Goodbye October, it's been swell

I love October, and this year was a good one! I took this picture while walking with the husband in Portland during the very beginning of my labor. A beautiful wet fall morning before our daughter arrived. A nice picture to remember the day by.

Now for the lovely month of November!

Pink knit hat, I just knew it was a girl!

Yesterday Day 2: Lil Miss Cordelia in the pink hat I knit her a few days before her birth. Shows how confident I was on my hunch! (sorry for poor photo quality- 1 handed cell pics!) PS I'm seeing more of me in her lately....

Gold Star, gets a gold star: an etsy treasury

My Vintage Gold Star decoration-(only $10!) from my Home Decor shop Grayday, is featured in this lovely Etsy treasury. Great colors!

Our daughter: Cordelia Gray

Our Little girl surprised us this week and came a week early- making her a fun October baby that I can throw epic halloween themed birthday parties for, Way to go!

Cordelia Gray S. Was born at home on Wed the 27th at 4:21 am. She weighs 7lbs 13oz and measures 20 3/4 inches long. She's a cutie alright. I think she looks like her dad! Her dad thinks she just looks like a baby- perhaps too soon to tell. We are looking forward to getting to know this little one and to introduce her to our families. In the mean time here's a cellphone shot a few hours after her birth. I'm still blown away that "they" come out with so many things in place- finger nails, nostrils, eye lashes... I'm sure to update the 'ol blog with more pictures of this little miss through out the week- probably modeling some fun knit wear! Stay tuned!

Sweater Weather: finding my next knitting Project

I love sweaters, I can not lie. There is something just so cozy about them. They are my go to item when thrift store shopping and in the past I have scored some gems! This Fall- with my maternity leave and lack of funds- I am searching for the perfect Cardigan knitting pattern! I have two huge skeins of white eco wool already in my knitting stash that I can work with. Although not my first color choice- it's the most economical.  I thought I would share a few cardigan inspirations I have found thus far.

Above: J-Crew has some stellar cardigans this season and their current 20% off sale is tempting!

Here's an inspiring one to add to my knitting inspiration board! Marled Lambswool

J-Crew Ribbed Shawl Collar opened sweater. This one is pretty much perfect for what I am looking for! An open cardigan, neutral, and classic- the kind of sweater you could get away with wearing everyday! (christmas present for me...? I like it in this color and the green btw.)

Urban Outfitters: Popcorn Sweater. Sort of like the first J-Crew sweater... now to find a knitting pattern like it...?

Play Ball!

Over the weekend my Antique Catcher's Glove was featured in this Baseball treasury on Etsy! Check it out HERE.

ahhhh fall in Maine!

Loving the fall weather and the BEAUTIFUL fall leaves- here in Maine. My nesting thing is really kicking in- making home made apple sauce, cleaning and cleaning. We are getting so excited for our baby's arrival!

ABOVE: the Portland Headlight yesterday just as storm clouds were rolling in. A little random jaunt to the classic Maine landmark, always a fun time.

A look out from the trail at Portland Headlight.

We need to come up with a few more fall things to do before the baby arrives... any thoughts!?

Links and Such

I realize these links are primarily for shopping... But they offer fun gift ideas and inspiration!

(above picture c/o the dailywh.at)

PoppyTalk: Fabulous looking Pumpkin cookie recipe- I will make these!

Puppy Video: making noises in his sleep... cute

MyRockingWardrobe: Japanese and Korean clothing and accessories for women, men and children. Love their paper products!

Pop&Lolli: Cute Fabric reusable wall decals!

Icelandic Market: Get your icelandic wear here.

The Wallpaper Collective: Inspires me to design wall paper, lovely contemporary designs.

Mini&Maximus: Cute "Don't Grow Up" t-shirts.

Beso: Designer goods marked down, sort of like bluefly but maybe more expensive...?

BodieandFou: A catch all of luxury clothing, gifts, and items for the home.

When the Clock Strikes Midnight!

... I will be setting my shop to "vacation" for Maternity leave!

So shop now with free shipping and great deals.

And thanks for supporting my knitting endeavors! 

"Obje" aka decorating with objects

Let me first say- this blog post is a shout out to my sister, an interior designer in NYC who enlightened me on the word "Obje"- aka decorating with objects. I've touched on this theme before, how one can decorate by creating little scenes and groupings of objects... and with each new apartment plus my nesting instinct to make areas more organized and minimal- an updated "Obje" post was born.  One element that all Interior Designers can agree upon is the need to surround yourself with pictures and objects that mean something to you... for me these are hand-me-down heirlooms, collected found objects from nature, etc...

What follows are pictures of my "Obje" in our living room. (Click on images to view them larger)

Above: our bookshelf with a crystal bowl- received as a wedding present- filled with Sea Shells collected during the winter at the shore where our family vacations (a great use for a fancy bowl that you might not feel comfortable using everyday). I paired it next to a brass Lobster my sister gave me and some go to books- a guide to Maine, etc.

The larger view of the top shelf.

Another little grouping. Here I paired together green pieces- our wedding photo, a green framed photo of my twin brother and I, a vase given to me by my grandmother... and the gold in the frame and around the lip of the vase speak to the metal lobster on the same shelf.

Our Mantel: A collection of rocks sprinkled throughout, a framed print of Florence from when I studied there- blocks off some of the mirror, which I like- as it allows the mantel to be more than just a mirror. My Mom had the idea to place one of my taxidermy birds on top of two books- to raise it above the dark wood- allowing it to be more visible and not get lost against its similar background of wood and glass. There is also a bowl of shells on the left- which I have sitting on top of some pink yarn- the yarn adds another texture, and helped me out since I didn't have enough shells to make them sit up so high and visible. and to the right- a large jar of collected shells, rocks and sea glass with two antlers...

Next up- this large white cabinet that belonged to my Aunt. It's now crammed with loads of coffee table books and you guessed it- more "obje"!

My mom had this great idea to store/display my fabric for various sewing projects! It adds a nice colorful element and a visual relief from all the books. Plus by storing materials like this- acts as a reminder to GET SEWING!

And what book shelf would be complete without a Bear skull from Alaska sitting on top of my art books!?

What are some of your favorite "Obje" around your place?

Closing Up Shop For Maternity Leave... sale & Free Shipping

On Wednesday I am closing up shop for Maternity Leave!

It's been a great run. Fun to knit and create new things and to meet other crafters through etsy, twitter and craft fairs!  As  a BIG thank you I am offering Free Shipping on my reduced items! Everything is such a deal, I pity the fool who doesn't take this opportunity. Shop for the Holidays today!

Urban Knitfits

Meeting Little Baby V

On Sunday morning- our friends had their baby- Mason!

We went over that night to bring them dinner and some treats.  I carved this pumpkin as a little stork-like seasonal announcement. I opted out of putting the baby's full name on it- as I thought it might look tragic as the pumpkin aged... How fun is it to be born in October!? Look at all the cool things you can do! I'm still pulling for our baby to come on Halloween, we'll see!

I also knit them a little 3 month old hat a while back. I'll admit I also knit a girlier version, but was confident in my hunch they were having a boy! We also set up a "food train" for them using google spreadsheets- where friends and family can sign up for a night to bring dinner to the new family. It's a great way to stay organized and to communicate to an extensive network, I recommend using the spreadsheet for any food train and such that might be in your future!

On an unrelated note- Chilling with Little Millie dog on Sunday afternoon... doesn't get much better than this!?  Sorry for no pictures of their baby, it was a nice little visit, quiet and peaceful... Plus I'll leave it up to the NEW parents to share the first pics of their SON! He's a cutie! Congratulations!

Bullying... an epidemic

In recent months, bullying, which has always been an issue for adolescents, has come to the forefront of our nation's attention with a number of teen suicides. In a time following the civil rights movement one would think bullying might not have the clout it once did, that as a society-adults and authority figures wouldn't stand for such ignorance and behavior. But with social media outlets provided by the internet like facebook, and reality tv's glorification of cattiness - it's not a wonder we have stepped backwards...(to name a few of the more superficial reasons). 

There was a time in my high school experience when I was picked on and harassed by my classmates and former friends after a break up. It didn't make sense and my freshmen year suddenly became a daily hell. I stopped eating consistently, lost a lot of weight and would cry before going to school and after. My home was my refuge. Luckily I had a great supportive family, who one day said enough was enough and got the school involved. Thus after 3 or more months of this daily torment, action was finally taken and the bullying quieted down until the end of my freshmen year. (at one point I literally had teachers telling me there was nothing they could do to prevent the harassment that would often interrupt our daily classes... so it took the headmaster- with my parent's encouraging, to put a stop to it) That summer I enrolled in a boarding school thousands of miles away where I finished my high school career.

I can't imagine what this time in my life would have been like had there been facebook- or any online venue for the harassment to follow me home and to become even more global or public... and in addition my crappy high school experience only lasted a few months, where as for these kids the harassment can span years. I also had the opportunity to "get the hell out of dodge" where many of these kids do not... My point is, I feel their pain. I've tasted only a sliver of what some teens endure today and I agree with Joel Burns- that schools need to be a safe place for children providing a forum where tolerance and acceptance can be taught.

Watch the above Video of Councilman Joel Burns to see what's fired me up! and check out this article from the Daily Beast elaborating on Joel's message and the recent media attention his video has received.

Gray, Grey, Grise, an etsy treasury

I made this gray themed treasury this morning. Check it out HERE.

Stripes and Stripes and Stripes

Tons of stripe Knit goods in the shop! On Sale and Free shipping.

Check them out HERE! 

Nesting: Rugs- a Before and After

As some of you may know by now- this summer and fall my blog has had a fairly consistent nesting theme and here is yet another to join the group. This time we tackled our floors- specifically our rugs! A little back story: we are renters and our apartment has lovely hardwood floors and we have a collection of area rugs that belonged to my grandparents. The problem is- they are hard to clean and do not provide the best playing on the floor with the baby- surface. Thus my folks bought us a new piece of carpet! 

ABOVE: is the before shot of our living room with all the rugs...

And here is the after shot! 

A large rug not only quiets a space, provides us with a clean and soft area for our baby to crawl on, but it also makes the room look bigger and yet cozier all at the same time! And carpets don't have to cost a fortune. We scoped out local carpet places- for their scraps and leftover remnants and were able to get an 8x12 with bound edges for $160. NOTE: vacuum your new carpet immediately after installing it and again a few days later. I was amazed at all the fuzz that filled up our dyson!

Spice it Up- An Etsy treasury

My Pomegranate cowl neck has been featured in this Etsy Treasury "Spice it Up"! It's so cute, should make the front page for sure ; )

SALE: Gimme a 10, gimme a 20, gimme a 30!

I'm having a FINAL sale in my knit shop, before I close it up for maternity leave next week!

Everything is $30, $20, $10 and under! + FREE SHIPPING, who could resist!? Shop for the Holidays today with these great deals- HERE.

DIY October

Just some fun links to inspire your weekend DIY Halloween projects!

Above- Real Simple: painted striped pumpkins.

Country Living: Spider garland.

Country Living: Painted spider pumpkins.

Hosting a haunted house/halloween party!? Don't skip the bathroom, it's all in the unexpected details. This Psycho Shower curtain is a fun idea- you can buy it HERE, or simply make your own. Just buy a cheap shower curtain, and have a friend lay down on it in a scary pose, trace them and cut!

Bloody Candles: Take regular white candles and melt red crayons in the flame and let the red wax drip down the sides.

And in case you don't have the time to make your own Halloween decorations- ETSY is always a great resource. Like these Halloween Coasters by OliveRoute, 6 for $5.

Hand felted Candy Corn by QueenHeronCreations, $5.

Goldenrod- wreath by KnockKnocking, $60.

Happy Decorating!

A Blog Shout out for Urban Knitfits

Audrey, over at Littleeyedesigns blog- included me in a recent ETSY maine Team  blog post! 

Thanks so much for the shout out about my maternity leave sale!

Check out my shop HERE.

Green Housekeeping Tip: Polishing Silver

I've mentioned "A Guide To Green Housekeeping" on my blog before, and recently I found yet another opportunity to seek its advice for a house cleaning need. Since I'm incredibly "nesty" at the moment- my eye is constantly looking for little things to fix up and clean- thus our dark and shabby napkin rings caught my eye! Since I don't have silver polish in the house, I decided to look up an alternative in this book. THE result was awesome, I felt like a little kid in science class- amazed at the chemical reaction that cleaned our napkin rings. Sorry there is not a before picture, but just imagine the most dark and tarnished silver!

Here's the recipe on how to polish your silver:

Soak your silver in a pot of boiling water with baking soda, salt, cream of tartar and a piece of aluminum foil. THAT's It! It won't take very long at all for your silver to emerge sparkling clean, less than a minute. Afterwards- I suggest rinsing your silver in cold water to remove any baking soda chalkiness, and then immediately dry it to avoid water spots.  NOTE- I did not have cream of tartar- and the results were still successful. However, you will need all the other ingredients, it does not work without baking soda.

Happy green housekeeping!

Etsy Favs for Fall

Here are some new and old favorites from etsy! Looks like I still can't get away from jewelry. Enjoy.

Above: Pentagon Necklace by ToTheMetal, $57.

Prospector Earrings, by jNicDesigns, $23.

60's Apricot wristlet Purse, by AdrianCompanyVintage, $28.99.

Cotton Farm, by mojoware $32.

Ascendant Earrings, by LauraLombardiJewlery, $64.