen West named so for the plant like structure to the look of the design caused by the ribbing in the twisted stitches and the way they fan out. I named mine fern because well I like ferns a lot.

I made mine on the smaller side. This patterns allows for you to go big or small depending on how many repeats of the last four rows you do before the band. It turned out exactly as I hoped. And, it stretched nicely with blocking. The yarn is Alchemy Yarns Juniper in Dragon.

windows

These windows are like a dream. The weathered white paint and the cranberry red shutters. My children's faces peering through the lace curtains and playing in the front yard both in their imaginary world. I can't stop thinking about them.
That, and this worn white vintage cotton children's dress with lace borders and edging I saw at an antiques store yesterday.

The things that haunt the mind.

A new shawl

I started a new shawl in the color Dragon by Alchemy Yarns. I always enjoy the way a shawl grows.
As I was sitting on the beach today this was the view in front of me . Ah, more green.

front and back garden

Some pretty things growing in the front and back gardens. I'm pretty much in love with the Delphiniums and Nasturtium

winesap beret

Right now I would rather be sitting and knitting at night then in the attic sewing which has been quite nice in the evenings. I know some people prefer to work with lighter yarns but I don't mind working with wool though I also tend to pick up my cotton yarns. I never watch television at all (really) but, I recently streamed all the episodes of Downton Abbey and really enjoyed watching it. Now I have to wait until winter for more episodes. I also like to listen to knitting podcasts while knitting. I like Never Not Knitting's podcast and I know of the Knitmore Girls but, am also interested in hearing your favorites.

I do have sewing to catch you up on though I thought today I'd show you some knitting since it's been a while.

A sweet beret knit up in Quince & Co. Chickadee in Winesap. It's for girls ages 4-8 and I think it looks so sweet on her.. I'm just going to have to keep it. We posed for Mommy in her bathing suit and a wool hat. It is summer after all. And, she may or may not have had a chocolate brownie before we took this picture.

I also knit up two pairs of baby booties that I made up in beautiful organic naturally dyed cotton and they are in my shop.

I am also almost finished with a sweater I have been knitting for a while in a color called Pop Rocks by Madelinetosh in sock yarn. It is a bright pink and I am knitting size 18-24 months. We will see how the sizing turns out because i didn't do a gauge swatch. I think it would look amazing paired with a neutral color.

I can't seem to get green and grey off the brain so I'm pretty sure my Gavotte in nutmeg may be put on hold so I can make some green pieces. I think I am all out of grey but first to finish up this pink sweater.
It is so hard not to start a new piece everyday because there are so many patterns I want to knit.

swiss dot

Two blouses were made this week with this lovely swiss dot fabric I have been holding onto for ages.

It was easy to cut into it to make a blouse for Scarlet first knowing the pattern so well and loving it for many reasons. I knew how it would fit her and that I needed to cut out a size 4 and add extra length. I added a little thread loop to change up bows or go without one if desired. Simple.

Next up would be mine and though I made this blouse for myself before and was thrilled with the outcome and I wear it often I knew the sheerness was not going to be so cute on me so, I underlined it. I've lined plenty of garments but never underlined. After a quick google search I found a great tutorial on Gertie's blog which was funny because I learned of Gertie after she left me a comment on the first blouse in this style. It was very easy to follow and I found something suitable to use in my cabinet. Again, I am happy with the outcome and the fit is purrfect.

Scarlet's pattern: Simplicity 4206
Nancy's pattern: Simplicity 2599

red currant jam

We grow currants in our front yard both red and white ones. I confess I am sometimes at a loss what to do with them. So, I decided I would make some red currant jam recently. I don't have a potato masher so I mashed them a little with the fork but, if you have ever tried mashing currants with a fork it's pretty hard so I decided to just boil them up almost whole with water and sugar. I let this cook for a while on and off. I had to leave the house to pick up my boy so I first cooked it for about 45 minutes and then later for about an hour and a half. I wish I remembered the proportions. Surprisingly my currant jam came out really nice. It's thick, tastes good on toast and is nice mixed with something creamy as well.

playing with feed sack fabrics

I really wanted to sew with some of my feed sack fabrics because of the pretty prints and last week I decided on two simple projects for them. The cuts I have are small so I thought a pair of napkins and a little elastic waist skirt were good ideas. I used vintage materials throughout: old blue thread and white ric-rac for the skirt. Sweet little quick summer projects.

crepe paper flowers

I love the feel of crepe paper. It has such a nice texture. I reacquainted myself with making paper flowers this week via instructions found on the Martha Stewart site. So far, I have tried roses (red), dahlias (blue) and pink peonies. I have a nice collection of crepe paper in the craft room and I plan to try out some more flowers soon.

Ten years ago my friend Kim and I made some for my wedding which I displayed at our place settings at the bridal party table. Our 10 year anniversary is on September 1st.

Once in a while I get really into making them. I think they are so pretty and I love them in little glass bottles. I would like to make a bouquet soon.

sashiko style

I keep reminding myself to take it slow and take a deep breath (hard for me) which is why sashiko style embroidery in the evening is a good remedy for the fast paced style of summer with small children.

This piece of fabric I have had a long time: a cotton gauze with ditzy flowers. I used red sashiko thread to stitch around them and made it into a pillow cover with a deep red back.

eloise

I made her another dress in a print called Eloise by Liberty of London. The same exact one I made 2 years ago shown below.

The Flower Girl Dress from Weekend Sewing. And, I loved that dress so why not?

Happy 1st day of July

Ah, summer. I have lots to say... show and tell but, a moment to sit down at the computer is hard to find these days.
Here are some pretty pictures taken last weekend at Liz's house where I spent the day with her and Jenn and our families.
It was a lot of fun.
S is wearing her little betty blue dress that I wrote about here. Gosh, it was freezing probably when I made that.
The kids have been wanting a wagon for years and had so much fun riding and pulling it around. I really need to get one for them.