giveaway winner!

thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway and for all your well wishes on my shop (and blog). i loved hearing about all your favourite sea creatures. i don't know if i could every pick just one, there are so many that are dear to my heart. however, the little guy above did a good job of trying to win me over, during out trip to the ucluelet aquarium yesterday. he is a grunt sculpin, a curious little fish. he likes to scoot along the sea floor, using those wispy front fins to grip the bottom. i think he might fall under that "so ugly it's cute" category, but i think he's awesome.

okay! i'll stop leaving you hanging. the winner of the starfish is:



elisa.b! elisa, please email me at fogandswell [at] gmail [dot] com with your mailing address so i can send the sea stars on their way. thanks to all for your support - hope you're having a good start to your week.

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other good things today:
• i just received my soap order from tara at on a branch and they all smell divine. can't wait to try them out.
• pinterest is a very good place to find dinner ideas; tonight i'm making mushroom & kale stuffed phyllo pastry. just from the smell of the mushrooms sauteeing, i can tell you it will be delicious.

anniversary giveaway...

happy weekend! we are headed out to the west coast of the island tomorrow morning, for a little getaway just the two of us. unfortunately, despite the sunshine today, the forecast implies mother nature is a bit adamant about the "rain" in raincoast, but nonetheless i'm sure it will be a good trip, as all trips out there tend to be. a bit of camping, surfing, beachcombing, forest walks, and small town wandering.

but! now to what i'm sure you came here for, not just my week-end rambling. august 23 marks the one year anniversary of the fog and swell shop! also, a quick check tells me that the end of august is the five year anniversary of this here blog - who knew? as a thanks to all those who have checked out my shop, and all of you who stop by here to visit me, i hope you will comment below and enter to win:



six happy starfish! it's not quite a rainbow, because as far as i can discern there are no green sea stars, at least not on this coast, but nearly. annie's teal one is the closest i have seen, although my approximation of it is a bit more blue, since that is what i had on hand. so there is a blood star (red), ochre star (orange), cookie star (yellow-orange), unknown seastar (teal), bat star (blue), and another ochre star (purple). all are hand stitched from hand dyed linen), and stuffed with local alpaca fleece.



to enter to win this little collection, please leave a comment below sharing what your favourite ocean creature is, big or small, mammal or fish, invertebrate, etc. the draw is open until monday evening, and i will announce a winner on tuesday. wishing you all a wonderful weekend, with some exploring in the outdoors, at the beach or wherever you like to wander!

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ETA: comments are now closed. thanks to everyone who entered and i will announce a winner tomorrow!

a winner & little snow scenery...

*first up, thanks so much to all who entered my giveaway! i really appreciate your support of my work. while i wish i could send something to each of you, the recipient of the "my heart is with the sea" piece is...kimber! please send me your address at fogandswell [at] gmail [dot] com so i can get it sent off to you.*



my friend M and i went up to play in the snow on sunday. the mountains got lots of fresh stuff over the weekend and into this week. it was fresh and powdery, like icing sugar really. perfect. hardly a groomed run to be seen.



it snowed steadily all day, and the wind picked up as the morning turned into afternoon. so although the snow was great, my face froze as little pellets pelted against it on the downhill and back up on the lifts. still, carving across the runs felt good in the fresh air, riding atop my "surf" board (note the swirling ocean wave art). when the skies are clear, the mountain and ocean views are incredible from up here, but i also love when the clouds hang low and the world is mostly just shades of grey and white. makes me forget about the world below and be lost in the clouds for a little while.



...and hi. a random shot of me. i don't include those often here, but figure i should check in once in a while. like my new red helmet? it matches my red face, so cold in the wind.



happy tuesday!

a little love for you...

just a small cloth, a little bit of love stitched up this week. jude has been stitching lots of hearts lately, and she has inspired me to try one of my own. a heart of silk and wool, reminiscent of the danish christmas hearts we make (my viking heart, perhaps?) nestled on a turbulent ocean of blue silk, cotton and linen. frayed bits of hand dyed silk create froth and foam atop the pitching waves. and a few words to bring it all together (west coast love, as margie so succintly put it).



in the spirit of that sentimental holiday approaching, i'd like to give this one away. please leave a comment before monday, february 14, at 5pm pst, if you would like a little piece to remind you of your love for the sea. it has a small grommet and a twist of wool for hanging. or use it as a bookmark. or just for holding. it measures 4.5" x 9.5". i will use the random number generator to pick someone, and notify in a follow-up post.



wishing you warms hearts this weekend. the gloom yesterday has carried over into a heavy deluge through the night and this morning. my plans for going out and getting some stuff done are fighting against my urges to curl up on the couch with some stitching or a book.

*Comments are now closed. I will announce the winner tomorrow! Thanks to all who entered.*