Aug 12, 2013
Are your eyes closed? Visiting the Old York Museums‘ 2013 decorator show house popped open my eyes. More than a dozen designers and landscape architects took over a waterfront property currently for sale. It’s an inspiring space, open to the public through August 15 (closed Tuesdays) in Kittery Point, ME. Compliments to all who worked to make this museum fundraiser a success!
Read highlights of the house in my blog post for Giardini di Sole. A lot of creative rethinking of space went into the decoration, and entering the house from the shoreline gives an entirely different experience (so smart, those designers!). There’s no photography allowed, so no home dec eye candy to share, just a garden view, peeking out from the grape trellis across the feng shui saltwater pool toward the cove. Do visit Secret Cove, if you can.
I can share my “Carpe Diem” decorating philosophy, however…
“Open Your Eyes: 1,000 Simple Ways to Bring Beauty into your Home and Life Each Day” was first published by Alexandra Stoddard in 1998. 
I hadn’t realized that my eyes had closed, but walking into my house after visiting Secret Cove sparked the annual retrieval of this favorite volume (I see it’s available in a digital format these days… hmmm!). I immediately tidied the piles of post that accumulated during our vacation and opened my eyes.
Thanks to Stoddard, there are 3 principals that I incorporate in my own home and studio.
- Shake up your art and home dec accessories. We tend to no longer notice your great stuff if it’s always in the same place.
- Decorate with objects meaningful to you. The abundance of coral fabrics, candlesticks and objects in Secret Cove was beautiful, but there’s no coral in Maine. If I spent much time scuba diving in warmer climes, such motifs might show up in my place (Such are home decor trends, I guess).
- Consider proportion. How does your eye travel across the room? Slight changes can give your space a completely different vibe.
As these glorious summer days and nights keep us outside and away from home, there’s nothing like opening your eyes when you come back inside. Seize the day and make the most of your space!
Jun 30, 2013
Word is getting out! More people are learning about the Melrose Adult Education program’s topics and signing up to learn painting, acting, business skills, interior design and craft. Yours truly will lead a basic knitting skills class on August 5 and 12 from 7 pm to 8:30
- Basic Knitting Skills: Learn 2 ways to cast on, to knit, to purl, and how to bind off. Understand some of the most common abbreviations in knitting patterns and get ready to work on a basic knitting project! Bring light colored, smooth (no novelty yarns, please) worsted or bulky weight yarn and appropriate size of knitting needle. This class works for those who have never knit before, or need a refresher class. With your MCAE registration confirmation Sit ‘n Knit Melrose offers 10% discount on your class supplies. 7 – 8:30 p.m. Offered on Mondays August 5 and 12, 2013. COST: $25.00
I’ll also lead morning and evening sessions for Sit’n Knit’s boot camp series. Seaming knits, buttonholes and new ways to cast on and bind off will be the feature topics. I’ll let you know when registration is open for these Tuesday classes that begin August 13.
Jun 11, 2013
More than four months into Level 3 of The Knitting Guild of America’s Master Hand Knitting Program, I’ve completed reviews, reports and absorbed the contents of a lot of knitting references (thank goodness for interlibrary loans). To date, 12 of the 19 swatches are blocked, labeled and complete with swatch pages. Generally, the swatches were knit twice before they were worthy of blocking. I’ve answered the associated questions for these swatches. Onward and upward, I tell myself.
Soon, I’ll resolve my yarn choice for the doily. Isager’s Plant Fiber sounds and feels luscious, but I’ve never knit with it. Should I spend so much on a doily which could just as easily use Brown Sheep’s Cotton Fine for 40% less expense? Design notes, swatches, measurements and yarn options ferment for my hat and sweater designs. Combination ugh and delight, my attitude about the final level of the program ranges from joyful, determined, focused to dejected and incredulous (now why am I doing this when there are so many things I’d love to knit or crochet?).
Slowing the process slightly is my learning curve on making charts using Illustrator. The program doesn’t require anything nice computerized patterns, but it’s been a longtime goal of mine to develop a pattern template and graphic style for the patterns I write. Makes sense that I personally consider this to be part of a Master Knitter skill set.
My nagging fear: Not following the directions completely, which results in rework for sheer carelessness. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned about the Master Knitter Program, following directions, checking your work, letting others review your work and then checking it again perhaps has been the most valuable lesson (remember, I’ve been knitting for decades!).
This post is more brain unload than informative, inspirational or entertaining. There are online forums and I enjoy support from 2 other local knitters who are tackling the program, but Master Knitter journey is quite solitary.
Thanks for listening.
Jun 5, 2013
In case your bucket list includes learning to knit, or you just need a refresher to start stitching again, Melrose Adult Community Education and the MetroNorth Y are sponsoring two sessions this summer.
I’ll teach 2 ways to cast on, to knit, to purl, and how to bind off. You’ll learn common abbreviations in knitting patterns and get ready to work on a basic knitting project! Bring light colored, smooth (no novelty yarns, please) worsted or bulky weight yarn and appropriate size of knitting needle. With your MCAE registration confirmation Sit ‘n Knit Melrose offers 10% discount on your class supplies. 7 – 8:30 p.m. Offered on Mondays July 8 and 15 and August 5 and 12, 2013. COST: $25.00
Click to register.
It’s always fun to watch people grown on their knitting journey, and I’m glad I can be a part of it!
May 13, 2013
Ever since I found out that June Hiatt’s The Principles of Knitting
was reprinted and available digitally, I began to actually want a a digital book reader. Wouldn’t it be fabulous to tote that tome of knitting knowledge spritely in my knitting bag? What a tantalizing idea!
A bit of shopping around and I realized that my love of textile books meant a simple black and white reader wouldn’t support the color photography, so a fancier tablet was in my future. And recently, my hub surprised me with a Kindle Fire
. What a darling!
My dearly beloved and I are best friends, parents and share much together. Makes sense, as it’s been nearly a quarter century of matrimony. He sweetly let me know that with his Amazon Prime membership, we could stream movies and I could read books for free. All I had to do is register the Kindle to his Amazon Prime address.
OK.
But of course, this means that any time I download a book, he’d get the notification. His preferences and Amazon profile would be littered with my wish list and purchases. And more importantly, my Amazon profile would essentially wither into the ether. My Kindle library would become forever associated to his linked address unless otherwise gifted to me.
Pause.
To have and to hold, in sickness and in health does not mean that we lose our identity. Am I ready to let any sort of assumptions that Amazon could make based on more than 15 years of patronage disappear? Worse yet, do I care? Apparently, I do.
Asking friends, I found that some couples share not only a profile, but even a tablet… it was no big deal. Others, who choose the presentation and display of their books carefully, as if decorating and making a personal statement, could understand my dilemma.
In the end, I decided my Kindle’s purpose was for my literary pursuits and not watching video, and that I wanted my profile to remain linked to my interest areas.
But I haven’t de registered the account…yet!
Any requests for which books to download first?
Apr 24, 2013
Word has it that there’s still room in the April 29, 2013 Fair Isle Knitting class that I’m teaching in Melrose. I’ll show your three different ways to try knitting with 2 colors in the same row, show you how to read charts, get you thinking about color choices and details that will improve your workmanship and finishing for Fair Isle knitting. It’s just one night, so we practice on a small sample (pictured above).
Bring along 3 contrasting colors of worsted weight yarn and appropriate needles. If you’re happy to work on double pointed needles or with the magic loop method, great! If not, we’ll work with straight needles and sew up your sample. Cast on 36 stitches and work 2 rows in purl stitch before class. This way, you can concentrate on the fair isle while we’re together.
To register, go to the Melrose Adult Education. Need yarn? Sit and Knit in Melrose will give you a 10% discount on class supplies with your registration confirmation. If you have any questions, email me at tactile @ mac dot com.
