Last Day of February

Mr. Red Bird, Standing Sentinel Outside My Window

Little Shop of Pathos Starts

Prince Charming

Saucy

Six Pots of Sauce

Cranberry Orange Cream Scones

Dove

Sunkist

XOXO Terez

Winter Blooms to the Rescue

Extreme Close-Up

Yes, yes, I should know better. When the New England mercury hit 60 degrees on Friday, I was ready to swap my wool for cotton and ditch the puffy Tootsie-Roll Coat.

Not so fast, my friends. Mother Nature is such a tease sometimes. The 60 degrees did us good: it melted snow piles that were shoulder-high to hip- or knee-high, and I finally, truly, stopped worring about my roof caving in. But in someways it was a cruel break before today's face-numbing-in-the-teens-wind-chill lows.

At least the sun has been making scattered appearances, hurrah! Yesterday's rays gave me the chance to experiment with my new camera and the Extreme Focus mode (as evidenced above by the teeny, tiny flower blown up to mega proportions) with the plant HH and I picked up last week:

Actual Size

Nothing like a pretty pink flower in a pretty pink pot to perk up the dog days of winter.

XOXO Terez

Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut

Two Halves of the Same Whole

I'm coming off a few weeks that feel the the movie Groundhog Day.

Work, eat, sleep, entertain, travel, repeat. I don't see the word "craft" or "create" in there. Hmmm.

This weekend I was unexpectedly out of town so the craft studio remained empty over the three-day holiday, boo! It's ok, though, it's still there waiting for me and my long flights left me time to brainstorm a few ideas I want to execute.

First up: those cute little nutshells above. When HH was in town I found unshelled walnuts at Polcari's in the North End for $3.50 a pound. We picked out 15 nuts that looked that they might pop in half with a little coaxing.

One paring knife and 10 minutes later, we lost five shells to the cause and ended up with ten perfect pairs.

I've seen a few ideas for these treasure boxes from nature:

Baby cradle ornament
Pirate ship
Money box
Inspiration box
Hinged treasure box
Secret message container
Tiny candle holder

I'll let you know what I decide on.

XO Terez

Sunset Scarf: Complete!

Sunset Scarf Warding Off 20 Degree Temps

I'm verrry pleased to share that I have been knitting through the six Un-Finished Objects I listed a few weeks ago:


1. Double Basket Weave Scarf (1/4 of the way done)
2. Sunset Scarf (1/3 of the way done)
3. Matt's Christmas Scarf (1/2 of the way done)
4. Candy Apple Red Watch Hat (4/5 of the way done)
5. Seawaves scarf (1/3+ of the way done)
6. Basket Weave Scarf (4/5 of the way done)

Oooh it feels good to use that strikethrough font!

Up above you'll see the most recent piece hot-off-the-needles: the Sunset Scarf. Originally I intended it to have some other shades of pink, as well as yellow and orange but when I was halfway through I just didn't like the way the colors were behaving, so I ripped them out. Four hours of work down the drain but I like the final result.

And no, I didn't make the hat (I wish!). I found that lovely little number on sale at LL Bean this weekend with HH for under $10.

Now I must find innerstrength and not:

1. buy anymore yarn until UFOs 1, 3 and 4 are complete
2. not cast on any more projects until UFOs 1, 3 and 4 are complete

I'll let you know how my resolve holds up.

Stay warm!

XO Terez

HH: Renaissance Man

Valentine Heart tatted by HH

My father is a renaissance man. He gardens. He woodworks. He cooks. He can redo an apartment for less than $1,000. He hunts. He camps. He ballroom dances with my mother. And? He tats lace:

Baby Bonnet Crown for Pending Little Herbert Girl

He taught himself to tat almost 35 years ago. Every couple of years he'd pick up his shuttle and thread and crank out a pair of baby booties for a pending niece or nephew. I think he taught himself from a book and my great-grandmother on Mamacat's side worked with him a bit.

Valentine doily for TH by HH

When retirement came a calling, HH had more time to work on his tatting skills. He started tatting bookmarkers (as he calls them) for many of the friends he's made through the years. He's done all colors, and here is his latest, started on the plane ride here and finished this weekend:

HH's Bookmarker

The first two photos in this post--the Valentine Heart and the Baby Bonnet Crown--he completed during this trip. Ahem, he finished three of those Valentine Hearts and the baby bonnet is much farther along! It is amazing to watch my father work on this dying art.

Mini-Hearts Chained Lace

Three cheers to HH for spending Valentine's with me and three cheers to Mamacat for letting him come ;)

XOXO Terez

Harvard Museum of Natural History Inspiration Sunday

Harvard Museum of Natural History Inspiration Sunday:
Flora, Fauna, Rock, Crystal

All You Need Is Love

OXO I Love You So!

I don't usually feel squashed by the weather but the every-three-day-storm-cycle, ice, snow, dirty snow, slippery walks to work, clouds, snowy-heavy-roof-disasters have got even this Pollyanna down. I haven't wanted to craft. I've only wanted to sleep. My usual tonic, hot cocoa, has been no help.

However, excellent news! HH (my super dad) is coming for a visit. Even better, he's arriving a day earlier than I thought. He'll be here tomorrow. I picked up his favorite beverage (Pepsi--in mini cans, so cute!) and treat (cinnamon candies--Hot Tamales) so he'll feel right at home.

The snow is melting. My roof looks a lot safer than it did yesterday (knock on wood!). I made a fresh batch of Mamacat's Low Fat Bacon and Cheddar Dip (sounds like an oxymoron, no? I'll share the recipe another time) and put out some crudite and Ruffles. I'm giving hot cocoa another shot. I'm going to work on my Sunset Scarf and veg and watch some entertainment news and be thankful I am warm, safe, healthy and think about my beloved family and friends. All you need is love.

XO Terez

Deep. Winter.

Boston's State of Affairs

Deep Freeze

Daily Ritual

We're All on Autopilot

Half and Half House

Storm Frequency