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Spill Guts Here. It's gotta go somewhere, know what I mean? Can you stand it? 
Design Process Series:  Spitcurl  I Heart B.G.  Headigan 
TECHKnitting
Geek Knitting
West Indian Parade
West Indian Parade
Dog/Cat Wrestling
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7.22.2008
Practicing for Vegas here, reading about Random Number Generators and strategy, and also boning up on Photoshop Lab Colorspace {amazing book, BTW, link now fixed} these two days off. Getting ready for a short trip into town for more jewelry supplies in bit, too. Exciting, eh?
Researching Lab color, I found out that this book, Photoshop Channel Chops, which I fucking OWN, hehe, is now worth a far greater price than I paid for it years ago. I carried this book back and forth with me on Metro North going to Hawthorne to work at IBM. I also have a mint collection of John Maeda's original art/programming work on floppies. Who knew these things would appreciate so much? Strange. At least until they re-issue Channel Chops. 7.21.2008
Having fun this am, planning a combination work/vacation trip to Las Vegas in late August. Although there are most of the same trade shows here, they're also in Vegas, but on steroids, on the same dates, and all in one place, as opposed to a few each week, spread all over town in New York.. Now I can focus on my work in the studio, and knock out most of my buying duties in 3 days. Efficient! :-D
Buying, swimming and gambling at the same time. Heaven. Staying at the Palms, which has reportedly excellent slot payouts. Blackjack is also my game. Palms also has 2 acres of pools calling my name. And a Spa. One more month. Can't fucking wait. Originally going to stay at Circus Circus, but read too many reviews calling it "deeply scary, and filled with screaming children and clowns". My worst nightmare! :-O 7.20.2008
Julia One fabric pattern, printed by the awesome Spoonflower. Murphy Approved:
 CUToes for scale:  CUX Marks the Spot pattern, sniffed out by Puschy Galore:  CUToes for scale:  CU7.19.2008
Wow. This is a weird spot to inhabit. Check this out: Arielle de Pinto.
sigh. Googling found her work, looking for fine gauge chain. In this case, my necklace below follows the functions of the materials, and is therefore, similar. You can't put loops through fine gauge chains, hence the hanging ends. Length is determined by what will go over your head, and jump rings are needed there also for clasps {not alawys, but you get the idea}. Weird. I'm going to continue to make crocheted chain, if I want to, but make a very blatant effort to not look like any of her work. I have other ideas anyway. 7.18.2008
Oh crap! It's 999 degrees, and we got in beautiful 3/4 sleeved fleece dresses and eleven beautiful colors of long sleeved, cotton pointelle crew necks. Long sleeves. Fleece. It gets earlier and earlier every freaking year! Come on!
We put the liners in the case to marinate in the AC, and put the fleece dresses in the studio building, to be released into the shop after the weather actually turns chilly. Jeez. Also, our Favorite Dress of the Week is simply on hold, I don't have the heart to make Syd undress and stand on the steaming sidewalk trying not to melt. Hopefully we'll start that back up next week, there are a number of very pretty contenders. :=> I got two more of my printed fabric patterns back from Spoonflower...oh my. VV Nice. Pix in the am, when I can shoot them in my sunny kitchen. 7.16.2008
Its' too hot to touch wool! Therefore...
Have been experimenting with crocheting metal chain, it's not easy, but the results are good. Here's one finished today for the shop...Carved bone trophies captured in brass:  CUA closer look:  CUI got two pieces of extraordinary news this morning, regarding my shop...details must currently be kept under wraps, but in a few months all will be revealed...wow. I am happy, a little scared and pretty excited. Sorry for the secrecy. 7.14.2008
One last print pattern today...I got off track while cutting, worrying about grain. So I worked on another pattern, hoping they get that straightened out soon {no pun intended...}.
 CU
After a year and a half, I finally hooked up my scanner, took about 15 seconds. sigh. So the inevitable result is a scanned piece of knitting, distorted and made into a printed fabric repeat pattern for Spoonflower to print. You certainly saw this coming, didn't you? :-D
 CUSadly, one of the problems we're having during the beta phase of Spoonflower is printing and grain of the fabric not matching up. I am pulling my hair out trying to cut clothing out of it.  CUFeist on Sesame Street! incredibly cute. 7.10.2008
I picked up my new glasses this morning, and I love them! Black on the outside, pale blue on the inside make for crispy and sharp close-up work!
 CU7.08.2008
I'm a heavy coffee drinker, and I never drink it after 5pm, so I can sleep at night. Yesterday though... I had a few glasses of green tea ginger ale at night, which apparently is loaded with caffeine. Fuck! I finally fell asleep at dawn, and consequently, am in a foul mood today, very short-tempered. I am loaded down with work, and my assistant is on vacation this week. Not having a good day..getting ready to leave and run errands around town. Made this new sticker design quickly this am, we've blown through 2000 stickers so far this year at the shop, it's crazy and now getting expensive! We use them as business cards. UGH, I need a vacation myself.
 I've not cut any of my Spoonflower printed fabric yet, still mulling over what to make with it. Even though I can print as much as I want, the yardage is not cheap, and I don't want to waste it... 7.07.2008
My lastest two designs have come back from Spoonflower...next week due in are X Marks the Spot and Julia One.
I forgot: Squares came last week. This is the best color match from the file:  CUFingertraps! Toes added for scale:  CUAnd Pinchers...some banding on this one, and color shifting on both, otherwise, I am very happy with the quality. Waiting for a book to arrive on Lab color, the shifting will drive me crazy otherwise. I want my colors to be what I specify! damn it. :-< The banding is interesting because you can see the printer is great with some colors, others are totally problematic. hmmmm....Stephen from Spoonflower told me they are expecting a new printer with a different color profile in a few weeks, I hope that means Black, not grey, blacks, and truer colors.  CU7.04.2008
A print pattern for Fall, 2008. One repeat, about 5" wide:
 CUI got two more designs back from Spoonflower, waiting for sun to shoot them... 7.03.2008
Please note, RedLipstick will be CLOSED on Friday, July 4th. Have a great one! See you as usual on Saturday the 5th, and Sunday the 6th...
Penny is fully recovered, except for a few small scabs. I am also feeling better. I just can't believe I still have her with me. So happy.
 CU7.02.2008
A hot day's dinner: Watermelon/cantaloupe/honeydew/port wine soup {cold} and an orangina. From Le Gamin on Vanderbilt Ave.
 CU7.01.2008
Penny is almost back to normal, her eyes are still a little bloodshot, her small wounds are healing quickly, and she doesn't seem as sore. While petting her last night, I thought about how incredibly fragile we all are, just soft skin bags of liquids, meat and tiny bones, held together with the mysterious spark of life, so easily lost if the surface is breached.
I'm still feeling vulnerable, but I started walking them together this morning again. Back on the horse, etc. They make a pack when we walk together, Penny is skittish walking without Murphy, he helps her feel secure on the street. I am working in the studio today. Yesterday I took a long bike ride down to Dumbo to see the waterfalls and get lunch and shop a bit. It helped.  CUA sweet little stencil on the concrete right by the East River:  CU6.30.2008
Many thanks for the good wishes for Penny...she is now being referred to as the "Miracle Dog". I heard the car hit her, it was a huge Cadillac type car going very fast, but the wheel apparently nipped her in the thigh, and sent her flying about 15 feet to the opposite curb, where she landed on the side of her face. She has no internal damage, and I still can't believe she was not killed. I hope I never, ever see anything else as terrifying as that moment. I stayed in bed with her yesterday, stroking her lightly, and giving her droppers of water so she didn't dehydrate. She slept for 14 hours...and this morning we went for a follow-up at the vet.
We are incredibly lucky. She's still woozy and sore, but will recover completely. I am walking both dogs separately for a while, I'm very paranoid now about cars. {Thank you so much, grandpa, who watches over us}. 6.29.2008
This morning while walking, my chihuahua Penny pulled away from me and ran across the street to see another dog. She was hit by a car. She is so lucky. She's only bruised, has a few abrasions, and some small wounds. We've been to the vet for x-rays and exam. Mostly, the worst of it is her head was apparently smacked into the pavement. She's getting eye drops, pain meds, and I have to watch and monitor her until we go again to the vet in the morning for follow-up.
This was awful. I was hysterical this am, and my shop is closed today. Apologies to people I have appointments with today. We will reopen on Wednesday as usual. 6.27.2008
My Spoonflower printed fabric arrived yesterday!! It's beautiful! The quality of the printing and the fabric itself is top-notch...my only complaint is that the colors wash out {during the printing process, meaning they change. The fabric itself is colorfast}. The blue on the Jumbo flowers print is a pale cornflower. I still like it, but am researching LAB color mode to understand how to manipulate it, for fewer surprises. Otherwise, I am going to be printing fabric frequently...Three more design are due next week, and I'm developing more patterns a little bit every day. It's the same process I use to generate animations, only the final use has changed. :->
 CUBreather lace fabric:  CU6.26.2008
Making a few oversewn cocoon cotton sweaters this am...here's one in progress:
 CUThe base shirt is a style we've been selling in a tissue weight cotton version, these are a bit heavier for Fall. 6.23.2008
After many years of reliable, daily service, I am retiring my magenta Stardust, and switching to a brand new dark purple Stingray. It's getting a black wire basket, and being finetuned and adjusted Wednesday. I am very happy, it's beautiful! The back tire is a slick, so I can do tricks. :-\! The Stingray was birthday present from my brother Richard a few years ago, but I delayed putting it together until the Stardust was beat...that time is now.
Rob assembling it last night:  CU6.20.2008
Our Favorite Dress of the Week: a slinky little black halter, with beaded /sequined detail at the neck. Modeled by Sydney. We have many people looking for dresses to wear to summer weddings, this one is perfect for an evening or more formal wedding. Maybe with heels. :->
 CUI just received notification that my first two print patterns from Spoonflower.com have shipped! I am very excited! Hopefully, you'll be able to see how the digital patterns translate to printed cotton early next week. Wow! I am not allowing myself to design any more until then. hehe. 6.19.2008
Today's print pattern...this is incredibly fun. I have found another use for my mathematical visualizations, these are manipulated in Photoshop, of course. This pattern is one repeat, about 10.5" wide. Will be used for making blouses or dresses.
 CU6.18.2008
It appears I have a small Spoonflower problem developing...holy crap, here's another pattern I made for printing:
 CUI didn't realize how much fun making repeat patterns on a flat plane is...especially since there are no tiny stitches to drop, I can use any color, and any shade of that color, and no grid to conform to. No more... at least until the samples come back, and I see how things translate to real fabric.... 6.16.2008
This is the last pattern for a while, I could do this indefinitely, but unfortunately, I have other things to do! damn it. Here's another very large repeat, a yard high, 42"w.
 CU
The second pattern for printed cotton: a lace made of a mathematical visualization, a breather {parametric}. The small rondelles are part of a dingbat font I made years ago. Here's one repeat, about 6" wide, and it tiles very nicely, I'll shoot the actual fabric when I get it in a few weeks! This type of work is very addicting...
 CU6.14.2008
Beautiful dresses...and conceptual crap. This pretty much sums up my entire existence right now. :-\
RedLipstick shop window, 6/08  CUSeen in front of the shop today, he matched our windows perfectly {by accident}! sweet.  CUI'm designing some printed cottons, beta-testing SpoonFlower, a new fabric printing service, it's very exciting! I never was very interesting in screenprinting, this is much more my speed. Here's my first design: This is a one yard repeat, the flowers are going to be huge! The first test is 3 yards...  CU6.13.2008
Light denim for summer. We love this sweet little jumper. !00% cotton, by Paul-n-KC. modeled on Vanderbilt Ave by Sydney.
I know...two blue dresses in a row...but I am on a blue kick, there's alot in here this summer...  CU
Did you know Barack Obama has a Flickr account? wow!
6.11.2008
And a few cuts and hems later...Barbies Dream Boutique! :-D I'll be swapping these panels out seasonally. Very happy with the summery color and shiny effect. Will look pretty at night, too.
 CU CU
Last night, we finally got the curtain hardware installed at the shop, and this morning, I have time, and it's cool enough, to sew the panels out of this flooffy stuff:
 CU6.10.2008
Finally! A "Mapquest for BIKES" Hell, yes!
6.09.2008
oh crap it's hot again today, almost 99 degrees. Can do nothing but watch the incredibly beautiful "300" while drinking iced coffee and sweating. Viva black leather panties and capes on men! :-D
 HOT DOGS6.08.2008
It's around 5, there's just another hour left of the sale...oh THANK YOU SO MUCH PH ladies. This was far more well attended than I anticipated, and we got slammed this weekend despite the heat..I don't know what I would have done without my assistant Sydney. Thank you, Sydney!
So happy to have two days off now...going to buy a new AC for the shop on Tuesday, the one we have now is elderly. Also hopefully getting the curtain hardware installed so I can have an entire wall of strawberry colored organdy sheerness. Right now Next: a huge ice cream cone! 6.06.2008
Oh Ladies & others of Brooklyn and Beyond...Starting today and continuing until 6pm Sunday evening, I am thrilled to announce the:
HULLO SUMMER! Three Day, 10% off EVERYTHING Sale! RedLipstick 560 Vanderbilt Avenue Between Dean and Bergen sts. 718-857-9534 Hours Friday....2-8+ Saturday..12-8+ Sunday....12-6 includes new arrivals, like the gorgeous summer dresses just came in yesterday! Thank you, Prospect Heights! RedLipstick Loves You. Our Favorite Dress of the Week:  CUThere were four contenders, but we had to go with this one, it's so much fun! By Shu Lami, the tabs are all over it, not just the front. This one is for the girls with legs up to "here". 6.03.2008
I decided to take a rare "me" day today, and that meant going shopping in the city for new clothes. I get tired of my own taste! I want to see what other shops have, I'm still a girl. SO...First stop: the new Muji store on 39th street. Guess who was there?
 CUChristian Siriano! The mega-talented young designer who won the fourth season of my favorite show "Project Runway". He graciously posed for me this afternoon, and was very cute and low-key. Men, please note he's rocking the murse. This turned out to be the highlight of my day. UPDATE: This picture made Racked today. My photographic roll continues... While in the garment district, I picked up 15 yards of pale strawberry colored organdy for sheer curtains for the shop, I need to block the whole storefront window, the morning sun is absolutely frying my shop. I also got a 6 to 12 foot curtain rod, which I carried around all day. It wasn't heavy. :-> Clothes shopping in Manhattan is depressing, I spent half the day standing on one line or another, dressing room or checkout, dodging crowds, and pawing through massive amounts of similar clothing, while being jostled by other shoppers. I hit as many boutiques as I could for about 6 hours to see what's out there. I still have no idea what size I am, as today I fit perfectly into clothing ranging from a 6 to a 10. I ended up buying a beautiful printed jersey dress from Anthropologie, and a pair of black cotton summer slacks from Zara. That's it. For 6 hours of looking/trying on. Holy crap. Waste of time. 6.02.2008
Oh wow...I just scored tickets to Bob Dylan in Prospect Park, August 12th...very excited. via Brooklynvegan!
Philip Glass Ensemble is also playing in the park this year...thank you, thank you! In opposition to all this musical happiness, I sadly must report that our new kitten has died. There is no easy way to say it. She was the victim of a strange freak accident, and then succumbed to a brain clot. Poor tiny creature. This happened a week or so ago, while she was in foster care, before we got her. I think adopting another kitten just isn't in the cards for us. Please think a good thought for this little baby, who is now in kitten heaven. Bye, Honeybee. 6.01.2008
Seems like I'm on a tiny photographic roll...my giant pink monkey made Curbed today.
The weekend flew by, summer has arrived, and women need light dresses. We turned on the air conditioner for the first time today. We greatly enjoyed a visit with Jacob, beta-testing his interesting new project: man garters:  LOVE5.30.2008
Here's our Favorite Dress of the Week, modeled by store manager Sydney:
 CUClick through for a few more shots. 5.29.2008
I am so happy, our Mr. Lincoln rosebush finally bloomed today in front of the shop, his roses are so fragrant!
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HOT, right?