The Sweater is done!!!

As some of you may remember I started this sweater back in the winter of this year!

I bought this great eco wool where you get 478 yds for $15! Good deal! Essentially the sweater cost me about$30!!
Since it's a shrug sweater it's made in one piece. You just slip your arms in and poof there yah have it.  I have a feeling that I will wear this sweater a lot in Maine! Perfect for throwing on and taking the dog out, for layering over other warm layers and maybe pinning it together in the front and wearing with jeans. Here's the pattern.

I have embarked on my next project which is going to take most of my knitting attention... for a long long time!  I will post about that one much later on!

The rents came to visit the Habah

My parents were in town this weekend.  We had a great time seeing the sights that you don't always get to- while you are job hunting and getting settled. And getting to eat out was fantastic!

On Saturday we took a tour on "the duck" and Cameron was pleasantly surprised when it went off the road and into the harbor! It was nice and sunny for most of the morning, but the fog rolled in once we hit the water and stayed around for the rest of the weekend. (Which made some sight seeing a bit tricky!)

So we went to Soakology- a tea house and foot soak combo place in Portland- it was fabulous and very relaxing! Then we went to the Lobster Shack for Dinner and had... LOBSTAH. Of course the view of the ocean and nearby light house was greatly obstructed by the fog... but it was atmospheric with the fog horn blowing and the seagulls flying around. 

The Lobstah.
Two Toms at our place with little dog.  

We ate at some great places every night!  555 on Friday night, Lobster Shack on Saturday night and Fore Street on Sunday night! We also went to the Standard Bakery for snacks, and Becky's diner for Breakfast.   And what trip wouldn't be complete without a stop at the Outlets at Freeport and the gigantic LLBEAN store!? Check and check!

Yes there are big plans for their next visit. Including buying some lobster and having a picnic on the green at the Eastern Promenade. Revisiting the Portland headlight when we can actually have a view, taking a little tour of Peaks Island and other Islands on the mail boat... and of course a bike ride here and there, a trip to the beach and getting some golf in!

So if this sounds like fun, by all means come and visit! 

city chickens

Portland, Maine has recently started a program I guess you could call it- where residents are allowed to have chickens in their backyards! We currently don't have a yard of our own, but we can dream...  But for those of you who do- I stumbled upon this company Omlet. They make portable coupes that can hold up to 10 chickens. You can even use it to house rabbits! Best of all they are portable so if you are thinking about moving and don't want to commit to a large handmade structure in your yard- this might just be the perfect option! Plus it's a pretty sweet design.  here's the site.

sustainable fashion

The Uniform project is an exercise in sustainable fashion. The creator and her friend designed a garment- her uniform with the versatility to be worn 365 days a year! It's reversible and made of cotton allowing for temperature control during all the seasons. They made 5 or more uniforms in case you were wondering about the wear and tare and laundering! Each day the site is updated with a new outfit. The uniform was even worn to a wedding! All proceeds go to charity and accessory donations are welcome check it out here.

On another note, did you know that mold is becoming the new trendy pattern? According to fashion.informat. com many designers are using mold and mildew as inspirations for their distressed prints. Although I like the look I think you would have to add some color, and fun jewelry in order to not look like you live in a moldy basement. Either way it might not help one make friends. Check out the site here.

imitating some inspiration!

I saw this scarf this week on gilt group and loved it! Of course it was $50! $50 I do not have. But I do have yarn and although it will be a little heavier weight than this one pictured above, it will still be a fun project!

I have this bright white yarn that was left over from some christmas stockings my mom made this past winter... but I wanted to mute it down a bit. So I used all four packs of this left over dye- mind you with 1997 dated on it. And with the 75% acrylic in the yarn I had some odds working against me! So I extended the dye time from 60 mins to 3 hours. I dyed it in our kitchen sink and just left it while I went to our knit night and then rinsed it after I got home.

And here is the yarn! The gray looking one is the yarn that was dyed (although it is really a warm wheat color) and the pinks are much warmer and richer than in this picture. I might use both pink yarns to make the scarf the right size and also for added interest.

Millie's new toy

We got Millie a new toy this week from "Fetch" a pet store in Old Port.

In the past Millie has torn through toys in a matter of days so when we saw this incredibly rugged Bunny and read all about how well made and durable they are, we thought- alright let's give this one a shot.  The toy situation had gotten so bad that we began brainstorming how to make a more rugged toy ... We are glad this one has lasted three days and hope it has many more days, weeks and even months, in its future.

 It's especially funny to see how big the toy is compared to Millie! She loves it and won't let it leave her side!

The Fridge

How one decorates a fridge can be fun and interesting...  Especially for guests who are waiting around in the kitchen to eat!  I always like looking and spending time with someone's fridge, normally one can find new things with every visit. Since moving I have edited down what was on our last fridge to make room for any new additions for our new location.

Here is our fridge.
This was a cut out from Dwell magazine that I just loved.  Very reminiscent of Philadelphia.

A picture I found of my grandparent's taken during the 70s not sure where, but I love it- it makes me smile and think of them.

A sunset-ish picture I took at Captiva island the last time I was there in 2007.

My nephew Liam in the uniform my mother made for their trip to Colonial Williamsburg! 

Yes there are many ways to do up one's fridge! I enjoyed an entry from Domino Magazine, one that is included in their book, to wallpaper your fridge. The fridge they showed as an example had this fun bright floral wallpaper on it.... maybe someday I will!

Happy 35th Anniversary Mom and Dad

Today is my parent's 35th wedding anniversary!  Happy Anniversary! 

Puppies!!!

(here is one of the new puppies!)

The breeder that we bought Millie from has two new litters on her site, with one more litter to go! They are really cute. and I thought it was worth a look!  Here's the site!

She also has a litter of a Boston and a french bull dog mix- aka a "frenchton"

Did yah hear about this one?

Apparently this painting- that is credited to da Vinci due to it's similarities to the Mona Lisa- was recently discovered hidden behind the walls of a library.  The painting is now on exhibit in the Museo Ideale in the Tuscan town of Vinci where da Vinci was born in 1452.  Pretty crazy!   I wonder if carbon dating, etc will be able to tell us for certain if da Vinci did in fact paint this painting!?

This reminds me of when I lived in Florence and my friends who were in the Conservation program told me about the Uffizi and how the basement, with it's 5 inches of water, is just full of paintings.  Can you imagine what might be down there and forgotten? Just think there might be another undiscovered painting or a completely undiscovered artist!?!

the weekend... a wrap up

This is where I work. Nice view huh? The only problem is it takes me 1:30 to get there and it's only 50 miles away... back roads with the speed limit of 25 will do that for you! But it's beautiful. I only go there two days a week and work from home doing the rest of the web stuff for the gallery. It's a freelance part time job at the moment.... but it's really fun and rewarding.

Les and Steve gave us this GREAT map of Maine by Delorme where Steve works. Millie likes to read along.
All four curtains are DONE with their bobbles and fringe... now on to my next project (not sure what that is...?)
A new little table that has built in magazine storage. Storage is key around here and you gotta love yard sale leftovers! It has these painted holly leaves and at first I thought I might paint over it... but it's growing on me and I might keep it this way!

Saturday night- after spending the afternoon on Scarborough beach, we went to Old Orchard Beach with Les and Steve. We played put-put where Steve had 4 holes in 1 and won a free game as a result! Way to go Steve! Then we walked around the boardwalk and I took this shot from the pier.

We saw a lot more of Portland and the neighboring beaches etc today which was a lot of fun to explore. It's  nice to have these little adventures.

The summer sweater has begun

As I wrote in an entry a long time ago... I was going to make this cute little summer shrug from a vintage pattern I found online.  Well after much fussing with the gauge I officially began my sweater this week! And here is just the beginning of one of the sleeves. It is knit in two pieces- beginning at the sleeve. Eventually you sew up the sides and join the two pieces together at the back of the sweater.  So here goes. Of course I will post as it progresses...

our wedding is featured on another blog!

Our photogrpaher Scott Lewis sent me a link this morning to a blog that features our wedding! I thought I would share! (click on the word- blog!)

some impressions part 1

Let me start by saying- We love living in Portland, ME. The 60 degree cool and breezy summer weather is great, we love how we can walk to almost everything, how there are farmer's markets, and an active art community.  The streets and little neighborhoods that surround us are fun to walk through with the dog and there is even a straight up DOG PARK- specifically for dogs- complete with water bowls and toys!  It's great.

But I also want to share some of the quirky little impressions and stories that one begins to acquire after living in a place for a few weeks...

For example: The other night while out on a walk we were walking down this great little street we "frequent" and as we approached this heap of a recycle bin and trash bag- I thought I spotted a skunk.  I told Cameron and dog to hold up as we peered down the very dimly lit sidewalk to this punky mohawk by the bag. What was it? Was it a shadow, a branch... something told me skunk... It did not move at all, leading us to question our own animal instincts....  So we cautiously took a few more steps waiting for more proof and then IT moved! YUP it was a skunk! So we briskly crossed the street to the other side and thanked our stars we had noticed and believed our eyes because that would have been super sick to have two people and one dog sprayed and trying to get clean in our little apartment in our awkward clawfoot tub!      As we became parallel with the skunk on the opposite side of the street we warned an approaching pedestrian about said skunk and he chuckled and said it wasn't the really BIG one that is usually out.   Awesome.    And the guy actually stepped around the skunk and shooed it away without incident.  crazy I guess them is tame But then just on Thursday night- while on the same street it smelled fierce. It seems that not all of them are tame. Good thing we weren't there when it decided to blow!

In addition to seeing a skunk in the neighborhood, we saw a possum the other night, which isn't so bizarre, but still a little startling and super gross! They look like they are constantly wet and greasy, like they just escaped a drowning. Sort of like this guy. 
Another impression/ observation...  see these street lines? YEAH, well Maine could get out the ol paint brush and do some touch ups. Even on busy roads- ie leading to shopping centers where there are clearly two roads- the lines are but a distant hieroglyph.  Like with a lot of roads- the colder the climate the more crappy the roads. The winter just beats them up. This was true in Anchorage, but it seems they attended to their roads more often... It's just an added challenge when you are trying to get from A to B as a newbie in town and there is not much of an indication that you are on a one way, a no way or a two way.

Flip over a bottle or a can and see the print that mentions a 5 cent redemption for NY, DE, ME, etc...  here's what it means for Maine: typically the night before the trash and recycling are picked up- folks put their stuff on the curb and as I mentioned earlier- skunks etc get into the goods... well there is definitely a group with head lamp strapped over their knit cap, with shopping cart or a truck bed aiding their conquest, who go from street to street collecting cans and bottles for the 5 cents. I know this happens in NYC, I saw it first hand, but nothing like this happens in Delaware- I guess people aren't thrifty enough in DE.... but there is something kinda funny and trick-or-treat-ish about this ritual...  You lay in bed at night and then poof around 11 or so you hear the jangling noise approach your street... is it Santa? No. No it's not Santa at all kids... it's the recycle fairy

WATCH this

SO recently I have really been admiring pink, or rose gold watches. Of course I did some research and an authentic rose gold Rolex ranges from 12g (ebay) to- 20+ retail which is insane... unless someone out there believes in charity than I aint complaining!  Michael Kors does a nice pink watch but it really looks like a knock off...(although I do like the "oversized" aspect of his version...) and I guess the same could be said about this watch pictured above by Toy Watch, but I think it's still really great.

How I found it- I was on a blog reading about Michelle Obama's fashion and they sited the source of her purple fun watch she wore all over europe this past week. Toy Watch makes a variety of cool watches -a little old school swatch watch-esque. It's worth a look! They were one of Oprah's favorite things and with both the Oprah and Michelle bump I'm sure they will be in hot demand!

bobbles and trim... more curtains

My first curtain is done with the fringe! 

The back story: My mom had this idea to cut up these indian tablecloths she had and make curtains out of them for us.  I agreed with the idea- you can't pass up free curtains! plus it's a quick little fix for a temporary living situation.... and sort of Maria van trapp of us! (well, kinda- I won't be making a dress out of them anytime soon!)
(The mustard trim.) The only problem was- once I got them hung they looked a little too dorm room as if the only thing keeping them from looking like a second thought was the rod... without the rod it would have just looked like some tapestry slapped up there at the last minute and all I needed was a lava lamp and a poster of Mr Bob Marley. HENCE where the trim came in!  I cut the curtains up the middle and now I have begun to sew this trim on either side.

Now I have 3 more curtains to sew the trim to, so I best get a move on!

scones on a rainy day

Cameron made scones tuesday morning... they were from a kit so I can't really give a detailed recipe.  They were good though and thought I would share!

what the?!?!!

As some of you may know- I enjoy embellishing sweaters. It can be a fun and quick little project that has a great reward!  I bought this sweater maybe last fall at Target. I added the blue fabric trim and changed the buttons to these fun floral buttons from another sweater....
unfortunately- after washing the sweater- this strange chemical smell started to appear, and after washing it again and again in the hope that the smell would go away- it is even stronger!!!  Everything I have tried has not worked. Perhaps the result of buying processed clothes, every now and then you get a dud...?  Although I have NEVER experienced this before. (btw it's not the buttons, its definitely coming from the fabric.)  I guess I will have to throw out the sweater after I remove the buttons and in the future smell the clothes before I buy them? But honestly no basset hound would have been able to predict this! so weird.

knitting project

This past week I finished a second cowl neck. This was a commissioned piece. I made it from gray baby alpaca- which is incredibly soft and I used a moss stitch pattern. Like with a previous cowl I made- this one begins small and narrows at the top to allow it to be pulled up over one's nose.  Some day I will get around to making myself one as I'm sure I will need one living in Maine!

Apartment pictures part 2

We were able to bring this great chest that was my Aunt's growing up. We love it. It's a fun way to display our books along with fun collected pieces and artwork.  I have a variety of shells through out and my stuffed birds of course!  This piece is in our bedroom and that's my closet to the right and to the left is the door to the hallway (just to have your bearings). 
this is my little dresser (the one I got for free off of craigslist). It is in our sewing/studio/ and all around storage/ room. Hence why there is just a picture from this angle since the rest of the room is pretty much a walk in closet! As you can see I brought the tack board I made for displaying jewelry that I blogged about in a previous entry.  Honestly if my jewelry is out and I can see it and don't have to root around in cases- I will wear it more than just the usual three to four standards I can get stuck in!

anyway, so this is our place, we like it a lot it's cozy and fun to come home to!

our first new england apartment

As I mentioned in a previous entry- my mom encouraged us to make the front room our bedroom and we are glad we did. I am going to sew this great mustard bobble fringe to the curtains this week. I will share once they are done.
looking from the bedroom down the hall to the living room and to the kitchen. the bathroom is off the hallway and too tiny to photograph well... plus it's a bathroom! but I did sew a cute curtain for the window and hung fun artwork in there so it's worth a peek! Anyway this hallway- houses my suitcases which are great for storage. And our sweater chest and a set of coat hooks since we don't have a coat closet!
This is the living room which was pictured in a previous curtain entry. Not pictured are two chairs along the wall- which means we can seat our guests comfortably, so come visit!
And of course our tiny kitchen!
We hung a lot of small artwork as well as our colander bowl... with a tiny storage defunct kitchen you have to make due and as a result Cameron thinks it looks like a little cabin or camper kitchen. It sure is cozy!

planting the peppers on a sunny saturday

Cam planting his peppers, and later the rosemary- all bought at Wednesday's farmer's market.
Millie checking it all out.
Our one tomato is looking good! and there is a tiny one growing beside it. COME on guys, keep it up! Rah Rah!
Millie took off down the stairs and into the yard to play with our land lord's dog who lives below. A 10 yr old lab who let Millie know when he was done playing with a loud series of barks.  They had fun though! (this picture is funny- so click on it to view it larger!)