Finds - Equinox Color

I always feel like this time of year marks an odd shift. For just a moment, before the earth returns to rich tones and muted colors, everything gets a little brighter. The yellow of early changing leaves shine in that warm light of September afternoons. 

Photo by JennDiGuglielmo.

The sun falls directly down the streets as it sets, the equinox lining it up with our neatly planned east-west streets. Is it any wonder that our ancestors loved to arrange things on a celestial grid? 

Class up your journal, from BlueToad.
Psst... BlueToad is having a sale. Use coupon code "September2013"
at checkout to receive 20% off entire journal purchase.

The bright green of summer fields makes the yellows pop even more, and the last waves of wildflowers dance in the cooler air.

Brightly colored Brooch from NormaJeansCloset.

 As it gets colder I get to pull out all the warm fuzzies that have been neglected for most of the summer. And I get started on new pieces for the winter. It's great tea weather, which makes great crafting weather. And the colors outside inspire more warm fuzzies. 

Mitts by PixieBell.

Yarn dyed by 19 Projects.

And of course with the harvest time, there is plenty to do in the kitchen. The bounty of the season makes for wonderful meals, shared in the last golden light of the day.

Fantastic tree apron from WalkervilleTextiles.

As the wheel of the year turns each season has it's own delights. I, for one, relish the bright colors and soft light of September. What is your favorite feature of the Equinox time?

Irish Goodies

 Here's some more highlights from my trip to West Ireland, I'll return to regular blogging soon!

We visited Coole Park, the estate of a wealthy Englishman that was planted with extensive forest and gardens.

 A lovely old Abbey has become cow pasture. These are by far the happiest cows I have ever seen! No wonder Irish beef and dairy are so good.

 After the Abbeys were dissolved or abandoned people began to be buried in the Skyclad (roof-less) churches.

 And ancient tomb uncovered. These were built in a range from 4,000-3,000 BCE, and were originally piled over with dirt and stones. They dot the Irish landscape, but are found across the entire range of Indo-European culture.

 Nestled in the rough rocky coastline was this lovely white sand beach, that on a sunny day had pleasantly warm water. Ireland actually has a considerable amount of surfing spots!

 Horses, ponies, cows, and sheep all pastured together right up against the Flaggy Shores.

 A view of a 3,000 year-old ring fort built on a promontory. I was on the largest of the Aran Isles, and saw two of this neat ancient forts. I also bought an Aran sweater, straight from the woman who knit it!

 Riding bikes along the Burren Coast Road into Galway Bay.

 Small hidden path that led to a ruined church, lined with blackberry bushes, yum!

 The fleece I brought home from Ireland. The breed wasn't specified, but in the area I saw Blackface and Suffolks. Look at that lovely crimp! I washed the fleece, and I'm looking forward to spinning with it for Spinzilla.

I also found some wonderful hand-dyed yarns at the Sheep and Wool Centre. From right to left they are dyed with tormentil root, sorrell root, heather, young gorse and mature gorse.

I'm somewhat inspired to pursue natural dying again, my previous attempts were underwhelming. But if those gorgeous yellows can happen, it's worth the effort!

The Green Lands

 I've been in Ireland the last few days, I'll be here for two weeks exploring the Burren country and learning about local plants. Here's some photos of the lovely landscape.

A Burren, or large limestone bluff. The stones are paving the valley, and they've been used to build long low walls and old buildings.

We went to visit an old church with a sacred well. The natural spring site has had a stone well built next to it, people have left tokens for luck and healing tied to a hazel tree. The site is attributed to St. Coleman, an important figure in Irish history. The area also has a wee fairy cave and lots of lovely hazel woods!

 A sacred well near the town of Kinvarra, notice the cloth bits tied to the tree.

 Here's the well at Kinvarra, it hasn't been used for water in some time so it's full of algae and watercress.

 An old house minus the roof. The blocks were neatly quarried and carefully fitted.

 Dunguaire Castle in the bay, it's very small inside, so it was likely used as a lookout for the coast.

Creating bike culture in the Galway region! Lots of the signs dot the roads, but they are narrow and winding. We will be touring on bicycle next week.

It's an enchanting countryside with lush greens and beautiful seascapes! I'll be posting about Ireland for the next few weeks.

Back from the Ride

 It's been a while, I've been busy. But mostly, I've been out and about. To make it up to you, dear reader, for a dearth of post here are a smattering of views of the great American West. And some of the oddities that dwell there...

Finds - A Victorian Tea

Don't let the summer's heat fool you, it is never a bad time for hot tea! Find a shady veranda with a cool afternoon breeze, and pull out your scones!

 

Like this fine lady, waiting for a duel. From TheGorgonist

 First one will need a suitable teapot, this one from Industrial Safari  is just the thing!

 OnceUpnTym Offers this lovely gold thread cozy, just the thing to keep your tea brewing right. 

ShoponSherman - One must have just the right tea cup of course.

 

And these fine wrist adornments will accessorize the tea-going lady with class! Made by BionicUnicorn 

 

Let us not forget the brew itself, I'm rather fond of this Requiem from DryadTea, spicy and mysterious! 

Don't forget a fan and a proper assortment of wee treats, it's tea time!

Painting Again

 It's time now to finish up the house painting project, or at least one more room of it. I'll have a new roommate next month, and an exchange student. I wanted to get all the guest rooms taken care of before anyone shows up!

 First came all the prep work. As I have painted this house it has become very clear to me that many people skip this step. There is carpet fuzz stuck to the trim, and switch plates painted to the walls. I took a razor scraper and removed all the funky stuff on the trim. I also patched the big holes in the walls that we used to bolt up bookshelves. Some were really really big *guilty look*.


We then painted the trim white. For some reason simply painting the trim a different color than the walls makes any room look twice as good...

Look at that fabulous green! I wanted light enough to be a bright room, but not pastel at all, and Mr. Crafty vetoed lime green.

My partner in crime (future roommate) did the roller-ing, while I took the green up to the ceiling and flush with the trim. The green glow from the walls mixes nicely with the yellow glow from the sun.

It'll need another coat of roller-ing to get an even color, but I'm already in love with it! This is going to be our young spainiard's room, so I get to do a little bit of decorating for it! I'm on the lookout for some nice lush landscapes and rich red sunsets to hang!

Have you tried a major color change in your house? What color would your dream room be?

Bike Bag

 My sad little bike bag finally died, after having the zipper split and spill my bike chain once too often. (Confession - I've been meaning to make a better one for a while. I'm not sad.)

So I set about making a new bag, this one will sit on the rear rack instead of attaching to the seat post.

 It's not enough for me to have sturdy denim, I wanted to keep water out too. I recycled some baggies that my CSA veggies are coming in, and ironed it to shrink and melt the bags together. It makes a nice thick layer to keep out rain.

 I pinned the plastic fabric to the denim pieces, and cut it a little bit bigger. The less holes one puts in the plastic to better it will repel water of course, so I tried to keep it simple. I added the fancy fabric first, so there wouldn't be lines of applique stitches in the plastic lining either.

And no, those are NOT my sewing scissors. People who cut plastic with sewing scissors deserve to be put in a bag full of ants.

 I also tucked some cords into the bottom seam to be my tie-ons. Can you believe that I don't have any velcro just laying around? The cords are working ok for now, but I will likely replace them with velcro in the long run.

 After sewing together the pieces I trimmed back all the excess plastic lining. If I lived somewhere that water was a big deal I would do flat-felled seams and seal them like a tent... but I don't.

Also, I'm lazy.

Here's the crazy vintage zipper added to the top. The bag opens on three sides for easy access of tools and such.

On the first test run of the bag, naturally, the zipper failed. After gathering up my chain and tools I vowed to never trust fancy vintage zippers again.

 Look at all that space! Mind you, I haven't had a flat tire for nearly a year *knocks on wood* so this is mostly cosmetic.

"I can fix my own bike! I never do, but I could..."

I do know that I will find more random items that need to be put in here 'just in case'. It's the big purse curse!

Here it is in it's natural habitat. A nice sturdy metal zipper that shows no sign of giving out replaced the broken one, but I kept the ribbon trim.

Ride on!

Have you ever made something for your bike?