daily drawings: playing catch-up

Our plucky heroine has realised that drawing is capable of doing the same thing that photography does, inside my head... if enough focus is placed on something external, the rest of the in-head chatter goes away... this is very useful to know!

here are some of the drawings from the last week:
so many sturdy household helpers, this one has been keeping me company for many years... non-digital and non-electric

this is some kind of vertebrae, obviously sea-worn, from what, I do not know... it is very difficult to draw, particularly with my time constraints. Could spend days drawing this, such a complicated shape and so many contours and textures

pincushion, made from a vintage egg cup and wool. I plan on offering a workshop to make these later in the year, they make wonderful gifts

These pears are small, smaller than one would think, they came from the tree in my backyard, and are smaller than sekel pears. I suspect that with supplemental water, they would be bigger... Still, I like the pattern that the shadows make

work party weekend snapshots

Our plucky heroine was offered a chance to get out of town for the weekend, to a gathering of friends with fiber and feasting... was just outside the city, over on the other side of the Willamette in rural Oregon City, at the home of C's aunt and uncle


In the guest room, there was a clock that projected the time on the ceiling, in numbers large enough to see clearly without my eyeglasses. Very groovy!


Many birds at various feeders, there were goldfinches and hummingbirds. At night, there were bats. I heard Coyote singing at night, which always lifts my heart.


I never knew that Octa was so much a fiber fanatic. Always a treat to see a new side to an longtime acquaintance. He also very generously gave me the ball of (alpaca?) yarn that he spun, which will be used to embellish some very special garment later this year...


clever support for espaliered fruit tree, made from support bars and lashed bamboo


flowering hoya, very happy surrounding the windows over the sink


The house had something lovely to look at wherever your eye turned, this ceramic set of kitchen drawers was at the back of the countertop, with myriads of spice jars on top.


My potluck contribution was deviled eggs, with dozens of hen fruit from my backyard chooks


Angharad was using this clever device to produce herbal oil, the steam in the lower portion rises through the upper part stuffed with herbs, and the elixir drips out the spout into the bowl below


At night these unusual beacons use propane to heat and light the back patio


This jacket, seen hanging on the wall in one of the bedrooms, is a combination of textile techniques. I love the shapes of the panels. Not sure where it was from, (I forgot to ask)


A closer view, showing the detail of the batiked fabric...

autumn 6PAC - BadGirl t-shirt

This weekend our plucky heroine managed to complete the BadGirl t-shirt, 1 of 6 in the autumn 6PAC... While I realise that at first glance this does not look anything other than ordinary, there are subtle things that please me very much.

About eight years ago I devoted a whole summer of sewing to work out a pattern for a knit top that would suit my style and figure. With my extraordinarily narrow shoulders, and ample girlish curves, and not a lot of vertical distance between the two, standard t-shirts tend to look rather sack-like. A raglan sleeve eases the whole shoulder placement issue. Princess seams just look better to my eye than adding in substantial darts for shaping, in knit fabric at least. For this shirt, I also added some width to the sleeves, looser sleeves are cooler in the summertime, and will allow layering another shirt underneath in cooler weather.

While I do not have the figure I did in my twenties, it is nice to have t-shirts that do show what curvy shape I still have (I know, hard to see in black on black). The neckline is neither too snug or too wide; if I'd not been constrained by saving the graphic, I'd have lowered the center front by about two inches for slightly better visual balance. The handstitched reverse seams add an interesting detail, and the brown thread will pick up the color of the brown brushed twill that is slated for future sewing (outdoor vest, and possibly either a jumper or trousers, or both)