GOLDEN

 life at the moment. i have to remind myself to breath. sometimes so much is going on it's a challenge to know where to start, how to share. keep up my journal here. i may sound calm, but i am filled with exclamation points. oh dear here they come, those marks that illustrate everything these days, and a few photos too...

a baby swallow! i feel like this too little bird, sing your heart out!

my best friend went to greece and turkey, she and her husband had a brilliant time (we still need to get together, drink wine, see the photos!). they brought me many gifts, including this from istanbul. this hand stitched, cashmere shawl. exclamation point!!

it was my lucky day! here is a new perfect size cross body bag for my trip that i managed to get....

and some pouches from bookhou too, perfect for carrying watercolor pencils in my suitcase. the wool is going to be my travel knit (i think). reading 'how to catch a frog' by heather ross. lovely lovely book.

i grew a strawberry (s) and finally got to eat one before the raccoons did!!

stitching in progress for my travel journal (to shetland!!) ( nineteen more days!!!)

to celebrate summer solstice, i made a flower wreath...

for my head :)  i tried to have owen model it, but that was as likely to happen as if he were to make it. ;)

here come the exclamations. to celebrate the first little movements OF OUR NEW BABY!!! i've cast on a kicking bag. this is my girl on the left in her middle trimester and in the photo on the right, she's four years old. will it ever stop being a complete and total miracle, when your baby has a baby??!!!!!

and then, friends...remember this child of mine? my baby? hannah rose?

last week in kentucky. here, because they are so darling, is a reenactment. he proposed. she said yes. 

my baby is getting married. !!!!!!

~ before i end this post i wanted to say thank you so much for the kindness (as always) on my bressay dress. i am really thrilled with it, it's really so amazing to wear a dress you've knitted. if you've ever had a mind to make one i would encourage you to give this pattern a try. and the very last thing, i am completely honored and thrilled to have been featured on fringe association. thank you karen. whew. (!!!) :)

happy 4th.

xxx lori

the things they made

just over the hill and around the lake, in a sunny little valley near my home, was a small fiber festival. i went sunday morning and met talented spinners, dyers, felters and a brilliant sculptor. the yarn over truck was even there!
i was a good girl (on a budget) saving up for my summer trip or i would have brought home that sculpted fox oh! and the kiwi! everything sara created was exquisite. her fanciful imagination realized in the most incredible (cannot use enough superlatives) whimsical pieces. and then i saw the felted owls. oh goodness. these are the creation of borbala. bori teaches natural dying and felting, i signed up for her felted owl necklace class. :) sad to not bring one of these treasures home, but i didn't go away completely empty handed, i found these pretty speckly hanks of wool and silk. i think they kind of match the wild lupine i saw growing in meadows surrounding the festival.
you can find sara's sculpture's at her etsy shop ~ spun on cotton and borbala's felted goods at bori dolls
the wool is from shari (sorry to have forgotten your photo shari!) at morro fleece works in morro bay. lovely work ladies!


and along with lots of knitting lately...

i've been practicing sashiko. i recently found preprinted sashiko designs, you only have to begin stitching. the leaf pattern i am working on is supposed to be a pillow top. i think maybe it wants to be a project bag instead. :)  did you see the felt scissor case? that is the work of my sweet friend karen (she made the pin cushion too, a white owl, love) if you need a good pair of embroidery scissors (gingher) with a very lovely handmade case, karen has them in her etsy shop crows nest studios. 

and honestly, i don't understand how it happened. there is an extraordinary (embarrassing) amount of projects on the needles. a sample knit was just finished, it needs a teeny bit of seaming and off it goes (yay! whew) then there is the in progress dress, and shawl and another shawl. i happily joined in a new kal with lovely leigh, and even though she said it would be just fine to keep knitting whatever you are already working on, i was compelled to cast on the same project she was making, the beautiful shallows cowl. the start of which is shown dangling above. it is such a pretty thing. have a wonderful week ahead. xxx lori

i shock myself

 down a winding country road, past a shimmery silver lake, thirty minutes from my home, lived the mama of dada, american artist and studio potter, author of 'i shock myself' beatrice wood. we made a day of visiting ojai valley and the home and gallery of wood....

 lake casitas, ojai, california

 but first, a stop in meiners oaks, and a bookstore, 'bookends bookstore & other curiosities'...

  a beautiful former church

 we met the owner, sipped ginger ale, and perused the shelves

 there were charming surprises around every corner

and perfect cozy reading nooks

and outside, we found yarn bombing!

 hello handsome  :)


our next stop, was just a short drive outside of ojai, in the upper valley...

 welcome to beatrice wood center for the arts ~

 outside, workshops were in progress

  more of beatrice's art

 we were graciously welcomed into her studio, and given a tour

 the kilns! my friend karen, also a potter, was thrilled to see these!

  beatrice's tools, still in use...

 with great care

 and some of her glazes

 work of new students

a view of happy valley, from beatrice's home, she looked out on this landscape until she passed at the age of one hundred and five. it's difficult to write about a visit like this, about someone so legendary. feels incredibly special, every bit a privilege.

 back in ojai, after the excitement and awe of the studio visit we were hungry! time for lunch!

restaurant azu

 temperatures were in the high eighty's in the valley, it was hot, thirst quenching sangria was in order!

tapas too, yum!

  my bag again!

and here is where i shock myself...

i rode a camel! i think it may have been the midday sangria, or maybe it was the indescribable inspiration of beatrice, she was a ground breaker, a risk taker. but while we were having lunch, i saw the camels across the street (it was ojai day) and had to ride one. now i don't have to go to the sahara. hee hee.

our last stop was at infamous bart's books. this is one of my favorite places on earth. 

 Bart’s Books, at the corner of Matilija and Canada streets in Ojai, CA, is the home to the largest independently owned and operated outdoor bookstore in the U.S.A. 

each time i come here, i plan to take photos, but after arriving i just want to look at the books! it's a huge place, there are so many sections to get lost in. there is always a resident cat to pet and penny candy in old fashioned glass jars. and bookmarks (a favorite when my children were small). outside, there are more books on rustic wooden shelves. if you arrive after hours, you may take any that you like and throw your coins through the fence. the honor system!

at home, a little piece of beatrice wood is here now, smiling over my woolly knitting room. for a small donation at her studio we were able to bring a poster home.

when i dropped my friend karen off at her home at the end of the day, she gave me pottery she and her husband made! mama and papa bear bowls, with a place for chopsticks! LOVE!

and another yarn bowl. which i put to immediate use. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

thank you for coming along, it is always a pleasure!

xxxxxxxxxxxxx lori