it's a blog eat blog world ...

ok i'm pretty new to this online world ... "resist" i kept telling myself "resist" ... but resistance was futile ... it started with an etsy site, soon followed by a facebook account, and then the blogging world beckoned and now even heart felt has a page on facebook ...

and, true confessions, dare i say it, i'm rather enjoying this online world ...

of course, being online causes it's own unique set of problems ...

throughout the day, i find myself responding NO to questions like:

is there any dinner?

did you get to any laundry today?

can you squeeze in a trip to costco?

is there any "______" (fill in the blank as needed--milk/bread/toilet paper/etc)?

are pajamas the new home studio uniform?

has anyone seen the dog?

so for the sake of my loving family, i think today better be an errand day ...

and to those of you who work full-time outside of the home for real dollars and cents and manage a household as well, i salute you ...

and any constructive tips would be greatly appreciate ... in the meantime, i'm online looking for that 12-step program ...

things to do on a rainy day ...

well it appears as though fall has arrived in the northwest ... after 4 delightful months of sunshine, i'm not ready to throw in the towel yet ...

so, rather than complain until spring, here are my top 5 suggestions for things to do when the skies go dark, day turns to night and the rains move in ...

1. take a trip to value village for some vintage treasures--i can't resist the old pyrex pieces and for less than the cost of a latte, why try;
2. go to the movies with someone special--my dearly beloved and i saw "(500) Days of Summer" tonight at the big picture and it was delightful;
3. tea ... make yourself a cup of tea ... it never fails to make my day just a bit brighter;
4. sit in your favorite chair and read a great story; and
5. put on the fire and knit to your heart's content--works for me every time.

so don't let the dreary fall days get you down ...

put on the kettle and if you need someone to share that cup of tea with, call me ... i'm in the book ...

island time ...

my dearly beloved surprised me today ...

how? ...

by taking the day off to celebrate our 18th anniversary ...

being blessed to live in seattle, near mountains and water, we opted for water as the sun was shining brightly ... we took the ferry to bainbridge island where we browsed a few shops and, after 18 years, my groom knows what to do when i spot a "yarn and tea" shop or a fabric store ... may as well hunker down and find a book store 'cause i'll be missing in action for a few hours ...

over lunch we talked about where we'd be in 18 years ... and where we've been in the past 18 years ...

we've lost 3 parents all of whom we miss greatly, we've gained 2 children, had numerous pets large and small, multipe moves, we live with constant guilt at being away from our children's only grandparent and their godparents, we've grown great friendships, we've traveled from australia to england and east to west, jeff has lost some hair and mine has gone from red to brunette (with just a bit of help) ...

this young couple who met at work has had a great life ...

and i'm glad we are here, living this life ...

it's an extraordinarily ordinary life ...

and i love it ...

this little piggy ...

went to market ... this little piggy stayed home ...

i don't know about you, but i just love market day ... here in the evergreen state, from apr to oct, we are blessed ... we are able to find a market nearby pretty much every day of the week ...

our local sammamish market is on wednesdays and the bigger market in redmond is open saturday ... i stock up wednesday and just as the last slice of the heirloom tomatoes is going onto a sandwich, it's time for the redmond market ...

where else can you buy fresh local fruit, fabulous cheeses, rustic breads, bouquets of flowers cut that morning ...

tonight we have our dinner club and i'm making italian salad so today i was on the hunt for basil and tomatoes, cucumbers and rosemary bread, italian cheese aged to perfection ...

my friend, suzanne, and i are in the habit of walking the river trail in redmond early in the morning (risking life and limb i might add as the bicycle teams roar past us with an 'on your left') and then marketing together ... and today was no exception ...

the bounty was outstanding ... the samples heavenly ... we were still in the parking lot and i could smell fresh basil, the enticing aroma of fresh kettle corn, sausange and onions cooking ...

now i don't fancy myself a great chef, but this fruitful bounty can make even me long to be in the kitchen (thankfully that's a passing fancy) ...

so come long winter nights and frozen vegetables, i'll be longing for the early market mornings ... so remember to 'make hay while the sun shines' as my mom would say ... get to your local markets, buy fresh, eat fresh ...

and enjoy a peach 'til the juice runs down your chin ...

missing fingerprints and other household logistics ...

now i definitely do not want this to turn into a husband-bashing blog or a man-hating blog because i happen to have two males in my household that i'm quite fond of ...

having said that ...

here are my top 5 frustrations of living with the opposite gender:

1. despite my dearly beloved's engineering degree, he has yet to figure out the logistics of the ever-so-sophisticated toilet paper holder;
2. my dearly beloved is blessed with long legs, thus enabling him to clambor over items on the stairs rather than picking them up and taking them with him;  
3. the kitchen table is quite often mistaken for the dishwasher--i can think of no other reason why dirty dishes are often left there;
4. apparently it takes a certificate in fiber arts to figure out that wet towels scrunched up do not and will not dry, EVER; and
5. stainless steel appliances do get covered with fingerprints, no matter the age of your children but they are sprayed on a daily basis, often more than once, with a vinegar and water mixture by yours truly ...

having said all that ...

he's a good husband and a great dad ...

... and my world is better because he's in it ...

the too busy day ...

most of you have probably read that wonderful children's book called "Too Busy Day" where everyone in Allyson's wee life is too busy to even so much as wave at her ...

well, despite appearances ...

it was a busy day in the studio ... all employees worked at a steady pace ...

i cut out sweaters to make into baby blankets ...

embellished gauntlets with flowers ...

restocked the popcorn garland ...

even the fish were busy ...

but even on a too busy day ...

hang in there ... tomorrow's a whole new day ...

before and after ...

first off, thank you for sharing this journey with me ... if you haven't nodded off yet, i truly do like hearing from you so please leave me a comment ... i will get back to you ...

so often in life, we only see the "after" picture ... i don't know about you, but this often just leaves me feeling inadequate and ill-prepared to face the world ...

when my cherubs were little, i would sometimes meet up with friends and think 'wow, they sure have it all together ... wish i could be more like that' ... well with age comes a certain maturity and i now accept myself, freckles and all ... i realize the martha stewarts of the world quite often have a "team" ...

i was speaking with a dear friend from years ago today, my beautiful friend Sherrie ... i've always admired her parenting, her simple approach to life, her garden ... while we were catching up, she shared some very real stories about her family ... which of course are private but it all got me thinking about how often we wear a mask ... and sometimes that is good ... but more often than not, we need to show our true selves ...

so, i'm going to share with you a typical before picture in the life of ms. heart ...

oops, wrong one ...

here's the real deal ... the before picture ... a real day in the life of ...

so take heart dear friends, behind every "after" picture, there's the "before" picture ...

world's longest scarf ...

yesterday i said i was going to share with you a serendiptious moment i had when i was on whidbey island with my fellow fiber friends ...

i shall pause while you put on the kettle ...

everyone ready ...

recently, my dearly beloved handed me a copy of a magazine published by Heifer International (http://www.heifer.org/) ... now when i started this blog, i swore to myself that i'd never preach from the podium ... however, this is an amazing nonprofit organization dedicated to relieving global hunger and poverty by providing gifts of livestock and plants, as well as education in sustainable agriculture, to financially-disadvantaged families around the world ...

the preacher has left the podium ... promise ...

anyway, in the magazine there was an article on how the United Nations had declared 2009 the International Year of the Natural Fiber ... (who knew?) ... and that Heifer International in conjunction with Keep the Fleece was raising money by asking people to donate to the World's Longest Scarf by forming teams, knitting parts of the scarf and raising money, $1 per row ...

now i can't tell you how excited that got me ... as Julie Andrews would sing, "these are a few of my favorite things" ... knitting and helping feed the hungry ...

so all this leads me to my serendiptious moment ...

... in the fiber shack at the Paradise Found Fiber Farm (http://www.paradisefoundfiber.com/), hanging on the wall, was a contribution to the world's longest scarf ...

and so my dear friends, i am off to sign up a team and find some fellow knitters to join me in this cause ...

and i'll try my hardest to keep away from the podium ...

friends, ferries, fibers and fairs ...

yesterday my dear friend, suzanne (http://www.tittame.etsy.com/), and i drove to whidbey island, washington for a fiber fair ... having survived the usual "intestinal" jokes related to fiber, we hopped on the ferry ...

somehow the ferry completely missed whidbey island and dropped us off at this magical fairy land where people were happy despite the drizzly mist that settled over us, there did not seem to be a designer pair of jeans amongst them, no fancy coffees in hand but what they did have in hand was spinning wheels, knitting needles, hooks for rug hooking, bobbins and all sorts of whatnots ... at this point, suzanne had to give me a wee pinch ...

we fondled the fibers and we chatted with our fellow fiber artists and craftspeople, we admired the llamas and laughed at the wee goats, we strolled through the gardens and fixated on the spinning wheels and we dreamed of projects present and future and we were greatly inspired, on so many levels ...

i dream of one day having a fiber shack of my own, surrounded by llamas and pygora goats and maybe even a cat or two or three (how many does it take before you become the crazy cat lady) ...

we wrapped up our day with a stop in langley ... we visited the yarn shop and then discovered the most amazing shop called 'the garden shed' which led us to the most amazing farm called 'chocolate flower farm' where they grow and sell the most amazing and extensive collection of chocolate plants and rare perennials ... i came home with a chocolate cosmo that truly smellls like cocoa ... sigh ...

what more does one need in life ... fiber, chocolate, coffee (oh my goodness i didn't tell you about the coffee man at the market who had roasted the coffee beans for our coffee in his popcorn maker that very morning), plants and a good friend ...

my heart is full today ... and my hands are itching to knit ...

and tomorrow i shall tell you about the serendiptious moment from the fiber shack at "paradise found" farm ...

inspirations ...

i got up early this morning--it was a perfect fall day--not too hot and not too cool, i went for a long walk, played tennis (i know, i know, it's a great life) and then spent a few hours with a good friend, a fellow creative spirit ... my friend linda who has been ever so supportive since heart felt took root ... she has been a great customer, she keeps an eye out at value village for sweaters for me and she is so encouraging ...

recently she found this gem for me ... won't this sweater in just the oh-so-perfect shade of pink make a gorgeous baby blanket ..

while we were out, we visited the sale rack at, dare i say it out loud, anthropologie ... where i found a pair of jeans marked down from $148 (really people pay that for a pair of jeans? really?) to, wait for it, $19.95 ... i also found this sweet item to send to my mom for her birthday ...

we talked a great deal about creative inspirations and aspirations and i thought i'd share with you some of the things that inspire me ...

the dappled sunlight through the beautiful northwest evergreens

a cup of tea in a beautiful mug

flowers, particularly pink

vintage-inspired fabric

rocks, heart-shaped are best

clean laundry

chocolate

smiling friends

the ocean

and

birds ... birds ... birds ...

doesn't this little fella look like he's got a secret to share ... he's got his wee bird wing raised as if to say "teacher teacher my turn" ...

i hope you all have something or someone that inspires you ...

piles 'o paper ...

it's almost 11:00 in the morning, i've taken Jake to orchestra, cleaned up the kitchen, been out for a walk, picked plums off the tree i found on the green space behind our house (how did this gem go unnoticed for the past 7 years?) ...

i've got my Jason Mraz music playing, french doors flung open to the garden, a hot cup of tea and the very last of my favorite bars to nibble on, saved for a special moment such as this when i really need a wee dose of inspiration to tackle the task at hand ...

sorting through all the paperwork that has arrived on my countertop since the start of school, and sending up a quiet prayer that i haven't missed too many deadlines as yet ...

when truly all i want to do is get into my studio and create ...

where are those little elves when you need 'em ...

hope you are having a good day ...

friends ...

since the cherubs went back to school, i've spent a lot of time thinking about friends, partly because i'm spending an inordinate amount of time on facebook (now these are not words i thought would ever leave my mouth) ...

yesterday, i spent a fabulous day hiking with my friend Laurie ... we hiked up rattlesnake pt and sat on the peak, catching up on our lives, after busy summers for us both ...

i've been going on walks with friends, playing tennis with friends, talking on the phone with friends ...

so all that got me thinking about friends and how fortunate i am to have such good friends in my life ...

 

 

like most of us, i've lived in multiple places ... i've lived everywhere from the east coast of canada to the west coast of the united states and i treasure the friends i've made along the way ... did anyone on their deathbed ever say "gosh wish i didn't have so many darned friends" ... i don't think so ...

anyway, just wanted to let my friends know i cherish them ... thanks for listening to me, being there for me and sharing your life with me ...

here's a few of my favorite friend things to do:

share a cup of tea

go to the movies

knit together (ah that's a topic for another day as well)

antique together

take classes together

run and walk together

play tennis together

hike together

travel together

cook together

discuss books together

laugh together

talk together

and, of course, cry together ...

so, put on the kettle and call a friend ... everything else can wait ...

"A FRIEND IS A GIFT YOU GIVE YOURSELF" ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

grass is always greener ...

i received a message today from a dear friend (hi JoAnn) saying that the weather in monterey (yes she's lucky enough to live in monterey) felt fall-like this morning ... which got me thinking about our weather ...


now there were a few days in the seattle area this summer that had me begging for autumn but now that it's almost here, i am warding it off with my best "warm weather spells" ...

i don't want to give up on the wonderful back yard days, or the visitors to my back yard ...

i don't want to give up al fresco dining ...

and i sure as heck don't want my beautiful flowers to fade to brown ...

so don't worry if in the future you find me spending a lot of time looking skyward ...

in a few months, i'll be complaining about the heat again ...

the most unlikely of customers ...

i was just looking at my etsy shop, thinking about sales and buyers from the past and pondering where some of my pieces have found a home ...

it always makes my heart beat a little faster when i think a piece has found a particularly good home, especially my "puppies" but more on them later ...

as i was saying, one of the sweetest sales i ever made was to this elderly gentleman who used a walker to approach my table at a sale, his hands were quite misshapen with arthritis ...

i had a lovely green pair of gauntlets for sale with a pretty 5-petal flower attached and he asked me about them, tried them on numerous times, no easy feat with his hands believe me ... he told me he has poor circulation in his hands and that, at night when he's watching t.v., the remote is challenging for him as his hands get so cold ...

i did offer to remove the flower but he preferred to keep the flower ... it warms my heart to think of this gentleman at home with my flowered gauntlets on ...

and keep an eye out for the "puppies 4 sale" sign ...

and i appreciate each and every one of my customers ... thanks for bringing a bit of my heart felt world into your world ...

oh and the peach chili -- fabulous ...

to blog or not to blog ...

that is the question ...

anyone who has seen the fabulous movie "Julie and Julia" will recall the scene when Julie Powell discusses why she is blogging and how her husband calls her on the "habit" when he thinks it is becoming too narcisstic ...

sometimes Julie has a lot to say and sometimes she struggles for inspiration and finally how she gets so excited when she has a new follower, one who is NOT a family member ...

well i struggle with the same question ... to blog or not to blog ...

i resisted for a long time, thinking "really, does anyone want to hear my story" ... but your positive comments on my blog and on facebook have led me to believe that blogging is truly just another step in my

creative process ... so, i shall continue blogging and hopefully some of you will continue

reading and commenting ...

or perhaps after watching "Julie and Julia", you are too busy

trying to bone a duck to pay any attention to my heart felt world ...

while i will not be attempting any poultry surgery, i did spend some time at

our local farmer's market this morning so i could make my peach chili ...

and lest you think i am spending all my time blogging and no time

working in the studio, here's a sneak preview of a few heartfelt items

that will be appearing in my etsy shop soon ...

... lambswool gauntlets and boyfriend scarves ...

something for everyone ...

bon appetit and enjoy the duck ...

birthday boys ...

when i was pregnant, the song "You'll be Blessed" by Elton John would always reduce me to tears ... it hasn't always been easy being a parent, but i would not change my 'job' for the world ...

but how did my baby get to be ELEVEN? ... so this day's blog is all about jake ...

jake has been a blessing since birth ... easy pregnancy, relatively easy birth (if there is such a thing), after we convinced him that we'd all be much happier if he slept at night, we got along great ...

 ... so here's 11 years of jake ...

jake, we are blessed ... you are a boy who loves reading, Zatch Bell, your friends, reading, did I mention reading, soccer, piano, cello, school, reading, building Lego, swimming, skiing, hiking, cub scouts, reading ...

all great traits ... i wish for you a happy year ...

and i love you more ...

... let there be cake ...

serendipity ...

ser-en-dip-it-y:   good fortune; luck

today was a most serendiptious (is there such a word?) day ... a morning spent having tea and scones with friends, an afternoon spent shopping for birthday presents for my sweet boy who turns 11 tomorrow, a night out with friends playing Bunko ... it's a good life ...

on top of that, an ETSY sale ... one of my baby blankets sold ... now i have to tell you that i truly put my heart and soul into those blankets and would not sell a piece i personally would not have wrapped my babies in ... but i struggle with pricing ...

most crafters i know are full of doubt ... am i charging too much for my goods? will a consumer be happy with their purchase? am i the only one who sees the beauty in an old lambswool sweater? ...

so here i will share with you the adventures of a sweater that starts life on the racks of Value Village ...

into the washing machine with some very hot water and my special secret agitator ...

dried and cut into many pieces ...

... paired with the perfect flannel ...

sewn together, listed on etsy and, hopefully, one day there's a

"you've got mail" message

and it's been sold ...

and off to a good home ...

serendipity ...

good fortune ...

i wish this for you all ...