This is truly the knitting bag of my dreams!  And to think I made it myself makes it even sweeter!
It's a kit from Babylon leather.  Everything you need comes in the kit and the materials are quality!  Top grain cowhide and full grain cowhide leather.  There is a video tutorial with each kit and online support if needed.  
I ended up spreading everything out on my dining room table and working on it a little bit of a time.  I think that was the right way to approach it.  That way it wasn't too overwhelming.  
I worked on it a little in the morning.  A little in the afternoon.   A little in the evening.  Just whenever I had a few moments.  The pinholes make it very easy.  As well as the heavy thread and needles.  
I ended up using it while in New York in August.  And it could not have been a better bag to carry my knitting in during the day.  And use as a purse in the evenings.  
This is the unlined Picotin bag in caramel with the white stitching.  I truly adore it!  



 

This was one of those summer evenings that will always hold a special spot in my heart.  

Where the temperatures are warm and the sun is still sitting high at 6pm.  

Where we ate our favorite take out.  

A lot.  

Spending the week out in Lake Tahoe and it's been very very relaxing! 

 I have some catching up to do!

{Lavender Farm / June 28, 2023 Orient, New York}

My schedule the last few months has been providing a lot of packing and unpacking.  All fun,  but that left little time to get organized enough to visit this space.

I'll be back tomorrow as I have plenty of past things to share as well as current!  

Well, hello there! It's been a while!
I can't believe it has been almost 2 months since I have been here.

The end of summer. I can feel it in every part of my soul. 

 My dearest July,

I realize that it is August 11, and my heart has moved on to love this beautiful month.  But I want you to know that you gave me some of the most incredible summer days that I have ever had the pleasure of living. 

Your cool mornings alone at the pool are by far and away my favorite way to start a day.  July, please know that your weather is far and away the most special to me.  You were so wonderful to give us days for the men to work on building our lovely kitchen. (If only you could have made them work faster.) While I'm cooking and baking, in our new kitchen, I will think back to when the scraping and pounding filled most of your week days.  

You welcomed my girl home and then my oldest boy.  Their presence is welcome anytime, but you do know how to give us so much love and light!  Your sunshine gave the hydrangeas just enough warmth to blossom into a beautiful bounty of gorgeousness.  

I want you to know, July, that I care so deeply about you, still.  That you and I held something so precious that it will never fade and you will always occupy a place in my heart as well as my mind.  

With all the warmth and love I can give.

Leslie

Good Morning sweet friends.  Hope you are all doing well.
We've been in self quarantine for a week.  My kids are all home and are on Day 5 of their self quarantine.
Libby had been exposed to a couple of kids in Boulder with Covid-19 and Charlie worked with many international peeps in Big Sky so they are all self quarantining in our guest house.  They also spent 21 hours in the car together on their trek back from the west.  Andrew decided he would rather be with them than anyone else, so he is with them, also.

I've had a hard time focusing on anything other than trying to keep busy.  I knit a little but not a whole lot.  Last week I had a hard time sitting still.  I plan to change that this week.  Accept the things we cannot change.  Continue to pray for the leaders and our world.  Be thankful for each and every blessing we have.  And knit.

Some of the things that can help to keep my mind busy and make me feel better.
• applying undereye concealer daily.  sometime twice a day.
• trying my hand at latte art.
• zoom yoga with my sisters.
• organizing my yarn.  again and again.
• organizing drawers.
• baking for the kids.

My sweet mom was a nurse.  During this point in her life she was a school nurse.  At the high school where my sisters and I attended.  It was pretty cool to have her as our school nurse.
I love this photo of her in the nurses office.  Knitting away.  And I remember that sweater with it's stripes wrapping around the sleeves.  Her fingernails painted as usual.  I just wish I knew what was on that piece of paper that was making her so happy.

Happy Birthday Mom.  I love you with all of my heart.

Time in the Sierra Nevada's.  With my man, my sisters and my Hipster Shawl totally put me in the mood.  I LOVE hand knits!
And my family.  ❤️

Well, hello there, sweet friends!  Happy July!
For me, July seems like the beginning of summer.  Maybe it was because we were away so much in June.  I literally spent the night in my bed 4 nights all month.  Crazy, but good.  I was in Florida visiting my sweet mama for the first week.  The second half of the month was spent in Boulder, CO visiting Libby and then Steve and I grabbed her and headed to Lake Tahoe for a couple of weeks.  Five out of our six kids were there.  It was FUN!  Steve and I finished the month in Calistoga, Ca  with a little (A LOT) of wine tasting.

Now I am home... for a bit.  Libby is home for a quick minute, and that has been special.  Andrew is home for the summer and it has been great.  A lot of golf for him.  And of course, I try to get Charlie to come home whenever he can.  Always bribing him with food.

But the big news is... I got a new computer! 😍  I haven't spent much time on my computer lately because I literally ran out of space.  With the amount of photos I have taken through the years, it literally took up all of my space. (50,000+)   I know, I know,  delete them or put them on a hard drive.  But, that just doesn't work for me because the chances of me plugging in the external hard drive to into my computer to find the one photo I am looking for just was never going to work for me.  SO, I would spend hours deleting 500 photos so that I could upload 10 photos.  Ack.  It was driving me crazy.

SO... I'm back with my computer and my camera and I plan on visiting this space a lot more often.

Hope knitting is happening a lot in your lives.  Just wait till you see my Weekender.  🙄

Before our summer schedules become too crazy, we took a quick trip to Florida to visit my sweet mother.
I miss my mom every day.