Spring is Here & Dalai Lama!

I can't believe it's been nearly four weeks since my last post! I've been busy as a bee and enjoying life, spurts of great weather, time with friends, and readying myself for my upcoming trip to Arizona.

The blossoms are out on all the trees and I'm loving the New England foliage that we just don't have in California. I don't think I've ever seen a dogwood tree and it has quickly become my favorite flower. I love the shades of cream and pink lining the streets wherever I go.



















Another recent spring highlight for me was the chance to see His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Foxboro Stadium. I have been interested in the philosophies of Tibetan Buddhism for many years and was very moved to hear them delivered by such a great man and thinker. The sound of the Dalai Lama's laughter was absolutely heartwarming and inspiring. I was taken with an incredible sense of calm and presence that seemed to emanate from him even across hundreds of yards and 16,000 other beings.


































The event benefitted the Tibetan Association of Boston and their efforts to build a new Tibetan Cultural Association. The Dalai Lama seemed to enjoy himself as well...he seemed to relish putting on a New England Patriots cap as he started his keynote speech on the Path to Peace and Happiness. The wish of Buddhists is to find an end to their suffering and the suffering of all other sentient beings. So I leave you with my own wish for your happiness, joy, and fulfillment in life!

Fresh Designs

I'm really excited about the new designs that I'm working on here in the studio as I get ready for the Boston South End Open Market and all the other craft shows that I hope to participate in this year.

All the aspects of my process are delightful to me: designing graphics, screenprinting, sewing, and choosing colors for inks and bags and linings. The hard part, as a one woman show, is to be as efficient and effective as possible. I have to thank my friend Christina for recommending a great shortcut - making a digital mock up for new screen designs! As I'm working on the graphics, I import my image into photoshop and place the new design on an existing bag. It's pretty awesome.



















These samples are incredibly rough drafts, but it's a sneak peek into what I'm working on! And I'm open to suggestions about what you might like to see on the bags. My friend Alison thought a pterodactyl is a good idea and I agree.

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

My Birthday Already?

I turn 29 today! It's a young age, I know, but it's also a very real feeling that my twenties are, in fact, coming to an end. In preparation for today I made a list of my accomplishments since last year. I think it's a good way to appreciate where I am and to be grateful for all that I have and have done. Here are a few highlights:

Got accepted into a Masters program at ASU (though I didn't enroll)
Moved from Phoenix to Providence without having a job lined up
Bought my first bed frame
Opened my Etsy shop
Learned how to drive in the snow
Gave myself permission to relax!
Learned how to screenprint
Got a really cute new phone
Started writing my business plan

My philosophy in life is that there is no place to arrive, no real finish line to cross. It's not what you have, it's what you do and how you act in any circumstance that defines your self and your character. 29 is just another number and another opportunity to create an exciting and fulfilling year!

And above all, I am so grateful for all the amazing family and friends I have in my life. I love you all and appreciate you more than you could ever know.
Cheers!

Weekend Projects

Another hectic and productive week. Though I battled a persistent cold this week I managed to have lots of adventures and make some new work. I am definitely a branch from the workaholic side of the Cherry Family Tree. We don't really understand the idea of "resting" or "relaxing." This is definitely one of the reasons I knit - to keep my hands working at all times.



































In my efforts to create new imagery for my screenprints I visited the RISD Nature Lab. The lab was founded in 1937 and has an amazing collection of dried plants, bones, shells, and yes, taxonomied animals. I was a little nervous when I picked up a dried out turtle and it was really unpleasant opening the case full of dried crabs and seahorses. Think of a package of dried cuttlefish - overwhelmingly salty! So I found myself sticking to pieces of dried fruit and seed pods and other flora.

I also used my weekend to test a needle case design for double pointed sets. These little guys get lost all the time and I wanted a small case that can wrangle them in style. I love the look of the prototype but it needs a top flap to keep the needles from slipping out when the case is closed up. I had a near disaster in the car the first day! So it's back to the drawing board.


































I also want to point out the adorable fruit patterned fabric I used for the pocket. I love the springtime colors. Speaking of spring, why is it still 40 degrees out!?! Happy knitting & living to you all!

Sweater Project

So I am totally behind the eight ball here, but I am really excited to be starting a wool cardigan that I hope to finish before the fall. I am a huge lover of all things from Interweave Press and I found a great cardigan pattern from Ann Budd's upcoming book, Simple Style. The design is by Cecily Glowik MacDonald. She makes the most darling patterns and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next! By the way, the pattern was also published in the Winter 2008 copy of Knitscene, as pictured here.












It has been far too long since I tackled a sweater project! I've been spending my time and yarn dollars on hats, scarves, and gloves lately. I fell in love with this pattern, an adorable round yoke design which lets you knit the body in one piece on a circular needle. I decided to swap out yarns (as I always do) and snapped up five balls of Lambs Pride Super Wash in Japanese Plum, a delicious deep purple color. Though I did knit a swatch in the beginning, I haven't checked my gauge since I started knitting, which is bad, but things seem to be going very well so far! The color is wacky because I took one photo at night with bad lighting. But I just had to show everyone that progress is indeed being made!

Lime Green Hat

This first winter in New England was pretty darn rough! Lots and lots of snow, temperatures in the teens, my first pair of rubbery winter boots, and finally, a really good reason to knit. Hats became my favorite winter project because they are so fast and satisfying. I found a really cute pattern on Ravelry for hats with button bands. I wanted a brim that folded up so it would look more like a fabulous French cloche and less of a beanie. So of course I felt the need to completely make up my own pattern and modify it and do my own thing!


















I found some awesome colors of Sheep Shop Number 2 on sale at my local yarn shop. I snapped it all up and this newest hat is by far my favorite object of the season. The brim is knit in seed stitch in a flat piece, then you join to knit in the round for the rest of the hat. Once it was all knitted up, I folded the brim up and tacked the extra flap down with a huge wooden button.

While I was doing my self-portrait photo session I realized that my new coffee mug looks adorable with my hat! The mug is from Orla Kiely's new line of home goods from Target. I hear they're selling out fast so I'm glad I snapped one up while I had the chance. It's a huge mug, practically big enough for soup. But I use it to sip coffee and then tea all day long at work. This is how I manage to stay up so late and wake up so early. Yay for caffeine!

Jellyfish!

Has it really been almost a month since my last post? I really hadn't fully realized how busy I've been! Aside from lots and lots of working and cooking, I have been knitting up quite a storm lately. I finished a couple of hats (no photos yet - maybe next post?) and just purchased yarn for a new sweater featured in the latest KnitScene.

In the world of emmalinedesigns, I posted a few new items since my last post and I updated etsy to let everyone know that I make knitting bags! After trying out lots of different product ideas, like a yoga tote bag and baby blocks and aprons, I decided that I will focus on my number one love - knitting. I hope I can eventually give attention to all my other concepts and designs, but in the meantime I want to play with the graphics for the bags and add some more bells and whistles so that I am offering the coolest knitting totebag you can find! Click to check it out.

I've recently been really obsessed with jellyfish and I went to the New England Aquarium last weekend to do some up close and personal research. These creatures are magical and repellent at the same time! I took photos of the prettiest ones:

These big, blue blobs on the left look amazing in their large group, like glowy, floaty pillows in the dark. And I love the long, wispy tentacles on this pair of sea nettles. They look like they're nearly dancing, and they're definitely having fun (if only they had brains!).












And here is my beginning attempt at actually drawing these awesome creatures!

In a little design brainstorming with my sister she told me a great story about swimming somewhere in Israel and a man told her the jellyfish there are "sweet" He was trying to explain that they were not poisonous and wouldn't sting her. But from now on, we will think of them as "sweet"


Thanks for checking in again. I am committed to posting the crazy design happenings more often, so I'll see you soon!