been knitting

Been knitting since the middle of last week. Have got one scarf done and another almost there. This fall I'll be offering a small collection of knits in my shop. My knitting tends to be about texture and color, because, well...I don't actually know too many stitches to make the fancy patterns yet. But I love playing around with different weights of yarn, different sized needles, and colors that are almost not colors at all, the stuff of clouds and sky.

top photo: grey mohair, soft and airy like a cloud and warm too.

bottom photo: cream virgin wool, unexpectedly soft with lots of texture, warm and cozy.

I came across this link to Grass Doe at the end of last week, via MAV's flickr. Looking at it I feel as if I've taken a wordless trip across the country and back. Please have a look, the photography is incredible.

back porch dinner

Cooked dinner for my husband's parents last night in our funny little summer kitchen. I made pasta with bacon, onion, and butternut squash and a blackberry cobbler with fresh whipped cream. We sat out on our back porch to eat, have a drink, and watch the sunset.

Been knitting this week and will have something to show you next week. Until then, have a lovely weekend and thank you for all your nice comments in the last post!

last bits of summer

School starts in a few weeks. It's time for me to start thinking about the fall, what to make, what to do, where to go. It's going to be busy in a good way, and I'm going to take the next week or so to just hang out with my children, enjoying late August. I'm going to take a little blog break, but I'll be back soon.

p.s. two summer slide shows at quiet. enjoy!

contrast

I like the contrast of these two simple photos. One all about color and texture, one all about light and dimension.

I love this tea project. I think this link came from savilintu originally. Have a great weekend!

too hot

It's just too hot today.

hot + lazy

Little heat wave going on here the past few days. The soundtrack is late summer crickets and birds calling to one another. I don't get to hear these sounds much in my city life and it's nice to just sit and listen.

Before it got too hot yesterday we made a trek to the flea market. I came home with this little watercolor seascape. The old boat photo is one I found in the barn here. I dusted off the frame and hung it up! My package arrived from the Little Byrd Vintage Shop. These sweet little bottles, just right for one summer bloom or a gull feather picked up on the marsh.

Lastly, queen anne's lace and goldenrod...August wildflowers.

foggy beach

Took the girls to the beach the other day. It was quite foggy. We saw a cute family of ducks while we were there.

Liz from seven poppies, too has an lovely new etsy shop. Some vintage things, some handmade. I bought one of her handmade pins and this fern print. And thanks to twitter I just saw that some of Liz's beautiful photos are featured on abby's new blog, this is not my work.

Have a nice weekend, everyone!

salt water

First swim of the year in salt water was Monday. I've been swimming lots at the lake near my parents house in NH, but the first real dip into cold, salty water is something different. The air was hot and humid that afternoon and the water at first was freezing, then refreshing as I got used to it. Our cottage backs up on a salt marsh which leads out to the Essex River, which in turn feeds into the sea. It's beautiful, incredibly so, and there are an amazing amount of mosquitos and green head flies to keep anyone honest. Beauty and the beast.

Besides loving Rebekah's Little Byrd Vintage blog, I also love her vintage etsy shop. She has so many wonderful little treasures at really reasonable prices and she's having an August sale. I couldn't resist a few items myself.

I have one more take me on a picnic bag left in my shop. The take me to the beach bags sold out, and I have decided to extend my sale on this last bag until the end of August.

Picnic, anyone?

afternoon light

The light was just right late afternoon to snap a few photos as I was unpacking. It's so good to be here.

I really like the blue hour. Inspiring photos and lots of talk about good meals, good times.

hydrangeas, roses, and a package

I have a hydrangea tree in my yard and love how the blossoms change color as the summer fades into fall. They start off a pale green, gradually become a lovely creamy white, then slowly change to pink, then a deep reddish purple as the weather gets colder. Finally they become dried and brown, at which point I lop the remainders of them off for the season. Right now they are white and I have a few on my dining room table.

I have a few roses bushes in my garden too, some pink, some white, some red. The pinks are the most sucessful, blooming continually over the summer, always offering me something to pick for a little bouquet.

This little package with a set of postcards and a lavender pillow is waiting to be sent to the winner of the Creative Ones giveaway on Sofia's blog. Just leave a comment there...I think you have until tomorrow (Tuesday).

Check back tomorrow, I'll be blogging from the little house on the marsh!

sunday

August, and I'm feeling we have hit the height of summer and will begin the gentle descent into fall. Bittersweet as it always is this time of year.

We're back at home after a two week vacation in NH with my side of the family. Tomorrow we leave to visit my husband's family and stay in the little house by the marsh. It's very nice to be here in Cambridge for a few days though, and I will miss our house, our neighborhood, and our neighbors while we are away for the next few weeks. Today I made bran muffins and granola (gosh, that sounds awfully virtuous of me, doesn't it?) to bring with us on our vacation. After two weeks of indulgence at my parents' house I am in need of some healthy eating.

Our tiny little city garden is blooming with a second round of roses, hydrangea and day lilies. I will certainly miss picking my own flowers while I am away too. (That last photo is of my neighbor's garden, I'll post some of my own flowers tomorrow)

creative ones

I'm excited to tell you that today I'm featured in Sofia Barao's Creative Ones! Sofia has been featuring a different artist every Wednesday on her blog with a giveaway to boot! It's worth going back through her Wednesday archives to get a peek at the favorite "ones" of all these creative ladies. Please stop by and check it out. I'm giving away a set of postcards from my shop and a lavender pillow made from vintage French fabric. All you have to do is leave a comment there to enter. Good luck...I look forward to sending a package out to the lucky winner. And thank you, Sofia for including me in this inspiring series!

august flowers

August flowers from my mom's garden go so nicely with the flowered wallpaper in my childhood room where I've been sleeping for the past week. I chose the wall paper when I was seven and really love the fact that it's still there to greet me when I visit. My mom keeps threatening to strip it and paint the room, but I really hope she doesn't.

Reading: The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

Listening to: Deer Tick and The Felice Brothers

good times

My kids are really enjoying the summer: playing with their cousins, having picnics on the lawn, eating popsicles, squirting water guns, swimming in the lake. Lazy, lazy days.

Check out DillyDallas for a little bit on making a bag from vintage fabric. Finished product included! Thanks so much Dallas for featuring my work!