At the Beach

We are in Maine for a week. Brother, sister and family...my the water is cold but having a blast at Ocean Park and York Beach - eating lots of fresh fish! Just pictures.....

Maine Jaunts

Nubble Lighthouse

I am back from holidays in Maine and had a super time. I was able to feed on fresh fish every day and the weather was gorgeous. Did more sightseeing this year and managed to take some lovely pictures of lighthouses only to have my app on my phone go bust and lose most of the pics. :( so upsetting! 


We made our way to Camp Wool in Kennebunkport. What a glorious place. So much wool - so many patterns - too much to see that I went back twice! I was only allowed to take a picture of the front of the store so can't show you any of the goodies inside.

Camp Wool - Kennebunkport

 I did buy a wonderful prim pattern there with pomegranates and birds that I want to hook in oranges and blues. It's by Edith O'Neill but this wonderful version was hooked by Pat Freasier....

copyright design - Edith O'Neill - Woolley Fox


Also made our way to Cushing Dyes.. where of course we picked up a few bits of wool and dyes :) On the same trip we dropped in for the best donuts in Maine at Congdon Donuts. Their Boston Cremes are to die for. Bought enough to pig out for a couple of days!


After going to the same place in Maine for years we finally discovered the best fresh fish place down the road in Pine Point, Maine - Bayley's Lobster Pound.

There is even a little eating area that juts out into the water. Unfortunately this was the one and only cloudy day that we had - but it must be a pretty spot when it is sunny and clear. Right across the street is a park with a beach. Great place to eat your lobster roll for an impromptu picnic.

 Can't believe we did not find this place before this year and it is only about a 10 minute drive to it. Needless to say we were there every night after we discovered it. The first night I made fresh local haddock in coating of Japanese bread crumbs. So deeelicious!

After all the eating, I did manage to have the energy to finish my Coastal Girls rug which I will post this week once I bind it and make it more presentable. I am glad I got it done and love the way the sky came together. 


And just a few more pictures of the southern Maine coast that I was able to save...

A view from our place overlooking the water while hooking...

Some pictures of the southern coast of Maine....

Now 3 months to wait before we are off to PEI for a holiday in the cottage by the sea :) Hope to get lots of hooking done then!
Have a great evening.. Joni 

Thursday Stitching

It is that time of the year when I start gathering my things for our annual one week retreat to Maine. The ladies in my family have been doing this for at least 20 years. This year Mom, my sister Lorraine and I are heading south for the beautiful ocean beaches of Maine. For me it is one week of relaxation where I read, sketch and muse on some designs I would like to do. Along the way we seriously indulge in good food (anything fish - the most amazing donuts and anything else we can find that is yummy), talk and laughter. We treasure these times and appreciate them for what they are.

Needless to say I have to have my handwork ready to go. This year I am bringing my next release for Island Cottage - I am working, for the second time,with Crescent Colours Belle Soie silk. I used it for the first time on my design May Flowers (release date May 15th) so cannot show you a picture. I loved the feel of it and the richness of the colour. I found it has more of a similarity to my wool than cotton does. I guess it is the softness and the texture. I always thought silk would be cost prohibitive but you get 12 strands vs 6 in cotton. It is still twice the price of cotton but so worth it. I am using a 35 ct spring green called Guacamole from Weeks Dye Works.. I just love the names people use for their colours! My contribution is my hand dyed wool called Tantramar Marsh (this is a marsh that runs between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) Peter's grandmother lived here most of her life and painted the old barns on the marsh. It is one of my favourite places.

I am excited to get this one started and done - and of course our trip will include jaunts to Halcyon Yarns, Dorr Mills,  King Arthur Flour and any other interesting/crafty place we come across. Just hope we have the time to pack it all in! Bon Voyage....

AWOL in Maine

                                            sunrise at the ocean

Hi

I have been absent for awhile - how time flies. I was immersed in Farmville and have now found my way out of the initial onslaught of being on the farm and making sure I did not miss anything, LOL
Also been busy with my new website design which will be launched in June. There were so many details to learn, uploading and re-organizing the site that it has taken longer than I thought.

Right now I am in Maine for a week by the ocean - one of my favourite places. Provides all kinds of inspiration and lo and behold what was waiting for me but a box of sumptious woolens by Rebecca Erb. Enough to inspire me for sure!

I have been working on some cross stitch after finally getting a pair of magnifying eyeglasses. I ordered some X6 and was so disappointed - i needed to hold the piece 3 inches from my nose - yikes. settled on x2.25. Why i am taking up cross stitch again at this time in life is beyond me.

 I do design for a publisher who loved my punch needle and wanted me to convert to xstitch so that has kept me busy the past 6 months.

Stacy Nash pattern

The project I am working on right now is a Stacy Nash pattern only available through a club done by he Country Sampler. I love this piece - not sure if I will sell it or not.

So here is my view from my window in my Maine retreat. Getting lots of reading done and knitting a sock or two. What more can one say when we have a  view like this.

and a  storm coming in tonight - g'nite...Joni