Bright Star

Have you seen the movie Bright Star? It's the love story about John Keats and Fanny Brawne. It was a beautifully made movie. The story, the direction, the acting, the wardrobe! Oh, the wardrobe!

Above, Abbie Cornish is wearing a small sweater made completely out of miniature granny squares. Her character carefully sews and designs each of the exquisite pieces she wears throughout the movie. They must be made of thread in order to be to small and detailed. Each square had multiple colors.

Amazingly, I haven't been able to find a patterns for this. I've looked on ravelry and searched the internet. Will I have to buy the movie and make my own?

The Very Softest Heat

If I had my way, my home would eventually look like this. I found this video on the craftivism site and loved it instantly. The making of this commercial is creatively inspiring. Hoping your weekend feels like this.

Monkey, geraniums, oh my!

I've been placing certain plants outside and I'm already seeing results. This geranium was adopted from my mother last Fall. As she was getting ready to throw them into her compost, I asked her for one. It's beautiful.

I'm beginning to work on some side-projects in my spare time and one of them is to continue my Monkey Socks. This is a project I started last Spring and haven't really looked at. In fact, I purchased another set of size 1 needles to accommodate for my procrastination. I was so busy that I didn't even think about this project much at all. I am comfortable with this well-written pattern, but not as pleased with my choice to make them using Knit Picks' Palette yarn. I do like the edamame color, but this yarn splits too easily. A photo of my progress is shown below and hopefully, in the end will resemble the sock above. So far, so good. 

Beautiful Day!

I found these on my morning walk today. They were so tiny, but a sure confirmation that Spring is here. A day early, but I'm noticing things popping up all over. When you look at the trees, there is actual color in their silhouettes. I love this time of year.

Today is also my birthday. I started it all off with a sweet morning walk with my 17 month-old nephew and we had some serious fun. He's at the point now where is shadow amazes him and as he gets to a curb, he stops and accesses the step ahead. The morning light provided a nice long shadow for him to run from. He twirled, ran, stomped and amazingly, that shadow couldn't not be shaken. I love watching him learn and figure these little things out.

Lovelies

resurface

 

crescenthilldesigns

 

bluebellbazaar

  Here are several items I just came across. If you have moment, click the links and visit the shops, because they have some other great pieces.

Lucy!

I've been cat-sitting for a week now. Lucy is so sweet and Quasi & Lola have been so patient with her. I forget how calming having a cat around is. She is a complete yarnoholic and when she's home, they have to hide the yarn from her. She has an entire basket of toys, but will find anything fibrous unless it is locked away. So far, so good here.

Simon Schubert

 

Simon Schubert is an artist based in Cologne, Germany. He is inspired equally by Surrealism and Samuel Beckett. His works imagine architectonical settings, common situations and objects, whereas the material he uses are either simple or sophisticated - white paper folded or mixed media arrangements.

 

Lettuce Babies & New Yarn!

Well, my lettuce is growing steadily, but the weather outside doesn't seem to be cooperating very well. We received almost another foot of snow since yesterday. Spring is only 22 days away!

I will have plenty to keep me busy in this winter wonderland because yesterday, I received 2 beautiful skeins of natural white pure wool yarn from SevenYaks. I'm going to look on Ravelry for a few ideas and wind these babies up:

Mom's Banana Bread

Yesterday afternoon found me with five ripe bananas. I phoned my mother for a basic banana bread recipe and loved it so much, that I'd like to share with you:

• 1/2 cup butter or canola oil
• 2 cups flour (all-purpose)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 1/4 cup organic sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2-1/3 cups bananas (mashed)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• pinch of orange zest
• walnuts (lightly tossed in flour to keep them from sinking) optional

Preheat oven to 350º.

Using your hand mixer, cream together butter and sugars. Stir in eggs and bananas until well blended. Slowly add flour, baking soda, spices and orange zest. Once mixed completely, stir in the walnuts and pour into a lightly greased loaf pan. This is a one bowl recipe. My loaf pan measures 9.25x5.25x2.75"

Bake in center of oven for 1 hour. Serves a family. Enjoy!

If you make this, I'd love to know how yours is :)

Lovelies

made2ordermannequins 

 lostandfawnedhome

 manitobagifts 

Some exciting items found recently. The colors and ideas are helping me pretend that it's sunny and warm today.

My Parents Were Awesome

My Parents Were Awesome invites you to share photos of your parents before they were parents. How did they look? ♥

The Tallest Man On Earth

Thanks to a friend, I've been listening to The Tallest Man On Earth (a.k.a. Kristian Matsson) quite a bit lately. His music and lyrics really paint pictures and does so without losing a raw, emotional quality. You can also download a free mp3 of a newer song here:

The Tallest Man on Earth: "King of Spain"

Mushishi

So, I am accepting the fact that I'm stuck inside today. That said, I'm eying up a beautiful skein of Plymouth Yarn's Mushishi that I've had stashed for a little while now. Have you ever had a yarn that was so pretty you didn't really know what to create with it? A yarn that you feel the need to make such a wonderful piece that it would justify not being able to leer at it in your stash anymore. It came with a pattern for a hat and scarf and I was contemplating that. I've looked on ravelry for ideas, but if you have a suggestion, I'd like to know.

Lettuce Babies

They have some growing to do yet. Soon, these will be mesclun lettuce full of reds, purples and greens. I cannot wait! Their inside next to the sunniest window and with another two feet of snow pending tonight atop the already received two feet this past weekend, I'm starting to feel a bit silly.

You see, they represent my hopes for a Spring full of warmth and greens.

Tscarf

I'd like to introduce you to the Tscarf! I made the yarn myself using some upcycled cotton shirts and left the ends on so it can be tied or worn down like a normal scarf. This is my first so far, but I have another already started. We're expecting a 6-12 inches of snow in the next day, so I hope to finish a few more. To learn more about this piece, please have a look at my shop. It's perfectly adaptable for Spring!

Windowed

Lovelies

maidofclay

ghosthaus 

monkeysalwayslook 

I've been in a creative spurt lately and wanted to share some of these carefully chosen pieces with you:

• When I found maidofclay's shop, I felt comfortably at home, perusing each of her items. Each piece is carefully crafted and has so much whimsy & character. If you're looking for an original gift for yourself or someone you hold dear, you should truly take a look at her porcelain pendants and other handcrafted originals.
• Magic lanterns with slides that date from the late 1800s to early 1900s fill this shop. Each lantern is handmade and contains the fire of a simple candle to bring the 35mm glass slides to life. They have a vintage quality and make a fantastic conversation piece. To see more of these, please check out the ghosthaus shop.
• Each year, I chose a different way to mark the herbs in my garden. One year I used stones, one year wood, etc. This year, I'm leaning toward these reclaimed pieces of vintage silverware I found in the shop of monkeysalwayslook. I love the tarnish and colors & to imagine the way they'd pop in the garden makes me very excited too.

Woodsy

Fruit Slice Pastry

I've been doing my best all weekend to fight off a cold and I'm finally feeling as though I may be in the lead. Because I'm so bored, I decided to bake a white cake. The white cake required egg whites and because I didn't want to waste the yolks, I decided to also bake blueberry fruit slice pastry. My mom has been baking these for as long as I can remember and the recipe is simple:

• 1/4 cup hot water
• 1 package yeast
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1-1/2 sticks butter
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 can or 12 ounces of fresh fruit filling (this recipe works great with apricot, blueberry, raspberry, etc.)
  

Preheat oven to 375º. 

Dissolve the yeast in water and sugar in a small bowl or cup. Set this aside for several minutes.

In a large bowl, mix flour, butter and eggs until well blended. Add the water/yeast mixture into the larger bowl and mix well. Cut the dough into two equal balls and roll each half flat, spread fruit filling and carefully roll. Transfer the pastry to a greased baking sheet or large pan and gently cut a slit down the center that is 1-2 inches from each end of the roll. Repeat this for both balls of the dough, making two pastries in all.

Bake for 21-22 minutes. Serves at least six. Enjoy!

If you bake them, I'd love to see a photo :)

Rachell Sumpter

I learned of Rachell Sumpter's work through Jacob Magraw-Mickelson. He once sent me a brilliant book full of his own art that I cherish deeply to this day. Both artists have such a calming effect with their pieces.