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We had the perfect day for a girls road trip to Columbus for the County Living magazine fair. The advertising for the fair said it would be like walking through the pages of Country Living magazine, and they were right.
I loved this refinished table and chairs. painted in brick red, distressed and the chair seats were covered in toile {heart}.
This is the centerpiece that was on the table. I really and truly love autumn colors, but there is no way I could recreate this look. {sigh}
OK. I really and truly love pumpkins. Look at this pile of pumpkin goodness. The addition of the mums just makes it better.
A patchwork chair. Need I say more?
Quilts were displayed EVERYWHERE, in every color, shape, and size imaginable and they were gorgeous.
Loved this set, each chair was painted a different color.
It was nice to see some contemporary fabric mixed in with the country look. I love this chair. Love the combo of fabric and nailhead trim.
The weather was gorgeous and the fair was fun, though REALLY crowded. Loved spending the days with the girls and I would love to go again next year, and maybe spend the weekend in Columbus.
This came in the mail today. I have a love/hate relationship with Pottery Barn. The catalog is oh so beautiful, but the prices exceed my budget. This issue made me really happy because I can sew. I can make these
well maybe not the quilts ( too labor intensive for my short attention span), but after my experiment earlier this month with patchwork, I could make one of the pillows. Who knew paying attention in home ec sewing would pay off one day!
I am not sure what it is I love so much about this catalog. I think it may the photography. Somehow, some talented photographer is able to elicit emotions from home furnishings. I love this photo mosaic in the catalog
it reminds me of the photo mosaics that I adore on flickr. It also makes me want to buy those candles, and those towels, and make labels for my cheese.
After waiting all weekend, the mailman finally delivered the fabric I ordered. It is gorgeous, and I am having fun just looking at it and deciding what it all should become. Do you want to see?
This fabric is part of a collection called Summer Soiree by Paula Prass. I love the turquoise print and the bright colors.
Next is
This fabric is by Jennifer Paganelli and her line is called sis boom. I think it looks like something you would find in grandma’s attic, but with a decided twist.
Becky has requested a handbag, so the yellow floral and pink polka dot may be used for that. The turquoise print is my inspiration for my craft/sewing room. I was thinking of turquoise and red, but love the blast of orange and pink. I have no idea what I am going to do with the rest. I am sure I will be inspired by something.
I have another small project to share with you. I have been seeing custom camera straps and wanted one for mine trusty nikon.
So I made one. Again using my stash of fabric scraps, this took me about 15 minutes from start to finish. It took me about an hour to figure out how to put the camera strap back on my camera. The fabric is Amy Butler’s Kashmir and I lined the inside with fleece. It is much more comfortable than the standard issue strap. Cute, no?
Knitting in the summer in a house with no air conditioning presents something of a problem. Wool and heat and humidity do not make for a pleasant knitting experience. Enter the cotton dishcloth. I love making these things. They feed my need for instant gratification, the cotton yarn is cheapy cheap and you only have to cast on and cast off 4 stitches. And look at the colors!
As much as I like making these, I really love using them. I have a stack I use in the kitchen, and another stack for in the shower. One of these cloths and a squirt of philosophy shower wash is a little daily luxury.
Remember my idea of having a pink and green garden? Here are the zinnias from that grew from the packet labeled pink zinnias. Am I mad? No way! I love the mix of colors.
Isn’t this orange scrumptious. There is no way I could have mixed these colors the way that mother nature did.
I have to admit I can take very little credit for the growing of these beauties. Other than buying the seeds and potting soil, Becky has been the gardener this summer. She has planted and watered these zinnias to the peak of perfection. I am so glad she has a green thumb!
This weekend was the kind of weekend you hate to see end. We went to a Tribe game on Friday night. We started the evening with dinner at Local Heroes, which is across the street from Progressive Field. They serve the best fish tacos, especially good with a beer from Great Lakes Brewery. We kind of sped through dinner, because the game was starting soon. As we were paying the tab, we noticed the on the sports channel that game was under a rain delay. What? The skies were perfectly blue and gorgeous when we went into the restaurant.
So we walked to ballpark and found our seats.
And the rain decided to start
not sure if you can see in the photo, but it was belting down. Luckily our seats were under a overhang, so we stayed nice and dry.
Finally the tarps were rolled up and it was time to play ball.
Even though the Tribe lost to The Yankees, it was a fun night.
Saturday was definitely a girls’ day. We started the morning at Aveda getting hair cuts and trims, and then decided to head to Brio for brunch. This is what we ordered
Sweet potato hash with grilled salmon, poached egg and bernaise sauce. Every single mouthful was scrumptious, and I would have licked the plate if I weren’t out in public.
This is Becky’s favorite. Grilled salmon over angel hair pasta with tomatoes and asparagus. Delicious.
After lunch we went to the bookstore and then headed over to the yarn store.
I think this is one of my favorite shops. It is so quaint and is in an area of restored historic buildings. Here is another shop that sells pretty decorative home items.
I am a total sucker for old and historic buildings, and wish that there were more places like this in my area. Most of our area is new and modern with shopping malls and freeways. I love the idea of small towns with historic buildings and town squares.
This is what I bought
The book is Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick. It is now out in paperback and a little more budget friendly. Lots of great projects that work up quickly. After I finish the Clapotis, I will let you know what I decide to work on.
The yarn is Trekking XXL which I have seen knitted into fabulous socks on Ravelry. The colors are gorgeous, but socks might have to wait til fall.
The rest of Saturday was spent looking at my new book and knitting my Clapotis. Perfect.
This is my third attempt at making the famous “Clapotis” scarf. The yarn was purchased last weekend at the Sheep and Wool show, and I thought the Clapotis would be the perfect project for it. I pulled out my pattern (which I printed on February 6, 2006) and set to work. I love the colorway of this yarn. It reminds me of a rainbow, and I think it will look pretty with my black coat this winter. The yarn is fingering weight, and I am knitting on size 4 needles, so I may not have it done til the snow flies. The pattern is easy to remember, and is a great TV watching project.
“Everything I Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten” is so true. Remember the fun of planting seeds in decorated cups for mothers day, and the thrill when the seeds sprouted? Becky absolutely is still thrilled with this idea and insisted on buying more seeds for the pink and green garden. We are really excited about the chartruese! zinnias. Becky decided the Canterbury Bells will give the garden a more “English cottage” look. I think I agree. If the painted daisies grow, I think they would look great in containers.
I don’t think you entirely outgrow wanting to play with dirt.
Sophie decided to help by chewing on any small pieces of wood she could find in the yard.
I am really excited to see how the experiment goes and hope we will be knee deep in flowers all summer long!
This is the start of my brilliant idea to have a pink and green garden this year. I ordered three hydrangea plants from qvc that arrived last week, and are finally planted. They are much smaller than anticipated, so I really hope they grow.
Becky and I bought seeds at Target that are for the most part pink. Zinnias, morning glories and sweet peas. So far the zinnias and morning glories have sprouted. Like my pink toenails?
I bought gladiolus bulbs at Lowe’s, and planted them today. I am envisioning the border to look like Lilly Pulitzer fabric come to life.
I already have hostas growing in the border. I love hostas! This is the one plant I have been unable to kill with my brown thumb.
My bleeding heart is doing OK too. It is huge and has lots of hearts on it. It loves the spring, but doesn’t look this lovely during the summer.
I think this plant is called sweet woodruff or something like that. It has these adorable white flowers during the spring, but will provide the green for the pink and green that will hopefully flourish during the summer.
I am really looking forward to seeing how these plants come together during the summer, and am keeping my fingers crossed that I planted the gladiolus bulbs correctly.
I also have peonies that are various shades of pink, and bloom right around Memorial Day. Now all I have to do is keep everything watered, add some mulch and keep the weeds at bay.
Another day of freezing weather. Becky got a much wanted snow day, even though we didn’t get much snow. Just lots of wind and really cold temperatures. Decided to beat the winter blahs by heading over to Crocker Park. Becky got her haircut-really super cute. Stopped at Trader Joe’s for snacks and bought myself some yellow roses. They didn’t fair well on the way home, but they’re still pretty. Stopped at the yarn shop and bought sock yarn. Bright red with stripes. Can’t wait to get started on that pair. Note to self: finish the pair you’re working on. Found these for $5.00 on clearance
Aren’t they cute?
