paint it white

Although I have big plans to paint the family/entry room a lovely yellow, the dining room a dashing orange, and the home office/computer nook a vibrant green,... I have been feeling very white. We got around to some painting this weekend and now my studio is ready for it's second coat of brilliant white. Bye, bye blah beige. (Can you tell I'm ready for it to go?) Why white? I think more than anything right now I am craving an open, clean canvas; an ordered and clear space for creating. Creating that includes sewing, drawing, printing, writing, knitting, painting, reading, and dreaming. My feeling is that white walls will allow color and imagination to freely play.

Maybe that is also why I chose to repaint this writing desk white. The only problem: it is going to disappear against my white wall. Hmmm. So, I am considering a light shade of something for that one wall. Any suggestions? We'll see.


Down in the entryway we have some new white too. This is an old typewriter desk I picked up from a yard sale last year. I refinished the top and gave it some fresh white legs. Nice, huh? The sides can fold out and I especially like the wheels. Inspired by reading The Creative Family, I think this will be our family nature table. For now though it holds my lovely fabric bowl and a cross-stitch by my sister-in-law Sara O. A.

More white:

We white washed these toy crates with watered down paint. I even let the boy get in on the action. They slide under a bench in the entry and give a crisp feel while keeping toys accessible and easy to stow.

Presently, white gives my mind a pleasant place to rest. We have more painting projects ahead and Dave gives me that smile when I say "let's paint it white".

Putting the FINISH in the refinishing today.
Remember this? A year later, I think it will be ready to move out of the garage today. Also a $10 garage sale writing desk is nearly done with it's new look.

June 14th

here's to planning...

_ parade ...check

_ wwkip ...check

malcolm's helping. here's his message to you

mbx+-1m

m,mmmnnnnnnnv vvv ,/
vvvvbvvvvwvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvbbbbbbvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvbbbn000

How to wear a wool sweater vest, in June...

1. Live in Cleveland
2. Wait for a cold snap
3. Have sweater on hand, especially mornings and evenings when you have a chance that it might be cool

We got our cold snap, lucky for me, and the boy got to wear his sweater vest a few times last week. I did not knit it vain. I'm not sure that it will fit come fall weather, we'll see. It is especially adorable with his white collar shirt. He likes it. He proclaims "handsome" every time I pull it over his head. It would have been nice to have finished it back in April, but sometimes life isn't like that. I finished, hurray. He wore it more than once, hurray. Life is like that and I am happy.

I used the cable vest pattern you can download from lionbrand.

I'm back, well, sort of, soon...
Just trying to create some order out of disorder. I need some good tunes wouldn't you say?

BUT

GOOD NEWS...
it nearly did me in, BUT,
the floors are finished!
good job Dave & friends, what were we thinking???, it's been nearly a year long process, they look amazing though, AND no more walking on plastic!!!

We will be moving the furniture back in soon. I'm excited, and a little overwhelmed at putting our home*sweet*home back together again - could someone please send over all the king's horses and all the king's men?

Things are looking up...
- our car is back and fixed
- I am sleeping in my own bed again (We've been all around while the floors got their finishing treatments - a Bed and Breakfast, the neighbor on the corner's guest room, and the Holiday Inn Express. We are still eating takeout in the attic.)
- my sister Hillary is here

trying to plan my June 14th

Did you know that June 14th is World Wide Knit in Public (WWKiP) Day? I just found this out because I happened to check in with my former local yarn shop. My sister will be in town and the big plan for that day is Parade the Circle - which - is not to be missed, so my brain is spinning of ways that I still be part of the WWKiP action. There isn't anyone hosting nearby, and since I have parade plans, I may just have wear one of these pins, carry around my knitting to the festivities, and maybe host a small KiP with my sister on my front porch or park in the afternoon/early evening. If you are in the Cleveland area and this sounds fun, let me know, I'm game. For everyone else, go to wwkip and find a host near you.


{last year's Parade the Circle: stilts, big bobble heads, masks... you get the idea}

Go Slow

Note to self:

*Watch for that hydrant on the end of the driveway. Go slow, go slow. The car is in the shop waiting to get a new front bumper. Let that be your lesson. Go slow, go slow.

*Also, careful to not be carried away by all the inspiration at the newly discovered MyCrafty.com ... Here are two things that caught my eye.


I'm in love with this piece, and truthfully most of her pieces, by Sarah Faulkner.


This heart pin looks very doable and is also free downloadable from the book Closely Knit by Hannah Fettig.

---
In other thoughts, I am amazed that it is already JUNE! What? How can this be? I'm still finishing Malcolm's sweater vest! Can he wear a wool sweater vest in June? Well, maybe in Cleveland. Here's hoping for a chilly spell for a least a few days. Today is on the cooler/cloudier side. It really is sooo close to being done, I just have to do the edging. Maybe if I pick up the needles now while he is napping I can wrap it up.

wood you be my friend?

I painted these wooden doll pins to be play people for Malcolm about a month ago. They have eventually evolved faces, but otherwise they remain very simple in nature.

When I first conceived the idea to make these my thoughts were going all out: hair, clothes, personality. But when I finally sat down one afternoon with the paints and pins, I gave myself some guidelines: keep it simple, and finish before M'boy wakes from nap. Because, I knew if I didn't they might never happen. Keep it doable. I didn't worry too much about perfection - partly because the sponge brush I was working with wouldn't have allowed for it and partly because perfection was not the point.

We are having some fun playing with them. This morning Malcolm was feeding them "eggs for breakfast". Some times he uses them as drum sticks, sometimes he covers their heads with a singe red mega block (this probably needs a picture for you to get the idea), and sometimes he puts them to bed and then says "wakeup".

Side note, one week ago today Dave and I celebrated 5 years. Just as marvelous and mysterious as witnessing a fern unfurl. Love you Dave.

meditations on a peel of wallpaper

I'm getting back in the grove of posting here again, so even though it is 9:40 and I feel I could crawl into bed right now I'm going to put out a few words just for practice sake. Today I spent Malcolm's nap time peeling, scraping, and stripping down wallpaper in the side entry. There's more to come down there, and in the kitchen, and in the nook, and in the bathroom, but at least I gathered up the courage to start it up again. Entering the house greeted by partially peeled light house wallpaper is not feng shui. In fact it is like walking head on into a wall of blocked energy. Even though it is still in the partially peeled state as I write, at least I gave part of that wall a nudge towards a new direction. I put on some music and as I started peeling away, shedding the layer, my mind went to that relaxing place where it can wander where ever it will. Do you know that feeling? Don't you love it? When the task at hand is so mindless that it actually can become mindful meditation? Could it be called productive zoning? Although I can't recall them now, it sure felt like I was having some deep thought at the time. Funny, right? Can you see me now in sneakers on my step-stool, scraper in hand, humming along, tapping my toe, wallpaper falling to the ground, thinking "deep thoughts"? That was me. What do you want to bet that future wallpapering sessions will have lost some of that magic? That's okay, I picked up this month's book club read on CD from the library today so that should help me get through. And speaking of feng shui, there was a Feng Shui for Beginners CD on display at the library that I threw in the basket, why not?, I'm mustering up all the help I can get. So now I ask you for your deep thoughts, what's your favorite kind of productive zoning?


{See the light houses?}


(About the ferns last posted, if you want to hear Oliver Sacks thoughts on ferns and time and all sorts of other interesting things give this a listen from Radio Lab's 1st season. Become a Radio Lab fan today, you won't be sorry.)

fern

{unfurl - May 1}



{unfurl - May 27}