Slow Stitching - Extra Squares

Another Extra Square for my slow stitching project.

I decided on a landscape composition.  I invisilbe stitched my white layer to my foundation layer.

I added a couple of pieces of blue for the sky with a yellow sun.

Two grey mountains and a green layer of trees.

A deeper blue layer at the bottom of lake and a brown piece for land.

Mostly running stitches on these pieces. A bit of seed stitching. 

I did triangles on the green for trees but it is not very visible.

Slow Stitching - No. 047 - Wrinkle Stitching

K3N Cloth Tales Slow Stitching Challenge 2024

Week 47 - Wrinkle Stitching - wrinkling a piece of cloth then stitching along the fold lines creating a random pattern. Filling in the spaces you have created with the stitched lines.

I chose three pieces of pink linen as I needed something perky.

I scrunched it up then basted it to the foundation piece. The stitching in pink the same as the fabric is the original wrinkle stitching. 

Then, I got carried away.  I wanted colorful but I may have filled it in a bit too much.

It is what it is.  It is what I needed today. 

Ink Drawing - Flowers

A pretty set of flowers today drawn with another Staedtler pen - cool roller.

Turns out it is not permanent so no watercoloring this bunch of flowers.

I love these nice smooth lines in this cool ink color.

I am working on the kitchen today and leaving just bare minimum dishes to facilitating feeding myself. 

Still waiting! 

Watercolor Painting - Green Leaves

I created this green leaves piece last night prompted by a photo challenge of green.

I used my rag tag watercolor pencils and the pencil sharpener to get some pencil shavings onto my watercolor palette.

With 2 greens, 2 yellows and a grey I managed to get a variety of colors for this collage.

Once it was dry I added the lines between the squares with a marker.

I then used a fine marker to draw leaves in the spaces. All kinds and shapes with a bit of help from the internet.

It's nature wonderful.

This morning looking at it I'm not sure that I will do for a photo challenge.

I will scour the place to find something green to shoot. I do have plants if worse comes to worse.

Slow Stitching - Extra Squares

Sewing Group

I have joined a group who meets to do sewing the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month.

The last group shut down when the pandemic hit and our leader moved away.

I got a call in early October to attend the first meeting. We brainstormed who we could find from the old group to invite? What was the purpose of the group? When were we going to meet? 

A women's group. Tradition quilting is the focus but all are welcome with whatever project they are working on.

We will meet from 10 to 12 Noon then have lunch together for fellowship.

I missed the last meeting due to commitments here at home and made it for a bit of lunch. 

Today, was our third meeting and fortunately I was able to attend.  With most of my stuff packed I brought my slow stitching.  The 2024 challenge will produce 53 pieces about I think I need 56 for the project so there is room for a few free lance pieces.  I pull some fabric bits, some foundation pieces, my tools box and the floss box and a bit of lunch and headed out.  It was a great time. Three of the ladies are working on their own traditional quilting projects, another brought knitting and me with my slow stitching. We shared our projects and then 3 of us had lunch together it was great.

I cut my foundation pieces 5.5 inches square from white cotton - top white and the bottom stained. I brought pink fabric scraps and some green.  I cut the petals and leaves, pinned the pieces and stitched them down. Added the yellow center circle with running stitch and French Knots. I added blue seed stitches to the upper part of the background then some green below.  A bit of a brown strip at the bottom. I think it was supposed to be ground but now it's just a random element/.

Watercolor Art - Christmas

I tried a Christmas art drawing last night.

A Bethlehem Star front and center.  A night blue sky with stars.

A stable with Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus.

Sand dunes a plenty.

Penciled then went over with a dip pen and black ink.

Watercolored with my rag tag pencils.

 

Slow Stitching - No. 046 - Kantha Motifs

K3N Cloth Tales Slow Stitching Challenge 2024.

This week's prompt Nakshi Kantha Motifs which is part 2 of last week's Kantha Stitches.

I chose the fish as my motif.  I drew a circle which I stitched in black stem stitch. Then added my 2 fishes going around in it.  The central element is a lotus flower reflected.

I chose two different shades of green threads and alternated them on each fish.  

I used blue thread and seed stitches for inside the circle.

I used the Double Running Stitch in blues for the background quilting stitches. Alternating with single running stitches in darker blue. 

Remembrance Day

I am grateful for the service of our men and women of the Canadian Forces and those around the world who aim to keep us free.  I have a couple of men in my close family who served as well as uncles who served in years gone by.

I pray for freedom and safety for all. For unity and peace in all countries.

Watercolor Art

After getting my last few watercolor pencils I gave them a whirl.

I created an abstract with foliage and other elements.

It was good to be drawing again after the long haul of Inktober 2024.

I will have to translate some of these into cards when life get back to normal and I have access to card making supplies again.

Maybe I should be trying some Christmas images.  I think I will!

Watercolor Pencils - Set of 12

I was wanting a set of good watercolor pencils to use while I am away from home.

I have collected a rag tag selection of them from the ReUse Center over the last couple of years.

Some are high quality which made me realize that my Artist Loft set need to be replaced.

I had the case so today I went to Delta Arts and got 3 colors to round out the set.

I got a red, a grey and the silver. Thanks to the staff a Delta I got 3 watercolor pencils in the same brand. She pointed out the watercolor pencils are hexagonal in shape. I had 1 of the 3 right. Great customer service.

I have documented them all in the front page of my sketch book.

They all dissolve completely and it should be a treat to paint with them.

The brands are 

Staedtler Karat to 

Kohinoor Hardtmuth Moneluz to 

Caran d'Ache Prismalo and the new ones are 

Faber Castell Albrecht Durer. 

All the basic colors and one metallic.

These will last for as long as I need them.

The technical pen is still working great.

Needle Case for Floss Organizer

I made a needle case for one of my sisters.

We had supper on Thursday night as we both headed to meetings in the evening.

We had talked about organizers for embroidery floss a while back and she found one in her de-stashing. 

I exchanged 10 applique pins. I bought a box of 150 so I could easily let a few go.

I needed to transport them safely so why not make a quick needle case. I included a needle as well.

The alcohol ink is packed so it had to go as it was.

This organizer has fixed dividers which has it's advantages and it does hold the commercial floss bobbins as well as my DIY ones.

I dropped the needle case off this afternoon.

Nice not to have go shopping for what we need and we each get what we want.

 

Slow Stitching - No. 045 - Kantha Stitches

K3N Cloth Tales Slow Stitching Challenge 2024.

Week 45 - Kantha Stitches

I made a sandwich of thin linen, gauze in the middle and cotton on the back. I did invisible basting around the edge and down the middle.

I chose heavier thread for all of these and it made it harder at times.

I liked the double running stitch in blue and pink thread. 

I was familiar with the stem stitch though I made my stitches too long. In deep pink thread.

The cable stitch = French Knot and a chain stitch. I several several and had a heck of a time taking them out with all those knots.  I just settled for the chain stitch in yellow thread.

The Mala Stitch I did not even attempt.  I have been packing boxes today and this one was just too challenging.

Patterned Darning was really cool. I did three rows so I could alternate the stitches in each row.  Done in blue thread.  Again, pretty physically and mentally tired so I skipped the wheel/swirl pattern.

Convent Stitch which is a fill in stitch. Here done in greens. Basically couching which is familiar. Lovely stitch.

Jali Stitch - Creating diamonds which was great. Done here in turquoise thread.

I am not likely to have time to practice my stitches with the packing that needs to be done.  We shall see.

Drawing - Sepia - Tech Pen

I doodled last night with the new to me Staedtler marsmagno 2 pen with a super fine tip.

I am sticking with the 5x7 size as that will make one A7 card or two A2 cards.

I drew lines with a ruler which works well with this pen and it's metal tip.  Then I added lines in some spaces and washes with the Sepia ink diluted with water.

Then I decided it need a bit of color so I worked with the few high quality water color pencils I have in my stash.  

Then I dipped into my watercolor palette for more color. 

I did add some metallic with my new metallic colors from the dollar store. What a great buy that was.

With these small spaces I was able to achieve a smooth watercolor wash in some of them.

I filled the pen with ink and considering that it is permanent I will not get it out of the cartridge if it dries in there.

I will consult with my sister the art school girl to see if it will be okay to leave it or not.

Next time I will not put so much ink in the pen.

Books - Catch Up

 August

Live the Dream by Josephine Cox - It's 1932 and Luke Hammond is doing the right thing by his wife Sylvia who has been ill for a while and things are not improving. She has dark moods and their servant Edna is home to take care of things while Luke runs his business in Blackburn.

On Tuesdays, he takes refuge in a cottage in the woods and paints. He has lunch at a cafe in the village near the cottage.

Daisy runs the cafe and her friend Amy with her small son drops by to help when she can.  She must work to provide a roof over their heads.

Along the way, Daisy and Amy wonder about the man who comes in for lunch every Tuesday. Who is he? Where does he come from? Where does he go?

Luke has noticed Amy and eventually he invites her to the cottage to see his paintings.

Luke's factory suffers a major fire. Sylvia and her sister Georgina continue their push and pull relationship to a disastrous end. Amy finds love in the end.  Great book.

October

The Orphan Sisters by Shirley Dickson  - In 1929 Etty 4 years old and Dorothy eight years old are dropped off at Blakely Hall Orphanage by their mother.  They await her return but it never happens.

In 1940 both girls are finally released from the confines of Blakely Hall but freedom comes when the country is in the grip of WWII. 

Both girls find love in the midst of war and the difficulties that brings with it. Husbands off to war for home and country.

Babies are born, the war is over, celebrations take place everywhere.

Etty receives Olga and friend of her mother's in 1920's. She brings news of why the girls were brought to Blakely Hall and why she did not return.

Another great book.

The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish - Set in London in the 1660s and the early 2000s. It is the story of Ester Valesquez, an immigrant from Amsterdam who is permitted to scribe for a blind rabbi before the plague hits the city and Helen Watt an ailing historian with the love of Jewish history.

Helen is called to see a newly discovered cache of seventeenth century Jewish documents she find a young man Aaron to help with the work. He is American and needs an intervention in his life and Helen provides it.

Ester and Helen separated by centuries have life choices and sacrifices to make to reconcile heart and mind.

Wonderful book!

The Little Bookshop on the Seine by Rebecca Raisin.

Sara Smith runs her little bookshop "The Bookshop on the Corner" in Ashford in a low key style with a warm community of friends close by. Business is slow.  Her long distance boyfriend Ridge calls from his across the world job as a correspondent/journalist.  How exciting!

Sophie owns a bookshop in Paris called "Once Upon a Time" located along the banks of the river Seine.

Sophie has had a big break up and wants to swap places with Sara.  Sara's is stuck so jumps at the chance to be in Paris for Christmas. Her first plane rides take her to the City of Lights.

The Paris bookstore is a hopping place.  The city is huge and runs at a maddening pace.  The shop has a variety of employees.  There is daily paperwork to do and reports to be sent to Sophie in America.

There are many bumps in the first months of Sara's stay in Paris. Slowly she turns the corner on the employee relationships and the business.

Christmas is coming and Ridge has only visited 1 day while Sara has been in Paris. Very disappointing!  A wonderful surprise comes with Christmas day!

The Sum of our Days - Isabel Allende - one of my favorite authors.

This was a different read because it was not a novel but a collection of events from Isabel's life. Written often as recollections to her daughter Paula who passed away.

I learned about her early years in Chile and husband #1 Paula and Nico father. 

How she found husband #2 Willie Gordon and their life in California.

How she loves to have her large extended family close to her.  The adoption of friends into this large circle as well. 

The separations, divorces, travels, trips, births and deaths in the large family.

Very interesting dynamics between Isabel and her children  and grandchildren. 

I will be looking for novels!

Technical Pen Refurbished #2

I found another Staedtler marmagno 2 technical pen in my stash of pens. Amazing.

I have picked up these pens second hand.  They looked like quality pens. 

Yes, it took another 24 hours to clean out this one cartridge of ink so I could refill it.

I have not been able to find out what the numbers mean or when they were manufactured.

This one makes a very thin line. 

The number 1 on one side and .45 on the other side.

I decided to try this FW acrylic ink which indicates on the bottle that it can be used in technical pens.

I have several colors but chose Sepia to have a neutral.  I would have liked black but I decided to shop my stash instead of buying new.

You see that permanence is 4**** which is good. I will test it out a bit later.

So here is my set up once the cartridge was cleaned.

I put some FW Sepia acrylic ink in this small glass container.  I did add 8 drops of distilled water to thin it out a bit.

I injected it into the cartridge with my blunt syringe and screwed the nib in place.

Put it into the barrel and let it stand for a little bit to allow the ink to descend into nib assembly.

I discovered this feature this second time around. Last time I used pliers top loosen the nib.

The cap has the wrench to loosen the nib!  What a cool thing.  

These are very well engineered pens.

Yes, the Sepia acrylic ink is waterproof.

You can see the writing I did with the pen once the ink was coming through the nib.

I just washed over with a water and a brush.

No movement.

Very good!

2025 Nature Photo Calendar

 The 2025 Photo Calendars are ready just in a nick of time!

2025 Nature - Here is my nature calendar which features flying creatures from several locations taken this summer. Visits to the community garden, the St. Albert Botanic Garden, the neibourhood front yards and some from Beaumaris Lake & Heritage Hills Wetlands. Butterflies were very hard to find this summer. The year had several renovations planned and unplanned so it took time away from photography.

The holidays have been marked in red.

This calendar has 13 4x6 pages which is 12 month pages with an index/title page.

January - American White Pelican          July - American Robin

February - Copper Skipper                      August - Northern Pearly Eye

March -  Yellow Jacket                             September - Honey Bee

April -  American Avocet                          October - Canada Goose

May - Lady Bug                                       November - Red Dragonfly

June -Bumble Bee                                   December - Hoverfly

2025 Photo Calendar - Flowers

 

The 2025 Photo Calendars are ready just in a nick of time!

2025 Flowers - Here is my floral calendar which features flowers from several locations taken this summer. Visits to the community garden, the St. Albert Botanic Garden, the neibourhood front yards and some from Beaumaris Lake. The Morning Glories and Nasturtiums are making their first appearance.  

The holidays have been marked in red.

This calendar has 13 4x6 pages which is 12 month pages with an index/title page.

January - Blue Flax                          July - Tiger Lily

February - New Red Dawn Rose      August - Pink Cosmos

March - Blue Morning Glory            September - Sunflower

April - Single Kiss Dahlia                 October - Orange Nasturtium

May - Apple Blossom                        November - Bell Flower

June - Albera Rose                            December - Pink Rose

Self Closing Card - Christmas

I cut the Memory Box Birch Tree Trio from black pearl paper. I left some at the bottom attached so I could glue them all together onto the sparkly paper.

I added a pearl snowbank with I cut with my Cricut Ceramic Knife. Works very well.

I punched a moon from the same paper and placed it behind the trees then used Quick Dry Adhesive to glue the trunks of the trees.

All put onto a teal card base measuring 6x12 inches. Scored at 5.5 inches and just less than 1" for the flap.   Double sided tape on flap and generous insert.

Sparkly paper background with a silver foil star cut with the Sizzix Star #2 die.  Mounted with 3D foam tape.

A greeting with SU Modern Label punchie and a SU Word Window greeting.

Dark green card base measuring 6x12 inches. Scored at 5.5 inches and just less than 1" for the flap.   Double sided tape on flap and generous insert. 

A navy card base measuring 6x12 inches. Scored at 5.5 inches and just less than 1" for the flap.  

I cut the Sizzix Large Starburst with a thick die from silver matte card stock.  

It was mounted on a piece of white textured decorative paper strip.

A SU Modern Label punchie in silver offset behind a white one with blue greeting. Mounted with 3D foam tape.

A background of sparkly paper.

Double sided tape on flap and generous insert. 

Another Tim Holtz Winter Wonder snowman card.  Cut from white card stock. 

The snowflake and the Creative Memories star punchie from pearl card stock.

A great sparkly paper background and a pearl snowbank hand cut with the ceramic knife.

This card base is green linen which measures 6x12 inches and is scored at 5.5" and just less than 1" for the flap.

A generous insert.

Self Closing Cards - Dots & Christmas

Another set of self closing cards before everything gets packed away.

This is a pretty dots one made from wall paper actually. They are macaron snacks.

There was coordinating paper so the piece of pink is wall paper too.

All adhered to a olive green card base cut 6 inches x 12 inches. Scored at 5.5 and then just less than 1" for the flap.

Double sided tape on the flap and a generous insert.

This is a Christmas Card for which I borrowed the Tim Holtz Winter Wonder die from my niece. 

I used this wonderful sparkly decorative paper as a background and cut a snowbank and punched a star from a piece of warm pearl paper.

I added the snowflake which is part of the die and place it on his belly. 

All adhered to the teal card base of 6x12 inches with a score at 5.5 inches and just less than 1" for the flap.

Double sided tape on the flap with a generous insert.

More of the sparkly paper on royal blue card base which measures 6 x 12 inches.  It is scored at 5.5 and just less than 1" for the flap.

I cut a Sizzix Snowflake #2 from silver foil card stock and layered a MS Snowflake punch on top.  It was cut from Pale Plum card stock as well as the SU Modern Lake punchie under the greeting.

There is a silver sequin in the middle and this element is adhered to the card with 3D foam tape.

Double sided tape on the flap with a generous insert.

More sparkly paper with the Sizzix Snowman and Hat die. The snowman was embossed with the coordinating folder.

I cut the hat from black card stock and added some sparkle with a gel pen.

The color on the snowman was done with Sharpies to be sure it did not rub off.

Another pearl snowbank which the same card stock as the snowman.

The card base is navy linen texture cut 6x12 inches. Scored at 5.5 and then just less than 1" for the flap.

Double sided tape on the flap with a generous insert.

Inktober 2024 - 31 Spider Web

Inktober 2024 Challenge

31 Spider Web

I drew the dried flower stalks then added the cobweb and spider in between the stalks.  This was done with black permanent marker.

I then added  a wash of browns and some yellow to highlight the web. Very wet to create texture.

This is as close as I get to Halloween.

It was a great distraction from the craziness going on.  I was able to focus and relax some.