Sunday Sketches

Another week - another sketch. And another fairy on a mushroom. I like drawing the bodies - but not so much the faces...mostly noses. I do not like noses. It is a good thing that my style is not one that requires reality. If I want realistic looking artwork, I'll get a photo :P Besides, it is so hard to get fairies to sit still and pose.

Getting back to drawing has been so good for me. I still need to do it more...and to get the paints back out. But for now, the pencils are great! I am so glad I tripped across the link party at Blue Chair Diary. Thanks Sophia :)

Sunday Sketches

...on a Monday.

I am a day off with my posting. I was out at my parents yesterday and when I got home, I just never got back on the computer. I did get some embroidery done, but more on that later.

For now - my newest sketch....

And don't forget to pop over to Blue Chair Diary's Sunday Sketches link party...

And Little Andalucia for her Creative Friday Features link party...

Science Lab Oopsies

I am not so sure about the title, but it works for now. This embroidery used an oval hoop - I know, let the wildness ensue!

I based it off a sketch I started making for my youngest. He wanted to see a mad scientist at work.

Here it is hooped, but not quite finished off...thus the excess fabric peeking out.

And a couple close up angle shots...just because they are fun :)

My son decided he liked it so much that he wanted to make on of his own. I think it turned out quite well for a 5 year old...but that could just be proud mama talking :)

What's Next?

Every year at this time people come together with one common goal...goals. I do not care for "resolutions", but goal is okay. Or game plan. Or even just "I wanna do this".

I have done a "what to keep" before and I actually did better with it than I thought. Not everything made it into the shops and not enough left to show much of a difference in styles. But it was there.

This year I am cutting back even more while expanding. The cut backs are bag styles and the expanding involve non-bag items. I wrote more detail about it on my other blog. Her I am just showing off the examples of what will be continued.

This sketch is a quilt I want to make...or wall hanging or table runner. I am not sure how large I am going to make it just yet. But it does represent something new I want to do. Although it shows it rather faintly...

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday...almost

Some people asked about the meanings behind the symbols in my tattoo I posted the past couple weeks...here it is. Not sure how easy/hard it is to read. The original written notes were too light & in an odd place for interpretation..so I added text next to the symbols...not all of which ended up on the final tattoo.

Wordless Wednesday

...next week...the resulting tattoo...

Quilts to Come

I think most crafters suffer from CADD (craft attention deficit disorder)..I know I do. All those WIPs I spoke of...and the things I want to make (not including the usual bags)...well, quilts have begun too. I sketched out 4 quilts. They will be the first I have done from scratch. I have spent so many hours...too many... browsing quilt patterns & finished quilts, just oohing and aahhing. I decided to just go for it & make my own.

It seems strange to call them "your own" since there are standard blocks/patterns used. But it is the way you put it together & the fabrics you use that make them yours. You could probably give 10 people the same pattern, and even the same fabrics, and the result will be 10 completely different quilts. I love that about handmade creations. They are always one-of-a-kind. Okay, so if you give the same person these supplies & have them make 10, they could come out similar, but never exactly the same. Heck, most crafters would change up the fabric patterns at least which makes for a whole new look.

Anyway, enough ramble. I will try to keep updates on the quilts as I go. This past Sunday I chose the fabrics for 2 quilts (one is the 2nd sketch below). Yesterday I cut & began to sew. And with quilts, the cutting is not yet done. My index cards I use to track time is practically just "cut - sew- iron - repeat over and over". Tomorrow I will have some pics of the fabrics being worked on.



Almost forgot, those other projects I want to get to...table runners, placemats, pillow, tree skirts, stocking, fabric baskets & fabric gift bags. Hmmm...this will take a while :P
I hope to take the fabric from the quilts & just keep cutting out these projects. This should "dwindle" my fabric stash which will let me buy fabrics with more of a "purpose" ...I tend to buy what looks fun & not necessarily have a project in mind...which I won't totally stop doing of course :) It should also keep me from getting in a rut by making the same things over & over & over & over. Reminds me...add winter coat to the list. I already have the fabric.

September Challenge: Days 10 & 11

Day 10 was a threepeat of Day 9. I finished off the mini backpacks for my niece's sleepover. I am happy to report that they were a hit!

Day 11...and I cheated. I had a funeral that morning, so I gave myself the day off. The next morning during my son's 1st soccer game I sketched out an idea I had in my head the day before. So, that kind of counts as Day 11.

Wondering what the heck the sketch will be? Not 100% sure, but most likely it will be a quilty-appliqued-fiber art-wall hanging-type thingy. Makes sense, right?

want to see how Peacocks & Dragonflies is coming along with her Craft a Day?
She is the one who got me started on this after all :)

Sketch Time

I have been trying to figure out just what it is I would like to do next. Do I want to simply change around the basic designs of my handbags? Or pick 3-5 of my faves & make lots? Or go a whole new directions with embellishments and embroidery? I think I may do a combo of all three. I think of it as the basic, mid and luxury lines. Hey, I am a Detroiter...it's in the blood.

My plan for this week:

1) Pick my top 3 faves that I have already designed & set to make a batch of each.

2) Take 2-3 of my sketches and draft out each in a "test" bag. Hopefully they will work well enough the first time around to use myself or sell.

3) Sketch out some embroidery/paint designs for more of an evening type clutch (design based on one I already have - to be determined later).

I have scanned 2 sketches that will be the 1st two new trials (actually, they are the 2nd & 3rd...I have already cut out & begun sewing the 1st)



Any advice or such is welcome...just keep it PG :)