Monthly Archives: August 2015

Menemsha Swordfish Sculpture …

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Menemsha Swordfish Harpooner sculpture… Martha’s Vineyard


Another Beach Trip In The Books

One last summer getaway, and now I’m back.  Local schools started up again yesterday, and though we aren’t starting until after labor day, I’ve realized just how precious little time I have to enjoy summer’s remainder and finish my before-school tasks.

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I did get to put my toes in the water before the “Hazardous Water” warnings went up.  Friday the beach and the water were perfect, but Saturday and Sunday we simply sat and watched the waves, as the red flags warning of rip currents were up.  We couldn’t believe how many people were still swimming. Worse than that, how many little kids were playing in the dangerous surf. The news yesterday ran a story that lifeguards rescued 22 people from the waters on Sunday. Crazy!

Despite that, we enjoyed our time immensely and it was just the respite I needed.

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Look at those beach colors!  I want to knit with those colors.  Time to go stash diving!

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Looking down to Gabi and Theresa.

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Laura enjoying the breeze

The great thing about our beach trip each year is that we’ve been there enough times now to know where to eat, what’s fun to do, and how we”re going to manage it all.  Our traditions mean we don’t have to think too much or worry about planning.  We can simply enjoy our time together.

It’s also, apparently, Neve’s signal to herself that summer can be over and we can start doing “fall” things.  That kid.

I’m not ready to give up summer, though. There’s more swimming to be done, more marshmallows to roast, more fresh pesto to eat, more mornings to sleep in.

Slow down, August!


Tagged: Homeschooling, kids, Trips

Review: Complete Photo Guide to Knitting

Review: Complete Photo Guide to Knitting post image

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First, the facts:

Title: Creative Kids: Complete Photo Guide to Knitting

Author: Mary Scott Huff

Published by: Creative Publishing, 2015

Pages: 143

Type: How-To for Kids

Chapters:

Knitting Mechanics
Yarn and Knitted Fabric
Special Techniques

KS: Creative Kids Complete Photo Guide to Knitting

The In-Depth Look:

Moms know how much creativity their kids have–imaginations going wild, boundless curiosity about the world around them. It’s the perfect time to introduce them to new experiences and teach them new skills.

Like, say, knitting!

The only problem with this is that most knitting books are written for adults. Even the ones with cute patterns or fun little projects obviously assume that it will be an adult picking up the needles to create the toys or pint-sized sweaters the kids will love.

So, how is a mom supposed to introduce this fun craft to her kids?

Well, Mary Scott Huff’s new book, “Creative Kids Complete Photo Guide to Knitting” is a good place to start.

The book is a basic how-to book about knitting–everything from casting on to picking the right kind of fiber, reading schematics, knitting cables … almost everything you need to know. This is followed by a bunch of cute, fun projects to knit: washcloths, cowls, sweaters, toys, accessories, all ranging from quick and simple to keep your kid involved and more complex, to keep them challenged.

Coming from Creative Kids, this is full of great photos, good illustrations, and lots of happy, smiling faces. Including mine. My only regret is not having any kids to pass it on to!

You can get your copy of this lovely book here, at Amazon.com.

Want to see bigger pictures? Click here.

This review copy was kindly donated by Creative Publishing. Thank you!

My Gush: Informative and fun

Other posts for this author:

August Update: Twist Collective, Knit Picks, and more!

A lot of news for you!

I’ve had a couple third party releases; they’ll each get their own blog post, but I wanted to introduce them here.

Chalcedony Mittens, in the Knit Picks Twist and Tweed Collection, worked in City Tweed.

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Fretwork, in the Fall 2015 Twist Collective, worked in Pigeonroof Studios American Sock.

Frew© Fanny Lafontaine-Jacob

Also, I’m testing the next set of Spa Cloths in the Sunset Cat Rav group here. I expect to publish these before the end of August.  Newsletter subscribers, be on the lookout for a special coupon :)  .

I’m also testing a lovely cabled stole in the group as well; here’s a pic to tempt you. It’s worked in Anzula For Better or Worsted and is beyond sumptuous.

anzula cabled stole

Wondering where the podcast is?  I’m planning the next episode closer to the end of August.  I’ll be reviewing a bunch of books & knitting accessories.

Weekly Challenge: Beneath Your Feet …

This week’s challenge is to look down and document what’s beneath your feet.

These pictures were taken of the stairs at the Thomas Edison Nat’l Historic Park in West Orange, New Jersey.

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https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/beneath-your-feet/


89 Year Journey Home …

mvobsession:

Updated today, Aug 7, 2015

Thank you to Skip Finley for mentioning this story in his Oak Bluffs town column in today’s Vineyard Gazette.

http://vineyardgazette.com/news/2015/08/06/oak-bluffs-town-column-august-7?k=vg55c1efe1c12d8

Originally posted on MV Obsession:

Back on June 19 I posted this picture of my mother on Facebook..

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A few hours later I was tagged in this Facebook post from Becky Cournoyer from MV …

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Becky goes on to say…’Found written on the last page of a copy of The Pilgrim’s Progress – the list of students of the senior class of 1926, Oak Bluffs High School. Copy of the book was owned by Maude Louise Littlefield. I love finding this stuff!’

And there in black and white is my mother’s handwriting…

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I had no idea that this book existed, none at all.

Becky and I post back and forth, a few others join in and the whole thing takes on an eerie air… so many coincidences and things happening on similar dates to both of us.

Becky posts….  ‘I had no idea that finding this book would have any significance. When I found…

View original 748 more words


Sunflower Fields …

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August Again

There’s something about August.  I want it to be all about enjoying the last month of summer, of no school, of swimming. I want it to be about never-ending fresh garden tomatoes and basil.

In a sense, it is.  But there’s something else. There’s something in the late afternoon light, and something in the way the garden starts to stretch out and look ragged and ready to give over to the cooler-weather crops. Something in the way the wool starts to look ever so much longer on the sheep than it seems it did just last week. There’s something in those first tendrils of Morning Glories stretching up the porch railings that reminds me to think about getting the canning jars ready and spend the next few weeks putting up the summer’s bounty.

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I’m starting to get lots of monster-sized “German Johnson” heirloom tomatoes out of the garden.  The basil looks just awful, and I may have to harvest it out and make pesto a few weeks earlier than usual.

The butternut squash looks great; I’ll probably cut them up and freeze them in cubes for soup. I’m completely over the zucchini, as per usual this time of year. Thankfully, the plant itself has had enough as well.

Egg production has slowed somewhat as the heat has intensified lately.  We also have two broody hens who have stopped laying in an effort to hatch a few, and that’s not helping matters.  I’ve marked two eggs and left them there for them to hacth; whether or not they do only time will tell.

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The tomatoes that we are not eating right away are getting slow roasted for sauce. It makes the house smell divine to have these lovelies roasting all day long.  Sometimes I like to throw them on some fresh pasta with a bit of olive oil, some garlic, and some basil.  Fabulous summer dinner!

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The jars are patiently awaiting tomatoes and pesto.  If things continue to go well in the hive, some of those honey jars may get filled as well.

As for the milking buckets and milk bottles, I’m about 85% sure I’ll start to look for a rental buck soon to breed the dairy goats. I’m craving fresh goat cheese for the spring.

But that is a concern I will focus on later, because tomorrow I am headed to Virginia Beach with some of my favorite people.

Summer’s not over yet!


Tagged: Farm, food, Garden

Sew Many Dresses, Sew Little Time

Sew Many Dresses, Sew Little Time post image

I don’t review sewing books, as a rule (or, well, ever), but since Potter Craft was good enough to send me a copy of “Sew Many Dresses, Sew Little Time: the Ultimate Dressmaking Guide,” by Tanya Whelan, I wanted to at least mention it–if only because it’s as impressive as hell, even to somebody who hasn’t tried sewing her own clothes since high school.

This book is not only 208 pages of thorough information about, well, everything you need to know about dresses–bodices, necklines, sleeves, skirts, fitting–but it comes with paper patterns you can use to make them. (I’d never really thought about that before–what an advantage knitting books have because they can just tell you the pattern and all you need to do is supply the yarn. But for sewing, of course you need something to lay on your fabric to get the shapes right.

Like I said, I haven’t done any serious sewing (i.e., clothes) in years–the most my sewing machine does these days is liners for knitted bags and the occasional hem. I do still have a decent number of books about it, and this one impressed me a lot. Lots of detail, lots of variations, lots of useful information–all with good photos and clear illustrations.

It might not be my usual kind of book to review, but if dress-making is something you’re at all interested in, you should definitely check this out.

You can get Sew Many Dresses, Sew Little Time here at Amazon.com.

Testing The Water …

 
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