She Knits By The Seashore

Columbus Day Weekend

What are you doing this weekend?

I've started some new knitting projects. The one in the photo below is almost complete now; if you'd like to know what it will be, check out my Ravelry page for details. Once it goes to its new home, I'll post an FO photo.

Saturday we went to the House of Decadence Book Barn with family. I was super disciplined and only came home with three books this trip:

Several years ago, I posted about trying to decide on a color to paint our front door. I kept going back and forth between a cranberry red and a blue, but on a trip to Cape Cod this summer, I noticed all of these gray houses with sea blue doors, and fell in love. Chris painted on Friday and, with a new set of house numbers, gave our front entrance a much-needed makeover.

It may need a slightly grayer shade; the blue looks different depending on the time of day, or whether you see it through the screen or glass. In the spring, we'll freshen up the white too. But for now, it looks so much better than it did before.

Do you watch Castle? Chris and I have just started watching the series on Netflix, and I am totally addicted. Watching murder mysteries on TV is fun, when I'm not reading them in books. :)

Hope you have a great week!

 

Come Dine With Us

A little more light now...

 

 

before photos are here

I had nearly settled on a light tan paint, which I wasn't excited about. But after looking at some photos on Pinterest, I realized that the rooms I pinned were mostly painted white. In effect, the color scheme from the Domino decorating book photo I like is reversed: white walls with blue curtains instead of the blue walls I originally wanted. This room will look even better once I can put the off-white area rug down again, and cover up some of that orange wood floor.

I need to fiddle with the curtains a bit more; I might remove the rings and hang them directly on the rods for more stability. I love the soft, ethereal feeling they give the room. They remind me of the blog This is Glamorous. I want to live in that world, and now I have a little piece of it.

 

January Projects: Meow! Cat Hat and Guest Room

Though one of my knitting goals is to finish some long-time UFOs, and I'm working on my purple sweater again, I started a new project too:

 

The time snuck up on me, but my friend and fellow shelter volunteer's new grandbaby is due soon! Can I finish this in time for her to take it to the shower the weekend after next??

Chris and I finished a UFO of a non-knitting kind, too: painting our guest room. We bought the paint a day or two before the Great Flood of Spring 2010, and didn't finish the basement repairs from that disaster until last fall. Finally we can check this one off of the list.

 

It's been cloudy most days, and hard to take accurate photos, but this gives you some idea of the difference between the blues. We went from a medium "boys' room blue" to a lighter blue called Cool Sky, nothing too dramatic. The new blue looks white, above, but you can see it better in the photo below.

 

 As much as I like the new color, working in a blue room this time of year made me feel more cold than I usually am. So I know now that blue is definitely out for our cave of a dining room, which is the next home project. I so want the fun of a dramatic makeover, but keep coming back to a lighter tan color than what is there already. It will look warm and sunny and bright which is what that room needs. Maybe some new curtains and a change in furniture arrangement will help update things? If only I could hire a Domino magazine editor!

Dining Room Decorating Decisions

One of our fall/winter house projects is going to be painting the dining room. I just can't decide what color I like best.

I saw this photo several months ago, and I really like the green with the cherry furniture and wood flooring. Our furniture and floor are similar colors. But our room faces the north, and doesn't have the sunlight this room has from that giant window. I think it may be too dark, and clash with the light green we've painted our kitchen. The rooms open on to one another.

from Burdastyle.

Another color I'm considering is light blue, as in the photo below.

 

From Domino: The Book of Decorating.

I've seen several dining rooms in blue in decor magazines and books, but they always seem to include white furniture instead of the darker wood stains. While I'd love to trade my furniture for the white version, I can't afford to do that right now. And the blue might clash with the orange tones in our wood floor.

So...the last color I'm considering is a light sand color. It would be a brighter, but still warm, version of our current wall color, which is like coffee. It doesn't seem terribly exciting or different; you know how sometimes you want to do something dramatically different, and yet, it could be dramatically terrible? I'm there. I know it's "just paint" but Chris and I don't enjoy painting, so I try to pick colors that aren't difficult to live with, in case they don't turn out as envisioned.

Here are a few photos of our dining room, minus the summer flower arrangements:

 

We don't have rugs right now because one of our cats has used them to, shall we say, express her displeasure with the other cats on them.

 

The room looks tired to me, and needs some fresh but inexpensive updating. One idea I have is to move some of the bookcases from our living room into the long wall here (to the right of the doorway to the kitchen, in the photo above). I've seen many photos of dining room/library combos lately and I love the idea of making this room more useful when we don't have company.

Sometimes when you live with things for so long, it's hard to be objective and imagine fresh ideas. For that reason, I'm putting this out to those of you (especially Kara and Erin -- I love their homes!) who have not seen my dining room before to ask: what do you think?

Next post: a new knitting project!

Finished Kitchen & Almost Finished Shine Jacket

The sun finally made a brief appearance, so may I present our finished kitchen:

 

It is such a pleasure to be there now that the walls are all the same color and not scratched up. I'd still like to find window treatments, though I'm not sure yet what kind. Suggestions?

 

Here is the 180 degree view, below. Stove, etc, is to the left.

 

Rosie says, "Hello! You have to see the new bowls that we got when our person went on a birthday shopping trip -- aren't they cute?"

 

They are pink. They have cats on them. How could I not get them for my girls?! I only wish they had a blue or green version for Tim.
 
Two days ago, I blocked the Shine Jacket and the trim. I didn't use pins because I was afraid the yarn would snag. You can see the blue rubber gloves in the photo that I'm now using to handle this project -- that's how delicate (and annoying!) this yarn is. Now to attach the trim!

 

 Thank you to my sister L for the blocking squares!

This Sunday marks the beginning of the spring series of training races for local cyclists. That means spring is just as good as here! The weather is supposed to be warm and sunny and I'll be out snapping photos of Chris and our friends. I hope you have a lovely Sunday!

Going Green: Kitchen Edition

Our kitchen went green this past weekend -- a lovely shade of light green similar to pistachio ice cream. We could not have done it without the help of Mr. & Mrs. SDC, who cheerfully tolerated the iPod's constant Billy Idol repeats and our OCD tendencies and made this project, dare I say it, fun. Thank you!!! Mrs. SDC and I even squeezed in some knitting on Sunday while letting the paint dry! She is knitting the cutest ruffled jumper in a denim blue.

Before (photo heavy post!):

 

Note two wall colors -- sunflower yellow and the ivory. You can also see Timmy peeking his head around the corner on the left.

 
 
 If you turn 180 degrees from last photo, this is the other side of the kitchen.

During:

 

Rainy sleeps through the commotion. This is one of her favorite spots!

 

Painting the trim

 

Painting other things...

 

Chris paints the nasty bit of wall over the cabinets. I wonder why the previous owners didn't just take the cabinets all the way to the ceiling?

 

Color clash!!

 

Getting there...

 

Mrs. SDC is still smiling after hearing Billy Idol for the millionth time. And Chris and I are not even big fans of his. Mr. SDC intently concentrates on his corner, planning team tactics for the upcoming bike races next month...

 
 
 Done painting for the day, the guys are soooo much happier on their bikes. Note melting snow and general winter messiness on the deck, which is why they are riding inside!

 

Happy President's Day! I am touching up the trim. 

 

Chris indulges my OCD, now in high gear, and paints around the moulding with a teeny paintbrush. So glad the SDCs did not have to witness this.

 

My hero...I can sleep at night now that it's done.

We still have some little details to finish, like hanging up the prints and changing out the wall outlets. After photos to come when these are done, and the sun comes out!

It's hard to believe that the painting part is finally done, especially the ceiling. Everything looks light, clean, and peaceful when I go to the kitchen for tea in the morning. I can't wait for the leaves to sprout on the trees outside the kitchen windows; because the yard drops off a little in the back, and there is a big tree right outside, it will feel like being up in a tree house! Sometimes when we eat we can watch the birds there, and the cats especially love that.

Next post: my first FO for 2010! Hope you have a great weekend!
 

Vintage Crochet

In a previous post, I shared a photo of my great-grandmother's vintage crochet book. Recently I was given some more of her work:

Grapevine square, which matches my dishes, and the two circles below

Pansy circles:

A close up:

A coverlet or bedspread:

A close-up:

Isn't it amazing? They need a good cleaning, but for approximately 50 years old, are in terrific shape.

I don't normally write bullet posts, but have a lot of little thoughts to share, so here goes:

• In my last writing class, people shared their experiences re-writing a short story of Cinderella. I didn't work on this exercise; I'm not much for fairy tales. Our class is on hiatus through Sept, with an assignment to work on a submission for one of the writing contests posted in magazines.

• Last summer, Chris and I helped with a few animal transports. I've been searching for some to participate in, but there haven't been any for cats in a long time. I do want to encourage anyone interested in helping animals get to their forever homes (or safe foster homes) to check out the yahoo group Dogtransportvolunteers. They post the cat transports as well, and are the largest and most widely-known group. Some transports are specific breed rescues, others are for any dog(s) that needs transportation. If you decide to help out, please let me know about your experiences! It was a rewarding experience for us to drive those small distances and help get cats from kill shelters to no-kill shelters, and the transport organizers are very professional and grateful.

• I finished Glory in Death, the second book in the In Death series by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts). It's a fast, fun read if you like crime suspense, and I am looking forward to seeing Eve Dallas, the detective, marry her millionaire Roarke in the next book, Immortal in Death. I love her wacky best friend Mavis! We all need a Mavis.

• I'm seaming Breton Girl, and am on track to finish by this weekend, my self-imposed deadline. YAY!

Last but not least, I have some paint samples for our front door that I picked up in Cape Cod. I know this is awkward at best, but please feel free to share your opinions. Chris and I are almost decided on a color.

The same swatches, all together

The blues...

I hope whatever your plans are for Labor Day weekend that you have a great time! Next post I'll have some new projects and yarn, and hopefully a finished Breton Girl!

The Hallway Project

The long-awaited hallway makeover photos!

Before:

 The lower hall, back of front door

 Going upstairs, via nasty carpet

 Corner by coat closet. Gray green walls.

 The upstairs hallway. This sage green paint looks like smashed pea green at night.

 Out comes the carpet! And the pound of sand trapped underneath.

 The floor was in better shape than we thought, even with all those staples to take out.

  The stairs are in decent shape, but I hope to put a carpet runner on them one day for safety.

After:

 Cream color walls for downstairs and upstairs

 The corner by the coat closet, looking brighter

 The upstairs hallway

I'm not crazy about the dark stained wood floors, but for right now, the project made a big difference for a small amount of money. Someday I hope to replace the carpeting in the bedrooms with hardwood floors; there is nothing underneath the carpet in there but plywood, so for now it has to stay.

I hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend if you live in the U.S., and a restful time whatever your plans may be. Happy Summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!