Garlic and Vampires

Garlic and Onions are not the most exciting veggies, but they can definitely supply a lot of flavor. I decided to give these bulbs some credit and paint them on an Autumn like cloth. 3 weeks left of the CSA and I've done 12 veggie drawings so far!
Next week I'll be heading to the West Coast to check out A.P.E, the Alternative Press Expo. (Think Comic Con but with zines and small publishing companies) It looks like they will have some great speakers; including Lynda Barry and Daniel Clowes! I'm staying with my Aunt which is always fun and hopefully I can meet up with some friends, bloggers and potential clients. I've been busy putting together little zine like portfolio's I can hand out.

I can't believe its already October... I'm starting to plan an elaborate Halloween costume to make up for last year's complete absence of Halloween. Something involving a tiny red hat I picked up in Harajuku. If you like Halloween, vampires and fabric depicting them then head on over to Spoonflower. I entered this week's contest. Vote for my Vampires!

I missed the Kawaii competition that I desperately wanted to enter. So, I decided to make this a kawaii/vampire fabric. You might say that crosses and gravestones aren't cute... But that's cause you haven't seen a sleepy coffin or a crying stake.

Voting is up this week till October 13th! And while your there check out all the other awesome fabric people have made! Maybe I should do a post on my favorites sometime soon.... hmm

Patterns

I'm a big lover of patterns. My apartment and wardrobe are filled with stripes, polka dots, florals etc... I decided I should learn how to make my own patterns. With a little help from a friend I learned how to put my pattern into repeat on the computer. (proving once again that knowing the right way to do something saves time and frustration) And so with my new skills I am going to create a fun series of patterns based on my favorite things from American and Japanese culture. But wait... there's more!
One of my favorite finds in Japan was a small tote I got in a fashion magazine, it was reversible: one side gold and shiny, the other side floral (two of my favorite things together). I got tremendous use out of the bag because of its flexibility and it inspired me to make this tote.

For the American pattern I included the snack foods I really missed while abroad: coffee, berries, pretzels, and cupcakes. I didn't include everything I missed for fear of the pattern repeat being 2'x2'. For the Japanese side I drew: sweet potatoes, oranges (mikan), persimmons (kaki), chestnuts, tea, green tea ice cream, snacks filled with red bean paste, dumplings (nikuman) and a large variety of mochi. I was so excited when my fabric arrived from Spoonflower!

Here's the pattern all cut out!

I sewed together my prototype bag and showed it off all weekend!
Here's the Japanese side:

Here's the American side:

It was really exciting to see something I drew on fabric. Some parts were a little darker than I want so I'll tweak them. Soon after though I will have these babies up on my Etsy shop for sale and the fabric will also be available on Spoonflower. If you haven't already checked out Spoonflower then I suggest you do. They have a wide variety of fabrics you can print on, the quality is great and its a lot of fun to see what other fabrics people come up with and vote in their contests! I'm working on the next set of prints which will be landscapes; one of Providence and one of the rural parts of Kyoto (where I was staying).

Seeds and Puppies

Fall is here! So is my drawings of veggies from last week; more eggplants, tomatoes and peppers. Doesn't this palette feel like Fall? Although I'm more of a Summer fan, I am looking forward to cooking comforting foods with lots of squash.

Speaking of comforting...

My family got a puppy! I went home for the weekend to indulge in cuteness.

SHE'S SO FLUFFFYY!
We drove to the middle of Virgina to pick her out and after much debate we named her Addie. (I was partial to Mochi or Olive) She's driving our other dog, Lexey completely crazy. Lexey is almost 15 and would rather be left alone. We are all hoping Addie will calm down a bit and they can be friends. Here's her sneaking up on Lex and nibbling on her foot while she's napping.

Yay puppy love!

Just Beet It!

Sadly, our CSA was put on hold for the last two weeks. : ( It seems like a lot of work to run a farm! Luckily I have a few tricks up my sleeve!

I didn't like beets when I was little, and I thought my Grandfather's borscht was one of the grossest foods imaginable. However, all of that's changed in the last few years, now I love a good beet! ( Especially with goat or feta cheese.)

These babies were roasted, diced and put into a tart filled with onion, goat cheese and walnuts.
Delish! I also love the pink, vibrant color they leave on everything!

Thanks to everyone who came to the opening! It was a blast to see everyone's work and people reminiscing over their fav teen shows. Thanks again to Liz for putting the whole thing together! If you go to my website EmuAttacks.com you can see the pieces in full.