Knitting Season

I'm ready for Fall.  Know how I'm ready?  I picked up my needles after a too long hiatus a few weeks ago and have jumped head first back into knitting.  I usually don't knit during the spring and summer but last year I had increased my skills and tried new things.  I thought that it might actually turn into a full time hobby.  Sadly I got struck down by a project that was making me sad and I just had to put it away for awhile. 

In January I decided to knit my very first sweater, specifically this one by designer Veera Välimäki:

It's a great sweater. The pattern is well written and I found it pretty easy to knit.  I even finished knitting the body.  

Then I tried it on....I'll be honest.  I felt fat.  The yarn is Rowan Cocoon which is beautiful and soft...and bulky.  Though I love Veera's designs and this is a really fun sweater I don't think it's the sweater for me.  At the time it was really disheartening and I completely stopped knitting for 5 months.  Now that I'm back in the saddle I think it's time to frog it and use that beautiful and squishy yarn for something else.  

Now that I've moved on, here is what I've been working on:

A sweet little baby hat for a gift

Greenleaf Baby Hat by Evelyn Uyemura

Arm warmers for when the weather finally turns a little cold

Toast by Leslie Friend

And now I'm working on this Dandy Neckerchief by Ariane Caron-Lacoste 

It's a really simple but beautiful lace pattern that creates a series of leaves.  When it's blocked I think it's going to be dynamite!

As a quick sidebar to all this knitting talk I just want to say how thankful I'm feeling today to have made it safe and sound through Irene over the weekend.  My parents were visiting and they bravely weathered the storm with us, though our very wooded front yard looked pretty harrowing for most of Saturday.  We didn't loose any trees, we had the yard all cleaned up by 10:00 AM on Sunday thanks to my parents lending a hand and we were without power for only 23 hours.  I have friends that have a lot more damage and still don't know when power will be restored.  We feel so very lucky. 

Dark & Moody

via pinterest

Feeling dark and moody today, even in the bright sunshine.  Wouldn't it be nice to curl up here with a good book or some knitting?  Love the peacock blue with the gold and grey.  That crazy gallery wall is pretty awesome too.

On a completely different note a got to experience my very first earthquake yesterday.  The epicenter was about 40 miles away from home.  I was out meeting with a client.  The windows in the office building across the street were wobbling like jello.  It felt and sounded like sitting on a washing machine that was out of balance.  Crazy.

Friday Inspiration: Parent Addition

This one's for my Mama. They just bought a new house and are moving for the first time in almost 40 years.  There will be lots of new house brainstorming and planning in the next few months. I know I'm excited. You can follow along with the conversation as we figure out how to make this new house their home. 

Hey Mama, I've been completely consumed with ideas for the new house. I know that you mentioned that Dad liked the dark green guest bedroom and that you would keep that.  Well, I have been completely inspired to make that inky blue guest room work as well!!  One less thing to do on the project list!  Here are some images to get yourself excited too.

Once the country border is gone, and all the dolls and lace have been put away I think we can make this room very cozy and a little masculine for a change of pace.  Remember it's not replicating the picture but more about the feeling of the room.  I love the combination of the warm wood with those deep walls. I was thinking we can use your old bed and put the white iron bed in storage for a bit.  The wood will be beautiful with that dark color.

Source: lonnymag.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Or maybe like this (without the lanterns but with the wall full of photos and art) 

Source: houzz.com via Aimee on Pinterest

It's the touches of orange that makes it for me in those previous images.  Love it!  If you were thinking something a little softer and more feminine, we could go that direction too.  Here's another one with a luscious orange upholstered bed.

Source: decorpad.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Or we could use my new favorite color combination of navy and aqua.  My white iron bed would be beautiful with this kind of look.

Source: decorpad.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Did you notice that all of these images had a nice mix of lighter neutrals to keep it from feeling to dark and heavy like you've fallen into a black hole?

Of course, if you want to be dramatic (though I've never known you to be dramatic!) we could do something like this.

Source: mackenziehoran.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Love that pop of pink on the ceiling of the canopy!

So what do you think?  Think we can make the dark green and the dark blue work?  That would mean two fewer rooms that have to be painted.  

Have a happy weekend everyone! 

While I Was Away

Last week I took a little trip home.  I got to spend some time with my family, I heard some great bluegrass and old time music and I got a hellacious sunburn from tubing on the river with my Sweet Husband.  I also took almost no pictures.  Here's a tiny taste of my week away.

Just before we left town my Sweet Husband had a birthday.  His Mama made him a cake and we sang the song and he blew out the candles.  

On Sunday I went to the Decoration with my family and ate entirely too much, but I did have an amazing view of the mountain.

Then we spent some time at the Galax Fiddler's Convention.  Monday night is the kids competition.  It's amazing to hear such talent out of someone so young.  Makes me wish I had practiced more when I was little! We had seats down front but the rain chased us into the grandstand.  Only the umbrella clad stayed in their seats.

Then we had to decide what to eat!

Also while I was home I got to see my former dog (now my parents dog) George.  He's such a sweet boy.  He was recently diagnosed with diabetes.  After a few days that were very touch and go they got him on an insulin regime and he looks AMAZING.  It's like he's a new dog all over again and we are so happy to have him back.  Doesn't he look happy too!

I don't have any pics of the tubing trip on the New River.  It was very beautiful.  The river was moving very slowly and I was in the sun with my lily-white skin for longer than expected.  I still have a softball sized spot on my left shin that you could fry an egg on.  Not pretty. 

Now back to playing catchup.

A Library: After

If you where here yesterday you saw the library before.  Now here's the (almost) after.  I'm still missing a pillow or two and I did no styling for these photographs.  You can look past that, right?  It's now a true library that's warm and cozy with a comfy place to curl up with a book.  It's also bright and cheerful with plenty of places for the family to kick back and put up their feet. Take a look:

My client has been a dream in every sense of the word.  It was so much fun making this room happen. 

A Library: Before

Today I wanted to share another project that I'm wrapping up.  It's actually part of this project that I shared a couple of weeks ago.  This room was the main tv watching area for the family.  It had a hard working wood burning fireplace but NO storage.  My client is an avid reader (an understatement) and wanted a place that she could display and store her books instead of keeping them squirreled away in closets and under beds.  She also wanted it to still be a comfortable place for the whole family to gather for movie night as well as a place to curl up with a good book.  Let's look at the befores.

As you can see the work had already begun.  The trim was painted white.

The fireplace mantel, hearth, and fireplace insert were removed.

And some of the kitchen appliances were stored.  Then as an inspirational jumping off point I left the client some paint swatches to get a feel for what she wanted for the room.

This is typically not how I start designing a room but it was the nature of how this project needed to proceed.  A color was picked and then the real fun began.  Tune in tomorrow for the big reveal!

Decoration Day

On Sunday we will travel back to my Blue Ridge mountain home and pay tribute to my ancestors in the southern tradition of laying flowers on their graves and then eating a really big meal.  I'm actually very excited to be able to visit with my family and get a little time to stand in one of the most beautiful places on earth. 

In my family it's traditional to pick flowers from the garden or if they aren't fairing so well pick wildflowers to make the bouquets.  When we where visiting in June I got to go on a flower picking excursion with my Mom and my Aunt (involving a golf cart, a dirt road and possibly a pre-dinner cocktail) and then watch them work their magic.  Here are some of the fruits if their labor.

And a few close-ups

And here are are the finished bouquets.  So pretty!

Before I go, here's a peak of my view in Rocky Hollow.

What are some of your family summer traditions?  Happy Friday!

Designer's Dilemma

Okay, so you know how designers can make decisions all day long when working with clients and are completely confident in those decisions but when it comes to our own homes we can be unsure, wishy-washy, and indecisive about making the right choice???  Well, that's where my head is right now, sort of.

We are still knee deep in the big re-arrange half the rooms in the house project and I've started to turn my focus to the new guest room.  It's a tiny little room but it could be a real jewel-box.  I've started collecting my thoughts (pinning away) trying to find some inspiration.

Way back in April, before we decided to move everything around I had been playing with the idea of working on the existing guest room. Here's a reminder of what I had been thinking about:

Navy and white is a classic combination.  I still like where this is going but I feel like it needs a little something to keep it from being so serious.  Also, did I mention that the room is tiny?  There will only be room for the bed and bedside tables.  I definitely want an upholstered bed, maybe with wings....maybe even DIY???  That sounds like I might need to bring in the big guns.  I'm going to need to call in my Mama.  She can do anything. What do you think Mama?  Can we do it?

I do know that I want it to be shades of blue (and a little teal) with green and maybe a little orange thrown in.  Here are a few things that have been inspiring me lately.

This picture from Lonny has inspired me tremendously.  Love the neutral wall with that tealish blue bed.  I also love the panel detail of the wall, which I had thought about for the guest room in it's old location (now the music room.)  

Source: lonnymag.com via Aimee on Pinterest

 Here's another room from Lonny that makes me excited in 10 different ways.  It's traditional with a twist which is how I would define my personal style.  Love the overall neutral-ness of the room with pops of color.  Also, those large format photographs and stacks of books rock!

Source: highstreetmarket.blogspot.com via Aimee on Pinterest

These colors together are so beautiful together.

Source: decorpad.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Maybe what this room needs is a Teester!  Too much??

Source: havenandhome.blogspot.com via Aimee on Pinterest

Though not a bedroom, these are the colors I want (well, at least today)

Source: stylebyemilyhenderson.com via Aimee on Pinterest

I guess I need to go fabric shopping to really kick this project into gear.  It's time to make a commitment.