Watercolor swatch diary

After seeing a youtube where a watercolor painter got a paint diary as a gift for christmas 

I though to myself "Self, you should do that!"

yellow

And since I'm cheep and I have a lot of little booklets of random watercolor paper, 

from the box of art supplies a month in a box company "Sketchbox". 

Orange

I got my ruler out and outlined the pages of one myself.

Old color swatches

This is how I swatched my colors before

Its an acceptable way to do it but 

I have gotten more paints since then 

and ran out of room

Brown

This exercise not only gives me one place to see all my colors, 

Blue/green

It gives me an example of how those colors interact with water.

And that is important because with watercolors you are not only playing with pigment

Blue

you are playing with water and how it reacts with the pigments

Reds

Honestly it's the water part I work on controlling the most

Purples

Do they feather, do they fade or cauliflower, do they granulate, do they separate? 

This aspect of WC painting is endlessly fascinating to me

Watching it mix or bloom into other colors or not

some colors don't bloom into colors they suck up colors

Pinks

All watercolor paints do at least one of these things, some do several of these things at once

You don't find this out just using the cheep cake paints, of our youth

you really do need at least 1/2 pans of something professional or at least student grade. 

I recommend  Daniel smith, Windsor Newton or Schmeink.          

They have very nice sets in travel boxes that aren't too expensive to just play with

Iridescent colors

I have wandered sidways into trying out some of the more expensive tubes of professional grade paints 

in Daniel smith which is my favorite less expensive Watercolor so far.

The L'Aquirelle and MiremirBlu are also very nice but they are $10-20 a 5oz or 15oz 

tube so be cautioned,

this hobby gets expensive fast!

Diamonds are forever tumbling

This is my block for the  partaking of Sharon Boggins, Crazy Quilting stitch along along, 

Her pintangle blog is wonderful and if you haven't been to it I suggest you go visit!

She has stitch tutorials and lots of eye-candy, and the templates she sells from her web site are fabulous!

I have a couple of sets and use them whenever I have a big project like this one.

go have a look

But not till you finish here.

I'm altruistic  but only to a point!

Anyhow, this is an opportunity to learn from an expert in the field

And its free, So you know I'm all over it!

now, go!

Shoo!

What are you still here for?                 Go look at Sharon's blog!

Goldwork heart pin

I got two kits of goldwork from MartinBordador on etsy.  It came from Santiago Chile, it took for freaking ever to get through customs, so factor that into your plans. The kit ingredients are on the cheep side but comes with everything you need to finish 3 velvet and goldwork heart pins.                    Also purchased with this was a kit for bee pins which came with enough to finish 4 of those.

 I'll do a whole blog on those if you all want a blow by blow let me know.

The instructions for the projects are on vimeo and they are step-by-step in spanish, I haven't found one in english yet but If you pause it between every step, like I did, and sew along it's easy to follow with the sound off.

All in all it's a great kit to dip your toe into the techniques you will need to do real goldwork, with the real (VERY expensive) stuff. I could go at it without the fear of fucking it up and ruining what amounts to real $$$ in gold, velvet and silk.

I would also argue if done well the cheep stuff doesn't look half bad!

All in all I would recommend this kit as a good primer It was $33.00 + shipping 

Beaded lovers eyes

In the 16th century there was a fad going around the ton in both France and England to send your lover a painted pin, or pendant, with just the eye painted on it.

The first time I saw these the Art Institute of Chicago had a special exhibition focused on them and the painted miniatures when I was 10 or so and they fascinated me! 

The Institute has a huge collection of both that I believe part of is on permanent display.

I have also always loved the rainbow portrait of Elizabeth the Ist in her yellow robe with all the eyes and ears on it.

My first attempts in beads are ok but this 3rd try is much, much better!

Third times the charm right?

 

Another Sane Quilt Finish!

I finally got this flimsy on the long arm, 

Here is the border I quilted it with swirls and different types of leaves in a random pattern

The border is done all in swirls

And the Suns are quilted in a straight border inside and outside the rays and a swirl in the enter of each

now all it needs is the purple binding And this New York Beauty is done!

It's Meeeeee!

It's meee!

This lovely little watercolor portrait was sent to me by Observer of Human Nature from over on instagram, go give her a lookie-loo, her water color paintings are amazing and detailed and I am so grateful!                                                                                                   This came before Christmas and at the time I was not able to give it the full attention it deserved,                                                                                                      so I put it aside                                                                                                                                               Aaand promptly forgot about it in the press of seasonal things and doings                                          (I feel so ashamed!)                                                                                                                                           But as soon as things calmed down a bit I found it in my sketchbook and OMG! It's a little masterwork!     

It's so pretty! And ORANGE!!!!! Squee!                 I added a peach and cream ribbon rose,                                                                                                      I may add more!                                                                                           

A covered Tape measure

Or how to make a cheep plastic tape measure look awesome!

 I started with a robins egg blue Shirred silk

and embroidered about 2 dozen french knotted circles 

Whew!

 It was part of my travelling project, whilst my DDH drove us all around the Midwest and Canada this summer,

 I needed something to keep my hands busy till It was my turn to drive.

WHAT? You only see 7 here!

Yep, those are the best looking ones  

the rest will show up on something else at some point

I cut a circle +2" all the way around and tacked them down to a piece of muslin for a little more stability and strength in the latter stages

When I was done I sewed around the outside edge with a very loose straight stitch and pulled the ends, smoothing it out, until I got two circles about the right size and Iron it around the edges.

I used a piece of ribbon about the right width tho go around the whole thing and sewed that to both sides, don't forget to turn your Edges and leave openings for the tape and the chain (unless your's doesn't have one) I finished it off by covering the tacky plastic pull for the tape

And Bob's your Uncle!

Crazy Quilting Journal Project 2023 Block #1

So here we are on another CQJP adventure!  Yay!

This part is going to start with the 5 panels for a 1920's style Lapmpsahde box.

And, hopefully, finish with a few blocks for a tumbling blocks quilt 

Sharon Boggins has started her own challenge to follow along with and shes making patterns available each month. so there may be some of that too.

Here is my block so far in the planning stage.

The bird motif in the middle is one of my own, I think,

 It's in one of my sketchbooks

I try to draw out an idea first but sometimes the idea comes after I sew a block and have a better idea of where the seams will go 

That is subject to change at anytime as well

 

as what i draw doesn't always fit on what I have sewn, c'est la vie.

I have learned it's best to be flexible

The bird so far

and one seam mostly done

The block so far

A new Jacobin Embroidery Project

So when I start a new piece like this 

using a dark fabric my marking pens won't show up on,

I will draw/trace my pattern on a piece of  thin tissue, 

then outline the pattern in a contrasting thread on the piece, 

using 1 strand and a loose straight stitch, that is easy to pick out as you go

I use the tissue from clothing patterns because I have a lot of it

 but you can buy pattern tissue from the store. 

For those of you Following along on Instagram

will already have already seen the progress on this piece

The books I use for the stitches however, Beyond Tatiana Popova's wonderful Crewel Embroidery book, She is From Ukraine and It would be wonderful if you all could support her by buying either one of her patterns, books or one of her kits.

If you do please buy through her website and not amazon as more of the proceeds go to her and not the corporate overlords for another stupid yacht.

The other books I use for stitching patterns I have not shared before they are 

Crewel Birds and Crewel Twists by Hazel Blomkamp, 

Crewel Embroidery by Shelagh Amor, 

& Creative stitching by Sue Spargo, 

Which you can find anyoldplace.

A hoop or stretcher is a must when you are going on this little adventure 

you really do need to keep it taught  so I recommend a hoop that has an internal ridge to keep the fabric from slipping

Or stretcher bars with tacks or rollers and side pullers you can tack it to 

Otherwise your beautiful, time consuming                                *It took me f*&king hours!*                                                 Work will be irretrievably puckered and we don't want that!

On to some of the specialty threads I have been playing with

They come from Oliver Twists by Jean Oliver

She has specialty thread mixes that are to die for! but the website is vast and you do have to hunt things up, so don't go broke looking around because there is a lot of tantalizing stuff there to play with! 

I suggest looking for "one offs" and "Tidbits" 

And so here we are at the end of what I have to say

I really need to fix that feather!

 

Jingle, jingle

                                                               Happy Holiday's Everyone!

How I transfer a pattern

 Note; This is how I do it. 

I learned these methods by first what I was taught by my mother auntie and grandmother,

Then my own trial and error over 50 some-odd years of Embroidery, beading and sewing.

I am not THE expert but I am a competent sewist in many forms of needle and thread.

I don't know hwy I felt the need to qualify my skills but I did, so there you go.

I start off with a sketch and tissue paper.

I like to use leftover tissue from dress patterns

there are packages you can buy with sheets of plain tissue though they are thicker than the stuff that comes in dress patterns.

Trace and pin to your project

next step it to sew the outline with 1 strand of whatever thread is going to show up on your fabric

Then fill as you prefer

this works difficult fabrics like velvets, dark fabrics and a myriad of  techniques from gold work to simple embroidery

then there's my favorite pen the dritz or clover brand water souluable blue pen

I mark both sides of all my seams, it looks ugly 

but it washes out with a bit of water so go for it!

I also use a ruler or any handy straight edge or curve for marking as I like my stitches to be as straight as I can manage.

They are wonky enough already!

Pink Jacobean box

 No I haven't a better name for it right now.

And as usual I forgot to take pictures until I was mostly done

so here's a picture of the back!

I used a pink silk satin scrap from my stash 

which should have been bigger but whateves

we'll figure out the how when were done right?

So the jumping off point were a bundle of specialty threads

in greens and oranges that caught my eye which have been languishing in my stash for eVer

It's a skein of multiple kinds of silk thread called Oliver twists one offs by Jean oliver

Which I supplemented with PatinaRG brand rayon cording,

some random Chinese silk cording and  watercolors by Caron, Threadworks, DMC etc. bits and peices

I then covered a cigar box with paper inside and most of a fat 1/4 outside

and some cute washitape to finish the ratty ends

And as you probably guessed my scrap was too small so I had to add a 2" border of the bottom fabric around it to get it to fit

after mounting it on a backer board, a piece of card board cut to fit the top, I noticed that the edges were wonky!

Aghhhh!

A bit of 1/4" Velvet ribbon to the rescue!

I hand sewed that around the wonkiness to hide the transition from silk to cotton because it was really, really wobbly!

I got it as straight as I could but you will notice

once I point it out.........o0

That when you look at it straight on it 

bows out in the middle

Which goes to demonstrate, if you stand back far enough no one will notice!

Except you

Because you are your worst critic!

Stop that! 

It's beautiful!

And done!

Oh, yes, there are a few beads thrown on there for sparkly

You knew I couldn't get away without a bit of  added pop right?

It's not worth doing unless it unnecessarily complicated

and fussy

I might be getting the hang of this