Aprons for Christmas

These are the aprons I made for my sister-in-law and niece for Christmas.  I wrapped up the smaller one and put it in the pocket of the bigger one, then wrapped them both together.  Why is it that when things are smaller they are so darn cute?  I could hardly stand it as I was sketching out the pattern for the smaller one.  And even as small as it is, my niece is still swimming in it...  Maybe she'll still be able to wear it when she's a little kid helping her mom cook in the kitchen and not just a toddler stirring up a bowlful of blocks with a salad tong...

Crows on Christmas Eve

I went for a walk along Ballona Creek on Christmas Eve, and came across hundreds of crows spending time on the cement banks and splashing in the water.  I stopped and took photos of them for a while.  I really love crows...

keep Oklahoma

I don't really think this note needs an explanation. It's just pretty much awesome.

A Wednesday at the Hospital

Chris had surgery on his wrist on Wednesday so I went with him to the Hospital in Santa Monica. Recovering from a gnarly stomach virus myself, I spent much of the day curled in a vinyl upholstered chair in a dismal waiting room with framed faded prints of tropical island beaches. I nibbled on saltines and took sips of ginger tea and drew a blue footed booby. The whole day was sort of surreal...

another Monday pattern

thanks, spoonflower.com!

So this is the print I made to brighten up my nieces room in a wall-hanging:

And this is the fabric swatch I got back from spoonflower.com, where they print fabric for you for a pretty reasonable price:

The colors got a little duller, but not bad! I have a feeling all the money I just got doing some freelance work is going to get funneled directly to these guys for a while.

pot o' gold

With movies like 'Zookeeper' and 'Smurfs' coming out of this place, I shouldn't be surprised that Sony Studios might just be the gold at the end of the rainbow...

birdz

late night

late night pattern

This was on my computer screen when I woke it up this morning, from a late night last night...

sketchbook session

I will make some sort of pattern out of this soon...

and also

I am in love with Trader Joe's. They didn't have them in Rhode Island and they didn't have them in Colorado which means that I have spent my adult life, so far, not knowing what I was missing. My sister-in-law predicts the love affair will fade within the next three years, but until it does I am pretty happy. The loot above cost me about $36. And that's raw almond butter in there, gluten free bread, sun-dried tomatoes marinated in olive oil, shaved asiago cheese, and three bags of salad greens. Plus a bunch more. And as if the food and prices aren't enough- the staff is so nice that I forget where I am and they sell cheap yummy sake. AND there's one walking distance from my house. *sigh*

I can't believe I live here now

Walking home from the grocery store I passed a fruit stand and couldn't resist. They certainly don't have these in Colorado. I pointed out what I wanted from the fruit he had in front of him and he proceeded to cut up pieces for me. Mango, melons, jicima, coconut, and cucumber. Topped with chili powder and freshly squeezed lime. For $5. I'm in love...

baby hippos for Xander

These are some baby hippos that I sketched for my friend Xander, who is 3. I am going to send them in a letter, because who doesn't love getting mail?

aaaach!

My house is infested with spiders. It's true. I've done a pretty good job tolerating them in the last couple years- I keep a plastic cup and postcard on hand to relocate the ones that I find that I decide I don't want around- they're too fast or too big or too hairy (shudder...). This morning I found this in my bathroom. I don't know what's going on here. I left it alone. I am hoping it will take care of itself and not be there the next time I go in. I am moving in 4 days, and then these spiders will be someone else's problem.

Distraction

I don't know how I'm supposed to get anything packed when there is so much to distract me. Like the cds of x-rays from injuries I've had in the past few years. I think it's so cool that the imaging center gave me a copy...

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Colors that Courtney likes

This was the dinner we had back at camp on Saturday night, after a day of mountain biking on the Colorado trail and soaking at Cottonwood Hot Springs... We had salmon with a cilantro-lime-ginger-garlic marinade, and asparagus and green beans with a lemon-mustard-dill dressing... Mmm... Following dinner were Pepperidge Farm cookies and the longest game of Uno known to man...

Colorado Native

My friend Ryan (who happens to be a Colorado Native himself) brought over a 6-pack of this beer yesterday. The beer bottles have fairly official looking labels on them but the cardboard 6-pack holder is branded with a red permanent marker, by hand. Brilliant. (And the beer's not too bad, either...) Ah... I will miss Colorado when I leave...

on my run this morning

I saw a guy who looked just like King Hippo out on a trail run this morning. He was wearing white gloves instead of pink ones but I'm still pretty sure it was him...

shark bride

I'm finding a lot of gems on some old hard drives that I'm trying to sort through today. I keep getting very distracted from what I should be doing...

poppy pattern

Monday Pattern

patterns at the zoo

The women of NPR- part I

These are images included in a Calendar that Chris and I made for our friends who are NPR junkies, for their wedding. I imagine the women of NPR would wear respectable pajamas in a sexy photoshoot rather than real lingerie.

Mandalit Del Barco

Sylvia Poggioli

Neda Ulaby

Michele Norris

Cokie Roberts

Mara Liasson

alphabet animals

Easter bundlettes

I think the best part was that the pear blossoms I used for decoration smelled a little like fish. Mmm...

my friend Courtney

I got to see my friend Courtney recently which was great. Our conversations always give me all sorts of fodder for new projects, and we talked about art and design and dogs and computers and bikes and food and music. I recycled an old drawing to make this pattern, inspired by one of our conversations. I would wear a summer dress with this pattern on it. Hmm...

nice mittens...

These guys are old- I found them in a folder of sketches and notes from ages ago, but I really like the middle guy and his mittens.

spring pattern

snail pattern

so much honey...

Thursday pattern

this is what I look like on my birthday eating soup

This is the picture I got from my friend Kristin today, with this note:

"It is your birthday. Right now. And I am mailing something to you today, but in the meantime please enjoy this portrait of you with the bowl of soup I made you for your birthday. It is spicy Indian eggplant-red pepper and I hope you like it."

I do. It's delicious.

out of hibernation

I'm glad that Marley's out of hibernation and ready to help me with my yard work. She sniffed at the rhubarb that's starting to poke up in the garden and pounced on the end of the hose when I moved it. When I went inside she decided to rest on my back stoop for the rest of the afternoon, which made me happy.

yucko

I was just wondering to myself if some friends will be in town next weekend and my first instinct was to open up their Entourage Calendar and take a look at their schedule. I take that to mean that I spend far too much time at work on my computer. Yucko.

Tuesday pattern

orchids and chris

Rolling Greens in Culver City is a beautiful place to spend a few hours on a gorgeous day in early March. Afterwards I highly recommend stopping by the fruit stand near the corner of Clarington and W. Washington and getting mangoes and oranges with lemon juice and chili pepper to eat in the shade nearby...

another Monday pattern

another Monday pattern

crock-testing

"A crock test is used to determine the amount of color that may be transferred from a sample fabric to another fabric by rubbing.
How This Test Works:
A sample fabric is fastened to the crock meter and then rubbed against a white test cloth. This test is done twice; first with a dry test cloth, then with a wet test cloth. The amount of color transferred to the test cloth is assessed by comparison with the AATCC Chromatic Transference Scale."