Springing
A quick warmup painting of a radish, from earlier today. In a fit of optimism, I planted French radishes and baby greens a couple weeks back. And despite some pretty cool temperatures, the seeds have managed to germinate and are beginning to poke up through the ground. Jazz hands!
Aside from vegetables?
* If you’re local, I’ll be at the Graves Public Library in Kennebunkport for storytime this Friday, reading Finding Wild (details here).
* I’m almost done reading How To Break Up With Your Phone at the moment. It’s a quick read, with fascinating research and solid advice. Earlier in April, I finished Paddy’s Lament, which was utterly heartbreaking and completely absorbing. On a lighter note, I also read Some Tame Gazelle this month and it was a delight. Someone at the BBC, kindly make a movie of Barbara Pym’s life and I’ll love you forever.
* Emma Carlisle’s sketchbooks are terrific.
Old Newness
Old things that are new to me.
* The heart is something new I embroidered with pearl cotton thread, inspired by Milagros. When we were cleaning out my grandparents’ house, I brought home this salmon colored upholstery fabric (for reasons I can’t fathom now). It’s synthetic and pills like nobody’s business, but looks just like velvet when stitched up. Shortly after being sold, my grandparents’ house, the home that my grandfather built from scratch, was bulldozed. Losing that landmark, the family nerve center, left us all disoriented. But making new things with what was left behind feels like a way of returning home, if not physically, at least in memory.
* The water in the river melted, but if I walk down there early enough in the morning there’s still ice on the side, the cold not quite ready to give up. Today, though, all of the melt upriver has the water whooshing by and I’m typing this listening to the deluge outside my window. Spring comes when you least expect it.
* I don’t poke around Portland as much as I should, because it’s a delightful city. But the last time I did, I spotted this building (that type!) and thoroughly enjoyed Bam Bam Bakery.
March-ness
The past couple weeks, the abbreviated version: snow, deadlines, snow, ice, my 11-year-old computer died (sniff), more snow, a couple of gallons of hot cocoa, more snow. I’m turning in final art for a 2020 picture book in under a week, so that’s been consuming my life lately. Waking up days at 5:00 means quiet, calm, books and coffee while the sky goes from inky black to golden. And when I head home nights, it’s still light out and it feels like maybe, maybe, I can pack up the snow shovel. I’m already looking at gardening books, but realism means I’m sticking with forced quince branches at the moment.
In addition, I loved Strong Poison and binge listened to The Dropout. I’m sewing this favorite dress pattern again. And the ice has finally melted off the sidewalks and the dog and I can walk without the assurance that one (or both) of us will break a leg. Huzzah!
So that’s life in a nutshell, somewhere between winter and spring.
Valentine's Day Printable
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Here’s a link to a Valentine printable you can download below:
Free for personal, school and library use.
Eloise's Garden
I’ve been dying to sew something with my fabric collection, Eloise’s Garden and over the holidays finally had a chance to do just that. I’ve had the Colette Pattern’s Violet blouse for ages and it seemed high time to give it a go. So, the details:
* I made Version 2 of the blouse (the option with the mid-length sleeves).
* I traced off a size 0 and graded to a size 2 at the hem. Aside from that, I didn’t make any modifications to the pattern and it fits perfectly. When sewing shirts, I typically make a short back waist length adjustment (I’m 5’5) and lower armholes. I didn’t run into any fit issues in these areas, sewing the pattern as is.
*I’m definitely planning to sew this blouse again, probably using the no facing hack. I like plackets in shirt patterns better than facings, so it’s more a matter of personal preference going that route. Here’s the link to that pattern hack if that’s your jam, too.
* I sort of hemmed and hawed about doing the buttonholes by hand, but just went with machine made buttonholes in the end.
And that’s that! I’m trying to figure out what to sew next using Eloise’s Garden. I love the Stars Hollow Quilt Pattern from Suzy Quilts and have that on my to sew list. I’d really like to sew another Archer shirt. And because the collection includes a couple of prints in rayon (!), I’m planning to sew Chantilly from Colette. Decisions, decisions…
Old and New
A bit of the old - 2018
The past year included: six Taproot magazine covers, the releases of Mama’s Belly and Anne Arrives and my new fabric line, “Eloise’s Garden.” I worked on illustrations for Anne’s Kindred Spirits and started sketches for a 2020 picture book. And I finally finished my Queens of England project (a year late, but who’s counting). I also worked on several embroidery pieces and kept experimenting with textiles. And I filled up many, many sketchbook pages.
More generally speaking, I did some traveling, both near (midcoast Maine) and far (Ireland) and slightly in between (Texas). I kept a garden, ran my first 5K and read a bunch of books. I spent time with cousins I hadn’t seen in decades at my grandmother’s funeral in October, that weekend being one of the dearest 2018 memories I have. And in general, kept keeping on.
And the new / 2019
As 2018 came to a close, I was badly burnt out. Talking about burnt out is difficult. There’s a desire to be transparent about what a creative career looks like, but the fear of appearing anything less than 100% eager and capable is intimidating. So what to do? I took time off over the holidays and looked long and hard at things. I’d like to say I’ve made some earth-shattering discoveries, but I haven’t. I’m still figuring things out, trying to understand that balance between earning a living and making work I love. It’s an ongoing process, but I’m hoping to dig deeper into that this new year, and to allow things to evolve.
More specifically? I’ve decided to read 24 books, take more professional development days, run another 5K (or two), get back into garment sewing and to limit screen time. I’m trying to let 2019 shape up organically, to let things shift as need be. I’d love to paint a mural. Maybe go camping. There’s an artist residency I want to apply for. And I definitely want to go swimming in the ocean, when the weather finally permits.
So on to 2019!
Wrapped Up and Ribboned - Gift Tag Download
Happiest of happy holiday seasons! Here’s a free download, some gift tags I illustrated.
You'll need a PDF reader to open these. Before printing, I recommend adjusting your printer settings for highest output quality (especially if you choose to run these on card stock). Feel free to print as many as you like for personal, school or library use. Enjoy!
:: Download Here ::
