creating space for beauty & simplicity
I know I wrote about the peacock hat here a few weeks ago but I am back with more. I just love this pattern!
I made the black and white one for my sister for her birthday and the purple and grey one for my mom this past weekend while we were away. We have similar styles so it was fun to create each one with it’s own individual personality making each one a bit different so we wouldn’t be too matchy-matchy.
Now we are all strutting around proud as peacocks with our new (not so matchy) hats.
After much hinting around about how I longed for a bird feeder to live outside our dining room window, Norah made me this beautiful one in wood shop class. We installed it in the fall, used a millet seed mix and sat back and watched. Weeks went by but no birds to be found. I began to get impatient, as I sometimes do, and my family would roll their eyes as I would look out the window each day asking “Birdies where are you?” I did some research and decided to switch to black oil sunflower seed. Later that day as I was washing dishes I squealed out loud with delight as I spotted a Tufted Titmouse from the kitchen window. I even called Chris at work to tell him. After that our feeder has seen a flurry of daily activity.
I love the design which has proved to be quite a hit with an amazing array of birds and it’s squirrel proof too! Norah made a beautiful Yew knob that sits atop the roof which lifts up to pour in seed. It has a nice wide lip for bigger birds to perch on while the smaller birds feed inside under the protective roof. I have sometimes seen up to 5 different types of birds feeding at once. The base seems to be too wide for the squirrels to jump from the pole up to the feeder. I had quite a chuckle one day as I watched one do back flips over and over trying to get up. I have yet to see another one try. I think Earl must of told them not to waste their time. I told Norah she should patent her design.
I never dreamed of how much joy this little feeder would bring me. I love how much life it brings to the side of our house. The other day as I was coming home from my morning walk I watched from across the street at a variety of birds on the feeder, on the branches of nearby shrubs, in the flowering cherry tree above and even up in my window boxes. There was a Downy Woodpecker pecking at the ivy vine growing up our house and squirrels and mourning doves feeding on the ground below the feeder. I am having to fill the feeder at least once a day for all of our new little friends! It will be fun to see if we have some volunteer sunflowers come up in the garden from all of the seed.
I have begun to keep a written list of the birds that visit our little Second and Edgemont feeder. So far we have seen House Finch, Blue Jay, Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, Black Eyed Junco, Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Mourning Dove, Red Bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Yellow Finch, White Breasted Nuthatch, Purple Finch and White Throated Sparrow.
We are keeping an eye out and our fingers crossed for Oriole, Evening Grosbeak, Scarlet Tanager and Cedar Waxwing.
What birds come to visit your feeder? Any tips on bird seed?
I wanted to share a few projects that I had fun knitting over the last few months. I tend to only work with one color so two of these projects were a little out of my comfort zone but I am now completely hooked on color work and fair isle!
I was super happy with how the Peacock Hat turned out. It’s always a treat to knit something for myself. It’s super warm for my morning walks and I adore the pattern.
I made a pair of fingerless mitts for Hannah for Christmas. I have knit many a pair of these. They are quit and easy. The pattern is from this book.
Norah requested the Baa-ble hat for Christmas. How cute are those sheep?! Now she wants the matching cowl.
She also asked for white mittens like the ones from this book. I knit her up a pair of Antler mittens.
Next up…. a fair isle sweater for ME!
I try to knit the girls something for Christmas every year. Hats, socks, mittens and dolls clothes have all made their way under the tree. I think it may have been Humpty Dumpty who motivated me to knit outside of the box and make each of them a special friend this year.
I love to peruse the many beautiful projects over at Purl Soho and fell in love with these two patterns as soon as I saw them.
I knit the Big Snowy Owl for Hannah and for Norah the Bobble Sheep Pillow.
Both were a lot of fun to knit and I am now a master at bobble making. There must be over 200 bobbles on Mr. Sheep!
Just like their owners, I think they make quite the couple and may be the best of friends.
A few years ago my aunt Patty brought this Humpty Dumpty pattern back from a trip to England in hopes that I could knit it for her grand-daughter. One of the B&Bs she stayed in on her trip was owned by a knitter and pattern designer.
When she first presented it to me I was rather intimidated since my typical projects include chunky cabled hats, socks and mittens. This pattern looked like a lot of work with lots of intricate detail, I had never knit anything like it. But I didn’t have the heart to say no and decided I was up for the challenge.
Well that pattern sat ignored month after month until it was announced that my aunt was due for her second grand-daughter. I had no choice but to bite the bullet! I hemmed and hauled my way through numerous craft circles agonizing over the pattern. I’d put it down for a month and then pick it up again until this last month when I was determined to finish it in time for the birth of my cousin’s second baby.
My “just a little bit” goal paid off and I have to admit that I am pretty darn proud of myself for not giving up on Humpty Dumpty. He was completed this past Friday and given to baby Marion, named after my Pop’s mother.
The funny thing is we all think Humpty looks a bit like Pop:)
I love the challenge of living in a small house. Rather than wishing we had more closets and storage we get creative and work at finding ways to utilize our space making life feel a little more efficient incorporating both the practical and beautiful.
Our most recent light bulb moment was the top of our basement steps.
My Pop and Chris had installed bead board in this area when we first moved in but it never got painted and quite honestly was left forgotten as the basement door hid this neglected space.
A few years ago (when our girls were safe from tumbling down the stairs) we removed the door to open things up which actually made the kitchen feel a bit bigger.
The door was left off but the space remained unpainted and under-utilized until recently when I became frustrated with my ever growing cast iron pan collection. We have accumulated an array of second hand pans in all shapes and sizes. They are the workhorses of our kitchen and are used daily. I love the versatility of cast iron, able to go from stove-top to oven. Our favorite pan is the extra large one used for big batches of granola and roasted vegetables. Chris found that pan for only 25 cents at a yard sale! Wishing that I had a space to hang my pans rather than stack them I realized that I did have a place!
Yes, the top of our basement steps would make the perfect pantry for pans but how about a place for hanging tools such as dust pans, brushes and a brooms. And while we are at it, let’s hang a few hooks for extra coats when we host company since our house came without a coat closet. Killing two or even three birds with one stone is how I like to roll in our home.
Once we envisioned our new space we got to work and started with painting the bead board and walls a crisp white. Chris hand forged hooks (made with recycled iron from an old hay rake) that would be sturdy enough to hold the heavy pans.
He also made a light fixture from Kentucky Coffee Tree wood and a ball jar.
I hung a wooden accordion hook on one side for dust pans, brushes and brooms and installed a few hooks on the other side for aprons, coats, spare cutting boards, etc.
A while back my mom had gifted me an antique drawing of a woman selling at market. I could never find quite the right place for her until now.
I love this new space displaying our tools that are both practical and beautiful.
I find that domestic work becomes a bit more enjoyable when your tools are pretty enough to display.
Rather than let them sit until the end of the day, I now eagerly wash up our pans after each use to hang them back on their hand forged hooks in their very own pantry.
Chris and I make a good team. He likes practical and I like beautiful. Lucky for me everything he makes is beautiful!
I enjoy my home when it is neat and orderly which means I like things put away (or hidden away according to Chris).
I am always switching things up around the house which means where things live sometimes changes.
He is always asking me “So where did you hide it now?” about many of his belongings.
His slippers are one of those things. I may put them in his closet, or by his bedside. Sometimes they make their way by the back door on the shoe rack. Or placed in a basket with all of the other slippers.
I knew he was trying to make a point when he came home last week with his newest invention- Slipper Hooks.
As much as I like things put away out of sight, I had to admit I loved his idea.
He came home the next day with a hook to hang above for his pajamas. And there you have it a new “practical” place for his things with no excuse for me to hide them away.
And while we are on the subject of inventions, check out our affordable version of a new recliner for Chris. To back up a bit, we had been searching for a leather recliner similar to this one for a while. Since they were hard to come by in our price range we settled for an Ikea POANG chair. It was the right size and is actually pretty comfortable. Since the matching ottoman was too bulky for the space Chris decided to make a custom one that slants down at just the right angle that he prefers. Not only is the whole combination beautiful but it is surprisingly ergonomic!
I have been busy knitting this winter and was thrilled to finish several projects to give as gifts this Christmas.
~Hannah had picked out the bandana cowl from The Purl Bee and it proved to be a big hit and the perfect style for my almost teen! Both Norah and Chris now want one too.
~Norah wanted a “slouchy” hat so I made this pattern and it hasn’t left her head since I gave it to her. She was actually wearing it the other night with her pajamas.
~I made this cabled hat for my sister for Christmas with a thick merino/mohair blend. This hat was hard for me to give up. It is so cozy and warm.
~Norah is modeling one fingerless mitt of a pair (that is not quite finished) from this pattern. These will be for my sister-in-law whose birthday was back in the beginning of December. She was so distraught when she lost one of the mitts I had knit for her many years ago that I had to knit her a new pair. I plan to finish the other one poolside next week as we are heading to Naples Florida for the week to visit Chris’s parents!
When Hannah moved up to her new room last year we promised Norah a little room make-over.
She has been so patient as she has been sleeping up with her sister and living out of baskets over the months. As her room sits at the top of our stairs, I always had the door closed to hide how much work was to be done.
It feels so good almost a year later to have finally made some major progress.
When we first bought our house our budget only allowed us to put in new hardwood floors in the downstairs only. We put a cheap sisel rug down in the upstairs with the intent of one day putting hardwood in. Finally this spring Chris started that process and put floors down in Norah’s room and out into part of the hallway.
It made such a difference! I can’t wait to do the rest this fall!
A few weeks back I painted the walls this color and I cannot tell you how much I love it. It is so calming and peaceful and looks great against the wood pieces in her room.
Norah’s little Jenny bed was my mother’s when she was a girl and her bureau was her great, great, great grandmother Gladys’s.
We hung white dotted Swiss curtains which brightened things up a bit along with a white cotton quilt for her bed. My mom gave her a beautiful antique hooked rug and I found a little side table on craigs list which I want to eventually paint grey.
There are still shelves to be hung along with some artwork. And Chris is working on making an extension to the radiator cover for a makeshift desk.
We are also working on renovating her closet with both shelving and hanging.
I now find myself going upstairs for no reason at all but to just reach the top of the stairs with a door wide open and a happy little girl inside.
Hi Friends! Apologies for the little cat nap we have been taking here at Second and Edgemont. Actually there has been no napping involved whatsoever. There has been a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes thanks to my talented friend Kate!
Welcome to my new and improved site! Things are still quite the same but a bit more user friendly. There is now a gallery full of photos of my home and garden that will be updated regularly as well as a list of categories on the sidebar which will link you to past posts. Check out the Work With Me page for services I offer including garden consultations. And stay tuned for online subscription classes highlighting my Creating Space for Beauty and Simplicity series.
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For those of you who like to pin, you can now easily pin photos throughout the entire site directly to your Pinterest boards (check out Second and Edgemont over at Pinterest by clicking on the icon in the sidebar).
And don’t forget to click on Tend for loads of garden inspiration!
I am so excited for the change and some new and exciting things to come.