Using Inktense pencils and blocks

Today was an 'at home' day and I had lots of ideas about what I wanted to get done with the fish shack theme. However, I had a bit of a late start do to a restless night's sleep. My husband came home for lunch and I also decided that I needed to get out for a walk on my favorite trail. The sun was shining and the air was cold and crispy.
As soon as I got in and made a cup of tea, I got some cotton fabric out drew some fish shacks on to it. I stretched it onto a piece of foam core and loosely painted it using Derwent pencils and Derwent blocks. What I did on the shacks was to color with  he pencils and then use textile medium to blend with. fro the more softly shaded areas, I used the color from the blocks added to a small puddle of medium on my tray and then applied it to the fabric.

I actually had 2 scenes drawn onto fabric but the first one had a crease running through it that I was afraid would not come out, so I'll have to do it again on fresh fabric. The one above measures about 8 by 10".
Next step will be to heat set it once dry on the weekend, sandwich it. Then it'll be ready for some thread painting and quilting.
I also want to show you a little sketch that I learned to do on my I Pad using the Sketch Club App. iI is new for me and since I don't have photo software, the idea of layers was totally foreign. Eventually, I got it mostly figured out. My little sketch isn't anything like a more experienced artist could do but I will admit I'm pretty pleased with myself to have gotten this far!

Ice shack sketches

Today, we've plunged into frigid temperatures again, -14C after lunch. It was sunny though so I went for a walk.
I've just come from my computer desk where I did a few quick sketches of the fish shacks using my photos from the other day as reference. I used pencil and colored pencils in a very quick manner. I'm just trying to get a feel for how I'd like to paint them on fabric.

The one above I like but I can already see I need to move the figures off center a bit as a focal point. I would probably cut out the fourth shack on the left.

I didn't like the perspective on the one above even though it looks like that in the photo.

The last one I kind of like but again, I'd probably take the fourth shack on the right out and add the other two men in.
This is why it's good to do lots of sketches before going to fabric. Sometimes it's good on the first try. Other times, one needs to try lots of alternatives.
I'm linking to The Needle and Thread Network.

Sketching and quilting

On Monday mornings my first priority is to get some housework done so I can concentrate on the fun stuff for the rest of the week. That is exactly what I did today. I even washed sheets and hung them out. It was breezy with temperatures around 0C. It is slowly getting colder though. We are plunging into a deep freeze again tomorrow.
I got right into quilting my fern runner after lunch, outlining the floral motifs in the middle with free motion stitching and silk thread.

I was tempted to continue with a meandering free motion to finish the runner, but instead decided to keep it simple. I straight stitched along the straight lines.

Tomorrow I should be able to get a binding on it.
While my husband watched the golf after supper last night, I brought up a couple of my ice hut photos on my I Pad so I could do a little sketching. This was done in my lap with my feet up on the coffee table. I used watercolor pencils with a water filled paint brush. No mess, no fuss.

I think I would like to try doing some fish huts in fiber as my next project. I'm leaning towards painting on fabric and adding thread stitching to it rather than using appliqué. Not quite sure yet.

I hope you're staying warm and creative on this Monday!

a start at my free motion quilting and ice fishing

Sometimes on Sunday I like to take a drive and snap a few photos. After a leisurely breakfast and a session with tea, coffee and the weekend paper (Gord reads, I do the crossword), we headed out for a little drive.
Over in east as they call it, we drove down to the wharf and took a walk out onto the ice where they are ice fishing for smelts.

As you can see ibn the above photo, there were a few men outside fishing through a hole. Normally, it would be pretty cold for that. We were cold just standing taking pictures. the temps are quite mild right now.

It's like a little village out there. Some of the huts even have wood stoves. Besides the fishing, it is also quite a social thing for most of the men.
As we were walking back to shore, my husband pointed out the unique profile of the wharf and breakwater in the background. Being so intent on the huts, I hadn't noticed it but had to admit it was pretty interesting.

We then picked up a few groceries, had lunch and visited my in laws. We were home by mid afternoon, giving me enough time to upload my photos and get my fern runner sandwiched. I threaded the machine, did a test patch and couldn't wait to get a little of the stitching done.

The rest will have to wait until another day.

Oven baked fajita mix

I just made up this oven baked fajita mix that I saw on Facebook a half hour ago. I substituted tofu for the chicken.

It bakes in a 400F oven for about 20-25 minutes. I couldn't seem to copy a link but I'm sure you'd find recipes if you search.
It'll be a simple but healthy supper!

Finished piecing the runner, a quilt block and some painting

Right now I'm feeling pretty satisfied with myself and my day! As always, I had a slow start this morning, but once I got moving, I've been on a roll!
I got some wash done. I needed the sashing fabric washed and ironed so I could get it ready to take to my UFO day Saturday. I plan to do some cutting for my next quilt. First, though, I needed to do a sample of the Garden Fence block to make sure the dimensions suited. I went with a 5 1/2" center which resulted in a 11 1/2" block.

I just hope I'll be able to see myself through enough blocks for a queen size quilt. It will be my project for retreats and UFO days for the next year. At least I'll have some good company to relieve the tedium! Art quilting is my true love and it is what I spend my time at most days. It's too hard to pack up everything one might need for a retreat so a traditional quilt is a perfect tote along.
By lunch time I had also managed to finish piecing the top of my fern runner and then trimmed it. The green in the 2nd last border is not as dark as it shows here.
Since tomorrow I'll be out most if the day, I'll have to wait for maybe Sunday to get it sandwiched and ready for the free motion quilting. That's the fun part for me!

After lunch I felt that I needed a little fresh air. It's pretty messy for walking with all the water and ice on our streets so I took the ice chopper and broke up a little of the ice on our driveway.
Then I took a half hour to coat a piece of heavy canvas with a base layer of color. The next layer will include more color, some printing, screen printing and maybe some doodling. This may end up being torn into bits to be used for smaller projects.

I've taken all my photos today with the I Pad, not wanting to stop my momentum with my projects.
I'll pull out the camera when I get further along in the runner and the painting.
The rest of my day will be a little quieter and may involve some knitting.

My fern runner

Yesterday, Gord and I drove to Moncton where I planned to pick up some supples. I was very disappointed to find that Fabricville was all out of the canvas that I wanted to paint on.
I did get a large stretched canvas with a coupon from Michael's at least.
And I visited the Fabric Cupboard where I bought some yardage of a Bella solid for my next quilt as well as some batiks in my favourite colors. They were very helpful!
I planned to spend this afternoon finishing the strips on my runner but a friend called asking me to go with her to a little shop about an hour from here. It was her birthday what could I say! So I came home with a couple more fat quarters.
I did get one more set of strips on before she called. There are just two more colors to finish it.

I've cropped it along the lines where it will be trimmed. I can't wait to start quilting it!
I'm connecting to The Needle and thread Network.