all fresh and clean

Well, our painting and redecorating is all complete.  We're settled back in and are totally enjoying our new surroundings.  Here are the before and afters....

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I changed out the curtains for wide blinds and we got a new living room seating set.  Everything else is just about the same...I haven't put everything up on the walls that I had up before.  I'm giving myself time to enjoy the clean look of the walls.  It had been 13 years since I originally painted the house with the linen walls and the pelham gray (really a green) trim.  I'm loving the new updated look.   It was a great end of the summer project.  Now we're back to school and ready for fall....is it time to put out the pumpkins yet? 

gaia shoulder hug

This shawl was the perfect summer knitting.  It was portable and required very little brain power on my part.  (Which is good for when you drop off to sleep while knitting poolside.)  It was designed with Noro sock yarn in mind and as the yarn color changes, you switch from stockinette to reverse stockinette with an eyelet transition row.

The entire shawl ends up being reversible which is fabulous.  I loved the name of it ~ Gaia Shoulder Hug.  The thought of being able to give it as a hug sold me right away.  (although it's a free pattern)

 Maggie modeled it and I noticed a glimmer in her eye...she didn't want to give it back.  It's a good thing for me that I have another skein of yarn ready to go! 

Here's the knitty gritty:

Pattern: Gaia Shoulder Hug (ravelry link) by Anne Carroll Gilmour

Needles: size 6 (I went up a size from the pattern...only because I didn't have a 5!)

Yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock #221. I used 1 skein...and only had about 12 inches left!  I cut it a little close.  I wanted to get one more color transition completed.  whew!

(thanks to Maggie for modeling for me!)

summer savors, new starts

Lingering over early morning summer knitting....

and enjoying the fleeting views of summer. 

My savoring of summer seems to have been as short as the last week itself...I found myself so busy enjoying that I didn't do very well at sharing. (sorry!)  And then, all of a sudden I find myself at the end and the beginning....school starts tomorrow.  Have a wonderful end to your summer and a great beginning to the beauty that the next season brings.  (I'll be back with knitting soon!)

summer savor 1

Summertime finds me outside in the mornings drinking my coffee and having my quiet time. I love these moments. Molly often joins me...I think she was still waking up...that's quite a big yawn.

this is part of my summer savor series...feel free to join me as I relish the last few days of summer.

the last stretch

We're on our last official stretch of summer.  School starts in about a week and the machine of routine will get back into gear.  Some of us are excited for school to start.  Some of us are not quite there yet.  Hopefully in another 13 days we'll all be ready.  I've been getting us ready and mapping out our schedules and curriculum.  The bookshelves are loaded up and ready to go. 

It's going to be a great school year...it's going to be a great school year, it's going to be a great school year....(can you tell who's not quite ready yet?)

In other news, our painting project is well underway.  My honey, who is ever thoughtful and has my best interest at heart, hired a painter to come in and do the painting.  He didn't want me wiped out and tired going into the start of the school year.  Isn't he great?   So, while they're painting...I'm blogging.  Pretty good deal, huh?  Here's the color I chose...it's called Desert Tumbleweed by Sherwin Williams.  I'm really loving it.  The trim is Pacer White also by Sherwin Williams.  I'll show more pictures later when the drop cloths are all folded up and the rubble has cleared. 

In the meantime, I thought I'd wrap up summer by squeezing every last drop of goodness out of the season.  I'll post a photo each day (or so) with something I'm savoring as summer winds up.  Feel free to join me as I savor summer. 

an update and my denial

Thanks for all the sweet comments on my newly completed Vine Bolero....and thanks for the honesty.  Seriously, I do not want to look granny-ish in any way...I put the broach away and I will pull it out when I hit my 90th birthday.  Whew!  That was a close one.  I also changed out the buttons. The others were a bit too small and they kept coming un-done.  I like the new ones much better. 

We're knee deep in the middle of upheaval and change around here as I gear up to repaint a large portion of our house. (yes, school is a mere 3 weeks away and yes, I did a similar stunt last year and yes, I am obviously dense)  On Monday, I pulled the wallpaper down in the entry and hallway in a fit of sadness.  Kristyn and her family had been here visiting for a week and after their return home, I just couldn't handle their absence...so I did what anybody else would have done....I flung myself full force into a major redecorating project. 

Denial, it's working great.  Although it doesn't wipe out the fact that we do miss them terribly.We had such a wonderful time visiting and catching up.  It's always a great time when our two families get together.  There's never a dull moment! 

...but had I been thinking properly, I could have gotten some more mileage out of their visit if I had I given everyone paint brushes when they arrived. 

I'll keep you posted on my project....today I'm choosing colors!