Clouds

What I saw in the clouds the other day.

*Sashiman takes wonderfully dream-like photos.

*Amelie graffiti

Avast ye

Yar!

Seven Things

Little Miss Nobody tagged me for the Seven Things meme, so here goes:

1) I never forget a name or face. Conversely, I am hard-pressed to remember song lyrics and/or movie quotes.

2) I have the same middle name as my grandfather; it's my great-grandmother's maiden name. My great-grandmother's middle name was her mother's maiden name.

3) I never went to high school and was home-schooled instead. I really didn't miss lockers or gym class. Instead, I got to read piles of books and take violin lessons.

4) I'm routinely mistaken for being considerably younger than I am (i.e, "What year are you in school?"). The closer I get to 30, the more I enjoy this.

5) I had family on the Mayflower.

6) I've worked as a barista, substitute teacher, cashier, and taught piano lessons.

7) If I could live anywhere in the world, I'd choose the Ile d'Orleans in Quebec.

And now to tag seven people that haven't already been tagged? Eegads that's tough - if you haven't already had the chance, consider yourself tagged!

Zelie

Concertinas and banjos fascinate me to no end.

*Sarah Gibb's illustrations

*Typecasting - The Use and Misuse of Period Typography in Movies: Great article examining the accuracy of type use in films

*Through Uncorrected Eyes - Great artists work influenced by their eyesight?



And take that overpowering air conditioning! A bolero I finished up - it's a combination of crochet and knit, made up on the fly.

Illustration Friday - Signs

A quick entry for Illustration Friday - I haven't had a chance to do one of these in a few weeks.

Words and Pictures

Well that was a pretty nifty weekend - I attended the New England Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrator's conference Saturday. It was most definitely worth getting up at 5:30 in the morning on a weekend.

I have to say the crowd consisted of some of the nicest and most genuine people I've met, with lots of talent to boot. The talks were informative; I really enjoyed Cheryl Kirk Noll's talk on illustrating for non-fiction and Bruce Coville's keynote. I also really enjoyed the brownies. Props to the hotel for those.

The only regret? Trying to navigate Nashua and Manchester armed with yahoo! directions. Ey yi yi...

***

The photo was snapped in Exeter, New Hampshire on the way home. If you've ever read "A Separate Peace," the story is set in a town modeled after Exeter.

Jitterbug

Jitterbugging is sure fun. Just gotta' make sure that partner has a firm grip when they go flinging you around.

*The imaginary world of the Brontes - Really fascinating stuff - chronicles the complex world that the siblings created to amuse themselves with.

*Bauhaus dollhouse

Rather Dickensian

I saw "Bleak House" on Masterpiece Theatre the other night. I'm a sucker for costume dramas and quirky characters, so a fun view.

And now I'm going to go watch "American Idol." That's a dichotomy!

Black Tea

Chinese food for mother's day. We had take-out and they packed enough fortune cookies for everyone (phew!).

*Bradbury & Bradbury makes reproduction wallpapers. This one is based off a design for a female aviator from the 30's. That in of itself would make for an interesting story.

*Kirin Notebook creates some amazing textiles and drawings

Waves

My brother-in-law made homemade ice cream tonight, raspberry and chocolate chip. It was unreal. And now I'm becoming progressively more fixated on what's in the freezer... I think I'm about to capitulate to the magic of the ice cream.

Everything is in bloom here and the peepers are chirping outside. Freshly unfurled leaf green is my favorite color.

Travels around the internet:

*Mandy Sutcliffe's illustrations are really charming

*If you're anywhere between Boston, Portland, and paradoxically Paia Maui, I highly recomend Flatbread. When I went the other week the menus featured children's drawings on the covers and banners on the wall.

Pals

Not quite done with this yet, but here's a snippet.

And I really like nice weather. And Fizzy Lizzy's.

Monday, Monday

I finished her up this weekend. I think having hair like that would make a real statement.



One GAP over-sized late 90's shirt? Check. One really fabulous tutorial? Check. Inspired by Julie Ree's posting, I busted out the sewing machine which has been sitting gathering dust for awhile now. The tutorial is uber-simple and I'm seeing over-sized shirts in a whole new light!

And the really accomodating stunt double I found at a clothing store going out of business 'round the corner from where I work. The shop owner sold it to me, but I had to haul it back then and there.

That earned a few stares.

Ode to a ballpoint pen

I'm realizing that not all ballpoint pens are created equally. I have a real attachment to bic pens, particularly the blue ink ones. Nice even flow of ink and minimal globbing. They most definitely do not break the bank.

And I have to say that any weekend that includes peanut butter brownies, thrifting, and copious amounts of the Talking Heads is always pretty darn nice.

Illustration Friday - Remember

Je me souviens - I remember.

Thank goodness for the province of Québec's license plates. It's the only reason that I could ever remember that "souvenir" was a reflexive verb on those French tests...