casapinka

Spumoni Baby Blanket

I'm almost done with this baby blanket pattern (they sell so well!) I bought the yarn and then could not make the colors fit together, right after I did the same thing with this other stinker. I do not want two stinkers in a row! After a month and restarting it nine times I settled for this pattern with different stitches, made out of organic cotton. 

I sat in my new knitting room yesterday as I waited for the insurance assessor to come and worked on the blanket.  In the process I discovered that the gas baseboard heat is the perfect temperature for resting cold feet. Not too hot, more gentle than a water bottle and right next to where I will have my knitting chair when I find one. That pleased me to no end. When I finish this I think I'll make a cardigan for Juniorette out of this. A little reward for making the honor roll three times in a row. Have a super weekend, friends!

Whose Room is Cuter?

This is a snap of my studio/knitting room in Casapinka. This is such a dream for me! There are books and things all over the floors since we have so little furniture moved in. It is adjacent to Husband's "library" with no real division, something we'll have to figure out. The two rooms couldn't be more different already - even before paint and curtains. The large bird painting was purchased from Mo last year and it's my favorite piece of art that I own.

I had to laugh when I compared the two rooms; just look at Husband's reading material! My room is full of sewing, cooking, art and design books that are nice and bright. We're definitely going to have to find a way to divide my room from the Serial Killer Library (refer to book at top of photo.) A few of you have emailed me and asked how the house purchase happened so quickly. We made an offer in early February with a 45 day closing but I was too afraid to say anything, lest it not go through. So, now we have until next Monday to move everything across town and then the real fun begins.

Polish Pajaki

We went out to the new Casapinka yesterday and it was much brighter than the day before. I feel very relieved about this and I picked up some paint samples from Benjamin Moore so I can get rid of the beige paint.  There are also no overhead lights in the entry way which is long and narrow. This contributes to the darkness as you enter the house. I thought it might be fun to hang a bright Polish pajak there, or a couple of them in succession.

 

They have been around on the web for a while and I've always loved them. It's also a nice way to introduce some international folk art into the house. The kidoodles can learn about Poland and where they are made which is a very colorful and artistic area of Poland.

If you look around the web you can see home made versions of the pajak (singular of pajaki)  but I don't think I have the patience to make one of them. It seems that the best place to buy one is from the Polish Art Center in Michigan. This would go a long way in brightening up a dark space, don't you think? 

 Images via What Possesd Me? and Lena Corwin

 

 

Welcome Mat

We rented a U-Haul yesterday and spent the afternoon shuttling stuff into the new house. It was cloudy and rainy, making the house dark, which upset me a little. A bit of buyer's remorse? I know once I get rid of the beige paint and the brown foyer, it will lighten up. It already seemed more cheerful when I put the welcome mat down as we locked the door and headed back to our apartment for the night. Husband had to mention that the message on the mat wasn't aimed at chickens or guinea hens. Dork.

A New Casapinka

I assume most of you know we've been looking for our dream house for a year now. Husband wanted a cookie cutter new construction where you look outside onto the same house next to you. I wanted something weird or at least different. We ended up with this stone and shingle home, surrounded by stone walls. Complete with crumbling stables, and two stone greenhouses that once had glass roofs, now filled with beer cans, stumps, and various other detritus.

There is a porch on each side of the home, a blind ending staircase in the bathroom, which the kids have deemed "Kiddo Headuarters." There are five non-working fireplaces (including one in our bedroom!) and a root beer tree. It appears there is a secret room under one of the greenhouses, which we discovered by poking through some soft earth. Perhaps a prohibition or underground railroad tunnel? A root cellar? It's all so magical and mysterious.

The new Casapinka is currently sporting boring historical colors and  beige throughout the downstairs. The master bedroom isn't too bad, though (see below.)  The bannister is painted dark brown. Cheap, new pine cabinets in the kitchen are begging for a change. The downstairs is waiting patiently for the loving application of a more vibrant palette.  

The ocean is 1/5 of a mile down the road! I think we have some fun design moments ahead of us, and a brand new exciting chapter to our lives. Husband wasn't too happy when I brought up Guinea Hen Husbandry at the attorney's office (guinea hens eat ticks, diminishing the risk of Lyme Disease), however, but that's a story for another post. What would a poignant moment (like buying a house) be without my panicking Husband with the idea of watchdog birds who roost 50 feet up a tree and shriek at the mail carrier?

Flowers

One thing I really love about being a mom is being given fistfuls of flowers in the spring. I love how kids can see weeds and think they're beautiful and come rushing over full of pride at their gifts. The other day the kiddos found some daffodils hiding behind a stone wall. There were also crocuses everywhere and I was presented with several gorgeous bouquets. 

Even Junior ,who is normally rather undelicate, stopped mid karate chop, dropped his imaginary spin sword (don't ask) and sweetly gave me this daff. They were so happy running around in the sunshine and Husband and I were happily in the moment watching them. It's great to have kids who still think you're cool, who turn to you to share their delight rather than away from you out of embarrassment. That'll happen soon enough, I'm told! I hope your Monday is going well and I hope to share some fun news with you later in the week!

Designer's Guild Boqueria

Mise, the author of Pretty Far West, the dignified blog on domesticity (as opposed to me, the author of the undignified blog on Pink Astroturf)  sent me a link to these Designer's Guild Boqueria cushions which she found on Ebay. Could they be more perfect for Juniorette? I love them so much. Mise is a personal cushion shopper now, which should be noted on Pretty Far West's logo. 

Terrific Wallpaper

Yesterday, I stopped into Adler's here in Providence. It's an old fashioned hardware store on one side and a Design Mothership on the other side. They have wallpaper and fabric from every company you can imagine. And they are the nicest, most helpful people you could ask for. You want to take some wallpaper books home with you? Nah, we don't need a credit card or ID, you look honest. 

I have reason to believe that we'll need wallpaper soon, so I started with my favorite which I just couldn't believe they carried.  I've always loved this Designer's Guild paper with the large pink blossoms. I showed it to Husband. "It's large," he reported. I, however, think Trisha Guild designed this pattern (Tokyo Dahlia) with me in mind. She can see into my soul, I'm fairly certain. 

I can't tell you how many books of fabrics and wallpaper there were in Adler's. I was in heaven. I think I'm babbling - I can't stop thinking about their showroom! When I asked the woman if she had any Eijffinger books she looked excited. She didn't try to fob me off with beige wallpaper or stupid wall stickers despite the fact that I was in pigtails and a jumper dress over jeans. She found all of her Eijffinger books and then suggested the Clarke & Clarke. This woman could read me! When I got home, I perused through the books I had and look what else I found!

This is by Clarke & Clarke and is called Hula Fuchsia. I didn't show this to Husband. Our conversation would have gone:

Pink: "Honey, look at this wallpaper! Isn't this GLORIOUS?"

Husband: "It's pink."

Better to save the discussion for something more interactive like our need for a working coffee maker or the censorship of Gary Trudeau. Decorating discussions with him aren't enlightening. But that guy - he likes to go to the ballet and he turns on the heated seat for me when we ride in his car. So, it's okay - I have you guys for wallpaper discourse. Clearly, this is the prototype home project you have ready to go. Husband leaves town for a week. His plane takes off (confirm this online) and up the wallpaper goes in the foyer or stairwell. A week later, Husband comes home to a nice meal, the kids stay at the Super 8 for the night and Stanno Tutti Bene.  This is an Ask for Forgiveness Rather than Permission project in case any of you brave souls embark on this and then blame me. It requires finesse and perhaps a trip to Victoria's Secret, especially if you complemented it with flocked black and white striped wallpaper, say below the chair rail. 

This paper is also from Clarke & Clarke and is called Globetrotter Pink. I think it would be sweet on a wall in Juniorette's room. She, however, has told me her room is going to be aqua and pink, designed by her (ahem) so this probably won't fly. I hope you enjoyed this wallpaper tour because there will be many more  if all goes as hoped!

Young Love

This is a snapshot of our extensive winter garden at Casapinka. Ikea flowers in Ragu jars with fake snow and rainwater to keep those flowers alive. Last night while snuggling, Junior whispered to me in that hot breath stage whisper that shoots though one ear, penetrates the brain and goes out the other ear with a little bit of spit mixed in, "Mommy! Should I bring Sofia some flowers?" Sofia is his girlfriend.

 "Why do you want to do that?"

"Because I love her!" So elated and earnest. So innocent.

"And it's romantic too, right Mommy?"

So this morning, 5 year old Junior, along with Foo Foo and Juniorette, picked plastic flowers out of a spaghetti jar for Sofia. The ride to school was without punching or the shoving of Power Rangers into his sister's face. If you didn't know him, you might say he was pensive. After Sofia received them, she came up to me with her scraped face (playground face-plant) and said, "Tank you for gwowing the flowers." 

"You're welcome, honey. I grew them at Ikea." Young love. Spring is in the air, don't you worry.

Stinker projects

This morning I'm going to share my latest "stinker" with you. It's important that people know that this designing stuff is hard! Stinkers are what I call those designs that don't really fit my aesthetic. The Michael Kors equivalent of "What was she thinking?" Now, I know some people might knit this - you crazy cat ladies out there - but normally I'd die before putting this on Casapinka.

Being an artist is difficult. We are a sensitive breed and stinkers can send us into the basement of despair for months. We had an idea and spent money. It just wasn't executed the way we expected. So, know this. I managed to get off my patukis (as the kiddos call it) and I'm now knitting a blanket in the prettiest pale organic cottons. There are no cats on it. I'm trying again and hopefully it won't be a stinker. 

As I contemplated my stinker, my knitting remorse lifted this morning when I saw that MADELINE WEINRIB, my TEXTILE ARTIST HEROINE, with an atelier at ABC Carpet and Home and a new showroom in the Flatiron district, is now following me on Pinterest! I'm sure she's had some stinkers in her day. I'm still saving up for her runner which I'm going to frame, as it's too precious for shoes to trod on. Oh, and we just might have some exciting news on the home front very soon. And for the record, we have one cat, not 257, and I'm not a crazy cat lady - I only knit like one.