Queen Of Everything

I am being neglectful of my everyday drawing and blogging, I know, but I have had some sort of bug for the last few days which has made me feel completely washed out. Anyway, last night I slept for eleven hours and today I feel much improved. Might even get a bit of work done!

I am still having a ball making these fabric covered books and I have so much quilting cotton that I could probably keep making them until I'm 90. This one features some Klimt-inspired designs which have metallic gold accents and they look very sumptuous paired with large florals and yellows. The title just seemed appropriate somehow. It's currently available in my shop.

I've also just started reading What do I do when I want to do everything? by Barbara Sher. I was attracted to it when I saw it on the library shelf as I am one of those people who wants to do everything and frequently ends up doing nothing because I just can't choose. Well, Ms Sher promises some insights and ways of dealing with this so I thought I'd give it a go. I'll let you know more when I've read further.

Mr Tumnus's Lamp

Okay, today's drawing is of one of the entrances to Miller Park. As you enter under the bridge there is a very large old tree and next to it a Victorian lamp post which always reminds me of the one in Narnia where the children first meet Mr Tumnus.

Geese In The Orchard

No drawings for a couple of days as I've been busy working on some new books for my shop. I'm loving making these as it gives me a chance to play with my not inconsiderable stash of gorgeous quilting fabric! In fact I'm going to make another one similar to the topmost book to keep for myself as I think it would be just the job for writing my favourite recipes in.

St Mary's Penwortham

On the other side of the river the land slopes steeply upward and was once the site of a Norman motte and bailey castle. There is now a parish church there, parts of which date back to the 14th and 15th centuries, and very attractive it is too.

Some photos and info here if you like snooping round old churches. 

 

The Ginnel

 

We live in a terraced (row) house which dates back to 1875. There are a number of streets all pretty much identical but with subtle variations in the architectural details of the houses. They were originally built for the dock and mill workers; we are very close to the river here and it was once a thriving port as well as an area teeming with cotton production.

If I sit on my bed and look out of the window this is what I see. This is the back of two terraces on the next road over between which runs a ginnel, or back alley, and it's today's daily drawing. Let me know if you've got one to share!

Daily Drawing - Come And Play!

Sometimes it seems like life is conspiring to get in the way of what I want to be doing. Right now I'm trying to get lots more books made for my Etsy shop and other goodies for PAD but 'stuff' keeps happening which makes me have to down tools and deal with it. 

In the midst of chaos, I feel like I need something with order to it. For a while now I've been thinking about focusing more on regular drawing practice, both as a meditative, relaxing thing and as a practical discipline. So, I am challenging myself to do some drawing each day in my sketchbook and post it here. The results may not always be pretty but I'm hoping they'll be worthwhile!

What would be really great would be if you'd like to join in and share your own daily drawings. Maybe you already do this, in which case please feel free to leave a comment and link so I can see what you're doing! If you've never really done much drawing before then why not give it a go? No fancy-schmancy materials needed, just a biro or a pencil, some paper and a little bit of time. It would be really good to have you involved for inspiration and companionship on this journey. What do you say?
 

Stormy Weather

Yesterday was one of those autumn days where the weather can't make its mind up. There are some glorious colours in the foliage and the light was filtering through storm clouds which gave way to bright sunlight occasionally, so I took the camera when I went out with Sam for his afternoon walk and photographed the neighbourhood.

Seeing Red

I only realised today that I seem to be a bit obssessed with red lately, or more precisely those lovely autumnal shades of raspberry, plum and blackberry. Everything I've made over the last week or two has been red, just look!

A World Of Their Own

Vincent came back from the supermarket the other day with a couple of pots of house leeks, which I absolutely love. They grow in the most dry and inhospitable places, even on the roofs of houses, hence the name. Their Latin name, sempervivum, also gives a strong hint towards their tenaciousness, meaning as it does ever-living. 

My tiny garden has become rather swamped by black bamboo this year. Slow growing, they said at the garden centre. Yeah, right. It runs like Usain Bolt and has grown to about 10 feet tall in the past eighteen months. V has broken all my gardening tools trying to dig it up and reduce it to a more manageable sized clump. Anyway, I need tough plants for my garden as it gets very hot in there in summer, which brings us back to the house leeks. These and herbs are what I plan to concentrate on growing next year, along with some tomatoes perhaps. In the meantime there's a lot of clearing up to do, so I'd better get back to it!