Happy Friday! The lovely An of Straightgrain nominated me for the Liebster Award and you can read her post here (which is awesome and I’m so flattered). Since the word ”Liebster” translates to something like “dearest” in German, it seemed to be in keeping with my general valentine’s theme this week. I’ve been tasked with answering several questions, and just for kicks, I doodled a few quick illustrations – thought it might break up the very long answers a bit. Obviously, I have no problems talking about myself, so here goes…
11 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME
1. I am a voracious reader. I go through 2 to 5 books a week and will read anything, though I’ve been having a Scandinavian noir mysteries moment lately. At least I used to read books until I got this for Christmas. Now I’m on Pinterest 24 hours a day. Kidding. More like 20 hours a day. I’m starting to look at everything in terms of my Pinterest boards.
2. I was born and raised in Los Angeles. It’s true that you will run into celebrities all the time in L.A. I did literally that in a Borders bookstore and knocked out several books from Whoopi Goldberg’s arms. Whoopi was not pleased. Whoopi would also probably not be pleased with the drawing I did of her because it looks nothing like her.
3. I have eerily short pinkies. If we ever meet in person, please don’t stare at them.
4. Weird things happen to me all the time. A crow landed on my head not once, but on three separate occasions. I’m not sure what this says about the state of my hair. One time, a woman dropped her purse from an escalator three stories up in a mall and it landed on my head. I could go on and on, but things seem to happen to my head a lot.
5. I am a good listener (I trained as a crisis counselor in college and have a degree in counseling), but I’m horrible at being witty and coming up with clever things to say on the fly. My husband jokes that it usually takes me a week to think of a comeback. He’s very witty so our repartees are quite one-sided.
6. I went to five elementary schools. I never quite understood why my parents moved around so much, but as a result I am highly adaptable yet cling desperately to routine. A paradox.
7. I visited a friend in New Zealand many years ago and went bungee jumping. A word of advice: learn from me and don’t wear contacts or a white t-shirt when bungee jumping.
8. I don’t like watching or reading about current events/news. They make me really sad in a way that books don’t, and I stopped about ten years ago. People are always shocked at how uninformed I am. It’s a wonder that I know who the president is, but I think I’m a happier person because of it.
9. I am a night owl and can’t go to sleep before 2am. K is a night owl too, though she goes to sleep a little earlier.
10. When I was teaching English and living in Japan many, many moons ago, I went to a strange birthday party where the main event was arm wrestling. I beat out all the dainty Japanese men and was crowned champion. To this day, I am still mortified about this.
11. At last count, I have had 25 jobs. I should do a series of posts because some of them were hilarious. One of my faves was when I was in high school and worked as a stock girl at Nordstrom during the Christmas season. A sales girl came into the stock room in a panic and asked if anyone knew how to puffy paint because there was a monogram event going on but the monogrammer was a no-show. I tentatively raised my hand. Word spread that an Asian girl could draw anything with puffy paint and people were smuggling in t-shirts from JC Penney’s for me to customize. I had a line out the door!! Good times.
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And here are the answers to An’s questions:
1. What music do you play while sewing (if any)?
I don’t listen to music while sewing, but always have something from Netflix or Hulu Plus on. I have watched all three seasons of Glee these last few weeks and am starting on season 2 of Downton Abbey.
2. Name one trend in children’s clothing which you absolutely adore.
I’ve been noticing a lot of metallic touches in kid’s clothes, which I love. I’m all about subtle bling.
3. Name one trend in children’s clothing which you absolutely dislike.
I don’t think it’s a trend per se, but I don’t like bikinis for little girls. Even though tiny bikinis are adorable, they make me a little uncomfortable.
4. Is there a sewing-related mistake you keep making, over and over again?
Oh my goodness, so many! I’m always messing up bias facings and am constantly attaching pieces the wrong way because I forget to mark the wrong side.
5. Name your 5 favorite sewing blogs.
Only 5?? That’s a tough one. I’m fairly new to the sewing playground/blogosphere and am discovering wonderful sewing blogs every day. I couldn’t narrow them down to 5 so here are the top 7 that I check daily for posts though there are many, many more:
Straightgrain – An has a tremendous talent for finding great fabrics and creating adorable patterns. I love seeing her super darling daughter in all her delightful sewn projects!
LBG Studios – A recent discovery, and I’m in awe of Vanessa’s sense of style and fantastic photography skills!
Skirt As Top: Kristin is the super sewist/sew-er/sewing genius. She is technically savvy (sewvvy?), amazing with presentation and tutorials, and awesome with pattern/fabric match-ups. And have you seen her latest Film Petit!!?? So fabulous.
Nested in Stitches – Robin has a lovely aesthetic (very Japanese! my favorite kind!) and has incredible sewing skills. The way she matches plaids…perfection. She’s also a wealth of helpful and inspiring resources.
Delia Creates – Love Delia! Gorgeous photography, uber stylish kids clothes, unique and beautifully presented tutorials, and the most accommodating and attractive models I’ve ever seen.
Probably Actually – Modern yet classic, with a lot of sweetness thrown in. There’s also something very soothing about her writing, and I revisit her old entries a lot.
You and Mie – Cherie rocks and has, arguably, the most adorable little girl who makes the already terrific outfits look like haute couture. And Cherie’s tutorials are so clear, thorough and well-done!
I think what strikes me most about the sewing community is how nice everyone is.
6. Which celebrity should start sewing and blogging about it, and why?
Hands down, Gwyneth Paltrow. I secretly want to be her. Can’t you just see her sewing for Apple and Moses and posting stuff onto Goop?
7. What is the nicest compliment you ever received on your creations?
Hmmm. Maybe “K has the best wardrobe”?
8. What is the most dubious compliment you ever received on your creations?
I don’t think I’ve received any dubious compliments, but I do get asked to hem jeans and curtains, which I’m not so thrilled about.
9. What are your favorite online fabric shops?
I don’t actually buy fabric online since I like to feel the texture and see the prints up close. I’m pretty lucky to live in Seattle where we have some great fabric stores.
10. What is the best sewing tip you ever got?
“Your seam ripper is your best friend.” It’s so true and I find that I don’t mind taking apart seams.
11. What is the best blogging tip you could ever give?
As someone with a very new blog with very few followers, I feel a bit presumptuous to give any blogging tips. I would say that my life-long journaling habit has come in very handy for blogging and as I’m sure you’ve all heard or read elsewhere from more legit folks, I also think it’s important to be yourself and to be truly interested in what you’re blogging about.
As for my own nominations…I need help! Friends, do you know of fantastic newer and up-and-coming blogs I could nominate that haven’t already been? I’d love to know.
I’ll continue to research, and thanks again, An! And have a wonderful weekend, all!
i really love reading such personal stories. i guess i’m a bit nosy! love that you are a puffy paint prodigy and are a book worm. i wish i could say that but the last series i read without ceasing was harry potter. that was about 4 years ago!
i secretly hope your blog stays the same and doesn’t blow up. that sounds selfish–but i love how your writing doesn’t seem influenced by anyone other than yourself. that is something that ‘big time’ bloggers can lose with lots of sponsorship.
Puffy paint prodigy! That’s awesome. :-). Thanks so much for your sweet words, Sarah. I highly doubt my little blog would blow-up, but it’s a nice thought, and trust me, I’ve been writing like this for decades (in my journal, but still)…you know what they say about teaching old dogs new tricks…
okay my fears are gone–you’re writing and sewing and pictures are wonderful. and i don’t think i ended up saying anything but that show that you put together of your mothers dresses was touching and beautiful. being a mother i can only aspire to be honored in such a way!
Such a great post! Thanks for the blog love. 🙂
Three random responses.:
The fact that you’ve had a crow land on your head three separate times is completely and utterly hilarious. Thanks for the laugh! And how on earth do you manage to read 2-5 books a week? I’m impressed! Finally, where’s the sketch of the short pinkies? Feeling a bit shortchanged over here. Sheesh. 😉 j/k…
oh and I’m with Sarah. Your blog is perfect just the way it is. I enjoy coming by every day and getting a dose of inspiration.
K takes a super long time to fall asleep and I read my book (or look at my toy now) until she drifts off. I end up reading A LOT. That’s so funny about the sketch of my crazy pinkies – I actually drew one but thought I should spare you all a visual of the weirdness 🙂
Congrats on your Liebster award!! I was so excited to see your blog nominated by An on her blog. You SO deserve it!!
And how fun was it to find out all these interesting things about you! My favorite story was the puffy-painter extraordinaire episode:) As for not being witty, I must say that from a reader’s point of view, you are very much so! You have such an engaging writing style – must be because of the quantity of books you devour!
Thank you so much, dear Lucinda!
oh this was fun to read! thanks so much for the mention, i’m completely flattered. i’m really glad robin introduced me to your blog, it’s so wonderful!
Oh, so pleased you’ve stopped by, Gail! LOVE the Valentine’s felt envelopes, btw!
Loved learning so much about you! Congrats on the award too. I think we have a few things in common- I’ve never had a crow fall on my head, just the poop and that’s supposed to be good luck, so imagine a whole bird! By the way, I LOVE your water colors and i wish I was good at journaling- I guess it’s never too late to start! Looking forward to getting to know lots and lots more…
Hi Celina! omygosh, I’ve had a few narrow poop misses, but had no idea that it’s supposed to be good luck! I feel cheated out of good luck now…:-) Thanks for the kind words and hey, congrats to YOU on the Novalee magazine position – So exciting!
Okay I have the shortest pinkies of anyone I know. I had to quit playing the guitar because I couldn’t reach some of the chords. I hate watching/listening to the news too. And we’re all night owls around here. Love the puffy paint story and your blog.