From the Garden, In the Kitchen

Just your basic salsa, made with the most fresh ingredients possible. My harvest has been pretty small thus far, but definitely delicious. I've done two batches of salsa thus far, and expect to have a few more in the coming weeks, though I won't have enough to can anything. I've never been a fan of eating tomatoes out of hand, but I'm in in love with these tomatoes (San Marzano, I think) - so easy to seed and prep and perfect for those tomato-things I do love (sauces and salsa) - where have you been all my life?!

The blueberries have finished their run, but there's a second (smaller) batch of strawberries on the vine. I've gotten two sweet peppers thus far, though it looks like there's a few more on the way. We also cut our first bit of broccoli and the second set of lettuce is getting close to harvest. I forget that this part of the season is so robust. I guess that's why the fall is harvest time!

What are you gathering in your garden these days?

Slowing Down, Stitch by Stitch

The end of summer came all too quickly this year bringing with it big changes (LMC started daycare two days a week) and big deadlines (knitting and day-job related), and the sad realization that I should have taken more days off of work. I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed with it all and have found some soothing simplicity in hand-work. Setting all knitting aside for a a few weeks, I've been focused on my cross-stitch, and this newly finished Waldorf Doll for LMC. At other times, I would find it all a bit tedious, but for me, for now, it's just right.

What do you turn to when you need some quietude in your life?

A Trip to the Midcoast (Day 3)

I think we saved the best for last. On our way back out of the Midcoast, we made two lovely stops on a beautifully sunny day.

First up was the Beech Hill Preserve in Rockland, which doubles as a working organic wild blueberry farm. This spot was recommended by a coworker of mine, and has some stunning views. It's also far less trafficked than Mount Battie, thanks to the fact that you have to do a (rather gentle, if you're not carrying a toddler on your hip) hike up to the top.

Finally we stopped at the Olson House in Cushing. Here I'm glad that Mr. Cleaver had me do some reading up on the Olson's and Andrew Wyeth's relationship with them. Without context, the Olson House is nice, if a bit dull, as it's basically an old empty farmhouse. With context, the place has a lot of resonance.

I mostly read the 1982 book by Betsy Wyeth, Christina's World, and the first chapter of Richard Meryman's 2013 Andrew Wyeth: A Spoken Self-Portrait, both of which I found helpful. We also picked up Andrew Wyeth, Christina's World and The Olson House at the Farnsworth gift shop. I haven't read it yet, but according to Mr. Cleaver, it tells more about the history of the house, in particular what happened after siblings Alvaro and Christina died.

After wandering the house and grounds, including a visit to the A. Wyeth and Olson graves, we drove back to Thomaston for a nice lunch at a local cafe, then it was back on the road and back home.

Beech Hill Preserve, Rockland Olson House, Cushing Thomaston Cafe, Thomaston

A Trip to the Midcoast (Day 2)

Day two of our trip took us to see two different kinds of beautiful sights, 1) the stunning views of Camden from the peak of Mount Battie (fortunately very accessible by car) in Camden Hills State Park where we got LMC the first stamp in her Maine State Parks Passport, and 2) the American art at the Farnsworth Art Museum.

The Farnsworth is known for its collection of paintings from all three generations of the Wyeths, N.C., Andrew and Jamie. Mr. Cleaver is a huge Andrew Wyeth fan (I'm most partial to the more fantastical to N.C. myself, but enjoy them all), which was a big part of our decision to visit the area, and the Farnsworth collection, particularly of Andrew Wyeth studies and paintings did not disappoint. I was particularly struck by the 1982 work Adrift.

The day as a whole, made me itchy to do some painting again, which I haven't touched in far too long. (So many art forms, so little time).

Camden Hills State  Park/Mt. Battie, Camden Laite Memorial Beach Park, Camden Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland

A Trip to the Midcoast (Day 1)

This past week, the Cleaver's packed up and headed off the Midcoast for our first vacation since LMC's arrival in our lives. We set our sights on the Rockland/Camden area, about 2 hours north of Portland, and with reservations for a cottage and the loosest of to-see lists, we set off on our grand adventure.

The trip provided us with some stunning views, some additions to the fabric stash, good food (THAT PIE!!), and some much-needed down time

Moody's Diner, Waldboro Rockland Public Landing Clementine, Rockland Whale's Tooth Pub, Lincolnville Lincolnville Beach Pine Grove Cottages, Lincolnville

Introducing the Maian Shawl

As a designer, my ideas often flow from or build on a previous idea. Picassco had a blue period, I get obsessed with colorwork, or texture. But usually, because of the diversity of my publishing outlets, this is less obvious because the order I design something and the order they're released are often vastly different.

This past week's release of Maian by Quince & Co. makes for a rare exception, as it was both designed and released on the heels of Lamassu. Like it's predecessor, Maian was inspired by an ancient culture. But where Lamassu looked to the Near East, Maian takes its inspiration from the areas due south of the US border.

Maian is knit in Quince's new's yarn, Piper, which is an entirely Texas-sourced wool/mohair blend. With that info about the yarn and ancient cultures on the brain, it only seemed natural to make a shawl inspired by Aztec and Mayan stair-stepped temples.

Maian is worked from the tip up, with 1/2 the increases in each section worked as end row increases, and the other 1/2 worked as cast on increases at the end of each section. The lace is a super-easy chevron-style repeat that results a graceful and not overly-literal take on its inspiration.

If you'd like to make one for yourself, the Maian pattern is available in the shop for $6 USD.

All photos courtesy of Quince & Co. by Emma Sampson

Friday, Saturday, Sunday

LMC is not a child lacking for new experiences, because it is so much fun seeing your child experience something for the first time. It's so easy to forget how amazing things are and how much we, as grownups, take for granted. I took LMC for a walk around the block today sans stroller and she literally stopped to smell every flower, and collect every loose stick, rock, and acorn. When do we lose that and how can we get some of it back?

By the end of the day, Mr. Cleaver and I are exhausted, LMC definitely wears us out (in a good way). But I think it was less than 5 minutes out of the Wildlife Park parking lot that she crashed in the car seat, so it's safe to say that we wear her out too. We've spent a lot of time cramming activity into the short time period that is summer weekends in Maine, and we've made a valiant effort, but I have to remind myself that it's okay if we won't get to everything on the list and that a walk around the block has as much to show us as a walk around an wild animal park, if you take the time to look.

I've been seeing a bit of theme in the blogosphere, that we've all gotten so busy. Guilty as charged. I, for one, don't handle down-time all that well, it's a skill that I sorely need to develop. But it may just be that I've got the best instructor right in front of me, because who knows how to live more in the moment than a toddler?

Portland Splash Pad LL Bean KidsFEST Maine Wildlife Park

Ella Raglan Dress

I purchased ithinksew's Ella Raglan Blouse a while back, with plans to sew up a ton of cute tops, but I only finally got around to actually making one now. It's a good thing I did too, because the size on this print of the pattern only goes from 6-24 months (a bit small of a range, if you ask me. Also the long-sleeved version is a totally different pattern, which I also find silly).

I lengthened the pattern by two inches to make it into a dress/tunic and cut out the 24 month size, in hopes of expanding it's wearable time period. As it is now, it's definitely a little big, especially around the neck, so I added a ribbon from my stash (actually left over from my wedding nearly 7 years ago) as a sash to help keep everything in place.

The fabric is a quilting cotton that I picked up at Marden's back in 2010. (I've now officially used 1/2 of the prints I bought that day!) I love the print, it's very Liberty-esque, but it is definitely on the stiffer side. It works well as a dress here, but for a blouse I'd use something lighter-weight. In fact, I think it would be especially dreamy in a Liberty lawn or a voile.

As you'd expect from a raglan top, this one is super simple to sew up and I'd say it's a great beginner project. The only complicated bit is attaching the bias tape as the neckline casing, which if you use store bought bias tape (which I did here), it's fairly simple. I definitely sew this one up again, particularly if I can get my hands on some good fabric for it.

Also, one outtake, because it makes me giggle, as I can't look at it without thinking of that infamous Bigfoot photo.

Tried and True Review: Basic Black Ginger

Basic Black Ginger

Made: May 2012, about 2 years old

Update: For something meant to fill a basics gap in my wardrobe, I wear it very rarely.

Fit: Looking back on the original post, I mentioned that even then, the waistband was too large. In general, it's just too big. I cut the waistband too large and I think I even graded out in the skirt, when I didn't need to. The shaped feature of the waistband means it needs to hit the waist on the right spot and sadly, this one is about an inch too low.

Style: I really wished this one worked better, as it does looks so cute with my saddle shoes.

Materials: More than the fit, the fabric is what kills this one for me. I love twills, but this one attracts lint like crazy and looks dingy from the second you put it on. Though I'm not sure what black bottom-weight fabric wouldn't be so linty - any suggestions?

Construction: I thought I did a great job on this one, with homemade bias binding on all the edges, but I didn't sew it on very well as it's pulled off in several places. I'd add pockets again though because everything's better with pockets.

Lesson(s) Learned: Even for basics, even more so for basics, fit and fabric really matter.

Final Verdict: I'll probably still wear it occasionally, until I finally get around to making a replacement (I still want a black Ginger in my wardrobe, just a better one). When I do get rid of it, I'd only reuse the fabric as stuffing for cushions or something, it's just awful.

In The Garden

We're far enough into the growing season now for me to discover some surprises in the garden beds due to free-wheeling labeling practices on my farmer's market purchased plants.

For instance, in my last attempt at a veggie garden, one my my "bell peppers" turned out to be a banana pepper. This year, I once again have a fully grown "bell pepper" that is distinctly not bell shaped. Is it a hot pepper? A sweet pepper? Is it even ripe? I have no idea. Based on a preliminary search of the Johnny's catalog, my guess is it's a "Mellow Star" Japanese-style sweet pepper and usually eaten green, but probably not the "Yankee Bell" I thought I bought.

That beautiful rainbow of cherry tomatoes? Supposed to be a sauce/plum type called "Juliet". My plan was to make salsa and sauce out of my tomatoes, since I'm not a big fan of eating tomatoes straight, but we'll see. In any case, I'm going to have a lot of them!

I'm not to worried about my mystery plants though, it's a good way to try something new, but it does make it harder to replicate if I find out I really like it!

With the exception of the broccoli, which is struggling against dual attacks from woodchucks and some insect I can't find (probably cabbage moths), everything is growing well at this point.  I've been enjoying some delicious salads and pesto and best of all the blueberries are starting to ripen! We put bird netting over the bush this year, in hopes to getting to harvest more fruit than usual, fingers crossed for some blueberry muffins soon!