They Let Me Out of the House

Nick and I live in a lovely part of the Bay Area called Marin County. It's extra nice because it's not as densely populated as other parts of California (like just south of us in San Francisco - talk about population density). Just 2 exits from us on highway 101 is a road called Lucas Valley. (It's actually where George Lucas lives and works if you can believe that. It's not even named after him!) Anyway, I digress. Only a short drive from our place is total peace and quiet. Rolling hills, redwood trees and this lovely spot called Pt. Reyes Station. It was a sweet little town with a wonderful little farmer's market.

We went for a nice walk along this little river.


Nick even picked some berries. There were loads of them along the trail. It was a lovely day and we made it home just after lunch. It's so nice to be able to get away from things without going too far from home.

And just in case you thought I'd given up the hooks for good. I had to show you this little lady. Meet Nurse Frida. I made her special for a friend who just had surgery. I may be spoiling the surprise because she's probably still on her way, but I had to show you. Think good thoughts for Christina.

The Cotton Patch

Last week I felt the urge to get out of the house so I got out my list of fabric shops and hit the road. I had 4 shops to visit that day, but only made it to 3. The Cotton Patch in Lafayette was my first stop.
This shop was a treat. It's brightly lit, always nice when looking at fabric, and stocked with lots of great fabrics. They have a ton of the modern stuff like Joel Dewberry etc. I spent some time browsing all of the bolts and was glad to find the back room with some great flannels and sale fabrics. In the end, I had to make a choice, and here's what I got.

Can you guess what I have planned for these bananas? In the end, I was pleased with The Cotton Patch and happy that it's not too far from home, not too close either. I think it's a half hour away at best, but situated near a nice little downtown. (On the way to this shop I passed a luxury yarn store and I didn't even stop! Wow, what will power I have sometimes.) ;)

Rubbish Weather

This is for all of the people who think it's sunny every day in California. Oh yeah, and evey city is on the beach! lol Just kiddin' The weather here lately has been really bad. Yesterday I felt like Dorothy, I thought the house would blow away. Just miserable. It's not much better today, but we're staying dry and keeping warm.
Generally, I prefer living in a place with some rain and cold, but it's making my life very hard at the moment. I can't take any decent pictures of the things I'm making. Unfortunatley, I don't have room to build myself a little light box, so I have to make do with sunshine. What do you do when there isn't any? Anyone have any great photo tips? I think I'll get some little table lamps with daylight bulbs to use as filler, that might help. Let's hear some picture taking tips. (Jenn, I know how you do it and if I had a basement, I'd do the same thing.)

A Tiny Road Trip

On Saturday night, Nick & I set out to eat dinner and go for a walk on the coast in Sausalito. Heavy traffic urged us off the freeway, so we headed toward Muir Woods (only about 10 minutes from our house). We've been hearing about cool places to eat out that way so, why not? Well, we we ended up in a tiny town called Bolinas. We ate at a little cafe, Coast Cafe to be exact. It was a tiny place with lots of character and great food (and very strong coffee). There was even a quilt on the wall! We'll definitely be going out there again.
The drive out there goes over the hills and through the woods, literally, it was great. And on the way home we found the British pub that we've heard about. Can't wait to go back & check that out. Sadly, I didn't get a ton of crafting done this weekend, but I had a great time with Nick. :)