Shedir...

Shedir, originally uploaded by heatherXXLL.

I found it! Man, is this hat awesome. Don't think I'd want to knit another one, as it took 2 months from me, but boy do I love it.

I missed iPod Monday last night

...for the last time. 3rd anniversary, I wasn't there. I just got too stressed out about my portfolio! Last Spring I had an interview at one of the top design firms in Des Moines. Very small staff, highly highly creative, and out of my league. The owner and I share a couple of mutual friends though, so he was very helpful and took me through each piece and told me how it could be better. It's taken me almost a year but I'm working on making these changes as I can. One thing that's helped? MY MACBOOK!!!

Anyway, I spent the evening photographing illustrations from school that I had forgotten about. One thing I was told was that having a random vector image was fine but there wasn't much wow factor involved. He suggested that I lay them out on a page together to display.

So here are some of the fruits of my labor, altogether. I feel like the layout was a little rushed but it's getting down to the wire. Also, there are 4 self portraits. I feel vain. It makes me want to hone my skills even further!

What I had to buy instead.

With Mission: Relocation underway, I have my first interview scheduled for this Friday. GULP. I haven't needed to look professional since...erm...well nearly two years ago. And I feel so much pressure, granted this isn't for a graphic designer position (production artist), but I really want to look polished and stand out.

Easier said than done. First stop: Banana. I notice how pants are $100 and up. Since when is this the going rate for nice pants??? Holy crap. Lotsa cute stuff, just so much money.

Hmm, let's go to the Gap....geez, everything looks so rumpled and frumpy. Nothing looks polished or sophisticated. Crap.

Umm, how about Express?
Ugh, this is what I saw girls wearing when I shot douchebag bars for Juice! Hmm, their editor pants are okay, but $80? Why spend $80 on a pair of okay-pants when I can buy those pants I REALLY like at Banana for $20 more? How is it that that makes buying $100 pants seem like the rational and smart choice?

So now I'm thoroughly stressed. I leave the mall without buying anything while reprimanding myself, this was my only opportunity to go shopping and I got cold feet and blew it. But I go get my haircut and that fixes my appearance from the shoulders up. A couple of days later, I hit Target. For 22.99 I found a pair of grey pants that were strikingly similar to the ones at Express. Works for me! And thanks to my sister, who picked me up a green cardigan today from J.Crew (my only big purchase), I have a feeling I'll be looking a little something like this:

Smart, right? It's making me wish that my portfolio has the same envelope-style flap, but oh well.

What I'll be buying when I get pizzaid.

Thanks to my wonderful new Mighty Mouse and the energy bill, I can't make any real purchases for the next couple of days. But it's cool - really - because I'm really doing a very good job of being less of a consumer. Oh, I still have my seasonal splurges at American Apparel and hopefully buying an item or two from Target doesn't count, but seriously I've become so much less focused on labels and trends and can you believe I ran out of MAC foundation like 3 weeks ago and I STILL haven't gone to the mall for a refill? I'm seriously considering just finding a similar shade at Target. AAAND I haven't had a haircut since JUNE!!!! (this coming from a girl who has a serious haircut fetish)...I really want to grow it out for the first time since I was 13 :)

But these t-shirts, oh! They just make me wanna spend. And I think I will, because when can you ever accumulate too many t-shirts?
Oh Threadless, how I love thee! You saved my ass this Christmas with your $10 t-shirt sale when I ran out of gift ideas and my family loved me for it. Maybe this is karma's way of paying me back for getting them awesome gifts from your store. A sweet ass sweet Lorem Ipsum t-shirt. You bet I'm going to be submitting a photo of me wearing this (with my Lorem Ipsum tattoo showing no doubt) to their website. Yeah!






Um, hi. This is me. Note the hat; every year I knit a hat then wear it ALL winter. Granted, I'm trying to grow my hair out as I already mentioned so it looks like crap but aren't hats just fun anyway? Same with the scarf. I wear them and knit them on the regular. I don't care if the cartoon is mocking the knitters who knit to be subversive. It might be. Then again, it might not be. I just like it. Plus Natalie Dee has kind of become my hero recently.

Summer Dress Fever (I Gots It)

Maybe it's cabin fever or the upcoming move to a warmer climate or just the fact that I have NO time to sew, so OF COURSE all I can think about are freakin summer dresses. There's just something about them, cotton is so fun to sew with and when you wear a handmade dress people notice and give you props. I'm sad that there are no new Built By Wendy patterns out but I'm remaining hopeful for the Summer line because she has another book coming out in May. Since derby practice is cancelled tonight, I'm hitting up Hobby Lobby to buy these.

Yeah, okay, I ALREADY BOUGHT THIS ONE. Geez. But isn't it cute!? Seriously, I could make this tonight and wear it tomorrow over my skinny jeans and boots and it would look just as appropriate as if I made it in lightweight cotton in July. It's the only Project Runway pattern I was taken with, some of the other ones are cute but not as much my style.









I know this is from last year but it took me that long to notice it. For shame! It's so cute! View B looks very work-appropriate, while C is all like, 'here I am, chillin, looking cute'. Not so fond of A. I think it's the sleeves.









Now THIS is kooky - but in a good way. I really can't say for sure that I'll make this. But it's one of those patterns I'll keep looking at until I buy.















Those in the know know that last year I made Vogue 8380 THREE times last Summer. THIS could be that dress, in 2008. Because it's all loves.















Oh! This dress delights me. The idea of tromping around on a hot day wearing this excites me to no end. I have some fabric ideas in mind, too....we'll see.

First Website Design: It's Live!

Here's a story of how Heather designed her very first for-real website for the Mid Iowa Rollers.

Once upon a time, Heather joined a roller derby team called the Mid Iowa Rollers. They were very sad because they had the shittiest webpage ever. Heather's friend, Berkleigh, works on websites for a living and offered to build them one for free! But she needed help with the site design. So Heather got right to work, gave her design to Berkleigh who in turn, built the website. Then it went live! Both Heather and Berkleigh had a new project to put in their portfolios.


The End!

Holy crap I got tattoo-ed

I've never wanted a tattoo. I remember when I was 16, some of my friends went to Chuck's in Ottumwa (who would give the ladies ink for free if you were topless) with "notes from mom" giving their permission, and got some awesome tattoos - you know, the kind that are badASS when you're a teenager but you regret - fast. They all got grounded and I was left going to the Homecoming dance alone that year. When I was growing up, tattoos were done locally and boy were they trashy. Who knows, maybe the artists were actually spectacular BUT their clientele was lowbrow? It also didn't help that I grew up with a family who talked as though people who had them were dirty and had loose morals.

It wasn't until I went to California to Coachella Festival last Spring that I caught the tattoo bug. All these girls had fantastic work done, and it didn't look trashy at all to me! They were all beautiful and fabulous, and I started thinking about what I wanted done.

None of my friends have any, mind you. Oh, I guess one of my friends has the tiniest bug or flower or SOMETHING by her bikini line, but you can't even see it unless she's drunk and takes off her clothes to show you! Honestly, does that even count? I knew whatever I got, I'd want to FLAUNT it. But just what would I feel comfortable flaunting for the rest of my life? I'm pretty fickle and my tastes change regularly. Joining roller derby didn't help. I was just asking for it, and when they organized a tattoo party I was IN.

Drumroll please...


It's perfect for me. My friends have all complimented it, non-designers are bewildered by it ("who's Lorem?"), and it looks so cute peeking out under a t-shirt. A couple of designers have asked me why I didn't choose a proper typeface for it, but damn it, I just wanted it to look like a tattoo, not so darn pretentious-like. Plus I know that even if I decide to change careers, graphic design is a passion I will keep for the rest of my life. And that's what I want my tattoos to represent; my passions in life. But oh, it looks so lonely all by itself on my arm...I think it needs a friend... :)