Socks for Georgia Rose

I found this sock pattern on Interweave's website. It's called Leapfrog and was designed by Debbie O'Neill. I made them with Malabrigo superwash merino wool in "Light of Love." Though they are made on teeny tiny needles (size 0), the pattern was pretty easy.

Annual trip to Maine

This year we decided to go further north and ended up in Belfast on Lake Passagassawakeag. The distinctive call of the loons is heard mainly at night. Falling asleep to the sound of the loons is the best.

 

Swimming in the lake was great—the perfect temperature.

A good friend from Maine suggested we go to Chase's Daily in downtown Belfast. It's part farm stand...

...part groovy vegetarian restaurant...

...part all-day cafe.

An outdoor art exhibit, “Please, Be Seated!” was another Belfast highlight. Seating sculptures sprinkled the sidewalks and parks of the city. Part of the Eco-Motion Street Sculpture Project, the exhibit is now in its third year (www.ourtownbelfast.org).

One day we drove through Blue Hills to reach Brooklin, Maine. The nautical and artsy feel of the very small coastal town (population under 1,000) was apparent on our drive into the tiny village.

You can spot the ocean in almost any direction and there are several shipyards decorated with beautiful wooden boats in their harbors. Known as the capital of wooden boatbuilding in Maine, Brooklin is also the home of E.B. White.

In Rockport, we went to the CMCA (Center for Maine Contemporary Art) to see art by Katherine Bradford (the second painting below wasn't at the CMCA but it's at the Edward Thorp Gallery in Portland. It's called Red Cape).

The fried haddock at Graffam's shack around the corner from the museum was delicious.

I found Madder Root's hand-made, Maine-made produce bags in Rockland. Their products were included in Down East's magazine Best of Maine 2012.

Mabel says goodbye to the lake...

...and on our way home we stopped at Chase's Daily to grab some breakfast to go.

More socks

Just like the tennis socks I wore when I was little, I found the pattern on Purl Soho's Purl Bee blog They are very easy to make because the directions are so good. I loved knitting with the yarn suggested—
Anzula's Squishy merino yarn.

New art

I've been working on a new book idea...about dogs. 

Beautiful Bulldog

Two-year old Tyson was crowned the winner of the 2012 "Beautiful Bulldog" pageant in Des Moines, Iowa earlier this week. Read more about it in the news!

Autumn Berries

I just finished a new pair of socks. The pattern, "Autumn Berries," came from Koigu's last magazine (Issue 2, 2011). I made the socks with Koigu KPPPM. The yarn is one of my favorites—it comes in unusual colorways and is so easy to knit with on tiny needles.


It took me awhile to get the hang of the berry stitch.

A special event

Today my good friend Heather Lang had her first book signing, of her first published book, Queen of the Track,at the Concord Bookstore, in Concord, MA. It's a biography about Alice Coachman, the first African American woman to win Olympic gold in field and track. The book is beautifully illustrated by Floyd Cooper. Be sure to take a look at this terrific new picture book biography.

Light box? or Doggy bed?

Wilbur has found a new place to take a nap in my studio. He's too lumpy to transfer onto paper, otherwise I would try.

Paint pail mittens

I found this pattern on the Purl Soho website. The main color, Swans Island merino wool, was great to knit with and it is super soft. The dipped tip is Madeline Tosh merino DK. It comes in great colors.

More cupcakes...

Red velvet for Valentine's Day. I made them for my knitting/crochet group. the recipe came from the latest Barefoot Contessa's cookbook, How Easy is That? If you like red velvet, you'll like these—they're delicious.

Year of the Dragon

My daughter, Grace, and I made these cupcakes to raise money for China Care, a non-profit that supports medically disabled orphaned children in China. Every year, the mandarin department has a Chinese New Year celebration at her school. The China Care club at school is hoping to raise enough money to fund a cleft palette surgery for a particular child. The first cupcake sale raised $250.

Wilbur turns 1