Double Trouble

With a few weeks notice, I whipped up these coordinating blankets for twins that are due in July to my cousin-in-law!  

I did not want to ask about a theme or anything, because I wanted the quilts to be a surprise! I went with blues and greens, monochromatic for the backsides and more colorful/crazy for the fronts, with matching grey and white striped binding.  

I really love this color scheme and hope those boys snuggle with these blankets for many years!

Patchwork, sort of

I really am in love with this latest project for a friend who is due in June!

I bought this gorgeous henna-looking fabric thinking I would use one for the front of the quilt, and one for the binding, but I couldn't decide which would be better/less overwhelming as an entire quilt, since they both are so bright and bold. I had a stroke of genius when I decided to take a chance and try to do some actual patchwork rather then the wholecloth quilts I have always done. However, I got scared of messing it up and stopped at stripes. I used the same fabrics as the binding since they are so vibrant and I thought adding another color might be too kooky. The backside is a fun circle stripes pattern that coordinates great with the items this mama showed me she had registered for. 

Creating these stripes was not as scary as I thought and maybe I will experiment more with patchwork. I think the thing that scares me is just how precise things need to be. I get easily frustrated and would be mad if things didn't work out right and I end up having to start over again or adjust everything. So we will see.  I have a few small project ideas I can try first!

 

Seaworthy

In early February, my husband (it still feels sort of odd to say this?) and I took a belated honeymoon to Hawaii! Before we went, I stitched up this quilt so that it could be at the baby shower in my place since I had to miss it.

I really was unsure all through this project if the quilt I made was going to fly for a few reasons:

1. The mama in question had told me the only real 'theme' they were doing or telling people was 'boats and books.'  I could not find any fabric that had anything to do with books (which really bummed me out) and the only nautical one I saw was a really yucky blue color that I just could not bring myself to buy. I ended up going a bit abstract with my 'boats' interpretation and did more of a 'sea' theme.

2. The baby's gender was going to be a surprise! So I wasn't sure if I should try to be super gender neutral or just go with colors/patterns/fabrics that seemed right to me. I went with the latter and crossed my fingers. 

3. One of those 'fabrics that seemed right' was fish. I thought it was cute but would they like it? Would they get my 'boat' interpretation? Is Navy and Green to "boyish"? What if they have a girl? Girls like the sea too, duh. 

Ah so many questions!  In the end I said stop worrying about it, I love it, they will too!  I was really obsessed with this scalloped watercolory fabric when I saw it in the fabric shop, and wish I had bought a load more of it. It reminded me of the ocean so that was the first thing I grabbed. I thought the fish were cute for the backside and for the binding, I chose a fabric that was dark navy with white, blue, and lavender starbursts.  So the quilt is representative of the water (the scallops), under the water (the fish) and the sky above (the binding).  

To my delight, the parents of this little one LOVE their quilt! And their baby boy is enjoying his new blanket already. 

Each quilt I make is my favorite one until I make the next one! There are just so many gorgeous fabrics out there!

Two Custom Quilts

Three months since I last posted, that is just ridiculous. I wasn't working on much and then all of a sudden I had two custom quilt orders from Etsy and another little quilt is in the works for a friend who is expecting this summer.

These two quilts are really different but oh so adorable and really they both scream SPRINGTIME to me! I really enjoyed making them and getting back into the swing of making these quilts.

The first one of these was for a friend's second baby. I made a quilt for her first little one and it was a big hit! So number 2 could not be left out! The mama told me that she was working with a wallpaper in the baby's room that was pretty dark paisley, and she had a dark wood crib, so she was going to do all white linens with a pop of teal.  This seemed pretty straightforward but so simple! I made the front of the quilt just plain white, and I offered to embroider the gal's name on it, and I picked a fun springy fabric for the backside that I fell in love with. It's a buttery yellow with little white butterflies throughout. For the binding, I found a teal polka dot fabric so that was easy! The way I sewed this together was sort of a happy accident, and at one point I almost started over but in the end, I decided it looked like ruffles and so just kind of went with it. It turned out super cute!






This second one was ordered by a friend for her brother's girlfriend's soon-to-be-born little girl. She showed me a few pictures of things the mama-to-be liked including forest animals, and said for colors, coral, gray, white. I didn't find exactly what I wanted but I really love how this one turned out! I found a really gorgeous faux bois woodgrain print that I used for the backside, and for the front I found this lovely print of antlers surrounded by bunches of flowers. For the binding, I picked the most coral fabric I could find and it happened to have cute squiggly white lines throughout so that added a little interest! I couldn't find a plain coral color that I liked so I went with it! I love how the coral binding looks against the woodgrain. I hope this lady and her little lady love this quilt for many years! Here is a video of me sewing this quilt together! 

Ice Day Quilt

Yesterday it snowed most of the day and then began the freezing rain. Overnight the city turned into a gigantic ice rink! My boss told me to stay home and I agreed easily. I don't own ice skates and all my shoes seem to slip on the ice! I would much rather stay home and work on a project! Ice Day!

I got to digging through my bin of fabric and found an almost full yard of a pretty dark botanical print that I never used, a yard of a solid teal, one of my favorite colors, another unused piece, plenty of batting leftover from previous quilts, plus enough of one more cool black and white fabric for the binding! I got my crafting nook all set up and after a couple hours I had a finished quilt to sell (One of a Kind Modern Baby Blanket)!

Stowe Bag Surprise

With Christmas coming up, I had big plans to sew something for everyone I know but then decided to just do one of these bags and see how it went and then decided not to go nuts on gifting this year afterall since our apartment is kind of dark by the time I get home from work and weekends are too busy and I would never finish all I wanted to finish. So I only made one of these little bags to mail to my dear friend Meredith stuffed with a few goodies. I found some darling fabric from Japan and got to work!

You can see my cozy crafting nook here in this snap my husband took when I escaped work early one day to work on this project.


The pattern is the Stowe Bag by Grainline Studio. I am definitely going to be making more of these! The bag sewed up a lot easier than I expected and it has interior pockets and all! This is the small size and I  definitely want to make the larger one for myself.  If you have a birthday coming up, you might be getting one of these bags from me, just a warning! 

I had a heck of a time getting a photo of this bag in the waning light (not to mention my arm looks freakish) before I packed it up to be mailed off, but here is the finished product! I stuffed in a few home bar essentials and a cute cocktail book and it arrived safe and sound.


Hope you all have a very happy holiday!!

History of a Robe

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!!! I am looking forward to a cozy feast with family in a giant log house in Washington! Before I get to work on the food I am going to make, I wanted to get this blog post out into the world since I finished this project last week.

Let's go way back to a time when Portland was still pretty new to me. I am pretty sure I had a friend visiting, and after exploring around on Mississippi Ave and heading back towards home, we got off the bus at the wrong stop. Instead of walking to the right transfer point or waiting for the next bus, we found a darling vintage shop around the corner.

I don't remember much else about this excursion and I haven't been back to the shop since! But I fell in love with some beautiful fabric there and even though I was trying not to spend money, I had to have it. I did not have a sewing machine or really any plans to get one but I just could not let that fabric sit in that store another minute longer. I thought to myself, "I'll make something out of it some day!"

Well, a little bit of time went by (at least a year or two) and I did get a sewing machine. I took an intro sewing class with a couple of gals to revive the skills I learned from my great aunt back in high school, did a few little projects here and there, and all the while kept thinking about the perfect silky robe I was going to make with that great fabric that I had folded up in a bin somewhere.

I kept accumulating fabric from various projects, scraps and bits that seemed usable for other small projects and every time I dug into my fabric bin to start something new or look for something I would see this bright orange peeking out at me from the bottom of the bin and I would think, "Darnit, I have to make that robe." I was so nervous that I would do something wrong, and once I cut into it, that was it, no more pretty vintage fabric and dreams of perfect robes. I didn't have enough fabric to cover any errors! It was just enough and no more.

Well last week I finally conquered my fears and cut it up. I made a robe that is just exactly what I was picturing. It's definitely not perfect, I absolutely stitched the bias tape on wrong, and this fabric gave me a lot more trouble than I expected because it was so slippery. It was very hard to cut straight lines with the fabric slipping all over the place. But I love the way it turned out and am so glad I finally did it and got that fabric out of the bin and into the closet!



Searching for easy robe patterns I found this blog post that did not use an actual pattern but more of a general guide with room for making it your own. I used the cutting guide there as my starting point which was basically folding the fabric in half, cutting out a neck hole, cutting down the front, and cutting out notches from the sides for the kimono-like sleeves, using that cutaway fabric to make the robe ties. I wanted as few cuts as possible to maximize the fabric that I had and this seemed like the simplest way. I had the smart idea to sew the belt to the back of the robe, so it would never get lost. In the end, since this is not a fitted garment, all these little imperfections are hardly noticeable. My only real regret is not adding in a pocket on one of the side seams!

I just can't get over how pretty the fabric is!


I am getting a brand new phone with a great camera later today, so I will try to post a lot more photos of all kinds of stuff in the days to come, so add me on Instagram!

Also, if you haven't already checked out She's a Giant on Etsy, you should! I have a discount code set up for 20% off if you enter code FBfriends20 at checkout. Custom quilts make wonderful Christmas presents!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! 

Return of the Mich

I'm back! I know, I can barely believe it either.

A whole lot has changed since my last post almost four (!!!!) years ago, including getting married and moving into a pretty small loft apartment, which is all very exciting!

I am reviving this blog with the intention of getting a lot more crafty and making a lot more things in general. I will probably still post about books and inspiring things I find around the web, but mainly I am going to focus on what I am creating in my craft space.

The most recent projects I have been doing are making little baby quilts for friends. These are super fun, pretty fast, and I really enjoy picking out fabric and making something that my friends (and their little bundles of joy!) will probably have forever!

Here are a couple of my faves

This doll has a space themed room filled with black and white details. I was obsessed with this constellation fabric when I saw it in the fabric store and am so glad it worked for this quilt!

This is the most recent quilt I made and since the family didn't have a set theme in place, we just went with colors. I was asked to use shades of blue, teal, maybe lime green. I love how this quilt turned out and it looks so good in the little dude's room!

There are a few more photos of quilts on Flickr.

I have a handful of other projects I want to work on and document, such as a robe out of some vintage fabric I have been toting around for about 8 years but am scared to cut up. I also want to try my hand at more regular clothing items, since I subscribed to Seamwork to encourage myself to sew more often. Once in a while I also like to try a random craft idea from Pinterest such as an eye mask for sleeping (not my most successful, but it works) or a padded sunglasses case (as a gift).

So! Please do follow along and I will be sure to try to keep the posts short, sweet, entertaining, and picture heavy. I know how this works (sort of)!

Classics, a 10 Year Reading Project

When I turned 30 in 2011 I set a goal for myself to read as many 'classics' as I could before I turned 40.


This seems a daunting task, and I know I can't ONLY read classics, so I try to mix them in with the more modern books that appeal to me.


In 2011 I read 5 classics of the 21 books that I read in total during the year. Here are my quick review/summaries and I highly recommend that everyone read more 'classics.' It is surprising to me how relevant some of these are.


Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - I thought I would get bored with the book and never finish it. Instead, I was instantly entertained, curious, and interested in Jane, her surroundings, her view of the world, her cohorts, etc. The story surprised me a few times, and I never did get bored. The ending left a little something to be desired, and in a way I just wanted the story to continue. I wanted to know about her and Mr. R. growing into old age, and I wanted to learn about their children and wanted to meet Adele as a grown lady, etc. I take not wanting a book to end as a sure sign that I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I can understand why this is a classic! (February 2011, 5 stars)


Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - I loved Lord Henry and his views on everything! the ending surprised me. (March 2011, 4 stars)


This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald - I didn't like this book nearly as much as I thought I would. I struggled to finish it even though I liked Amory and his adventures for the most part. (April 2011, 3 stars) 


Silas Marner by George Eliot - I was excited to read this book, as it came so highly recommended, but I was a little bit scared that it would be above my head, based on the person who recommended it. However, I really enjoyed this book from the start and loved all the characters. The general moral that I took from the story is that money can't buy happiness and to appreciate what you have and enjoy it to its fullest. (June 2011, 4 stars)


First Love by Ivan Turgenov - I think Novellas are the perfect length. Nothing gets too drawn out and nothing is too rushed. I thought this was a lovely little story about a 16-year-old's first encounter with love. Some really nice passages and a somewhat tragic ending. I liked this novella very much. (October 2011, 4 stars)

Do you have any classic or just very old amazing novels that I should put on my to-read list??

Year End Book Summary 2011

In 2011 I read 21 books. Not a stellar amount but at least it is consistent with the 20 that I read in 2010.


Some books I just jam through and some I lag and don't read as often as I should (as is the case with a book I am currently reading). I only gave 5 books a rating of 3 stars, most of them 4 stars, and only 5 with 5 stars.


Let me tell you about these 5 faves of mine.


Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - I set a goal for myself in 2011 when I turned 30 to read as many of the 'classics' as I could by the time my 40th birthday rolls around. I don't have a set list I am referencing but just when I hear about this book or that book or a book I never read but probably should have, I am making a note of it or downloading it to my kindle. This was the first classic that I read (mainly because I saw a trailer for a movie that came out in 2011 that looked good) and I was absolutely shocked at how much I loved it right off the bat. My instant reaction upon finishing Jane Eyre was this: I thought I would get bored with the book and never finish it. Instead, I was instantly entertained, curious, and interested in Jane, her surroundings, her view of the world, her cohorts, etc. The story surprised me a few times, and I never did get bored. The ending left a little something to be desired, and in a way I just wanted the story to continue. I wanted to know about her and Mr. R. growing into old age, and I wanted to learn about their children and wanted to meet Adele as a grown lady, etc. I take not wanting a book to end as a sure sign that I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I can understand why this is a classic!

Tinkers by Paul Harding - I didn't know much about this book but for some reason I kept wanting to read it. Finally I dug into it and was so glad that I did. It was gorgeous and sad and as I wrote initially upon finishing Tinkers: About half way through this book I wanted to start over from the beginning and pay more attention. I will definitely be re-reading this one. 


The Help by Kathryn Stockett - I know everyone and their mother read this book in the last couple years and finally I gave in to the hype. I expected it to be hokey and ridiculous but instead I really loved it. I laughed, I cried, I didn't want it to end.


Room by Emma Donoghue - This was the first book I purchased for my kindle and it took me a few months to actually decide to read it because I was scared it would be too depressing. I loved it right away as is usually the case when I read books told from the perspective of a child. I find it so refreshing to look at things in a fresh, if slightly naive, light once in a while. While this story is pretty sad, Jack's view of his own life isn't and that is what kept it from being too hard to read. I really wanted to give Jack a big hug. I wrote when I had just finished reading Room:  I found it very easy to feel immersed in Jack's world. I could totally understand why he felt scared/anxious about everything, wanting to return to comforts he was familiar with, though they seemed crazy and scary to everyone else. I was a pretty scared little kid, very afraid of the unknown and quiet, so I could relate to Jack in a way. At the end of the book, I wished it would have kept going.


1Q84 by Haruki Murakami - I love everything Murakami does, and I might build him up a bit much to people sometimes because I just love his books so very much. Maybe he is not for everyone but I simply can't imagine someone not liking his style of surreal things taking place in a very realistic world. I had been waiting for this book to be released forever, in fact I preordered it about 6 months before it was released so I would be sure to get the first US edition. 1Q84 was not a disappointment and I read the more than 900 pages in one month, which for me is no small feat. My first impression upon finishing 1Q84 was this: I loved this book from the start, had a hard time putting it down, and couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next. This was a perfect combination of Murakami's amazingly magically surreal style and a sweet love story. I was sad to reach the end and could have read 900 more pages.


I really liked a lot of the other books I read in 2011, and honorable mention goes to Galore by Michael Crummey even though it was much different than I expected it would be. I also really liked The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins!


(If you would like to read reviews for all of these, here is My GoodReads page.)


Here is a fancy grid of the books I read in 2011:

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Movie Log 2011, Fourth Quarter

Go back to: First quarter, Second quarter or Third quarter.


In theater:

-The Skin I Live In: This was quite a strange film. I guess Almodovar's films are usually on the dark and odd side, but this was extremely weird. A few loopholes and a slight creep factor. I'd watch it again just to see other peoples' reactions.


Via Netflix:

-Marwencol : This was a super interesting and strange documentary about a man who suffered a traumatic brain injury and created a fictional 1/6 scale world to obsess over.

-Sylvia : This is a movie about Sylvia Plath. I was worried this movie would be extremely depressing, and it was a bit depressing, but mostly it made me appreciate my life and feel very sorry for people with serious depression.

-The High Cost of Living : I had a hard time believing Zach Braff as a drug dealer, but this movie was good. I didn't get bored and definitely a dark sort of rom-com.

-Tiny Furniture : This was a quirky comedy/coming of age sort of thing. I liked it very much except for the ending.

Movie Log 2011, Third Quarter

Go back to: First quarter or Second quarter.

I was slacking in the movie watching department this quarter! I'll have to catch up before the Oscars!

In theater:

-Bridesmaids: So funny and great. I just love Kristin Wiig!

-The Help: I loved this book and the movie was also pretty great. I was not sure how they were going to pull it off, but it was a good adaptation.


Via Netflix:

-Winter's Bone: Beautiful and haunting but a bit slow and anti climactic.
-Gonzo: Interesting but I felt like it started dragging during the last half hour or so.

-Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father: This documentary was very sad and almost unbelievable but also very touching. I really liked it even though it was pretty depressing.

-Gonzo: I forget the full title of this but it is a relatively recent documentary about Hunter S. Thompson. An interesting film about a man I knew very little about.

-Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired: This was a very interesting movie about Roman Polanski and all the drama surrounding him. I liked it very much.

-Bill Cunningham New York: I had heard a lot of great things about this documentary and finally it popped up on Netflix Instant. I loved this movie from start to finish. I wish Bill Cunningham was my grandpa.

I watched a few others, but nothing notable and I was bad about writing my instant impressions.

Movie Log 2011, Second Quarter

Second quarter of movies I have seen this year, 2011. (Go back to first quarter...)

In the theater:

Black Swan: Wow, so intense! From the start, not a dull moment. Thought the black swan character could have been more developed, but nonetheless, loved it.

Jane Eyre: A good interpretation of a great novel. I don't see why they had to start in the middle and tell the story in flashbacks but felt the essence of the love story remained intact. Loved it.

The King's Speech: This movie was a lot more entertaining than I thought it was going to be, though still a tad slow. I liked it a lot, nevertheless, and even watched a show on PBS about the real story the following day.

Beginners: I got to go to a free screening of this film and didn't expect too much from it. The movie was probably the best film I have seen in the theater in a very long time. It was very real and sad, about love and loss. Ewan MacGregor with an American accent is just a little bit weird though.

Midnight in Paris: Owen Wilson and Woody Allen found that time machine I have been searching for forever, and it's in Paris! This movie was so magical and I loved every minute of it, even though Owen Wilson usually kind of annoys me. When it ended I felt a little sad that it was over, the same way I feel about books that I love.

Water for Elephants: I read this book so long ago that I barely remember a lot of the details. I thought this movie was pretty good. I probably would have seen it even if I hadn't read the book, simply because I love circus stuff. But Reese W. and that kid from Twilight just were not very believable. The elephant was the star, obviously.


Netflix:

The 400 Blows: Watched this many years ago and was not disappointed with this revisit. Such a wonderful story of youth.

Dorian Gray: A newish interpretation of the Oscar Wilde story that came out in 2009 I think with Colin Firth playing Lord Henry. Recently read the book and figured why not watch the film? I kind of hated this movie and wished I did not watch it. They really kind of twisted the story, especially the ending and made it into a weird mystery, all while dragging the story on and on for no reason.

Pie in the Sky: A documentary about Brigid Berlin, an artist from the Andy Warhol factory days with OCD. A super interesting lady and I loved this movie.

The Joneses: When you are feeling Californication withdrawals, this dark comedy with David Duchovny and Demi Moore will fit the bill, even if the story is a bit ridiculous.

My Father, The Genius: This documentary focuses on a daughter following around her father, an architect, learning a lot about him and trying to understand him. I liked it quite a lot.

Dogtooth: This was the most disturbing movie I have seen in quite some time. Not unwatchable, very interesting and unpredictable. Netflix definitely had it categorized right under "dysfunctional family movies."

The Kite Runner: For some dumb reason I never read this book or saw this movie. I really enjoyed it and even cried a little bit. Now I wish I had read the book!

Hounddog: This movie sounded like a less depressing version of Precious. However, it was still pretty depressing even if it was filled with Dakota Fanning singing Elvis. Also, I hated the ending. (What gives with endings?!)

Beneath Our Skin: This was a very interesting documentary about Lyme Disease. An eye opening look at this overlooked disease and a peek into a handful of sufferers lives and doctors who treat the disease. I know this sounds boring, but it was seriously very interesting.

Upsidedown, The Creation Records Story: This documentary about Creation Records out of the UK was very entertaining even though it was quite hard to understand at least 1/3 of what everyone in it was saying. A great music documentary, especially if you are into shoegaze or britpop.

Pushing Daisies: Okay this isn't a movie, but I watched almost all of the 22 episodes in two weeks and that show was so great and cancelled too soon! (I am waiting to get the second season from the library to finish the last few episodes!)

I was hoping to get to see a bunch of movies at the Cannes Film Festival in May but that did not happen at all. Bummer.

Any recommendations???

Trip of a lifetime.

A while back you might remember I posted about a little film that Matthew and I worked on which won the 48 hour go green competition in Portland and was going on to be screened in Las Vegas along with the other winners from each competing city.

Shortly after finding out that we won for Portland, we found out that we had been picked as one of the top five films out of all the films (hundreds?) that participated in this worldwide competition!

So, what does that mean? It means that our film is being screened at the CANNES FILM FESTIVAL.

Matthew and I, along with the rest of the Monsieur Soeur team, are going to fly over to France to support our film, take a real vacation, get some sun, spot some celebs, drink loads of wine, eat fancy cheese, and take advantage of all the free museums!

Having never been anywhere outside of California, Oregon, Washington and Nevada nor been on a trip longer than seven days in my life, nor been on an airplane for longer than three hours, I am over the top excited/nervous and it feels like the last month and a half have been dragging on and on.

I have no idea what to expect. I am hoping to: sleep on the plane, not get lost, wear only dresses, meet friendly people, enjoy lots of sun, eat lots of delicious food and wine, see some great films, take lots of photos, and spend lots of time with my favorite guy. And as that lovely poster just above tells me, it's always sunny in the Cote d'Azur, which sounds absolutely magical.

We leave in about 24 hours and will be pretty out of touch for the duration of the trip. Wish me luck, and I'll be back in a couple of weeks!

Movie log 2011, First Quarter

I set out to see as many movies as possible in the theater during 2011 as my new year's resolution. I am going to post a quarterly rundown, including my immediate reactions. I am also going to include notable movies that I watched at home via Netflix instant watch, which tend to be documentaries!

Here goes...

In theater:
-True Grit. Loved it! Have to see the original now.

-The Fighter. Marky Mark and Christian Bale were both good but overall the film was too violent for me. Made me very nervous/anxious. Also the ending was stupid.

-Somewhere. Was excited to see this and it thoroughly bored me. An uninteresting and unfunny version of Lost in Translation. Another stupid ending.

-Tron Legacy in 3d. Creepy computerized Jeff Bridges aside, the movie was pretty cool.

-Barney's Version. Meh. A sad story about a not very likeable guy. Pretty forgettable. Kind of feel like I wasted my free movie ticket on this one.

-Red Riding Hood. I feel like this had the potential to be awesome but it was pretty much just like Twilight but with a little more artsy look and no vampires.

Via Netflix:
-Finding Sean. This was a random documentary I found on Netflix and loved. It centers on a 6 year old boy who grew up in the Haight district of San Francisco in the '60s. Really great footage from that time period.

-Exit Through the Gift Shop. This documentary was so great. I did not really know much about Banksy or street art or this film before I watched it which probably made me like it all the more.

-Alice Neel. I found this on Netflix after watching Exit Through the Gift Shop and was so glad I chose to watch it. Never had heard of this fantastic painter but now am a big fan! The film was made by her grandson which made it all the more personal.

-The Cats of Mirikitani. Another art documentary found from Netflix, this was a very touching and interesting story of a Japanese artist living in New York I had never heard of. His story was very interesting, and it has a happy ending.

-District 9. Finally watched this. My feelings are mixed. It was disarming, stressful, extremely engaging, interesting, sad and maybe too real. Liked it a lot but wouldn't want to watch it again, too draining.

I'm an aunt.

Last week I took some time off work to go visit my little sister, her husband, and their new baby! My little nephew Evan Matthew.



He was kind of scared of me at first, or just a little confused why I looked so much like his mom but wasn't actually his mom and kept taking pictures of him!



But he came around pretty quickly. I feel like he grew up noticeably just in the 4 days I was there! By the last day he was almost smiling! Little Evan is so super adorable and his big brothers are so excited to have another brother! I had a great time visiting with all of them and hope to get back soon.



Enjoy this video of the little guy hiccupping which is the cutest/funniest ever.


The rest of my trip was filled with lots of friends, gin, dancing, delicious food and fun. I miss California but was so glad to get home to Portland.

<3

Watch our film! To the Land of the Setting Sun!

Hey friends, here is the latest film that Matthew and I worked on!

This film won Best Film, Audience Choice, and Best Writing in the 48 Hour Go Green 48 film competition in Portland! The film is now going on to be screened in Las Vegas along with the other competing cities' winning films.

We are so proud of this film and hope you enjoy it also! We have a very talented and fun team and I am glad to be part of it.

Watch the film here! (Vimeo won't let me embed it!)

See the rest of the film race films by Monsieur Soeur on Vimeo.

Random things

I don't have anything super important to post but since I am home from work due to a fine dusting of snow covering this fine city, I thought I ought to try to make some sort of cohesive blog post!

It is snowing like crazy outside, and I am so glad I stayed home from work. The coolest thing I found on the internet today while I was catching up on reading blogs is this super awesome stop motion video of a magical book shelf organizing itself!

The sheer patience and time it takes to create something like that is just astounding to me!

Tonight is a screening for the most recent film race that Matthew and I have participated in. I am super excited about this film and hope everyone loves it. I will post a link to the video when it is online. You can watch the one we did a few months ago here! I did most of the illustrations for it and am super happy with the way it turned out.

I finally listened to the new Radiohead Album, The King of Limbs, today and it is quite lovely. A little more mellow, ambient, toned down from In Rainbows but it is nice. I like it. It seems to fit my wintery mood of late. I intend to listen to it over and over and over again until I know it as well as In Rainbows which I LOVE.

I feel like 2011 is already zipping by and there are already so many plans for the rest of the year. Trips planned for March, May, July, August, October and December, not to mention all the awesome BBQs and hang outs that will be happening once summer hits! I can't wait. Sunshine that is actually warm! Quite a novelty.

In book news, I recently finished reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and was genuinely surprised at how much I loved it! I am excited for the movie, even though I have my doubts that the movie will stay true to the book. Here are a couple of quotes I liked: "I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being, with an independent will; which I now exert to leave you." "Even for me life had it's gleams of sunshine." "Love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the wellbeing of one's companion."

I have made a sort of long-term goal (maybe ten years?) to read my way through as many of the supposed classics of literature as I can get through. In between each I will read something modern probably, just to break things up a bit and refresh my brain.

I am currently reading The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman and am about a third of the way through it so far. I like it just fine, am finding it easy to read and interesting, but it isn't blowing my mind or anything. Sort of comes across as a collection of short stories with loosely intertwined characters. We will see how it winds up.

What should my next classic be???? I have Picture of Dorian Gray and I think something by James Joyce on my Kindle so maybe one of those. I am completely open to suggestion on this, so help me out!

For Valentine's Day, my favorite gave me a Diana Mini. It is blue and covered in adorable little fluffy white clouds and I am anxious to see how the photos turn out! Another reason to wish for sunshine--prettier photos on real film! I will post some highlights here probably.

Ok going back to watching the snow and listening to jams. <3

Admiration/Inspiration

I am so excited to get this blog back to a regular blog. You know, where I can post whatever I want and not feel restricted by (or guilty about not) posting photo projects.

One thing I want to do is to interject artists that I am mildly obsessed with once in a while. I see so many amazing artists around town, and also online all the time thanks to blogs like The Jealous Curator and Art Hound and I want to share my faves.

So, I was at The Woods, in a pretty grumpy mood, playing Bingo and drinking Bourbon. I went to the bathroom and what did I find? The most amazing paintings on display. Giant and colorful and perfect. I stood and stared far longer than anyone waiting for the bathroom. I immediately made note of the artist and spent quite a while the next day ogling and reading and marveling about Joan Hiller.

Swoon.

I love love love the paint by numbers style of the paintings and they were even more gorgeous in person, not to mention giant and I want one! She does commissions, too! I have a birthday coming up, I'm just saying. :) She is having a show at Tiga in March, so I might have to save up and get one of these magical paintings.

This reminded me, I have had an idea in my mind of embroidering based on old paint by number canvases, but have yet to come across any that I like. Maybe I should try my hand at creating my own.

Books read, 2010: A Memoir.

This post might be a bit obnoxious, and my original plan did not work because of java.

In any case, in 2010 I did not top my 2009 record of 27 books read, as I only finished 20 books. However, of these 20 I really loved a lot of the books I read and rated only four of them with a 3 or 2 star rating! I am a pretty generous rater, but still. 16 out of 20 books rated with 4 or 5 stars is a pretty good ratio if you ask me.

I reread a handful of books I have loved in the past this year which is something I don't normally do, but I am glad I did with these few (Kafka on the Shore, Geek Love, People of Paper) because I really do love them all!

Again I am not going to post reviews for every book, check out My GoodReads page to see more review type stuff. However, I will tell you about a few of my faves.

My favorite of the (previously unread) books that I read this year was Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. While I did not bother to write anything about this book when I originally finished it, I would like to say now that this book surprised me by making me laugh and cry, and I really thought the description on the cover and on amazon did not do this book justice at all. Beautifully written and I really did not want it to end, which is how I feel about all of my favorite books. Recommended to me by my Mostly Stitches counterpart, Vanessa.

My second favorite was No Wolf by Richard Stofle. Now I may be a tad biased because I have worked with and known Mr. St. Ofle (as he is known in certain circles) for quite a few years by now. But, again I have to say that this book surprised me. I did not know that Richard had this very creative and entertaining and interesting and heart wrenching writer inside of him. If I haven't recommended this book to you in the past year, now is the time. I would loan it to you, but struggling artists and what not, you should just buy it. (You can also read a chapter of the book on that website if you wish!)

My third favorite was The Secret History by Donna Tartt. This book had been recommended to me by a friend multiple times over the past few years and for some reason I never picked it up. It sounded too pretentious, too deep, too hard to read. But instead I found it immediately interesting, pretentious in the best almost comical way, and perfectly dark. I read it extremely quickly, loving every page. Definitely read this one if you haven't! And thanks again Mandy for recommending it!

Honorable mention goes to What is the What by Dave Eggers. I don't even care if half of it is made up, I enjoyed it even though it made me very sad. The hopefulness was astounding.

I got a Kindle for Christmas from my most favorite person so if you are wondering what to get me for my birthday (January 27th, I'll be 30!), Amazon.com gift cards or items from my Wishlist or even just book recommendations are more than a girl could ever want.

Now here for a lovely grid of the 20 books I read in 2010.

Books read 2010

Michelle's favorite books »

Happy reading!!
p.s. this is my 100th post on this blog!