Finishing the rainbow quilt

I finished the rainbow quilt by sewing some simple grid patterns in to the quilt. Mostly I just stitched in the ditch (followed the seam lines) and used the backing as the binding.

Finished quilt

Backing.

The above pictures were taken before I washed and dried the quilt, so it's a bit more comfy and puckered now. It usually highlights the quilting after you wash it, so you just have to imagine the grid pattern on the quilt.

I'm glad I finished this quilt. But as my Mother asks, "So what's your new project?" 

Onto the next project. Not sure if it will be a sewing hobby project, or something else. That's the great thing about hobbies. They exist only to please yourself. It's not for profit or to please anyone, just for you. There are no deadlines, and they never need to be finished unless you want to.

Happy Thanksgiving

I have been trying to draw more, create more. And just get myself out of a creative rut. It's slow going. Getting the motivation to take the small few minutes I have to draw is hard. There's less time for me to do things, and when I do have free time I tend to squander it on something easy and worthless like TV. Now, TV and reading and escape is great. Sometimes you have to just veg. But I do need to keep drawing, and using illustrator and photoshop, because they are skills that you WILL LOSE if you don't use them. There is so much you forget when you stop using it. I don't want to forget. I don't know if I will ever have a job that allows me to use my creativity, or drawing or hell anything I studied in college and spend years doing professionally. But, I can't quite squash the hope that maybe, I will be able to do them again as a job. Rather than as a hobby.

So I was doodling sketching (It's totally sketching if you doodle in a sketch book isn't it?) and came up with some silly illustrations for Thanksgiving.

So, this holiday is really just about eating for me. I don't usually eat much Turkey (give me mashed potato's, bread and stuffing, and I get all sleepy after eating enough carbohydrates to prepare me for a marathon. (More like a Doctor Who Marathon....AmIright???)

I came up with some silly ideas.

Doesn't everything look better in-between laurel leaves?
So official right?

I'm not a huge fan of roast turkey. Although I love me some buttery spuds. 

Turkey Leg Wreath lying on a bed of cranberry leaves and cranberries. (with outline)

No outlines

 I'm not sure which I like best. I tend to be pretty flat with my drawings. I don't always go for outlines, but sometimes I think it makes a better impact. Also, the shadows weren't looking very good, and drop shadow just looks sooooo.....drop shadowy.  I struggle with color choice, especially when using the pantone CMYK color book. YOU  try to pick out four great colors when you have 5000 at your disposal. There's just not enough value difference, and I think it gets a bit confusing to look at.

I was going to do a chalkboard look for this one but got a bit distracted and just trashed the idea. Maybe I'll add some chalkboard effects, or not.

A little peek at the illustrator work, plus to the right are only "some" of the colors I choose from.

Yep, a bit overwhelming sometimes.

Anyway, I guess this blog and the other one (eep, been awhile since I posted on my humor one-guess I wasn't feeling too funny) will be the repository of my creative work for the near, and possibly forever future. 

Happy Thanksgiving Ya'll. I'm so thankful that I have found sometime to draw again, and I'm also so very thankful I have a life that allows for such niceties as a big day set aside for gluttony and teasing your family members. It's a pretty stunning gift. My thoughts and prayers to the suffering and hurt. My thanks to those reading.

Rudy

J.Bell Photography session 3 month old

About a week before my daughter turned 4 months a very talented photographer did a session with her......J. Bell Newborn/family photographer extraordinaire.

He's a pretty neat dude it only took about an hour, maybe because she was happy, maybe because the juju all aligned. He's done family photo's of us before and well, lots more since he made the very smart choice of marrying my sister.

He didn't ask me to promote his business, but I felt like it because I really loved the pictures. It's an easy process, very little crying, and the babies behaved too.


Here's a few peeks at some great shots he did for us.

Gosh Darn, I sure do make some cute babies.

Well, I guess Sarge helped.

,Ruth