Georgia Bean

29

2011-09-05T10:23:00.000-07:00

Couldn't have asked for a better weekend. Three days together with Luke and little A. Since Luke started his new job he has been working very intense hours so having a chance to kick back with him was wonderful.

Friday night we tried a burger place we'd never been to. Saturday we relaxed in pj's most of the day and spent the evening at a BBQ with friends and family. Sunday we headed out for little A's first hiking/beach adventure at the Indiana Dunes and finished the day at a u-pick farm. This afternoon another BBQ is slated to take place at our house with Luke's family. Should be good times.

In other news a little hat and booties are ready to make their way across town to beautiful new girl.

28

2011-08-31T08:25:00.000-07:00

So yes, I haven't written here in ten months. It's what a baby will do to you. If you have one you understand, if you don't I imagine you still get it.

Spent yesterday loving a post over at Karen Barbe and had to give her little tutorial a try. And remarkably little A has actually allowed me to do so. Normally he gets very nosy whenever I get out anything that I'd prefer he not play with.

Setting up the weave...

A little rough, but a first attempt. Hoping I'll get better...

My lovely former boss had a baby girl about a week ago. I wasn't quite prepared with a gift. A hat is now in the works. Forgot I had this cotton, so soft.

27

2010-10-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

I've made it to 34 weeks, and I can't believe I could get any bigger. Another sweater completed for our winter baby's entrance.

We have reached a major milestone in the last week, the kitchen has been completed. I missed having a place to cook, even make a cup of tea every single day. The relief of it being over is so dramatic. How I hope to never do it again! I plan on posting pics soon but my laptop died, and I lost the heart to take pictures along the way knowing I had lost every photo from the last 4 years. I have a new hard drive installed but everything from before is gone.

Note: Trying to find the soaker pattern again. It was bookmarked on my old hard drive.

26

2010-09-02T10:16:00.000-07:00

Six soakers down and a couple to go...cloth diapering here we come.

25

2010-08-30T20:17:00.000-07:00

Another little set for the baby boy. The sweater is my favorite baby pattern to knit, so simple and so cute. It is from Debbie Bliss' Baby Knits. I've made these for pretty much all the little ones in my life.

24

2010-08-15T14:12:00.000-07:00

The bounty of my small garden is a delight and curse at the same time. No where to cook with the kitchen completely demolished. Still I excitedly head out each morning to see what I'll find waiting for me, pattypan squash, tomatoes, bunches of basil, chard, kale, red peppers, and vines heavy with green beans. For a girl raised in red brick apartment in the city the joy of an outdoor space is most certainly not lost on me...

23

2010-08-14T14:18:00.000-07:00

In a year and four months a whole lotta business can go down. For instance one can sell a condo, spend much too long sleeping on the floor of a month to month apartment, buy a house, get pregnant, have their workplace destroyed in a fire, rip out an entire kitchen down to the studs, and still find time for all the other stuff like family, friends, and creating. Yes, I am pregnant in case you missed that in my long list. Our baby boy is due in November and I have to say it is the best having a baby of my own to knit and sew for.

Here are the first things I made for him...

He might be a boy, but this momma-to-be isn't going to be hindered in my efforts to dress him up in handmade goodies. (seems like so much cute fabric, yarn, patterns are so girlie)

It's good to blog about it all. Sometimes I just forget.

22

2009-05-05T21:21:00.001-07:00

Sometime a rainy day is all you need to find the energy to make a new dress. Unlike most of the world I have Mondays off from work. And since Luke is gone all day I have plenty of time to sew, knit, and generally cover every surface in our house without being too much of a nuisance. Last Monday I made myself a new dress. The color is called pebble. I really like that, and just my luck it was on sale...pebble linen.

Dress

Dress

21

2009-03-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I had some time for a little hand sewing. I started on a hexagon patterned quilted block. I think it is to become a hot pot holder since I don't usually have the endurance to take hand sewing much farther.
With Easter only a couple weeks away I have to get gifts in order for the nieces and nephews. In the past I've knit bunnies, but decided to do something different this year. It is a freebie embroidery pattern from Wee Wonderfuls. One down and few to go...

20

2009-03-27T23:03:00.000-07:00

Broadway Rose...what a fantastic name for these dishes. Yet another gift from my lovely mama. She knows so well what I love.

19

2009-03-05T20:41:00.000-08:00

Chicago finally offered its citizens a day of respite from the freezing cold. Luke and I took advantage of the warm, windy day by enjoying a long walk along the river park with Clemmie, our little beagle. Clemmie was very excited to meet another beagle along the way, a sweet little puppy only seven months old.

I also bought some daffodils to brighten the house. I love how cheap and easy they are to find this time of year.

18

2009-03-02T11:10:00.000-08:00

Throw pillows never come easy to me. It isn't the construction I find hard, but just making something that I actually want sitting in my house a month later. So here is yet another attempt. I'm feeling a bit more pleased than I normally do at the end of pillow project, but only time will tell. Creating all the little tucks by hand was tedious, but enjoyable too.
A couple weeks ago my mom and I spent the day at a few of our favorite Chicago thrift stores. As I always tend to do, I loaded up on a pile of lots of little mismatched dishes. A creamer dish, lots of little plates and saucers, set of gold-plated port glasses, and a mound of cereal bowls (we never seem to have enough).
To this day it still boggles me that people don't appreciate the thrilling hunt of thrift stores. To dig through a mound of junkie old Christmas platters and discover a nineteenth century ironstone serving dish edged in pink at the bottom. How could it get any better than that?

17

2009-01-26T21:02:00.000-08:00

Luke and I are leaving the icy weather of Chicago for a few days of warm Caribbean air with friends and family. But since there are still a couple more days to go until I step outside without my down winter coat; I finished up a little neck kerchief. I used Rowan felted tweed and a pattern from the January issue of Martha Stewart Living.
I also gifted these oven hot pads to my boss for her birthday. She has mentioned her interest in modern quilting, and since I didn't have energy to make her an entire quilt these seemed like a happy medium.

16

2009-01-08T17:15:00.000-08:00

Sometimes a free afternoon should require no real thinking or pressure to be overly creative, and in comes paint-by-number. Last summer my mother mailed me this kit from Posh Chicago. The designs have a fantastic vintage vibe.

15

2009-01-05T13:20:00.000-08:00

The holidays were full of all the wonderful holiday things you'd expect, cookies, parties, gifts, waking up at ungodly late hours, ham, rummikub & yahtzee, good wine, lots of reading, and most importantly family.

Besides an annual sleepover with our nephew and niece, we also tagged along on a couple delightful and festive adventures with them...

Zoo Lights at Lincoln Park Zoo (yes, quite cold out as their faces tell all)

& Ice Skating in Millennium Park

And on other fronts I did indeed finish the mittens for my niece and forged right ahead into a pair of cozy alpaca socks for me (so selfish).

14

2008-12-21T14:39:00.000-08:00

Milk glass has evolved into a very distinct part of my decorating style. Maybe five or six years ago I came upon an abandoned vase that made its way home with me, and now I have too many pieces to be bothered to count them. I know many think granny or outdated, I see timeless white translucent beauty. My mother recently added to my collection with this table setting for two. Could it be more perfect? Look at the lines, the shape of the cup handles...
And it had to just get better with the sugar and cream dishes. Thanks Momma...
In crafting new I continue to be a bad auntie as I have yet to finish these mittens for my little red-headed niece. She received the hat quite awhile, but that final thumb keeps evading me. I must finish these tonight...thumbs -crossed.

13

2008-11-30T11:01:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was a smashing success. Best turkey we've made yet. We dry-brined it for 2 days, and basted it every 30 minutes in a wine and butter mixture. The sides turned out great and there was an immense amount of food even without the brioche rolls I got too tired to make. And with all the food, family, friends, and games I managed to forget to pick-up my camera for even one photo.

Luke's parents stayed with us for the first half of their trip to the States and now are on to his brother and sister-in-law's. We had a blast with them, and I think they enjoyed their first American Thanksgiving.

Last night I started on our Christmas cards, or rather postcards. Yes, I've immortalized our doggy Clementine in a block print. I'm a nerd, I know, you don't have to say it. She's just so cute. They are simple, but different. I'm pretty happy with the results, but they may need a splash of glitter before they leave our domain.

12

2008-11-11T20:41:00.000-08:00

Continuing in my belated fall fever, these leaves will serve as napkin rings for Thanksgiving this year.
I've also been obsessed with creating drawn-thread cloths. Besides a table runner I completed these dishcloths over the last week. There is something so entertaining in sitting there picking away at threads with a happy result instead of an unraveled mess. I keep getting a bit bolder with each in how many threads I pull out and replace. You really must try this. Any loosely woven fabric such as a linen or cotton work well.

11

2008-11-03T18:51:00.000-08:00

I was at the fabric store yesterday looking at buttons, and well, they sure don't make 'em like they used to. I picked up these vintage buttons a while back at an antique store. The packaging just makes you want to buy them...

10

2008-11-02T15:56:00.000-08:00

For the last two years Thanksgiving has taken place at our home. Each year the headcount changes a bit depending on who is around, but this year will be a biggie with 12 adults and 2 kiddies. Luke's parents will be flying in, which is lovely considering the Thanksgiving season passed by in October for Canadians. I am starting to fill our place with Autumn/Thanksgiving themed crafts...
These bowls, a pattern from the last issue of MSL, were simple to make and turned out wonderful. I used linen and wool felt and stitched them by hand despite directions to uses a zigzag stitch on a machine.

They are perfect for holding thread.And the flowers I made last weekend.

9

2008-10-28T18:31:00.000-07:00

A simple scarf to keep my neck warm and my hands busy last week.

Besides a little knitting and a little sewing, there has been a little cooking, well actually a lot of cooking. I cooked dinner for 13 people last night and capped it all off with two tarts...pastry cream with raspberries and caramel apple rosettes.

They didn't last long.

8

2008-10-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

There is Mexican family who sets up a produce stand a block from our place everyday. Lately Luke & I have become regulars. In love with their green tomatoes, gorgeous pumpkins, tart apples, concord grapes, and especially their uncommon cockscomb(celosia) we can't stay away for long.
My fingers have also been reminded of my love for knitting, and I'm picking up the needles nightly.

7

2008-10-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

Chicago has been graced with a few days of Indian Summer, and though we are basking in the last few warm days of the year I have not forgotten what is to come. As mentioned before, new quilts are in the works. One down, one to go...

6

2008-10-04T14:04:00.000-07:00

Luke & I officially put our condo on the market this week. It is a move we both knew was coming, and yet I feel a twinge of sadness in doing so. With the economy the way it is it may take ages to sell, but we're okay with that. We both just understand that we need a house and a yard and space for our little family to be what it should...

Here are couple pictures of what
we are saying good-bye to.

dining/living room
kitchenmaster bedroombedroom/crafty cityAnd finally a favorite corner of our home:

Wish us luck...

5

2008-09-22T16:18:00.000-07:00

Almost two years ago Luke's brother lost his visa to be in the US, and had to return home to Canada. Unfortunately his wife is American, and they have had one hellish time trying to bring him back to the States. Two years has brought endless paperwork, denials, appeals, and one little bundle of joy. We have only met their lovely boy one time back in February, and are thrilled that they have finally been approved and we'll see him all the time. I can't wait to see them next weekend.

Uncle Luke holding the first baby on his side of the family.

Sleepy boy all toasty in the sweater I made.

4

2008-09-18T06:11:00.000-07:00

Chicago is already feeling the chilly pangs of a winter to come, and I am arming our house against it with a quilt or two in the works...One square down, many to go.

3

2008-09-15T16:44:00.000-07:00

Overnights with the niece or nephew typically result in one little munchkin ending up in bed with us. For someone so small it is remarkable how much space she manages to hog, and in turn send me out of bed as soon as the sun comes up...

The morning was primarily spent on the back porch sipping juice and talking to Clementine, our dog.
It was indeed one fine weekend.

2

2008-08-11T20:48:00.001-07:00

My friend Anya & I have been working on some projects together. The latest of which will be a series of small purses. I had been wanting to do some wide cross stitch on linen for a while & these purses have provided the perfect opportunity.

I wasn't so happy with how the first one came out, but feel much better about the mustard colored flowers. Anya & I haven't met in a couple weeks, so I am excited to show her what I've come up with.

1

2008-08-11T17:17:00.000-07:00

After years at my old blog, On My Mind, it's time to move onto something new. I need a place to talk about more than just knitting & sewing, a place where I can share my family, dream up new projects, ogle over successful recipes, or blather on about home renovations.

Speaking of successful recipes, a few weeks back I attempted to make brioche. It was something I had always wanted to try & thanks to Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris it turned out perfectly. I have since repeated the recipe almost weekly resulting multiple batches of french toast and lots of empty jam jars.

With work buzzing (wedding season is well under way) I've mostly been too tired to craft, but I did undertake the transformation of our second bedroom, aka junk pile, into a real craft space. I'm very happy with the results. Honestly who wouldn't be with a look at the before state.