Osseo (part 2)

Across the street from the Petit Jardin, is a lovely antique store, PACKED with all sorts of things - depression glass, vintage toys, milk glass, tools, the list goes on and on! The store is sectioned with stalls, each stall features collections of items.

I didn't notice at the time, but this owl looks positively angry.

If you visit, don't miss the basement. I found some lovely milk glass vases. The tools were varied and plentiful.

Osseo (part 1)

For the next few posts, I'll be highlighting some of the spots I hit on vacation. The town of Osseo, in Wisconsin, has some great hidden gems. One is the Petit Jardin. The design elements found within their cubbyhole of a garden spot are truly inspiring. Enjoy!

J looking enthused about stopping to shop.

This cute guy found a spot in our crowded truck.

Adventure Camp

Jake attended Outdoor Adventure camp all last week in Crystal Lake through the McHenry Park District. A five-day adventure camp, campers hiked, fished, canoed, and did some crafts. All of which he enjoyed tremendously. So much so, it will be a checkmark on next summer's time.

At the closing ceremony on Friday, campers wore their tie-dye t-shirts and received camp awards based on their personal achievements.

Jake won the "Best Angler" award; it seems he caught the most fish on fishing day!

Weekend Outing

This weekend, Nicki, Mom, Sophia and I went to the Midwest Fiber & Folk Art show held at the Lake County Fairgrounds. Here's their link. The show - vendors and merchandise were all wonderful and beautiful. So many ideas, so many projects! I did walk away with some yarn to start Cactus Blossom. Note to self: next time though, I will take notes of where I took pictures at.

Felting was everwhere!

As a craft show vendor, the displays were eye-catching!

Nicki and I both coveted this sweater but the stitches were small, maybe a 3 or 4 needle?

Nicki tried on this shawl, what a beautiful color.

Finished!

My Anne Maria Horner zig-zag quilt is finished and let me tell you, I'm just obsessed with it! I love, love, love it!



Scraps for the back, of course.

Summer Plate #3

Here she is! My Mother's Day present. It took me this long to figure out what kind of bike I wanted. Basically, I needed a girl's bike (hah! trying to swing my leg over a boy's bike is comical at best), comfy seat - check, and something that I could ride to the grocery store (a mile) and to the library (6 miles) - when I work up to it.

Trek Pure Sport - the bad part was, once I figured out what I wanted, my local bike shop was sold out. But, a librarian's perserverance paid off and I found it a few towns away. Now, I need a basket. Checking out this one although it'll probably wait til Christmas.

Summer Plate #2

My quilt group and I are making market bags for ourselves, as Christmas presents, and to use up scraps. Here's my cutting mess during progress. For the pattern, click here.

Earlier this summer, we had quite a storm! Luckily, no one was hurt but many neighbors had terrible damage. We made it through unscathed except for our poor birch tree and our trampoline. Luckily, the birch tree was there, otherwise the trampoline would have crashed into the sewing room window. When we drove around the next day, there were trampolines in ditches and in the middle of farm fields.

Summer Plate #1

Well dear cousin, I know what you're doing this summer so I thought I would share what I've been up to.

I seem to be in a reading slump. I've tried quite a few books in the past weeks and haven't been able to find anything that really grabbed me. I did take a peak at Rachel Ashwell's latest book - I just love her and her style but found that she's gotten a little too minimalist for me.

On the recommendation of a neighbor's sister-in-law, I'm trying the series by P.C. Cast and her daughter. The first chapter snagged me and now I'm hooked. I've read many of P.C.'s novels and really liked them. This one is from a young-adult perspective but very mesmerizing. Marked by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

When I'm not reading, I'm managing to work on Sophia's birthday sweater. Sadly, this project has taken me almost a year to get this far. I'm not sure why its taking me so long, I really like the pattern - perhaps its not challenging enough? This is the Silver Splash Jacket by Louisa Harding. Here's the ravelry link. More to come on this one.

Jacob has taken up lacrosse! And, he really likes it. Yesterday, in 90 degree heat, he happily suited up.

Looks like we'll be signing up for lacrosse this fall! I better brush-up on my rules of the game.