HAPPY 4th OF JULY!

HAPPY 4th! Hope your having a fantastic time!!

Etsy Friday (On Thursday) Summer Edition

You get Summer Fridays at work, why should my Etsy Fridays be any different?  I know it’s Thursday, but a lot of people have off tomorrow because the 4th is on a Saturday, so I thought you might need something fun to look at during your last hours of the work week.  I’m back with another Etsy Summer Friday (ahem- Thursday)- check out the past 7 if you’ve missed any:

1. Ice cream  2. Fire Flies  3 .The Beach  4. The Clothes 

5. Road Trip 6. Summer Sports 7. The Woods

It’s almost the 4th of July, so of course our Summer theme this Thursday is 7.FIREWORKS!  I can’t wait to see some this weekend!!

I always loved writing with sparklers.  I LOVE this Love Sparks Photo by Ablaze.  SO cool. 

This Fireworks T Shirt by Market Store Shoppe is totally fun!! 

This Handpainted Silk Scarf by Ocean Avenue Scarves is patriotic without being cheesey.  And because it’s probably not going to hit 80 on the 4th, you might need this while watching those fireworks!

I LOVE this Original Watercolor by ArtMeister.  Love the style, Love the phrase, Love the firecracker.

This Fireworks Necklace by Jane Michael is so beautiful. 

This yarn rocks:  Fireworks hand dyed laceweight merino silk by Heritage Needlework.  I want like everything in her store!  Maybe I’ll knit something  patriotic while watching the fireworks!!

Have a Happy Independence Day!

Total geek out

A few weekends ago when I went to NYC I had a total geek out over the typography that was EVERYWHERE in NewYork- I mean, Really great use of fonts- really great mix of fonts- Great use of color.  SO- I totally geeked out, and I was taking pictures just like a tourist.  Whatev’  I’m cool. 

I love how different all of the signage is for the Barrymore.

AND THE TKTS BOOTH – Great design just using type- Simple and very effective:

HEY Helvetica! Fancy meeting you here!

I’ll have to start looking around Boston more for Typographical choices.  I’m sure their not as bold as the ones I found here.

Adding to the Ranks

My friend Lindsay mentioned to me that she would like to learn how to knit- and OF COURSE, I told her I would teach her and we made plans to get together for it!

I packed my bag FULL of yarn. I didn’t know what would be most enticing! I also brought a bunch of books and magazines. For beginning knitters, I am partial to Stitch and Bitch for it’s fun language and easy to follow pictures, but alas, I don’t own a copy, so I brought along Stitch and Bitch Nation.  I also really love Mason Dixon Knitting  for beginners (I bought the original for Becca this past Christmas) because they have so many great garter stitch projects that you can make so much without leaving your comfort zone.  AND I’m totally dying to own the next one Mason Dixon Knitting: Knitting Outside the Lines.  I also brought a few Interweave Knits with smaller and simpler projects and we thumbed through the rest of them for the eye candy!

It’s always hard knowing what kind of yarn to teach someone with. I feel like most people are drawn to a project and that’s what makes them want to learn to knit. I am always tempted to begin people with yarn that is suitable for their project so that they don’t get discouraged when it comes time to knit it, but I find it easier to see stitches in larger yarns on larger needles.   If the person doesn’t have a project in mind, I always go with size 15 needles and Lion Brand Thick N Quick.  Unfortunately, because I have done this so often, all of the Thick N Quick in my stash has disappeared.  I have a lot of worsted weight wool though.  I guess I should start making something felted!

I started Lindsay on size 11 needles with worsted weight yarn, and she went for it!  I found this rad pink and red yarn for her to use, and left her a ball of noro to play with. 

This was a few weekends ago, so I’ll check with her to see how far she has gotten and let you know!

Etsy Friday- Summer Edition

You get Summer Fridays at work, why should my Etsy Fridays be any different?  We’re finally getting some Summer weather up here in Boston!  Thank goodness!  I was beginning to think that Summer was never going to come!  Luckily, the Etsy Summer Fridays keep on coming- the past six have been:

1. Ice cream  2. Fire Flies  3 .The Beach 

4. The Clothes  5. Road Trip 6. Summer Sports

When I was younger, I used to spend a lot of time getting lost with my grandmother and mother.  We used to drive around exploring and finding hidden places and streets.  It always ended with a good meal.   Of course, my favorite getting lost experiences with them always happened in the woods.  We’d go for hour long walks, exploring different parks and paths.  We’d find abandoned factories, grown over train tracks, and all sorts of animals.  I wish I had been more of a photographer back then- and had captured some of these afternoons.  So that’s my Etsy Friday this week: #8 Walk in the Woods

I love this Brass Forest Necklace by Rag Trader- I love the asymetry of it. 

I was never lucky to see a hedghog in the woods, but I did come across many turtles, frogs, deer, and bunnies.  This print “I Heart Hedgehogs” by The Light Garden is so cute.

This Bird T-shirt by Isotope would be great to wear AND help identify all of the fun birds you see on your walk!!  My grandmother was a HUGE audobon fan, and would have LOVED this shirt.

You can bring the woods indoors with these birch tree decals by Single Stone Studios.  It can be like your walking in the woods even in the winter in the middle of the city!  I love their shape!

Fab contest for some fab art-

 My friend Leigh is having a contest over at her blog, Constant Cravings for this piece by,  Jena Ardell .  Her work is fab- so retro, so dreamlike.   Check out her website or her flickr (which I had a really fun time going through- check out this one!).

Head over to Leigh’s blog to join in the fun!

I did the coolest thing on Tuesday night…

No- not the beer. The dual moniters! I feel so technical!

City Sliquors

 
Really- That’s what it was called.

ANYWAY- Ben and I, the city slickers that we are, went to NYC  this past weekend to visit Becca. We had a great time! On Friday we went to a REALLY fun Beer Garden in Astoria- Square. I love ANYWHERE you can get cheese bratwurst and pitchers of Gerrman Hefeweis! I don’t have any pictures of the inside- it was like a big out door mess hall, with picnic tables everywhere. But I did get a picture of the billboard! TOTALLY FUN!

On Saturday we waiting in the TKTS line and got tickets to Blithe Spirit starring Angela Lansbury!!

Totally great!  That crazy Noel Coward!  The set was beautiful, the costumes were perfect, and the acting was really really superb.  The lighting was very nice.  Very subtle- perfect for this kind of show.  TONS of R09!  One of my favorites, so I totally approve, but there was A LOT!  Rupert Everett definitely looks older, but I suppose that was bound to happen- just as charming as ever, though.  Angela was fantastic- she plays a real character, and she dances around the stage performing seances.  Fantastic!

We had a lovely meal at Daniel- superb.  (we did the tasting menu- it was so delicious.  And they knew it was Becca’s birthday, so they brought over a birthday dessert with a candle- of course that was in addition to the 7 desserts we already had on the table.)  We had brunch on Sunday in Astoria and then headed home.  For being such a crazy weekend, it was kind of low key.  Totally fun!  Next time we get to NYC, I’m going to have to visit some museums!  I’m going thru MOMA withdrawl up here in Boston!

Bead me up

I am so digging the whole idea of  knitting beaded purses.  Thanks to Morning Glory, it’s all I’ve been thinking about knitting!  Luckily I have some Kidsilk Haze lying around from some some wayward Christmas knitting.  I went to Windsor Button to bought beads to match the colors that I have. 

Aren’t they pretty together?  I am thinking about stripes! 

And then I swatched!  I mean, I didn’t swatch because I meant to.  I forgot to bring my beading needle to work, and had an hour to work on it, so I decided to use the beads I had already strung and just go for it.  This is helpful also because I decided to change bead colors- the more turquoisey one in the top picture is the one I’m going to use.  These beads are more blue. 

I really think it’s quite fetching.  I love the silk and mohair blend with the beads.  I’m pretty sensitive to mohair, so it’s nice to use it in something that won’t be wrapped around bare skin!  I’m so excited!  I’m working on it all weekend!

Etsy Friday- Summer Edition

You get summer Fridays at work, why should my Etsy Fridays be any different?  So far it’s been such a cool summer that I haven’t had to get myself psyched about working through the hot weather yet.  I am still only thinking about all the things I wrote about in these past Summer Etsy Fridays.  The past five have been:

1.  Ice cream  2.  Fire Flies  3.  The Beach  4.  The Clothes  5.  Road Trip

And now, we turn to #6 Summer Sports.  Sports are really something I only pay attention to in the summer.  I LOVE going to baseball games and sitting in the sun drinking beer for four hours or getting up early on a Saturday and getting some golf in before the coolness burns off or spending a whole day canoing down a peaceful creek. 

I love this black dog illustration by Grumpy Buffalo.  What a nice piece to have hanging in your house year round to remind you have those sunny canoe trips of summer.

I keep meaning to knit myself golf club covers, but I don’t use woods much, so I haven’t had the need.  I love this golf club cover by Winks Knits.

If my husband wore french cuffed shirts I would buy these baseball cufflinks by QA Create for him in a second.  They are made from REAL BASEBALLS! 

While I was golfing a few weeks ago, I was totally thinking about how I’m really missing an argyle sweater vest in my life.  I mean- being a knitter and a golfer, it just seems like a given that I NEED one.  Luckily I can buy this one.  How awesome would I be on the golf course in this rad argyle sweater vest by Ginger Mixed Media?! 

One of the best things about canoing is the picnic you have to have in the middle of the day.  These snack bags by Julie Meyer are made of oil clothes, so they’ll keep your food safe from splashes, but you might lose it if you tip!

Have a great weekend!  I hope it’s nice enough to get outside!