Did I made a difference today?

I like to think that in some small way I did made a difference today. I used cloth bags for my groceries. I recycled my cans and plastics. I shopped local. These are all the things my family do now as a matter of course.  Little things adds up.

I think it's great that all these things are now part of our normal daily routine. By doing so, yes, I made a difference today.

The weather was much cooler today and I was able to get some knitting done. I found this project while rummaging in my workroom looking for some sock yarn. I forgot all about this project...it's going to be a light knitted tee done with Habu silk. I'm about halfway through so I might be able to finish this before the end of summer. It's all stockinette stitch and knitted in the round so it's really boring.

Just because

I've been doing my digital journal pages like I would if doing them in a paper journal - layering things on, not worrying about things being covered or how it looks as long as it makes sense to me.
It's quite a liberating feeling.

For the first time in many years I'm feeling cautiously optimistic about work. There seems to be a real commitment for change. Same song, same dance, different partners.  Let's wait and see if things will really change this time.

One hot summer day

It's funny how one thought can lead to something totally different than the original. I saw a boy walking down the street.  What was unusual was that he was dressed in black from head to toe...black fleece hoodie, long black jeans, black hi-top runners, black backpack - on one of the hottest days of the summer. I couldn't help but wondered if all that was for the sake of his fashion statement or was there something more? What was his story? Where was he going? Will he be comfortable when he gets there? As I started to sketch, I started thinking about where I was going with all this and I have no idea. I see some sketches people have done and I would have considered finished when they were at the halfway point. How do you know when something finished?

Life is a lot simpler with knitting.

Sketched on iPad using Sketchclub.

Flower arrangement

Flower arrangement

This started as a digital collage in Sketchclub, using some of the soft edge brushes to make jagged shapes to simulate ripped paper.

1.  Load base drawing/photo.
2. Create a new layer on top and fill with a colour you want your "paper" edge to be.
3. Using a soft edge brush, set it on erase and create random shapes.
4. Merge top layer to photo.
5. Select fill and set to erase.
6. Erase colour, leaving shapes.
7. In Sketchclub, how much of a "paper" edge remains depend on how sensitive you set your fill function.

Once I created several sheets of shapes, I imported them into Procreate. Procreate now has a selection tool so you can select specific shapes. You can cut & paste and move the shapes where ever you want.

The picture was then imported to the Glaze app for a painterly effect but this could be easily achieved in Procreate or Sketchclub using Smudge.

Picture was then imported back to Sketchclub for the pen sketch.

Kitchen Sunday

Kitchen Sunday

Sunday mornings are usually spent in the kitchen baking the batch of weekly muffins and whatever else needed.  This week I made a batch of Charshu for noodle and soup.  It's a very time consuming process but so worth it!  The leftover marinade was used to make the soft hardboiled eggs.

The journal page was done on Sketchclub with a couple of photo edits.  I've been creating brushes in Procreate and bringing them over to Sketchclub.  I think my ideal app would be a combination of Procreate and Sketchclub.

Thankful for:
1. The realization that my life is not bad - as much as I grumble and groan about work, it does afford me the ability to enjoy my real life.
2.  Weekends are the best - I've been noticing I do get to spend a good deal of time on the computer or my iPad.
3.  My niece - she turned 20 today and I think the world of her.  She is funny, quiet, shy, unpretentious, quirky, and extremely creative.

New journal book

Journal - July 13/13

 I bought another little journal book. It's small and black with a hard cover but soft binding so it will lay flat. The million dollar question is - will I use it? I'm not sure. I've been reading everything I could find on the Internet and the one glaring fact is that I need to just do it. You can't get better without practice. I know all that. But I really prefer my iPad. There's no undo in a paper journal. I will carry this little kit around until the novelty wears off or until I use it. Until then, it's an iPad page again.

It doesn't matter...I love new notebooks.

On the fibre front, I'm still knitting my sweater from the recycled denim. I regret doing this in 3.75mm needles!  It's going to take a long time!

Simple lines.

Simple lines

I've been reading so much lately about creating or making something everyday. It got to the point I felt overwhelmed by all the great stuff people were doing.  I didn't know where to start again.

Sometimes all you have time for is just a few simple lines of doodle or a couple of rows of knitting. And that's ok too.

Sketched on iPad.

Canada Day

I find it scary in this day and age that so many people still have so little rights. I am so very thankful that I live in a country where my personal right matter.

Happy Canada Day!