Painting: Utah Landscape

I have always loved this particular view off I-15 north of Salt Lake City. I painted it once in highschool and thought I'd try it again. I did it the first time all with palette knife, which was really fun and I like the result--very textural. But I thought it would be interesting to try it again and try and get the values more accurate.

It turned out decently I think. I actually liked it in better in the beginning when I quickly laid in the composition and colors, but all-in-all I think it's working pretty well.

Crochet: Baby Announcement Layette

When I found out I was expecting a baby girl I was so excited about crocheting this old fashioned layette for her (among a long list of other things, including some of the beautiful things I ran out of time to do for Audrey)! My good friend, Sue, crocheted this for her granddaughter and I thought it was so classic. So I've had the pattern stashed away just in case.The pattern is from a Family Circle Easy Crochet magazine (Spring/Summer 2007). I used it for the sweater and bonnet. Sue is making the matching blanket as a gift for me (I'm too impatient about crossing projects off my list to tackle a blanket). I made the booties from a Martha Stewart pattern and added the shell edging on the tops. I love these booties because they are more likely to actually stay on!

Rather than the yarn specified, I used Jaeger Baby Merino 4-ply yarn in Dream (SH 123). The color is SO dreamy! I love it! It's a sort of a pinky beige or a light sandstone. And it is soft soft. The perfect color for peachy baby skin.

I added a button to the top of the sweater and I altered the collar a bit so it wouldn't lap over the front facings. I also left off a row of edging on the bonnet because I love the look of the scalloped edge as is.

So it is ready to go and waiting for my little girl to arrive and wear it in her baby announcement photo. Can't wait to see her, and see her in this!

Sewing: Audrey's Kitchen Playthings

Ever since I sewed the aprons and tablecloth for my nieces and sister for Christmas, I've wanted to do some for Audrey. We decided to get her a play kitchen for her 2nd birthday, but it took forever to arrive (the darling KidKraft Prairie Kitchen was backordered and didn't arrive until a couple months after her birthday). When it was finally here we assembled it and set it in her room and I went to the quilt shop to see if I could find fabrics to coordinate. I used two of the Moda Dottie prints from her bedding and found some great red, gold, blue and white prints to go with!

I love this reversible tablecloth with ricrack.

I made the same fat quarter child's aprons as I did for my nieces. I made two so Audrey has one to share with a friend.

I had enough fabric left to make little napkins.

And, I crocheted a little blue washcloth and used a purchased red waffle washcloth for a dishtowel.

I found this vintage children's cookbook in my mother's things. Looks like it was published by the Carnation Milk company. I love the illustrations! I remember making things from it--especially the "1-2-3 Fudge Sauce." Can't wait to use it to cook with Audrey!

Now Audrey has everything she needs to cook, set the table and "eat."

Painting: Cliffs Near Zion National Park

After the portraits of Audrey and Zoe I needed to do something with a little less pressure! So I went to my stack of photos and found some images I shot down near Zion National Park last year. These cliffs are somewhere outside the park (north of the park) and I think they are so great looking!

This is a small one again, 8"x10", because I was hoping to finish it in one sitting. It took two, but it's still finished! I like it. I wouldn't mind it on one of my walls. Might work nicely for a present for someone too.

Painting: A Portrait of Audrey for Father's Day

When I gave David the Zoe portrait for Christmas I told him I thought it was a safe subject--he loves the dog, so he had to at least like the idea of a portrait of her. He said something about, "but I'd like a portrait of Audrey too..." So it was fixed. I was determined to paint one (put it on the "to paint" list for 2008). Especially since capturing Zoe's likeness felt about like doing a person portrait.

This portrait of Audrey is about life sized and it was such an amazing experience to paint it when I worked on it every week. It was like a meditation on my daughter for a few hours. Time in which I got to observe her beauty and appreciate the gift she is in my life. I love her and I can't wait to paint her more. I can imagine all kinds of compositions! This portrait is based on a photo I took of Audrey in our backyard. I love it because she had just been walking a few weeks and to me she appears to be rounding the corner from baby to little girl.

Audrey often has this kind of serious expression, so it captures her personality. This was taken last summer so now her hair is darker and she of course looks a bit older. It was interesting because as I was working on this portrait it seemed I sometimes painted her as I see her now rather than being as loyal to the photograph.

I chose purple for the sash on this dress because it is Audrey's favorite color.

A few times during the painting process I would pull this out and ask Audrey what she thought. The first time she immediately recognized herself so I thought I was on the right track.

When David opened this he didn't seem very surprised. I guess he figured I would paint Audrey. I felt it a strong compliment when he immediately started talking about where we should hang it. It has a prominent spot in our living room.

It's nice to have finished something I feel good about. I have decided that portraits are still my love. I enjoy all kinds of subjects but portaits are the most rewarding, in part I think because they are the most challenging.

It was so much fun to have my family come over to celebrate Father's Day and have Audrey show them her picture. She seems pretty excited about it hanging there on the wall.