Contact High - Spring on the Highline.

We had some remarkably beautiful weather this past weekend. I took the opportunity to make a trip to the High Line park , here in New York. For those of you who don't know the High Line, it's an old elevated rail way line on the west side of Manhattan that has been derelict for years. It was recently turned into a park that lets you walk from the Meat Packing District up to Chelsea, and eventually all the way up to the mid 30's. It's a brilliant public works project and is beautifully designed to integrate the sorts of wild plants and flowers that grew on the abandoned tracks for so many decades.

The most striking part of the park right now, is the imposing Standard Hotel, that was built to straddle the park. Here it is in the late afternoon sun, surrounded by the throngs of winter weary New Yorkers that joined me in celebrating the weather that day.

So much of the foliage is still dormant. There are lots of remnants of fall still visible.

The park features a meandering walkway, sometimes wood, sometimes concrete and it blends into the gardens with long concrete fingers that incline up from the dirt.

You can get a better sense of the beauty of the design from above. Here's a shot of a section of the park from the 9th floor of the Standard Hotel

Spring is starting to say hello in lots of different ways. Here are some budding leaves on a tree.

Some of the vistas from the park are spectacular. This is one of my favorites. It's a view down the west side highway over the bay to the Statue of Liberty in the distance.

Another hint of spring - a pretty pink flowering bush.

The park ends at 20th street right now, but they have plans to extend it quite a bit further. Here's a shot of the future of the park.

If you get to New York, be sure and see the park. It's a delightful chance to see New York from a totally different angle.

Blooming Napkins - Simple Napkin Embroidery

Hi people! It's spring! The weather is so beautiful here on the east coast. I was inspired to create something springy today, so I put together an embroidery project using my Felix Populi Tablecloth Check Napkins. It's the perfect base for daisies! The white, yellow and green look so cheerful on the red and white check ground. I love simple embroidery and this project is just that! I used three stitches and four different colors of yarn. Here's what you need: 

 Napkins  
Embroidery floss in ecru, yellow and two shades of green
Embroidery needle
Embroidery hoop
Scissors

I did this freehand, so no markings necessary. If you're new to embroidery, you'll want to practice the stitches on some scrap fabric first. I started with French knots, which formed the flower centers. To make a French knot, come up at the point you want the knot to sit, wrap the yarn around the needle twice.

 Then put the point down very close to where the yarn comes out of the fabric, but not in the same hole. Pull the yarn closely around the shaft of the needle and press it down to the surface of the fabric.

Then pull the needle through and it will catch the loops and make a nice little nubbly knot on the surface of the fabric.

When working on something like a napkin that will get a bit of wear, I like to leave a tail when I begin my knots and then tie them off with the tail that comes back through the fabric with a square knot or a granny knot.

The petals are a detached chain stitch. Come up through the fabric close to the French knot, then go down right next to the up-stitch but don't pull the loop flat - about 3/8" away from the French knot, perpendicular to the stitches you've just taken, come up and with the point of the needle, catch the loop.

 Insert the needle just beyond the first stitch and pull the stitch tight. It will catch the loop and create the petal. Tie off as you did your french knot. Keep your stitches short so they are less apt to get snagged.

 The leaves are done in satin stitch. I've separated one strand of the two different colors of green into three threads each and combined them.

The satin stitch is done by imagining a leaf shape on the surface of the fabric and filling it in by creating parallel stitches over the surface of the shape - coming up at the bottom and down at the top along the edges. Again, tie off with a knot on the back.

 To finish the design, I've scattered a few French knots in white through it to represent the charming potential of daisy buds. Once you get going this doesn't take long at all. You can complete a full set of napkins over a weekend - perfect for spring meals alfresco!

02-10 Spring in February - Cure the Winter Doldrums

This week on the show, banish old man winter with the cheerful trappings of spring! 

Force bulbs for fresh spring blooms. This is easily done by finding bulbs for forcing at your local garden store or nursery. Plant them in pots as directed on the package, then give them a 6 to 8 week winter in a fridge. Bring them out into your warm living room and watch them burst forth with beautiful blooms! 

Welcome the birds with a charming birdfeeder. Here are plans for one we made on my Style network show. You can make a handy funnel for your bird seed out of a gallon milk jug. Just cut the bottom off and use the pouring spout as the bottom of the funnel. 

Home accessories are the perfect way to brighten your home during the depths of winter. You'll notice I've propped perky pillows up on my chaise in the introduction and wrap up of this week's show. These are the spring pillows from my forth coming line of products for Felix Populi. Look for them in stores and online soon!