hangin' out

These are two little 10" x 10" canvases I'm working on for the Art in the Park show, I'm calling them 'hangin' out'. Unfortunately you can't see the detail very well in these pics. I'm doing a bunch of these with different things painted in the middle. Silly me thought I'd be able to whip them off, thereby avoiding pre-show panic attacks and late night painting sessions, but so far I've finished.... 3. Um... yeah. Weekends have been busy, and during the week I've just been bagged at night after freakishly long commutes lately. So, maybe next week!

The next few days have lots of goodness in store... Tomorrow night I'm going to see Depeche Mode - sexyDave!! We'll be screaming, silly, singing, sweaty girls and I can't wait. Then on Friday we're heading north to a cottage for the annual first Canadian long weekend of the summer... yay Queen Victoria's birthday! About 15 of us will be up there. Usually there's only our usual crew of 8, so it will be cozy but fun!

show and tell

As much as I would like to start off the week with a cheery, inspired post, I've got to be honest... I'm just not feeling it! I'm bummed because it's been a beautiful, sunny, warm day and I've felt totally lousy. Exhausted, no appetite until dinner, achy, mildly lightheaded, just crap... All the things you're supposed to feel when the day is gray, cold and windy. Now get this -- I haven't had a full blown cold or flu in almost two years, which until now was totally unlike me. Every once and a while I feel like this and think 'oh man... here it comes, now I'm gonna pay for past 2 years!', and then, miraculously, it just goes away. I'm like the girl who cried flu. So, who knows what's up in my body this time. I've also got that 'I'm totally overwhelmed by a lot of things and want to hide in my bed for two weeks' feeling. Anyway, I felt a bit better when I got home so here I am...

Instead of more complaining, I'll do a little show and tell of my recent knitting project. This bag was crafted over several nerd Friday evenings when Stewdawg was working and I didn't feel like going out. I saw it over on Mag Knits, and used Irish worsted weight 100% wool. The pattern called for 40cm circulars, but the nice knitting ladies at my wool shop wisely recommended 60cm ones, saving me much cursing. This was my first foray into felting and it was really fun. Here's the pre-felting shot...



And here's the after. A VHS tape was the perfect size to stick at in the bottom while it dried, to help shape it. The brooch pinned to the front is a 1920s find from an antique mall ($3.50!) that just seemed meant for this purse.

illustration friday - fat

This week's theme for illustration friday is 'fat'... I may be biased, but what is cuter than a fat, fluffy sheep? This is Emily, she is painted in acrylic on canvas, 11"x14" (click for a larger image.) When not posing for portraits, she enjoys leisurely walks with friends, reading, and eating chips.