Andrea Wan

I came across the really great illustrator Andrea Wan.  Above are my favorites.

Rival Sweater

I don't know about you, but in order to avoid spending money when I see something I want, I tell myself, "I could make that, I shouldn't buy it", even though I probably couldn't/won't.  It's the frugal Midwesterner in me.  A double-edged sword I must say!  While at my highest functioning eye/hand coordination I could maybe make a few of the things I say I could(/should), but the fact is I usually don't really want to/"get around to it".  Well this time I hope to gain a cool sweater and the satisfaction of not buying something because I made it, although I still had to buy the yarn which on sale was about half the cost of this American Apparel cable sweater (this usually never happens by the way).

Granny says "Always make a gauge swatch you! Tsk Tsk!"

A little sketch

The Rival American Apparel Sweater

Thrumb Mittens

A little late on this post, but I made these thrumb mittens for a friend this season.  I always struggle a little with home-knit mittens.  They're always fun to make, but never really make the cut on those super disgustingly cold days up here.  Thrumbing is a really great way to make knit mittens warmer and often more oven-mitt like (only if you like that sort of thing!).   I used this pattern over at Yarn Forward.  See below too for a quick cheesy video to illustrate how you make the thrumb.  It's pretty easy and the possibilities for color combos is endless.  Next year, I plan to make some in striped thrumb colors.  One tip, don't use too fluffy of a thrumb yarn if you don't want gigantic oven mitts.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year folks!  I took last week off for the holiday and worked on a few projects.  Mostly, I watched movies and visited with family, but I did manage to draw and crochet a little.  One of my goals for 2012 is to add more to the illustrated side of ReRae.  I hope to create more black crochet illustrations like the below and photograph them for art prints and cards.  Check back for more updates.

Wrapped

Since I was a little kid,  I have loved wrapping gifts.  I've been using craft paper the last few years, and this is yet another version.  Though I also integrated a few fabric pouches and a little shine.  I printed out this little drawing  for tags.

Also, Dylan and I exchanged gifts tonight. I'm super excited for my new autoharp.

Arctic Towns

Map of Svalbard

Homes in Longyearbyen

One of my favorite new pastimes is floating around Google maps and "discovering" tiny arctic towns.  I don't know what it is, but I find it endlessly exciting to imagine living in a small northern village.  A while back, my dad and I were looking at an atlas and came across Svalbard, Norway.  Svalbard is a group of islands halfway between Norway and the North Pole.  Home of the Svalbard global seed vault, Longyearbyen is the largest village in Svalbard.  It is actually a requirement for those who are outside of settlements to carry rifles, as polar bears stalk the landscape. The glacial landscape towers over this beautifully colorful town.

Tromso in 1900

Tromso of the past

Another town I'd very much like to visit is Tromso, Norway.  Once touted as the "Paris of the North", Tromso is home to 58,486 people.  Much of the town is actually an island, but is very close to mainland Norway.  Because of the Gulf Stream, the climate is quite temperate.  It is the big city of Northern Norway.

A great Sweden-based  artist/designer/blogger to check out is Klara Bothén over at Bergslagsgatan. She makes beautiful mittens and has a very lovely blog.

A Walk

Woodland Beauty and Skype: A Match Made in Heaven

Sometimes I feel like I'm the last person to know about a lot of things.  I often cocoon myself into my own little world and am usually last to pick up new technologies.  I finally learned how to Skype last night which was pretty awesome but somewhat strange.  Anyhoo, my friend and I talked a bit about, you guessed it, beauty products.  With that line of thinking, check out these sweet nail transfers from Kate Broughton.  What a great product for an illustrator to get into distributing!  Great packaging too.

A Good Skate

I remember watching this when I was four.  I still watch it now.

Fog Linen Work

I've been stalking this new find lately.  I love the illustrated product keys on their home page and the charming, simple approach to living portrayed.