Musing over doodles

This afternoon, after sewing a binding on my baby quilt, I started looking at the doodles I made in the Sketchclub App last week and thinking about how I could use them.

As you saw in a pevious post, I made a few kids foam stamps that I'd like to try out on my Gelli later this week with paper and fabric.

I would like to have some repeat designs done -similar to the one below-and made into screens for printing.

I managed to make the one above which is printed out on copy paper and glued into my sketchbook using a simple Microsoft Word program.

I'm a little frustrated because I can't do exactly what I want with drawings on the computer and I know there is quite a learning curve to figure it out. Any suggestions are welcome.

Perhaps it will be more satisfying if I get a day later this week to play with paint and fabric.

 

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Babysitting grand dogs

Well, I can't believe it's Friday already! My son's fiance's mom, Glenda, and I arrived Tuesday and then went shopping all day Tuesday. Picked up a little fabric besides a few other things.

The dogs are with a daytime sitter each day and we have them overnight.

They have been well behaved, sleeping from 11:00PM until about 7:30. In the evenings they're quiet. We even celebrated Bosco's 2nd birthday, lol! He's the black one.

I've also been playing some with my doodle designs and kids craft foam. It was something easy to bring with me.

I just tried out another one.

 

I can use the stamps for fabric printing and I also may do a repeat design to cover a whole page which I would send off to have screens made. It adds interesting backgrounds and textures to fiber art.

Today, I've also been cutting some fabric that I bought a while ago for a baby quilt.

It's going to be a Trip Around the World.

No housework except a bit of clean up before my son and his fiancé come back tomorrow. Glenda and I have enjoyed shopping, knitting and relaxing together. And easy meals! No hubbies to cook for. It's been a good week.

Doggie muffin treats. Yes, they got to eat!

 

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A little stitching before a trip

My machine has been put to bed while I'm away for the week.

This morning, I've been cleaning and packing. The mom of my son's fiancé and I are going to babysit our grand puppies while they're in Cuba. Nether one of us is very mobile so they will actually go to a dog sitter during the day. They are big dogs and need their exercise. My son has left two pages of typed notes with instructions and numbers!

I've been so anxious to get back to the shanties. I squeezed in about 20 minutes before lunch. This afternoon I've got my sock knitting group and a couple of errands.

Even that little snippet of time to stitch was satisfying. I have a better idea of where it's going.

We're bringing some knitting for movie watching and snuggling with the dogs. I'm also bringing some fabric to cut for another baby quilt.

Also, I've been playing with some doodles on the Sketchclub App, thinking of making some simple stamps with kids craft foam. I'll let you know how that goes.

Happy Monday!

 

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The Best of Winter

It is another beautiful, still winter's day with a cloudless and deep blue sky. Even though I've almost gotten the second baby quilt ready for the machine quilter and I want to get it to her before I go away next Tuesday, at -3C, I had to get out on the trail,
How could one turn down a day that looks like this?

Definitely warm enough for the open trail today.

Recently, I listened to a program about trees and how they cooperate together to survive, and since then, I've taken to talking to them when I'm out. Even before that I often would stop and breathe in the woodsy air having a sense that they were breathing with me. Call me crazy!

I made it to the part of the trail where I'd seen this nest last fall. I heard that the birds don't come back to them. I wonder.

 There's always a pretty shape to catch my eye. The hangers on.

And of course a little visit with my friends. When I stopped to take close ups of the leaves they appeared in a little flock of eagerness.

So, no creative sewing or knitting today. This is enough.

I've got a sausage and bok choy minestrone soup simmering which I must go check

Have a great weekend!

Frigid

I was walking on the trail again today-- much too frigid though to stop for photos or bird feeding. Once back inside, I made a chai tea and added some frothy sweet milk. A good time to start pondering on the garden.

I stretched out with my usual ice packs and heat and then I got caught up playing with a couple of I Pad Apps.

This one was made in Dreamscope using the watercolour style with one of my trail photos. Does it still say winter to you? It could be fun to translate into fiber art. Fun, at least to think about what could be.

Then, I played with a few designs in Sketchclub, something I'm working on for some new screens.

I did dozens! By the time I made it to my sunny studio, it was nearing supper time, but I still squeezed in some stitching on the shanties, all the while, trying not to be distracted by the chickadees flitting by the window on their way to the feeder.

Actually, though, I prefer to work in snippets of time; I need some space to ponder on it as I go.

It makes me anxious to put in the fishers, and they have to be almost last, so I can't mess up!

 

 

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Untitled

I don't grow tired of winter days when the skies are deep blue, almost cloudless, the breeze is light and the temperature mild, near 1C.

You know me and the line of cloths. I'll bet these are nearly dry today.

I've still got the snowflake lights across the deck. They come on at dusk and each night it gets later. It's around 5:30 or so now.

I'm feeling encouraged that I managed a 25 minute walk after lunch. I went a little further and at a moderate pace. Every day I do some yoga and the knee exercises. Finally, the pain is getting better. Yippee!

I've been doing my usual few house chores and then I had studio time. I tackled the oven racks using a method from Pinterest. Soak them in the tub overnight cushioned on towels to protect the tub, with hot water 1/2 cup detergent, and 6 bounce sheets.

It did seem to soften up the grime for easier scrubbing, but still a bit of work. I will tackle the oven another day. Small steps.

Almost all the strips are sewn for the baby quilt. One seam left.

I'll add the blue all the way around and it'll be ready for the machine quilter. Speaking of which, she dropped off the pinwheel quilt yesterday and what a sweet quilting design.

The thread is light too so it's a little hard to discern. Meandering leaves.

The backing fabric is perfect.

 

Of course, I had to see what I could do with the running paint on the shanties from yesterday's post. First, I used Setacolor fabric paint in opaque white to cover some areas.

Then, I added color and details with Inktense pencils. Instead of water, I painted over it with textile medium.

Here it is to compare.

In my photo, the ice in the foreground is pretty colourful. Still it seems a bit intense. I may try to dilute it or there's always white fabric paint or thread. There are no errors, simply problems to solve. It's what keeps my mind busy and engaged.

 

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After a mild blizzard yesterday, today was such a contrast--pure blue sky, white sparkling snow, still and not too cold. I did my bit of house clean p and went out for a walk. The roads were well plowed and I manged 25 minutes.

The blue jays visited the feeder and the apple tree at lunch time. I did some quick sketches and took a few pictures.

I love the fluffy back lit feathers!

My student was sick today, so I've spent a few hours in my studio/sewing room.

 I also got word that my first baby quilt has been machine quilted, so I've been working back and forth between another baby quilt and getting some shanty drawings transferred to fabric. I need a few more strips for the lower right.

Meanwhile, in between sewing strips (it's good for me to move around), I transferred a couple of shanty drawings to PFD fabric.
This is my version of a light box.

 

It sure is pretty out there.

 I

I do a light drawing on the fabric with pencil. It won't show once I've painted, appliqued and stitched over it.

Then, I like to add a watercolor like wash using Neocolor II crayons to the sky and the ice. This time, though, I seemed to get a lot of bleeding.

I never like to give up on a piece, especially with the cost of the fabric, so I may simply change the color of the shanties to cover it up.

The second one bled as well but at least it's mostly into the background trees which can easily be covered.

In the meantime, I am pondering how to avoid the bleeding. I've got an idea when I get the time to test it out. Maybe a mask of freezer paper---wondering if it would still bleed underneath. ...Maybe an edge drawn with oil pastels. That would keep it out I think. Some experimenting is due.