A few photos...

Permanent food trucks in Portland

This was taken last year in Portland in the dead of winter, right after New Year.  For the most part, it was too cold to stand outside for food truck sampling.  Photo was taken with the Nokia n8, imported to the Lumia 1020 to try the editing apps.  Not bad for editing on the fly but not the variety one is used to on the iPad. 

Windy day on the dog walk

We had quite a wind storm here on Saturday night and the high winds cleared away the rain clouds for Sunday morning.  We were lucky that the blue skies lasted just long enough for the walk. 

Thankful for:
1.  Being able to see.
2.  Fingers to knit with.
3.  Being able to feel the softness of the wool.

Olympic Knitting - Part 2

Day 4
Sent off an email to the yarn company and they responded. They were very apologetic and offered to send 5 balls of the same dye lot by Express Post. That was very nice of them. In light of this news, I decided to take a rest day.

Day 5
The new yarn arrived while I was at work. I did not expect it to across Canada so fast!  I had the back fully knitted up and really was not looking forward to knitting the back yet again with the new yarn. Decided to start on the front instead.

Day 6
Ripped back the front when I noticed I did not use the smaller needles for the ribbing. Start again.

Day 7
Knit a few rows.

Day 8
Knit a few more rows.

At this rate, I should be done for the 2018 Winter Games. I think I'll just take my time, knit and watch the Olympics on TV and enjoy the show.

2014 Ravellenics have begun!

The 2014 Ravellenics (formerly known as Ravelympics but due to a cease and desist letter from the 2012 USOC, the name as been changed).

Anyhow, the games have begun and knitters all over the world cast on their projects at the start of the Opening Ceremonies.  Due to the huge time difference, we recorded the ceremonies and I was able to cast on while watching the recorded show. 

Day 1 - false start #1.  I'm not really following a pattern.  I have yarn and the plan is to make a cardigan - my version of the the Olympic sweater.  I had made a swatch the week before as my "training" and worked out how many stitches I'm going to need.  After knitting 6", it was obvious that the cardigan would be too big.  Frogged back and started over again. 

Day 2 - false start #2.  I'm just about to bind off the back and noticed the colour was slightly off.  I checked the bag and realized the second ball of yarn was a different dye lot.  Bad.  Checked the rest of the yarn and saw that the company I ordered the yarn from sent me three balls of one dye lot and two balls of another dye lot.  ARRGH!  Annoying because the company is a reputable yarn company and should know better, considering we had a phone conversation when I placed the order discussing how much yarn I'm going to need to knit this sweater. Checking dye lots for a knitter is as fundamental as breathing.  Frogged back again to start over using one of the three and hope it's going to be enough for both the front and back, saving the other two different dye lots for the sleeves.

Day 3 - so far so good.  Halfway done with the back and feeling good.  Hand is a bit sore - I'm not used to knitting this much with very bulky and heavy yarn.  Tomorrow may be a rest day.  

Happy New Year again! Gung Hai Fat Choi!

February 2014

February is a very busy month. We have Chinese New Year (technically, that's really Jan 31st), Valentine's Day, and Family Day. For me, February will always remind me of the 2010 Winter Olympics...more so this year with the 2014 Olympics about to start in a few weeks.

I love the Olympics and have my Ravelympics knitting project all ready to go. I'm not saying what it is until it's done.

Happy New Year - January 2014

January 2014

It really felt like 2013 just whooshed by so fast. I'm really looking forward to 2014. I have a good feeling about this upcoming year. I'm optimistic that it's going to be a good year.

Things haven't changed much at work but I've changed. I think it's really finally sunk into my brain that it is what it is and I have a life to live. I think 2013 was my wake-up call.

I'm not calling these my New Year's resolutions but more like a To-Do list for 2014.

1. Creative everyday - it doesn't have to be a finished piece of work, just anything - a couple rows of knitting, bake some cookies, doodle during a meeting.

2. Make sourdough - make a sourdough starter and keep it going for at least a few months.

3. Bake more - hmm...that means I have to eat more baked goods.

4.  Go out for a walk at lunch everyday for at least 10 minutes - rain or shine.

5. Focus more on the good than the bad.

6. Knit at least two projects using Continental knitting.

I'll probably add to this list as I think of more things.

Pithy details on the calendar - original photo was taken one very foggy morning. Apps used - Glaze, Sketchclub, Snapseed, Artrage.

Boxing Day knitting

Twisted Edge Shawlette in progress.

This is the perfect holiday mindless knitting - Twisted Edge Shawlette. The pattern repeats are easy to remember without having to carry around a copy of the pattern. Great for knitting while chatting with friends or when you have a few minutes here or there. Yarn is Pear Tree Yarn - Super Soft. It really is super soft! This was meant to be a hat for hubby but he didn't care for it. That's fine...it has now been repurposed to a Shawlette for me. I'm ok with that.

I think Boxing Day is my favourite day of the holiday season. We're still in the glow of Christmas but haven't moved into the frenzy of the New Year festivities yet. A quiet day to sit and knit and drink coffee and eat chocolates and play with new Christmas toys.

Ready or not! Here comes Christmas!

I think we're ready...at least, as ready as one can be.  Turkey is brining away, presents wrapped and under the tree. Veggies prepped and ready.  House is clean and tidy enough, dog has been washed and brushed. Handmade ornament for my sister just finished and wrapped. I have an hour to sit and knit before getting ready for the usual Christmas Eve festivities.

Lopsided tree

No one is going to care that I only baked one kind of cookies or that my tree is lopsided or this or that. Anything that is not done at this point, is not important. No one is going to leave my house just because I didn't dust in all the high places.

Merry Christmas to all!

Paper houses

Paper houses

I've been playing with my Silhouette paper cutter and made a bunch of paper houses.  Basically, you buy a template and make as many as you need. I'm going to make more for a Christmas village.

So it turns out, my thumb has healed but I have no feelings on the top of my thumb and limited motion. Not good for fine detail work. I have to go to Physio to see if I can improve the range of movement. Holding scissors is a little difficult - can't do small accurate cuts. I can knit again but spinning is still awkward. Stupid freak accident.

December 2013 Desktop Calendar

December 2013

I really thought I might not have a calendar to post for December.  It was not easy coming up with one image that sums up December for me. Then I read Tammy's post at My Flower Journal  with a tutorial on how to paint watercolour lights. It reminded me  that as much as I love everything about December and Christmas, it's the lights that I love best.

When I was a child, I used to love sitting in the dark with just the glow of the lights on the Christmas tree. It was magical.

Lights were sketched and painted in Sketchclub on my iPad, transferred to Artrage for the watercolour paper texture.

To use, double click on image and save.

Linked to Art Every Day Month, Day 29.

Need to do something creative

Stitches came out today but thumb is still really bruised and sore. I'm bored! Can't knit, can't sketch. I missed Monday's Pen & Ink class. I can play around on Sketchclub if I don't work on anything that require fine motor skills...so I made a couple of backgrounds.

Wet paper texture

Paint drying texture

Sometimes you do need to watch the paint dry even if it's only virtual paint.

I did say I was bored.

Done on Sketchclub on the iPad.  The layers are left intact so I can change the background colours to use in other projects.

Ouch!

Today started like any normal wet November day - typical Vancouver weather. Despite the weather, things were going well. Quiet day anticipated at work. Come home on time, knit, work on my drawing, lounge on the sofa.

That would have been the plan had I not tripped on a door and cut my thumb, which resulted in spending the rest of the day in emergency for six stitches.

Owwww!

No knitting, no sketching but lounging on the sofa is still doable.

Remembrance Day

We won't forget

Thank you doesn't seem to be enough to say to all the men and women who served in our military so I can have the life I have today. I am grateful and thankful for the sacrifices you and your families have made for me and my family.

A slow day in my brain.

Today's creative thing so far was just a couple of rows of knitting.  It was a rough day at work, followed by a frantic phone call from the son.  Everything's ok now but still feeling a bit stressed out.  I think I will go work on my Sunflower picture some more. 

I had decided to take this Pen and Ink drawing class because I wanted to learn more about the traditional art techniques and to see how I can use the techniques to improve my digital art.  Now, I'm finding that I really enjoy drawing with actual pen and paper.  I love the meditative aspect of zoning out when working on a drawing.  It's very calming. 

Pen and Ink Sunflower

Pen and Ink sunflower

Homework for the week - pen and ink drawing of a sunflower. This is one of my favourite pictures. The original photo was taken with my cellphone two summers ago of a giant sunflower in our backyard. The thing was huge!

This drawing is not quite finished yet. I'm still working on the fence.  The assignment was to do a stylistic drawing of a photo, using patterns and texture to show tonal contrast.

I've decided to take part in November Art Every Day Month at Creative Every Day.  I may or may not create something every day but I'm going to try. The point is to do something each day, no matter how big or small, and share it with people. I love going to the different sites and seeing what other people are making. It's a great way to get inspired. I know there's going to be days where I do nothing. That's ok too.

Painting done on iPad 

This is a painting I did on my iPad, using the Sketchclub app. I'm really getting my money's with from this photo.

Original photo

Kitchen Sunday - Blueberry Muffins

I love blueberry muffins. I make a batch every weekend and freeze them for the week. This is the easiest, quickest blueberry muffin I've found. The recipe was adapted from the Joy of Cooking cookbook.

Preheat oven to 400 deg F.

In first bowl, mix together:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Mix well and add in 2 cups frozen blueberries.  I've used fresh but found a great brand of frozen  berries. It's the Snowcrest Farm brand from Costco. Make sure all the berries are separated and coated with the flour mixture.

In second bowl, mix together:
2 large eggs
1 cup of milk
2/3 C Demerara brown sugar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp vanilla rum (original recipe called for vanilla extract)

Vanilla rum is Demerara rum with vanilla beans soaking for a couple of months. I keep a bottle of this just for baking and top it up with more rum as needed. I throw in a new vanilla bean every so often also.

Make a well in your dry ingredient bowl and pour your wet ingredients in. Mix well with a few strokes until the dry ingredients are just mixed. Scoop into your muffin cups.

I use a 6 muffin silicone tray because we like the big muffins. You can make 12 normal size ones. The silicone trays are great - no greasing needed.

Bake for 35 mins or until done when checked with a wooden toothpick or skewer.  Original recipe says bake for 17 mins but that's for the smaller no-blueberry muffins.  Time may vary depending on your oven and the size of your muffins.

Let cool completely on cooling rack before wrapping up to freeze.

2013 November Calendar

2013 November calendar 

November was a tough month to do. To me, it's always been the in-between month. The month between Halloween and Christmas.  It's neither here nor there. Weather-wise, some days are gorgeous and sunny and other days it could be cold and dreary - typical Westcoast weather. We don't get the drastic changes in our foliage like back East. The landscape is still green, soggy but green.

The photo was taken with my cellphone on one of our walks along the Deboville Slough in Port Coquitlam. It wasn't raining but it was a very foggy day. The mist clung onto the spider web and the droplets looked like little pearls. Other than the calendar overlay, I felt it didn't need any tweaking.

Look! A real drawing!

This afternoon I attended one of those retirement seminars. One thing she said that struck me as odd was that most people find it hard to adjust to life after work. And that one of the things they can't emphasize enough is that you have to make sure you have a reason to get out of bed each day. I'm not sure we will have that problem.

I've been taking a class on drawing with pen and ink and I'm really loving it. It was hard because traditional drawing is not something that's in my comfort zone. I look at these sheets of paper that I'm supposed to cover with stuff and it's intimidating! Plus, the fact you're working in pen means you can't erase mistakes. No undo button.

I find the classes pretty intense. We seem to be doing a full drawing per week. The first week we did three cubes using three different shading techniques. That was manageable. These flowers was the second week's project. By the third week, I was falling behind. It was a stipling project that was done on vellum. That was over the Thanksgiving weekend so we had two weeks to complete the drawing. Now I'm at three weeks with it and barely got half of the stupid lizard done. I've started my homework for the fourth week and have decided to ignore the lizard for now.  The classes are fast paced and I'm struggling to keep up but I'm having so much fun!

I don't think I've ever done a real drawing like this before. I can't wait until I retire!

My apologies to my Twisted fibre friends. I meant to come back on Wednesdays but have been doing homework instead.

Game Face

Game Face

Although I don't wear make-up anymore, every morning I wake up and put on my "game face". It's something everyone does, whether or not they admit to it. It's a way of protecting our inner thoughts and our vulnerability. 

Photo was manipulated in Sketchclub using the transform tool, mask was painted on a separate layer and feathered. Butterfly brush for the hair was created in Procreate. Hair and background was erased using a soft edged brush with the opacity down. I turned down the opacity in small increments as I worked into the figure to soften the blending and to make sure there were no harsh lines. Once everything was done, the picture was imported to Snapseed for the grunge effect and the border. 

Dressing up for Halloween

What? Doesn't everyone dress up for Halloween?

I'm running out of time...I need a quick simple costume.

A quick doodle on the iPad, using Paper53.

Kitchen Sunday - Peanut Butter Nutella Cookies

Ok, it's technically not Sunday today. But I was too busy lazy to write up a post yesterday. After the weekly blueberry muffins, I made peanut butter Nutella cookies. I found a recipe on Pinterest but decided not to follow their recipe. I made my usual recipe and instead of baking the cookies first then making the indent and put the Nutella in after, I made variations.

I indented the cookie dough, put in a dab of Nutella, then baked them. They didn't look as good as the pictures in the original recipe - the Nutella formed a crust and fell out of the cookies when you bite into them. Still, they were tasty. I know they're tasty because I left 24 cookies on the rack to cool. This is NOT 24 cookies!