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Tuesday, June 14, 2016

ORTs and TU, Stitching and My Tuesday Sketch

What is an ORT?  The leftover ends from these stitched pieces are ORTs.
 It's Old Ratty Threads though I don't really think of them as ratty, they are usable.  I happened upon It's Daffycatanother stitcher's blog and she keeps them in a glass jar for color in her studio. You can read about her's in the link in italics.  I keep mine in a plastic baggie and I use them for hand stitching.  I like the idea of a glass bottle as it would be prettier than the baggie I now use.  I'm on the lookout for one that has a large enough opening that my hand can fit and to dig out what I want, good the garage sale season has started.  More on that later as I have two types of ORTs that I save for different reasons.  I just told you about the first one, when I have something to show for the other use I'll post and share that too.

The one above is a quote I finished today.  I say finished, not really, I finished the quote but now I have to put it on something.  I think it's going to be a small wall quilt to hang over a small dresser I use in our bedroom, a constant reminder.

The one below you've seen in pieces.  Stitched together I like them but think I need more.  I'll have to find more of the darker material as I like how the stitches show up better on that but are still not over powering.  We shall see where this ends up
 And today is Tuesday, my Tuesday Morning Painters group got together and I did this Yellow Iris.  Getting shades of yellow is a challenge for me.

Thursday, June 9, 2016

A bit of stitching and a bit of sketching

Back to painting with the Tuesday Painters group.  We visited a lovely garden,  That's Glenda on the left and off to the right in red is Sandy.
 As you can see there are woods, I loved this blue spruce that doesn't look blue in the photo.  Not so happy with the result but I've been doing more stitching than sketching so this is a good reminder... get back to it.
I do tend to work faster than the rest of the group for a variety of reasons... the main one one being... for me it's a sketch, doesn't have to be perfect. So, two down and still more time so I did a pen sketch of what I think is lambs ear.  I may add the color or I may stitch it, we shall see.

Back to stitching, I finished the France strip, the last one duplicates another replica of a tile from the Pope's bedroom floor in Avignon.
And another addiction... at least that is what I learned it can be.  Jane Davies introduced me to making your own coloring book pages.  I thought it would be a good way for my Creativity students to play with color without coloring a picture.  It would give them more reason to experiment.  So I did one, then another, and another and before I knew it I had 8 9x12 sheets of paper done.  I kept finishing them and then would have to start another so I could demonstrate how I started and where I went from there.  No coloring done for me but I do like doing the black and white doodle.  It's a large size zentangle but the zentangle is more pattern, this is looser and more to my liking. 


This one is a start, I'll add more when I demonstrate for my class



Monday, June 6, 2016

Some Stitching


I worked on this while we were floating up the Rhone, practicing the Kantha stitch.

And this one which I am still working on; the middle I'm thinking of as spirit intertwined.  The other two are from designs I saw in Arles and Avignon.  I'm adding one more design from the Pope's Palace in Avignon to this one; then it will be time to start another blue strip.

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Just Back From France

 We started out journey in Arles.  A riverboat took us up the Rohne as far as Lyon.  Stops along the way in Avignon, Viviers, and Vienne we interesting as well as picturesque.
 Since we were with a group there wasn't time to just stop and sketch a bit but I did take plenty of photos and plain to put together a sketchbook from our trip based on those photos.  One of our stops in Arles was the hospital where VanGogh was treated when he cut off his ear.

Our original plan was to do the River Cruise, then spend a few more days just exploring.  That's the time I had planned to do some sketching since it was just the two of us.  My spouse is used to me wanting to stop and sketch.  That plan didn't work out.  My spouse has been suffering with hip, back and knee issues and by the end of the cruise, he was in a great deal of pain.  There were also train strikes and I seemed to be coming down with a cold so we decided to cut the trip short and enjoy the good memories.  Back him we discovered it was good he was hurting because I was recovering from pneumonia and didn't realize I had it.  That probably comes from being raised by a mother who always said..."it's all in your head, you're fine, just keep on going."  Anyway, I am recovering and doing just fine though a little weak.  I nap which is new for me.

A couple more photos.... 




I did some stitching along the way but haven't photographed it yet.  When I do I'll post.  And once some of the sketches are done I'll post those too.