Being Creative August: Travel

This month's theme over at Julia Crossland's Being Creative is Travel.

Honestly? I was feeling very uninspired by this month's theme. Nothing clicked. I'd resigned myself I wasn't doing anything.

I came on Blogger today to share a card I made for my train-enthusiast friend the other week, and suddenly realised... Trains... Travel... OK, it might not have been made with the specific idea of Being Creative in mind, but if it fits... Well. It's nice for me not to feel like I've missed a month ;)

So, here it is. Worked solely in Photoshop. First attempt at this style of typography, so it's a tad iffy in places, but I am thrilled with it. I wish I'd had time to layer sections of it up on my Dad's printing press, but you can't have everything!

Typography Train by ~bicyclegasoline on deviantART

I've since done more work like this in Photoshop, and hope to do more, too...

Hello!

Most exciting news? This past week I've got out my acrylic paints and canvas!! It's only the second or third time this year thanks to health and commitments - that's the problem with being an artist with ME! But it's progress, and hopefully I can get back to my outstanding commissions soon. I'm so grateful for the patience you all have with me!

My eldest neice celebrates her Birthday on Tuesday, my eldest nephew starts school on Monday, and my youngest nephew starts playgroup this month... I figured having cards come through the post addressed specifically to them would bring a smile to each of their faces! Here's what I made:

 

Gorgeous fairy stamp, fuschia ink, pearl embossing powder, white/pink/cream cards.

 

 Set of coloured pencils, made from strips of card.

 Captain Barnacles Bear from the Octonauts, obviously. ;) Hand drawn.

[Always open for any and all card commissions - I love doing them!]

Hopefully back soon with my latest Being Creative post!

Crochet Post :)

Following on from my last post about the Hidden Treasure my Mum passed on to me, I want to show you the confusion I feel over the baby blanket!

The bottom 3 rows are my Nan's stitches, and the top 2 rows are my attempt at carrying on. I swear she's used treble crochet (and with 3 chain stitches at the end of each row), as when I compared my double next to it it was too short. My treble looks different though, and I'm just not sure why. I think I'm going to plod along with it though - it is so therapeutic, and I think close enough to get away with...

I've also been asked to show the second page in my Fabric Journal (you can see the first page here.) It's not the most glamorous of photos (and I still need to tie the ends in!) but you get the idea!

 

My wonderful Mum has sorted my art room out for me, and I've got most of the stressful paperwork sent off, so hopefully I might just be able to do a bit more art soon :)

Hidden Treasure

Today I had a lovely family BBQ at my parent's house! The evening ended with just me and my parents sat on the sofa talking, and as my Mum pulled out her knitting, the talk turned to crochet. Next thing I know, my Mum pulls out a knitting bag...

But not just any knitting bag, this one belonged to my Nan, who sadly passed away in 2006. My Nan loved to crochet - I remember a rainbow crochet dress I had as a child, and her brightly coloured granny square blankets covered every surface! When she passed away, my Grandad passed this bag to my Mum, and apart from a pattern being added, had remained untouched ever since.

It was... Haunting, I suppose. A pile of white and orange granny squares lay on top...

Classic Nan colours!

Various wools lay underneath, and tucked away at the very bottom was an envelope. Slightly battered, with "Crochet" written on it. It smelt of her intense smokey smell which I haven't experienced in years. And inside, handwritten patterns, a poem and a note from a friend. So personal, so precious.

 

And what brought even more emotions to me, was a white baby blanket, in progress. Not just in progress, but left, mid stitch. A ball of wool attached, the crochet hook through a loop, then secured lower down the blanket, part way through a row. Just... abandoned. Not touched for so long.

 

I have to finish this! I think it's done in treble stitch, but I've tried completing that row tonight, and it doesn't look right. I'm really not sure whether it's the wrong stitch, tension, or simply my crochet style is different from hers. I think it's close enough to get away with, but it doesn't feel right... Any advice?

I feel so honoured to have a chance to finish this for her, and I've been longing to make a Granny Square blanket, and I think the ones above may just be included :)