The year is nearly over: Goals for 2011

I can't believe another year has passed us by. I think a new goal for the new year is to use this space to talk about the books I'm reading. It's such a big part of my life and I'd like to share what I'm reading and give my own reviews of what I have read.

Feel free to share any books you think I may like. I always love to discover new authors, new characters, and the worlds they create and live in.

See you in 2011!

reading list 2009

Once again, here is the book list for all that I read during the past year, 2009. Some might think it odd that I keep track, but I've done it for years. I'm not quite sure why. My 2008 list is here.

• Extras (Uglies Trilogy, book 4) by Scott Westerfeld
• Untamed (House of Night, book 4) by P.C. and Kristin Cast
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• The Givenchy Code by Julie Kenner
• T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton
• Specials (Uglies Trilogy, book 3) by Scott Westerfeld
• My So-Called Freelance Life by Michelle Goodman
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett
• Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
• Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon
• Chosen (House of Night, book 3) by P.C. and Kristin Cast
• The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling
• A Brush With Darkness by Lisa Fittipaldi
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (year 7) by J.K. Rowling
• Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
• Twelve Sharp by Janet Evanovich
• California Demon by Julie Kenner
• Pretties (Uglies Trilogy, book 2) by Scott Westerfeld
• The Beach House by Jane Green
• Eclipse (Twilight series, book 3) by Stephenie Meyer
• Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore
• The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier
• The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
• Betrayed (House of Night, book 2) by P.C. and Kristin Cast
• Scribbling the Cat by Alexandra Fuller
• The House at Riverton by Kate Morten
• Logo, Font and Lettering Bible by Leslie Cabarga
• S is for Silence by Sue Grafton
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• Carpe Demon by Julie Kenner
• How to be Your Dog's Best Friend by the Monks of New Skete
• Walking in Circles Before Lying Down by Merrill Markoe

Happy reading in the new year!

Look what I got!

For my birthday. Isn't he cute?

My Beautifuls

Conner

Addie

When I'm not at home I wonder what they're doing.

Creative Exercise

I saw this on FaceBook and had fun with it. It's a quick creative exercise. So, I thought I would post it here.















1 - Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

My random article: Värska

2 - Go to Quotations Page and select "random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your first album.

My random quote: more harmful than reasoned errors

3 - Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

My random photo:

4 - Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together.

It's a Small World

Butchart Gardens, Victoria, B.C.

I saw this from Sarah Parrott at Things are better with a Parrott. Tilt-shift is the distortion of a photograph that miniature-izes the subject. From Wikipedia: "Miniature faking is a post-processing technique, which involves selectively blurring a photo to simulate the narrow depth of field found in macro photography and some tilt-shift photography, making the image appear to be of a miniature model."

I played with the tilt-shift maker for about three hours. Some photos work better than others. It seems like photos with a distinct foreground, middle-ground, and background work best. Plus, if people are too close up, it didn't seem to work well.

Here are a couple more favorites from my photos.

Puget Sound as seen from the Space Needle

Public Garden in Boston

Superstition Mountains, Arizona

Thanks Sarah!

Come on, follow me!

I am continuing the pattern development that I started below over on Apples and Orange. Ultimately, Apples and Orange will be the avenue I take for things such as patterns and surface designs, so I figured I'd start now.

I hope you join in.

Something New

I have been working on another blog. This new blog, Apples and Orange, is developing into my "own thing." A goal I have is to be my own boss. Since I am a designer, I want to be able to continue doing that. However, I have always wanted to design my own textiles. So, Apples and Orange is going to be the company. I wanted a name that didn't pigeon-hole what I do. One that would allow me and what I do to be organic and evolve over time.

I hope you like it and I hope you join me on my journey.

Surface Design, step 1

One of my goals is to do surface design. I want to develop patterns and have them printed on fabric. Eventually, it would be great to have the space to do my own fabric printing. But, for now, I'll stick to small scale printing and Spoonflower. I would love to ultimately see my fabric used by others to make wonderful things. I love fabric, but I don't really sew. You'd think it was in my gene's, my grandmother was a seamstress ( a very good one) and she was also super creative. So, I aspire to design fabrics that my grandmother would be proud of.

So, here's a sketch I made that I will begin to develop into a repeating pattern. If anyone has suggestions (now, or as I go through the process), I'm all ears. This is new territory for me.

Books, Books, and more Books

I LOVE books. I feel like I can never get enough, even though I probably have more than enough (for now, anyway).

I am starting off the year (maybe a little late) with a list of all the books I read in 2008.

Ready?

The Boss of You by Lauren Bacon & Emira Mears
Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore
Through the Grinder by Cleo Coyle
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (year 6) by J.K. Rowling
Sacred by Dennis Lehane
Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
Anthem by Ayn Rand
On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
The Gunslinger by Stephen King
Marked by PC and Kristin Cast
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich
R is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Divine Canine by the Monks of New Skete
Dying for Chocolate by Diane Mott Davidson
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls
Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich
Craft, Inc.: Turn Your Creative Hobby into a Business by Meg Mateo Ilasco
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella
Next by Michael Crichton
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Cheese Monkeys by Chip Kidd
Q is for Quarry by Sue Grafton
To the Nines by Janet Evanovich
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Now, onward!