watching paint dry plus watching fabric art growing

 

My creative time was split this week between paint/drawing   and fabric work

tools of the trade sit out by the computer all the time

Making Zen workshop online was fun, 8 lessons a day in slow making, and I watched most lessons but really  about 4 of them. As for sewing, the color of the month is orange so I used orange in paints too

this was just from youtube... a lesson using water color. Draw with a paint loaded brush around a circle, then use that to stamp all over your paper. 

Paint where the circles overlap (many colors of ink for me) then doodle over the small sections

I love it

One of the mixed media lessons had us paint then stitch over that...mine came out like a tidal scene to me... using zig metallic silver and gold markers first

then pan inks and finally brown embroidery threads thru the paper remind me of bird feet in wet sand

I hope to try this technique again on heavier paper

I start each lesson by drawing the instructor's pace and painting it 

I love capturing the unique faces it's a lesson in observation. 

a face made with collage plus pencil, ink, paint

sometimes I paint on watercolor paper and tape into the sketchbook, other times right onto sketchbook

this time I painted from life instead of following the lesson 

For Rainbow scrap challenge's color of the month, orange, I tested different paint and ink colors

using up leftover gouache right onto the paper  plus instructor's image

one of the Zen stitch instructors had us using smallest scraps to make very tiny vignettes...

I haven't stitched yet, but also will add buttons/lace/beads sequins and then.... 

small scraps sewn into segments to be connected with scrappy strips...

each little scrap work together to make a fascinating vignette

I see art in my daily walks, built by nature, and that said, my snoopervisor who is VERY helpful would like me to put on my walking shoes and let's go!

linking to some or all of these

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

patchwork Sunday   

oh Scrap Sundays

 slow stitching Sundays

sewing daily challenge

https://melvalovesscraps.blogspot.com/

design wall Mondays at smallquiltsanddollquilts

https://songbirddesigns.blog/

http://www.sewcando.com/ 

https://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/inspire-me-monday-335/ 

http://www.inquiringquilter.com/ Wednesday wait loss

http://www.myquiltinfatuation.com/

finished or not

https://myblog-lunchbreak.blogspot.com/

https://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

friday face off  

https://frenchethereal.net/2026/02/18/share-your-style-487/ 

art on sunday DVArtist 

https://www.pamspartyandpracticaltips.com/2025/09/its-time-to-dare-to-share_0372312595.html 

creatively speaking this week... spirals, painting challenge, machine choice, Spring Green, COLORS!

 

I've been progressing on each project this week. Each step teaches me, each color excites me, art is healing

Above is my rainbow scrap challenge block this year, a hexie spiral. Hand stitched with small scraps from my orange collection. So satisfying when it is done.... here are the colors completed so far

just blocks lying next to each other

The Index Card a Day challenge is on, I'm woefully behind but have now done several. We use the prompts to create something each day....

"Spring"   "Cobalt"  "Iguana" 

Love how the paints blended in the petals

drawn from an OLD photo online

when I see a prompt I wonder how I can interpret it in some unique way, so in person, her dress is brilliant cobalt blue

I could have drawn an iguana but chose to do mixed media. I printed out an image on paper, tore away what wasn't the black line drawing, glued it to index card then painted with watercolor pencils and ink

"embroidery"  "Tidal Pool" 

"Iridescent"  "Leopard" 

I did paint with iridescent inks but they don't photo well, and I thought of ways to show leopard.... 

I feel like I know this woman somehow.... the mix of animal prints, kind of chubby but reaching for fashion 

the ladies so far

Back to sewing.... I finished piecing the Spring Leaves top basted the layers together with pins, and began quilting it

first pull threads to use, think about how I want the texture, face using the tiny Gem machine to do this 

I usually don't try to match, but to accent with threads.... this one became my favorite to use for this stage of quilting

it has a bold thick texture, a lovely gentle color change, and looks so good when stitching in more leaves

A mix of straight line quilting to stabilize then some detail work here and there, keeping it flat and balanced with each addition. I don't do all one area then the next as that can distort. 

I just love the way it's coming along. As I quilt I decide what to do, where, which with treads.

so many tiny scraps, added one by one in the strip stage, inserted curves, all different tones and shades of green, different fabric prints, all come together in this... some planned, some serendipity

I called a local shop to ask prices for the Janome 6700 P machine. 

It's time (I miss the demise of my Bernina 1630) 

The salesman mentioned I should check out the pfaff expression 710 and it does come with a lot of feet I use, and the dual feed is a good thing.  

tell me what you think...bernina's are just too expensive for me at this point

Inspiration  

orange flowers brightening a yard

 decorative way to stitch on a button

https://youtube.com/shorts/ys41X2zTOXU?si=pmmbvz2-ZuBpg2Gh 

happy creating y'all

Linking with: 

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

patchwork Sunday   

oh Scrap Sundays

 slow stitching Sundays

https://melvalovesscraps.blogspot.com/

design wall Mondays at smallquiltsanddollquilts

https://songbirddesigns.blog/

http://www.inquiringquilter.com/ Wednesday wait loss

Midweek makers wednesdays  

http://www.myquiltinfatuation.com/

finished or not

https://beadwright.blogspot.com/

https://myblog-lunchbreak.blogspot.com/

https://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

creatively speaking this week: drawing, painting, and sewing

 

I have just a few things to share with you this week starting with one of my two rainbow scrap challenge blocks this year. The color focus is on orange scraps this month, and using them.

I chose 4 duos this week, cut them into 2.5" strips, sewed cut sewed cut sewed them into blocks of orange

Orange covers a large spectrum of color, from yellow orange to pink orange (coral)

I tried to blend some as they will not be together in the final quilt top, but mixed in with all the other colors. 

Orange makes a quilt sparkle, even just a bit of it in whatever tint you choose

close up of the pink/orange block to show the words

I started basting the hexies for this month's spiral hexie block

I played with the idea of another small embroidery piece done with fabric shards

like a rose kind of, or a like life, making some order out of chaos

I am not doing much other than morning pages right now in painting/drawing

a mix of gouache paint, and inktense ink pad with brush. Tried to control the slanted leaf brush, but the bristles tended to separate. I must be doing something wrong. At the end I did the hyacinth in blue/purple, lavender and white dots of posca pen.

I'm woefully behind on Index Card a day challenge but with focus I'll catch up 

this one was from the prompt pretzel

pencil, and inktense pan set on top

of course this spring green quilt is still in progress, each step of sewing together joining strips defies my design ability. It's almost together into a cohesive top... started the week kind of like this

curvy piecing to put those scrappy strips next to a straight one, decided the bottom set needed to go into a different project...

feeling proud of myself for making a decision the borders started going on, and from looking at it as a picture I saw those two light green strips looked like railroad tracks... GRRRR 

I do not want to unsew anything so how to mitigate, applique a little light green on the border? 

note I also cut wee leaves out of dusty greens to applique onto the bottom area between the first two scrappy strips and love it in person

they will be free motion quilted in the next stage if ever I get there! 

so here's to overcoming anxiety about my country and life, for long enough to be my true self, 

one who makes art

linking with: 

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

patchwork Sunday   

oh Scrap Sundays

 slow stitching Sundays

https://melvalovesscraps.blogspot.com/

design wall Mondays at smallquiltsanddollquilts

https://songbirddesigns.blog/

http://www.inquiringquilter.com/ Wednesday wait loss

Midweek makers wednesdays  

http://www.myquiltinfatuation.com/

finished or not

https://beadwright.blogspot.com/

https://myblog-lunchbreak.blogspot.com/

https://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/

creatively this week.... drawing, learning, progressing on my spring/summer green quilt

2.5" squares cut to baste to EPP hexies

I have a few things to share but it's been like walking through mud this week.... 

The color of the month on rainbow scrap challenge is orange. I do like orange and it's energizing. I cut colors to make this month's spiral hexies, and will baste them this weekend I hope. 

the orange bits and scraps ready to use

I hand sew at night in front of the TV but in the studio I'm trying to finish the green spring leaves top, and find myself having trouble making decisions.   I pulled some fabrics including this one I hand dyed years ago....

so I cut strips of them and auditioned them for setting the piecework.... 

I know I'm depressed and fearful and it's sapping my energy right now

a morning doodle painting

but I thought making art and working with color would lift me up.... but even it's become harder daily

(thanks for listening) 

I spent time this week learning while watching Sketchbook Revival lessons but concentrating was hard

 

One of the lessons was on brush lettering, writing then adding lines to look like caligraphy so I wrote "Energy" as an intention, just wrote it with a fountain pen, not doing the actual lesson

then filled in with color from my ink set and a brush, using also some old gouche colors on the palette. 

I quite like how cheerful it is, just on printer paper, like the flower with word stem

back to the green piece....

I forced myself to commit to fabrics and at least the bottom half is sewn in making it look tidy

I love the leaves. I am adding slips of tiny fabrics now and then, laying it on, then stitching over the scrap grasses, you can click on pics to enlarge them and find the additions

I don't mind a bit of fraying, but the stitches stop nearly all of that. 

My plan was to applique seedlings when the top was together but might save that for doing on a simple background later. 

I banked back and forth from lessons on Sketchbook Revival this week, to studio time sewing. Plus

ICAD is back, prompts every day for 61 days, making art on an index card....

https://daisyyellowart.com/vividlife/icad-2025-1-7

I've done this challenge for years and it's amazing what comes of it!!! I'm behind of course, (no energy from depression) but did the first one.... what would you make to represent glimmer? 

I found this online search of glimmer, printed them tore it off the paper, surrounded the image with metallic paint that shimmers in person. Just a glimmer of paint. Light is a glimmer here. The quote gives me a glimmer of hope...

I've been walking a lot, and on this day wanted to find some orange in nature. I like this tree's mix of orange and green. (just a glimmer of orange lol) 

One lesson I watched had  us drawing a portrait starting with four lines and one watercolor pencil

draw, then add water, and voila! I love her, and kept this journal page open to see all week

another lesson had us using many supplies in black to make an abstract garden

start with plain pencil in non dominant hand, scribble. Move on to stabilo crayon, then eraser done over areas, then water soluble pencil again, markers, ink and voila! I love it too. I did this lesson before when she first showed it and this shows that we bring our current lives and what we've learned to the table. 

speaking of black and white, I tried sketching a portrait from a historical photo again

and realized how much I rely on watercolor paint... and how difficult a line drawing is to do

My journal has some old printer papers in it and I enjoy reclaiming them this way

It was challenging to draw downcast eyes, and that hair... I am always learning

this was a morning doodle.... watersoluble colored pencils traced my coffee cup, then blend with plain water.... I see some zendoodles or mandalas in the centers or quotes I might need to remember.... 

that's it for now, go check out the Index card challenge, it's free and a great site to explore

here's a gratuitous orange/pink flower in honor of the focus color this month

linking with

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

patchwork Sunday   

oh Scrap Sundays

 slow stitching Sundays

https://melvalovesscraps.blogspot.com/

design wall Mondays at smallquiltsanddollquilts

https://songbirddesigns.blog/

http://www.inquiringquilter.com/ Wednesday wait loss

Midweek makers wednesdays  

http://www.myquiltinfatuation.com/

finished or not

https://beadwright.blogspot.com/

https://myblog-lunchbreak.blogspot.com/

https://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/