A Tree & Bus Waiting

Being out everyday in my orchard, trees are taking over my topics of conversation in sketching. 

Then there was a taxi driver who had an interesting tea glass holder attached to his dashboard. He can sip his black tea all day long. It's so strong that it is served only in very small glasses or cups. This beverage got me through grad school, but now I wouldn't dare to have even a sip!

Sketch Club, 1

A friend and I meet once a week for Sketch Club. We pick an object to sketch and sometimes we play around with new materials and techniques. Yesterday we drew a potted plant. I got out my Sketch Club book, which is an old planner with really bad paper, and warmed up with a blind sketch. Then I did a sketch of the negative spaces. I added the water color backgrounds later in the evening.

So much fun & no expectations!--Just foolin' around...

In the Bus & a Waiting Room

Thanks to excursions to the dentist's office in Tunis, the bus theme appears frequently lately. An idea for a Textile Sketchbook page is nagging at me, gestating. A crossover into fabric. A beginning for...well, I was thinking about a whole busload of life-size people ! Hmmmmm.

And having to do waiting room time, I managed a rather detailed sketch of a part of a hospital in my small journal. Hospitals may make it into fabric as well...the aging/retiring theme...very geriatric! 

In the Stacks: Progress Report

Having to iron every evening to get my fabrics under control, I'm pleased to see that I've made it up to the blues--over half way. I've been tough with myself, giving away or tossing a number of items that I know I will never touch. 

Comparing all those beautiful colors to the browns and beiges on the right, you can see my progress...my heart sings!

Out & About, 13

Into Tunis in a taxi, and back in a bus--out and about.

In the Stacks

Well, I'm not in the book stacks, but the fabric stacks. Trying to find space for my new fabrics gleaned this summer, I found I had to do some ironing, re-folding, re-stacking, and generally visiting my old fabrics. The current state of the blues and greens leaves something to be desired.

However, the warm colors are looking good: Lights on the top shelf and darks below, then each stack has patterned fabrics, followed by stripes and plaids, with solids on the bottom.

Coming from a family with obsessive-compulsive tendencies, I try to channel it all (this would explain my needle turn appliqué). Looking at the orderly stacks, I feel like singing. And what a wonderful palette--I will always prefer fabric as an artistic medium over paper and paint.

Waiting for Buses, 2

Stanley, my 8-year-old granddaughter's paper doll who is traveling the world, stands beside a girl waiting for a bus.

And yes, I carry my journal with me just about every place. The small size and use of ball point pen make it easy to have along. I add color at home in the evening.

Look What I Found!

Last night I went to bed all jazzed up because I finally started integrating all my new fabrics into my stash. I have to re-stack/align the piles of each color because things have gotten slightly mixed up over the years. I only got through the yellows, for which I have the smallest quantity, but just ironing and handling those fabrics made me so happy. Add to that the pleasure of seeing my sewing table being cleared of fabric, and order prevailing--it's a wonder I could sleep at all.

And then I woke up early this morning, excited for the day to start. I haven't felt like that for a l-o-n-g time. A new day...

So here's what I found folded in my stacks. I knew it was there, but had forgotten it: my favorite quote about literature (by E.M.Forster).

I used a piece of an old men's shirt to write with a permanent pen. Ahhhh, so many possibilities. I am so jazzed!

Waiting for Buses, 1

When I go to Tunis, I take the bus home. This always provides interesting subjects--creating a theme of people waiting for buses. Lots of waiting. There doesn't seem to be much of a set schedule. The bus comes when it comes.

Climbing Mt. Everest, 1

After finishing my vest with a spot, which was fast and easy, I felt acute desire for a challenge. I was aching to climb Mt. Everest, the Mt. Everest of my stitching world. Yeah, yeah, I know...I'm supposed to be finishing the Pomegranate Tree quilt, but the work is just that: finishing work. I needed high adventure!
        And then I knew I would be sitting in a hospital waiting room yesterday morning for a long stretch of time...nothing serious, just a necessary procedure for a family member. I took along my sketching kit, my stitching kit, and "He Went to Work Everyday, Then He Retired." 

This is Mt. Everest for me because there are so many challenges, like the collars, cuffs, and front buttons, not to mention the layers of fabric that will become entangled and the large size. Here I've only attached two of the five shirts. I just sew a small part at any one time, whatever seems do-able. I managed to finish a couple strands yesterday.

My techniques are honed and I feel physically fit (from working in my orchards).
 I have been training to climb my stitching Mt. Everest for a long time. 

Sketching Back in Tunisia

Trucks and cars are back in my sketchbook--caught when we go out on errands. Along with people who cross my path.

Finish Line in Sight

Yes, the finish line is in sight and I now have a new item of summer clothing from an old one. The colors bring back memories of summer. This has been an easy project to do with only one color to work with and no tangles.

Little People

When little people are around, I ask them to contribute to my daily journal. So cheerful compared to the people in the Tunis airport.

Going to the Dentist

Besides keeping my well-worn teeth functional, I can think of another good reason for visiting my dentist, whose office is in downtown Tunis: I find a five-hour block of time (mostly uninterrupted) for stitching and sketching. Because parking has become impossible in the big city, I usually take a taxi, and then a bus to return home. Lots of interesting subjects...

For the sweltering temperatures, the bus has the old-fashioned style of air conditioning: open the windows and drive fast. Ballpoint pen with Prismacolor pencils in my small daily journal.

A Summer Party

When I went to the afternoon barbecue birthday party of a friend of friends in August, I did a bit of chatting and sketching while children played in the backyard and around the house. The tiny baby slept peacefully.

I had caught my friend on a treadmill earlier.

Just playing around...nice memories.