Crochet.

Today I went into a small store outside my town to buy a few different colors of yarn. I also bought a crochet needle. I would really like to start crocheting and knitting this winter, especially since my hands are always cold and it would keep them warmer since they would be occupied!

I am planning on trying to make a granny squares quilt, since I have wanted to do it for several years. This is the type I have in mind. The color supply at the store was limited, but I ended up with some nice ones: coral/salmon, heather and a light teal/blue. (Shepherds Wool Brand)

For now, though I need to figure out how to role my hanks of yarn into round balls. Can't wait to start my new project!

Pictures to follow, I hope!

New Plantings

We finally got around to planting something in a very nondescript part of our yard. And what a difference! I love the new life that has come to our property. I especially love how autumnal everything looks. It is nice to breath new life into a little patch of land. I sort of gave up on my garden this year, especially with the drought, but this seems a bit more manageable for us.

a happy fall.

It's the last day of September. The month has flown by so I wanted to make a post before it turns to my favorite month, October.

Today's weather, had it been about 15 degrees colder, would be perfect fall weather. It's been windy, overcast with heavy clouds, and the occasional shower brings lovely gusts of air into our little studio.

Wishing you a happy October.

A few links:


Zootool
Neëst
A Country Farmhouse

Photo above by me.

here.

Im here, I promise!  Things have been hectic but I really want this blog to continue.  So a few things:

1. I really really really want to subscribe to this magazine.  I think I have to start saving my pennies.

2. We've been cooking. A lot. Last night we had a "mini thanksgiving" that was delicious. No pictures of that (too hungry!!) but here are some photos of things I have made recently.  I like how autumn-y they feel. 

giveaway

Joanna Goddard announced a giveaway for a twentyfive brand dress or scarf today. I took a look at their website, and to be honest I feel like I could buy almost every item they sell. All the designs look really beautiful and timeless.  Take a look for yourself.  (This isn't making my not-buying-any-clothes rule any easier!)

Image from twentyfive.

dreaming of fall.

Since I have made it part of my M.O. to not buy many clothes this year, (or at least just try to make them if I can) I wanted to just impart to you a few items that have piqued my interest recently. In particular, for the Fall season. Oh - maybe I will actually make a "roundup" of what is getting me excited for fall.  Okay, here goes:

First Row: Dixon Tall Boots in rich brown; Madewell button-down boy shirt in indigo; Madewell lanyard tee in indigo ink; Second Row: Gourmet's pumpkin stuffed with vegetable stew; CB I hate Perfume's In the Library scent; Coffeehouse NW on a fall evening; Third Row: listening to The Swell Season's new album; dreaming about an airstream and a lake.

Catalog Living

Embarrassingly enough, I subscribe to a lot of feeds. I lost count at eighty. I think the problem is I get hooked on a particular blog, and then I read their blogroll and see a bunch of blogs that I would be interested in as well, and then of course I have to add them to my list... and the feed list goes on and on. Well, anyway, there are some feeds that just need mentioning from time to time, and Catalog Living is one of them. The one posted today made me laugh so hard that I almost started to cry.

Caption: Gary’s eyesight has gotten so bad he can’t even read an atlas with binoculars anymore.

Visit the site, you won't be disappointed. Maybe even add it to your feed reader?


 

Some images.

Nothing much to say today, but I thought I would post some images instead. Back soon, I promise.

Images all by me.

Interiors and a sketch book.

Lately I've been experimenting with illustrating interiors of homes. Sometimes they are created from my imagination, but when I started out I focused mostly on interiors from magazines, books, anything that would spark my interest.

Growing as an artist, I never kept a dedicated sketch book to house my thoughts, ideas, basically my 'meanderings' if you will. I think it was always a challenge to carry something with me that would allow me to record my daily life in images. It's kind of frustrating for me because I think that would have been really nice to have later on in life, to look back on. Maybe I should start to keep one.

Do you have a sketch book? Do you keep one regularly, and how do you stay in the habit of keeping one up to date?

Somewhere.

Seems like a great summer movie. First of all, Stephen Dorff, where have you been all my life? Secondly, I can't believe how talented all the little Fannings are. I'm secretly jealous of their acting skills.

It's summer

But it feels much more like fall. I crave this type of weather. There is something wonderful about a breeze that gives you a slight chill. I've been listening to Balmorhea today and it just completely encapsulates what I feel like on the inside. I love songs that remind me of November.

Buy handmade.

So in times like these, I wish I lived in Portland, Oregon:

Abby Powell Thompson of Abby Try Again and Chelsea Fuss of Frolic! blog are putting together an arts and crafts show called Little Winter: A handmade Market. It consists of so many talented artists whose wares will be brought together in the Ace Hotel the first weekend in November. So those of you who live in PDX, take advantage of the wonderful opportunity to buy handmade!

Kris Atomic

Has anyone seen the blog Kris Atomic before?  I have been poring over it, and I have to say, it's fantastic.
It's nice to feel inspired once in a while.

Sundays.

It's my half birthday today! Do you ever do anything special to celebrate? Mr. W and I cleaned the house, which felt great. We have a yummy dinner planned of homemade burgers and oven fries with grilled peaches for dessert, and tonight we are going to relax in front of the air conditioning and watch some soccer.

Blueprints on Fabric

When I was young I remember my Mother taught me how to make sunprints; the small pieces of light-sensitive paper that, when left in the sun, would expose themselves in a few minutes time. By leaving a section of flower, leaf or anything opaque on top of the paper during the exposure, the after image would remain on the paper long after the flower withered away and died.

I recently saw a blog post by Design Sponge about Blueware, a collection of vases that are treated with light-sensitive chemicals and are kept in a dark room until ready to be exposed by light on a "rotating spit", according to the website, Studio Glithero. Beforehand, flowers or plants of varying types are attached to the vessels so that when they are exposed to the light, the silhouettes of the flowers are left in white; the remainder of the vase is a beautiful prussian blue, reminiscent of the sunprints I would make when I was young.

Does anyone know where you can buy these? If you do, please let me know!

Another discovery thanks to Design Sponge was Blueprints on Fabric. This was something totally new to me - you purchase cotton fabric that is pretreated so that when you expose and then wash the fabric, the afterimage will appear. (Cyanotype.) This would be so fun to try!





Photography Petr Krejci

Father's Day

Well, we finally got our air conditioners installed, which makes for a much happier existence.  Especially since we are currently in some sort of heat wave. Today it is supposed to reach 94, tomorrow 97 and the rest of the week won't be cooling off much more than the high eighties.  You never appreciate something so much until you are without it for awhile. On the bright side, we did save a lot on electric!

I traveled up to my parents house for Fathers day along with my sister and her pup (you may know them both by her fabulous blog, Clean Livin' ) and together we had a nice barbecue of Shish ka-bob and grilled peaches, strawberries and blueberries. The only thing that was missing was my other beautiful sister.

Images to feel cool by.

Today is hot. Hot and humid. So in order to feel cooler I'm posting some pictures from my photo archives. I hope wherever you are, if you are in need of some cooling off, these will help you too!

All images above are my own, taken in my backyard last winter, at Jordan Pond in Acadia State Park in Maine in 2008, and on our trip to Portland Oregon and the Oregon coast in 2007.

Flipper bridge

How incredible is this idea for a bridge?  The unique bridge between mainland China and Hong Kong was developed in order to organize cars for the switch between driving from the left hand side (Hong Kong) and the right (China) and vice versa.  An ingenious plan by NL Architects was to create a flipper bridge that would split the traffic at one point and weave it back together, with cars now driving on the correct sides per government requirements. Pretty amazing, if you ask me.

Article and Photos found here.

asheville, part II

One day on a whim we spent a bit of time at Zebulon Vance's birthplace. It is a historic site complete with in-tact and re-built buildings (spring house, textile house, slave's quarters, etc. I really was impressed by the presentation of everything. It really was eye opening to see everything nearly as it was long ago.

asheville, part I

Well, I am back from a few day's vacation in Asheville, NC.  We had a really nice time - we ate at many good eateries, took many a scenic drive and took a ton of pictures.  Here's the first installment.

Proposal

This video has been going around the web for a little while, but I thought I would post it here while I had the chance of it still being fairly new for some people!
I think I would be embarrassed beyond belief if this happened, but how sweet of the guy to propose with such planning!  Wouldn't it be awful if she said no?

Iceland

Lately I have been seeing a lot of news about Iceland. Namely, the volcano (hey, whatever happened to that? News coverage certainly diminished quickly it seems).

I just came across this video from A Cup of Jo  about visiting Iceland. It was put together by the Icelandic government.  Pretty great.  And the music, if you are wondering, is Emiliana Torrini.


Inspired by Iceland Video from Inspired By Iceland on Vimeo.


While on the subject of Iceland, Mr. W and I recently watched a Sigur Ros video about the country. It was called Heima (Home) and it was amazing. I would recommend it to anyone interested in seeing a beautifully filmed movie. And some great music to boot.

Another movie I have not yet seen but wish to is called Music From the Moon.  It looks really great as well.
I think it is being shown in Europe right now, but as soon as it comes over I'm adding it to my queue!

Oh Iceland, I think I heart you.


MUSIC FROM THE MOON * A scenic documentary film about music in Iceland & Greenland (Official Trailer) from GUCC grafik film on Vimeo.

Circles Print

Lately I have been working on some different art projects. I really enjoyed making the Circles prints I just put up in my shop.  I made five different originals, and am making more every day.

I really love the different dimensions that the circles bring to the viewer's eye, as well as how the watercolor takes on its own personality.

Watercolor in general has been so much fun to work with; I especially love how you can let the paint take control of the paper - or you can completely manipulate it to your own liking.


Hope to be posting more soon! Another shop update is coming as well.


xo