Thank you for all the birthday wishes! I had a most relaxing time, completely ignoring my to-do list and doing everything that makes me feel good and whole: walking, spending time with my favorite people, writing and doodling in one of my regular coffee shop haunts, getting lost in a bookstore and choosing just the right birthday books for me (turns out I'm in the mood for sewing books and acquired this one and this one and this one). I've checked out that Twinkle Sews book so many times from ... Read more

Happy Friday! I got my translations done in time as well as a few other projects, and now I'm looking at one more big deadline hurdle, then I'm home free for a couple of months. I'm bursting with anticipation. Anyway, while I duck my head down to get just a little bit more done, I wanted to kick off the weekend with another giveaway. We're going full-on Japanese with this one. The little thread snippers are officially called itokiri hasami but every Japanese person I know calls them choki ... Read more

Good morning! The purging/cleaning is slow-going, but look what I found: Finca Perle Cotton Thread in size 8. Such pretty, pretty colors, no? Great for embroidery, crochet, and needlework of various goodness. Anyone out there a doily maker? These -- like many of my accoutrements -- were meant as props for the book, though I never got the chance to include them. I wish I had because they're so twee yet cool (is that paradoxical?). I have to confess that there's a lot going on behind the ... Read more

I know. I'm beating the indigo theme to a pulp, but what can I say? I love the color so much. Plus, that was my dominant hue of the book, which seemed like the ideal color to include with the Art Walk concept, etc. etc. Perhaps you share a love of indigo too? I had created these "samplers" as a reference for keeping track of which prints have sold (each square is an individual painting), but then several people wondered if I would sell the samplers as prints, and then I thought it might ... Read more

I find it interesting (and disconcerting) that household matters start to nosedive in clumps. Within a ridiculously short period, our oven firecracker-ed and died (so scary), our bath tub drain stopped up, our faucet water turned a stomach-turning shade of brown. I could go on, but the onslaught has been punishing. My poor mom, she arrived from Los Angeles yesterday to a fully dysfunctional house. It's as though the house elves are taunting, "Take that!! Can you handle this??" Luckily, the ... Read more