Out & About, 4

The spring remains cool and windy. People are still bundled up.

Spring vacation is coming to an end. No, no, no! 

Engineering My Jeans Bag

So with the appliqué finished, I now face the challenge of engineering the finishing touches on my jeans bag. Here's the lining of flea market fabric, which has two jeans back pockets attached to each side. That will make four pockets on the inside and four on the outside, five if you count the tiny front pocket (I never understood what that was for).

A Seashell

This large shell belonged to my in-laws. It took me over a week to draw in my small daily journal...very finicky. 

Ballpoint pen and Prismacolor pencils.

Out and About, 3

Just sketching rapidly while in the passenger seat. 

A house, people, vehicles.

I've seen on the internet that there are now coloring books for adults.

This is my coloring book.

Sketching done in ballpoint pen, Prismacolor pencils added later.

Comin' Round the Bend, 2

Yes, the end could be in sight...

Another Pomegranate Tree, 2

Sketching on fabric takes a bit more time than on paper, however, I find it infinitely more interesting. The trick is to use a large-tip pen (0.7 Copic multiliner here) rather than a fine one that would catch on the threads.

The hundreds of slender branches on a pomegranate tree make for a chaotic effect.

Comin' Round the Bend

It's vacation and the sun is shining today. And I'm comin' round the bend on my jeans bag. I may be finished soon. Finally...

While stitching, I've been watching the first couple of seasons of Project Runway (yeah, I'm out of it, I know). My needle is dancing...

Another Pomegranate Tree

Once I finish my jeans bag, I'll get back to the b-i-g pomegranate tree, but in the meantime, I wanted to work on a page in my textile sketchbook/journal. The basic rules are: fast and no hand-stitching. I started with a cheap piece of drawing paper (11"x7") and glued on some fabric. 

Since it's cold and rainy, I sketched from my window with a 0.7 Copic multiliner.  My babies (pomegranate trees) look bare, but, have tiny leaf buds ready to burst into all their glory as soon as the temperatures rise. This is the largest tree in the orchard. Still some more work to do on it. I'll probably machine stitch on it...maybe. 

Nice to be back to the fabric.

A Stoneware Pot

A pretty stoneware pot caught my eye when I went to my friend's house for Sketch Club. First I did a blind sketch, then a 1/2 blind sketch in my small daily journal. Afterwards, I added color.

Out & About, 2

More people in the street all bundled up. Cold, misty weather, a lot of hands in pockets. And then a family member across Skype, to finish the page that had a last car for the day. Feeling like black and white for a change.

Man, This Takes Practice!

Like I said, Man, this takes practice. I'm referring to drawing people in general. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Maybe the practice keeps me sharp...

So last week at Sketch Club, we drew my sketching buddy's mother from an old portrait. Doesn't look much like her, but I it pleases me. Then a family member fiddling with the remote.

Still Inching Along

Into the wee hours and inching along. The end is in sight, however. Maybe this week?

I rather like the way the plaid strands fade in and out.

Out & About, 1

Out and about, a couple of pots in Nabeul and people on the street. Ballpoint pen and Prismacolor pencils.

I'm rather tickled because I found my favourite ballpoint pen (Reynold's Pointe Fine 045) in a four-color package. I haven't found this since the beginning of school in September. So I bought 3 packages. In the meantime, my sketching buddy, knowing I was on the lookout for them, bought me three packages as well. I'm well-stocked now. One of the cheapest pens around...

Bag Jag, 10

Maybe just a couple more strands are needed for the reverse side of my jeans bag.

Inching along...

The front side is here.

Linked to Nina Marie's "Off the Wall Friday."

Bootkamp, 8

A Bootkamp assignment gave me the motivation to revisit this colonial building on my way to work. Usually tile work is not found on the exterior walls of a building.

Needless to say, this was a building that required attention to detail. This started with a fast sketch in watercolors, then pen work, and finally some coloured pencils.

Basta!