K.I.S.S.-Dumb Dumb Knitting for the Summer Brain

from Oddknit.com

I firmly subscribe to the philosophy that in the summer the planet should slooow down.  Just because I subscribe to this belief,however,does not necessarily mean that I have learned how to implement it in my own life.  But I try, every summer I try!  I can be the definition of "Multi-Tasker", so for me taking it slow and easy in the summer means trying to figure out how to knit, read a book, tend to the hydrangeas and listen to a ball game all from a chaise.  I'll let you know when I get that down.

 In the meantime, since I am not willing to give up summer knitting, or summer reading, I am taking the 'dumb dumb" route for my knitting this summer.  Knits that don't require a great deal of brain-certainly in the summer I am like my buddy Pooh Bear "...a Bear of very little brain"-long lovely miles of garter or stockinette stitch or seed stitch in a yummy yarn.  Knitting a "dumb dumb" knit does not mean you sacrifice style,however-very often you find yourself knitting the perfect wardrobe piece that you find you never can be without. My inspiration piece for my current dumb dumb knit is Stella McCartney's pullover from her fall collection.  Slouchy, "boyfriend" casual...love it! Come Visit Winding Yarn for my favorite Summer Brain Knitting and remember this summer when you Run for the Needles -K.I.S.S.-Keep it Simple..St...

 

Annabel Quinceandco.com

Doris DAY-Z

“I love daisies… They’re so friendly. Don’t you think daisies are the friendliest flower?”
Meg Ryan, You’ve Got Mail

Meet Doris DAY-Z

I love Doris Day, especially in That Touch of Mink and Please Don't Eat The Daisies.  Doris and the Daisies in my Garden were the inspiration for this summer scarf/wrap.  Doris is the first in the Flowerpot Series of Garden inspired patterns. For Summer it has to be Daisies...but Please Don’t Eat the Daisies! :)  Perfect for filling your basket in the garden or strolling through the park on a summer’s eve to meet that someone special who will hopefully be waiting with an armful of…Daisies!  Come See Doris at Strands of Purls.

A portion of the proceeds of the pattern will be donated to Doris Day’s Animal Foundation
Never knew Doris knits!  Here on the set of That Touch of Mink

A Pearl Girl-Portia Clark

I must go seek some dew-drops here,

And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear.

Puck, A Midsummer Night's Dream

No surprise here..I am a Pearl Girl!  Inspired by great women of style whose iconic images are "strung" through their strands of pearls...

Pearls may be  classic but they do not have to be traditional and boring-

I have found a new Pearl Girl who gets that!

Portia Clark has set out to "...take the stuffiness out of pearls."  By incorporating the many shapes,sizes and colors of Freshwater Pearls in her designs Portia has lent a new "twist" to my favorite jewelry box staple.

Portia's designs are meant to worn ...everyday! not just weddings and funerals...

Come Visit The Shopping Bag Chronicles to see some of my favorites and learn how you can Design Your Own with Portia's Pearls!

SPARKling!-Matchbook

 Maybe it is my age, or maybe it is visual overload, or perhaps it is just that the world has become too noisy for me.  Everywhere I look these days there seems to be "stuff" not style-very little charm and certainly no grace.  I am a magazine hound and have been coveting my issues of Vogue and Town and Country and Harper's Bazaar since I was 12 -though these are still favorites, and I hope they never disappear, I have to say any new publications that have made it to the stands just don't inspire- I find I flip through with boredom-doesn't everything from the ads to the editorials look the same!  They are just not speaking to me. They are not reflecting in the least the things I love or the creative, chic style that I want to see.  I'm not walking a red carpet anytime soon and frankly rarely care who is--their style is not my style and it is all paint and puff.  Where is the fun?  Where is the joy?  Where is the charm?

Found it!  Matchbook was launched in January as a digital publication and defines itself as a "Field Guide to a Charmed Life"---

The matchbook girl...views the world through rose colored glasses • loves to throw dinner parties, but has been known to burn the roast • values eccentricity over convention • is the first to laugh at her own bad jokes • knows the cha-cha, the charleston, and the tango • paints her nails bright coral when she's feeling blue • is infinitely curious • could happily live off of red velvet cake • pens hand written notes to her grandmother • has a signature shade of lipstick • secretly thinks she may be babe paley reincarnated • received an iPAD for her birthday, but will never give up her library card • has a bucket list a mile long and dreams a dime a dozen • is smart, but never a show-off • listens to the day's forecast, but trusts her own intuition • never says no to a sunday matinee at the theater • is quick to blush, but never short of a witty reply • has a skip in her step and a twinkle in her eye • always shares her last piece of gum

I have said this before I never thought I would be reading, and enjoying, magazines on my laptop- yet here I am sitting and watching my inbox for each new issue of Lonny, Laura Day Living and now Matchbook.  The really interesting thing about Matchbook for me is that its founders and guiding girls-Katie Armour and Jane Lilly Warren, are young creative bloggers who are obviously utilizing new technology to share their fresh eye for everything wonderful, but there is a reverence, an appreciation, respect and sincere adoration for what has come before -classic, elegant, style that of course also charms and delights and the pages of Matchbook are filled with what a "Matchbook Girl" loves,covets and celebrates. Come Visit Applause!

An Affair With a Chair

 "Comfort is perhaps the ultimate luxury"
Billy Baldwin

If someone told me I could only have one piece of furniture I would pick a chair.  A bed is a nice thing to own of course, tables certainly come in handy and I don't know where I would be without bookshelves, but when I design a room I very often start with a chair.  Not just any chair but one with character!  A chair can have a personality and can tell you a lot about who lives in the space it inhabits.

A good chair can look just as wonderful stark naked as it can dressed in the most exquisite or simplest of fabrics. A chair with "good bones" can "wear" anything,  but oh when you dress it properly!

I own LOTS of chairs, but the chair that I chose as the centerpoint for my library is my Papa's chair. This beloved classic Bergere chair has had many lives and worn a wide range of  fabrics over its more than eight decades.  When this sweet chair came to live with me I knew that only a fabric with joy could cover it.  Getting there,however, proved a bigger challenge than fitting it though my doll house sized front door. Come Visit  A Well Appointed Life.

Summer by CHANCE!

The month of June left me craving some sign of Summer. Cool,drizzly, damp days around here did not inspire so off I went in search of some real summer...and I found it just by CHANCE.

Chance is built around the spirit and style of the simple and classic Striped T...toss in a pair of Espadrilles, a Canvas Tote, a great Sunhat, and maybe a Button Down Shirtdress and you have essential summer style done to perfection! Not simply fashion, but collectible key pieces infused with the Chance spirit...American Sportswear meets "European nonchalance".  Founder Julia Leach, former creative Director at Kate Spade, believes-and I agree!-that the striped T is the "paperclip of personal style" and a cornerstone of the Chance concept-"Classics that travel the world...a relaxed, confident sense of style, a curious spirit, and a more minimalist than maximalist approach to dressing and living."

I am in love with Chance's website  starting with the "must own" essentials, all at home by the shore or in the city....but maybe it is the joy that owner Julia Leach brings to every aspect of her line and her website that keeps me visiting, especially  her wonderful "mood board/inspiration blog" Discoveries filled with video, photographraphy, film, food, music,books,art,travel... and of course style -with lots of of stripes! Be sure to have a look at the Striped Shirt Artwork, portraits of well loved striped shirts by artist Mary Matson with the proceeds for Japanese Earthquake Relief.

For more on what keeps me in stripes Visit The Shopping Bag Chronicles and Winding Yarn and this July 4th wave your own stripes!