Whitney and I took a much needed vacation to Copper Mountain to go snowboarding this past weekend. Words can’t accurately describe the amount of fun that I had, and I’m not totally sure if my sides hurt from snowboarding, or laughing too much. I used my spare time as the perfect excuse to knit myself a hat. I have never made myself a knit hat before. I have a crocheted one that I made years ago, but it doesn’t seem to fit my style anymore. So I designed a pattern, made it, and now it is available for purchase in my Etsy shop or on Ravelry. The yarn is Baby Alpaca Chunky from Cascade Yarns, in color 570, dark gray. It is so soft and a total dream to work with.

My good friend Adella makes the most beautiful clothing for children. I shot a few photos of her stuff today on her youngest daughter Madeline, so cute! Love her clothes too? Check out her Etsy shop.

Today was beautiful outside and while the sun warmed my face, I knit a swatch for a new knitting design.

My drawing for the Self Portrait Project is complete. I am participating in a gallery show hosted by Art House Co-op in Brooklyn, NY. The show will be on Friday, April 23, 2010, if you live in the area, please go! I will also be receiving a book filled with all of the self portrait submissions, but I probably won’t be getting that for a while.

I finished baby Sydney’s sweater last night. So cute!

Related post: Hat Model

I might need to purchase a longer pencil.

This is the first painting I have finished and signed in many years. Although it is simple, and I completed it during one of Parker’s naps, I love it. I think I have come to terms with that fact that I am extremely detail oriented, and I need to let that go for paintings. I do not have the time to do a painting in the same manner that I do a drawing. In actuality, a drawing is much easier to set aside for a period of time. It’s not the same for a painting. With a whole paint pallet full of fresh paint, the number of dirty brushes, and the products that I use for mixing, painting is a much more involved process. But if I can whip up a painting that I’m happy with and fill my walls with what I love, than I am at peace.

Parker and I got to meet beautiful baby Sydney, this past week. She was a sleeping little angel during most of our visit, and I was able to snap a few shots of her in the hat that I made. We also took some pictures of the hat that Kathy, a woman from my knitting group, gave me as a gift for her. (Which was so nice!) Alexa (mommy) looks fantastic and it was nice to see her with her brand new baby!

There have only been a handful of people throughout my life that have inspired me to draw their portrait. Such a task takes a lot of dedication and focus, as well as the motivation to keep working until I get it right. My hope is that these people consider themselves lucky.

Special thanks to Nathan Tia for the use of his photography.

I’m starting to get back in touch with myself. New inspiration has come along and it makes me want to draw again. Drawing has been a challenging task after having Parker, because a drawing can take me a while, and I don’t always have that kind of time. I started the first drawing years ago when I was in training classes for working at the airport. Just a still life with some objects I had hanging around.

This is a drawing of Alexa. She is a brand new mom and a wonderful person and I always loved this photo of her.