2011: a year in pictures

january

february

march

april

may

june

july

august

september

october

november

december

the best thing about taking a photo every single day is that at the end of the year, you have a visual review of what happened. i long ago realized that these 365 projects are about remembering much more than they are about taking great pictures. they're about the daily practice. they're about noticing the world around you, even if just for a few minutes, on a daily basis. but mostly, they're about memory.

in many ways, it was a quiet year. we didn't travel much, we spent a lot of time at home. we enjoyed our animals and our garden. people visited us. we noticed the light. we ate great food. we acquired quite a lot of bobbaloos. we horsed around. and had baby bunnies that grew up way too fast. it was a creative year and a year full of color. there were cloudy days and a lot of rain, but when the light came, it was spectacular. in all, i'm rather content with 2011.

i'm looking forward to what 2012 brings. and i will continue to take a photo every day - it's become a way of life for me, having done it for two years now.

happy new year one and all!

scenes from a weekend

sorry for the heart attacks caused on friday, but i couldn't resist an april fool's joke. i've never really successfully played one, you see. and after i saw the one MOO had done, with the mood ink, i just had to give it a whirl. of course i have not stopped blogging. everyone in this house would suffer, as blogging is pretty much how i stay (reasonably) sane.

so, to make it up to you, i hereby give you cute kitty pictures:

woody in the garden.

and pretty flowers:

bottom row by sabin.

a sneaky peek at what i worked on on saturday:

plus quilt layout

it's a plus quilt, using the gorgeous cloud 9 nature walk fabrics. i can tell you, after an afternoon of working with the fabrics - cutting and laying out, that organic cottons are softer and nicer to work with. i didn't get to begin sewing it as my sewing machine needs to be fixed (going to take it to a wonderful shop tomorrow where there's the coolest elderly man who i am sure can fix anything).

i wish you all a lovely week...and hope you spent most of your weekend outdoors like i did.

mosaic monday: wintery tones

you know i love to take the temperature of my flickr faves occasionally and see the big picture of what's catching my eye. maybe because it's been so grey and foggy outside of late, grey tones have made their way into my normally very bright flickr faves. these are so lovely and peaceful, tho', i don't even mind the grey. 

a bit more color here, tho' still far more subdued than my usual. maybe i'm in a peaceful, soft period.

this is a little closer to my usual self, with touches of teal creeping in here and there.

i'm just adoring these softer, more washed out tones. we'll have to see how they manifest in my own surroundings.

and a few that aren't so much about the color as the subject matter...cocktails and iPhones and coffee...what more could a girl want on a monday?

as always, click on each picture to take you to my flickr stream, where you can click on through to the original photos and fave them yourself!

happy monday! if you're in the mood for healthy vegetarian fare today, check out this post. and please do suggest a name for our new tractor.  there's a handmade prize in it for the one who suggests the name we choose!

flickr faves - LOVE

accidental love

1. Poladroid Letter L, 2. Accidental Letter "O", 3. flickr.com/photos/48973657@N00/4037102429/, 4. The letter E

from the postcards to blog camp group

1. 16/365 2010, 2. 16/365*2, 3. 16.365 light and shadow, late afternoon, 4. prater, berlin, 5. Fiore Olives, 6. Encapsulated

blue whimsy

1. 110113 Blue on Blue, 2. In Amaravati, 3. How many layers are we talking about?, 4. Some of My Favourite Things, 5. Snowblind, 6. More blue spools

a dose of cute

1. january 8, 2011 - magic in pink and green, 2. Earthuse Shoot-3, 3. Basket Case Quilt, 4. ooak289, 5. ✽ ᴥ ✽ ✽ ᴥ ✽ ✽ ᴥ ✽, 6. Humphrey, Hubert and Heffle

shades of retro blue

1. Hi - Lo Motel & Cafe - Weed, California, 2. Turquoise Trailer, 3. Joy Of Cooking, 4. Shades of Blue and Green

* * *

don't forget to check out a sustainable life - the conversation is getting very interesting over there.

developing a thing about pink

1. I'm here. :), 2. what is to be is up to me, 3. Circle of Roses, 4. decorating our crib for the season, 5. Work in progress, 6. After Christmas, 7. Squidgum, 8. Best Bunny, 9. peace & love garland

do you think i might be developing an unhealthy interest in pink? or am i just looking for signs of spring?

* * *

loving the idea of this.

design philosophy

apartment therapy has an interesting year-end wrap-up on design philosophies. which got me thinking about my own. i believe eclectic comes to mind.  here, a sampling from my flickr faves:

1. Winterizing the kitchen - step one, 2. This morning, 3. sgaminegg, 4. woolly blankie...

1. Castle School, 2. a nice winterday, 3. Work in Progress, 4. KW berlin

1. printed muslin, 2. Come On In, 3. Propsapalooza9, 4. friday morning

1. recently..., 2. finding focus, 3. hot pink house, 4. Pufe Abóbora. Como faz pra ficar com "gominhos"?

and stuff i've actually done myself, in our home, which may be the best indicator:

the old kitchen

1. kitchen - finished, 2. kitchen - finished, 3. kitchen/family room, 4. kitchen

1. tom rossau lamp, 2. from where i sit, 3. upstairs living room, 4. dining room

my beloved blue room

1. new wood-burning stove, 2. studio shots, 3. studio shots, 4. studio shots

eclectic, wouldn't you say? other words that come to mind - colorful, laid-back, turquoise, red, retro, comfortable, vintage. and not really at odds with the inspiration from flickr. i think i've found my style, i'm not sure it has a name, but at least i know what i like.

* * *

also of interest:

being healthy is a revolutionary act

color october drab

 

my october photo-a-day project mosaic. it's kind of funny, everyone else's was full of the flaming oranges and golden yellows of autumn, but mine is probably the most drab of all that i've done.   maybe because i had a 4-day flu that left me feeling weak and listless. maybe because most days were cloudy. maybe because the wind was blowing and the leaves didn't stay on the trees. maybe because i dread the encroaching darkness. i really do. or maybe because i feel a bit grey and drab and subdued, held back and held down. well, that's got to change, hasn't it? because it just won't do. maybe the memory of a little color will help my mood...

inspiration from flickr

it was a glorious fall day today and i spent the late afternoon outdoors with horses and my favorite child. crisp, cool, sunny. glorious. so i'm feeling relaxed and inspired. and this is what's inspiring me right now...

beauty

color

journeys

daydreaming

a big thank you to all who commented and emailed about my last post...it helped. it really did.

happy weekend one and all.

thursday mosaic: flickr faves (because i'm away from the computer)

all of the creative goodness i've loved in the past week:



remember, if you click the mosaic, it will take you to my flickr page, where you'll find links to all of the original photos found in these mosaics.

and the clever photos that are inspiring me right now:

personal trend tracking via flickr faves

i detected the other day while going through my flickr faves, a little obsession with garlands and things garland-y. clicking on the pic above will take you to my photostream where you can find the links to the good folks behind these beauties.

and here's the one i made with a bit of bamboo yarn and some leftover squares from my tanya whelan dolce quilt (which reminds me, i should be working on the binding for that).

oh, and i also discovered that i have a thing about thread:

the last four pics in the mosaic above are my own, so i won't post them separately. have you looked at your flickr faves lately? i'll betcha anything there's a theme (or themes). one more from me, plain spoken quilts:

thursday mosaic: flickr faves

i'll admit i still haven't really done any epic shit, but i have found a whole lot of eye candy and inspiration on flickr in the past week. since it was valentine's day, hearts figured rather heavily. and i suspect there is a plain spoken quilt in my future given the number of those that sneaked into this week's mosaic. as usual, there's a whole lot of color. i blame the snow for that. go away snow.

and then i had to share the photography that's inspired me for the past week as well. there are a number of hearts here too and some photos make appearances both places:

if you click on the mosaic, it will take you to my flickr photostream and all of the credits/links to the lovely people who took these photos.

flickr favorites: inspiration or do epic shit

many thoughts are tumbling in my head and they won't come out right now. i'm going to go sew. in the meantime, here are some pretty things to look at. these inspired me in the past week. if you click on the photo, it'll take you to my flickr photostream, where you can click all of the links into all of these people's goodness.

snowstorm leads to thoughts of spring

most of today, it was like this outside:

i actually took this shot from safely INSIDE the house, tho' i did have to have the window open wide. but only briefly.  anyway, thanks to this, i stayed inside all day, drinking tea and pursuing all sorts of goodness on flickr. i love to make mosaics and see what it is that's catching my eye. as you can see, i'm a little bit in need of fresh, bright spring colors:

1. Allium Flora journal cover design, 2. Mum's quilt finished!, 3. Whit's Knits: Crocheted Stash Basket, 4. Florida Postcard, 5. Linen, 6. ~Sea Green~, 7. oh ... frost, 8. Garland, 9. Shallow Sea, 10. naturally dyed rug yarn, 11. Blossoms Series. (zoom in), 12. Drawing for tiny wee embroidery, 13. Monsters!, 14. pillowcase stack..., 15. felted rock, 16. favorite yarn supply sources..., 17. crochet trims on pillowcases..., 18. Raspberry Marmalade Quilt - rolled, 19. Eeeee! , 20. Hexagon WIP, 21. IMG_8987, 22. case sheep, 23. beautiful words, 24. 'The Carousel' (detail), 25. Journal

1. Purples and lilacs hand crocheted all natural fibre blanket. Available for order in your colour preferences. Can be couriered., 2. First Three Eggs Of Spring, 3. Almofadinhas pra cadeira, 4. my paint of choice., 5. the sea and herself , 6. new work, 7. night vision (2), 8. Untitled, 9. Babette blanket, 10. Placemats, 11. detail02, 12. Handspun☆Extremity pop V neck sweater!, 13. Nook., 14. embroidered and appliqued felt flowers, 15. Oh 1, 16. square dance, 17. Roundabout Quilt, 18. Robots, 19. handmaiden camelspin, 20. My Rainbow Scarflette, 21. All the colours of the rainbow, 22. robot family pictures, 23. Birds of a Feather, 24. Untitled, 25. 19:365

i also spent quite some time trying to use this tutorial (recommended by spud), to crochet a fancy granny square. my failure to do so is not a reflection of the tutorial. nor is it from a lack of really good yarn that is totally suitable for said granny squares:

but, tomorrow is another day and i shall eventually succeed. or else move on to something else that i actually am able to do. like spend hours and hours looking at beautiful things on flickr.