A Day Off For Gardening

Painting just the trim has been a bigger project than I thought it would be. I overestimated the amount of paint we would need, so we are painting the back and sides as well. Why the front was in worse shape than the rest of the house, I have no idea.

I’ve been spending the evenings working out the final details for this quilt and stitching down pieces.

I started this morning pruning a bush back to make room for the ladder. Which lead to pruning back the neighbors apple tree which was hanging over the fence and brushing the house where I would need to paint. Which lead to pruning back an aeonium succulent that was taking over. I thought it was choking out my kangaroo paw plant that was nearly hidden by the succulent. But after I took out the aeonium, I found it thriving and looking as good as it ever has.

We ended up going to the store for potting soil and perennials. I repotted an aloe vera, some Christmas cactus cuttings from my mom, and some broken stems I rescued from a sidewalk. Camilla arranged a small succulent plant with some small snippets in a larger pot. The perennials got put into two large pots that needed attention.

Why I Haven’t Got Any Sewing Done in the Last Week or Two

I’ve been climbing up and down ladders, scraping away peeling paint, priming where bare wood was showing through, and finally putting on the first coat of trim on the eaves. Doug’s been helping on the weekends doing the really high stuff, but Camilla and I have been getting a lot done during the week. The paint on the stucco part of the house still looks good, and most of the trim only needs repainting in the front.

I talked Doug into choosing new colors. A teal for the trim that almost matches the trim on the back and sides of the house so it doesn’t look to peculiar when seen from the side, and a lighter green for the bit of wood siding on the front of the house. We picked the colors inspired by the virtual paint job I did on my Illustrator assignment I did last February.

Hopefully things will move along quicker as we move downward, and don’t have to move ladders around as much.

New Hairdo

Here's my second try at creating hair. I think I like this version better. What do you think?

Struggling with Hair

I asked someone if she liked the latest project, or if it was just strange. She says, “It’s a departure of style for you.” Yes, that’s probably true. I think not her style either, and it’s probably why I have been struggling with new components since I laid the face onto this quilt. But I am enjoying the process.

My first struggle was the body. Trying to be too realistic with the stylized face just seemed out of place. I think I like what I have now. I think it’s stylized enough to look like it belongs with the face, and representational enough so you can tell it’s supposed to be a body. I will need to deal with hands later.

My current dilemma is the hair. Half done in this photo, but I guess you can see where I was going. Too much orange. Reducing the contrast between the figure and the background. And hiding the angles on the face that I was contemplating leaving. I think all that orange I just cut out is coming off, but I don’t want to leave her head totally bald. 

I’ve started looking through my fabrics for something that could substitute for traditional hair. Maybe she would like to be adorned with flowers and leaves.

Tink

Hello everyone, my name is Tink! I’m another of Camilla’s creations. I really like jewelry and other pretty things. My necklace and bows make me feel wonderfully amazing! The bells in my tummy make me very magical, and I make jingly noises when I flitter about.

Summer Sewing Projects

School is out for both Camilla and me, so we have time to do some sewing. Camilla is working on another sock creature. I decided to try my own hand at creating a stuffed creature of some sort. I began by looking through my scrap bag for an interesting start to a face, and continued with no plan and no expectations. Now that the face is done, I’ve decided it should be part of a quilt, and not a dimensional creation.

Then I set it on top of this quilt. I started this quilt three years ago in a Pamela Allen class. It has been on my design wall since then, because it needed something and I wasn’t sure what. Maybe it needs a colorful figure. With wild orange hair? And a guitar? Or a flute? Or a …? And a colorful bird in the palm tree? There’s a temptation to cut the face into a more traditional shape, but I think I like it cut with the wonky angles straight from the scrap bag.

Invisibility Spray – the Gardening Version

For my final Illustrator project, I decided to reinvent invisibility cleaning spray for use in the garden and create an advertisement. I added weed killer to the product, so that weeds can be killed while they are invisible. Now your garden can look instantly better, even while your weed spray is still doing its job.

I used bits from my Illusion Spray concept design and bits from my Dandelion Wine illustration.

I got a bit frustrated mid-project, having given myself a near impossible task of creating a focal point which looks like it’s vanishing. Making the whole dandelion semi-transparent was the first idea, but made a weak focal point, and turned the flower a strange orange color as it blended with the curtains behind it. I think my final partially filled in line drawing has enough contrast for a focal point. Does it look like it’s disappearing?