BEANIES, BOOK AND PENCILS

 

I am pleased to say that I have knitted more children's beanies. I dropped the first lot off at my local woolshop for KOGO and found myself buying 3 balls of lovely variegated yarn to knit some more. I got bored using the yarn in my stash and wanted something not as plain. I have completed 2 and the 3rd one is nearly finished. 

Before purchasing that yarn I finished another one from my stash.

It looks like I am getting back into reading mode and I finished this Aussie book written by a new author I heard speak on the radio. It was quite enjoyable and I think it would make a good mini series. 

I mentioned ' needing' more coloured pencils . Well, I bought them lol. I only had 24  Prismacolor Premiere pencils and if I bought a larger tin I would have ended up with a few the same. Fortunately, they are available to buy individually so I selected 22 colours I wanted ( oops, 'needed'). Now I have them in my new pencil case, although some are on my table being used at the moment. It is these little things in life that bring me joy. 

So many stressful things are happening in my life all at once so I embrace anything that helps me relax or brings me joy. We all go through these times and I guess the thing that gets us through and keeps us sane is our creativity. Blogland is such a wonderful place for inspiration so I thank you for being a part of it. 

BEANIES, BOOKS AND COLOURING

 

Brrrr, winter has arrived and my fingers need to be busy while sitting watching my mindless streaming shows. I decided to knit some things for charity using the lovely soft left over yarns I have from many crocheted blankets I have made. Hmmm, what to do.......ah, beanies! So, thanks to the beanie queen, Karen, I have made 4 children's beanies and have another on the go.

My colouring is keeping me relaxed during a very stressful time. I am learning many techniques and just enjoying the process.

I recently bought a lovely new colouring book, one of many by this very popular illustrator/ designer/ artist? I don't know what the official term is for people who do these colouring books. This one is special because it is more than just a colouring book. It is a quest to eventually unlock the castle door at the end. Clever! I shied away from it a while ago because the pages are so busy and intricate but now I am eager to have a go and started it yesterday. I have discovered that I 'need' more pencils as I have a limited colour range.

I am proud to say that I finished another book. This one is the first of a series by Anna Jacobs and I already have book 2 ready to read. I enjoyed another series of hers which was set in the 1800s and this series is set at the end of WW2.

I hope this post has not been too lengthy. It feels good being productive again even though I am not doing as much as I used to. It is a busy time mentally, physically and emotionally at the moment so some crafty time has been great.

CIRCLE OF LIFE

 I have been off air again because my dear dad, aged 93, passed away on Mothers Day, 11th May. I miss him terribly but he knew we were there with him and love him.  

The clouds lifted just days after dad's passing when my stepdaughter announced that she is having a baby! We are going to be grandparents again! So this has brought us great joy. 

Not much art has been happening apart from the occasional hour or two zoning out doing some colouring. It has taken me a month to read this fabulous book, the second one I have read by this author. 

I have some new art supplies I purchased a while ago so hopefully I can share these with you later.

Take care.

MY COLOUR JOURNEY CONTINUES

 

Colour really does create joy for me. I am also discovering new mediums to play with . The past couple of weeks I have had so much fun with ink brush pens. They are so lovely to use and just glide onto the page. I only have a limited choice of colours but it is still fun.

The pages seemed a bit flat so I used some gel pens to add some texture with dots and lines etc. Whatever took my fancy. 

I am not putting any pressure on myself and have taken a leaf out of my grandsons' book....learning while playing. I am teaching myself how brushes, pencils, pens etc work in different ways. I am learning how colours work or don't work together. For my recent birthday I bought myself some Derwent Inktense pencils I have been eyeing off for some time using some birthday money I was given. This afternoon I tried them out for the first time in my best colouring book  after swatching them yesterday.

LOVE THEM! 

Hmm, maybe I should have bought a larger set. I bought a set of 24 but it looks like I shall be now buying some single ones lol. 

I finally finished another book and think I forgot to mention it last time. I haven't read very much at all this year which is another thing I am trying to get back into. 

I hope my new found craft has not deterred you from my blog. I shall get back to some crochet and cross stitch sometime but I can't see myself doing patchwork and quilting anymore. 

Whatever craftiness you find,  may it bring you pleasure, peace and joy. 

FINDING JOY

 

Having had so much going on for so long with personal and family health issues surmounting and no end in sight, I changed direction craftwise to accomodate my lack of time, energy and focus. I was lost being unable to stitch, crochet , knit or do patchwork. Being a creative person I need something to do for my soul, to keep my spirits up and to find joy again. You are all very creative people yourselves so you can probably relate to what I am saying. I decided to let go of my previous life as a patchworker and quilter, gave away heaps of fabric and unfinished stitcheries and made way for a new journey down the mixed media art road. I hope I don't bore you now that I have little or no stitching projects to speak of and I am merely a beginner playing with paints, pens, pencils and whatever takes my fancy. It brings me joy.

I have already been playing with watercolours , markers and gel pens but have never really practiced techniques with coloured pencils. Colour combinations, blending, making new colours etc is all new to me. So, when I saw Sarah Renae Clark's new colouring book with so many great reviews I decided to buy it. Unlike a lot of colouring books this one is hard bound and has high quality paper which means that it can cope with most medias such as watercolours, ( not overly wet), pencils, acrylic markers, brush inks etc. Alcohol markers still bleed through the back but I can cope with that. I also love the fact that she is so down to earth and an Aussie.

Isn't it lovely! I also love how Sarah has written this inside..

I tried a light wash of watercolours to see how my 1st chosen  page held up and used coloured pencils and a gold gel pen to add my own details . Success! Well, the colouring needs a bit of practice but I liked adding my own creativity. As a child I always added things to the colouring pages and it appears that I have not outgrown this habit fortunately. 

While shopping in Kmart a few weeks ago I came across these packs of glitter water based ink brush markers . I only bought one pack as I did not know if they would be any good as there is no actual brand. Well, oh my goodness! I love them! So I returned and bought 2 more different colour packs and recently bought another colour that wasn't there last time. I am still getting used to them as the flow is unpredictable , as can be seen on the page ,but they give a lovely sheen and fine glitter effect particularly in sunlight. 

I was restricted colourwise but it was a good challenge for me. 

I guess that is enough for today with so much narrative and this is just the start of my journey.

 Thankyou to those who reached out to me. Your thoughtfulness was very much appreciated. 

 

CATCHING UP

 

I have been trying to catch up or at least start to keep up with everyone's blog posts and have enjoyed seeing all your lovely projects as always. All I have to show is more, another 18, crocheted blooms now totalling 159. 

And...my first completed book this year. ( But I did start it just after Christmas). Fiona McIntosh's latest novel. A lovely read as are all her books, but this one was rather special for me as it is set in Wiltshire where my grandfather was from and where I visited nearly 10 years ago with my youngest daughter. My grandfather also had some beautiful heritage apple trees in his backyard here in Australia which I loved climbing as a child. Unfortunately, these were removed by a family friend who bought the property after my grandparents died. Why were these apple trees significant? All shall be revealed if you read the book . * wink*

I have another book begging to be read and I already have a list with more to be added as I see what you are reading. If only I could read more than one or 2 chapters at a time! 

3 MONTHS

 

I know I have been inactive and unproductive for a while but I had no idea that it has been 3 months since my last post. I have not looked at anyone's posts or done much at all in that time but I am trying to get back into some crafty activities even if progress is slow and sometimes non existent. 

To ensure I sent a Christmas gift in time to a family friend in the U.K , I started a couple of small crosstitches to make into hanging ornaments a few weeks prior as I knew it would take me longer than usual. I found the free designs online, selected threads from my stash and managed to do a few rows every now and then.  I think I posted them just in time.

During the past week or so I have been crocheting more blooms in the hope of finishing the project some time this year! I have made 152 and I need 200 but I am not going to have enough yarn. Plan B shall eventuate at a later date.....

The final book I read last year was the latest Victoria Purman. I started the latest Fiona MacIntosh novel prior to Christmas but still have a few chapters left to read. My reading has slowed down like everything else these days as I cannot seem to read more than one or 2 chapters at a time. 

In an attempt to inspire and create further enthusiasm for my newest hobby I invested in some good quality watercolour brushes before Christmas, an early Christmas gift to myself. I love Emma's free You Tube tutorials and her brushes are lovely. The packaging is gorgeous with her own watercolour design on the box and I shall be using the pretty box to keep some things in. I was certainly doing the happy dance when they arrived.

So, now my next thing to do is catch up with all your blog posts. I shall just be looking at your latest ones but hope to keep up to date after that. I tried to join in the Zoom chat at the weekend but couldn't get my camera to work so I apologise for not persevering after 3 or 4 attempts popping in and out. Maybe next time.

Happy New Year to all.