The Reminder

Peter introduced me to the wonderful, magical musical world of Feist, so for Christmas 2011 I gave him this silhouette of her as a present. She's got a really cool nose.

First embroidery!

This was my very first attempt at embroidery way back when. It's supposed to be a johnny jump-up, which is my favorite type of flower, but the colors are a bit off; I'm still having a bit of trouble with that part of embroidery! Eventually I turned this into a Christmas present; a pillow for Peter's mom!

Santa Fe Dreaming...

Santa Fe, New Mexico, has always held a very special place in my heart. It comes of having spent a relatively large amount of time there when I was very young and not as much as an adult. My great-grandparents lived there in the twilight of their lives, and we used to visit every few years. The memories I have aren't really memories...more impressions of color and texture and tastes. Bright turquoise, brilliant burnt reds and yellows, dust and sand and adobe, turquoise, sticky sweet syrup poured over fresh sopapillas.

Love in a Blanket

Being in a long-distance relationship is one of the toughest situations a young couple can find themselves in. I know, because four out of my last four relationships were long distance for a period longer than a year. It sucks. My mom, who was in a long distance relationship with my dad for the two years before they were married, always says, "You've got Facebook! FaceTime! Skype! You kids have got it easy!" It's a double-edged sword. Is it great that Peter and I can get together and watch an episode of Freaks and Geeks on FaceTime together? Sure. But I'm so hyper-conscious and hyper-informed of his comings, his goings, his parties, his shows, new friends...sometimes I'm not sure if we've made it easier on ourselves. In some ways those updates only emphasize his absence and our distance from each other. So every tangible thing we can do to feel close to each other takes on a value of tenfold importance.

Enter the blanket.

Portrait of a Lady

As a present for my dad last Christmas, my sister and I decided to collaborate on a portrait project, where we'd watercolor portraits of one another! We got our friend Andrew to do the photos, which led to some considerable silliness:

Sweet Bluebonnet Spring

This was the pillow I made for my mom last Christmas. She and my dad have been thinking of places to retire, and if they decide to move out of Texas I wanted her to have a little keepsake of one of her favorite things about this state: the bluebonnet. There's nothing quite like driving down the highway and seeing these pretty little white-tipped heads bobbing to and fro in the sweet spring breeze every year. Then, of course, after the two weeks of spring the temperature cranks up like a gas oven and the red ants swarm all over everything and anything that is remotely pretty or green or alive withers up and turns brown until the two weeks of spring the following year.

Ah, Texas.

A Boy's Best Friend is His...Dog?

Here's the scenario: Christmas is approaching (okay, fine, it was September, but Christmas was still approaching). You're dating a wonderful young man. You're spending Christmas with his family in Wyoming. You want to give him something meaningful, unique. What do you do? Give him a beer hat? Another University of Oregon sweatshirt (go Ducks)? A certificate of appreciation? No. The trick is to make him a picture of the one thing he might like even more than you: his dogs.