I am back, and I have moved!

Dear friend,

Well, it's 5:32 am on December 21, 2012, and I'm happy to report that the world, at least my corner of it, is still here.

What a few weeks this has been.

For a nice long time now, I've been wanting to consolidate my space on the Internet by moving my blog and portfolio site (maybe even my web shop) to one place. The plan was to work on that in the New Year, but after the month I've had....well, do any of you identify with desperately needing the new, right now?

I've managed to import much of this blog into my new site so it's still there. If you would like to follow along, please update your readers to www.rebekkamannseale.com. Thank you so much for being a part of this journey with me...as cliche as it sounds...that's exactly what this all has been. I'll miss this blog but I'm so excited for the freshness of a new start.

So won't you come visit me at my new space? There will be cake!

Love,

Rebekka

December

Dear friend,

The very last month of 2012. How swiftly this year has passed, and how full it has been. Painting these calendars each month has been delightful and fun. I can't believe this is the last one! I am already planning the set I'll make for next year. They'll go in a little different direction...I think there will be lots of color. My heart tells me 2013 will be a colorful year for us.

I'm going to take a little break from this blog for the next two weeks while I focus steadily on finishing my holiday house portrait orders. The ones that are intended as gifts have to be shipped out by the 14th, and there is lots of work to be done! Working this intently is exhausting but peculiarly peaceful. This whole season can be very gentle in pockets...quiet homes, early mornings, golden-lit trees, shearling slippers. Candles burning in black nights.

I hope you will find gentleness this month in tucked-away places, amidst all the hullaballoo. Be back in a couple of weeks!

(Download calendar here).

Love,

Rebekka

Finished

Dear friend,

My lace-edged shawlette is finally up on my Ravelry page, right here. It's been so long since I posted something on there!

My thoughts about the project: I loved it. As you can clearly see, I made lots of mistakes in the lace edging. It was my first time reading a lace chart, and my first time needing to heavily block a project for it to turn out at all. So there was a lot of learning going on. But then, when you look back on it, it really is a simple and straightforward project, so I would definitely recommend it to a beginning knitter. Which really I am, when you think about it! So much to learn.

I can't wait to get on to my next project, which will have to wait until my holiday house portrait orders are complete. But it's going to be an art-deco-y pinched turban hat I think, with a vintage brooch closure. If you're on Ravelry, add me so we can be friends! :)

Love,

Rebekka

Oh, and PS! I made a little film for Darling Magazine's website and my friend Hannah. Apparently, she is a very talented gingerbread house-maker! I certainly learned a lot just from making the film :)

Tomfoolishness

(Photos by Talitha Bullock)

Dear friend,

My friend Talitha is in town all the way from Seattle and it's like an early Christmas present for me. When we're together, we turn into harebrained sixteen year olds all over again. There's so much tomfoolery going on around here that I think Manley's beginning to wonder who exactly he married. But she's such a talented photographer and is teaching me so much about my new camera. Thank you, thank you, Talitha!

I'm wearing the final, finished Wallingford in these photos, which I'll talk about more before the week is over. It turned out beautifully, but is definitely THE longest, most drawn-out knitting project I've ever knitted. It took forrrrrevvverrrrrrrr. Due, in no small part, I'm sure, to the ginormous stack of actual work I have. Which I must get back to right now. Have happy Mondays and stay warm!!!

Love,

Rebekka

North Carolina

Dear friend,

The gratitude in my heart has quadrupled over the weekend. Somehow I missed the fact that the lake house my family had procured was so close to Asheville, NC, and Christmas tree farms, and my mom's cousin's mountain cabin that is so much fun to visit. I wasn't expecting, at all, to be able to walk around downtown Asheville or chop down a Christmas tree or go see Lincoln with my whole family (I loved it). I had forgotten how much I miss my dad's sister and her husband and my North Carolina cousins. The whole weekend was full of kindness and laughter and hope.

We cooked a veritable feast in a tiny kitchen on Thanksgiving day, and it was perfect and delicious. But my favorite part of the whole visit was falling asleep in a pool of afternoon sunlight while my family passed a guitar around in the next room, singing and speaking in woven voices. My heart was so full of love in that moment, it just about split in half.

Wishing you all bright and restful Sundays.

Love,

Rebekka

Thankful

Dear friend,

Just sittin' here, lookin' outside, like she does all day while I sit at my desk and paint. Lina is our little dreamer. I think she's collecting material for her dreams, the ones where she runs in her sleep, chasing the squirrels and robins into the tippity-tops of the crepe myrtles. Bless her precious little heart.

Today I'm trying to tie up all the little loose ends I should before we leave for the Thanksgiving holiday. We're going up to North Carolina this year to spend time with my Dad's family...something we barely ever get to do, and we're all staying together in a cabin on Lake Junaluska. I'm so looking forward to spending time with them, sleeping in, and reading books in bed all morning long.

And now, the cakes:

It seemed like the general consensus on these was options #3 and #4, which is funny because I was leaning towards #1 and #2. You changed my mind! I'm so glad you changed my mind. The Guinness cake is all finished, and the pumpkin cake is in the fridge right now with a crumb coat, waiting for two more layers (extra tall!) and a final blanket of caramel cream cheese swirls. It's been so so long since I made frosting like this, where you cook the caramel on the stovetop with a vanilla bean before whipping and beating in cream cheese. I was totally gobsmacked when I tasted it....vanilla-flecked burnt sugar perfection.

My heart is full of so many things this year: hope and sorrow and joy and uncertainty and thankfulness.

I am extra thankful for this space and for you.


Love,

Rebekka

Wine Country Weekend

FFL #11: Wine Country Weekend by rebekkaseale featuring a beaded clutch purse

Dear friend,

Here's my entry for week #11 of FFL, "Wine country weekend getaway".  The blog is here if you want to play along! My friend Grace has been posting selections from each theme each week. I have to warn you, it turns from "relaxing Sunday activity" into "full-blown addiction" more quickly than you think :) 

I've been trying not to wander off into Christmasland just yet, but then I realized this was out, and that plan went straight into the trash can. Nevertheless, I'm trying to concentrate instead on my Thanksgiving cake selection. It's between this and this and this and this. I'm going to make two. Help!?

Love,

Rebekka

Serious business

Dear friend, 

This is exactly what my life is going to look like for the next five weeks. I hope my family, friends, and you don't get too bored of me while I hunker down and try to knock out these holiday house portrait orders. I have about a hundred to paint between now and Christmas...and...oh my goodness, that's not even an exaggeration!  This time of year is daunting and exhilarating all at the same time. It helps that blustery winter starts to creep in soon...I can't imagine being able to muster the focus needed to do all this in the summertime. Perish the thought! Painting in the summer and painting in the winter are two very different animals, for me. Winter morning light is pale and silver. I can fill my days with hot coffee and big, milky chais...which seem to give people magical creative focusing powers, don't you think? 

I got my camera! I haven't bought a lens yet, though. All of you Mark II users out there...what should I buy first? I should probably buy some sort of zoom lens, but with my other camera, I pretty much used a 35mm fixed lens exclusively. But I'm thinking I could get away with a 50mm now since it's full-frame, right? Am I figuring that correctly? So many new things to learn! 

Well, anyhow, back to work :)

Love,

Rebekka 

Camera for sale

Dear friend,

I have decided to sell my beloved camera. After years of shooting with crop-sensor Sony DSLRs, I am ready to chart the vast, tenebrous territory of a full-frame Canon 5d. I'm actually kind of terrified!

Because my Sony a65 is so dear to me, I wanted to offer it to one of you at a special price before I list it on Craigslist. It would make me so happy to know that my camera was going to one of my blog friends!

What I'm selling is a Sony a65, along with the kit zoom lens, battery and battery charger. This particular camera was purchased in April 2012, so it's been in use for just six months. All of the photos on my blog between then and now were taken with it, as well as all the photos in my Flickr photostream, as well as this little film. That's my favorite thing about this camera...it shoots gorgeous video footage!!!

I'm also selling this lens and this lens...I almost never take off the 35mm lens...I LOVE IT! And the 50mm is also wonderful, especially for closeup shots and food photography.

If you're interested in purchasing this package, email me at rebekkaseale(at)me(dot)com, and we can discuss the details :)

Otherwise, have a great weekend!!

Love,

Rebekka

***UPDATE***
Camera is sold! So happy it's going to a good home :)

Claire

Dear friend,

I forgot to tell you. Friday, before our camping trip (er, "camping" trip), I met my new best friend. Yeah!!! Claire and I have been reading each other's blogs for a little bit now, and when I found out she was coming to Nashville all the way from Australia to visit family, I couldn't resist reaching out to her. And my goodness, we had a morning. I like her. I like her a lot!

We spent a whole, light-filled morning talking photography and trading secrets, then set off for chai and crepes at Marche, where she introduced me to the "baby latte" (above: frothed milk, no coffee, for daughter Eulalie). I couldn't even believe my good fortune. Thank you, sweet Claire, for letting me enjoy all your wonderful Claire-ness :)

Anyway. It's only 5 o'clock pm and...yep! Fully dark. How did that happen so fast this year? And it's COLD! Winterberries and eucalyptus are out. Must turn sofa into a big pile of fluffy blanket clouds. Must fix fireplace. Must finish the Wallingford. Off to get started on those things.

Love,

Rebekka