(Inside A Black Apple)

Pumpkining Report, 2009 Edition

Last week, we headed out to Sauvie Island Farms with our excellent cohorts from last year's pumpkining. It has been very gloomy and chilly and lovely-in-a-sad-way around here most days, but we lucked out on the pumpkin-fetching excursion, and the island was Autumn-bright and beautiful.

Pumpkins as far as the eye could see!

I had a hard time not taking a bunch of identical photos to the ones from last year's post. I suppose we're just charmed by the same things over and over, and that's not such a bad thing.

 

Most charming pumpkin at the patch (coincidentally, holding in his arms a not-too-shabby pumpkin).

 

I love to see all the different types of pumpkins, squash, gourds and things. Are those with the little hats on the left called "turban squash"?
And goodness knows I can never resist a whole bin of apples.

 

The last of the flowers were sweet in their curly-edged, slightly wilty Autumn phase.

  

Everything is always so golden and giddy and fun out on that island, especially when we're out there pumpkining.

 

Me in my official pumpkin-picking gear with pretty rows of some enormous lettuce.

As I write, there are trays of sweet-smelling butternut squash roasting in the oven, and a chill in my toes. I've got pumpkin muffins, and gingerbread-blondies to bake, a pumpkin to carve, and I can't wait to see what trick-or-treaters find their way to us tomorrow!

Happy Friday & Happy Halloween!

The Spookiest Day Approaches!

Even though there is a positively criminal amount of stuff that I have to be doing right now, I just want to make Halloween-ish things and watch scary movies and generally get nerdy. We have pumpkins (photos of that excursion soon!) and over the last few nights, we've watched The Bad Seed, the Halloween episode of Freaks & Geeks (Oh, Bill! That scene of him talking on the phone as the Bionic Woman!), the Christopher Lee Horror of Dracula, and, of course, Mad Monster Party. I'm sure there will be more tonight!

We've decorated a little (that silhouette up there is gracing our window right now, and there is a skeleton on our other window!), but I'd still like to do more. Why aren't there, um, 36 hours in the day?

Since I couldn't make a Halloween download this year, I thought I would link back to a couple of my best spooky-themed posts from the last few years:

• My Favorite Scary Movies List
  (If I were doing an updated version, I would add Near Dark to the list, and maybe The Orphanage)

• The Halloween Card PDF

 

See you soon!

Bandit Dolls

They're here to rob your piggy banks!

 

Little Bandit Plaid    Edition of 2   Hand-dyed/aged cotton, muslin, wool felt

   

Little Bandit Night Story   Edition of 1   Hand-dyed/aged custom-designed cotton, muslin, wool felt

 

Little Bandit Swans    Edition of 1  Hand-dyed/aged custom-designed cotton, muslin, wool felt

   

Little Bandit Stars   Edition of 2   Hand-dyed/aged cotton, muslin, wool felt

Oh! And each bandit-gal's mask is fully removable!

They'll be available as part of the little October Oddballs update tomorrow. I'll have photos of their faces, sans masks, for the shop listings tomorrow. That's if'n you're curious about their real identities.

Happy Sunday!

Costumery Decisions

I had been deliberating intensely about what to be for Halloween. I usually want to be very specific, sometimes kind of obscure things. When asked "Who the heck are you?", I'd probably be smart to have informative cards to hand out and explain my costume. I mulled over it again and again, and finally, I decided to go as someone/something I'd wanted to do for the last few years. And yes, I'll probably need that informative card, but who cares!

I'm going as Francesca from "Mad Monster Party" (the Halloween stop-motion film from Rankin-Bass, who are better known for Rudolph):

 

That movie is so terrible and so good at the same time, and it's finally (as of a year or two ago) on DVD and with a good picture transfer. This means you get to see a clay-mation version of Phyllis Diller singing hilariously in pristine, restored condition, and more importantly, all of the beautiful detail and character design.

Anyway, I'll stop nerding out about Mad Monster Party, but I will say I am very excited about my costume. My wig and dress came today, and though it's entirely likely people will think I'm supposed to be Joan from Mad Men, well, there are worse things.

I'm always interested in other people's costumes, so, dear readers:

What will you be masquerading as? Do you know yet?
Inquiring minds want to know!
 

Look here for date/time zone coversions.

This announcement is "sticky", and will remain at the top of the page, so
KEEP CHECKING BELOW FOR MORE POSTS & UPDATES!

Weekend Scraps

This weekend has been so, so good to us so far. Friday night, we had insanely good food with our favorite Vegans and then the four of us proceeded to the theater to see Where the Wild Things Are, along with zillions of other folks abuzz with anticipation (some sporting festive, but, alas, screen-blocking furry hats). Things I loved about the film: the generous amount of growling and yowling and howling, the honest portrayal of the razor-sharp loneliness often involved with being a kid, and the beautiful textures and glorious shabbiness of the sets and monsters. Things I didn't love: the awkward shoe-horning in of the few scraps from the original text they kept (it feels so wrong to cringe at "Let the wild rumpus start!", but I did), and I thought the pacing was a little odd at times. Mostly, though, it was well worth the wait, and something that looks and feels like nothing else...which is quite an accomplishment in itself.

I've also worked on prototypes for new inventions, taken a trip to the comic store and book store (where it was a banner day). New Mome! With new, beautiful, fuzzy Renee French work! And the highly anticipated new Milk. And the always-crazily-anticipated new Lula. I feel positively spoiled for new periodicals right now!

Today I'm at work on more prototyping, and also hope to stuff those little dollies up there so they're not flat and sad on my sewing desk for much longer. I'm thinking the October soft-things update will happen very soon...possibly next Thursday? I'll try to have a little announcement up very, very soon.

Happy Sunday!

Postcards, Post-haste

I'm so pleased that these two brand-new postcard sets are now in the shop!

First, the anticipated Oddfellow's Postcard Collection:

These ten cards are beautiful, glossy, sturdy little things with gently rounded corners. As usual, each packet comes with 10 matching envelopes, this time in a lovely cream.

They also have special, new backs that will help to make your jottings look like a hundred-year-old piece of correspondence. 

Also, in the ferocious but fetching department, I give you the Three Dancing Bears postcard set!

 

These are printed on elegant, matte stock, and like the Oddfellow's set, they are packaged up with ten cream envelopes. They sport simple, clean backs.

 

These should keep you in notes and letters for quite a while!

I've already squirreled away one packet of each for myself, but I keep eying them nonetheless.

Smitten With (Right Now)

- Cups of hot Butternut Squash Soup with nutmeg (depicted above).
- The Michel Gondry episode of Flight of the Conchords Season 2
- Classic, cozy cardigans from JCrew in as many colors as possible
- This video of Camille Rose Garcia's recent opening, which makes me almost feel like I was there (and the angsty girl inside likes the Spinnerette song that accompanies it).
- Our new exercise bike (odd, I know, but I just love it so much)
- Julianna's new mechanical animals
- The cover interview with Ellen Page + Maeby in the current issue of BUST. So, so funny and good.
- Reading Bears of England
- New Miscellanea from Paul Hornschemeier
- Cocoa, cocoa, and also cocoa

Compendium Part Two

I'm so pleased that the edition of 50 Deluxe Oddfellow's Compendiums have sold out, and the regular edition will now be available in the shop! The book will not be reprinted after this print run of 100 is sold out.
UPDATE: Both editions are now sold out!

Thank you so much for your enthusiasm for these...they were kind of a labor of love, and something I really wanted to make. It is so gratifying that people-that-are-not-me are into them, too!

 

 

Happy Friday, and thanks so much for all of the kind words about these!

Oddfellow's Pins are Here!

They're now available in the shop - and this set is really a show-stopper. The paintings reproduced perfectly, so I couldn't be more pleased.

I love how the bee (which is actually a detail from The Beekeeper) looks in little, 1" shiny button form.

And the wee bear, too! It's a favorite around here.

Happy Monday, everyone!

 

Sewing Table Scenesters

Here is a peek at the creatures from yesterday's sketchbook post!

I glanced over there today, and they already looked so sweet there on my sewing table - I didn't have to move or change a thing. That's very rare - there's usually an old coffee cup or a huge pile of paper messing up the scene.

See you soon! There is tons (tons) of Oddfellow's-related stuff I need to add to the shop, and with so much going on, it'll take me a little while - but rest assured, good stuff is afoot all the way around.