Harvested Our First Turnip

First turnip from the garden - February 2013

Enjoying lately:
A new book, The Painted Girls - a gift from a dear friend
Inspiring artwork, a dress of hearts, knit hedgehog
Beautiful knitting pattern collection BTWinter13 - especially Altair, Knoll and Cypress
Nearly finished the sweater I have been knitting

How are things in your corner of the planet?
Enjoy the journey.

December Days

Hello to each of you! We have an Amaryllis planted at our home, hoping it will bloom for Christmas. Sent off a commissioned baby quilt last week and we heard word that the recipient, a healthy wee boy, arrived yesterday. Found the Jolly Wee Elf pattern on the website of a favourite shop on the West Coast. The elf is a pretty easy project and terribly cute and festive.  What have you been up to? Enjoy the journey.

Soon It Will Be December

How are things where you are? These gorgeous ornaments by otchipotchi arrived in the post recently. Heard a great old saying today, "penny wise but pound foolish". With the Christmas holidays fast approaching I have noticed a number of interesting holiday tutorials on various websites.  Felt ornaments for the tree would be fun to make. How could you not what to try your hand at some Star Wars paper snowflakes?! Enjoy the journey.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Birthday gift for Mom - October 2012

A birthday gift for my dear Mom has been sent off in the post this week. A tad early, it is a Halloween birthday, but wanted to be sure it arrived in plenty of time. It was made using two different yarns and the pattern, Fjord by Jenny Gordy found in Brooklyn Tweed's Wool People Volume 3. It was fun to knit and is the third one I have completed over the past couple of months.

Wishing each of you a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend (Canadian holiday)!!! There will be pumpkin pie enjoyed at our house. Enjoy the journey.

A Bit Of Rain

Roses after the rain - Back yard - July 2012

Link Love:
The 'Busy' Trap by Tim Kreider, The New York Times
Looking forward to reading Once More to the Lake by E.B. White
Such a pretty collection of knitting patterns, Wool People Vol. 3 by Brooklyn Tweed
I would love to knit the Inversion Cardigan by Brooklyn Tweed in the colour Soot
Gorgeous image:  Volcano and Aurora in Iceland

Thanks for all the kind words about our anniversary. It is a pretty amazing milestone, I am so happy the two of us are enjoying the ride together. This image pretty much sums up how I feel about my sweetie. Be well and enjoy the journey.

Happy Weekend To All!

Golden Thryalis in bloom - Georgetown, Texas - June 2012


A few interesting links:
Herriot Grace film trailer
A lovely short video: Manos, Pottery Studio
Beautiful new work by Paula Valentim creator of otchipotchi 
A wonderful collection of photos: bee watching

Enjoy the journey!

Meet The Gang

Felt inch worm toys - Georgetown, Texas - June 2012


Hello there!  Using the Evelyn Inch Worm pattern from a pattern book by Wee Wonderfuls, I hand stitched these felt toys over the course of a couple of weekends.  The bottom image was taken before accessories and facial features were added.  All but one are gifts and were sent out today in the post.  This is the first felt worm I made and this is Emma-Leo, the pattern was also from the same book.
Work begins tomorrow on the bathroom and bedroom upstairs. They were the only rooms in which the walls were not re-textured and painted before we moved in.  We are also having new flooring put down, it will be nice to get this checked off our to do list.  The project should be completed by the end of the month (if not sooner). Hope the weekend was a fun one.  Enjoy the journey.

A Fitting Tribute

A great writer, Maurice Sendak died today. Here is a fitting tribute. I have always so enjoyed his books.

Happy Weekend!

Taken on a very cold Sunday afternoon - Heron Point Farm, ON, Canada - March 2012

Something of interest:  A Collection of Collective Nouns, another link here.
A few entertaining examples:
a parliament of owls
a grist of honeybees
a murmuration of starlings
a llovely of llamas
a troubling of goldfish
a charm of hummingbirds
a risk of lobsters
a smack of jellyfish

Enjoy the journey.

Wildflowers

Wildflowers are blooming in our back yard after the much needed rain we have experienced this past week. As evident from the image above. Finished a little project this week, an iPad stand (see above), using the following tutorial. You might enjoy the following granola recipe, I sure did. I may like it best without yogurt, just dry, eaten out of hand as a snack. I do hope the weekend is most enjoyable. Enjoy the journey.

Olive Oil

Don't take olive oil for granted. Read the following article. We adopt a tree from Nudo (a Christmas gift to each other), it is an amazing olive oil and a wonderful company. There are a couple of local options available to us as well, which I am looking forward to trying. Enjoy the journey.

Lately

It rained yesterday and through the night, there is even a chance of more rain today! What have you been reading lately?  I would recommend either of the following:  Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson (recommended to me by Kim) was both frightening and fascinating and Fire Season: Field Notes from a Wilderness Lookout (recommended here) was both intriguing and entertaining.  The past couple of weeks I have been keeping busy with a bit of knitting, sewing and project planning, among other things. Also, we have been enjoying the Australian Open tennis matches the past few evenings (streamed live, without commercials!).
Enjoy the journey.

Christmas - A Week Away

The top image was taken in Salzburg, Austria in 2007, on Boxing Day. I still marvel at the beauty of that magical place. Everyone of us has traditions we associate with Christmas and a big one for me is holiday baking. There are certain things I only make during the month of December (I did make trifle for someone's birthday this year).  I make a gumdrop cookie, the recipe is from a very dear friend and is an extra special favourite. Another newer tradition is peppermint bark, not sure whether it will always be in the mix. I have tried making shortbread, but need a bit more practice. A spice cookie recipe from Mom is one I really enjoy. Hands down favourite for us is the trifle for Christmas Day. This year will be a bit different, so we are going to enjoy it after New Year's Eve dinner.  I enjoyed this post about Holidays recently and thought you might too.  Also, if you haven't already discovered them, a dear friend/cousin has taken some beautiful photographs, this is the link to her shop and blog. Thanks again for stopping in here. Do enjoy these magical days leading up to Christmas, I know I will be.
Enjoy the journey.

Hello!

Cat in the churchyard - Bratislava, Slovakia - January 2007

The following are a few things I have been enjoying as of late:
Rosebud slouchy version - will be the first time working with a knitting pattern involving a chart
Herriot Grace rolling pin - I would love one, everything they create is simply gorgeous
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - great read, didn't want it to end
The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova - another great read
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future - finished recently, great puzzles!
Interwoven - a great project using yarn
The Letter Bag in waxed canvas by Moop - I would love it in brown
Forestbound - beautiful repurposed bags
Camilla Engman - an amazing artist

Happy weekend to each of you!
Enjoy the journey.

A Striped Quilt

Striped quilt for Brayden - February 2011

A gift for a friend's wee boy who is celebrating his first birthday this month. *They loved it!!!!
More images of the quilt on flickr.

*For the quilt back, I used one small strip of the light blue along the top, with red and orange solids for the rest.
Enjoy the journey.

Happy Valentine's Day

Loveliness - Austin, Texas - February 2008

We had a wonderful time at the ballet yesterday.
Been daydreaming about Venice.
Cherish your loved ones each and everyday.
Enjoy the journey.
ox

Along the Danube River

Parliament along the Danube River - Budapest, Hungary - January 2007

Hopefully the Danube will not be seriously impacted by the spill of toxic, red industrial sludge that has happened near Budapest. My heart just breaks for all those impacted by the accident, read about it here.

It is raining today...

Hope your weekend was most enjoyable. The week has had a wet start, it only rained once last month. Thought I would provide a few links of inspiration, September always makes me want to turn over a new leaf, and there is plenty of inspiration to be had.

dinohorses - a new food blog by Kim, one of our lovely sisters
bookhou - a very talented Canadian based artist duo
otchipotchi - a talented artist and friend based in Portugal
film in the fridge - an inspiring quilter
Lizette Greco - their creations are based on their children's drawings made from thrifted and recycled items
Free printable stickers - especially great for those with wee ones in their lives

What has inspired you lately?!
Enjoy the journey.

working on a new quilt

Shades of purple quilt panel - Georgetown, Texas - 3 September 2010

Happy Weekend!

Back yard swing - Georgetown, Texas - 21 August 2010

This week our back yard visitors have included the neighbour's cat, humming birds, deer, squirrels, and this fellow.
Enjoy the journey.