cloth.paper.string

outside and in :: orbs

Outside we found a familiar shoreline changed dramatically by wind and water. The beach around the bend we used to visit for collecting is now craggy rocks. The craggy rocks closer by are now surrounded by a beach for collecting. The great movement of rock revealed more treasure, including the mother of all beach marbles and one of her babes.

Inside the wild plums were readied. The longer the finished jam sits the more willing I am to accept the fact that the batch is only good if you don't let the tannic aftertaste catch up with you.  While making it I kept tasting, kept getting hooked on the sweetness of the plum paired with the fresh ginger, kept thinking of the jam slathered on homemade bread.  My resident testers immediately puckered their faces; and the less refined one spit her toast on the floor.  If time and temperature are yielding I'll go back to the tree and try again.  I so want gingered plum jam.

inside and out : spring weekend

Inside, we stenciled shirts.  Poured, sipped and poured some more tea.

Outside we hiked, skipped, and watched the unfurling of the season.

inside and out : january weekend

Inside another loaf of bread is devoured.  It's another modification of the no-knead European Peasant, this time with home brewed stout. 

Outside the shifting winds pile ice along the shore, while the subzero temperatures create new ice on the lake overnight.  Brave fisherfolk venture out, drill holes in the surface and drop their line.  You can see how close they are to the open water here.

inside and out : reminders

Inside, I reaquaint myself with my sewing machine.  Stiching up newborn hats for Mama to Mama's Caps to Cap-Haitien project.  A reminder that simple and small acts can, and do, make a difference.   And too, contributing to the project reminds me of the importance of the connection between mamas all over. 

The cotton jersey I had on hand isn't exactly a color that I associate with newborns, but the caps are made from the remnants of t-shirts I repurposed into pants for my babe when she was wee.  Connecting the sewing I've done for my child to sewing I'm doing for someone else's child has far greater importance to me than getting the colors just right.

Outside, I reconnect to the fresh air.  Ignoring the head cold that has kept us all sniffling at home for the last four days, we ventured out.  A short brisk hike along the Superior Hiking Trail.  A reminder of the healing qualities of being outside.

inside and out : june

Inside we rest under the weight of a newly thrifted quilt, admiring the handiwork of another.  Wondering how someone could give up something so lovingly made.  Imagining that the places where the circles come together are meadows in which the toy farm animals graze.

Outside we ride.  We run.  We let the wind blow through our hair, and we know that summer is almost here.

inside and out: celebrating spring

Inside, homemade chocolate croissants from the neighbors, delivered while still warm and gooey.  Eggs dyed with red cabbgage, turmeric, beets and coffee - and just about every combination thereof.   


Outside, more new snow.  Melting ice boulders on the shore.  The far-off horn of one of the shipping season's first arrivals into the port.

May the weekend have brought you and yours many signs and much celebrating of this new season.

blues: inside and out

Outside, steam rises off the deep blue lake.  Heat is all relative when the air temperature is -18 degrees F.  Needless to say I didn't stay outside for long.

Inside, the blue cable sweater is finished.  For the second time.  I ended up getting help at the local knitting shop, thanks in part to all of the encouraging comments and emails.  Picking up stitches isn't that scary after all.  Even if there are over thirty to pick up...

blues: inside and out

Outside the grasses beckon us to the lake for one of the last days of bare feet.

Inside I work through the first cable of yet another sweater from this book.   

inside and out

Outside we stroll and picnic on a new section of the Superior Hiking Trail with the littlest of hikers.

Inside (or at least back at home) packages are wrapped for mailing.  The bag is a modified ballerina bag from Celine Dupuy's book, and the crayon roll came to fruition thanks to this great tutorial by Skip To My Lou.

inside and out

A sudden trip to the cities brought us to the new library for an afternoon this week.  Outside, stark yet organic landscaping.  Inside, whimsy at the information desk.