A wee burro (burrito?) friend found at Porchlight, a lovely shop in Portland, OR.

It’s pouring rain and it’s really nice.  I love waking up on the weekends when the weather is like this: the interior of the house is grey and a little chilly.  I make myself a cup of cocoa and pull out the warmest, loftiest blanket I have.  Sometimes I’ll read, watch a movie I’ve seen a hundred times or up date my to do list.  (That sounds incredibly dorky, about the to do list.  But I’m obsessed with it and have about 50+ things listed at the moment.)

Speaking of reading, have any of you read The Mysterious Benedict Society series?

I just finished the first book and I’m onto the second one (above).  I find the cover illustration pretty thrilling!

So, I know I’ve been a little bit scarce around these blog parts.  I’m like the friend that thinks about you but gets really bad about calling.  ;)  A couple of reasons include me taking on more hours at work, and a sudden and unignorable (not sure if that’s a word but it works for me) Tendonitis/carpal tunnel flare up.  My husband and I even made a trip to Ikea to buy a new desk hoping that it would help.  (My old one is currently in the middle of my office.  Totally in the way but what a nice place to pile stuff on. [It's better than the floor.])  And I’ve been keeping off the computer as much as I can when I’m not working.   At first I was really bummed about it but I’ve resolved to find a solution.  I’ve been reading up on things, exercising and trying to keep my mind in a positive space.

Oh, there are a couple of things I wanted to mention before I forget:

• I’ve installed a “subscribe to comments” plug-in in this blog.  You’ve probably seen them elsewhere; when you leave a comment you can click on a box to subscribe.  Then you’ll receive follow up comments in your email.  I’m going to start to respond to comments by leaving reply comments since I’ve been so bad at responding in the last few posts (and you all have left such thoughtful and helpful comments too! ) and I hope this would remedy that, plus perhaps make it easier for you to touch base with each other if desired.
• Spoo Kee got a twitter account!  I know, it’s about dang time.

Ok, it’s cocoa time.  I hope you are all having a cozy weekend so far!

xoxo

…Illustrator. It’s kind of addictive actually.  I’m often torn between doing more traditional, pencil drawn illustrations and computer/vector stuff.  For a long time I had resisted computer-generated art but I can’t seem to pull myself away.  So, why can’t I do both?

Winter has really only begun and I’m thinking of spring, my favorite time in L.A.  Maybe because we’ve had some lovely weather lately.  Or maybe the recent  foggy evenings led my mind to inky waters, sea monsters and such.  Which made me think of the beach.  WHICH made me think of summer and warm weather and sundresses.  WHICH THEN led me to start planning my warm weather wardrobe, inspired by Summer Finn. (JUST saw that, if you can believe it.  Loved every second and every stitch.)  Oh, and a new pair of clog sandals.  How’s that for stream of consciousness?

Thank you to everyone whom participated in A Slight Sinister Giveaway!  I LOVED reading all about your costumes and scary stories; I now have a little spooky list of books I’ll need to check out, so thank you for that too.  If you haven’t read them, check out the comments in the giveaway post and maybe you’ll find a creepy story that might interest you.

Ok, without further ado, the winner is: Lucky #5, Modern Crush!

Thank you again, peeps.  Oh, and happy fall my Northern Hemisphere friends!

(Random number-generating goodness brought to you by random.org.)

Greetings, dears!  October is only a few weeks away and Halloween, for me, always marks the start of the holiday season.  So, I thought I’d celebrate a little early and give away 1 copy of AntiCraft: Knitting, Beading and Stitching for the Slightly Sinister.  Not only does this book contain the original publication of my Brier Rose Scarflette pattern, but a TON of other cool and creepy projects.

Here’s what you do: from now through Monday, September 21st midnight PT, leave a comment in this post describing 1 of the following:

• Your favorite Halloween costume that you have ever worn (and if you made it!)
• Your Halloween costume for this year (And, of course, if you plan to make it)
• Your favorite spooky story or book.  (Ok, you don’t have to tell me the whole story, just the name and general plotline!)

A winner will be randomly picked and announced Tuesday, September 22nd.

Update:

You know, it just occurred to me that I should have posted a photo of one of my favorite Halloween costumes when I originally wrote this - ha!  I just so happen to have one:

That’s me in the angel costume.  My dad made the halo and wings (you can’t really see it but both are sparkly with gold glitter) and my mom made the dress. My parents did not like putting me in store bought costumes and made ours (mine and my brother’s) whenever they got the chance.   I’m not sure I knew then how lucky I was to get such nice, homemade things but I certainly am now. (Next to me is a friend as a Barbie bride; I think I was jealous of her costume.)

Good luck!