surprise!

There have been so many of them lately, good and bad.. in the mail and over the phone. Here are some that have made me happy this week.


Those prints up there were left on my bed by Cathy, after she ended up spending the night on Wednesday. Cathy is one of my favorite people and a dear friend from college. We stayed up talking late into the night, and it made me feel like I was in middle school and we were having a slumber party on a school night. One of my very favorite things is coming home to surprises left for me by someone who spent the night.. in Cathy's case it wasn't of course a romantic little note, but equally as good- these two fabulous prints she made, one with directions to her and her girlfriends place out in the country and an invitation to go out there and use their fancy printing machine, and the other was that great print of a hot air balloon.

Earlier in the week I also got a surprise in the mail from Martha- another old college friend I haven't really been in touch with for a while. Martha is as good as they come in the people department and I know that if I were to see her tomorrow we'd pick up where we left off 9 years ago. After buying a wallet on my Etsy shop she sent me this:


You know, because I'm a fresh Jersey girl. I love it. And I love the little blue suitcase it came in- I have a whole collection of those I can add it to.


And then there is the Sampler. Oh the Sampler. I got my September Sampler a while ago of course, and this month it was just chock full of amazing things. Two of my favorites are the Zombie Escape Plan journal and the My Perfect Man coloring book. The Zombie Escape Plan notebook is full of both blank paper and some printed pages that have useful information for the day when when Zombies come and take over the world. Don't worry. I'll protect you.

can someone please tattoo this on me?

From 'Eat, Pray, Love':

"I have a history of making decisions very quickly about men. I have always fallen in love fast and without measuring risks. I have a tendency not only to see the best in everyone, but to assume that everyone is emotionally capable of reaching his highest potential. I have fallen in love more times than I care to count with the highest potential of a man, rather than with the man himself, and then I have hung on to the relationship for a long time (sometimes far too long) waiting for the man to ascend to his own greatness. Many times in romance I have been a victim of my own optimism."

I mean there are a dozen tattoos I've been wanting but this one seems as good as any to start with.

i'm here.

been a little busy with life and all its wonderfully high ups and downs this week. . be back to regular posting soon.

park it.

Today is Park(ing) Day in the city, where people take over parking spots and turn them into lovely little parks for the day. Near my work there are three spots- two beach themed ones, complete with kiddie pools and life guards and one with a lawn and croquet game going. We sat at the croquet one during lunch. This is a picture of it being set up that I took on my way to work.


And here's a park that was set up in front of Ritual last year.


Doesn't it just make you love this city?

outside.

one of my favorite things from Jordan and Ron's backyard.


back on the streets of sf. love all that art.

prototypes.

it's been a busy weekend but i was able to hang at molly's studio yesterday for some much needed make time. nothing like crafting for craftings sake. he looks a little funny, but here's a sock bird i made from the book Sock and Glove. this little guy was pretty easy to make, i see a whole flock of them being made as cute little presents for people.


i also made this wristband. i have to say it was molly's genius idea. we have lots of stuff coming molly and i, i swear it. and just maybe if you catch us at a craft fair this winter we'll have a whole lot of these and other pretty things. but for now there's this- it's a prototype and i actually stitched it with molly in mind, but then it was too big for her tiny wrist so now i'm wearing it. the leather's pretty soft and i like how it feels on my wrist. it's not a bad reminder either..

family.

This is my brother and I sometime in the eighties. I like to think we did not dress ourselves back then, but I'm sure I was in love with that horrid dress and I bet he thought he looked sharp in that sweater vest. Right now he's on a plane flying across the country to come see me. He didn't know he would be in California when he woke up this morning, his wife planned the whole trip without telling him until they got dropped off at the airport. Pretty awesome if you ask me. I can't wait to have them here. I'm always the one flying back east to visit family so it's a total treat when they come to this coast. Not to mention my brothers pretty great too, there aren't many people I would sleep on the couch for.

here's to Fall.

This is another great find from Portland. This one I scored at Twisted, a really cool new craft and yarn store that also has classes and is run by two incredibly nice people. This fabulous magazine is actually a present for someone.. shhhh.


I love the foggy 70's images. Doesn't this just make you want to knit up an afghan, wrap it around your lover, and take your dog for a walk in the woods? Or something. .

oh that Knittn' Kitten.

I knew Susan and Diane would have some amazing spots to show me in Portland, but the Knittn' Kitten far exceeded my expectations. I mean first of all there's the name, then there was the pink Knittn' Kitten card someone handed me at Church of Craft, and then there was just that look everyone got in there eye when they started talking about the place. Going to the Knittn' Kitten is like being let loose in the attic of your coolest and craftiest great aunt. I didn't walk but five feet in the store when I got sucked into a table full of beads and buttons in bags and loose. Susan showed me the lay of the land and I started to worry I wouldn't have enough time for the whole place, and it's not that big, it's just so packed with juicy things. Vintage patterns and fabric, trim, buttons, beads, ceramic cats, it's a crafters dream.


My favorite find of the day was a zip lock bag containing 20 different squares of fabric that each had a beautiful bird embroidered on it. The stitching is perfect and I wonder about who finished these and what they intended to do with all of them. Make a quilt as Susan suggested? Pillows? I don't know but I love them, and I'm not sure how long it will take for me to actually use them in a project. So I'm scanning them all. I see a whole set of duct tape wallets with each of the 20 birds on them, I can print them on fabric, silk screen their images onto things. Just look at them, aren't they divine? (I suggest clicking on them so you can see them in all their close up glory.)


When I asked, the owner of the Knittn' Kitten said she thought she had found them at a church sale or something, did someone start a project and then tire of it? Or pass away before they could finish?


Diane, found some great brown wool perfect for a making a winter coat.



And Susan dug up this awesome jean jacket pattern, I don't think she ended up buying it-- but one of us probably should have.


Thanks again for the awesome crafty day ladies!!

tonight

If you're looking for something arty and packed to do tonight Lisa Congdon has a show opening at Candy Store. Sure to be jam packed and sweaty, but worth it.

home again and almost ten things.

my feet are back on California soil. happy to be home again, not so happy to get back to work tomorrow. as Diane said, i need a vacation after my vacation. i'd only really dipped my toes in the great northwest before, this trip i had a good long soak and i just adore it so. i have lots more to share, but unpacking and getting back to real life needs to happen so i'll post more of my adventures soon.

Diane tagged me for this 'ten things i like about myself' meme. before you read on and think i'm really self-involved, this was a lot harder than you think. go ahead and try it. lucky for me i had lots of time to kill while my flight was delayed in Seattle. here goes...

1. I can easily entertain myself. While I love the good company of my friends, I also like being alone. I can fill my me-time with an endless list of projects and activities to do.

2. I trust my intuition. I can be picky about who I let in to my life, but once I call you a friend I'm faithful and steadfast.

3. I'm punctual. I don't know why but it matters to me, and I'm glad I'm someone that can be trusted to be on time to things.

4. I'm sensitive, maybe overly so at times. But I like to think that my sensitivity makes me keenly aware of other people’s feelings, which in turn makes me considerate and kind.

5. I can be funny and I love making people laugh. I like that about me.

6. I love my crafty side. I'm resourceful and thrifty and I'm endlessly fascinated by handmade things-- art, craft, music- I like that I'm an appreciator and participant!

7. I'm a bouncer-backer (I'm aware that's not a word). Really, nothing gets me down for too long, maybe that comes from my Italian stock, we're tough like that.

8. I'm confident. I don't beat myself up for not looking like the skinny pretty ladies in magazines. I think I'm pretty just the way I am. Sure, I focus on eating right and working out, but I'm also nice to myself and love the way I look. I wish I could bottle that feeling and give it to every woman I know-- 'cause women are so mean to themselves when it comes to body image.

OK, I'm stopping there.. and I'm tagging Molly, Ryan (please let this be what makes you post again!), Jennifer and Danica four fantastic people I know.

Seattle

Don't have much time to post this morning, but thought I would share some pics I snapped last night while walking around Seattle. Arrived here yesterday and of course it started raining as we were setting up our booth for Bumbershoot! Looking forward to catching up with old friends here and seeing a bit more of this town. I fell in love with these walls, and could have spent hours taking pictures of all the wonderful details.