New York, home for now

Found a furnished room in Brooklyn. A room so far beyond my expectations,

I can hardly believe my luck, finding a place so perfectly conducive to

peace and happiness.

Kit Schultz, my darling roommate, manager of Moon River Chattel

and Sean Mcclelland, builder-furnituremaker extraordinaire,

create the perfect nest of cozy rustic charm. I feel right at home.

Playing dulcimer, keeps me calm. Much needed after a ride on the subway.

Time and inspiration to design some things for myself.

That hasn't happened in a while.

Instagram is getting all my social-network love.

Discovering what's beautiful day to day, little things people chose to share,

I find it uplifting, especially when I need a distraction from the city.

Basking in the glow of a recent trip to Mexico (more coming soon)

Working on a project to be shared with you this coming summer.

Dreaming, sewing, there's plenty of space here, an unexpected blessing.

Amy's new studio is breathtaking. I'm so proud of her.

Keeping raw materials out in the open for inspiration.

Adding my own little touches to the space, keeping connected to green growing things.

mid-winter

Appreciating the textures and twilight colors of this warm winter.

dry grass near my family's home in Maryland.

portrait by the lake, Age 2 maybe?

winter grass has such a beautiful flesh color

from an orignal 1911 pattern, simplified, in washed silk

I find natural fibers so appealing.

playing with jute macrame and hanging plants.

reflections of 2011

So concludes a year, back and forth, here and there... living in Florida, exploring the lushness and the freedom, visiting Maryland, remembering my roots. Basking in all the beauty. Finding quietness amidst the chaos.

Halloween: Bride vs. Indian

Every Monday in October we celebrated Halloween at the resort, much to the delight of our largely European guests. Pumpkin carving, trick-or-treat (with a big box of dress-ups I put together for children who didn't have a costume) a haunted house and Halloween circus show, the complete American holiday. I dressed as a ghost and performed a hoop act in the circus show, I’m a little shy, but if you promise not to laugh you can see it here. I'm back in Maryland now, so I spent the day poking through old photos. Here are some highlights of Halloween past. An eternal question emerged... who would be the blushing bride and who would be the wild indian...

My mother lovingly sewed the whole family indian costumes, hand beading and fringing each piece. They are a staple of Halloween in the Merrick house to this day. The gown above was originally intended to be my mothers wedding dress. In the end she opted to wear a simple Gunnysack (much more her style) and the fancy dress was reassigned to the dress up box.

This time I'm wearing my fathers indian shirt as a dress.

Later my mother crafted this amazing horse to snaz up the old costume.

It makes me laugh to think that Amy and I can still be found dressing up brides and playing hunter-gatherer for wild berries and branches in the woods...

Saint Lucie River

Things are slow here at the resort now that the children have returned to school and very few families are vacationing. It's a much needed lull after a long summer. Finally I have the enjoy the place that has been my home for the past six months.

in good company

Why do we feel such a strong desire to be surounded by beautiful things? Experiencing beauty, even in the smallest way, elevates us. We find things beautiful because they are in accord with our inner world, a visual representation of our beliefs and dreams, our hopes and our experiences.

I just purchased these little pincushions, made with great care by Liane of Enhabiten. They sit beside my machine as I work and I feel I am in good company. I respect her vision so it's inspiring to have a piece of her creativity in my workspace.

I look down beside me as I sew and see this patchwork of vintage prints. I think about the day, long ago, when these fabrics were still uncut and some enterprising women fashioned her vision of beauty into a garment, loved then faded, and finally preserved as a quilt. Used and worn within an inch of it's life, this quilt took on the unique loved-ness of things shaped by time.

I've been spending a lot of time at the machine these days, both for work, and for my own investigations into what I find beautiful. My next project has been growing in the back of my mind for some time now, I'm ready to jump in and let it cary me away. I'll tell you more about it soon ;)