the ol' barter system...

A little while back my friend Gus told me there was a sweater pattern she had found that she absolutely adored and wondered if she could pay me to make it for her.

To me it seemed perfect timing because I was just thinking about asking her if she'd make a piece of art for me. She is a pastel artist & you can see her awesome work on her blog Joyous Touch Art Studio. She's done some pretty amazing cows that are just the cutest thing.

So, we agreed to employ the ol' barter method.

Exchanging skills with no money changing hands.

Win-win if you ask me.

 

So, to Pinterest we went to give her an idea of what sort of painting {er...pasteling?} I wanted.

I knew I wanted a cottage.

I started pinning oodles of old cottage paintings on our board

Cottage Art Inspiration.

I love old pastoral scenes too so I made sure to mention that.

I was so very pleased with what she came up with!

 

 

I named it "Michelle's Cottage Dream" ^_^ complete with chickens & sheep & sunflowers. And a little creek with a bridge! I didn't even know I wanted that, but of course now I do. ;)

She took all the elements I love from those old paintings & added to them her own personal flair & cheery style which I so love. The size she made it is so charming as well. So very much like an antique pastoral scene. I couldn't be more pleased with it!

 

Now as to that sweater...

 

 

I used the Levenwick pattern by Gudrun Johnston.

It was quite simple to follow & was knit mostly in the round. (Which was really nice because the finishing work is my least favorite part about knitting and there were very few seams to sew up!) I just love the style of this unique sweater & wouldn't mind making one for myself. Lol! I'll just add that to the list. ;P

 

 

I love the beautiful teal-ish green yarn she picked & the big red buttons! The pictures simply do not do the color justice.

 

Thinking back I think it may have been well over a year now since we first had this bright idea.

Wow, time flies.

All in all a very good trade me thinks. ^-^

 

{The 1st and 2nd photos were borrowed from Gus. Thanks girl!}

what would Beatrix wear?

Hello there, my dear ones!
As I mentioned in my previous post we've been enjoying somewhat cooler Springtime weather lately. This sort of cool & rainy weather always makes me think of Beatrix Potter. I like to imagine that this is what the weather she experienced in her beloved Lake District was like.

My apparel is oft times inspired by the weather.
{And I don't just mean by what the mercury reads - though that is a big factor.}
Say it's the middle of Summer & the sort of day you could envision yourself at a county fair eating funnel cake, sipping a lemon shake-up, & admiring the livestock.
I'll go for the farmgirl goes to town look. {Think Jeanne Crain in State Fair}
Or if it's a crisp Autumnal day fit for an apple picking. A couple scenes from
Anne of Green Gables might ramble around in my head and spark an outfit idea.
Or if it's a bitterly cold day of Winter when the sun hides behind clouds & the wind whips relentlessly through the barren branches, I may wear an ensemble that heavily features wool
inspired by Helen from All Creatures Great & Small.

Well, good ol' Beatrix was the inspiration for this particular ensemble.
I thought to myself as I smiled out the window at the delightfully gloomy grey sky,
"What would Beatrix wear if she'd been born in this time?"
Here is my answer. :)

 

A feminine hairstyle, wooly goodness, & earthtones combine for a look that is unmistakably Beatrix.
~*~
Outfit details:

~*~ Dress: Thrifted ~*~

~*~ Sweater: Handmade by me ~*~

~*~ Tights: Wal-Mart ~*~

~*~ Shoes: Thrifted {Clarks} ~*~

~*~ Necklace & Earrings: LC Lauren Conrad from Kohls {No longer available} ~*~

~*~ Scarf {in hair}: Thrifted ~*~

 





I think Mr. McGregor would heartily approve of my little trowel earrings. I'm so fond of Kohls' Lauren Conrad jewelry. Well, lots of the clothing too, but the jewelry in particular. Her jewelry is always so delicate & lovely. It more often than not will be rather kitschy too! I have a necklace with an antique sewing machine charm, pink ladybug earrings, vintage camera earrings, & a little pink teacup on a necklace - just to name a few! Since I love to play in the dirt er garden I get quite a kick out of these little trowels dangling from my ears. ;)
 

These brown suede oxford booties were quite a find for just $3 at my favorite thrift store. Oddly enough they are not my size, {a size & a half too small} but they fit quite well & are very comfortable. Perhaps they are incorrectly sized & that's how such a nice pair of shoes found themselves at a thrift store. In any case I'm so grateful to have them. I think they lend themselves well to the 1930s look in addition to my Beatrix attire.

 



My brown wool cabled cardigan is so snuggly warm. It was my very first cable project - made around 5 years ago. It's made of Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool in Nature's Brown using this pattern. (I never made the sash that is supposed to go with it. I just wear it open.) It's a terribly useful sweater & I wear it quite a lot in the coldest weather. Having already acclimated to the warmer weather we had been having I was thankful to be able to pull out this old friend to chase the chills away.

 



While I had the camera out I simply couldn't resist taking pictures of the lilacs & the chickens.

You don't mind do you?
The chickens always hastily run up to the fence when they see me coming - they must assume I come bearing food. Unfortunately for them I only came bearing that shiny black doohickey that makes beeping sounds this time. That's Freckles the Speckled Sussex, Pepper the Barred Rock, & Oswald the Rooster {I think he's an Ameraucana, but I'm not sure.} You can just see Philippa the Ameraucana in the background & the ducks at a safe distance. They still don't quite trust me as they were a few weeks old by the time I got them from a friend.

 

I think one reason I really find a kindred spirit in Beatrix is because of her love for the country.
I recently watched the episode of The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends featuring The Tale of Johnny Town-mouse. The story is the classic tale of a town mouse & a country mouse experiencing each other's way of living & each much preferring their own.  One line {a direct quote from the book} at the end of that sweet little cartoon caught my attention.

 "One place suits one person, another place suits another person.
For my part I prefer to live in the country, like Timmy Willie."
~Beatrix Potter - The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse

To which I give a hearty "Hear, hear!"
Much like Beatrix, I wasn't raised in the country. I lived in a small town until I was 17. When we moved to the country I just felt it was home. {Though, I loved that little town & still do.} Perhaps it is because I have Farmer in my blood on my Mom's side that I love the country so...

~*~
 

Well, I'm planning this as an ongoing post series to feature other
"what would         wear?" outfits every so often.
More than likely featuring some of the aforementioned characters!

 

~*~

 

Does the weather inspire your attire?

 

Is there a person or character you're particularly inspired by?

Do you prefer the town or the country?

 

{Photos by me. Taken sheepishly with the timer.

 Hoping my family wasn't looking out the window & rolling their eyes.}

Aimee's cabled sweater...

Hurrah! It's finally finished-

my lovely sister's Christmas Birthday sweater!

(And, only a few days after her birthday.)

I think she's pleased with it.

At least, she's not telling me if she isn't. ;)

 

 

We've had some more snow & quite cold weather lately.

I'm glad it didn't go *poof* Spring outside so that she can get some good wear out of it,

before packing it away for the season.

I used Wool of the Andes Worsted from Knit Picks in Cobblestone Heather,

and this free pattern by Debbie Bliss from Love Knitting.

 

I just love looking at all the intricate cables.

They really are such fun to knit.

Although, they are time consuming, and brain consuming.

 



 

After all. that. grey.

I was craving some color!

My Cath Kidston Sewing Kit was my color inspiration for this sweater.

I'm using Knit Picks Palette in Rosehip, Wonderland Heather, & Custard.

I just had the yarn in my stash. Knit Picks runs great sales throughout the year,

so I always snag any color I'd like to see in person.

(It's never quite how it looks on my screen!)

Pretty much if it has a cute name I'll like it. =)

 

The pattern is a free WWII era "Your Victory Jumper" from the Victoria & Albert Museam Website.

 

 

Unfortunately, I've run out of my "Wonderland Heather" & I have the sleeves left to knit.

So I'll need to make another yarn order before I can finish. (Tragic I know. I just hate buying yarn.) ;)

 

One of my Aunties has commissioned this fox scarf. So I'll make it in the meantime. :D

Isn't it the cutest thing? It's also a free pattern. (Man, I'm on fire!) :P

I'll be knitting it in Knit Picks' Brava Premium Acrylic.

I've never used it before, because I'm so terribly fond of wool & cotton.

Aunt G. says wool makes her itch so... acrylic it is!

I've never been disappointed with anything I've bought from KP so maybe this will be the start of  a new chapter in my knitting. (But I don't think so.) ;)

Photo Source

I'm glad I squeezed this post in before the end of February.

Tomorrow, being March 1st, is my unofficial First Day of Spring. :D

I've got plenty-o-cotton yarn in the stash to start planning some warm weather knits...

THE Miss Lemon Sweater - Part 2 - Knitting...

Just a quick post to let you all know I'm still alive.

{Tee hee} ;)

Well, I've been feverishly knitting away at my sweater.
I am absolutely in love with the color of the yarn.
I think it's simply perfect!
(Thank you, Lord!)

 

After I had the back & left front completed

I started to measure the front edge to space the buttonholes evenly on the right front.

I took another look at the pictures to see how many buttons the original had.

I counted 5, but found a problem.

Look at the bottom band - no buttons.

I had read here that this sweater is a pullover made to look like a cardigan.

But, I wanted to make a cardigan.

I can see now that this would just make it harder for me.

So...I ripped back the left front & just made a whole front.

(If only I would think things through in the first place

I would save myself so much time & frustration!)

Oh well! Lesson learned. :)

I think it will be much easier to do the slip-through bow with the band just added to the front.

Rather than trying to finagle it through an opening in the front band of a cardi

using some sort of giant buttonhole.

All I have left to knit is 1/2 a sleeve, the bow, & the band.

I'm just doing plain stockinette stitch so it's moving along nice & quickly.

I plan on using grosgrain ribbon or bias tape to face the neck opening.

Well, it's waiting for me in my comfy knitting chair.

Best get back to it...I only have 2 days.

^_~

 

 

 

THE Miss Lemon sweater - Part 1 - Planning...

I have long been an admirer of  Miss Lemon.
Especially as portrayed by Pauline Moran in the Poirot series.
(The one with David Suchet as Poirot. The ONLY one in my humble opinion.)

{Via Pinterest}

This is a character with brains, style, & class.
Not to mention terrific knitwear.
But, I just did.
So...
 

{Via Pinterest}

 

I've been invited to a Literary Ball coming up in February.

We are asked to come dressed as our favorite literary character.

As I've been itching to make THE Miss Lemon sweater - 

she was the first character that leapt to mind!

While I should be in the knitting phase of this project I'm still only in the planning phase.

(Plus, I'm still working on my sister Aimee's cabled sweater.)

Pinterest has proven a very valuable asset in this endeavor.



{Via Pinterest}

 

I just order the yarn. Knit Picks Palette in serrano.

They didn't have just plain red in this weight of yarn.

So now I've started to fret that the color is going to be all wrong

when I see it in person instead of on my computer screen.

{Rolls eyes at herself}

Anyway!

It should be a pretty easy knit.

I plan to just wing it as far as patterns go.

I'll just make a plain cardigan & worry about how to do the bit with the bow when I come to it.

(I can't worry about everything beforehand.) ;)



progress...

 

Ever so slowly...

Yet ever so surely...

Progress is being made.

After a couple minor freak-outs,

a few rows ripped back,

a few moments of questioning that fact that knitting is supposed to be a relaxing hobby,

I think I may finally have gotten my poor brain wrapped around this pattern.

 

 

Oh yeah, knitting is fun!

:)

{Listening to Ella Fitzgerald}

{Drinking Tetley British Blend with way too much 1/2 & 1/2}

{Enjoying the scent of Scentsy's "My Dear Watson"}

My idea of a perfect Saturday.

 

***

 

Still time to enter:

 

Click here to do so. ^_^

my day...

Listening to a little bit of this...

 

This album cover just cracks me up.

Of course the first thing that caught my attention was her lovely dress.

But, aside to that note the blatantly artificial lawn & that bird!

haha!

I actually rather like the album though.

It's just instrumental & has that indescribable mid-century orchestra sound.

(You know with that screechy string section?)

 

***

Enjoying the delightful scent of this candle...

 

 

It's one of those Woodwick candles that makes that wonderfully crackly sound whilst it burns.
And(!) The name is delightful as well "Victorian Bouquet" - very aptly named.

 

***

 

Look what the postman (well postlady actually) brought me today!

 

 

 

The rest of my She & Him records! YAY!

So that's actually what I'm listening to now.
(Actually, I still have their newest album "Classics" coming. I got it in the same order as Volume 3, but it was warped so a replacement is on it's way. Yay Amazon!)

 

***

 

Tired of seeing snow pictures yet?

Well that's unfortunate because here are a few I took yesterday morning. ;)

 

The only Christmas décor still up around here are these lights.

I just had to turn them on with tree all adorable covered in snow.

Can you blame me?
 

The moon was still visible in the photo below.
Can you see it?
 



 

 

The little hill down to the chicken coop.

I had to take a picture of that pristine snow.

Just moments after this was taken it was dashed through by my clunky boot-clad feet.

I have to do this sort of shuffle-run to keep from landing on my bottom on the way down. ;)

 



 

Don't forget about:

 



 

Just click on "Older Post" under the comment section of this post.

:)

Stay warm!

snow day...

We finally got some of the white stuff!

 



 

I live atop a steep hill

so

when it snows...

I get a snow day!

Oh snow, you still make my heart happy.

This morning when I pulled back my curtain I made a little gasp.

Snow!



 

All the Christmas paraphernalia was carefully & snuggly tucked away the past couple days.

Do you ever feel like you can breathe again after you take down your Christmas décor?
(After the dust has settled, of course. ^_~)

Don't get me wrong.

I love Christmas.

It is my very favorite time of the year.

I thoroughly enjoy hauling out the bulbs & baubles each year.

And yet there is something so refreshing...calming...

about tucking it all safely away for another 11 months or so.

 

***

 

We had to miss Church this morning -

the only downside of this lovely snow day.

We all loaded up in the car & headed down our driveway.

When we reached the end we took one look at the road down the hill...

then turned around.

 

***

 

So...

I decided to make a nice lunch with whatever I could find in the freezer.

I came across a couple beef soup bones.

Perfect!

I'll make some soup.

Dad suggested some lentils we had languishing in the pantry.

Again, perfect!

It turned out rather well (though I say it myself!)

I have some little pots of herbs on the windowsill that I bought to die a slow & painful death here.

They're tough little things & have made it this long alive.

So, I used some lovely fresh rosemary in the soup as well.

(If anyone is interested I can give you my full recipe. Just ask!)

And what is hot soup without fresh bread, I ask you?

I didn't have enough time to make my usual bread recipe

so I searched Pinterest for a quicker yeast bread.

I hit Pinterest gold!

 

 

The recipe made two of these lovely loaves in about an hour!

And let me tell you - it. was. good.

You can find that recipe here: Simple One Hour Bread.

 

***

And,

what else does one do on a snow day but take pictures of one's new decorating sans Christmas stuff?

I gave my new record player a place of honor on my bookshelf.

 



I bought all of She & Him's albums on vinyl with Christmas moo-lah.

I put Volume 3 on display because I love the colors.

I had plenty of pastel colored whosits & whatsits to make a little vignette.



 

 Note the adorable Beatrix Potter fabric a friend of mine gave me for Christmas!

(Thanks Gussi!)

The cute little mushrooms were a birthday gift from sister Beth

& the restaurantware tea cup an Etc. Shop find.

(50 cents - WHAT?!?)

 

 

Well there's not much to do now but sit with a cuppa, have a piece of shortbread (or two),

and browse my new favorite seed catalog.

Can you tell I had a *little* bit too much fun editing these pics on Picmonkey?

Have a lovely day!



the rest of my knitted gifts...

I finished Mom's shawl on Christmas Eve Eve. (December 23rd)

I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Mom was quite pleased with it too!

 Yay!
It's so pretty & soooo soft!
 

 

The photo below looks like the sort of gift I would love to receive...

BUT...

it's not for me!



 

This is what happens when you don't get all your knitting projects done!
It is supposed to be a cabled sweater for my sister Aimee.

 



 

I got her a necklace & headband & stuck them in the bottom of the box.

Then I piled in the yarn for her cabled sweater & a "learn to knit" booklet!

Inside the booklet was a little note.

I think I thought it was a lot funnier than she did!

(I can't help it if I crack myself up!)

Thankfully her birthday is in February - a more realistic goal.

We should still have some winter weather left to wear it in too -

if this year turns out anything like the last.

frosted windowpanes...

The frost this morning was breathtaking.

I just had to attempt to capture it.

 I just love moss.

It's so cute.



Nosy little birds. ;)

Now back to my knitting. :)

two checkmarks on the Christmas knit list...

This little bolero is for my niece Abbey.

Though it's not actually her Christmas present it is to wear on Christmas.

She'll be wearing a lovely off-white dress

that she wore as a flower girl this past summer.

The yarn used is Knit Pick's Wool of the Andes Sport in Hollyberry.

The pattern is a Debbie Bliss pattern for babies

 that I adapted from 12-18 month to fit a 6 year old.

I also added the bobble trim cuz I'm just fond of it! ;)

 

 

This next knit is probably the manliest thing I've ever featured on this blog. ;)

For Dad, ever the war history buff.

This "trigger mitt" pattern is from 1951.

Here they are in progress.

 

 

And here they are all finished!

 



Along with a stocking cap made from the 1934 pattern book.

Honestly a stocking cap is a stocking cap. I'm sure the pattern hasn't changed much.

BUT I know the that it's made from a 1934 pattern & that makes me happy. :)