The Blue Brick

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Starting off on the right foot

January 1, 2013

Happy New Year :) I wish you all a happy healthy 2013!

A few months ago I received this email:

Dear Shireen,

I’ve seen your magnificent blog and fell in love with Newfoundland. We are redecorating our house and had been searching for a living room wall poster for a long time.

When we saw below picture we loved it so much. Is it possible for you to send a high resolution of this photo so we can have it print out in a 3mx2m wall poster. I can send you a picture of the room after :)

thank you very much,

(Name) from İstanbul-Turkey

Below it was this photo – of St. John’s Newfoundland, that I took of a neighbourhood known as the Battery.

I was blown away; normally I don’t release large format digital files – but how could I say no? Someone had written from Turkey with the humbling notion that they loved a photo of mine so much they’d like to cover a wall with it. I sent a link, they sent their thanks, and a kind note inviting me to stay with them if I’m ever in Istanbul and then I mostly forgot about it.

Last night, the most amazing New Years surprise arrived in my inbox:

They really did it – they used the photo of St John’s Newfoundland as a wallpaper. What a beautiful family – I am so honoured and humbled that I had to pass my phone around the party last night just so everyone could see these lovely people. What a connection! I hope one day to meet them in person.

I’ve spent some time, as you might expect, thinking of New Years Resolutions. I’m taking up horseback riding, violin lessons and needle felting. I’ve recently become a partner in the firm I work for, so building a company is going to form a big part of my goals. I’ve got financial goals, travel goals, and fitness goals.

But late last night I spent time reflecting – these were all well and good for ‘outside’ things that I’d like to be/have/do. What about the inside? What’s the most important thing there? It’s the people in my life that make it the beautiful journey that it is. I value the connections I share with others – be it over the internet or in person. I love the fact that I’ve connected with so many amazing people through this blog. I value my friends and family and, above everything else, I want to spend more time being with them and never losing an opportunity to let them know what they mean to me.

Thank you, friends in Turkey, for a New Years Eve treat, and a reminder of what’s really important in my world – you helped me start my 2013 off on the right foot!
At Last

December 27, 2012

Yesterday we were promised snow, and lots of it. Because I am short sighted and forgetful, when 7 pm passed and the snow failed to arrive I went out for dinner… in heels. Cue the snow! By the time I got home (thank goodness for the mobile, heated, oasis-on-wheels known as cars) it was a world transformed.

I was hoping to get up just before dawn and shoot the blue hour but when I woke up the snow was still piling on, so I waited until later this morning to go a-shootin’ with my camera. What a treat! I hope very much that this lovely weather, now that it has finally arrived, is here to stay for at least 2 months.

Best moment of the day: finding a giant patch of untouched snow, perfect for a snow-angel (read: snow-overweight-butterfly). I couldn’t resist. Afterwards I just lay there in the snow for a good 5 minutes, staring at the sky and thinking ‘damn, this is awesome’. If you haven’t made one of these since childhood I highly recommend it.

Another delightful discovery is that the lake is finally starting to freeze over. It’s been 2 winters since that happened, and I miss it.

I love the way snow piles up on every little surface…

Nothing inspires me to knit quite like this kind of weather :)
A Christmas gift to my readers – the Man Slouch.

December 23, 2012

I’d like to celebrate today with a free pattern for my awesome blog readers :) Thank you everyone, for making the Blue Brick such an enjoyable, inspiring experience! This simple slouch/touque is a quick, mindless, easy knit for both guys and gals, but really, it’s one for your man.

Because, let’s face it; guys are picky. It can’t be too detailed, in a girly colour or contain un-manly motifs. Here then, is a base pattern for a very simple hat that can be worn slouchy or not, and dressed up in a number of ways for the more adventurous, from using variegated or self striping yarn to filling in the stockinette sections with your choice of pattern (seed, moss, lace etc.).

The pattern is available for free on Ravelry – Project page here :) In response to the ambitious yet disorganized among us (including me…): yes, if you start one today it can be ready for Christmas!

However, and whatever you celebrate, I hope you have a beautiful holiday season :)

~Shireen~
Gifting pictures

December 18, 2012

Every year as part of our Christmas gift to our biggest client we print and frame a selection of my work – it’s always fun trying to choose the very best of what I have that year, and so awesome and satisfying to see it printed up! We use kodak metallic stock to bring out the colours, it’s so worth the extra investment. Here is the selection for 2012:

Sault Ste Marie – Au natural fireworks for Canada Day!

Tide out on the Bay of Fundy – this is of the Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick.

The iconic lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove Nova Scotia

Also Peggy’s Cove – it’s like being on the moon, one of my favourite places in the world.

The result of some very determined aurora hunting – this was shot just north of Orangeville Ontario.

And my favourite – a tiny little picnic area off the highway on the way to Sault Ste. Marie.
Still feeling the love

December 14, 2012

Looks like Reddit got hold of this post about my crochet camera cosy yesterday, and the blog stats went through the roof :) Thanks for the Reddit love!

I’m deep in Christmas crafting, part of the gift plan this year is the restoration of these 2 photos:

The top one is from 1927, the bottom one is approximately 1950. Photo restoration is definitely a labour of love, I’ll try to post a tutorial, as well as the finished product when I’m done :)
I’m feeling the love :)

December 11, 2012

Los Guantes De Claudia made it to the front page of Ravelry today, this is a first for me! Woohoo!
Los Guantes De Claudia

December 10, 2012

My latest glove design, ‘Los Guantes De Claudia’ are finally complete!

These gloves were my first ever collaboration project. The lovely Claudia from Eweknit here in Toronto gave me a skein of Zen Yarn Garden Serenity DK, literally on a whim, the very first time I met her. We really hit it off! It was so random, and I was so excited to actually be commissioned to design something.

These lovely gloves look deceptively complex but are actually really easy and fast (like, fast enough for Christmas) to work up once you get into the rhythm of them. A stag horn cable emerges gracefully from the ribbing at the forearm and dissolves back in at the end with a little extra cable motif to complete it.

Best of all these instructions are for working the gloves on 2 needles – you’ll be using mattress stitch at the end to create a completely seamless result. Knitters who wish to work in the round can proceed with their weapon of choice ;)

These gloves use up less than 200 yards of DK weight yarn, and are worked on 3.5 mm needles. They are easy enough for beginners and would make a great quick knit for seasoned knitters.

Instructions are given for small and medium, but the gloves themselves have lots of stretch once completed.

You can obtain the pattern at your store of choice :)

Ravelry link here

Etsy link here.

Craftsy link here.
Chicken Jewellery (yes, you read right).

December 7, 2012

Right at the end of our journey to the Highland Cattle Farm I picked up a feather from the ground near the chicken pen. ‘Can I keep this?’ I asked a bemused Kim, ‘Uh, sure’. Of course I had plans (evil laughter, ok no, not really, but check this out):

The feather was carved up and preserved into 1″ bezels using jewellery grade resin for some truly unique and lovely jewellery. Both pieces are Christmas gifts :) I can’t say for whom…. who am I to ruin Christmas?

Inspiration comes in the craziest places, doesn’t it?
Kiln Goodies

December 6, 2012

Though I’ve been abysmal at making time for pottery (yes, it’s a New Year’s Resolution) there were a few more goodies to be pulled from the kiln last week.

These 2 yarn bowls are both done up in delicious shades of turquoise, chocolate and minty green and they’re only available at the Purple Purl here in Toronto.

Next year I’m making a point of setting aside more time for pottery – because there’s making beautiful things… and then there’s being able to be up to one’s elbows in mud and still be making beautiful things :)
Frogged….

December 4, 2012

Oh pottery, why must you be so time intensive? This froggie bowl was ordered from me a very long time ago…. like last summer long ago (luckily the person making the request was very patient). Her bowl just came out of the kiln and I am in love with it :) Hope she feels the same!