wool, leather and linen

I’ve been enjoying combining vintage wool checks and plaids, beautiful salvaged leather, and linen. It just seems so perfect. Maybe even better than perfect.

The Amesbury Bag and Clutch are available in the shop.

More Amesbury bags and clutches are on the way. They will all be limited in quantity. Some will be one of a kind.

A new color for the camera bag is available now too. This rich plum feels so autumnal, don’t you think?

 

I hope you all had a happy Halloween and a wonderful weekend! We enjoyed a beatiful afternoon walking on the riverfront, followed by a festive evening at a costume party.

Tomorrow is the full moon. If you get a chance, remember to step outside in the night air and enjoy it, even for just a moment.

and the winner is…

Thank you everyone, for your really wonderful comments and enthusiasm. The winner of this giveaway is commenter #10 ~ Heather Polson. Congratulations Heather!

I was going to use the random number generator this time, but I guess I prefer the old fashioned method of drawing from “the hat.” Although in my case it was an old glass measuring pitcher.

Don’t worry if you didn’t win this one. There are more giveaways coming up.

Enjoy the day! See you soon! We are having a spectacular break of sunshine after an exciting, torrential downpour of rain and hail.

 

shop update

I’ve added some new things to the shop today. A couple pairs of house shoes for women in vintage wools – one in the perfect tweedy eggplant plaid and the other in a really awesome navy houndstooth; a pair of baby boots in shades of purple and a belle ruche in chocolate brown twill lined with natural hemp. I have some more new bags in the making, hopefully to be ready in the next week or so, but I just couldn’t see waiting any longer to get these posted.

I hope you have all enjoyed a wonderful week.

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway if you haven’t already! You have until the end of Monday.

what is old

…could it be new again?

Today I had intended to do a shop update and then sew all day long. Things went as they did though, and instead I enjoyed a spontaneous lunch date with my sister, followed by an enthusiastic start on a house project I have been thinking about, talking about and dreaming about for what seems like forever. Remember way back in August, when I mentioned that indoor project I was going to explore? Well I never reported those results because I never got to it, until today. The “explore” part had to do with seeing what was underneath the nasty particle board, and the slight possibility that we might just find an interesting (sub)floor under there. I pulled up the first row of particle board sections and then we discussed the ideas of painting it, sanding and staining it, or just covering the whole thing with the bamboo flooring we have been waiting to put down in there. I decided it was worth sanding some of it, to see what it looked like once cleaned up. I got so into it (I love what a sander can do!), that I will likely continue on and sand the whole thing,. With a few repairs, a thorough sanding, a nice finish, a clean trim, and a big cozy area rug this might just be a great (temporary) rustic (maybe very rustic) floor for a bedroom. We can always use that bamboo elsewhere. What do you think?

I’ll show more photos when I’m finished!

PS We are not sure what kind of wood it is. It’s definitely not pine (this wood is harder and with a different grain), and it is softer than a hardwood. Our first guess is hickory.

organizing… and a giveaway!

I have just relocated my sewing space to our loft, which has prompted a lot of organizing and cleaning out. It is rather shocking how much stuff I have !! and particularly in the realm of fabric. I have acquired quite a lot of very nice fabrics over the last year -  linens, cottons, embroidered, vintage… I spent quite a bit of time the other day carefully going through all my fabrics and sorting them into piles of what to keep, what to pass on and then the most fun… what to gift. I have selected some fabric that I don’t think I will necessarily use any time soon, or that I may have quite a lot of, and would like to have some giveaways here to express my appreciation and just to enjoy the fun of sharing with my readers. I know all of you don’t sew, so I will be having a couple of giveaways with those of you in mind as well.

This bundle includes:

2+ yards of undyed stretchy cotton / linen blend, a nice size piece of brown 100% hemp twill, a nice size piece of undyed 100% hemp, 1 yard of lightweight blue gray 100% linen, a section of vintage eyelet trim, and a spool of cotton surgical thread (this stuff is great for hand stitching. It is very strong!) The wooden clothespin is included as well.

To be included in the drawing, simply leave a comment on this post by the end of Monday Oct 26. Don’t be shy!! This is for you.

I’ll report back with results after choosing a random winner.

Thank you for being so supportive everyone.

handmade soap

I am pretty fussy about what I put on my skin. It has to be simple, pure and made of things I can identify. For years I have been using Dr Bronners as my one and only soap for hands, face and shower. Last year it felt time for a change and somewhere along the way I was fortunate enough to discover Oakmoss. Amber makes high quality soaps (and natural soy candles for the candle lovers) and she uses only pure and organic vegetable oils as the base, and pure essential oils for fragrance. She has a great selection of bars available right now, freshly cured. I can’t wait to try my new Lavender Citrus bar, and I can highly recommend the Lemon Wood – woodsy, rich and deep with a complexity that picks you right up, and worth every penny of  6 dollars for such solid, long lasting, high quality soap. Amber is gentle and kind and provides generously sized samples to boot. So go take a look, before this batch is gone!

rainy days

Since moving I feel like I have been working non-stop just to catch up on everything. When orders aren’t being filled, furniture is being moved, boxes are being unpacked, corners are being cleaned and all other manner of the business of settling into a new space that is halfway torn up is being tended to. With the move I have left my job at the retreat center, which means I am self-employed – this time with the intent to subsist off my income from infusion. I have been excited for this chance to invest more time and creative energy into my little business for quite some time now, and during these last couple days I have finally gotten to a point where I am working on a few new things for the shop again. It’s been far too long I think! More on that later — and hopefully sooner than later.

Amidst all the doings mentioned above I have made sure to make some time for long autumn walks, and to explore our new surroundings. The rains came a couple days ago and we had heavy wind and power outage last night, but during the balmy temperate days there are many breaks in which to venture out. I love these rainy autumn days. It’s as if time stretches out just a little bit longer, the world gets a bit quieter and everything comes out refreshed. What do you like about rainy days?

oh, if only…

If only these were my size! Do you know how HARD it is to find cute, comfortable, versatile women’s shoes? If you spot a pair of these adorable vintage bass mocs in size 8 anywhere, please let me know. A well-deserved reward will be offered!

Found at the vintage closet.

transformation

Life feels so full of transformation right now, both big and small, and in most every area I can think of. It’s exciting, and there seems to be hardly a moment where I don’t recognize something new. There are even times where I can’t help but let out a little squeal! We’re excited about the continuing changes on our home. The photo below was taken a little while back, but aside from a little paint preparation it looks more or less the same. The intense pace of this summer’s project has slowed down to a more natural progression of working on what ever seems to flow with the day – not to say there is not a lot of work still to do.

I am loving this shift to autumn weather. The crisp cool mornings are beautifully punctuated by what sounds like a thousand song birds. The nights are so quiet now without the sounds of crickets and bullfrogs. And the moon seems so close and so bright. Living a little ways in from the ocean we now have deciduous trees around us, so we are experiencing a more colorful fall than we’ve seen in some time. The baby deer are getting big and the young buck is even sprouting some tiny nubs on his head already.

It’s been a little bit like summer during the afternoons still, so I leave you with a few photos as I head off to enjoy the rest of it. I’ll be back soon.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!

split stitch

I’ve started practicing some embroidery stitches, and I must say, whether using crewel wool or not, it is quite fun and relaxing. A particular embroidery stitch I have really tended toward is the “split stitch” – but I did not know what it was called until now. Here I am practicing the split stitch. Through this simple free-hand beginning, an idea has begun to develop around a small installation, possibly to be hung on a wall as a set. I hope to work on the other parts of this idea soon!

And here are a few inspirations from today’s walk. I find silhouettes to be particularly fun to explore.