Talismans

Warm hearts sounds lovely and cozy as we brace ourselves here at the beach for a "dry storm" (no precip!) of 65 MPH winds. Brrrr.

I learned about knitted felted hearts from my blog friend Peggy....

The little hearts are featured in this fun book of small projects: Gifted , by Mags Kandis. (It's available on Amazon and Borders etc if your library doesn't have it.)

The little hearts knit up fast, my first took less than an hour and I am a slow knitter.

The pattern is fun and soothingly rhythmic ...and the felting process is interesting.

Be sure to use 100% wools that are recommended for felting; yarn that is machine washable, of any fiber, won't felt easily. I washed my heart at least 5 times, just threw it in with the white/ hot wash. Dry in dryer.

So adorable and chubby!

By this time next year I hope to have a whole bowlful...

Then, while looking at internet bookstores I discovered this book by Josie Iselin, called Heart Stones. I have her other books and so I ordered this right away. Her eye for "treasure" is exceptional and her photographs are beautiful.

This is a quote from the editorial blurb on Amazon (perhaps from the book, it doesn't say?):

A heart stone is one of nature's gifts. Heart stones are not rare or precious in the typical sense--a good scour of a beach with any stones at all will usually turn up one or two heart-shaped stones. But heart stones, lifted from their obscurity, with all of their cracks and blemishes, lopsided and imperfect, are simply the best find on any beach.

Beachcombers collect them, keep them as talismans, and give them to friends and lovers.

The bold type highlites are from me. My beach has really no stones or rocks at all, just the occasional white beach pebble, few and far between. (My beach is just acres of empty white sand, really...) But my family's Cape Cod beach has wonderful, if painful, stony edges and there I collected a number of heart stones over the years. We kept them in a basket in the blue bedroom....

And sadly our collection was discarded when my parents' home was sold. Maybe the hearts were tossed out on the bluestone driveway? And over the next few millenia they will wash down Stony Brook Road to Paine's Creek, back to their home beach?  I hope so...

I did bring a few home over the years, cherished talismans of sunny summer beach days, happy days, and sunset walks at the Cape Cod beach.

A blog note: Welcome, new friends! Please remember that I can't respond to comments unless you send me your email in a separate comment or email to me. Some stupid bloggy glitch! Please know how I treasure each response...from everyone!


love


           lizzy 


                  gone to the beach!

sanderlings are returning!