". Arranged Words: knitting
Showing posts with label knitting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label knitting. Show all posts

7 Dec 2021

Good Cheer



Hi Everyone,

Are you busy preparing for the holidays?

Over here, things are shaping up; lights, tinsel, and glass bubbles have enveloped the tree, compliments of my son, Jesse, and an Elf. Touches of greenery peek out from almost every corner. Plans for what goodies to bake are nearly solid. The Christmas cards are signed, sealed, and stamped and will soon be winging their way to, I hope, add a splash of good cheer to family and friends.

The sun breaks through the dark clouds at dawn. 

                     My cobbled painting path, has become a bit uneven, but I tell myself there's nothing to worry about because taking a break also plays an important role in the creative process.  Well, that’s my story…

Watercolours     
I added a white board next to my desk to post some watercolours on. (Motivation required.) I wanted to buy a cork board, but why not use what is at hand. I only had to purchase a few magnets. (Besides, should a magnet hit the floor and roll to parts unseen/unknown, until, that is, the inevitable happens, they are easier on the feet than push tacks.)


 
 Preparing for a colossal art re-entry ;^)  in the New Year, a small pastel order, plus some paper arrived. Two of the names to the right made me laugh, especially Burnt Reynolds. The pretty yellow pastel: Goldenrod. These pastels are from Great American Artworks. (Not sponsored, but I girl can hope.) They are very soft and creamy, so they will add a flourish near the finish. If used at the beginning of a painting, they could quickly fill the tooth of the paper, I reckon. (Experimentation required before firm results can be chiselled in granite.)
 
    

On the needles...

                                   Swallow Tail Lace Shawl by Evelyn Clark. Also a free pattern.

 

                                                                  Nativity

Below, a very short story that I may have touched on before. 

If you have read it before, dear hearts, do forgive me because I am growing old and stories, containing certain words in just the right order sometimes forget that I may have written them down or told them before. 

Meant to Be

Long ago, in a far away land, high above the Arctic Circle, where winter plunges the land into darkness for more than forty-five days a year, where mysterious wailing winds whip the snow into eddies that either skirt the ground or whirl up a whiteout, where, in the frigid, dry air, footfalls can be heard from a mile away—there in the midst of this new to me land, with little money on hand, I put down my hard earned cash for what would be, although there were more figurines to acquire, the last two nativity figurines that I would ever purchase from Avon. (I am searching for the three wisemen.)


Yes, it had taken awhile to acquire enough figurines to make the scene. (I think, they were sold at the time without a base. But I might be mistaken because, although the news will shock you,  I confess that I have been mistaken, in my life time, at least once or twice before.)

So...I pondered and thought and pondered and thought; and I hoped and I wished. And then it came to me in a flash: Surely cotton batten would make a nice base? I sprinted upstairs to the cupboard. No way--it was just too lofty--not right.

Being quick on the uptake, as luck would have it, other appropriate materials slowly came to mind. But in such a remote place, at such a time, where one couldn’t distinguish daylight from dark, I couldn’t think of one store in Edmonton where I might purchase the necessary items. (Remember it was the dark ages and yellow pages for Edmonton were as rare as sunlight.) 

To place an order just wasn’t feasible. So I reluctantly banished the thought.

Time crept by; the winter winds continued to howl. Then on one rare, quiet, dark, auspicious indigo day a couple of weeks before Christmas, a parcel that I'd long sense given up on  arrived. When I opened the box, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Straw covered the contents. The very thing, besides an open stable, that I’d been hoping for! I can't remember what else was in that box. But don’t you agree that somethings are just meant to be? 

(To date, lovely readers, that was the only time in my life that I ever received a parcel packed in straw.)

 

It’s time for me to go,  but before I do I would like to say:  Many thanks to everyone who visited my blog this year. I thank you for kind support, readership, friendship, and lovely comments.

  ❤️

          Wishing you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

And if you do not celebrate Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to you and to yours!

Cultivate Your Dreams!

Best Wishes,

Dixie

 Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. 

The parties cover most of the the globe; there’s much to see and admire, so do stop in for a visit.

  Thank you for hosting.





16 Nov 2021

All that Glitters



Hi Everyone,

Yellow/gold often gets overlooked when reds, oranges, greens and mixtures thereof take center stage in the fall. But those leaves have already dropped off the trees. And we are left with the staggering beauty of yellow/gold.

I didn't have to go far to capture this cheerful lot, proving that even when matted and wet certain things still look great.


All that is gold does not glitter,
   Not all those who wander are lost;
      The old that is strong does not wither,
       Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

  From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
  A light from the shadows shall spring;
    Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.

— J.R.R. Tolkien, The Riddle of Strider, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

One of my favourite verses that speaks of caution, and hope among other things, including the old adage: "Don't judge a book by it's cover."  

 

Along with late leaves of gold, at this time of year, the sunsets flame with yellow as well.

                                                                  


                                                          Something yellow/gold.

Yellow has surprised me because the only piece of clothing I own is a pair of yellow finger less gloves you see above. (You can download my free knitting pattern here 

Further, a year ago, I would have empathically said, "I do not like yellow," but a look back tells a different tale. When I revamped my blog awhile a go, I added gold highlights. It seems while I wasn't looking, yellow/gold, has captured my heart.

The paintings above, others, and greeting cards are available here 

 

Until Next Time...

Cultivate Your Dreams

Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. Do drop by the blogs for a visit; there’s much to see and admire.

  Thank you for hosting.






14 Apr 2020

Hope

April 14, 2020


Hi there,

I haven't posed for sometime and since this is a diary of sorts, I will say something about what is happening in the world. It seems the world changed overnight. And here we are, a world full of people, in isolation, trying to cope with it all while striving to maintain a sense of normality. At this point, I'd like to say I do hope you and your families are all well and safe and sound.

I feel so sorry for those who are struggling, or stranded far from home, and for those who are sick and for the families who have lost their loved ones.

Like people everywhere, I hope and pray that a vaccine will soon be ready. I know that we all feel a tremendous amount of gratitude for our doctors and nurses, grocery store employees, truckers, and all essential service employees. Many essential service employees can't go home to their families until this is over. One is a friend of mine. They are brave, inspiring, and selfless.

I remembering reading somewhere that hope is a thing with wings and that hope floats ( the latter a title of a movie). I think that's true.

"Once you choose hope,
anything is possible."

Christopher Reeve


"Hope is the only thing stronger than fear."

Suzanne Collins

Sadly world emergency plans are woefully inadequate. But dwelling on that doesn't help. So I'd also like to focus on the inspiring folks who are putting hope to work by posting signs in cities and towns, offering to pick up groceries for anyone who may need help. People who give the gift of music and song and dance and praise from their balconies and door steps to uplift other people. For the people who maintain their distance in grocery stores and share with you a reassuring smile. And hats off to the man who paid for many senior citizens' groceries. And a hurray to the small business owners and other businesses who are working, or re-tooling to make respirators, masks, hand sanitizer, gowns etc. And, of course, praise goes to the researchers who are tirelessly working to find a vaccine. Good Samaritans to the core. And there are many, many more.

* * *

I began knitting this shawl back in November. There were several stops along the way.  I originally named it "The Trees of Shetland" because the designer said it represents Shetland's trees. Recently, I decided to re-name it 'Hope' because that's what I see at work in the world.  (Among other things, green represents renewal, new life, balance, and hope.)


Much larger than anything I've made before.







May hope light your way. 

Cultivate your Dreams



Linking to Link Parties via my link party page. Do drop in for a visit. Thank you ladies for hosting.


21 Nov 2019

Golden Light


Hi there,

The golden light and beauty of fall can be difficult to leave behind, and since we are in the blogging ethereal realm, and I am the captain, I've decided to extend fall, at least, pictorially.



Pretty Crab Apples

 


Tanker with its russet bow—Kingston bound.


A Pumpkin with an attitude.

* * *

Pastel


 Sometimes I enjoy the spontaneity of sitting down without a plan,  reaching for a pastel and beginning. These two paintings I fashioned from bits of memory. The second reminds me of the boreal forest of Canada. When I lived in the north, I was surrounded by black spruce with a spongy carpet of reindeer moss covering their roots.

A fact of interest: Canada's boreal forest extends from the Yukon to Newfoundland and Labrador, covering 55% of the country and, at this time, is the largest intact forest in the world!
 It covers approximately three million square km.  

I own a limited pastel palette, but I am searching, most especially, for beautiful blue pastels for the sky and for lakes and the ocean.


On the needles...

Winter companion knitting.
A lovely pattern designed by Gundrun Johnston depicting the trees of Shetland.

'Til Next time...



Cultivate Your Dreams




Many thanks ladies for hosting.

5 Feb 2019

Musings

Desktop troop.
 As can see, I bought a few more pottery pieces over the summer. At the flea market, they have a retro pottery booth that I admire. Besides having many wonderful pieces, the people who run it are so friendly and helpful. I only wish I had room for more. Perhaps a six foot Ikea shelf would do it, but no, really, it's time to jettison a few things. Have "A spring clean for the May Queen." Led Zeppelin

( The two pieces of pottery to the right are West German. The blue one is a second that I picked up somewhere.)

It's helpful to lay out your paint in the same order.

I had a question about paint. Specifically what watercolour paint do I use? The answer: several brands, but my go to is tubed Sennelier.

The binder in Sennelier is honey and it adds to the smoothness and enhances the richness of the colours. I also use Schmincke half pans, Windsor and Newton and I have random tubes of Daniel Smith, PWC etc. In other words a lot of paint. But that happens when you like something: the ever growing stash. However, I will try to pare down my art supplies that I won't use in the spring clean too. Well, perhaps. Having said that I already feel a pang of greedy horror. ;^) As you know, it's difficult to part with certain things. For me it's books, yarn and art supplies. 💕


 I prefer mixing my own colours, but I don't always do so. Although magic happens when you mix a few colours together and come up with say apricot/orange, green, brown etc. But there are so many gorgeous colours to choose from, and you can also easily buy what you like. Or if you want to experiment and start small, you can begin with the primaries and mix your own colours. That way you can find the paint that works for you for less money.


If I am mixing a lot of one colour, I mix a large amount in a bigger dish. In this case a dollar store candle holder. And work from that mixture to lighten or darken a colour because it can be difficult, although not impossible, ( I'll let you know when I can do it.) to mix the same colour twice.


I had fun with these acrylic colours. Very different colours from what I normally use.

***

***


Back to the drawing board...

Have a wonderful week.
'Til next time...lovely people.


22 Jan 2019

Watercolour Skies


                               "Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet."
                                                                  Stephen Hawking

 The other day, I stood still in the woods until my hands got very cold, staring at a changing water colour sky. Looks like a light indigo, or French ultramarine and a light phthalocyanine blue. Gorgeous!

This morning I was up before dawn, hoping to catch a glimpse of Venus and Jupiter in the eastern sky. It was worth it!
 I also wanted to watch the recent eclipse of the moon, but the weather had other snowy plans.


               And the sign says: Do not fed the wildlife. It's clearly overlooked and overruled.


More gift tags. Some people also use them as bookmarks. They are time consuming to make, but I love to paint them. I think it has a lot to do with the colours.

                                                      A bevy of Easter colours. Tres uplifting!

                                        I've also been painting tulips this week.

I am not sure if I mentioned it in an earlier post, but I am currently forcing tulips and snowdrops. I've never seen a real live snowdrop. I can't wait! The bulbs are in a neighbor's extra fridge because they can be cooled anywhere near fruit; that creates ethylene gas and that impedes flower development.
I've got my fingers crossed!

On the needles...


                        Beginning a pair of socks. Pattern Lydia Bennet Secret Stockings
from Jane Austen Knits magazine 2011. Yarn from Tanis Fiber Arts.  I love the picot edging.

                                                     Thank you for reading along.

                                                 'Til next time...Cultivate Your Dreams!

23 Jul 2018

Mixing It Up


Hi there,

Nothing says summer more than sunshine, dreamy clouds and flowers. And we are enjoying an abundance of all three. A summer day spent lounging about in a lawn chair with an ice tea and watching the clouds roll by is my idea of a perfect day. Of course, a good sunhat and a wonderful book just tops it off. Speaking of clouds, I've always loved this quote by David H.Thoreau: "You must not blame me if I talk to clouds."  (Definitely one for the smile file.)



We are in the throes of a heat wave, so I haven't been out and about on foot a great deal. However, it doesn't take long to adjust to heat, and when the temperatures dip a little, I've been reaching for my sweater. 

                             How hot is it? So hot that there's not a turtle to been seen on golden turtle pond.

But I've been longing to go to the woods, and I was so happy to get out there when the temperatures dropped recently to take a few pics. I didn't want to miss the mid-summer flowers.

Wild lilies ~ Turk's Cap



Crown Vetch

Milk Weed
Sumac
 A busy Chipmunk with places to go and chipmunks to see.
Cattails


The heights

Fleabane
I've been painting with acrylics recently. The great thing about it: if you make a mistake, you can paint over it and begin again. So very different from watercolour. And what would an acrylic painting be without a bit of blue?


A bit more of the detail in this picture.
Keeping with the blue and yellow theme. A small cobalt blue pitcher that I found
at a flea market.


The 8 x 10 ocean scene. When I buy a larger
canvas and a few more tubes of paint, I  think I will revisit the sea. If you look closely, you will spy a bit of sea glass from the beaches of Nova Scotia on the left of the painting.


 From my watercolour painting: a butterfly fashioned from molding paste.  


The manufacturer's stamped paper mark will show when this painting is framed. My son said, it's hardly noticeable, but, well, there's no way around it, so... When I was painting the scene I didn't notice it.  (I do have a prescription for new specs!) However, I have the 'new' drawing on the drawing board, complete with a few modifications. For example, I drew a smaller leaf fern and curved it a little to lead the eye back into the painting. I also modified the center part of the orchids and changed up the vase a bit.
A few of my favourite cultivated  flowers. Rose of Sharon, Platycodon, Cone Flowers, Peony

* * *
A small scarf just off the needles and not blocked yet. Actually I knit two. One for me and one for my sister. The yarn: Mini Maiden from Handmaiden.


This post with a mix of things will be linked with Soma's Wandering Camera on Thursday. A very special thank you to Soma for hosting!



And linking to: Mosaic Monday.
 Floral Bliss
 Wednesday Around the World
Pictorial Tuesday
Thank you, ladies.

Leaving you with an oldie to celebrate summer, and if you are in the southern regions I hope you are having a mild winter.




'Til next time...Cultivate your dreams!