Character Drawings

Well, I was out of commission all last week thanks to some oral surgery. But I'm back in the action now! I'm still working on my French market bag, and hope to finish that some time this week. I really want to be able to actually make it to the Stitch 'n' Bitch this week, too! I'm sad I haven't been able to go in a while.

Two of my friends had birthdays this month. They are two of the several friends of mine that are into role playing games (namely Dungeons & Dragons - and, for the record, it's not as bad as people think). Due to my status of starving artist/unemployed layabout (also working really hard on fixing that this week), I couldn't really afford to buy them presents. I also would have had no idea what to get. What do you buy men for their birthdays? And are we past the age now where you're supposed to get friends gifts?

Anyway, I decided to draw their characters for them :D The first one took a very long time, because I was so nervous about it. I haven't really presented people with drawings since elementary school. The second one was easier since I was a little more confident. I basically sketched them out, looking at different artist depictions and photos of my friends as reference. Then I inked the outlines and used Copic markers to color them in. It's the first time I've actually used Copics for a real project. I LOVE them. LOVE them. I wish we had a bigger set. On my new wishlist: all Copic markers.

Huggles (unless I can think of a better name)

My real inspiration for knitting was Boo [seen on the right]. One of my friends was kind enough to buy him for me (in return for Chinese food the night before) at a convention a couple months back. He was so adorable I couldn't walk away from the artist's booth! When I eventually make my steam punk comic, he will be featured as my pet. He'll either be a weird creature from far away (I'll have to work in outer space and/or a fantasy theme) or a mechanical creature with a cozy skin. Anyway!

A couple weeks ago at a Stitch 'n' Bitch session with the lovely Becky, I learned how to knit with DPN. Success! I took a couple patterns and modified them to create the pictured fuzzy creatures. I'm in love. I've named the purple one Bog. I haven't named the yellow one, because I don't want to get too attached! I want to sell a few on my etsy shop, which really needs some work! That'll be on my plate this month: redo the etsy shop!

I also started a knitting class this week. One session last night and one next Wednesday. We're making a French market bag! Let me tell you, getting started knitting in the round on four needles (using five total) is craaazy! What a pain. But it will be a beautiful gray and purple bag, and I can't wait to see it all finished up :) I'll probably be working on that while I'm recovering from my oral surgery next Monday (not a big deal, but I'll be out for a couple days). Hopefully I'll be able to felt it in class next Wednesday!

Easter Eggs!

I had so much fun dying eggs Saturday!! I think we came out with some good ones :) I was particularly happy with my birds in the sky egg and my rainbow egg. On the rainbow one, I held the egg up against the side of the mug on a few stripes to form the loops you see. Oh, Easter eggs make me so happy! Does anyone else have any to share?

Embroidered Birthday Card

Remember that card I wrote about that I made for my friend? Well, I got her to send me pictures so now I can share!

It was my first embroidery attempt, and I think I did a decent job. Another friend's birthday is coming up next week, and I think I may embroider something for him...Guess it's time to go to the craft store ;)


[Today I'm having an Easter egg dying party!! Will upload pics later ;)]

Photograph

By the way, I'm also in love with photography. I snapped this photo yesterday while taking a walk with Chase, my miniature dachshund. (See more on my Flickr.)


I love the juxtoposition of so many elements at once...

A+A Monogram

I thought I'd post something a little different today. As you may know, I'm getting married in September to the most wonderful Alex. The first thing I started working on when we got engaged was our monogram. I am a graphic designer after all! So here it is in all its glory!


I am actually very proud of it. Simple, elegant, yet still playful - just like our relationship ^_^

Batman Zippered Pouch!

I forgot to post about this project :) After the huge success of my Batman bag, I decided to try my luck at making a matching zippered pouch! I'd never made anything with a zipper before, but I inherited a shoebox full of them from my grandmother last fall. Unfortunately most of them are pretty long, so I picked the smallest I could find (6") and made a little bag off of that. Luckily I also inherited a sewing machine and a zipper foot :) (I did have to google zipper foot images, because I had no idea what they looked like!)

I cut out a great Batman and Batplane from my Batman sheet to use as the outside. I lined it with the same linen I used for the opposite side of my Batman bag. If you've never sewn with a zipper before either, there's a great tutorial at twelve22. One thing I learned (that should have been obvious, but I make silly mistakes) is that you want the fabric to be longer than your zipper! Mine was, but just barely. Next time I'll give myself a little more leeway. For the strap I'm just using my camera case strap! Haha - I wasn't planning on using a strap, but decided to take the pouch as my "clutch" downtown last weekend and it definitely helped!

I really like it. It's the perfect size for my phone, credit card, and lip balm. It also perfectly fits pens and pencils. And it feels great in the hand. I hope you like it :)

Grass Creatures Finished!!