Monday, November 4, 2024

Slow Stitching - No. 044 - 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.

Saturday, November 2, 2024

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!

Friday, November 1, 2024

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!

Thursday, October 31, 2024

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.





Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Inktober 2024 - 30 Umbrellas

Inktober 2024 Challenge

30 - Umbrellas

Black markers on Mixed Media 154lb paper with several layers of watercolor.

Primary color umbrellas.

Different orientations in the space.

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Slow Stitching - No. 044 - Stitching Blind

K3N Cloth Tales Slow Stitching Challenge 2024

Week 44 - Stitching Blind

This was a challenge and uncomfortable. 

Prep - threaded 3 needles - green, yellow and navy. My base piece looks like wool but it is not. 

I put an applique pin to let me know what I thought was bottom.

I gathered green cotton, white lace, navy ribbon, and yellow yarn as layers on this piece.

I sewed the green cotton on first.  I see that I did not pull my thread taut which left me with loose thread on the front.  I thought this one had gone fairly well. 

Next, I did the lace which I thought was pretty straight but not really. I was using yellow thread but you can see I pulled the thread out of the needle and I just abandoned it halfway through.

The navy ribbon went pretty well.  I had lost one of my needles so I cut the navy thread, knotted it and used the rest of the navy to couch the yellow yarn which went very well. 

I will finish the few stitches so that I have a finished piece.

Inktober 2024 - 29 Potted Plant

Inktober 2024 Challenge

29 Potted Plant

Another bit of red today.

I created a yard fence with a large potted plant sitting on the paved stones.

Permanent black marker laid over my pencil drawing.  I then applied some watercolor. 

Down to my last couple of pieces of Canson Mixed Media 154lb paper.  This has been great paper for this challenge.

Nearly done!

Monday, October 28, 2024

Tree Scent Ornaments - Spools

A few additions to the collection of 1 of a Kind Tree Scent ornaments.

Vintage wooden spool wrapped with red felt. I stitched a length of white lace to the bottom and added a bit of white stitch above it.

Cut two 1 inch circles of red felt to put on each end. 

The bottom features a white pearl drop bead and the top a small white button. All hung with red wool yarn.




A wooden spool wrapped with lime green fleece.  

Once that was stitched on I wrapped the spool with dark green embroidery floss onto which I placed matte gold EBeads along the way.

I cut 1" circles for the bottom and top of the spool.

I added a gold button with a shank on the bottom and a gold bead at the top above the green felt circle.
 
All hung on variegated green yarn.





I stitched a length of plum wool ftlt with a few stitches in green, white and yellow.

This was wrapped around a vintage wooden spool . 

I cut two 1" circles in mustard felt for the top and bottom.

I added a plum colored button with a shank on the bottom and a tiny green button on the top over the felt circle.

All hung with plum embroidery thread.







I used a traditional red and green color theme on this Tree Scent ornament. 

A red felt piece was stitched with white and green thread then stitched onto the wooden spool.

I selected 2 red buttons to go on the bottom and top of the ornament.

I cut two 1" circles of dark green felt for the top and bottom of the spool.

I ran red wool yarn to hold all the peices together and knotted at the top with several knots along the way.

These can be used as personal passive oil diffusers as you relax.

Inktober 2024 - 28 Spheres

Inktober 2024 Challenge

28 Spheres

A black permanent marker to go over my pencil drawing.

I realized that I had used very little red so I wanted more of it in this sketch.

Lines with a ruler.

Stippling with the marker.



Sunday, October 27, 2024

Inktober 2024 - 27 Sunflower

Inktober 2024 Challenge

27 Sunflower

I penciled the sunflower then went over it with Micron Black Marker 03.

Three layers of watercolor on the flower. All over yellow then some Cadmium Yellow then some mixed orange toward the center.

Deep brown for the center.

Sap green for the stem and leaves. 

I was nervous about the background but I prepared some colors and it turned out better than I expected. 

Saturday, October 26, 2024

Inktober 2024 - 25 Camera

Inktober 2024 Challenge

26 - Camera

This is the only prompt from the official list that I have followed.  I chose an antique wood camera for its height in this format.

Pencilled then traced with a black marker.  This mixed media paper has worked very well.

I mixed a sepia colored watercolor and added an overall wash to give an old feel.


Friday, October 25, 2024

Slow Stitching - No. 043 - Sensory Stitching

K3N Cloth Tales Slow Stitching Challenge 2024.

Week 43 - Sensory Stitching

This week's focus is using our senses when stitching.

The sense of touch as we are stitching. How does it feel when the needle and thread goes through different fabric? Elements to excite our sight as we see our piece. Do we hear the needle as it goes through stiff fabric?

I chose a black fabric with a hint of herringbone texture to it.

I added the couched yarn, the button, the pom pom trim, the lace, the corduroy and the netting for my fingers. 

The button and colors for my eyes. 

The taffeta fabric below the button certainly engaged my ears as the needle went through that fabric.  Also there was printing on the piece of white tone on tone fabric in the bottom left hand corner and as I put in my seed stitches it was more difficult to push through the printed areas.

Inktober 2024 - 25 Textures

 Inktober 2024 Challenge

25 - Textures

Sharpie UltraFine marker on Mixed Media Paper.

I created a grid below my title with pencil.

I just doodled textures that appealed to me and labeled them.

A piece to keep around as I work on future pieces when inspiration is waning.



Thursday, October 24, 2024

Oil Diffusers - Travel Case - Last One

One last one diffuser before my life gets turned upside down.

Blue felt with a dandelion seeds blowing in the wind.

Green for the seed heads and white thread for the fluffy part.

Again, with a clear travel case and a hook to hang if needed.

There is a felt drop on the back where essential oil can be place if one does not want to place it on the front.  In most cases essential oil evaporates completely leaving no trace but some may stain the felt.

I am starting to pack things up so that the floors in the storage room, laundry room, kitchen and bathroom can be abated for removal of flooring which contains asbestos.  

Birthday Card - Teen

A birthday card for a boy who is becoming a teen shortly.

An olive green card base cut 12"W x 6"T.  Another self closing card. I added some decorative paper to the left hand side of the card. 

I cut a large primitive star with the Sizzix Primitive Star #2 out of gold glitter paper. Adhered with 3D foam tape.

The greeting is a SU Artisan Label offset with green cardstock punchie.

I did add some double sided tape to the flap and closed it with clips so that it can be reused.

Saw his Mom on the 20th.