My Crochet Project list

I had such grand plans for a post tonight.  Things don’t always go as planned.

My next painting lesson was to be the topic, Easy 5 Petal flowers, but YouTube froze on me, forcing me to re-download the video.  At 245 minutes to download I figured I would be sound asleep by the time it is done.  If it does not freeze again. 
So I had thought to crochet, but that was put on hold as I developed a stiff neck while I ate dinner.  Where this has come from I do not know but it is painful.

I have taken a hot bath and am now lying abed with a hot rice sock on the offending muscles in high hopes of them loosening up enough to sleep tonight.

In the mean time I will share some crochet projects I would love to tackle this winter. (click on photo or name of project for link to source and pattern)

Wouldn’t this Sunburst Granny pattern make a lovely wrap? 



come to think of it, it is rather similar to the wrap I finished last Spring.  I have yet to share the finished product yet. I shall share that soon but for now back to my ‘to do’ crochet list.

This Rainbow blanket caught my eye.  I wonder if this could be modified into a scarf, it would certainly brighten up a dreary winter day. 



I love the Daisies popping up on this Flower Garden Granny Square shoulder bag.



I am definitely going to invest in some Bernat cotton yarns in these colors below.  This is exactly the color scheme I am going with in my kitchen and these will be perfect for some decorations.  Much too pretty to scrub dishes with!

Pretty As a Picture Dishcloths



I spent a lovely afternoon in my garden, we had beautiful sunshine and near 80 degree temps.  But cooler weather is about to descend (like a 30 degree drop from today in the next few days)and instead of digging dirt I will be trudging thru snow for work. Crazy! (I won’t get snow at my house, thankfully, but I work up by the ski resort and they are predicted to get snow next week)

Colder weather always puts me in the mood to crochet, sew and switch up things in the house.  There is much to be done here that has been ignored for the summer so I could just enjoy being outside while the weather was warm but now it is time to focus on the inside.  Maybe I will start with some of these dishcloths for my kitchen.  Maybe crochet some edgings on some dishtowels to match.  Hmmm, the possibilities…

Well, I hope tomorrow to post the next episode of Learn to Paint, so check back if you like.  If all goes smoothly it will be tomorrow, if not so smoothly sometime in the next few days.  See you then!

A Colorful Hand Painted Sign

My! what a week it has been.  I thought with the entrance of Fall and the cooler weather that things would slow down a bit but in that thinking I was in error.

I do have another painting lesson to add to our series but this week I was not able to get it done to my liking. 



I did manage to get a special order sign painted on Friday. It was a dark, rainy and chilly day but my studio was cozy and quiet.  A perfect retreat after a hectic week.  And I painted.



Today the sun shines with warmth, the chill that nipped at us yesterday is gone.  I took a walk in the garden to take photographs of the persistent blooms from summer.

I love this pink rose, I will print this shot and see if I can paint it, right down to the tiny water droplets on the petals.



Would you believe with all my rose painting I have yet to master painting the back of a rose?  I have tried and they never look right.  I will attempt it once again using this shot above for my model. 



I recently replaced the sad looking petunias in my window boxes with violas.  They will stay put all winter even under the snow then when the Spring sunshine warms them they will take off and become blooming fools. 

The window boxes sit on my deck rails and when I walk past all I smell is their sweet scent. 

I took plenty of shots of these too as I wish to paint from them.



The shading is so subtle and the whiskers so delicate it will take some practice, but I will do it. 



I have been watching some painting videos on You Tube lately.  Brazil seems to be big on fabric painting and there are some crazy lovely items that these ladies produce.

I think it has inspired me to try my hand again at fabric painting. 



I do enjoy painting my artful signs. Not just lettering, that is not fun for me but the colorful artistic signs are what float my boat.

I think maybe the table runners and pillow cases might be another avenue to enjoy my painting of flowers and romantic motifs. I have quite a few vintage linens that are considered cutters because of stains or holes so repurposing them into painted pillow covers or table runners may be the ticket. 

I have also dug back into my crochet basket, so many things I would like to do and only so much time. 

A familiar tune??



Fetilizer Friday 

Potting Bench update

Good morning all.  This morning it looks like rain, I am so glad I finished my potting bench update yesterday.

You remember our potting bench we built last year



it is very popular on Pinterest and Hometalk.  Lots of folks want to build one for themselves. I can’t blame them I have been enjoying mine much more than I anticipated.

Being able to see it from our living room is the ticket I suppose.  I try to keep it looking nice so I have something refreshing to look out at. 

Last Fall it looked like this



I had yet to finish the top but I still enjoyed the scene.  Later after this photo I did paint it with some yellow paint. It did not weather well.

In Spring it got a make over..



And again for summer.



For summer I just sanded down the chippy yellow but for this Fall I wanted to give it a good protective coat.  I used some Milk Paint in a mix of 2 parts white and one part French Gray.



The gray gives it an entirely new look.



To protect the wood further, once the paint was dry, I gave it a good coat of organic Tung oil.  It is non-toxic and dries hard and does not noticeably change the color of the paint. 

My Happy Chappy rose was blooming away, I picked some blossoms and tucked them in the watering can so I can enjoy them even more.  Out here on my back deck they are more visible.



I am enjoying my rooster painting.  I think I need to do some more.  I should photograph my Swedish Flower Rooster and try to paint him.  He is a pretty one.



I have been busy getting my garden mulched and prepped for winter.  I have some straw bale gardening going and will share more in a later post.

Off I go to work this morning.  It will most likely be raining in Bear Valley and be a wee bit chilly so I shall dress for it.

Happy Fall..

Learn to Paint-Lesson 4 Scallop stroke and a Pansy

Romantic Rose Ladder



Lesson 4 is going to continue on with the scallop stroke.

 

Mastering the scallop stroke is essential to some of the flowers I paint along with the leaf.  For instance the pansy. I start with a pattern for placement of my strokes.   On this pansy I used a 3/4 flat One Stroke brush.



I first do the two top strokes, they are small scallop strokes. Overlapping slightly.

 

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