Banana bike illustration on t-shirt. Photo courtesy Roly Poly Crafts.

I just competed a series of line drawings for Roly Poly Crafts to screen print on garments: t-shirts, baby one-pieces, diaper covers and the like. Roly Poly owner, Ruth, has a wonderful sense of hip nostalgia in the selection of images she asked me to draw for her. The illustration style is line art, with no shading, designed to be printed in one color.

Illustrations include a banana seat bicycle, high top sneakers, a prancing unicorn, a folk/country singer, iconic trees, and “Mixed Tape” cassette.

View more images and shop Roly Poly Crafts at Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/rolypolycrafts

Short sleeve and sleeveless examples of the Essential Journeys Bicycle Jersey. Photo by rebecca d'angelo, courtesy Essential Journeys.

Kimberly, owner of Essential Journeys, is an avid bicyclist. When she isn’t making her wonderful soaps she is usually out on the road with a group of friends riding around Asheville, or off leading a group of bicyclists on an Alaskan adventure.

So to combine her two passions she asked me to design a bicycle jersey that would be fun, colorful and promote Essential Journeys.

We started with the base art from label designs for the floral pattern on the front and sleeves. We made one sleeve green and one purple – why not, much more interesting then both the same.

On the back we used her biking diva logo and added bright sun rays behind her. The back pocket list her product lines and of course the website URL. Another fun feature of the jerseys are words up the sides: “Soap Pedaler” and “Petroleum Free.”

The jerseys are offered in short sleeve and sleeveless options in cuts for both women and men. For information on ordering, visit Essential Journeys online shop: Bicycle section where you can order jerseys as well as matching arm warmers.

Roller skate buttons! Perfect for the daughter of a roller derby fan.

Knitting while listening to a book on tape is one of my favorite relaxing activities.

My favorite things to knit are baby gifts. For Emilia I decided to make a color block sweater as I had some single balls in really wonderful colors of an amazingly soft wool. I used a basic cardigan pattern with pretty scalloped edges at the base, sleeve cuffs and neckline. The fun roller skate buttons topped off the colorful look.

My love of knitting comes from my mom. She taught me the basics and encouraged me on projects throughout the years. I inherited a large portion of her knitting tools, materials, books and patterns. Although it saddens me that I can’t show her my recent projects, it is wonderful to remember her each time I sit and work on a new sweater. Thanks, mom.

For Just Ducky’s Spring 2010 collection a fun oversized strawberry print was developed specifically for their new style Butterfly Sleeve Top. Keeping to simple, strong colors – pink, lime, brown – makes a print that is big and bold, yet not overwhelming. Very summer!

Shown here in the Spring 2010 catalog. Visit Just Ducky online at: www.justduckyoriginals.com

Historically, Damasks are a style of woven fabric supposed to have originated in the city of Damascus. Modern-day Damasks are commonly single color prints featuring patterns based around floral motifs. The Damask style print for Just Ducky was produced in lime, aqua and pink. The versatility of classic Damasks is evident in the accompanying image from Just Ducky’s Spring 2009 catalog, where the print is equally attractive on a girl’s dress and her mother’s top.