Life With The Crew

What's Brown and Cream and Full of Stitches?

My two latest knitting projects.  Last year on vacation my project was the Dejeuner bag from Quince & Co using a wool/silk blend from my local yarn shop.   I had actually bought the yarn for another project, but it wasn't working and it ended up being perfect for the bag.  I ended up with almost 4 skeins extra, so I decided to finally use them up.  The yarn isn't something that I normally like - it isn't very soft and it has little knubs in it - and I didn't think it would work for a Winter item.  So I found the Talland Tee and thought I would have just enough yarn.  I can't concentrate on a lace pattern with the little babe around, so I did simple garter stitch for the body.  This is the result.

It was a simple knit and in fact, the brown bottom got pretty boring.  However, the neckline made me focus and then I was done!  I finished it on the dock in Maine, washed and blocked, then threw it on.  A perfect fit.

My other project was also the result of wanting to use up stash yarn.  I had purchased a ball of yarn at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival several years ago.  I'm pretty sure it was a tri-color mix of alpaca - black, brown, and tan.  Beautiful and soft, but very drapey with no memory or elasticity.  I actually tried it on three projects before I found what worked.  When I held two strands together and knit it on size 10 needles, it had the same feel and drape as the wool/alpaca blend that I used for my last sweater.  I thought I could do a modified version of the Pagoda shawl with stripes.  

I used up all of my yarn and the shawl ended up long and thin.  I like how I can tie it behind my back and it adds a bit of warmth to my upper body, but stays out of the way when I'm working in the kitchen.  It was really enjoyable to knit - both yarns are super soft and the size 10 made it very loose and stretchy.  So that was 4 balls cleaned out of my stash.  I decided I needed a bit of color, so my current project is a cornflower blue.  

Happy weekend!

 

Postcard on a Rainy Day

Other than an afternoon thunderstorm, this is the first rainy day that we've had since we've been up here in Maine.  Although the perfect sunny Summer days down by the water are our favorite kind of day, one like this - flannel shirt cool with a constant dripping sound on the leaves - is nice too.  We have plenty of books, board games, time for napping, and I have a new knitting project.  So we'll soak up the peace and quiet (with a toddler tantrum or two to keep life interesting) and maybe a couple brave souls will swim, because the falling rain on your face makes the Maine lake water feel warmer by comparison. 

Here are a couple of pics from earlier in the week.  

A Little Bit More Loveliness...

 

I hope you have as much fun this Summer weekend as this little bonnet clad babe had washing and hanging the laundry at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens.  And now for some blueberry picking.

A Little Something Lovely

I'll Keep Trying

My mystery shrub.  I don't know what it is, but it is beautiful.  I had it for a couple of years in the shade and it struggled, but since the cherry tree came down last year, it has received a lot more light and it really took off.  

This is a third of our garlic harvest.  Growing garlic is so satisfying - super easy, the critters don't bother it, and it makes me feel like a farmer.  Plus I love the smell.

Barefoot child in the dirt.  She doesn't seem to care that we share our yard with five dogs.  

I realized that our garden is behind schedule from last year.  It might be due to the cooler temps, but the main reason is the garden pests.  I think I actually started planting earlier, but I don't have any potatoes yet and last year at this time we were pulling up purple ones.  This year a mystery animal has been pulling up the seed potatoes.  Our trellis is bare and I don't have any beans yet.  The chipmunks and baby rabbits have been such a nuisance and I just added a second layer of fencing along the ground.  We'll see if that keeps them out.  At least I have a ton of tomatoes forming, enough basil for a batch of pesto once a week, and my living room is full of drying herbs.  And the garlic makes me feel like I'm not a total failure.  Deep breaths.  I am fortunate to have access to not only multiple grocery stores, but several farmers markets, to supply our main food needs.  But growing our own is so much more fun and satisfying, so I'll keep trying.

Thankful Tuesday 7.11.17

Today I am thankful for...

~a yard full of natural joys.  (The chipmunks, rabbits, and groundhogs are not included in that sentiment today.)

~a lovely evening by the lake (pond) with friends and a happy little babe in the water.

~a blooming bush full of big blue hydrangea blossoms.  I am sharing one too many pictures here, but I absolutely love them.  I have had this bush for over 5 years and it never bloomed until last year, when I got a whopping two flower heads, so I wasn't expecting much for this year, but then saw that the bush was covered with buds.  For the flowers at my father's memorial service, I picked blue and cream hydrangea blossoms from my Mom's garden.  She has a green thumb and her flowers are beautiful.  When I arrived back home to my own garden, I was amazed to discover that my own bush was in full bloom, in almost the exact same colors.  I'm not a believer in miracles, but I took that as some sort of sign.  

What are you thankful for today?

Poppy Pics

They only last a day, but the bees love them and they are beautiful.

Happy Things

Things making me happy...

~Elderflower blossoms, foraged from the side of the road by my husband.  We left enough flowers to harvest berries later, but I wanted some flowers for tea.  Thank you Hon.

~Returning home to a freezer and fridge full of good food and a lovely bouquet of flowers on the table.  Thank you neighbors.

~A morning of berry picking with my daughter and free zinnia seedlings and squash.  Thank you farmers.

~Good things from my garden that evaded the groundhogs, rabbits, catbirds, chipmunks, and even gray squirrels - I saw one leaving my raspberry patch - while I was away at my parents.  Basil, scapes, lots of herbs, a few raspberries, a dinner's worth of stolen new potatoes.  Thank you animals for leaving me something.  I'm now doing damage control.

What is making you happy?

Small Joy

I've been absent for two weeks from this blog and up until yesterday I didn't think that I would ever come back.  Two weeks ago my Dad died and now that I am back to my altered reality, sharing in this space, to people that I will never meet, seemed pretty trivial.  I needed to focus on the here and now, my family and myself, and trying to manage my life.  But as I laid in bed last night, I started thinking about this space and a conversation that I had with my Dad a little over a month ago.  I was talking about being thankful, finding joy, and realizing that every day is a new day that can be better than the one before it.  That YOU have the choice to make it better for yourself.  And my Dad agreed and said, "Yes, Kate, you're good at sharing that through your blog."  

And while looking on the bright side and appreciating the simple things cannot solve all problems or save a life, it can help to make each day more enjoyable.  So to honor my Dad, I'll keep plugging along.  I know that I do have so much to be thankful for, even if realizing that hurts right now, because I cannot share any of those things with my Dad.  An evening paddle on the lake in the canoe that my Dad paddled in with his father.  My husband patching the leak in the bottom of that canoe - my Dad would have wanted to know exactly how it was done.  The raspberries that my daughter and I picked this week - I can't share the pie or cobbler with my dessert loving Dad (of course with vanilla ice cream.)  The list will continue to go on and on, especially as we travel to Maine in a couple of weeks - his happy place.  

I finally worked up the energy to take some pictures on Saturday.  My garden does make me smile and I remember the last time that my Dad was here to visit.  The little babe wanted to give him a garden tour and I remember him picking a leaf from the herb garden and smelling it - I was surprised that he knew it was mint.  Perhaps it was a small joy for him - being there with his girls and taking a deep breath.  I hope.