Laowai

Here's where we started with this window.

And here it is now. I still feel like celebrating each window that I rescue.

Fall is feeling so nice. We're supposed to have a warm weekend so I think I had better finish putting away all my pots and outdoor furniture and we'll put the storm windows in too. Feels like it will be our last bit of warmth for a while. 

Here are a bunch of random photos from this lovely fall.

Bea and I went away for a girls weekend with a group of friends. We stayed in a house on Pistakee Lake and had a really great time.

I made a roll-up organizer for my knitting needles. 

We went to the Highwood Pumpkin Festival.

We took Claire's friend along to get pumpkins and apples at Wagner Farm.

I was excited to try planting some bulbs in pots. I planted three pots including this one by my front porch. Unfortunately a few days later the squirrels had dug this pot all up and ruined my fun. Grrrrrrr! Must try again.

Spotted a wooly worm – a sure sign of Fall.

Bea and I are working on a Halloween costume.

Brian snapped a photo when he was working downtown.

And I made a dead bouquet.

I finally finished this little jacket that I've been working on for a long time.

The pattern is called the Tamarack Jacket from Grainline Studio. It was a little bit of a leap of faith because I did all the quilting by hand and I didn't make a muslin to make sure it actually fit me. Luckily it does fit and I love how it feels. I think you will be able to find me wearing it around the house all winter long. The pattern was very easy. It was just a little time consuming with the hand quilting. I love the peek of contrasting fabric when I roll up the sleeves. You can also make this pattern with pre-made quilted fabric or you can do the quilting by machine. 

The flowery fabric is from Cotton + Steel, called Emilia Adele. The chambray on the outside is a curtain from IKEA.

And just as I'm posting these pictures I notice that I missed a line of quilting. Look above. Oops. 

I ordered the snaps from Noodlehead – she has a great tutorial for attaching them.

OK now I must go outside – this little jacket makes me want to go for fall walks.

I finished a quick, fun knitting project. It's a little stitch sampler cowl – finished just in time for the cooler weather. 

And some homemade graham crackers. The recipe had me cut them into squares part way through baking. Love how even and perfect the squares turned out. They are yummy sandwiched with some Nutella and marshmallow fluff.

The girls and Brian took a quick trip to Paris. Not sure how we landed on Paris for our travel plans but when they got their hearts set on it I opted out. A four day weekend is just too short for me to jet off to Europe. But enough about my lameness – let's dive into all the great photos they took.

I don't have much commentary to offer about what all they saw but I know they went all around Paris. Brian's style of vacation is to walk and walk and walk. I think the girls said they walked 13 miles one day. 

Here are some photos of them eating along the way.

They even went to an Opera (below).

Lots of good smiles in those photos – I'm a tad jealous that I didn't join them.

I'm catching up on two big stitching projects that I finished in September. And I noticed there's a great green and orangey red color theme in my photos this time of year. Love it.

First up – this dress that I made for Claire. I'm so pleased that she wanted me to make a dress for her and she was happy with it. She needed a dress for her friend's Bat Mitzvah. She wanted a green dress and we wanted to copy the style of a dress that she tried on but was too big. It took me a couple muslins before I landed on this pattern from Simplicity Cynthia Rowley. I modified the gathering at the top a bit and I changed the straps so they don't tie. 

When I was making the bottom layers – trimming the seam allowances I accidentally cut a hole in the dress. So I had to make a little embroidered moth patch to cover the hole. It ended up being a fun detail.

Claire wore a little black sweater over the dress for the synagogue part. She had a lot of fun at the party and I think we might get to do this all over again because she has a couple other friends' Bat Mitvahs coming up.

"OK – stop taking photos mom."

The other project I finished is my latest sweater. 

The pattern is called the Contrast Sweater – it's from a Danish knit designer. The yarn I chose made a very fluffy and light and sort of floppy sweater. Completely different from my first sweater. I'm happy with it but it did turn out a little too big. 

So now I need a new sweater pattern because the cool weather is making want to knit all day long. I say yay for Fall!

Well I guess Fall must be my favorite season. On Monday I went for the most refreshing walk at the Chicago Botanic Garden. 

The gardens alway seem to be under construction lately. There was a big project to renovate the edging of the ponds and the area along their many greenhouses a while back. So I hadn't been over there since the project was completed. The big tunnel trellis above is part of the wiggly paths that go between the greenhouses and the big pond. The area was so nice – so many interesting plants and the hardscaping is all so clever. The big curving bridge below connects the renovated area to the rest of the gardens. I can't wait to go back again soon.

I try to work on my windows as much as I can these days. Usually I have good luck if I get out to my work area early in the morning – it's when I have the most energy to get stuff done. I've been listening to books all summer while I work on windows. I use the Libby app which (if you don't know) is an easy app that lets you borrow audio books from your library. So I seem to associate certain windows with certain books. Early in the summer I listened to Lonesome Dove. I absolutely loved it and wished it wouldn't end. Then, when I was working on the hallway window I listened to Diary of a Provincial Lady – so funny and so insightful about the most mundane things. Now I've been listening to The House of Mirth which is a bit depressing but enjoyable and interesting at the same time. I also re-listened to one of my favorite books, O Pioneeers! and I relished in the descriptions of the land more than ever.

Here are some close-up photos of my current window project. I finished the paint scraping today. This part of the process can seem so disturbing. The wood looks sad and dry and uneven but I know it will get better.

And here are some other boring photos from around home.

I just love it when I want something but I don't want to spend money on it and then it magically appears before me. That happened last week. I had been thinking for a long time I could use a sifter for my compost and then boom there was one out for the trash a few streets over in my neighborhood. Yay! And to top it off it fits perfectly on my wagon. I have some happy sifting my future.

My grasshopper friend posed on my hose.

I've been very slowly working on a new sewing project. It's going to be a quilted jacket. 

Steady stream of tomatoes coming from the garden.

I moved some peonies out of a bed in my backyard. I know they don't like to be moved but it was really becoming too shady for them. I filled the spot with some heuchera and dwarf goat's beard. And yes – there are still some other peonies in the area – always looking very bad at this time of year.

My rose is pushing out just a few last hurrahs before the season is done. And pretty rose hips too.

I'm enjoying the accidental fennel in my garden. I love how wild it is and I love how it's blooms look alongside my sage plant. 

It even looks lovely inside.

This past weekend we went back to Glacial Park Conservation area. It's a large park about and hour northwest of us. I've been thinking about this place since we first went in June. I was so excited to see all the late summer plants doing their thing.

We ended up having a lovely time – a picnic and then a walk through the woodland and prairie and marshy areas. 

So many beautiful yellow blooms this time of year.

Brian biked back home and we got a good photo of him from the car.