fall knits, and to the sea we go

We arrived at the beach for our annual pilgrimage to the North Carolina coast yesterday around lunch time, and I couldn't be happier. I am currently on my second consecutive week off from the day job, and am finally able to relax oceanside. :)

Before we left town, I was able to snag a few product shots for new fall knits that have already started appearing in the shop. A couple of my favorites are pictured here ...

You can find this incredibly soft wool cowl here.  It's knitted with the most incredible wool from Wool and the Gang, and I used moss (or seed) stitch for the pretty texture.

This alpaca cowl just hit the shop today, and I will almost be sad to see it go (though very happy to think of someone out there wearing it.)

Last but not least, one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite people:

dana barnes studio

My Stumble Button loves me (or, at least, it knows I love yarn.)  A few days ago, I stumbled upon the website for Dana Barnes Studio in New York.  I would almost be ashamed of the way these images excited me, but I was too excited to care.  I get all tingly whenever I look at them.  I need to visit/work for/live in this studio!  Here is an excerpt from the website, and please take your sweet time drooling over the pictures below:

creative space - work in progress

I think I mentioned once in an earlier post that I have been working to create a studio space where I can work on projects and photograph them.  I love our apartment and the office/knitting room, but I don't have a good space here that I can designate for product shots.  This is where the little corner that I like to call the "faux loft" comes in.  It's really a basement space, but the exposed pipes and beams and deep cement window sill lend themselves to an industrial loft feel. Plus, the window has magical light (the orchid below was dead before we put it there.)  I whitewashed the walls and painted the radiators, and now all that's left is to lay a pickled white wood floor.  Once the space is finished I'll be able to leave my tripod and fill lights permanently set up.  I can't wait!  

life goes on

... And time flies.  It's hard to believe that it is nearly August and I can count the number of posts I've made this summer on my fingers.  I always intend to launch new styles for spring/summer and use some of my free time to blog about the projects I'm working on, but it never happens. C'est la vie, I suppose.  I am keeping myself busy with family, friends, and a new obsession with going to the gym.  Yeah, we'll see how long that one lasts ...

Anyway, I couldn't let too much time go by before I posted about what I have been working on: new knits for Fall.  Even though I never got around to making/posting summer knits, I have been knitting scarves like crazy.  And I'm toying with the idea of knitted garland for kids' rooms.  Check out these snapshots from my summer knitting frenzy, and keep up with my projects on instagram @marionglass. 

And of course, I can't make a whole post without a picture of Henry. Here he is in his Selima Optiques, such a ham:

poolside birthday

Henry's fourth birthday finally rolled around last week, and I am just now getting around to looking at/posting the pictures.  I can't believe that I am the mother of a four year old!  Life is nothing like I thought it would be, and I'm happy.  Henry makes everything worthwile.

The birthday party was a huge success.  It rained off and on that day, and I honestly didn't know if we would have the party or not.  Because I had a lot of last minute projects that wouldn't be good left over, I had to put a lot of things off and give up on some of the stuff I wanted to do.  But it didn't matter.  The weather cleared up and we headed for the pool to party.  The decorations were cute (if I do say so myself), the atmosphere was laid back, and the kids (we had 9 there this time, thanks to preschool buddies!) had a blast.  Henry was thrilled, and that's what matters most. :)
 

anchors away!

Still prepping for Henry's birthday ... Since he is obsessed with Jake and the Neverland Pirates (the latest take on Peter Pan), I have been adding some nautical themes to the decorations.  While he napped this afternoon, I made some hand painted anchors to go on each child's goody bag.  So fun!  Photos via Instagram. :)

the big four

Henry's fourth birthday is right around the corner, and I have been hard at work making handmade decorations and party favors.  We're having a pool party this year, so the theme is all fish and shades of blue.  I want it to feel special and very whimsical, so I have been hand-stamping cupcake toppers, learning to make paper pom poms to hang over the deck, and designing banners to string from the rails.  I also bought a ton of wind-up fish, dolphins, and sharks to fill the pool with.  The invitations (which, I have to say, I am quite proud of) are going out tomorrow, and I can't wait for his big day!
 

insta life

Like everyone else these days, I have been a little obsessed with Instagram.  I have been kind of private with the images (until now), only posting them to Instagram and not sharing them on facebook constantly.  But it seems to be the primary way I have been documenting my life and crafts lately, so it's time to share.

Recently ...

 I am obsessed with french braiding my hair ...

 My fascination with the ocean continues (this is a starfish) ...

 I created an under-the-stairs fort for H (more to come on this!) ...

 I made engagement cupcake toppers for my brother and his fiance ...

 I created this giant cork/chalk/magnetic board for the studio ...

 I have been playing around with colorblock manicures ...

 And I attended an amazing Memorial Day weekend wedding with Banks.

Look out for more insta-life in the near future. :)

living

Don't worry, we're still alive over here. Have you ever noticed that no matter how much money you make, you always seem to need more? I think time off works the same way. I cram a 40+ hour work week into three days, and I have four days off every week. But it's never enough to fit everything I need/want to do, which is one of the plethora of reasons that the blog is neglected.

Lately, I have been using my time off for a variety of things (besides just sitting around watching Grey's Anatomy on Netflix), like commissioned knits, a huge project to create a studio space, making sushi with Banks, and spending time with my sweet boy. Once again, I had plans to make spring knits for the store, but I have pretty much abandoned them for now. I do plan to update at some point, but working on the new studio and spending plenty of time with my family is more important right now.

I plan to start posting about this studio project in the very near future, and update the blog more often. We'll see how that goes. In the meantime, here are some pictures to tide you over.