katyelliott.com

Eric Ravilious: Landscape Prints

Katy Elliott — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:05:55 +0000

Lombardy Poplars, May 1935, can be purchased through Emma Mason.

I came across Eric Ravilious’s (1903-1942) work at Ben Pentreath’s shop in London last week. The images taken from the website have been sitting on my desktop for days. I keep revisiting them, studying their compositions and realizing how much I really do enjoy landscape paintings.

Eric Ravilious’s watercolors depict scenes of rural life in England in the early half of the 20th century. Lines and marks swoop through the composition creating a layered effect that keeps the eye moving. Washed out watercolor hues are unobtrusive and captivate the viewer inward.

I’ve done very few landscape drawings or paintings. My drawings are very abstract and I’ve never pursued landscapes because frankly they’ve sucked. But it’s something I would love to explore once the weather gets nicer. Sounds kind of romantic to be on the side of the road painting or drawing? Do you have a favorite landscape artist?

Below prints available for purchase through Ben Pentreath’s shop, click here.

Cable Knit Hat

Katy Elliott — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:29:07 +0000

I’m so proud of my new cable hat. I keep showing it off to Greg, “Touch it, isn’t so soft and amazing?” Conquering cables is a lot like mastering brioche. Once you get the hang of the process, it’s easy. When I first started knitting the cable hat I was really frustrated and had to go to my yarn shop multiple times for help. I kept loosing count or making knits into purls or vice versa.

I have my eye on trying a larger cable knit hat next. The cables are much larger and only have 4 or 5 twists in the whole hat. Above and below my hat and garter stitch scarf I made for my sister out of beautiful Baby Alpaca from Cascade Yarns.

p.s I know I look goofy and depressed in my hat photo but it hasn’t stopped raining here for three days.

DIY: Cable Knit Pot Holders

Katy Elliott — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:30:35 +0000

I couldn’t stop myself from oohing and aahing over Jessica’s hand knit cable pot holders. So cute, classic, and nautical. Jessica is one of my old college roommates who is quite handy with the needles. Last year, when I discovered her adorable little pot holders I knew nothing about cables. I tried to convince her to make me a few when I got, “Katy they are soo easy, you can do it.” She gives me this a lot. Did I mention she’s a knitwear designer?

Flash forward a year later I finally finished up my first cable knit hat (more photos to follow). I’ve come to realize with practice how easy cables are to knit. Now that I can do simple cables my knitting day dreams have moved to pillows, throws, and dish towels. First, I have to conquer those cable knit pot holders. Jessica offered to share the pattern with me and all my lovely readers. Her tips below.

I use this yarn by Peach & Cream (Pisgah yarn & dying Co.). I found cones of it at Walmart…I think Ace Hardware carries it as well. It’s an unbleached cotton, color Ecru.

I like to knit them extra thick so I buy the 4/4 (100% cotton) size and knit with two ends on size 10 1/2 needles. Cotton will shrink/tighten up a bit after knitting. Once you knit cotton, always wash & tumble dry to allow the cotton to “bloom”. I think I generally knit them 9″ x 9″.

Here’s a rough pattern:
cast on 33 stitches
knit 5 rows 2×2 rib
middle section is set up as follows:
4 rows garter stitch (edges)
8 rows purl (reverse jersey),
9 rows knit (jersey for the 3×3x3 braid cable)
8 rows purl (reverse jersey)
4 rows garter stitch (edge)
cross the cable every 4th row
knit till you have 8 1/4″,
knit 5 rows of 2×2 rib
cast off and crochet the end into a loop
bury your ends & wash & tumble dry

Green Paint Samples On Wall

Katy Elliott — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:46:45 +0000

From left to right: Cooking Apple Green, Teresa’s Green, Verte De Terre, Light Blue, Green Ground, Saxon Green.

I know I have more important home projects then picking paint colors but it’s rainy and cold outside and I couldn’t resist trying out some of my new Farrow & Ball paint samples up on the wall. The colors look totally different in the space then I would have imagined. I choose some green and blue tones so I would have a good range of choices. I forgot to get a sample for my favorite color, Blue Gray (seen below). Somehow I confused it with Light Blue; #4 from the left.

I’ll report back with photos of the paint colors in different light situations. I literally just painted the samples on the walls so the colors will continue to change as they dry. Hopefully, the Blue Gray paint pot will come early next week.

Den Renovation: Paint, Ceiling, Electric…

Katy Elliott — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:22:22 +0000

Our den renovation is moving along. Paint samples came from Farrow & Ball this morning. We also want to try a few Benjamin Moore and Milk Paint samples on the walls too.

Other to dos which need to happen before paint goes up on the walls.

1. Call an electrician to find out how we replace the old wiring in the house. Can it be done piece by piece or does it have to all be done at once? Since the ceiling is opened up I want to find a solution before we move forward.

2. We need to decide if we are going to rip out the walls and ceilings of the other two rooms on this floor (guest room and dining room shown below, hopefully someday two bedrooms). The walls are cracking and in really bad shape. All the woodwork has been rimmed out of these rooms so preservation is not a concerned. The rooms have the same old floors as the den so hopefully the room will still look period correct. We need to decide soon so I can maybe hire someone to hang all new drywall for the rooms ceilings and walls at once. Maybe we can do this ourselves but a decision needs to made one way or another.

3. If we do remove the walls in the other room we can blow in insulation—which is a plus in my book. Currently the house has no insulation which makes for a chilly winter.

4. We have two fireplaces on the second floor. I need to call a chimney guy to find out what I am really dealing with and get some estimates. Currently they are caving in and we don’t have caps on the top—we have a lovely rainfall effect when we have Spring storms and a great breeze through the room in the middle of January.

5. I need to call around for estimates to have my floors stripped. There is no way I am doing this ourselves. Stripping and sanding floors is a disgusting labor intensive job. I’ve heard if your an amateur you’ll screw them up and regret it for the rest of your life. Also, the paint on the floors is nasty stuff. I would rather save up and leave it to the professionals.

Then after I have checked all my to dos off the list I can go back to decorating which frankly is a lot more fun. Maybe I was jumping the gun talking about sofa styles? I feel like I’ve been putting off calling for help because I’m over anticipating the cost. I know every project will be jaw-dropping expensive. But my impatience over the slow pace of the renovation has gotten to me. I would love to have this floor completed this summer so we can get back to renovating our bathrooms. I’m willing to bite the bullet and call in the professionals for some advice. I just don’t know if my other half is on the same page.

Above and below photos from the second floor of our house in different stages of the renovation. For a video tour of the den click here.

Spring Green Photographs: Abby Try Again

Katy Elliott — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:33:15 +0000

Beautiful verdant landscapes are popping up all over in blogland. Photographs from California by Abby Try Again are my favorite. Greens mixed with undertones of yellow and blue is stunning and moody. I’m thinking about getting a few printed really large to hang in my bedroom? The green is so seducing and fresh. Check out Abby’s shop for purchasing and her blog for even more inspiration.

Thanks Abby for letting me share your photos.

Whale Bottle Opener & Stripe Cotton Towels

Katy Elliott — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:50:31 +0000

Two recent purchases that I am totally in love with. Above a whale bottle opener ($21) that I picked up at Liberty Henry & Me in Marblehead and cotton herringbone stripe towels ($20) I picked up on Amazon.

I probably didn’t need the whale opener but it’s so freakin cute and looks pretty adorable resting on my windowsill in the kitchen. I picked up the stripe towels for all the bread baking I’ve been doing. I use to buy the ikea version by the dozen but decided to try a more industrial towel. The amazon towels are bigger, stronger, and more absorbent. I found similar towels even cheaper on large kitchen supply websites but the shipping usually ended up costing more then the towels. I’ll have to keep investigating…

Just got this tip. Available in red, green and blue stripes: $3.95 dozen.

Liberty Henry & Me
139 Washington Street
Marblehead, MA, 01945
781-631-0550

Cotton Prints from V&A Quilt Show

Katy Elliott — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:27:36 +0000

Miss Chelsea over at {frolic!} tipped me off to this fabric. The fabric is part of a quilt show at the Victoria & Albert museum in London. The fabrics above were reprinted by Liberty from old quilts from the early 1800’s and can be purchased through their site.

My mom is making me a quilt using some of my favorite prints with a box of fabrics Greg’s mom gave me before she passed away a few years ago. I want the quilt to be a scrap style showcasing my favorite prints including some beautiful floral liberty prints. It’s going to be pricey to gather all the fabrics but I know it will be something I will treasure for the rest of my life. Below a few quilts featured in the show at the Victoria & Albert museum through July 4, 2010.

Ordering Sample Paint Pots

Katy Elliott — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:55:34 +0000

I ordered some sample paint pots from Farrow & Ball for my den this morning. Hopefully they will come by the end of the week and we can try them out on the walls. I am leaning towards painted the trim an creamy gray off-white. I really like the idea of green moulding but I’m feeling like I will regret it 10 years. I really don’t want to repaint moulding after we painstakingly stripped all the paint off. Walls I can deal with repainting.

Above a few of my selections. The images on my computer look nothing like the paint chips appear in real life. Color is so hard to depict accurately on a computer screen. Images get photo shopped and every computer screen shows colors differently. I advise ordering sample pots before choosing a color. Below a few of the color combos I picked paired with cream trim and my color card in the morning light.

Trim Options:
Off-White
Lime White
Joa’s White
Clunch

Wall Colors:
Theresa’s Green
Light Blue
Cooking Apple Green
Saxon Green
Green Ground
Vert De Terre
Breakfast Room Green (to try on moulding)

Ben Pentreath Ltd.

Katy Elliott — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:12:51 +0000

I came across Ben Pentreath’s flat in the book, Perfect English over the weekend. His style is what I aspire too. Layers of pattern, antiques, and art that is approachable but classic. The small chair in the upper right of the photo is upholstered in men’s suiting. I love the gray field with the red stripe—a color a combo I think would be perfect for my den.

Ben runs a great shop in London offering accessories, art, and furniture with a nod to classicism. The store is filled to the brims but finds flow through patterning and symmetry. For those of us unable to make the trip across the pond, Ben has a great online shop filled with all his favorite essentials.

Ben Pentreath Ltd.
17 Rugby St
Bloomsbury
WC1N 3QT
benpentreath.com