Gehring Road

in the kitchen... with Rob

 (picture taken when not cooking!)

This guy... has been cooking up a storm lately. Something about him coming home from a work trip means endlessly good food.  And we've been treated lately... following some amazing recipes in the current issue of Cook's Illustrated. It started with Panko Crusted Halibut with Snow Peas (I can't begin to describe those snow peas, they were awesome) which was so light, so fresh and so very... spring. Then we had the most amazing filets, picked up at Whole Foods (I love fresh ingredients and we had this as a treat) add some smashed potatoes (we don't even take the skins off) and some asparagus (cooked by this creative guy in the pan that recently held the filets... oh my!) and it's dinner, OK, a very, special, special dinner. The weather has been a bit rainy here the past few weeks (I shall not complain, it isn't snow...) and so we had broccoli cheese soup from Cooks this week as well.  Amazing. With a side of crusty bread (we recommend a baguette or sour dough) and some sharp cheese on top. We also went back to this mushroom ragu, by special request from yours truly. I'm one lucky lady.

We're getting into a Sunday dinner pattern here, off to pick up something on Sunday morning (a salmon filet, tenderloin roast, seafood for chowder) and then a nice end to the weekend with some good laughs and good food as we enjoy the last few moments of the weekend (which is really becoming more bitter than bittersweet for me...) Dinners at the table are really a staple for us, it allows Rob the creativity to play with his medium... food (he is truly an inspired chef), and us to enjoy those quiet moments - not thinking about the week ahead, just enjoying the moments at hand.  I'm so looking forward to the weekend ahead, and all its promise of quiet and lovely moments. Happy Wednesday! 

fabric loving

My fabric window shopping as of late has been... should we say... eclectic. The love I have for some prints I've found at Superbuzzy is disturbing (the map, calendar and sewing notions), my wallet is regularly seizing at the mere thought of $20 a yard (and tax season!). I do wish they had some smaller cuts available though, these prints are luckily ones that I can see having a very small bit of. I would love some of those prints in the bottom right corner, they're from a collaboration between Liberty of London and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The top print is an organic option coming out soon from Cloud 9 fabrics... I think it's perfect for a bag (of course I do!) but I've seen it as a skirt, perfect for spring. That house plan print (the flash of pink) is a Koseki print and the Flickr mavens have been importing it from Japan... I'm fighting the urge to pick some up. What do you have your eye on this week? 

etsy finds... embracing brown

 Connecticut State Pillow from Love California Etsy Shop 

I'm celebrating the grey and brown that has been popping up outside... soo much better than the white and brown that has been the standard since, well, December.  We can actually see brown areas of earth for the first time in a very, very long time and it is renewing my belief that yes, spring will come, and yes, the snow will come to an end.  So in celebration of brown and grey, here are my finds...

 Vintage Carved Wood Box from Haven Vintage Etsy Shop 

 Wood Rocking Horse from Hindsvik Etsy Shop

 Linen Pincushion Crochet Motif from Namolio Etsy Shop

 Vintage Retro Splatter Gooseneck Lamp from Bellalulu Etsy Shop 

 Postal Sorter File Box from Long Barn Mercantile Etsy Shop

 Vintage Horseshoe from Uncommon Vintage Etsy Shop 

 Antique Ironstone Pitchers from Zinnia Cottage Etsy Shop 

  US Mail Box from Bellalulu Etsy Shop

  Vintage Letterpress Drawer from Havenvintage Etsy Shop

 Lambswool English Rose Fingerless Gloves from VKnit Etsy Shop

...I know, that last one is not so grey and brown but they're lovely and oh so spring-y. The steps, sidewalk and even the mailbox have reemerged from the drifts of snow... exciting, I tell you.  Almost time to plan the garden... the coming season feels so welcome, it feels like we're almost there... almost. 

some grey yarn and some learning

It is possible that my first pictures on Ravelry will be a gauge strip... I'm learning, little by little, about the ins and outs of this new rediscovered little hobby of mine. I've decided to go slowly and methodically through the books I've purchased, but to practice (on that yarn I randomly snagged from some sort of bin as I raced around JoAnn's looking for more template plastic on Sunday) as I go. It goes slowly, I tell you.  So far, I've learned a great deal about gauge (a completely new term that might cure my tubular knitting...I think), yarn (I had no idea rabbits were producers as well... I read this before bed and you can imagine my dreams that night!), and the importance of reading a pattern correctly (I currently do not own a single knitting pattern... Ravelry has me covered in the inspiration department).  My other selections arrive tomorrow, I'm excited to see what each book brings! I hope this Monday finds you embracing the new and enjoying the little victories. 

on knitting

The call of the (other) needles has finally gotten me, and I am going to try (again) my hand at knitting. I (in theory) can knit and purl without much issue, I've even completed some (very basic) projects... though my stitches might be a bit, say... backward and my form is awful, I know the basics and am excited to build my skill level. My "tension", well that's a problem as well, I knit waaay to tightly - each of the scarves I have knitted in the past have become tubes of stitching... not so comfortable on the neck. I've seen so many wonderful knitting projects lately, and then GroupOn (how I love GroupOn) in our area offered some very nicely priced classes at a local Yarn Shop... I saw it as a sign.

My needles are out and poised, some books to supplement my own "Knitting in Plain English" are on their way and my Ravelry account can be found here. Nothing there yet, but I'd love to know if you are as well! Any words of advice as I begin to re-learn the ins and outs of knitting? If not, I would be very open to some wishes of luck! Here's to loose knitting and a very happy end of the weekend for you. 

this weekend...

 

The plan for this weekend... a little work, and lots of play (in our various ways... I'm sewing, Rob has a new water heater to check on and Kylie, well... she's doing a lot of the above). Happy Weekend! 

around the loft

How I miss this space when I'm away from it... there is much daydreaming going on these days, mostly about the projects that I'd love to be finishing in the loft, and there are many! Some newness has been making it's way into the loft (non-fabric related, imagine that!) also making it difficult for me to pry myself away from this creative space and into the car to make it to the office space. Here's a peek...

I know, I know, I said non-fabric related, but I did make some new room for some um, new fabrics so that counts right? So in other newness... that new wire basket that sits on my work table is really a fantastic space saver.  I first saw it in Country Living Magazine, then everywhere and finally bought one last week. It was a beast to put together, nothing lined up and nothing was straight so my muscles got a nice workout too... and when that failed (ha!) Rob strong-armed it into almost perfection.  I'm loving it though. 

The state of my single girl quilt is quite sad... notice the scissors poised to do some cutting... when I get a few spare moments that's what I'll be up to.  I've also decided on a new method of organization for projects.  Because I seem to be perpetually in a nineteen works in progress (I kid, it's only like sixteen) mode, I need a better way of keeping track of what I'm doing... enabling myself to start more projects and leave more unfinished, I realize this, but it seems to be at least a wee bit more organized.  I'm keeping a quilt notebook (my students would loooove this as I strong arm them into organization via notebooks on a daily basis).  Basically just a running reminder of what I'm doing, what the plan is and what fabrics I'm using... this might be a sign that I am getting, ahem, more mature in years. I celebrate. 

I also bought one of those save your fingers from your rotary cutter "genies" as they were on sale at my local box store craft center.  Really it's a gift for Rob as my last tangle with my rotary cutter didn't require stitches per se (I may or may not have taped it and gone back to sewing), but was very nearly enough to give the poor man a heart attack. So... safety first and I'm even newly remembering to put the blade cover on when I'm through cutting... improvements all around.

Some Stabilo markers fell into my Amazon cart... I have no idea how it happened (I'm equally surprised when the Reeses Easter eggs do at the grocery store) but they are much less expensive than these (eek, those are pricey) they're great and I'm loving them...while I plan more projects... old habits die hard. 

And you, any newness going on around you these days? Happy Wednesday to you, isn't March so welcome?