Laura Kate

This Week’s Work – mostly painting

Posted on November 17, 2024 by Laura Kate

My week was not typical at all. I spent 3 days in a watercolor workshop led by Sonya Terpening. It was a bit of a rollercoaster for me. On the one hand, my confidence seemed to improve. On the other hand, I found the environment a bit chaotic, so it was difficult to focus. I found myself rushing to finish instead of taking my time.

Anyway, here she is. I call this work Woman in a Shawl.

The reference photograph is mine. I had asked my daughter to serve as the model for a shawl I knit back in 2022.

Other sketches I completed this week, taken from lessons by Kateri Ewing in her book Watercolor is for Everyone.

Dream Feathers

Tiny Being of Light

And finally, I just finished the mid-tone layer on my portrait of Reggie the Dog.

I’m pretty happy with the dog at this stage. Darks and shadows will be added this week, if I have time before we leave for Madison.

I’m also happy that I finished embroidering a panel on my Dragonfly art quilt.

You will likely not be able to detect any difference from the photo I posted last week, since all of the stitching was in the background. Now I am moving on to this panel.

This one makes me so happy, because the background is a profusion of flowers and leaves. Embroidering it will be sheer pleasure.

Thank you for visiting, and please do share your own creative projects.

knitting

Friday Follow up

Posted on November 15, 2024November 15, 2024 by Laura Kate

Last week I said that I would write more about my latest knitting project.

…..so here I am to do just that.

It started with some discount yarn I had purchased on Knitpicks from a product line called Impressionist. I got the “impression” that the line would be discontinued soon because the price was deeply slashed.

It’s a sport weight yarn with fibers of extra-fine merino wool and nylon. The yarn is really stretchy, light weight and very fuzzy. I purchased 2 – 25 gram balls, giving me about 330 yards. I thought it might work well in a stranded design, paired with a sturdier yarn in a neutral color.

Here’s better photo showing the multitude of shades. The color is called Renoir.

The neutral creamy white that will be Renoir’s partner is Paragon, again from Knitpicks. This is a luxury yarn blended of fine merino wool, baby alpaca and mulberry silk. It was NOT on sale (but I only needed one skein.) It’s also a sport-weight, but heavier than the multi-hued yarn, and just as soft.

The amount of yardage I purchased led me to search for cowl patterns. My criteria was tube construction. This means the cowl would be knit in the round, always a plus when working stranded patterns. It will keep the wrong side of the knitting on the inside of the tube and out of view.

Velvet Mirror, by Andrea Mowry matched my criteria and called for sport weight yarns.

This pattern has been knit by more than 500 ravelers and has a 4.9 out of 5 star rating. The pattern is charted, not difficult once you get going. I’m having a very good time working it.

Each chart is worked twice. When the knitting is complete, the two edges will be connected using Kitchener stitch, that clever and invisible stitch most frequently used to close up the toes of knitted socks.

What are you working on these days, and how is it going for you?

hand embroidery, knitting, painting

This Week’s Work – Branching out

Posted on November 9, 2024November 15, 2024 by Laura Kate

In week three, The Artist’s Way has me focus on Recovering a Sense of Power. The words for focusing are Anger, Synchronicity and Shame. In Watercolor is for Everyone, the daily practice work seems to be mostly representational, as opposed to abstract.

I am also sharing my fiber work from this week. Let’s start with that.

Knitting: I’m a bit errant in not posting about my newest project. I’ve chosen a cowl design by Andrea Mowry. It’s super lovely.

I’ll do a full post on this project next week.

I have also returned to an art quilt that has been languishing since last year. I call it Here be Dragons. This week, I spent my evenings hand-quilting one of the panels.

Bill’s photographs provided the reference for my dragonflies. The background and dragonflies were painted onto white cotton fabric with textile paint and micron pens. Next I embroidered detail on the dragonflies. The final step is to work embroidery stitches into the background as a way to marry together the three layers of the quilt. It is slow work, but I am determined to carry on and get this piece mounted and displayed before year end.

Here are the watercolor exercises completed this week.

This little landscape was based on a photo I took of a Wisconsin farm.

My magical hummingbird is inspired by Janet Weight-Reed’s beautiful hummingbird paintings. I used a photograph from this month’s National Geographic for reference.

Thank you for reading.

drawing, Living Life Well, painting

This Week’s Work

Posted on November 2, 2024 by Laura Kate

I am following simultaneously The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron and Watercolor is for Everyone, by Kateri Ewing. Here are the exercises and practice paintings I completed since Sunday.

**Abstract inspired by a melody of Brahms**

**A Trio of Great Egrets, based on photographs by Bill Riley**

**Autumn Impression. Painting on rice paper that was embedded with plant materials.**

**Portrait of Tiny, copied from a painting by Janet Weight-Reed**

https://jcrhumming.wordpress.com/

**Indigo and Rust, an exercise from Watercolor is for Everyone, by Kateri Ewing**

**Angels Among Us, an exercise by Kateri Ewing**

I hope you check out the referenced artists, especially if you feel the need for a boost to your creativity.

knitting

Friday Finish: Back to Stashbusting

Posted on November 1, 2024 by Laura Kate

And back to a favorite designer, Kate Davies, of KateDaviesDesign. This pattern for adult booties was included in her recent publication Margery Allingham’s Mysterious Knits, but it was also released individually on Ravelry.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/slippers-bellew

The yarn I am using is from Ewetopia, a Christmas gift from my daughter. Ewetopia is a Wisconsin yarn maker headquartered in Viroqua. The fibers are mysterious, described by the maker simply as “it’s all good.” I used all but half an ounce of the generously sized ball.

Here is a view of the 3-needle bind-off, which closes the foot and circles the ankle.

The heavy-worsted two-ply yarn refused to give me gauge, even when knit with the size 4 needle. Consequently, I cast on 44 stitches instead of the 52 as instructed.

This decision required some minor adjustments as I went along. But I am an acolyte of the Elizabeth Zimmerman school of knitting. She reminds me that I am the boss of my own knitting, and need not be cowed into submission by a designer.

The resulting booties are a perfect fit for my size 6 1/2 feet. I expect to wear them while lounging, but not for any vigorous walking indoors. They slide smoothly across wooden floors. A fun game for the young, but not recommended for those of us with less than perfect bones.