giant lace shawl...finished!

Shawl ensemble, a photo by elletrain on Flickr.

Woo! Yesterday I finished and blocked this shawl I have been working on for a while. The pattern is Laminaria from Knitty Spring 2008. I saw nasseknits version on Ravelry and had to make one out of bigger yarn like she did. I LOVE it and will get a ton of use out of it, yes, even in late April, here in Portland. 

The yarn I used is Lisa Souza Baby Alpaca Silk yarn that I got from Stitches South 2 years ago. Sadly, because I have knitting A.D.D., this took me a year to complete, but I couldn't be happier with the outcome. I will be hunting down more patterns with Estonian lace in them for sure. Gorgeous!

Playing with new phone apps.

Playing with new phone apps. Camera+ and Phonto., a photo by elletrain on Flickr.

I'm having so much fun playing with some new iPhone photo apps. On this picture I used Camera+ and Phonto. Camera+ allows you to do a LOT of SLR and editing capabilities on your phone, it even has a timer! Now you can prop up your phone and take shots of yourself. No more awkward self-shots!

Phonto is fun and allows you to add text/captions to your photos. I believe it was the free one. Camera+ is only .99 right now!

Enjoy all of the new possibilities! Isn't it nice to have these at your fingertips instead of having to lug around a full sized camera everywhere? It definitely allows me to take more photos and record more of our lives. <3

Feeling brave

Feeling brave, a photo by elletrain on Flickr.

Today I put on my brave pants. Been wanting to wear these for a while, but wasn't sure what to pair with them. I love mixing brown and black and think it's necessary here. I'm starting to enjoy mixing patterns, too. Try it. Be brave.

jacket: urban outfitters; sweater: old navy; jeans: Target; shoes: vintage - Etsy.

mini home tour - spring 2012

Today a new rug I ordered from Fab.com for my office nook was delivered. It is beautiful! It inspired me to arrange a few other items in our house and then to do a mini (amateur) home tour. Some corners may look familiar, but I've updated them a bit.  I hope you enjoy!

dining room 

landing

office

hallway

living room bookcase

living room reading corner

living room bench/fish (find the chicken!)

 

kitchen view when I do the washing up

kitchen - cooking central

breakfast table

A gorgeous blog to follow - Miss Moss

Beautiful posts on fashion, design, art and more from the lovely blog Miss Moss. Check it out.

Monday

Monday, a photo by elletrain on Flickr.

Here is Monday: Jacket - Urban Outfitters, blouse - Banana Republic, jeans - AG (Anthropologie), shoes - Ruche.

This. Is brilliant.

This is a watercolor map of Portland, OR, where I live... kinda sorta in the middle of the map. The people over at Stamen Design have created 3 beautiful versions of maps. You can go enter your zip code and view your home in loveliness. I just adore this. Probably because I have been painting in watercolor lately. Go try this out. So much better than Google maps, huh?!