grey day, muted yarn

august patterns and colours

I have stepped away from this space for the duration of August - it wasn't a planned break but it did coincide with The August Break.  And so in place of anything more current; some snippets from that month long photo challenge.

  

quilt planning :: colour

Colour is important to me.   I often have colours in mind before anything else falls into place. 

I knew what colours I wanted the quilt to be months ago – I saw some illustrations of birds that had a similar palette of three main colours.  A bit of yellow, some grey, a patch of brown here and there.  I decided then that this quilt would be those colours.

The yellow I want is contradictory: bright but muted.   Lemon but a bit gold.  Sunny but cloudy.  The grey I'm looking for is a cool grey but not too cold.  Feathery.  Pebbly.  And I want a brown that draws the other colours together.  But doesn't overshadow them.  

I've been playing with my Pantone postcards to assist my colour research - I'm not sure how I ever coped before I had them.  So much fun.

ideas that don't have use-by dates

I found a page in my sketchbook from last year where I had written down a list of ideas I had for things I wanted to make, to do, to create.  I haven't done any of them - I had forgotten about some of the things I listed and moved on to other ideas and other lists.  For a reason I can't recall I'd stuck a picture of a bird at the bottom of the list.  Inspiration?  Perhaps.  It doesn't really matter now.

But the ideas are still valid!  The list still makes sense to me - in fact, I can improve on the original ideas.  I can still do those things.  But of course, I might forget again.  It might be another year until I re-find the list.  But I know I will see the list again.  And the bird.

finding pine cones

There just isn't that much to show at the moment.  Other things have taken priority and I haven't put thread to fabric all week. 

 But, it's all going to change very soon and the studio awaits.  Tidied up and ready for action. 

 In the meantime, 3 small finds: a pine cone found in a field, a vintage crochet pattern found in a dusty shop and string inspiration found in a book.

knowing, doing

I'm coming to the end of the online textile course that I began in March. It has been so exciting to learn from two great teachers and to be part of a community of like-minded people. 

I have taken away so much inspiration and my brain is full of ideas. I want to reflect on the knowledge I have gained.   And then I want to expand on what I know.  And then I want to do.

making pictures of birds

I always come back to birds.  I photograph them whenever I am outside with a camera in my hand.   I also find myself sketching them over and over. 

Sometimes I try and draw them as they are.  Often I invent new and impossible birds.

 Mostly I seem to create a mixture of the two; a strange and unlikely hybrid.