This time of year, it’s so easy to come up with quick and delicious baked desserts . . . we hosted two big pool parties this weekend, and that was enough of an excuse for me to bake. I used raspberries, blackberries, and marionberries from our garden and local peaches. So yummy!
Blackberry Peach Sour Cream Crumb Cake
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The perfect summer-weight casual top!
Pattern: Clarke Pullover by Jane Richmond
Yarn: Berroco Indigo (recycled denim/cotton) – 4 skeins (color Denim)
Needles: US 5s or 6s (oops – forgot to write this down!)
Size: 36″ (my gauge was a little larger than that called for in the pattern, so this is probably a final size of more like 37-38″, for about 1-2″ of positive ease)
Mods: Shortened the sleeve length – otherwise, knit to the pattern
I think that the coast of Maine is just about the most perfect place to spend the summer . . . I even love the fog that rolls in over the ocean most mornings 
A sunny afternoon in Belfast, where the Passagassawakeag River (no, I did not make that up!) meets Belfast Bay:
Kayaking on a small pond in the evening light:
Dice Head Lighthouse in Castine:
Foggy morning views at Fort Point State Park:
Grindle Point Lighthouse on Islesboro:
A foggy afternoon in Camden Harbor:
After an epic evening thunder and lightening storm, the next morning all of the fog was washed away and the Camden hills looked beautiful in the sunrise:
Curtis Island, in the mouth of Camden Harbor:
Curtis Island lighthouse at sunrise:
One of my favorite treats, available only in Maine!
Footbridge in Belfast during a foggy early morning run:
Foggy early morning kayak on the pond:
Afternoon sail on the Sloop Anjaca out of Camden:
Views during an early morning run in Camden:
We bought so many bing cherries this week that there were leftovers – instead of letting them go bad, I pitted and sliced about a half-flat of them and made Healthy Cherry Oatmeal Muffins. I don’t know how healthy they are, but the only sugar is 3/4 cup brown sugar, and the liquid is provided by 1/4 cup canola oil, buttermilk, and an egg. In any case, they’re delicious! With only 1 cup of roughly chopped cherries, you get muffins chock-full of fruit, so I had lots leftover. I put them into freezer bags so I can make these later this fall and into the winter.
My family just returned from a quick summer trip to southeast Alaska – just a few days up and back. While I have to admit that I wasn’t thrilled with Wrangell, the town we stayed in, we did go on two great excursions: to see the LeConte glacier, and to the Anan Bear Observatory. It felt very big, and beautiful, and there were amazingly few people around, even during prime tourist season. I’m sure it helped that we avoided Ketchikan and anywhere else where cruise ships come into port . . .
In some ways, it felt like we didn’t see much wildlife – I had been hoping for moose, sea otters, and humpback whales, but the passages we traveled in were too shallow (for the whales, that is), and this part of the country is so big, it’s hard to predict where wildlife might be found at any given moment in time. We did see salmon headed upstream to spawn and the bears that were eating them at the Observatory, as well as so many bald eagles that I lost count, and there were multitudes of harbor seals out on the ice floes at the glacier.
A few months ago, I learned about this amazing project by a collective of farmers, mills, and wool/textile producers to create “a regionally grown and woven textile that was tied directly to reversing the effects of climate change by building soil health.” The organization, headquartered in California, is titled Fibershed, with the tagline “local fiber, local dye, local labor.” Their Community Supported Cloth program is intended to create a “regional and regenerative textile economic model that supports the ranchers and artisans and provides the people of our community supply-chain transparency.”
Fibershed focuses on the entire production chain, from healthy soil and carbon offsets at the sheep ranches, to the environmental impacts of scouring and spinning, to the details of textile design and weaving. I think of it as a CSA for environmentally responsible woven cloth, and I jumped at the chance to pre-order some yardage.
I purchased four yards, which was more than enough for my first sewing project – I have plenty left over for either another pair of pants or a skirt. I wanted a very simple pants pattern, so I chose Colette Clover pants. I can’t believe how well they turned out! The fit was perfect the first time around – I didn’t even have to go back and adjust the seams. I was a little nervous about the waistband and invisible zipper, but it was really quite easy. I sewed Version 1 in Size 12 (which seemed really big to me, since I usually wear a size 8 pants, but the measurements for size 12 matched mine, so I went with it – and was glad I did! I figure you can always take in your seams and make your apparel a little smaller, but it’s hard to go the other direction and make it bigger
I left off the pockets – frankly, I didn’t really see the point of tiny little front pockets, and I felt like they kind of messed up the clean line of the pants. I’m SO HAPPY with how they fit! The only downside is that I had hoped to wear them as spring/summer pants, but they are definitely woven wool, and as such, are a little heavier than I had anticipated. No matter – they’ll be perfect for cool summer nights and autumn!
Many people who are purchasing Community Supported Cloth are dyeing it – which I think would turn out beautifully, given the texture of the cloth. However, for at least this first project, I really loved the natural color of the woven wool; I think it’s a perfect neutral that will go with just about anything. I love how these came out so much that I was planning on a skirt, but I’m now considering dyeing the rest of the fabric and sewing up another pair of pants – maybe to complement the color of one of my upcoming fall sweater designs
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I love how these bags turned out!! I’m really addicted to using leather and canvas as materials for all kinds of bags – it just makes them feel so much sturdier and more useful. I’ve been saving these fabrics for a long time, waiting for the perfect project . . .
Pattern: Wool + Wax Tote by Noodlehead
Fabric: Unknown Kokka cats print in canvas for outer bag, and stash fabric (I think Essex Yarn Dyed?) for lining.
Leather: Tennessee Whiskey Oil Tan Pre-Cut (24″x24″) for the bag bottoms, and Genuine Leather Oil Tan Purse Straps in Tennessee Whiskey (26″) for the straps, both purchased from Springfield Leather.
Other supplies: Woven fusible interfacing, 1/2″ nickel plated magnetic snap, and rivets
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Such a lovely shawl pattern!
Pattern: Go Tell The Bees by Michele Lee Bernstein (pdxknitterati)
Yarn: One skein (approx. 400 yds) Llady Llama Fiber Co. Lleap yarn in color “Sprout” – handprinted gradient sock yarn (80% merino / 20% nylon)
Size: Shawlette
Needles: US 6s (for cast-on) and US 4s
I ran out of yarn right before starting the final section, so I finished with Koivu KPM (color 0000) – virtually indistinguishable from the white end of the Llady Llama yarn
When my oldest daughter graduated from 8th grade and left our little K-8 country school to attend high school downtown, I sewed her a quilt made from the t-shirts she’d acquired each year of school and at zoo camp. I wanted to celebrate my middle daughter’s 8th grade graduation with her own quilt, but I didn’t want to duplicate her older sister’s. Instead, in a nod to my middle daughter’s obsession with cats, I used a sampling of all of the cat fabrics that she and I have collected over the years.
You know when you buy a fabric because it’s just too awesome to pass up, but you have no idea what you’re going to do with it? And over time, your collection of these fabrics grows and grows? Well, that’s what Bella and I had going with cat fabrics. This way, she can enjoy them all in one place!
I grouped all of the black and white fabrics together on one side for a monochromatic effect, and all of the bright colors on the other side – I kind of like how the two sides contrast each other. I wanted the quilt to feel especially cozy, so for the sashing, I used Michael Miller Organic Cotton Sherpa.
In order to keep the focus on the fabric, I kept the piecing as simple as possible – just a single large square for each of the fabrics (I think they’re approx. 13″ square). When it was completed, I didn’t like how the sherpa looked when I tried to machine quilt it, so instead, I hand tied embroidery threads at regular intervals throughout the quilt.
I sewed the quilt as square lap quilt size, instead of a long, narrow bed covering because I liked how the size and shape of the overall quilt echoed the size and shape of the individual quilt blocks. I love how a quilt can pull together such an eclectic group of fabrics and somehow unify them!
I picked up this yarn when I was visiting Nashville for By Hand Serial Lookbook No. 3 – perfect Plucky pinks! I used them for a second version of my Bantam Hoodie, this time with a few stripes thrown in.
Pattern: Bantam Hoodie by me!
Yarn: The Plucky Knitter Lodge Worsted (60% merino / 20% cotton / 10% silk / 10% flax) – 4 skeins of MC Baby Boom (238 yds/ea) and 2 skeins CC Pink Pony (which actually turned out to be the exact same color as my skein of Petticoat in Lodge Fingering).
Needles: US 6s (went down one size to get gauge) and US 5s (ribbing)
Size: 37″
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I can already tell I’m going to get a lot of wear out of this tank top this summer! I absolutely love the color – the perfect shade of blue, in my opinion. The pattern is Athens, by Shellie Anderson for Shibui Knits. However, I used different yarns, which changed the gauge so much that I had to rewrite the entire pattern.
Yarn: Shibui Knits Lunar (60% extra fine merino / 40% mulberry silk) – 2 skeins (401 yds/ea) in color Blueprint
Shibui Knits Reed (100% linen) – 3 skeins (246 yds/ea) in color Blueprint
Needles: US 9s and US 7s (for the seed stitch border)
Size: M (to fit 36.5″ bust – finished dimension 39″ bust)
Mods:
C/O 100 sts.
Work Rows 1 & 2 to 4.5” (instead of 5.5”)
Dec. a total of 5 times, every 12 rows
Work body to 15.5” (instead of 17.5”)
Armhole shaping: BO 6 sts on the first 2 rows (instead of 8); BO 2 sts at beg of next 2 rows; BO 1 st at beg of every row until you have 66 sts.
Work to length as specified in pattern.
Left back:
Row 0 (RS): BO center 22 sts, leaving 22 sts rem on each shoulder
Row 1 (WS): Purl
Row 2: BO 5 sts, work to end
Row 3: Purl
Row 4: (first row of shoulder shaping) BO 3 sts, work to last 2 sts, turn
Row 5: Sl-GSR, purl to end
Row 6: BO 2 sts, work to 3 sts before previous turning point, turn
Row 7: Sl-GSR, purl to end
Row 8: BO 1 st, work to 3 sts before previous turning point, turn
Row 9: Sl-GSR, purl to end
Row 10: Knit to end. 11 sts rem.
Change as needed to comply with Right Back and Right/Left Front directions.
Also, after the top was seamed together, I used US 9s and picked up 2 out of every 3 sts around neck opening, then bound off on the next row. I did the same for the armholes, as well. I thought this gave it a nicer, more finished edging.
At this gauge, and with no sleeves to knit, the tank top flew off my needles – which might even convince me to knit a second one in a different color
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This one took a while, but I’m happy with the results and I like how it’s different than most of my other cardigans. It should be perfect to wear in spring/summer – my next task is to sew a pencil skirt to wear with it. I like the color better than in the pictures – it’s a really difficult color to photograph!
Pattern: Lake Effect
Yarn: Plucky Lodge Fingering (60% merino / 20% cotton / 10% silk / 10% flax) – 3 skeins (430 yds/ea) in color Petticoat
Needles: US 4s and US 2s (for ribbing)
Size: 38 1/2″
Mods: I stopped the sleeve decreases at 60 sts – I think if I’d gone down to the 48 sts called for in the pattern, I would have barely been able to get my arms through!
I liked the lace pattern used for the sweater, and it kept the knitting interesting, although I would add that you have to really be able to read your stitches and understand how the lace pattern works, because as you do the decreases throughout the pattern, it messes up your count and you have to adapt to keep the lace pattern consistent. I found this particularly hard when doing the short rows for the sleeve caps.
I love how the color takes on this yarn base, and how it feels – light and not too soft or wooly, it’s the perfect spring/summer yarn.
The perfect lightweight spring pullover – such a cool stitch texture, and I love these two yarns double-stranded together
Pattern: Getty (ShibuiKnits SS17) by Shellie Anderson
Yarn: Shibui Knits Twig (46% linen / 42% recycled silk / 12% wool) – 4 skeins (190 yds/ea) in Ivory, and Shibui Knits Cima (70% superbaby alpaca / 30% fine merino) – 3 skeins (328 yds/ea) in Ivory
Needles: US 8s and US 7s
Size: Small (to fit bust 34.5″, finished dimensions 38.5″) – I couldn’t quite get gauge, even after going down a needle size, so I went down one sweater size. The result = perfect fit!
Notes: Yarn is knit double-stranded throughout.
Mods: There was no finishing for the neckline, and I thought it looked a little odd, especially where the cast-off stitches showed, so I picked up stitches around and then immediately bound off, which gave it just a little more of a finished edge.
It has been one of the wettest winters and springs on record here in Oregon, and spring is very slow to arrive. I’m told that the plants are all close to a month behind their regular schedule. So, when we have a day when the sun peeks out and the flowers start to bloom, I grab my camera and run outside!
The cold made my anemones really stunted, but I managed to scavenge just a few beautiful blooms.
The rhododendron bloom season is just beginning – very late, it’s usually in full swing by mid-April. This is always one of the first bushes on my property to bloom.
I grow a few bleeding hearts, in both white and pink, the in shady recesses of my front porch – I love the old-fashioned look and feel of this plant.
Dogwoods are notoriously finicky in our climate, and mine never lives up to its full potential, but even a few faded flowers are glorious. I love how the native azalea (below) is color coordinated with its neighboring dogwood tree.
The lilac blooms are also few and far between this spring, but even a few branches make the entire house smell so wonderful!
This is the last of my flowering cherry trees to bloom – I have close to 50 trees of differing varieties on the property, which gives me close to an entire month of bloom time
Creeping phlox creates a glorious carpet of color.
The native azaleas bloom in an amazing array of oranges, reds, yellow,s and golds, and they smell so sweet, and so unlike any other flower in my garden.
Pin ItI traveled through Seattle this weekend on my way to Bainbridge Island for the Knitting with Company retreat at Islandwood. As always, the Puget Sound scenery was stunning!
The view from my room at Inn at the Market – a perfect vantage point to watch the ferries go by Park Place Market, the Seattle Aquarium, and the waterfront ferris wheel.
My favorite boutique hotel, right in the heart of downtown Seattle – and they leave Seattle Chocolates on your pillow!
Tulip season in the Skagit Valley was in full swing, and Pike Place Market was full of them.
Fresh fish at Pike Place Market . . . and fresh squid?!
Dinner at Etta’s Seafood was delicious, particularly the sour cherry and almond crisp with cheesecake ice cream.
The rain held off until nighttime, when it was lovely to watch it from my hotel window.
In the morning, I took the ferry to Bainbridge Island – 35 minutes of pure bliss on the water
The views from the south end of Bainbridge are absolutely incredible – one morning at sunrise, Mt. Rainier was big as life and there was a steady stream of sea lions porpoising by (you can see one in this photo – the dark squiggly line in the foreground).
Sunrise during my morning run through Ft. Ward state park and the south beach of Bainbridge.
Local wildlife – the indigenous banana slug, Islandwood’s official mascot.
During my run the next morning, a bald eagle flew RIGHT OVER my head and landed in the tree right in front of me – he (or she?) was huge, and even 50-75 feet up, could be seen clear as day.
The next morning, the Olympics made a stunning appearance, as viewed from the beach on the southern end of Bainbridge.
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Pattern: Shibui Knits Siena Cardigan by Shellie Anderson
Yarn: Shibui Knits Reed (100% linen) – 4 skeins (246 yds/ea) in color Imperial, and Shibui Knits Lunar (60% extra fine merine / 40% mulberry silk) – 3 skeins (401 yds/ea) in color Imperial
Size: Medium (to fit bust 36.5″ – finished bust circumference is 44″ and finished back length to shoulder is 25.5″)
Needles: US 9s and US 7s
I loved this project – relatively quick, ingenious construction, a perfect combination of yarns with silk for softness, sheen, and drape, and linen for structure. It’s a little oversize, but that’s the way it fits best, and it’s the perfect weight for spring and summer. I wish I had time (and patience) to knit more in other colors, there are so many beautiful Shibui Knit colors that would be perfect for this cardigan!
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Pattern: Machiasport Cardigan by Beatrice Perron Dahlen in her book “Maine Knits.”
Yarn: Canon Hand Dyes George Merino DK in color Lady Sybil Crawley – 5 skeins (250 yds/ea)
Needles: US 4s and 3s (for ribbing)
Size: 39.75″
There is a lovely story behind this yarn. Some time ago, I knit a cardigan out of Plucky yarn in Churchmouse-themed colors. It was very limited edition yarn, extremely difficult to get, and I loved it, but I didn’t like how the cardigan fit on me. I tried to wear it a few times, but I just wasn’t happy with the style on my frame, so I took it (along with at least a dozen other sweaters) to my daughters’ school and asked all of the teachers to look through the sweaters, pick out their favorite and give them good homes, and donate whatever was left.
This cardigan must have ultimately been donated, because it ended up at Goodwill. There, it was improbably discovered by Canon Hand Dyes creator Amy Lee Serradell. A Plucky yarns aficionado, she immediately recognized the yarns in the sweater, snatched it up, and then found me through the magical connections of Ravelry. In an incredibly kind gesture, she let me pick out a sweater quantity of any yarn in her store. Although the decision was extremely difficult – she has so many beautiful yarns! – I finally settled on the Downton Abbey-inspired Lady Sybil Crawley.
I hoarded this yarn for some time – of course, I had to find the perfect pattern – but when I saw Beatrice’s beautiful cardigan, perfect for cool spring days and walks on the beach, I knew my yarn had found its soulmate. The pattern was fun to knit, with some beautiful touches like the lace at the back and on the sleeves. Although it was knit on US 4s, it progressed quickly, and I finished it with perfect timing, just as spring is starting to warm up our corner of the world. I’m hoping to get lots of wear out of this one, and will always think of Amy’s kindness and the magical connection between knitters when I wear it
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We spent spring break this week “small boat cruising” with Uncruise Adventures in the Sea of Cortez. The weather was perfect and the water was beautiful
One morning, we got to snorkel with friendly sea lions – the juveniles loved to play, they chewed on our fins, mouthed at our hands, and even tried to swallow our Go Pro
View of Isolation Rock (home to many birds, including Blue Footed Boobies) from the deck of our boat.
Sea kayaking was wonderful in water so clear you could look down and see the fish swimming below – and the geography of the shore was fascinating.
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This is a lovely pattern – exactly what I was looking for, something light, easy to throw on, a perfect three-season dress for those days that are sunny and warm, but not so much that I want to wear one of my sleeveless summer dresses. The dolman sleeves are a nice stylistic touch, and they made this dress particularly easy to sew – no set-in sleeves! I like both the style and utility of the pockets, and the wraparound tie gives me a waist and keeps the dress from looking too baggy or shapeless.
Pattern: Sew House Seven Tea House Dress
Style: Dress C – although I modified the length to fall between the “B” and the “C” lengths
Size: 10 (although I had to take almost four inches total in on the side seams!) Size 10 fit me perfectly in the shoulders and bust, but it needed a lot of adjustment in the side seams from below my bust all the way down to the hem. Ultimately, I added darts in the back because otherwise the back side looked too gathered and bunchy when I tied the ties tightly enough to look good in the front.
Fabric: Robert Kaufman Chambray Union Light – I’m not sure of the exact pattern/color, but this fabric weight was perfect for the drape that the pattern needed, and I absolutely love clothes in any shade of chambray! I used 3 yards of 58-60″ wide fabric.
This Christmas, I received a beautiful piece of vintage indigo fabric – a one-of-a-kind stitched-together compilation that was one of many fabric pieces that the women of an indigenous tribe in Africa created to raise money to support their families. This large rectangle of fabric could be used as a shawl or a wrap, or even a table topper. It had fringe on both short sides, and the fabric itself was unique and well-loved — frayed in places, stitched by hand in others, it felt like threads of many stories stitched together.
What to do with such a unique piece? I own so many shawls and wraps – and rarely use the ones that I have – and I didn’t want it to just languish in my closet. At first I wanted to make it into a wrap dress, but I didn’t have enough fabric. Next I thought of a long shirt or a tunic, but the fabric was so delicate in places, I wasn’t sure how it would hold up to being sewn and repeatedly worn.
Then, I saw a blog posting by Karen Templer of Fringe Association. She was discussing a piece of hand-dyed indigo fabric that she was thinking about sewing into a kimono. Inspiration! This piece would make a beautiful casual shirt-jacket with drop sleeves and wide front bands.
I started with the Crossroads pattern Contemporary Kimono as the base for my idea. I first stitched a sample jacket (size medium) in muslin, since once I cut my indigo fabric, there was no going back. This turned out to be a wise precaution, as I made multiple modifications, including:
* I reduced the sleeve width and altered the sleeve length
* I changed the approach of the cuffs (rolled and tacked, instead of sewn on separately)
* I changed the approach of the neck band by reducing the width and finding a different method of attaching it
The biggest change I made was to first make the fabric double-sided. I wanted to line the fabric, because I knew it was too fragile, and too soft, on its own. I could have sewn a jacket lining, but I didn’t want it to feel separate – I wanted the actual fabric to be double-sided. Using 2 yards of Robert Kaufman’s Double Gauze Chambray in color Marine, I stitched the two fabrics wrong sides together and, in effect, created one single double-sided piece of fabric. I then cut all of the pieces I needed, basted the two fabrics together, and then sewed the pieces as I would have with any other fabric.
I even managed to preserve the fringe and place it at the bottom of the jacket pieces, and even at the bottom of the front band pieces! I used up almost every inch of the fabric, which made me feel good – no waste, nothing leftover. I tried interior side pockets, but because of the positioning of the jacket’s side seams, the pockets seemed to be set too far back, and it was awkward to use them, so I sewed them shut and trimmed them away. I thought about trying after-thought patch pockets – I think I had just enough fabric left – but I didn’t want to clutter the front of the jacket, or detract from the fabric in any way.
I don’t have a good moniker for this creation – it’s of the style of a kimono, but fitted enough that I don’t think it actually fits within that category of jackets. Regardless of the name, however, I absolutely love how it turned out. It’s well-fitted, comfortable, and shows off the vintage fabric exactly as I had envisioned. It is truly a one of a kind piece, both in terms of fabric and pattern, and its creation has allowed me to add my own story to the running tale of the fabric.
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