Happy Friday! I sketched this illustration while thinking about the poem K wrote below. I have it taped above my sewing table, and she also made that "I lov u" note for me using a stencil book. Wondering by K I wonder about the sky I wonder how birds can fly I wonder as I watch the world go bye I wonder about stars and the planet mars I wonder how I last and the wonders of the past Isn't she a wonder? I love that she included that little rhyming aside, "Have a ... Read more
Sewing for Me: The Easiest Top
Picasso and Mondrian would be proud of me for my abundant usage of blue and color-blocking. I'm calling this the easiest top ever because it's literally four rectangles plus two ties. This top was part of my pre-spring plan, and hey, it's solidly spring now and I'm finally ratcheting up my sewing mojo to make the plan a reality. After all that body-hugging business with the Lady Skater dress, I'm back in my comfort zone and frolicking in loose, hospital/maternity garb. Here's what the top ... Read more
Avocado Chocolate Cookies
I keep a loose sort of blog schedule -- every Friday, I list out potential post ideas for the following week and most of the time, I don't follow the schedule at all because I'm always way too unrealistic and wait to create my post the day before. I'm pretty much a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of gal. On rare occasions, I will list the same topic over and over, carrying it through several weeks without making it happen even though it's completely doable. These avocado chocolate cookies are ... Read more
Giving Back
My first job out of graduate school landed me in jail. The brisk and humiliating body search. The clang of the barred door. "What have I done?" I thought, numb and disoriented. I'd committed no crime, at least none that I knew of, and certainly none that would put me in the slammer. Somehow, though, at age 27, face covered with adult-onset acne, I stood toe-to-toe with glaring, orange-clad inmates. What I had done was find employment with an arts non-profit in the Bay Area. I'd been ... Read more
Monday Outfit: Oliver + S Garden Party Dress
Good morning! Since this new spring pattern from Oliver + S is called "Garden Party Dress", it seemed necessary to find some kind of floral fabric. I'm trying to challenge myself more these days, so I ventured into my bin labeled "silk and silk-like stuff". As soon as I saw these bright orange poppies, it was a done deal. Back in the days before I was trying to bust my impossible stash and when I used to buy fabric (a trickle of nostalgic tears here), I would take K with me to one ... Read more