(Finally)New Items in the Shop!

The Wood Island Watch Cap is a hat pattern that is designed by me (my first design!)! The yarn is 100% American Wool (made in Maine!) that was hand dyed by me using natural dyes!

This hat was truly a labor of love and has been in the works for some months, I first came up with the idea back in May of 2015 after having visited the little island that is home to the beacon. Having grown up on the coast I have always had a love of lighthouses and hearing their fog horns on stormy days or misty mornings was a regular part of my childhood. I wanted to create something that paid homage to the keepers and those making their living on the sea. When I visited Wood Island Light I learned how much hard work the keepers and their families had to do, they lived pretty isolated lives, and often could not make it to the mainland for supplies. They would grow their own food, raise animals, even flocks of sheep. So, short of spinning the yarn myself, I wanted to create something from scratch on honor of the resourceful lives that they led. First I dyed the yarn from dyes that I created using natural materials. Then I designed the pattern, keeping in mind traditional nautical knitting themes (hence the Fisherman’s rib pattern). Then designing the little SALT AIR Art & Textiles labels that are sewn to the brim, and finally knitting the hats to sell them here in our Etsy shop.

(P.S. My cute sister helped by modeling for me xoxo )

I have made the Wood Island Watch Cap in three colors: a mustard yellow, a pale pink, and a light blue (the blue has the nicest color variation). I will be putting them up for sale on Etsy (here) on Small Business Saturday so keep an eye out! And remember to…

SHOP SMALL!

 

 

 

 

Sycamore Vest / Knitbot Month

For the Knitbot Month KAL sponsored by Quince & Co. I decided to make the Sycamore Vest from Hannah Fettig’s latest book Home & Away. Seeing the way that Hannah styled this vest in her book is what first made me want to make it. I have never been very into wearing vests, but I am so glad that I made this one! It looks very nice with flannels and shirt dresses which are both staples in my wardrobe, so I think this will get a lot of use. I had originally planned on making this for the Woolful Home & Away KAL that started in July, but I got busy with too many other projects and all I managed to do was cast-on, so I was so excited to have the Knitbot Month KAL come along as incentive to finish this project. I chose to knit the Sycamore Vest in Quince & Co.’s Chickadee yarn in the colorway Twig.

And, I hope everyone is having a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Waxing Sentimental / Imogen Tee

I am finally getting around to photographing my finished Imogen Tee. The pattern is by Carrie Bostick Hoge of Maddermade, the pattern is in her first book Madder Anthology I. I made this sweater in Quince & Co.’s Tern yarn in the colorway Terra Cotta. I am completely in love with this sweater and luckily finished it with a few warm days of Fall left to wear it. In fact, the day after I had these photos taken I returned to flurries in Vermont!

My mother took these photos for me while we were visiting my grandmother at her home in Massachusetts. The house was built in the 1870s and my grandmother will have lived there for 60 years this year! She will be moving closer to family very soon, and leaving this home behind. It will be a good move for her, but it is bittersweet. I have so many fond memories, especially holidays with the little house bursting at the seams with family and food! So, aside from helping my grandmother to pack some of her things for the move, I also tried to document some of the special places in the house (I included just a few here).

My grandfather’s horseshoe nailed to the shed in the backyard for luck,

the little brick walkway to the front of the house,

the sunny living room windows and family portraits,

the copper kettles in the kitchen,

the pretty glass doorknobs,

the spots where the house is starting to show its age,

even the cobwebs in the cellar.

Feature on #WoolfulFollowFridays!

On Friday I (@saltairarts) was featured on #woolfulfollowfridays! This is a weekly post that features Instagram users who have inspiring fiber-related feeds that Woolful suggests that you should follow! I am so flattered to have been included! I, myself, have found many new knitters and yarn farmers to follow through these posts! Thank you again Woolful!

Find me on the Quince & Co. Blog!

A progress photo of my Imogen Tee in Quince & Co. Tern in the Terra Cotta colorway was featured on the Quince & Co. Blog. Check it out here. I am really hoping I can finish it before it gets too chilly here in New England for short sleeves. This morning is definitely feeling like Fall, so I must knit fast!

Lucinda Sweater on Timber Point

A few weekends ago I was visiting home and was able to have my little sister (of jewelry making fame) take a few pictures of my newly finished Lucinda Sweater. We wandered around Timber Point which has a little bit all of the best things about the Maine coastline: green marsh grasses, pine forest, wild blueberries, weathered shingled shacks, rocky shores, and island views.

The sweater is a pattern by Carrie Bostick Hoge (a Mainer!) of Maddermade, it is from her Madder Anthology II book. I am a fan of all of her patterns and her photography is such an inspiration to me (incase you couldn’t tell)! I knit this sweater as part of the #fancykelbournestudioKAL which is sponsored by Fancy Tiger Crafts, Kelbourne Woolens and Grainline Studio. Nido, my favorite local yarn shop, also decided to join in and host their own knit-a-long alongside this one (#nidoKAL). We had a cast-on party and a few get-togethers throughout the month of July. It was so nice to see people’s color choices, modifications, and general progress in person as well as on instagram.

I knit my Lucinda in Acadia from the Fibre Company in their color way Summersweet. I knit the smallest size, and made no modifications. Check out all of the finished Lucindas on instagram using the hashtag #fancykelbournestudioKAL and #nidoKAL!

Me Made May Recap

Now that it is nearly the end of June, I think it is about time for a Me Made May recap. This was my first year participating in Me Made May, and because of that I decided to only aim for wearing me-made items 3 days each week. I thought that this might be a little bit challenging because I don’t have all that many me-made items that are able to be worn in May. Despite my concerns, and a couple of repeats, I found that it was actually quite doable. And it was pretty exciting to get some attention for my me-made posts. Like being featured on Nido‘s blog, which I could not help but post about! And Quince & Co. even featured one of my photos in one of their instagrams for their Linen KAL 2015.

I did find myself spending a little bit more time each morning getting dressed and photographed, because taking decent photos in our small apartment is rather tricky. Here are a few of my pictures.

So, that last photo definitely was not taken in our dimly lit bathroom. It just so happened that I also went on vacation during the month of May, so that last photo was taken in Sedona, AZ.

My family visited quite a few different places on our trip. We started off in Pheonix, then traveled to Sedona. Then to Williams, Arizona where we stayed on Route 66. Then we went to three national parks, Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce. And finished off the trip with a visit to the Hoover Dam. It was such fun and I was so struck by how beautiful and different the landscape is from my own home of New England. Pictures really do not do it justice, particularly the scale of these natural wonders. But of course I took a thousand photos anyway. Here are a few.

                 

To recap, I would definitely participate in Me Made May again. I had fun and it made me think more about what else I might want to make to have more of a year round me-made wardrobe. So, I have some work to do between now and next May! And as for the vacation, I would love to it all over again! I could have spent a week in each of those places! So, that might have to be added to my agenda as well.

Gifts for Bébé

Well, this is quite late. But, better late than never. I have had a busy but wonderful couple of weeks, which included an amazing trip with my family to Arizona, Utah, and Nevada AND such a cheerful reunion with some of my favorite people! So, I have a little catching up to do. For now, here are some of the items that I had made for the previously mentioned baby shower!

Cradle Cardigan in Quince & Co.’s Chickadee in Carrie’s Yellow.

A matching bonnet loosely based off of the Wiksten lamb hat (Instagram KAL), again, in Chickadee in Carrie’s Yellow.

 Beau the Bunny from Little Woolens made with yarn from my stash (with a matching bowtie!).

 

And Finally, my first complete quilt! Which was based on the Purl Bee Windowpane Wholecloth Quilt tutorial. I used Nani Iro ‘Shine Many Ways’ in Sorongo Rainbow for the front, a pink Kobayashi double gauze for the binding, and a champagne colored Kobayashi double gauze for the back all purchased at Nido. I really enjoyed the hand quilting, it felt really meditative and I like the way that the stitches look. I think I will have to do some more hand quilting, perhaps with smaller thread ( I did just order some Sashiko thread). I used Pearl Cotton thread for this project.

 

Up next, I am hoping to do a Me Made May summary and a recap of my trip ( I have too many photos not to share!).

Feature on the Nido VT blog

Yesterday my Me Made May adventures were featured on the blog for Nido Fabric & Yarn! I am super excited that they decided to share some of my me-made item photos! Check out their post here.