I wiped away the weeds & foam. / I fetched my sea-born treasures home... Ralph Waldo Emerson







Saturday, July 21, 2012

Beach Walk


Hi! I was gonna show you guys some quilty stuff, but on a glorious 70* Saturday in July I bet you'd rather go to the beach! C'mon...



Remember the boardwalk over the dunes?



It's a bit of a long hike on a hot day...but worth it! See how it goes aaaall the waaaay down through the dunes...?
This is how it ends in the summer.



It goes all the way out to the storm high tideline....[It gets removed and stored in the winter.]...



The photos aren't  out of focus, these were taken the other day when it was 94* and the white air is heat haze, heat fog!


Everything is monochrome...


even the sky and water are pearly grey with the heat...


On the other hand, look how nice and quiet it is again! The Fourth of July revelers are long gone....



A few returning sanderlings, below. Bet they think it's hot after nesting in the Arctic tundra above Alaska....


And my favorite pair of oystercatchers with [center] one big baby left to fuss over....see how he is still a bit brown not bright black?



Enjoy your weekend! Quilt pix next week, I need some opinions...so come back soon...



love

          lizzy


gone to the beach....




Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Thrifting with a Dash of Thunder

.
.



Hi! Despite the hot humid weather I made it to the farmers market! Even got a parking space. The farmers were frantically packing up [man, they are fast!] because a storm cloud loomed on the horizon. I could have told them the storm, if it came at all, would take hours...no wind, not even a hint of breeze to move that dark spot 30 miles away. And most of the recent storms have passed us by; the very warm water/humid air dissipates the energy of the storm somehow.
I grabbed a few early veggies from the last most intrepid guys..and now, 2 1/2 hours later, a bit of sprinkles and some lightning has arrived. I'll tell you more about what's for dinner in another post.

It goes without saying, I think, that it is much too hot and busy for the flea market these days.[speaking of markets!] So I've really been enjoying the thrift shop I discovered last winter.



My best friend "B" was here the other day and since she is not a beach person, we decided to go thrifting. The air conditioned shops are much cooler than a flea market, or of course, the hot sandy beach.

Here's some recent ''finds'':
sweetest little English milk jug, c.1910?




Set of tiny repro crocks, for candles next fall and winter....


The $1.00 set came with this pretty third Mexican pot, below, so sweet! I didn't have the heart to discard it. Maybe it can get an herb plant and be a hostess gift? Such pretty slip decoration/ color...



Nicely sized, wide mouth jar for pickles! These are very expensive these days, if you buy them new....


I'll give it a boil and trip through the dishwasher to be sure it is clean. I just ordered funky new pickling concotions! here Can't wait til they come and the Kirby pickles are harvested....


And I bought shirts...sigh. I know I said they are not cost-effective fabric sources!
But how could I resist! Look at these plaids, the blues, turquoise!


Won't they be perfect with the French florals? Or for the Mr. Sunshine quilt which calls for lots of bright plaids....



These are for the primitive Porch quilt! I need the red and green for one of the borders. What better than a recycled Ralph Lauren Polo shirt? You know the fabric is nice quality. I do need more though, two yards! And the neutral will be the background for the kitty block. It's a gorgeous linen, more complex than it seems in the pix. I almost want it for myself...



Then THIS. You should have seen "B"'s face, ''eeeew''...she was too polite to voice her objections, lol. Yes, it's a rather ghastly long vest made in India, made up of hundreds of small silk yo-yos. Um...


You have to use your imaginations now! Just picture the rosettes on a small velvet heart, for Christmas/ winter?


But mostly I knew they'd make wonderful single accents, especially on my white lacy lavender hearts. See how pretty? Though I didn't have a white heart, you get the idea, right? I love it! Maybe I'll even post a section on etsy, in "supplies'' or vintage because I don't think I can use all of them! (Waste not, want not...? Recycle/upcycle?)



Pretty good, huh?

And my friend even got a beautiful dress for work...gorgeous blue summer shift!

W ended our day with a delicious dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant, then home for sunset on my deck and peach sun tea, iced of course, and homemade lemon bars. Yum!



The little squall has passed...perhaps it brought cooler air? And I am off to the beach for my swim and my walk.....see ya soon!

love

lizzy

...gone to the beach






Sunday, July 15, 2012

"Summer Afternoon....ah, summer afternoon....''



Hi! Today we finally had a break from the oppressive heat and humidity.


I was able to emerge from my airconditioned cocoon and I took my sewing and beach chair down to the shore for a lovely bit of relaxing sewing time.




It's been a few days! All my walks, these hot days have been at dusk....



I had to check up on my seagull friends.


Here's a handsome little lady! [I always forget what these smallest pretty gulls are called, I'll look it up and tell you.... They are very sweet, friendly but not agressive.]



And a typical two parents with their [sorry] ugly, cranky teenager!



hering gull family

I walked for awhile before settling down to work...



My friend Mel had mentioned fearing cut feet if she walked in the surf barefoot...



So I had to take pix of the very clear warm water, almost 80*!---and very smooth sand...




...and a little video of  seaglass hunting in the rare-in-summer outwash spots.....




The beach has some unraked seaweed which is not so nice, but shells and treasures are few.





It was hard to round up a handful of white clam shells to anchor my sewing and take pictures.


a chalk white pretty quahog



Here is the Heart and Hand block for the Porch quilt. I am enjoying the project so much I 've snuck a few extra blocks in work while I have time and focus and good sewing light.
LOL, note the very crooked pointer finger? Sometimes it's a bit hard to get shapes just right when the wind [but so lovely sea breeze!] is 15-20 mph. That's a little redo there, I think.



And here is that French fabric, plus flour sack quilt scraps, made into hearts for lavender sachets.



I'll fill them tomorrow and enjoy the day since the  heatwave is expected back on Monday, sigh.
We ended the wonderful day with grilled Mexican salads and Mason jar margaritas on the deck...candles, sunset, scent of the potted stargazer lilies...and fireworks over the ocean, from the next town to the west....



That's how summer is supposed to be! Just...perfect!

Hope you're all staying cool!

love

   lizzy

................gone to the beach



self-portrait in summer