Yes, I know it’s Saturday. I photographed the image above yesterday. It is Little Whiskey, a sweet cape pattern for a little girl designed by Erica Jackofsky.
This morning, I sewed on Laura Lu’s prized button and took the garment out to the garden for a photo session.
The pattern was easy to follow. Because I didn’t quite get gauge, I cast on extra stitches and followed the instructions for the next larger size. Ultimately, the process of washing and blocking widened out the knitting, but didn’t add any length, which is a good thing. I got the length I was aiming for.
Wrong side view, close up of lace pattern
The lace pattern was not difficult, except for the popcorn stitch, which the designer called Nupps. They are kind of hard to see in the photos. They add some texture to what is mostly stockinette knitting. They also echo the picot edge stitches nicely.
This capelet will go with us on our next trip to Wisconsin. At that time, I’ll get a photo of the recipient wearing it, and know for sure if the fit works.
This is my mixed media interpretation of Bill’s photograph of baby sparrows in a crowded nest. I have encased my watercolor painting in a free-form weaving.
He found these hapless birds in a fake flower wreath near the door of a busy downtown business.
I did the watercolor painting on a six by six stretched canvas. After it dried, I pounded in the tacks and strung a warp of Perl cotton embroidery thread. The weaving was worked with yarn and floss in compatible colors. To finish, I poked holes through the canvas and gathered up the threads to create peepholes for the birds.
I’m not sure if I intended some kind of statement about the crowded world, or the clash of humanity and nature. Or maybe it was just a little experiment.
It’s a lovely day for casting on a new project. Today I started knitting a capelet for my granddaughter. Last May she asked me to make her a shawl. I chose this pattern
instead of a shawl, in the theory that the button will help keep on her shoulders while she rushes about her business. She specified that it be white – a bit of a surprise, but then, maybe her favorite princesses and fairies wear white capes. She also handed me a button, obviously found and scrupulously saved for just this moment.
It is a light dk. Incredibly soft, it is made from 80% Merino Superwash wool and 20% bamboo. I was keen to see how well it performs.
There are four sections of lace in the body of the cape, so I don’t think this project will work for travel knitting. For our up-coming trip, I will continue working on the improvised shawl project that I carried while cruising through Canada in early July.
Today I have two – six by six canvases – that will be submitted for sale in October to benefit my local art association. I had fun coming up with ideas.
Last week I did two sketches. One was intended to be a traditional watercolor work. The second will start out with watercolor, but will finish out with some threadwork.
I call this work In Our Hands.
Reference photo:
Sketch:
Finished painting:
To utilize the 6 by 6 stretched canvas, I cut my watercolor paper into a 9 by 9 square. My initial wash was worked over the whole piece. After it dried, I cut it at the corners, wrapped it around the canvas, folding over flaps, which were stapled in place. I used double-face tape to press down the sides onto the canvas edges and cut off the excess. Then I proceeded with the rest of the painting.
Pigments used: Winsor lemon, quinacridone gold, raw sienna, transparent orange, Payne’s gray, Prussian blue and Winsor green, blue shade. Some silver metallic gouache suggests the pale iridescent scales of the butterfly.
For the second piece, I prepared the canvas with a product new to me: QOR Watercolor Ground. This base is supposed to transform the fabric canvas into a watercolor paper-like surface. Reviews were good, so I will give it a try.
My reference is photograph of baby birds taken by Bill.
He discovered this nest outside a busy title office inside a fake plant. What was that mother bird thinking! I call this work Tight Quarters.
Original sketch
Partially completed painting with photograph in background.
Finished painting, ready for the next step.
Painting on the watercolor ground, IMHO, was nothing like painting on paper. These sparrows look like they have a serious case of bed-head feathers. I found it almost impossible to layer my paints in a normal way. When I tried to add a glaze, the underlayers would liquify. So, I just pushed the paint this way and that to suggest the texture of the feathers. Despite the struggle, I find that these little birds have a lively character which is appealing to me.
Pigments used were Winsor lemon, quinacridone gold, raw sienna, transparent orange, quinacridone red, ultramarine blue, Prussian blue and Winsor green, blue shade.
Last Wednesday, I participated in a watercolor tutorial offered by fellow art association member Cheryl Bryan. We were to paint a koi swimming near the surface of a pond. While she had a nice reference image, I preferred to use this one from Unsplash by Jason Leung.
Subjects in water are very appealing to me, especially creatures such as fish.
Here is my sketch of Jason’s photograph after I had added masking fluid to reserve the whites of the paper.
I am using Arches 140# cold press paper. The masking fluid is Incredible White Mask liquid frisket. I recently learned to apply this messy stuff by using a small paint brush that is first dipped into a solution of water and liquid soap. To apply little dots, I used the tip of a wooden knitting needle (!) Both worked great.
Here is my painting at the end of the 2 hours tutoring session.
I had the background mostly complete and the first wash on the fish. The next day I painted more color on the fish, added shadows and a glaze of highly diluted Phthalo blue. After the paper dried completely, I removed the mask and added highlights.
I’m pretty happy with the result. The fins, tail and ripples came out well. You can tell that the head and mouth are poking through the water’s surface.
I’m less happy with the shadows and my color mixes. Perhaps I should have chosen different pigments.
Anyway, I have dipped my toes back into painting after a long hiatus. The dry spell is over, for now. (puns intended.)
Daily Fiber 