web presence

by now you may have seen the vastly new-and-improved webpage over at roisin.ca. there is still the 'goods' section to be worked out, and also how on earth to add the shopping cart business, but it'll get there.

ted was nice enough to spend a few days in front of the computer learning how to use dreamweaver, and made my ideas work out nicely. you can also see the logo that i didn't manage to print on anything in time for the holiday show season. i love her, she is loosely based on the painting below, 'the liberty on the barricades' [or 'liberty leading the people'] by delacroix.

new patterns

above is the new pattern i have been working on, and printing all morning. the colour is a little off, but it is a raspberry fabric with a bright pink print...and it is pattern pieces! i haven't had this much fun with a pattern in a while, it was a really enjoyable design to draw and to print.

this is a dress i made whose colours i'm not a big fan of, but it is the initial incarnation of the pattern pieces idea in a garment. it is not a pale teal outside, with a sage green ruffle and butterscotch embellishment, and is lined in the above printed pattern pieces fabric.


and these two fabric groups are on their way to linda, cara's mom and super-quilter, to be turned into two little quilts in time for the big show.

interviewed

it was a stunning day here in halifax, six degrees above and the sun was blindingly bright and warm. this is a photo of the shadows cast on the bedroom wall in the afternoon. smiles all around while i was doing errands, and even the arrival of a much-delayed and maligned package from a supplier and it's very incorrect contents didn't get me as riled up as it normally would have.
i found out today that i was featured in the one of a kind show's online magazine, thumprint. here is an interview to let you know a little bit about how i got into the art and craft world. the photos of the work are a little old, as they are from last summer. makes me realize just how much my work has changed since then. I am madly printing yardage, and will have some pictures of the two new patterns for you soon. i keep forgetting to bring my camera to the studio.

a new baby model

everyone, i'd like you to meet ezra, new little baby of brenna & joel. i'd like to thank all of my pregnant and new-parent friends for their good timing on the baby boom in these parts, as my current model zia, is almost too big for my garments

this is him at less than a day, held by his proud new dad at the hospital

stormy weather

well, we are in the midst of a very big, blustery storm here in the maritimes. it snowed heavily this morning, with very little wind, making for a snowglobe atmosphere on my walk to the studio. at this point, it has progressed to messy, slushy ice pellets and rain. the weatherman says that this is our fifteenth large storm of the season.

besides tea in lovely mugs by sean kunz [he doesn't appear to have a website, but i got these at the toronto outdoor art show last year, and i believe he is from calgary], baking is really the only other thing i wanted to do today.


corn muffins - makes 12


10 ounces [about 2 cups] all-purpose flour
4 1/2 ounces [1 cup] fine-ground, whole-grain yellow cornmeal [i mix fine and medium grind for texture]
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
5 1/4 ounces [3/4 cup] sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melter
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whole milk


heat oven to 400 degrees, and spray a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray

whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder and soda, as well as salt together in a large bowl.

in a second large bowl, whisk eggs until they are well combined and light-coloured. add sugar to eggs and whisk vigorously until mixture thickens and is homogeneous, about 30 seconds.

add melted butter to egg-and-sugar bowl in three additions, whisking to combine after each.

and half of each the sour cream and milk, and whisk to combine. add the rest of the sour cream and milk, and whisk again.

add wet ingredients to dry, and gently mis with a rubber spatula until just evenly combined, careful not to over mix.

scoop batter into muffin tin, leaving the tops rounded [an ice cream scoop works well].

bake until light golden brown, about 16 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean, rotating the tin half way through. cool five minutes in the tin, then transfer your delicious muffins onto a rack to cool. eat them while they're warm, with butter.

I added some frozen blueberries to a few of the muffins, but put them in the oven on a cookie sheet to thaw and cook off some of the liquid so the muffins wouldn't be soggy.

coveted wares

i regularly browse around etsy, as most of you do, and one of my favorite people on there is stiksel.
she is from rotterdam, in the netherlands. i particularly love the shoulder bags made out of old dutch postal service canvas bags.



above is her 'teabag', which of course reminds me of my good friend cara's mom, linda, because everything tea-related [and chocolate related] reminds me of linda. cara, you should still be blogging. i miss your writing.

studio shots

i was asked by someone to take some working in the studio shots, and to have them to her by the close of the following day for potential inclusion in an e-mag.

so of course, i grabbed my digital camera and trusty, ever-helpful fella and headed out to the studio to print with the t-bar i'd just built. i have been under the weather [when is one not, in halifax?] this week, and was not very thrilled with having my picture taken over two hundred times that day. I did realize two things about myself though, after the very entertaining photo-upload session later that day:
1. i have a very serious, somewhat cantankerous face on when i'm working away. think think think, is what is looks like is rolling around in my head.
2. i do not stay still at all, even when attempting to pose for a picture. almost every single one has a portion of me as a blur. and also, the little bangs i decided to cut myself a few weeks ago are at the jabbing-me-in-the-eyes-while-i-attempt-to-grow-out-that-mistake stage, which means most of the photos were of my blurry arm brushing said bangs out of my eyes.

bangs. is there a better word? fringe? i think it recalls the acid-wash and white leather fringe jacket of my ten year old self. mom, if you have a polaroid of me in that little jem, send it along and i will put it up.

as for now, here you go, mom and dad. you know, since you miss me.

printing

printing, or, as my class will see on monday, what printing an all-over repeat looks like:


the requisite blurry shot, with garments.


and i've changed the profile picture as well. i'm standing with michelle's gigantic screens, and pretending that they are mine. she is so tiny, and her screens are so big. maybe that's why the printing table is so low.

reading list

i'd like to share with you a little book i found about a year ago, and when it arrived i promptly read it cover-to-cover, twice. and then i ordered a second copy and had it mailed to my crafty friend cara collins. it is called craft inc. and is written by meg mateo ilasco. the best fifteen dollars or so that you will ever spend if you're thinking of doing this crafty life as a source of income.