Say goodbye to trash camera!

And hello to my "new" old freind!



I was so happy to see it in the hands of the UPS man, I didn't mind that he knocked so loud it seemed like someone was trying to break in! I carefully unwrapped it from it's travels to and from the Happauge repair center... and I think even gave it a little kiss! I can't wait to take real photos again!

Don't get me wrong, trash camera has been a great pal in desperate times... but now I can super zoom in, get better color, adjust the focus.... ahhhh, at long last.

I've been wanted to be able to really zoom her in for soooooooooo long!


ps. does anyone out there need trash camera????

When I came home today...

The wind had blown my door shut and done this:


Then I unwrapped more treasures from Toni!!

A pair of cute painted-on-velvet flower bouquets to go with my little things collection



This beautiful paper weight is the color of citrine. I found at a flea market at home for maybe $2!!

And then, because no day is complete without a photo of Louis in a basket...

I hope he doesn't tip over!!

Well, I didn't do my laundry as hoped since I was fresh out of cash and too lazy to go get some. Instead I decide I needed to start making a crochet blanket...? I find it strange that I picked these colors, I'm not usually a fan of blue, but somehow they work for me. I wanted it to be mostly white with a splash of color here and there. To me it has the effect of an old, worn out quilt bleached by the sun and you know I love that!




I'm basically just treating it as one big granny square. Eventually it'll get too big and then I'll probably start making smaller squares instead. I made those littler guys thinking I'd put them at the corners of this piece, quilt style, and then keep going.

I like the free form nature of crochet. I'm not going to plan too much with this, just kinda go and see what happens. On a big scale, I think it will look lovely.

Desginer: Marlova

I just got my regular dispatch from daily candy which introduced me to the designer MARLOVA:




The items are cashmere, of course.

Things that make my day...

#1. Eating one of these on my walk home from work
(Far superior than the FrozFruit Brand!)

#2. Giving my cat Louis a big squeeze and many, many smooches, even though he kind of hates it.


#3. Receiving a new magazine subscription from Toni! Yeah! Blueprint!!!

#4. An afternoon nap.
#5. Clean laundry.

All of the above are from today. Well, except #5. I'm off to do that now, considering this is the last time I did laundry!

If we take time to notice how small pleasures really add up, there's no reason not to enjoy each day!

Luke

I just spent the evening with my friend Luke, age four. We made giant bubbles in his backyard with this and later he zoomed around like a super hero in his cape while I made dinner. So lovely our conversations... like whether or not girls can be super heroes.

I'm not even sure what we talked about over dinner, but he stopped me several times to ask what words meant. I get really excited about this because yeah, I'm talking to him in a bit more "grown up" way than when he was two maybe, but really I haven't changed much and he's just invested in a new way. Busy setting up context for these new words he's hearing. He's not shy about saying "what does that word mean?" And why should he be? Why should any of us be shy of asking about something we don't know??? In these moments I get a glimpse of pure, unfiltered learning. Thirsty, unbiased and energized learning that I wish I allowed myself to tumble into on a daily basis.

One of my favorite tasks of baby sitting is bed time. Of course I was thrilled that when Luke asked if I was putting him to bed and I answered yes, his smile stretched from ear to ear. It's always hard when that answer brings tears, especially since I look forward to it so.

So I figured dessert, bath time, jams then books as usual. Well, Luke informed me that he now takes showers all by himself and that's what he would like to do. I know this stuff is SO small in our boring grown up day to day life... but watching him get into the shower and do his thing... "and now I stay a little longer," he said after rinsing off the soap, "and sing my song..."

Ok, big kid.

I don't know how parents deal. I just sort of stood staring for a minute and I think it was seriously a portal to time travel. It was like I could see the past, present and future Luke all wrapped up in one and it was overwhelming to say the least. I literally had to shake my head or else I probably would have lost it.

I'm making this all dramatic, but I'm obviously quite fascinated by the idea of growing up. To me it starts as soon as kids realize they can let go of your hand when they get to the other sidewalk and always remember to do so. Luckily, Luke and Eleanor still forget sometimes...

Brooklyn Love

Some of you might know why I've been looking into images of the Brooklyn Bridge...if not you will one day... here are some of my favotrites






I think that lady is totally picking her wedgie!!!

Treasures from Toni...

Toni is my mom. She sends me awesome stuff like...








Of course, Louis wasted no time getting in on the care package action...

Louis...

Inspired Living

Well, I just decided to change the title of my blog to Inspired Living. I think it has more connection to what I what I want to write about, is more concise and looks better. Unlike other knitting blogs... which I've been reading a lot of lately and here's an amazing one, I don't really talk about the actual knitting all that much. No knit ones, purl twos here.

Knitting is usually my method of choice, but it's the decision to knit, crochet, sew, cook, clean, party, travel, etc. that interests me. That to me is life, so here's to

INSPIRED LIVING!

Shut in

I made a vow to shut myself in this weekend and get stuff made. Or at the very least, finish up the patterns for projects that need to be sent out. It's been a l o n g while since I've gotten up on a sunny Saturday only to nurse a pot of coffee and knit. It was so lovely to do that. Not knitting for work, not knitting to sell, just knitting because I had an idea and wanted to flesh it out. I sat through some pretty hainus Saturday morning cartoons and then That's so Raven before I switched to the NY channel for some equally hainus travel shows (where are you Kj?)

Today was so beautiful though, so I had to go stretch my legs. I headed to the farmers market to get some corn and cucumbers (my faves of summer) and also picked up the mussels which I mentioned earlier. Full bellied- I've now set in to computer land. Louis is helping me by guarding the door and making sure no one bugs me:

'Hey Louis, we're all alone this weekend cause rooms is out of town. I don't think anyone will be bugging me."

"Well in that case..." he says, "...I had better go sit on that dress before I loose the chance."

Louis always has to lay on ALL the projects I send out to clients. It doesn't matter where I put it, he will find it. Even if it's soaking wet, being blocked on a towel, with pins sticking out all over it- he just has to lay on it. Now he's moved to the pile of headbands that will be going out with the dress. I better remember to do furr ball patrol before I box everything up!

One last photo of the outcasts from this set of projects. I'll make sure to post the patterns as soon as they're published!

New Best friend

The Mussel

I've been ordering it at restaurants whenever possible. In pastas, plain... I'm hooked. Who knew? So today at the farmers market I pick up a bunch. My plan is to cook them in a little olive oil and white wine. Then I'll probably make some pasta and add one of the heirloom tomatoes I got and see what happens. I 'll keep you posted!

I'm listening to Hall & Oates and cooking, wanna come over?

Growing Up

Last night I had the pleasure of dining with dear friends and a lovely new acquaintance who already feels like an old friend. There is nothing quite like a good diner party. The event, hosted by Garth, took place at "Grants Parlor" where I've spent many a night and good meal. I love joining forces with Garth- showing up early to help prepare, share the burden of cooking and perhaps concocting something wild on the cusp to contribute to the table. I came prepared with lime marinated tilapia to be served with mango & tomato salsa, which went down quite easy all around the table, but the nights big hit was Garth's mint Basil Ice cream. I helped make a very simple sauce from the nectarines picked up from their weekly CSA (community supported agriculture) pick up and when drizzled on top of the ice cream, we almost died. It was a treat of summer garden flavors, sweet and chilly! You wouldn't believe it!

For me though, the pleasure came from the company of those around me. Each one of them discussing his/her own varied path through life and sharing that moment with me. I loved listening to Annie's stories of being a NY Times reporter. She is a self proclaimed lover of gossip and always expects a full update on your life whenever she sees you. It's nice to see that love of hers translate into work- it sounds exhilarating and fulfilling. Then I walk downstairs to use the restroom and see sheet music spread out on Seth's desk for the new piece he's choreographing. Studiously aglow with the help of his desk lamp, the pages patiently awaited Seth's return which was one more session before bed, I'm guessing. Another dancer at the party was just visiting for his masters program and soon headed back to finish a fellowship in Tel Aviv, filled us in on what it was like to live in Israel right now.

I guess I shouldn't blast the lives of others all over my blog but I was just so impressed and proud of everyone. It occurred to me this morning that part of what I was feeling was growing up and being ok with it. We weren't talking last night about our hopes and dreams of what would happen in our lives, but what was happening in them. Each voice seemed to be aligned with what I know to be true of that person. While they might not see it or agree with me, each diner guest last night is now doing/being/living the things they at one point or another had expressed hope in doing.

Last night, after all the fabulous food and glasses and glasses of wine, I like to think we parted fully sated, in more ways than our stomaches can attest to.

Weekend Review

Friday night I went out to a bar, that shall remain nameless. I did a lot of dancing, which was awesome and much needed. The fun thing about hipster bars (oh yeah, if you hadn't already figured, I didn't want to out my inner hipster, hence the nameless bar) is that the music is dancy but not your typical dance music. Country jams in abundance, who knows music from the ... ?? Not one song had I heard before, but I rocked out hardcore dudes!

There were some good dancers on the floor. Seriously, but I felt bad for this one guy who tried to get me to dance about seven times. The first time I actually went for it. He grabbed my hand and pulled me close and I thought "maybe he knows what he's doing and this could be fun." He put his hand on my shoulder and pushed me away about as hard as he could. I jerked to a halt when his arm ran out and then he yanked my arm to pull me back to him. When I got there, we just kind of collided and he pushed me away again. Figuring I'd give the boy a little help, I tried a little turn on the second way back, but we still collided and he continued pushing and pulling me as hard as he could. After a little bit more of this I stopped to say that I just didn't feel like dancing that way right now. All through the night though, he kept grabbing my hand to dance again but it was more like he forgot he had already tried me, than him being a pest. Once he come up from behind and when I turned he said, "oh, it's you" and walked away. Yeah, like I'm the problem. Boys should really learn how to lead if they want to twirl you round the dance floor!


Saturday was fun Brunch at Maggie Brown then cleaning and craft time. I made these mailboxes for my roommate and I. I've been wanting a way to cleanup our mail jumble and thought it'd be cute to have an 'official' mail location. I hung them in our hallway so we can drop the mail off on our way in.


I just used chip board, which I punched holes in and sewed together with a bulky yarn. I brought out my inner teenage collage spirit by cutting out letters from magazines to spell our names. I think I found a solution to make it a little more grown up though... I decided to stay in one color scheme. It was hard as heck to find a blue/green/yellow U, but I think it feels a little more 'designed' that way.




I found these pins at a street fair




Louis actually had nothing to do with the spilled sangria...

Skirt + Ribbon =

HINT: Hide an elastic band under the ribbon to keep "things" in place a bit better. I took a length of sewing elastic, enough to be snug under my bust, tied it and cut the excess. The ribbon appears to be holding up the dress, but it's actually the elastic, which is a lot more secure!

There is also another white skirt underneath that's acting like a slip, so no worries mom!

I heart this video second

Yeah, this video is from an obsession way back before I had a blog. Some of these boys went to Bennington... like me!

I heart this video!

I spied this on a friends myspace page. You'll see why I love it....

Happy Hour

I just made sangria!



I used white wine, rum, oranges, plums and a splash of pineapple juice. And yes, that is a sugared rim, which is probably not traditional, but I wanted it!

Friends RULE!

Meet my friend Cal Patch of Hodge Podge Farm!
She makes GREAT things, crochet style!
She sells at Treehouse like me and teaches many classes! She's a smart one! Check out her blog!

Something small

Organized charms

I love Bourne

*******************
THE CHALLENGE
*******************

I think I would make an ice pack cover for my dear little Bourney! See, he does all this fighting and probably gets a little sore sometimes. Slip the ice pack in a sleeve, so he doesn't get ice burn on that pretty face. Then I might also embroider a secret code into his underwear, so he never forgets his, or my, name.

Cleaning Lady

I sometimes wake up early on Saturday mornings to go do laundry, because it's less crowded. Today I woke up at 7:30! Which is before they even open, so I sat and made jewelry for a while, which was nice. I just got these two new cleaning supplies from Mrs. Meyer*s Clean Day in the geranium scent.On the left is an everyday shower spritzer and on the right, Laundry detergent.


Oh my gosh! My clothes smell so amazing! I couldn't stop smelling them as I folded. It's such a lady scent... I can't wait to go take a shower and wrap myself in a clean, geranium scented towel! (Can you tell I practically live for the shower??)

And now, because I said I would do it for every post not already having to do with "Inspired" ...


*****************
THE CHALLENGE
*****************

The first thing I though of was a small, mesh bag with a drawstring. You could put your delicates it it to keep them from getting damaged or tangled. Or, I would put my favorite pairs of socks in there so I would be less likely to loose one. (I'm convinced it's the dryers, not human error!) I would crochet the bag out of cotton.

Another thing that would be fun would be to crochet some flowers out of wool and toss them in with the laundry. They would felt and then after every laundry day you would have a whole new garden!

Outfits

My friend Anne, who just posted her first comment yesterday, has the cutest way of saying things. Whenever we're planning to get together she'll say, "ok, I just to have to put on an outfit..." so, in honor of you Anne, a new blog label: Outfits

Just your average wrap skirt




This was probably one of the most comfortable outfits I've ever worn, especially in 100 degree heat! Perhaps it worked because I was in an exceptionally good mood today... but sometimes a good outfit will do that to ya. I like the one layer tank with bra included (what a brilliant invention) and one layer of skirt. Because I tied the skirt just below my bust, it flared out nicely giving my mid section room to breathe. For some reason, in the heat especially, I get super annoyed by waist constrictions and I really don't like my mid section to show!! Tying the skirt this high also left more of my leg exposed, which sometimes has it's faults, but today felt so much cooler. It's amazing to me that I can feel ten degrees cooler just by wearing a tank top vs. a tee shirt. Having certain key areas uncovered, like the underarms, really makes a difference.

Sunset & Lingerie

In the afternoon, the sun sends a golden ray across my little frame collection

This image was one of my favorites from a bunch picked up at a flea market in Maine. It's a little bit odd since no one, not even the dog in the lower right hand corner, is looking at the camera, yet so intriguing. I think it's sexy how the moms stockings are rolled down and I like seeing the flowered wall paper a glow with a mysterious light source. I of course also love that the chairs arms and back have covers. I'm guessing there was some lovely needle work shown off there. Did you know that those chair back covers were created to protect furniture from dudes hair grease? I heard that waaaaaaay back in early America (I'm trying to confirm this theory...) women started making covers for the backs of chairs to protect them from the mens dark hair grease. I'm thinking it's because the hair slicking material left a dark stain and not because the men had dirty hair... although according to todays standards they probably bathed a lot less. I think the arm covers came about as to make a "matching set" which could be explained as all the rage, but really was added so as not to alert the men to the problem.... Ha! I just made that last part up, although I believe the matching set part. It looks better to have three vs. one.

Well this lady and her stockings got me thinking... I want to make some lingerie. Especially some thigh high stockings for a garter belt and maybe even a garter belt itself. It's a challenge to create items that are truly wearable, but I'm up for it!!

Here's a page out of my lovely Jill Bliss Journal


The other day I got this book:

Which pretty much spells out exactly how to make lingerie items like an underwire bra, garter belt, camisoles and stockings! Yeah!!! I don't have to reinvent the wheel to figure it out myself. Maybe one of these days I'll get to take some time to sit and make something for me! First on my list...