My birthday was Monday, so today it’s all about meme

So Monday was my 25th birthday. I don’t really feel like getting introspective about it. I don’t think I’m having a quarter life crisis, but only time will tell, I suppose. 24 was a great year, and I think 25 will be even better! In honor of my birthday, here’s some flickr memes!

A Meme!

I’ve totally been digging this flickr meme that’s been making it’s way around the internet!

The concept:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:
1. What is your first name? Lindsey
2. What is your favorite food? goat cheese
3. What high school did you go to? Rancocas Valley Regional Highschool
4. What is your favorite color? orange
5. Who is your celebrity crush? James McAvoy
6. Favorite drink? Malbec
7. Dream vacation? Scottish Highlands
8. Favorite dessert? ice cream
9. What you want to be when you grow up? artist
10. What do you love most in life? Color
11. One Word to describe you? precocious
12. Your flickr name? stagelit

1. hotel room jump while wearing a suit, 2. goat’s cheese, 3. Dad’s High School, 4. Green Tea Sunset, 5. P1160357-smlg-001, 6. 2006 Malbec just hangin out, 7. Eilean Donan Castle in gloomy weather. Scottish Highlands., 8. Ice cream day dream, 9. Artist in the Rain, 10. colour, 11. After the freeze, 12. Stagelit

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.

And then there’s the knitting one…

Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr search.
Using only the first page, choose an image.
Copy and paste each of the URL’s into the mosaic maker over at FD’s image maker.

 

1. Lindsey, work portrait, 2. I’m an alpaca, 3. My Scarf Collection, 4. a bed of calico, 5. Tomten III, 6. L + J hand, 7. Princess Kitty in Bliss, 8. blue and yellow birdy sticth markers, 9. february baby sweater, 10. 133: SOTTS will make you jump!, 11. green up, 12. The approach

What is your first name? Lindsey
What is your favorite yarn? Blue Sky Alpaca
What was the first thing you made with yarn? A Short Scarf for my mom
What is your favorite color? Lavendar
Which crochet or knitting designer do you have a crush on? Jared!- Brooklyntweed
Favorite handmade gift you have received? Foliage from Jessie!
Dream project? The perfect blanket
Favorite notion? fun stitch markers
What will you crochet/ knit next? A baby sweater
What do you love most about yarn? buying it!
One word to describe your craft. ambitious
Main inspiration to craft. It’s less of an inspiration more of a need-

Summer Salad!

 

Yesterday it was 90 degrees and muggy in Boston, so when Ben picked me up from work I informed him that I was definitely NOT turning on the oven.  I was going to make a mozzerella, basil, and tomato salad, but the mozzerella we bought last weekend was bad because we left it out on the counter in 90 degree weather.  So that was dumb.  Luckily we had some marinated feta we bought from a local farm at the Marblehead Farmers Market.  After a quick trip to Whole Foods we were ready to create the biggest salad ever!  BTW- this picture was taken after we had eaten and I had taken my lunch out for today.

It was really yummy, so I am going to at least share what I put in it- I didn’t measure or anything.

Lindsey’s Summer Salad

• Bunch of arugula
• 2 large handfulls of mixed greens
• 1 large handful of sugar snap peas
• 1 orange pepper cubed
• a large handful of grapes sliced in half
• Half a hot house cucumber
• 2 medium tomatoes
• Kernels from one ear of corn
• one small jar of marinated artichoke hearts
• 1 can of cubed hearts of palm
• 1 jar of garlic stuffed green olives
• 1/4 lb cooked cocktail shrimp
• marinated feta

I dumped the marinated feta in with the shrimp and added some olive oil and some lavendar salt and garlic to get the shrimp coated in spices.  This was the only dressing I used.  It was perfect for me, but Ben added more salad dressing. 

I tried to use local and in season things, but obviously tomatoes and cucumbers aren’t in season.  It was a delightful blending of salty and sweet.  I usually hate having salad for dinner and then the same salad for lunch the next day, but this one had so many interesting flavors going on that I looked foward to it! 

Of course, feta may be substitued for any cheese you’d like, and if it’s not marinated, just cube it and place it in a container with olive oil garlic and spices overnight.  Mozzerella would be really good or havarti or goat cheese!  Or goat cheese on crustinis on the side!  Or cheddar and apples would be a nice addition.  If you’re not into the overnight things, then I suggest getting some crumbled feta, adding it to some greek dressing and mixing it really well.  You’ll get a really creamy greek dressing.

ENJOY!

Getting it all together

I’ve been saying that I am going to set up my studio since February. February was 5 months ago! Well- it’s happened. We got back from the wedding, spent the first weekend cleaning the rest of the apartment, and spent this whole past weekend cleaning up my studio!!

This is a full shot of the studio- that’s my cheap, but cute, red rug from Ikea which will have paint all over it by this time next week probably. The cards on it are my thank you cards which I printed up last night. Or stamped up really- I picked up those chairs on the side of the road and have plans to fix the backs. They’re really cute!

This is my inspiration wire. In our last apartment I had a little inspiration board, but it got filled so quickly with pictures of friends and post cards that it wasn’t really good as an inspiration board, so I decided that this A frame ceiling would be perfect for this string- Right now it has things that I had lying around that were inspirational. I think I’m going to try to change it up every 2 weeks or so.

This is our awesome new photo printer that was supposed to be free with our camera, but in moving we lost the rebate, so it’s our reasonably priced photo printer. I haven’t actually used it yet- but it’s out of the box!!

This is my incredibly organized yarn/ fabric stash! Everything is sorted by fiber content. Click on the link to my flickr page to see what each container is. I’m really excited about this because I always end up with the same 5 yarns on top of my stash- and they’re never yarns that I want to knit with! Oh- and Ben didn’t freak out so much while going through my stash! And I explained to him why I need a core stash and why I still need to go to Rhinebeck and buy more yarn. He’s took it really well, though it might just be the realization that he’s married to a yarn hoarder, and he can’t get out of it now. Either way- it seems very healthy!

 
This is my work table right now- It’s a butcher block table from Ikea that was repurposed from our last kitchen because we didn’t have any place for it in the current apartment. It’s awesome- it really is. It has so much storage and the drawers are great for stuff that I need at a moment’s notice. Right now it’s still a little cluttered.

BEN built this shelf for me! And now he calls it my poison shelf. It’s great for holding larger bottles and things that just don’t fit on my lower set of shelves! I’m thinking about getting another to put on the other side of the window just for painting supplies.

I can’t wait to really get into the throws of it!

I’m sketchy

On Tuesday Ben had this thing at BU (he’s starting grad school in the fall!!), and I didn’t really have time to do anything big, and the museums don’t stay open late on Tuesday, so I dawdled, browsed Brookline Booksmith, and went and sat in Peets to sketch and drink a jasmine lime cooler.  It was nice- I haven’t had a free couple of hours to just sketch in a long time.  I think it shows!! 

I’m not in love with this one. I think the perspective is off for the rocks and the shoreline. I like the idea- I mean, I guess that’s why it’s a sketch. It definitely has the possibility of becoming a painting, but I don’t love it as is. I love how looking at a sketch makes me remember what I was hearing while doing it. Like- During this sketch I was listening to these two people talk. They were cousins, one had just gotten married, and they were both teachers. Then someone came in who one of them knew who was also a teacher, or retired teacher and started reciting the periodic table of elements in Hebrew! I wonder if I’ll always thinking of that when I look at this picture… It’s like when I’m listening to NPR in the car- the next time I drive by the place I hear the story I think of the story again. ANYWAY

This sketch I do like. I want to run right home and paint this idea. A girl and a little robin meet in a field. A barren landscape- I might have to jazz it up.

We’re REALLY setting up my studio this weekend! I’M SO EXCITED!!
 

A long time coming

So- I got married!  I meant to do a goodbye- see you in three weeks post, but my life totally turned upside down- sorry!  I’m back!  I was in Hawaii for ten days- SO AWESOME!  But we’ll talk about that later…

Picture by Daniel Gabriel

The wedding was beautiful- wonderful!  I didn’t wear the shrug that I knit because it was 90 degrees!  I’ll do a post with the handmade touches from the wedding when I’m a little more organized. 

 

I didn’t knit at all on the honeymoon!  I didn’t do anything except be a tourist- and I read a little on the plane.  It was very relaxing, but I’m itching for a knitting project!  I cast on for February Lady Sweater from Flint Knits.  Here’s the ravelry link if anyone’s interested.  It’s super cute!  Jessie turned me onto the pattern yesterday.  We’re actually doing sort of a Knit-Along!  Very exciting!!  We’re both going to wear them at Rhinebeck in October!  Hopefully it will be cool enough to wear a sweater this year!  The sweater seems like it will be pretty cool, but it’s still wool.  Such pretty wool!

I’m really excited about this sweater!  It seems like great summer knitting eventhough wool in August doesn’t seem like a great idea.  We’ll see how it goes.  At least I have time to knit again!!! 
 

Groom’s Gift!

SO this is what I ended up getting Ben!  I think I’ll still get him the sterling silver collar stays, but maybe for his birthday.

I got so excited when it came and ran around my office showing people. Get it- An Ever Fixed Mark - like from that Shakespearean Sonnet- and like - a ball marker. Yeah, I’m definitely a wit.
 

I bought it from Carolyn at Autumn Leaves Jewelry.  She rushed it for me and it came in this cute origami envelope!  LOVE THAT!  Also- she sent me this really great stacking ring!  I’ve worn it like every day since I got it, and I totally want to buy three more!!  This isn’t the best picture, but here it is:

 

5 days to the wedding!  It’s coming up quick!

Wedding Shrug! Not wedding, *shrug*

It’s done! And I found my camera!

And I love it! It’s perfect! My shoes match perfectly! The dress matches perfectly! And I am knitting a bag out of the same yarn, so it has to match perfectly!!

The yarn is berocco touche.  I created the pattern myself.  Size= me.

It was a super quick knit and super simple after I got going.  It was knit from the sleeve to the middle of the back in two pieces then joined.  I thought about adding a third piece of a triangular shaped lace patter to the upper back, but I really like how it came out.  I can’t wait to wear it on Saturday!!!

The purse dilemma

So- I have finished my wedding shrug!  (Actually I finished it like two weeks ago, but I can’t find my camera!)  So- pictures are coming!  That same weekend I began a purse from the same yarn as the shrug!  Very cute, no?  It’s the wedding purse from Vogue Knitting Spring 2008.

 

I love it- it’s darling, and the purse is almost done! I made it a little smaller than suggested because I am not planning on having people “stuff checks into it” as the pattern suggested. But- I CAN’T FIND THE CLASP! The one in the picture doesn’t exist!  I’ve been to everywhere I can think of online, and to all of the places who might sell it near my work, and I just can’t seem to find them!  Does anyone know where to find these enchanting but elusive purse frames?  I’m going to have to come up with a back up plan pretty soon!

 

YARN SHOP ALERT!

Ok- so no one told me that a knitting store opened up in Mt. Holly!!  I had no idea!  My parents and Ben and I were driving around a couple weekends ago and I saw it! Actually I didn’t just see it!  I totally freaked out about it, but it wasn’t the right time.  Luckily this weekend, my mom wanted to get mani pedis (which aws fabulous in itself, but the place we go to happens to be down the street from the yarn shop) and we went to the yarn shop after!!  I met the owners and had a fabulous time chattin’ it up!  They even tried to look up fibery things in Hawaii to do!!  I bought the most amazing yarn–

This yarn is from the sheep that one of the owner owns (She keeps them out near fort Dix!) and they send the wool to Philly to be spun and then they hand dye it at the shop!  Both of my yarn purchases are from their sheep!  They are both inappropriate summer choices, but HOW COULD I NOT GET THEM!  SO PRETTY!!

The store is Woolbearers on the corn of High St and Garden St in Mt. Holly.  If anyone is in the South Jersey area- you should REALLY go check it out!  What a great way to spend the afternoon!  Now I just have to get my mom to knit so she won’t get so antsy in the yarn store!  Sorry about the lack of pictures- my camera decided not to come with me to NJ. 

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend!  Or just- a great weekend if you’re not from the states!

Grooms Gift…

I’m having a lot of trouble coming up with a groom’s gift.  I mean- I’m not sure if Ben would wear a pocket watch.  Cufflinks are out- Ben doesn’t own any shirts with french cuffs and he has two pairs of cuff links!  I want to get him something handmade- maybe paint him something, but I am seriously running out of time (2 weeks tomorrow- augh!)  And who decided that the bride should buy the groom something before the wedding- and where does Ben get off having his gift figured out like- 6 MONTHS ago!  He is not a planner- except when he is I guess.

So I need an opinion anyway - Do we like this?

 

They are sterling silver collar stays from Chrisparry on Etsy (click on the picture for the link), and you can have them imprinted with a message.  Sweet- right?  And Yes, Ben does use collar stays religeously.  I just worry about him losing them or they being entirely too practical.  Thoughts?

There’s also this, a little less pricey:

Yes, that is a personalized ball marker.  I’m not sure what I would have it say–it’s by Autumn Leaves Jewelry on Etsy.  Ben would really like that- I could have it engraved “jerk face”.  That’s my little nickname for him- or “sweetie”.  Or- hmm.. this is tough. 

What do you guys think?