Berlin's Whimsy

Midsummer is... Skirts

Light, lacey skirts...

...against summer tanned legs.

Midsummer... Crocheted Linen Bowls

I haven't had the patience to sit at my sewing machine lately, nor the resolve to work with my beloved wool.... And frankly, I'm fairly smitten with crochet right now.

The results are these wonderful little crocheted bowls.

I cannot seem to quit making them!

Therefore, I've listed them in my shop. Please note that they are made to order out of a subtle blue or pink linen yarn and you have the option of choosing your color.

I have a pink one sitting on my dresser and holding all my dearest little trinkets. The dainty and vintage look brings a smile to my face each day.

A Midsummer Night's Dream.

I stand on the edge of change. Though I don't know it for fact, I feel it in my heart and I'm moving that direction... I ponder employment possibilities and an upcoming move into our own house. Stepping out into the world anew, it's what I dream about this midsummer.  

At this moment, midsummer, I'm full of these contemplations and dreams. Dreams of varying possibilities tied to circumstances. Sometimes it all seems so convoluted, like the Shakespearean play that shares this post's title. Very much unlike the play, however, my complications are devoid of romantic interests, by the way. 

In Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights Dream, a magical flower plays a pivotal role in developing a character's love. At this point in my life, the flowers I receive come from my kids and I'm fairly certain that any magical qualities stem from the sweetness of intent for which they are given.

I receive my flowers and I place them in jars and marvel at my children's love. I also sit amongst the colors in the beds from whence the flowers come and I dream lazily in this midsummer heat-----dreams of possibilities and wondering what lies ahead for me.

**We're heading for our familiar coast for this week but I'll share some midsummer photos & thoughts all week long...

Thoughtful Friday---Self-Reliance

"Your future depends on many things, but mostly on you."

~ Frank Tyger

This realization becomes increasingly clear to me as I transition through divorce. Because I was with my husband from the age of 17, this is a whole new concept for me----life without him and life on my own.

I've been giving myself time to think, dream, and process lately. I haven't tackled any great crafting projects. These little crocheted bowls sure fit my desire for a small project that I can work on here and there while dreaming and trying to stay cool in this summer heat.

I am in love with the thread I used for this bowl----it's DMC Senso in the linen/cotton blend. It's lovely to work with.

I used a crochet shell stitch edging and love the look. For the ribbon, I used more of the selvage from my linen stash and threaded it through the triple crochet round. I'd like to post a pattern for this little bowl but I just "winged it." Next time, I'll write things down.

I'm sure this little bowl will find many uses on my bureau. I have so many little trinkets that were given to me from my children and they each bring a special memory or a hopeful thought.  

Goldilocks.

In the ongoing employment department of my life, I continue to find I'm either under qualified or over qualified. I feel like Goldilocks who just can't seem to find the right fit. 

And the response of over qualified? HUH? While I understand the concept of "job fit" and I truly appreciated the most recent offering of "you're over qualified and you'd be extremely bored in this position" I still find it frustrating and a tad bit insulting. 

Seriously, when did this sea of employment become a churning storm of illusions and just-so interview maneuvering? How could I walk away from an interview feeling especially great about it only to receive a phone call two hours later telling me I'm over qualified? Should I have thrown in a few "Duuuh, I don't know's" for answers during the interview to land the job?

Yes, it's frustrating. But I'm not feeling hopeless like I was a couple months ago. I still have more possibilities... 

Hope, Relief & a new Favorite

The tiniest bit of relief and hopeful thoughts are creeping into my life. And more than a smile, it brings tears of relief and even a bit of empathy for myself (almost a third person observation) for what I have gone through-------I wouldn't wish this past year on anyone. I realize there are people going through far worse situations the world over but it's been tough all the same. I haven't shared most of the gory details here but suffice it to say I didn't realize how the continuous bad news and let downs had settled upon me like a dreadful cape, something I expected. How sad is that.

Ah, but I prepared a new recipe for dinner tonight. It was a quiet sit down, just the three of us, and I couldn't share with my kids what was on my mind----nor can I here. But the wheels are slowly turning forward, propelled by time and differing motivations, and for the first time in a long while I see the top of this grueling mountain I've been climbing----the mountain that is ugly divorce. It's a long way off, and I'm not sure what I'll find on the other side, but I'm hopeful. Hopeful again.

On a lighter note, what is my new favorite recipe? Green Eggs and Ham-----or Pesto crepes with ham (pictured here). They are from Nigella Express. I'm a huge fan of both savory crepes and Nigella.

Have you checked out her book yet? If not, you must. It is full of fun antidotes and great family-friendly recipes----party popcorn, homemade pancake mix, granola bars, and lots of avocado... Mmmm! The pesto crepe recipe alone is worth the price of the book. It's simple, easy, tastes fabulous and kids love it!

My kids were skeptical when they saw this presentation of dinner tonight. I recognized the look: "Oh boy, Mom's trying to force us to eat another gourmet (pronounced "gor-met")/weird meal!!" They reluctantly took one bite and kept right on biting!

I like.

The simplicity of a feather brought closer.

The late evening light casting shadows.

   

My own covered rock and the beauty of flax.

Wearing Nature.

I didn't win Margie's giveaway for one of her wonderful crocheted acorn necklaces, so I decided to make one of my own using her helpful tutorial!

I used this hemp yarn from Elann that I had in my stash and a size 2.75MM crochet hook. The hemp is an excellent yarn for crocheting!

What's even better about this necklace? It makes a perfect pouch for flowers! The stem fits through the little hole in the bottom. My daughter had a difficult time choosing between her flower, one of our wooden acorns, or a real acorn. In the end, we decided the necklace is a "nature necklace," to be filled with trinkets of the seasons...

The pouch is just single crochet but the necklace's string is made with a Solomon's Knot, or Lover's Knot----here is a tutorial on youtube.

I am very enamored with this crochet technique and I hope to take on a larger project using this knot. I thought the Solomon's Knot chain looked very nice in conjunction with the nature necklace and it also worked up very quickly. Now I'm off to make one of my own!! Have a wonderful weekend!

All White.

As if the heat wasn't enough, we must now suffer the white/grey smoke (yes, picture me saying this in a whining voice). Of course, it goes hand in hand here, the hot temps and then the smoke----hot temperatures often create one of two things: human lapses in judgement or mother nature wielding a lightning bolt. Both of them spark fires. Whichever is the cause, we now have the fire's smoke blanketing the land...

I retreated to my sewing machine today and produced a white linen shirt for my daughter. Ah, linen... It's so refreshing in summer. Though for me, linen is a favorite all year long----it's a convergence of both refinery and simplicity woven together.

I planned on embroidering her blouse and my daughter requested a mushroom. I'll admit I'm a little "over" my mushroom phase but "ask and you shall receive" was in order today.

She likes her new linen blouse. Especially after observing (Or coveting--- Are we to that phase yet?) my absolute favorite linen shirt that I've been wearing day after day recently. My shirt is not handmade-----it's from the clearance rack at J. Jill. I would LOVE to reproduce this blouse's cut and design-----a little femininity mixed with a little utility----one day I just might do it when I'm feeling a bit more adventurous...

But not today. Today, I used my old stand-bye pattern Simplicity #4589 . In fact, if any of you have used this pattern, please post your finished photos to my Flickr group: Simplicity 4589... I would love it if you shared!

The smoke won't be leaving anytime soon---perhaps more sewing is in my future!

I'm Wilting.

I think I've mentioned it before, I don't like the heat. I don't like it when it gets hot. I become grumpy and sweaty. Tag me with a capital 'W' for wimp and I'm completely okay with that----I'll wear it like a crown (as long as it doesn't make me feel any hotter)...

To even dream that I used to man a ranger booth in 100-degree temps and smile so pleasantly as I registered hundreds of campers on their merry way into the great outdoors is beyond my wildest hallucinations now. I don't know how I did it without turning into a man-eating grizzly bear... I think those campers would find a pile of sweat if I were to try it now.

So, you can imagine my dismay at trying to work on some of my wool projects right now.

You see, I was immediately smitten with this book: Knit One, Embellish Too by Cosette Cornelius-Bates and felt compelled to pull out some of my hand-spun wool. Just a simple hat to knit so I could try out this embellishment stuff---that's all I asked! No go, it's just too hot.

Even so, the book is a keeper and so are all of Cozy's designs  (go take a look, though you might need to be a Ravelry member for that link). Or you can visit her blog to view more of her work. Her artwork in yarn is amazing and so inspirational for me----it's embroidery with yarn which combines two of my favorites.

But remind me of this come late September when the temps start to subside. In fact, now that those true summer temperatures have settled in for a good dose of comfort squelching, I'm beginning to dream of a migration to Antarctica-----I'll knit every Empire Penguin their own sweater. Or Canada----is it cool up there?? Just tempt me with a snowball and I'm there!