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When I began painting pet portraits in 2001, my dogs Kramer & Stuart were my inspiration.  I quickly filled my house with paintings of them, and while these portraits remain some of my favorites, I harbored a secret desire to paint huge pictures of them to hang in my dining room.

It took a couple of years to get around to it, but when I did, it only took a weekend to do both of them.

Kramer, acrylic on canvas, 36×36, 2003

Stuart, acrylic on canvas, 36×36, 2003

I really like using latex wall paint for my portraits because the consistency is good to work with, especially for backgrounds.  After choosing the photos on which the paintings would be based, I painted each canvas with latex paint I had left over from painting rooms in my house.  Next, I transferred the images on to the canvases by drawing grids on both the sample image and the canvas (scaling up).  Using a pencil, I simply drew what appeared in each square of the sample photo in the corresponding square on the canvas.  This is a little tricky, but it actually went pretty fast and I was pleased with the result.

Once I had transferred my images onto the canvases, I simply painted in all of the details.  In some ways, the size of these canvases made the process more difficult in that it was harder for me to capture such important details as the expression in the eyes or the blend of the fur.  And truth be told I’m not 100% satisfied with the results, although these paintings have a central spot in my home and I love them.  And others love them as well–I get a lot of compliments from visitors and I’ve gotten more than one commission from people who know my dogs, have seen the work hanging in my own home, and want one for themselves or for a gift.

Besides, no pet lovers home would be complete without giant-sized portraits of their loved ones, right?  (Or am I just obsessed with my dogs?)

This is a beautiful sock:  Bayerische

I mention it because I am feeling very unfulfilled knitwise (no pun intended), and when I see a sock like this I am reminded of just how much I have to learn.

I looked at a lot of sock patterns today because I suddenly felt very sure I needed to knit myself a pair of socks for Japan.  The main pair of shoes I am bringing are slip-ons that aren’t worn with socks, which on one hand is great:  many of the traditional places, like shrines, temples, and some restaurants, require you to remove your shoes before entering.  Sometimes slippers are provided, sometimes not.  At any rate, having easily removable shoes is clearly a plus.  However, being a little unsure of the whole barefooted aspect of this ritual, I did a little research and luckily, someone had blogged the answer for me:

"I felt so odd in the fellowship-hall-mausoleum, like I should whisper, and I was embarrassed that I had bare feet in the provided leather slippers, because I’d worn sandals to the temple. Miyuki said bare feet were no problem, but 99% of the people I’ve seen have had socks. The young women wear knee-highs peeking out at the tops of their stiletto-heeled boots, and everyone seems to wear socks or stockings. I’m going to start carrying a pair of socks or knee-highs in my handbag for when I wear sandals. I wonder if it’s sort of too casual to go barefooted, for health reasons, cleanliness, etc."

This confirms my suspicion that I may indeed feel uncomfortable with bare feet, despite an impeccable pedicure.

The easy solution to the problem is to just bring a pair of socks with me, thus my sudden compulsion to knit myself a special pair.  Socks are kinda hard though, and I only have three days left until take off.  Plus, it’s fairly obvious I’ve got a whole lot of more important things to do in preparation for the trip than to knit socks.  So there will be no newly knitted, fabulous pair of socks.  I just have to accept it and move on.

See, I told you I was on an
earring
kick:

In this design, I simply soldered a combination of pre-made sterling
"squares" and a round jumpring in a pattern I liked.  For some unknown
reason it puts me in the mind of a lotus flower, however, my husband said it
reminded him of a cross.  My jewelry instructor said they’d be pretty with
stones attached, but for now I’m going to stick with just the metal.

It is just 7 days until we leave for Japan and I am busy at work on my kimono sweater:

The actual pattern is called Kyoto.  Instead of Tahki Cotton Classic, I’ve chosen to use Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere.  I also chose some drastically different colors, but the turquoise blue is good with my skin tone.  I was torn about what color to use on the bottom but ended up with the yellow because it’s pretty.  Yellow is not generally my color, but since this is the sash it won’t be against my skin so I’m hoping it won’t matter.

Unfortunately, the chances of me getting it finished in time for the trip are slim at this point.  I was well on my way to being done but after re-checking the gauge on a couple of the pieces I realized I had didn’t have enough stitches per inch, which would result in, at best, a much-too-big sweater.  I decided to start over, which is a painful prospect, but it has to be done.

The picture above is of the finished pieces prior to me deciding to start over, so at least you can see the color combo.

It will still be chilly in Tokyo when we go.  I am thinking about buying a few skeins of cashmere to knit myself a fabulous scarf to wear on the trip since I most likely I won’t have this sweater.

In the jewelry studio, I’ve kind of been on an earring kick lately, though
I’m not sure why.  I usually find them tedious to make because you have to
make two of the same thing.

These earrings are a modification of a pair I made years ago but never wore
because the way they were constructed caused the teardrop shape to go upside
down, which looked weird.  In the modification, I took off the stone,
soldered a jumpring to the top, and soldered an additional, smaller teardrop
shape in the center.

These earrings are easy to wear and very light, but have a substantial look
to them.  I might even have to take them to Japan with me.

I’ve said this about

knitting but I’ll say it for jewelry as well:  one of the great aspects of
being a jewelry designer/maker is the ability to make pieces for special
occasions or even just a simple night out.  Such was the case this weekend, when
I made this bracelet in preparation for a dinner out with friends:

It is made from mostly from 10k gold, although the clasp is 14k and the
hammered rings are 14k gold fill.  The beads are green tourmaline and
citrine, with a red garnet briolette that functions as a charm.

The focal point of the bracelet, however, is really special to me.  A
couple of years ago while visiting an antique shop in Oxford, England, I
purchased a string of
Egyptian faience beads which were at least 2000 years old.  They are
not expensive, but I love the idea of using antique beads in my work, especially
when they are this old.

It’s taken me almost two years to find a design for them that I like, and I
will probably use them in similar ways in the future.  My only concern is
that bracelets generally get knocked around a bit and they might be too fragile. 
That said, if they’ve survived 2000 years thus far, they can certainly survive
any wear they’ll get on my wrist!

This particular bracelet is not for sale, but

email me if you are interested in purchasing a similar design.

Hooray!  The Spring 2007 issue of Knitty
came out the other day and there are a few things I am thinking about knitting:

Clessidra
Stockings – I’ve never actually knit a pair of socks, but lately I’ve been
wanting to.  Though these are a bit complicated, I might make them my
first.

Carolyn – I
really like the shape and casual-comfy look of this cardigan.  I also like
that it has raglan sleeves.  Since horizontal stripes are not my friend, I
might choose to do this solid or at least with less contrast, but the overall
shape and style of this sweater is very appealing to me.

Torque – I’m
attracted to this sweater, though I might not ever knit it.  I like its
asymmetry and pinning the collar with a broach is a great look.  I need to
be careful with pullovers though because A) they make me look boxy and B) I
always get too hot to wear them for very long.

Paper Bag – I
love this.  I’ve never knit a bag before and this one is great.  I
tend to go off knitting in the warmer months and perhaps something like this
would be a good non-winter project.

And speaking of handbags, I am itching to
make one.

In the next couple of days I’ll probably be posting a tutorial of some sort on making jewelry with precious metal clay (PMC), but I was just looking through some photographs of some of my earlier work and found a really cool bracelet I made a couple of years ago:

Click on photo for larger version

This bracelet was made using PMC, a rubber stamp, leather, and sterling silver findings.  Here is a close-up of the bracelet:

Click on photo for larger version

Although I like to make hand-fabricated jewelry more, PMC is a great medium and a fun technique to use in jewelry making.  If you’re not convinced, check out the online galleries on the PMC Guild website.  Some of these pieces just blow my mind.

I know, I know, you’re tired of this damned hat.  However, I had to make just one more post about it.

We went to Mammoth Mountain last weekend and the Head Cozy debuted with astounding reviews:

I don’t think I’ve ever had more compliments on anything in my life–many of them from total strangers.  So go on girls, knit it up.  You will be the belle of the skiing ball.

Here it is closer up and a gratuitous sleeping baby shot:

That is my friend Simon with his baby, Christian.  He’s one of the babies I painted the mural for.