Sketching #32

CPP Response #32
CPP Response #32

After looking at a few of my recent drawings and I realized that I hadn’t been adding as much detail as I had in the past. I had some bits of time this week, so I decided to try and add a few more details to this one. This is the second attempt, but I am pretty pleased with how it came out.

Yes, I am moving furniture around. 😉

Various and Sundry Thursday

I am on a trip to the Midwest so I wrote this post in advance so you would have something to read, and, hopefully, enjoy,  while I am away. I’ll be back tomorrow and the Creative Prompt will be posted tomorrow like normal. Sadly, as it is a quick trip for a board meeting, I doubt I will have time to check out any quilt stores while I am there.

1. I am a fan of the Electric Quilt on Facebook (and in general, of course!) and was directed to a blog called Piecemeal Quilts via the EQ Blog. The linking sounds complicated if you are not on FB! Sandi, from Wisconsin writes the blog. She has a number of free pattern downloads, paper piecing patterns and examples of EQ work. She is also ‘man enough’ to keep a quilting resources list! It is a lot of work to keep such a list up to date and, from what I saw, it is pretty complete.

The thing that really drew me in to her blog was her writing tone. I seem to be noticing writing tone lately, for some odd reason. She has a nice, friendly and intelligent, but not goofy or insipid tone to her writing. I enjoyed her post on books. I like the books that she likes and thinks that she and I may have the same tastes.

2. When I mentioned Quiltposium on my blog last week, MavMargi pointed  me about another online magazine called Sewn. I took a quick look and it looks interesting. Sewn is out of Australia. The styling is very Heather Bailey/Anna Maria Horner. They have patterns and a gallery as well as a fabric search function. I immediately put the Botanical Pop fabrics I still need in and got an email back pretty quickly. Worth a look.

I am not that enamored with online/digital magazines, because I can’t read them in bed (I don’t want to hear from you people who take your laptops to bed!!!) or on the train. However, I do recognize that I will have to get with the program at some point, because more and more stores are ceasing to carry magazines. 🙁

One of the sites that was a link in Sewn was called Modern Textiles. The Modern Textiles site has lots of navigation choices. I looked at  ‘Sewing Patterns’, specifically the Melly and Me Bags. These are really unique bags. The combination of fabrics are quite bright and cheerful, but the styling is also very different from other bags I have seen. I really want to see the Bon-Bon bag, because I have never seen anything like it. I would like to see the inside of it in order to determine how useful it would be.

I did find that the pattern list did not have many alternate photos of the bags, but that information may be on the main Melly & Me website.

3. It looks like our financial situation will stay the same through the end of the year, so I am gearing up to make some of my Christmas gifts this year. I don’t know if I will have time to make it before Christmas, but I bought the Pencil Roll pattern from Pink Chalk Studio. Julie made me one for my birthday last year and I have started to carry it around in my clear tote. There are a few free patterns for pencil rolls out there on the web, but this one looks like the best in terms of functionality and styling. We’ll see how difficult the pattern is when I get it.

Perhaps I’ll get good enough to modify the design like in Kathy Perino’s version, which she showed on her blog a few weeks ago, and which I wrote about on August 30.

4. Pam Rubert of the PamDora quilts fame has redone her blog. She writes a really great post about the process, and her thoughts, about the changes in the blog world. She talks about circular writing and I think her thoughts are right on point. It seems that the web is leading us around in circles. (ever notice how I link back to previous posts? I am trying to give you the whole picture, but it ends up being circular, in a way) I haven’t played around with some of the things she discusses, but hope to do so in the future.

5. Want free Moo cards? Check out this link for a free pack with your own images. They have advertising, but free (you do have to pay shipping) is still cool. Thanks to Deirdre for the link.

6. I saw a video on the Craft Zine blog for a new book called Bent Objects. it is about the art of a guy who bends wire. There is a hilarious video on the Craft site that is well worth a look. It does explore a bit of the darker side of crafts, which we all know can be the hilarious side of crafts. Take a look.

Its a Major Award
Its a Major Award

7. On 7/29/2009 Quilt Rat left a comment saying that she had given me an award and I should go look on her blog. Jill’s comment about the inspiration in my creative prompts was really sweet and made me feel great. Despite the fact that almost 2 months have passed, I am still really thrilled to have received the “It’s a Major Award.” Thanks!