Watercolour Flowers

Some more weeks at my watercolour art class, and although I am not overly happy with my efforts, I am trying to think to them as learning exercises. 

 

On this first painting we used a gum masking fluid on the areas of white flowers. All seemed to be going well, and I was happy with the watery background. But then when I got to the stage of peeling off the masking gum it just wouldn't come off very well. Blobs were left, and in some places my efforts meant the paper was flaking. No one else in the class seemed to have this problem, and I was getting left behind as they all went on to the flower details. So in the end I gave up trying to remove all the gum, but was then rushing to catch up with the other stages. Was not happy with the end result, but the teacher said that I would perhaps like it a bit better when I got home, and she was right.

 

The next week we painted echinacea flowers, and although a bit of a mess I did enjoy the process much more.

 One more lesson to go, which is going to be buildings.

 

Ink Drawing and Painting

I have been having a lovely time doing a short course painting and drawing with inks, with West Devon Arts. We are half way through. 

The first week we did a seascape, and although I wasn't completely happy with the final picture (the rocks in the sea are a bit weird) it was part of a learning process, and I do quite like the foreground.

Today we moved on to flowers, and were using stick to paint with Indian ink, which was quite unusual. Found the drawing part hard, but I do like when it get to the painting on of the colour. Putting on lots of water and letting the colours run into each other is great fun. As well as the spattering at the end.

 

 

The final picture was an exercise in painting with water, and then dropping the coloured ink in. 

 

 

 

Next week we are moving on to trees.

 

Snowdrop Yoke Jumper Photographs

I have been waiting to see if there were snowdrops in my new garden, and have not been disappointed. The original photos that I took for my Snowdrop Yoke Jumper knitting pattern were taken in June, so there was zero chance of a real snowdrop to pose with.

I really hate having my photograph taken, and was hoping I could persuade my daughter to be the model. But she is not at home at the moment, so it had to be me. As usual my dog wanted to be part of the action. She is such a good girl, and I think very photogenic.

Although I guess it is the snowdrop itself that comes out best in a photograph. If you are interested in the pattern it is available on Etsy, ravelry or LoveKnitting.

Colourful Tulip Hat

I've finished another version of my Tulip Hat, where this time I have used a different colour for each flower. I really like this version, and it such a good way to use up oddments of left over wool. Each flower head only takes 2.5 m of yarn, which is not really very much.

Again I have had to be my own model, which has meant my trainee photographer (my husband) had to take the photos. I think he is doing quite well!

The hat pattern is available on Ravelry, Etsy and LoveKnitting. I'm working on a new tulip pattern at the moment. Hat will be heading to my Etsy Shop

 

Tulip Hat Knitting Pattern

I am really happy with my new Tulip Hat knitting design, and it will not be too long before there are some tulips out in my garden. It is a really practical, cosy hat, but also pretty and quite unique. Working on the tulip motif took me some time, and I have ideas for some other patterns where I will use it.

This Tulip Hat is knitted in doubleknit wool, and takes a bit less that 100g of the main shade. I would call it medium difficulty, as each flower is knitted with two separate lengths of wool. It is explained in the pattern how to do this, but the main aim was so the wool did not need to be carried on the reverse side between the flowers, which would have made the hat too tight. An added advantage of knitting this way means that it takes less wool.

 

 

I will be putting my sample hats for sale on Etsy, and am knitting one more where each flower is a different colour, which I thought would be fun. I decided they will all be realistic tulips colours, but looking online at photos that really doesn't seem to rule any colour out.

The hat is knitted flat on two needles, and has a single seam to sew up. The finished measurements of the hat when sewn up is 23 cm across at the bottom, and approx 30 cm from cast on edge to top (when rib is not folded up).

The hat pattern is available on Ravelry, Etsy and LoveKnitting.

And just for once a photo of me. I had to be my own hat model, but am hopeful I might be able to persuade someone a bit more photogenic to do some more modelling. My husband had to be photographer/stylist where I am in the pictures. Most of the photos I hated, but this photo was sort of okay, as although it doesn't show my hat off very well, I am at least smiling.

Batik Printing (A Game of Two Halves)

I'm continuing with my community printing course in Okehampton, and was looking forward to moving on to batik. The above is an exercise we did the first week. The idea was to divide the fabric, and use different techniques in each quarter. Top right - looking at how the ink and water spread, top left - printing with the wax on various objects, bottom left - using brushes, bottom right - trailing the wax with a tjanting. I have to say I didn't really enjoy this week. I'm not very steady-handed, and I didn't see how I could ever do a nice design, controlled design.

So knowing that, I decided that my next piece was not going to be controlled. Haven't made that decision I had a great time. I told my husband it was echinacea flowers in a rain shower, and his reaction was "looks more like a blizzard". Still didn't really enjoy applying the wax, but there was something lovely about painting on the inks and letting the colours merge. A lovely lady on the course has got her husband to make her and me adjustable batik frames, so I think you may be going to see some more batik here.

So having learned all the techniques we are now moving on to the community part of the course. Two of us are going into a local primary school with the teacher, to help with some block printing workshops. We are all also moving on to combine some of the techniques we have learned, and each make a banner for the school based on the local park. So there will be more printing coming ... 

Wee Mousie

I realise I posted this picture on Instagram, but didn't write about it on my blog. I have been working on this Wee Mousie. I thought as the wool is a mixture of Scottish breeds (Boreray, Shetland and Soay) it would be a good idea to link it to Robert Burns poem To a Mouse or perhaps I should say Tae a Mouse. Rereading the poem it really is a bit sad, written after Burns who farmed had ploughed through a mouse nest in his field.

The wool is really suitable to knit a little mouse. It has the perfect texture, and is laceweight, so took a bit more knitting than you would imagine. The wool was from Blacker Yarns Bristish Breeds Scottish Lace. I had the idea it might make a good project kit, but as little mouse only took 5g, either the skeins will need to be split, or a kit would contain enough to make a whole infestation.

But at the moment I am still not happy with the pattern anyway. He looks cute in the photo, but something is a bit wrong with his legs, which I have managed to hide in this photo. My husband also says he is a bit fat, but I am fine with that. So at the moment he is sitting in a coffee cup in my kitchen, and I am gearing myself up to have another attempt. 

I was rather pleased with the photos that I took to advertised the wool. Have to own up that this was not a Scottish thistle, but totally Cornish.

 

Wild Flowers - An Education

I sort of consider that I have a fairly good knowledge of wild flowers, but this week I have had a bit of an education in more than one way. This tiny flower above is all over the place at the moment - in hedgerows, growing out of walls. And it has been frustrating me not knowing what it is. I have several wild flower books, and despite leafing through them several times, it is only this morning that I have worked out that this is the navelwort or pennywort, so named because the dimple on the round leaves looks a bit like a navel. My book says it is found more in the west of Britain than the east, which might be why I had not come across it before.

The second part of my flower eduction is a bit more serious. My daughter was down here for a while, and just before getting her train asked if I would pick a few wild flowers. So I rushed out and picked a few buttercups, red campions, one of my special oxeye daisies, and what I thought was a bit of cow parsley. Off she went with her flowers held together with string and newspaper. A few days later my husband was out with his strimmer, and came in and started pouring over his laptop. "That flower on the slope isn't cow parsley he announced, but hemlock!" The flower a bit similar, but a much bigger plant with a distinctive spotty stem. Well we are all okay. I was slightly more worried for him, as he had been strimming near the plant, and spent the evening asked him if he felt alright. I also can't believe I sent my daughter off with a bunch flowers from the most poisonous plant in the UK. She is fine too, and I guess we have all learned something.

Naming the Weeds

 

 

I've been doing some tidying up of the vegetable garden, and as I pull out the weeds I like to name them. I suspect I am not alone, as gardeners like plants, and these are nice flowers, just in the wrong place. I am only including in this post plants I have pulled up today.

But I have to confess that the lovely forget-me-nots and poppies above are really my own fault. The first year we were here I decided the veg plot should have a wild flower area, and these were two of the flowers that I planted. My husband warned me, but they are still coming up everywhere.

The bindweed below is another beauty, but it grows everywhere, and I am less tolerant about it as it just strangles the other plants.

 

Ragwort is another stunning flower, but am also a bit wary of it, as it is poisonous to animals. It grows in our field, but has also started coming up in the veg garden.

 

The thistle is also stunning, but gardening gloves are essential.

Here is the scarlet pimpernel (not elusive in my garden) and herb robert. Both lovely little flowers in the right place.

I have pulled up quite a few dandelions today. A really useful plant, as you can use flowers, leaves and roots.

And finally the rosebay willow herb. I see this everywhere as I drive in the countryside.

Gotland

We have a new range of Gotland DK wool out at Blacker Yarns, and the subtle colours of this range just led me immediately to think rural woodland, which lucky there is plenty of this around near me. Gotland sheep originated from the Swedish island of Gotland over a thousand years ago and were imported into the UK in the 1970s.

My secret for the robin photos was that behind the wool is a small pile of bird seed. A few blue tits rushed in and out, and below the table at one stage there was a grey squirrel, who I was hoping would jump up. But the robin was the animal who seemed to want to pose, and perhaps knew I had picked the colours with him in mind.

The primroses are in full flower on the bank at the front of my house. I love this time of year, when everything is starting up again in nature.

This slate wall seemed the ideal place to photograph the full range of the wools, but I had to use another trick. Although there were a few catkins behind, they were not really in the right place or very bright, so my husband is holding this branch of more lush catkins for me.

Blacker Yarns have a number of project kits just out using the Gotland DK yarn. You can click on the names to go to each kit: Simple Sweater, Guernsey-style Tunic, and Long Cardy.

I will be doing another post on these wools, with some little samples I have knitted to show how the colours look together, also themed around English woodland.

Wire Art (Part One)

Following on from our linoprinting course, my son and I signed up for a short wire art course. Some of my London friends said there would be nothing to do in the country, and I would say they are wrong, as there seems just as much, although perhaps you have to hunt a bit harder.

We started off learning different techniques to shape the wire. We used pliers, and were also taught how to shape the wire around other forms. Then we were taught some different ways to join the wire, and the piece below is really all my learning pieces joined together. I was quite pleased when it was held up to the class, and the word "Picasso-like" was used!

That week we then all went on to work on flowers. Mine on the left is meant to be a poppy seedhead, and my son's is more cowslip. He had the inspired idea for twisting the wire at the base to make a stand, which most of the class then copied.

The following week we moved on to other projects, although still guided by the teacher. My son and I both decided to make a fish, and in this project a 2-dimensional fish was made, and then built outwards to make him 3-D.

Below is my son's fish, who is now hanging in the kitchen under a trailing plant. Mine is not quite as good, but you can see the edge of his fin.

Next we were allowed to move onto our own projects, and although the course is now finished, I still have to add legs to my creature. My son has gone for something very ambitious, which I am really hoping he will finish so I can show you in a few weeks.

Poor Man's Capers

Not everything has gone to plan in the garden, and I'll be doing my monthly garden update for August soon. One of the plants that has grown well are the nasturtiums, which I planted as a companion plant to distract the critters from the vegetable. I think there is a saying about making lemonade if life has given you lemons, so I decided to do what I can with this surprise success. You can eat the leaves for a spicy salad, and I even saw a recipe for nasturtium flower wine, but the family drew the line at this. I also found out that the seeds can be pickled to make "poor man's capers", so this is what I decided to do.

Here is a link to the recipe that I used Nasturtium Capers. There are a lot of other recipes out there. Some people like to soak in brine before pickling, to reduce the pepperiness. Also I have stored them in the fridge, but some recipes say just store in a dark cupboard. I added a bit of garlic, and they should be ready to eat in about 4 weeks, so I will let you know how they turn out.

Brewing and Bottling

My husband and son have spent some time bottling our homebrew blackberry wine. I had the idea to try and make some labels, but when I showed my daughter my efforts she was very harsh with the criticism. She didn't like the layout, font, artwork .... If it was "The Apprentice" I might have thought she was setting me up to blame for the failure of the project. She was right though, as my efforts weren't very good, Then by asking me want I wanted in a label (rustic but not too complicated or fussy) she got working on some designs. Here is a little video of the labelled wine. So rejected from the marketing and production departments (although I did pick a lot of the berries last autumn) and have decided to move myself to tasting!

 

But with the demi-johns empty we decided to start a new brew, and this time are going for the slightly more unusual dandelion flower wine. Plenty of dandelions in the field. Thank goodness, as on the first attempt I did not read the recipe properly. Only the yellow petals are needed, as any green included can make your wine taste bitter. So after one false start the dandelion wine is now bubbling away in the airing cupboard.

Garden Flower Fairies

I mentioned a little while ago, when I had made my wild flower fairies, that I was also going to make some garden flower fairies. Here they finally are. While my other fairies looked a bit like elves in the woods, these fairies do rather look as if they are older ladies, off to a wedding. Perhaps I have made myself.

I am not going to say the garden flowers they represent, but thought you might like to leave a guess in the comments box, I will reveal each fairy, with their own flower, over the next few weeks. This is just for fun, as there is not prize. But you can get a better look at their hats, here is a back view, which might help you spot the flowers.

Just a reminder that there is still time join in my Ginx Woolly Linx party for July. Click on the photo above or at the top of the page to find the party. I would love to see what you have been working on this month.