Hi my blogger friends! I have missed you. I feel like the last few months have been all about work and travel with limited time for creating in between. Although I’ve had less time to create I’ve certainly had a lot of time to ponder future projects. My family and I just returned from a trip to the Southern Caribbean island of Bonaire. It may be an island you have never heard of as it is less developed then the more popular islands and the land itself is pretty arid and desert-like. Those of us who go there however, go for the water and sea life. Bonaire never disappoints. My mind is spinning from all the variations of blue we came across in the sky and sea contrasted with the bright colors over the rest of the island. No sewing machine meant no quilt or bag making but I did find time to do some hand stitching and I finished a lace shawl that has been in the works for awhile.
Ravelry: Windspiel pattern by Nicole Eitzinger.
The importance of blocking a knit garment is never as obvious as when making lace. The pre-blocked version is shown below. Considering the conditions I was knitting in (on the beach surrounded by sea and sand) this knit benefitted from the washing that took place with my blocking as well.
Before signing off I have to share some of the pictures from our trip. Expect to see a lot of blues, oranges and mustards in my future makings.
Lastly I have to share some amazing local paintings I discovered by the artist Alejandra Riquelme. Although I don’t think I would make these into quilts (though they are begging to be imagined that way) I would love to interpret some of my own pictures onto quilts in this fashion. Inspiring!!
Blessings and I hope you have a wonderful week.
Hillary
Entropy Always Wins 
Lovely inspiration photography to bring home from your trip! My husband is jealous about the cuttlefish. I keep telling him we need to go to the Caribbean, but maybe seeing your photo will do the trick. 🙂 Alejandra Riquelme’s art is beautiful, and I am off to go learn more!
Oh my goodness, you both would love Bonaire. AMAZED at the sea life there. I hope you get a chance to visit. Isn’t Alejandra’s work inspiring. I am already plotting out quilts with her designs in mind.
Hillary
Wow that is a beautiful place you went for vacation!! Your lace shawl is so lovely. It looks so delicate. I LOVE the green color.
Thanks Becky. We are very fortunate to have traveled there and yes the green color of the shawl was a good choice (I don’t think I have ever knit with green yarn before!).
Hillary
That is a beautiful shawl, and the green is perfect for the leafy design. Having finished a lace shawl recently, I know just how tricky they can be!
I am very envious of your Caribbean adventure.
I don’t think I will be doing lace again anytime soon! It is so time demanding huh?! I must find some nice big chunky yarn and needles to knit with next. 🙂
oh my!! this palce is heaven on earth!! you are very lucky to have seen such beautiful places!! I lvoe your shawl: so very elegant. I am also thinking of taking some hand stitching on holidars: don’t think I will stand not being creative for 10 days: what kind of hand stitching do you do?? any ideas?
With your expert eye and skills Sophie I can think of endless handwork projects for you . . french knots or other embroidery accents to your beautiful children’s clothing, smocking or you could even try reverse appliqué like I am working on with knits. So many options. Wish I were closer. I think we would enjoy tea or coffee together and creating together. Enjoy your vacation.
Hilary
Your shawl is lovely and the pictures from your vacation are amazing! And don’t even get me started on the paintings 🙂
Thank you. I feel so fortunate to get to travel so much!!
What a wonderful vacation! The photos are heavenly. The scenery is naturally beautiful, but your eye for what makes the shot is remarkable. Makes me want to board a plane 🙂 The delicacy of your shawl is BEAUTIFUL!
Thanks Bianca. It felt nice to complete this project I have been working on for awhile and it was a little hard to be away from my sewing machine (how weird is that??). I have so many ideas in my head but now must work some to make up for time off. It all is such a balance. . . I hope you are enjoying your summer, love seeing all your creations!
Hillary
Wow!! Amazing! I absolutely love all of your photos! What a gorgeous place. The paintings also do very much lend themselves to quilts. What a fun style. I may have to try my hand at some, too!
Hope you are enjoying your vacation too Kitty. Loving your Maine photos
This is sure an abundance of beauty and inspiration for one post to contain. The shawl is so beautiful and delicate. Your photos are fantastic. I love the style of construction Alejandra Riquelme uses too. Thanks for sharing and inspiring.