My first public sketches

I went to the first annual Columbia County Art in the Park at the new library in Evans Ga. After visiting it I went to the Footnotes cafe in the library and tried it for lunch. While I was waiting to be served I drew these two pictures IN PUBLIC. They are both quick sketches which seems to be all I have time or patience for these days. The only person who noticed I was drawing was the guy who brought me my lunch. And he didnt ask a question. The guy with the cone was sitting at the next table...never noticed. And the kids were out the window on the plaza...one of them escaped while the server was talking to me. There was a girl with the three boys eating at the table and having a good time.. 

how many more koolaid dyed socks

Okay so i am knitting a third koolaid sock...the second one which is below did not match very well...it was alot darker and then it got this crazy red and orange stripe on the foot which would be fine if the first sock had striped like that BUT it didnt...so I started a third sock which is now well past the heel. This is the first picture. The seond picture is the one that did not match. So now I have socks with three in the pair...as soon as i finish it...I think i will get some more of the white yarn and try to dye one to match it or if nothing else works dye both with red tropical punch so they are both red?!!

Somebody who I could not answer asked if koolaid dyeing was permanent....yes as long as its wool or silk but not on cotton. It dyes protein based fibers.
This is the second sock was much redder at the top and striped at the bottom...so I started a third one which matches the first one. All I can say is go figure... 

my walk around the neighborhood

Okay I walked my third mile of the week...and sketched each time. I did sketched when I saw something interesting...usually an animal but there are all kinds of plant life asking to be sketched.


Today I found a blue heron in the big lagoon. He was fishing for his lunch. I drew four quick sketches of him. He kept turning around watching me which i thought was funny since he was at least 100 feet away from me on the other side of the lagoon. A large turtle fell jumped off his log when I walked by too...I guess they think I am going to get them. I also found the blue paperclip while I was walking.

This is my favorite sketch. The heron kept posing for me turning around and stretching his neck so that he could keep an eye on me? Funny thing about his watching me is that there was a boy and a cat on his side of the lagoon MUCH closer than I was...but the egret did not seem to notice them. TOOO Busy watching me!
I am not really wild about this sketch. The trees on the island in the lagoon are not big enough or he is tooo big....

This is the first one I did...I messed up his neck and started over...it started as a blind contour and then i gave him some detail. The more I look at this one the more I like it...I think i am going to color some of these...or watercolor them? 

Another koolaid dyed sock

I LOVEEE the color of this wool...think its just gorgeous. This sock was dyed with lemon, orange and tropical punch koolaid. Started off as white wool fingering...fun sock ...has a tiny ruffle around the top edge and 3 small lace work leaves...sock number two is underway...started this umm at 10 pm Tuesday nite... 

Dolls and Kims Birthday

We have been working on our dolls for our tome...kims is on the left, then betty anns, Rachels Randy the pirate..isnt he a hoot...and my bodacious babe...they think she has too much chest but I told them that a siren of the deep has to have a bodacious chest...and I Know Randy the pirate agreed.
Tomorrow is Kims Birthday but we got an early start. Yesterday somebody who loves her took her to lunch at Rhineharts and then today ...well she got presents...tomorrow is the real day so who knows what she will get then??? MORE PRESENTS???
This is Kim holding one of Rachaels famous crusties...Rachael is a pro at dreaming these lovelies up...isnt it great...it was wrapped up with a teeny mouse charm on the outside... 

EDM Challenge 67 and some more

I am counting this as my mother drawing...after all one of those geese is the mom right???
So I drew more than one picture on my walk....the fire hydrant ANNDDDD the geese and the weed that was growing near the dock and the weed itself. It looks like a philodendron. Thinking about digging some up to plant on our river bank...very neat HUGE clumps of it.

THe geese pic is actually a combination. I first drew the geese and babies and then I drew the weeds which were on the opposite side of the dock from the geese...kinda like the picture though...now the question is to color or NOT to color ....

BYTW all these sketches were fasttttt...two minutes....how do I know? I was timing my walk to get back to watch oprah...darn I want one of those cakes...

EDM Challenge #66

So I finally drew the fire hydrant...there are only two in our neighborhood...and they are YELLOW...now whats up with that? YELLOW...you can tell they used to be red because the paint is chipped on them. And YES i did stand out in public drawing BUT nobody drove by soo does that count??

Koolaid dyed socks

Okay here they are in all their glory...Koolaid dyed socks done...pair #1...how many more to go? Good question....at least two more pairs...this is the pair that was dyed with grape and tropical punch...just dont forget to use sugar free koolaid!!
So you might ask how were these dyed?? Good question. First I filled up a 9x13" pan till about half the skein was in the water. Then I added tropical punch, added the skeins back in, covered the pan, baked it in the oven for an hour on 350. Let it sit for an hour. Then I let it cool and rinsed the yarn. Next I made it up into hanks of yarn...remember it had been in a skein. I tied the hank off in several places. Then I redyed parts of it with Grape koolaid in the microwave. Nuking it for two minutes, resting one minute till all of the grape koolaid was gone. NOW WHY is it spiral in someplaces and varigated in others? WHO knows....but its a fun effect. I know my mom will enjoy these for her MOthers Day present...one day late because I was sneezing myself to death most of the weekend.

 

Koolaid dyeing and other wooly matters

This is one of the socks I have knitted with the koolaid dyed wool...it was dyed with grape and tropical punch. I have no clue as to why the top was spiraling and the bottom of it is varigated. I have the other one almost done....probably finish tonite. These are my mothers mothers day present so I really need to get these done asap.

The other sock is commercial yarn...for my fav sils bday...still need to knit one more sock for this one too...cute stripey pattern...did I say she has very small feet?? size 5 1/2

Zoo days continue

My youngest son looked out the sliding glass door and guess what was there...a possum...right by the door...he didnt care that we were looking at him. I finally got my camera and snapped several pictures of him...these are a few...his body was about a foot long...minus the tail. He was looking for food and ate a dead lizard...no doubt killed by one of the cats....very friendly...not that we petted him...as i said we live in a zoo...or should i say the zoo days continue out here on the river?


 

Snakeeeee....what kind??

Youngest son and I just got back from a walk...found this snake in the front yard...crawling thur the remains of the St. Augustine...anyone know what kind of snake it is...if the grass had finished growing back we could not have seen it...its about 4 feet long. Black Racer or is it my others son escaped Indigo King Snake...what ever it is we watched him slither off into the woods in the front yard...he never tried to bite or do a thing....just laid there till we walked off...


 

ribbon rose

Made this with 2 and a half inch silk bias cut ribbon that I bought in Atlanta at Nicholas's cool ribbon store... the most awesome assortment of ribbons and flowers you have ever seen...used directions from HGTV's Carol Duval show..not happy with the leaves...may have to redo them... 

One last tassel

For some reason blogger did not upload this set of tassels...these are tiny...they are made the same way but I just zig zagged a circle around the top to make the tassle...turning it every so often...too much fun...especially on a grey rainy day like it has been today... 

Tassel Making

Been having too much fun today making tassels...all different sizes and shapes...mostly they are made of scraps of silk and some of the cut offs from making an improvisational pieced quilt. Then I had to add some glitz to them...scraps of chiffon and yarn and other shinny things...very fun...Some of the scraps are literally out of the trash...thin scraps from paper piecing...yes I am paper piecing slowly a New York Beauty...

MOst of them have a corded top made by zigzaging across the strands of fabric...now the question is WHAT to do with them?
These are two big tassels...they are about nine inches long.
The top of one of the big tassels so you can see the zig zags...
Two baby tassels...maybe 5" long...there are three more that did not show up for some reason in blogger...well all I can say is go figure blogger 

So I thread painted her

I thread painted the mermaid with metallic madiera thread...its not the smooth kind...if it were superior it would be called razzle dazzle BUT its madiera ...lots of yummmy colors....she still donest have her shell or her baby mermaid but soon?!? I put the grommets in the ladies..and then pulled some yarns thru..not sure I like the effect...might be over kill??
 

Before and after reinking...what do you think

This is the mermaid AFTER reinking...still have to do her shell and her mermaid doll...and do a little thread painting...the for the other side...thats a we shall see for sure...make a collage and THEN? paint it?! OH the mermaid was painted with a variety of paints...mostly lumiere, but some setacolor...cobalt, a lovely lime, and chocolate shimmer and some white jacquard and her skin was done with prochems champagne and a pink...but I added some jaquard white to it to lighten it up a little more...than reinked it with a prismacolor pen...hmmm forgot the highlights on her face...where is my toothpick?! OH and glitter has tinny stars in it...whereever the paint was wet enough to make it stick...funn stuff starry glitter

So Ille and I painted all afternoon...we had a blast...and used all the lumieres and some setacolor cobalt blue..and some glitter...and then I got out the sponges and sponged on some of that new yummy chartreuse green i got at Fiber on a Whim and the chocolate mocha shimmer.....did I go to far...probably...now I have to re ink...painted over all the ink lines..she will aslo get shell to hold and a mermaid doll..and something across the bottom where I did not read the directions..and cut it the pellon wrong...so...thinking sea weed from some cheese cloth...or maybe just collages some more fabric over it?! lots more to do to this lovely...