They're All the Rage

I recently got a request for infinity scarves, so I thought why not?  I've knitted up these cozy, fluffy scarves in various colors.  Each has a great color variation and great color range.  At $25 each, they're also a great less expensive option for a handmade scarf.  I made them 55" in circumference so they're nice and long to go around twice, but stay close to the neck to keep you warm.

When I was done with those, I decided to try something different too.  I had this soft, fuzzy white yarn and some shiny red yarn that I love, so I knitted them together into a loooooooooong infinity scarf (about 84" long... or around, depending on how you look at it), and came up with this scarf that looks, as Eric pointed out, like a boa.  It's so comfy!  And it's really pretty, too.

Fun, right?  They're all in the accessories section of Fabric of my Mind.  I don't know about you, but these scarves kind of cheer me up in the face of all the snow we've been having... and will apparently keep having.  Now... who wants to help me come shovel?

There's Lilac and There's Lilac

And no matter what sort of lilac it is, I adore it.  Seriously, it's my favorite flower and was the one bloom I really wanted to carry in my wedding... and was so happy when the florist told me I could!

(Flowers designed by Angie at the Metropolitan Plant Exchange,

Photography by Sharon Ann Curia of Sharon's Wedding Art)

And so when Eric and I were making our latest batch of candles, I lobbied for Lilac.  In keeping with our new look, we did them two-tone pink and purple, but the scent is gorgeous, springy, unadulterated Lilac, and they're already a hit with customers.

The 15" round pillar has already sold, but you can find the square pillars here, the small round pillars here, and the votives here.  If you're not sure how much you'll love it - or the other spring candles we've made - you can also try one of each votive in our sampler pack!

But back to the lilacs.  I can't forget about them for too long, that's for sure.  The lilacs.  I love lilacs so much that one year my sister and I got a small lilac shrub for our mom for Mother's Day from the NJ Botanical Gardens.  OK, that gift wasn't quite as self-serving as it sounds.  My sister and mom like lilacs too, and mom likes to have nice, flowering plants around the yard.

Well, back in September, Eric and I moved here to Franklin Lakes, where we have a nice little house... with a whole lotta land.  There's a forest in our backyard, for real!  Well, OK, it's a small foresty area but still.  It's foresty enough that we've had not only squirrels and chipmunks but also possum, a bunny, deer on more than one occasion, and at one point... bear tracks in the snow!  And the rest of the back yard and all of the front is a lot of lawn.  Lots and lots of lawn and trees and bushes.  So I was lobbying for a lilac shrub for our own yard.  I was hoping that during their annual plant sale earlier in the month, Eric and I could go to the NJ Botanical Gardens in the hope that they had lilacs again.

Didn't need to.

Just a week or so before, I was getting into my car for work in the morning and I glanced at this big tree that was on the other side of the driveway.  It was budding.  It was budding purple.  I went for a closer look... and quite literally danced around the driveway.  Lilacs!  A whole huge lilac shrub the size of a tree!  All mine!

It's been blooming ever since, and the smell makes me smile every time I pass by.  It makes me so, so happy.  And while we've added Lilac Candles to Reef Botanicals, I've added a new photo to Fabric of my Mind.

That beauty can be found right here, if you want your own print of it.  Can't you just smell them?

Ah, I'm smiling again.  Just can't help it!

What's Doin'?

Well... lots.

I've joined the newly formed Carlstadt Green Team, a town committee geared toward caring for and wisely using the new park that was created down the street from my house!  The team runs a monthly Fresh Air Market there, and so I'm gearing up for my first one on June 10.  It's on 3rd & Broad Streets in Carlstadt, NJ, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., so if you're in the area, come visit!

In preparation, I've made brand new batches of Lavender Soap & Oatmeal Honey Soap, and this coming week I'll be making our Mock Turtle Shampoo.  I've also been stocking up on cotton bamboo washcloths for the market & shop.

So... I've added some new photos and washcloths to Fabric of my Mind.

This tortoise was munching away on a leaf; I suppose I caught him during his lunch break.

This aster was in my own yard a couple years ago, and I love this photo.  I may need to have one printed for myself to hang.

Much like the gardenia yellow basket weave washcloth I knitted previously, this one's in an awesome sprout green cotton bamboo.

And then, still on my green kick, I did this pebbled washcloth that's got a seed stitch for a nice, scrubby texture.

This eyelet washcloth would be great as a face cloth, since it's so soft.  I went back to the gardenia yellow for this one.

Meanwhile, I've added our Oatmeal Honey soap to the Reef Botanicals HAFshop, as well as the Autumn Harvest Square Pillar.

And in the yard this year, in addition to veggies, Eric is growing hops for his beer brewing.  So I decided to expand too, by trying some flowers.  They seem to be turning into a tropical rain forest, the leaves are so thick!  They started like this...

(And that lone twig in the mulch between the two patches of flowers is a blueberry bush.)

And as of a couple days ago, the first flowers appeared!  They're itty bitty, teeny weeny white flowers.

Can't see 'em?  Look.

And this weekend, we'll be in Vermont, but I'll tell you all about that when we get back!

This one took a long time, but I got it!

I had this terrific lavender vintage yarn from an estate sale.  It was brand new, still with the wrap, and part of the stash of a knitting grandma.  There was quite a bit of it, so I knew there'd be enough for a scarf, and I wanted to do cable knit.  Despite loving the ribbed scarf I did for him, Eric still wants his cable knit scarf in cashmere.  So I found a pattern we love, but wanted to try it out with something not quite as expensive as cashmere to see if we love it just as much in person.  We do.

Isn't it great?  And that purple is such a great color.  Close up, you can see the nifty texture.  The yarn is made of kind of fuzzy purple strands and very, very fine white threads, which make it really interesting.

It's available in the new shop here.

Also newly listed in Fabric of My Mind are these photos:

The white Japanese peony I photographed in my own backyard in NJ.  These flowers are gorgeous, but the blooming season is so short.  The only way to hang onto them is with pictures.

These next two were both taken in Kinsale, Ireland, in County Cork.  This was one of the best parts of our honeymoon, and one of our favorite places in Ireland.

The Cliffs of Moher, in County Clare, Ireland, are really a sight to see.  I love how they don't quite disappear into the fog in this shot, taken on a cold and drizzly day in 2009, just before we headed to Shannon airport to return to the States.

And now?  Well, knitting addict that I have become, after I finished the purple scarf the other night at midnight and was headed for bed, I felt so wrong not having another knitting project in the works.  So I headed to the attic to that box of vintage yarn and started a black and cream striped scarf I'm doing in a stockinette stitch.

Stay tuned for news when it's listed in the shop!

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