Duxbury Beach

"The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea." -- Isak Dinesen



I love the ocean. Simply, it makes things better. So I was playing a gig in Duxbury the other day, not even a mile from the beach, and couldn't resist a visit.



It was beautifully grey and and windy. I think it would have only been more perfect had a thunder storm rolled in.



These guys were showing off their fall colors quite nicely. I'm in awe of the plant life that roughs it through those kinds of conditions.



Alas, I couldn't stay for too long, but I think these fellows were happy to see me go. As for me, I played a concert that night with sandy feet, and was so pleased for it.



And in other news, after taking dozens of pictures at the beach, I dropped my purse getting out of my car when I got home. Beach rocks in my purse collided with said camera, and the poor thing is completely toasted. My display cracked. Hooray!!!!! I've been pining after this handsome thing for weeks now. I wasn't going to get it till mid-November, but this was the perfect excuse! Fate, I'm telling you. It should arrive on Wednesday, and I'm wicked excited. And amazingly, I got an extended warranty when I originally bought the now-deceased camera. Now Fred will be the happy recipient of that shiny new replacement model. New toys all around! Peace :)

Elephant

Fred's cousin, Jenn, just had her first baby, a little boy they named Cole. They're out in California, but Jenn's parents, Fred's aunt and uncle, are here in the Boston area. The family held a video-conference coast-to-coast baby shower this weekend. I was playing my last day of shows, but Fred was able to go. A couple of days before he asked if he could show up empty handed, having no time to go find a baby gift. Actually, I think he was utterly terrified by the mere thought of having to shop for a baby gift. He is a 25 year old guy, after all. (Love you, Fred!) Well, me being the adventurous one I am, I set down with my trusty sketch pad and sewing machine and got to work. And a few hours later, this poor hapless creature came to be.



Sigh. Yeah, those little legs were supposed to aim downwards, such that he might actually stand up on them. But no, this little guy is all splayed out instead. His little belly has so much girth that he's more whale-like than elephantile. I have a knack for design flaws, don't I? I saw it coming as I was sewing him together, and I couldn't decide whether to laugh or start over. So I laughed. Thank goodness Fred's family has a sense of humor! He's pretty cute, nonetheless.



And check out his little tail! I'm all about personalizing things these days, and I was so stoked to use my new cotton tape and letter stamps. I think that's awesome. I'm still pleased to have designed and made something, no matter how curious he is. Maybe I'll tweak the pattern before I make one for my sister's baby.



And there you have it! Welcome Cole, and congrats to Jenn and Seth! Happy Sunday, everyone.

Updates

Hey, like my new title bar? I know, the name has nothing to do with "dilettante," but I'm digging it.

Today, a photo excursion.



These came in the mail for me the other day. The plan is to make labels:



Also, so you can see, I actually finished something!



The second burst is a variation on the first. You could say it's in the process of bursting, while the other is still building up energy. I'm going to say I did it on purpose.



And next, my new bag:



I'm loving it. I made it to replace this one, which had some design faults.



I was excited for the leather and studs when I made it, but it lacked a snap, didn't hold its shape well, and the handles couldn't stay on my shoulders. The new one is definitely an improvement.



I'm loving that it's punchy, despite the muted colors. Yay for Ikea fabric! And yes, that is my orange living room wall you see behind it.



More on bags next time. They might be my new addiction, they're so much fun. I'm chewing on an idea, and we'll see if I go anywhere with it. Peace.

Dilettante...

First off, and as always, apologies for my long absence. I've come down with a bad case of business, but I'll refrain from going into detail, as it seems to be going around. You'll probably catch it sooner or later, if you haven't got it yet.

I've been wracking my brain over a better title for this blog. I don't know about you, but when I look at a list of blogs I'm much more likely to check out something called "whispering pine" or "brooklyntweed" or "moonstitches" than simply a name. But I haven't come up with anything to suit me. Until this evening, perhaps.

Some of the blogs I admire (ok, idolize, study) are written by women who do this sort of thing professionally. I'm really only dabbling, no matter how delightful (and expensive and time consuming) a hobby it may be. So I was browsing one of these professional blogs for reasons we'll get to shortly, and the author had a post on the word "dilettante." A quick trip to Answers.com tells us that a dilettante could be either a dabbler or a lover of the fine arts. How perfect! That's it precisely! And now, for a moment, on to the juicy stuff.

This evening I found some of the blog sphere in a hullabaloo. Here's the long of the short of it, and pardon my gossipy tone. Jane Brocket a professional "domestic artist," wrote a book. I haven't seen the book, but her blog (from which I have happily borrowed "dilettante") is fantastic. She received a scathing and catty review, in which she was called a "domestic evangelist" and the homemaking genre was likened to "domestic porn." There have been some fantastic responses, and I'll refrain from adding my own, except to say that I hope to be counted among the ilk of bloggers and domestics that the article refers to. The abundance of supportive and creative energy that floats around online and in our homes is a beautiful thing.

Alas, it seems someone else has already sprung on "Domestic Dilettante." So I'll mull on it some more, but I like where this is going. And now, I'm going to get back to my domestic porn. I mean embroidery.

If you build it...

It's a miracle, I finished something! I'm notoriously slow in finishing projects (ask Fred about last year's Christmas present) but I decided that this year's winter wear would be different. Admittedly, I think it's because I pined for cooler weather all summer, and working on a scarf was my only consolance. Nonetheless, ta-da!



The scarf is the Isobel pattern from Cider Moon. It's my first lace, and thankfully it's simple and knits up quickly. And I don't actually know what the yarn is! I'm always grabbing yarn from somewhere or another, and not paying much attention to detail. I think this was a recent buy from Misty Hollow, my sister's favorite yarn and craft store in Potsdam, NY. It's lovely, though. Sometimes variegated yarn knits out in stripes, and that's all well and good, but I love the flecks and short snippets of color in this one.



And the mittens, indeed, are my first self-created pattern! I will post the pattern in the coming days. But this is a huge step for me. I've gone so far as to crochet mittens and hats before, as they just go in circles and are easy enough to tear out and fix when you mess up. But I felt brave to tackle mittens, knitting them in the round. Truly, they're a little bigger than they need to be. Maybe I'll go felt them some and get them down to size. I'm enjoying the nubby white yarn, and I like them for their simplicity.

That's all for now! Some day I'll finish hand quilting Audrey's quilt, and yes, I said hand quilting. Till then, or whatever comes in between, peace, and have a good night!

Back to School

Well, I'm definitely not back to school, for the first time in 20 years! But the fall also brings the start of orchestra seasons, the choir year, horn lessons, and now my show as well. I imagine I'll always feel the start of the New Year in September. Fall is a fantastic thing to celebrate anyway. But it's a bit of a shame that I get busy as soon as the weather turns cooler. I'm so tempted to wrap myself up in my quilting and knitting instead!



Nonetheless, I have been able to squeeze in some projecting between things, so I'll share a bit. This had been a pillow, or rather, two bargain bin fabrics haphazardly thrown together and stuffed. Boring, unoriginal, it hadn't found the love it deserved. The back is a tan velvet, and the top is light blue, something I would say resembles a dupioni silk. There's a lot of potential there, so when I found this delightful project I knew it had to be. It just needs a few more rounds of the white before I put it back together and re-stuff it. Now if only I could reupholster the couch it's supposed to sit on, we'd be in great shape!



Next, let me tell you about my first adventure with fabric.com. I'm skeptical of ordering things online. What if the colors aren't what they appear on my monitor? What if the weight and texture aren't what I was hoping for? And no, I'm not really patient enough to order swatches. I'm barely patient enough to make muslins! On top of that, I'm skeptical of fabric stores in general. I'm so often disappointed by the quality and selection that I find at standard fabric stores. So pardon my sounding like an advertisement, but I ordered 5 things from fabric.com, all at great prices, and I'm so impressed! This is one of Anna Maria Horner's. It shall be the lapel detailing on this lovely jacket. And thank you BurdaStyle. I love free patterns. I'm new to the concept of free patterns, and I'm such a fan. Free patterns, a great fabric selection with decent prices, cooler weather, and I'm a happy girl. If only I had time to work on it all! I'll keep you posted as things progress. Happy Fall!

Sampler

Let me start by saying that my first and last embroidery attempt was probably more years ago than my first and last successful quilting attempt. And that isn't to say my first embroidery attempt was successful. I think I spent more time using my embroidery thread to make friendship bracelets!



So this foray into embroidery hasn't been a highly refined project. However, there is one benefit that has come from my embroidery greenness. I don't know if I'm doing it well or not! Well, that's not entirely true. Rather, I'm enamored with every little design I come up with and stitch onto the quilt, as it's all still brand new to me. It's nice to not be overly judgmental about something I made! So if you have any inclination to start up a new hobby or project, I highly recommend it. You'll be so pleased with anything you come up with, and that's such a happy thing.



And furthermore, thank goodness for the internet. I love that I can crawl around online and find stitching dictionaries and directions to make this all possible. I picked a bunch of different stitches and effects, and what you see is a sample of my sampler.



And here's a note to my sister: I've added details to 10 pieces so far. It's a scavenger hunt! I'll let you know the final count, and you get to report back when you find them all. Love you!