Muir Woods Redwood Forest Milkmaid wildflower by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

Little Stories – Winter Tales

Muir Woods Trillium Flower by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

Hello Everyone!  We are having a very wet spring up here in Northern California.  Perfect for  hitting the trails amongst the redwood trees and visiting bookstores.   I also have been renovating the house with my husband, sewing quilts,  playing and making things in my atelier with paper and paint, not to mention spending a LOT of time with the kitties.  Let me share some of these winter tales with you.

 

 


 

Painting The Walls

 

Current state of my atelier

 

All the walls of our lovely house are covered with panels and wallpaper.  My husband and I have started removing all of those wall coverings.  Then there’s repairing and patching the walls, and finally, priming and painting.  We are currently working on my room.   I have everything set up so I can continue to work without disruption.  I can’t wait to show you around once it’s all done.

 

 


 

Sewing Garden Path Quilt-top

 

 

The Garden Path quilt-top is FINISHED!!  I just need to add borders to it and then it will be ready for quilting.  I designed and wrote the patterns for the flower blocks and created the layout.  I am happy to say that it looks exactly as I had envisioned it.

 

 


 

Hitting The Redwood Trails

 

Please click on the image thumbnails to see the photos –

 

 

 

We were away a lot last year.  My little kitties tend to miss us a lot when we are away.  So this year, I skipped the trip to the redwood forests 300 miles north of us and stayed home.  However, I am lucky to live only an hour away from Muir Woods, which is also a redwood forest.   I had not been there during this time of year before.  

We usually end up hiking anywhere between 5-7 miles.  The trails are moderately challenging with uphill climbs.  They are also full of roots which makes it hard to navigate.  During the February hike, I twisted my left foot pretty badly.  It is better now.  At least, it’s well enough for me to be able to go on another trail hike last Sunday with adequate caution.  With all the rain this year, the creeks are flowing beautifully.   Milkmaids are usually the first wildflowers to bloom in the woods.   Last Sunday I found Trilliums starting to bloom along the lower parts of the trail as well.   It really is magical in the forest.

 

 


 

…and The Bookstore

 

Home Library Stack of books photo by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

I also went to the bookstore an inordinate number of times and added on to an already tottering pile of books in the home library.  Barnes and Noble hosts a book drive during the holidays.  We have been participating for over a decade.  Every year, we browse through the children’s section and purchase a stack of new books, which then gets distributed to underprivileged children.  It is a huge part of my winter break.

 

 


 

Playing Music

 

Chinese Dizi flute by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

My husband always gives me a few art supplies for my birthdays.  Along with a book on how to draw swords, I also got a  Chinese flute called Dizi this year.  The flute is made of bamboo, which resonates with a very beautiful sound.

 

Please click on the image thumbnails to see the photos –

 

 

I am very happy to welcome it to my music instrument family.  In case you are wondering, I have never played a flute before.   I mostly play the violin and the piano.  I occasionally tinker with the guitar if a song calls for it.   I am excited about learning how to play a wind instrument.  First of all, I need to get used to making a consistent sound without feeling dizzy!

 

 

Tavish the maine coon sleeping in a violin case by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

Bamboo is very prone to cracking, so the flute is bunking with my violin.  The case has a hygrometer in it, so I can monitor the humidity.    Tavish also loves to bunk in there.  Here is a picture of  him sleeping inside my violin case. He not only sleeps but also snores while I play the violin only a couple of feet away from him.   No idea how he does it; the violin at close quarters is very LOUD. 

 

 


 

Making Gifts

 

Redwoods National and State Park pen drawing by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

 

I drew this little scene from a very favorite road of ours up north at the Redwood NP.  It is super twisty and narrow, and often a tight fit for cars through pairs of redwood trees on the road.  I used this drawing as a cover for a book that I made for my husband as his birthday gift.  I will save that story for another day.

 


 

 

Designing And Binding Books

 
 

Hand Bound books by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

 I mix my own adhesive for the binding.  I made so many books that I ran out of  the adhesive that I had made.  I experimented with and improved upon processes as I made these books.   I also painted and block printed new book covers.   I can’t wait to share them with you over the next few weeks.  Some will be available in my shop with new cover art, as well as new binding styles and paper.

 


 

 

The Girl And Her Cat Books

 

 

Spending time together

 

I have been steadily working on the Girl and Her Cat stories.  This girl, by the way, was very happy with her decision to stay home with her kitties.

Apart from a visit to the urgent care for a persistent migraine, this was a good break.   Today’s post was more of a sampling platter.  I hope to share details over the next few weeks.   Thanks so much, everyone, for staying with me and a hearty welcome to my new visitors.  I hope to continue to bring more inspiration and write posts that make you smile.

Until next time,
-Soma

 

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page.  Please pay a visit to some of them.

 

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Girl And Her Cat in the library handmade book @ InkTorrents by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

Little Stories – Little Dabbles Part II

Girl And Her Cat in the library handmade book @ InkTorrents by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

Hello!  Until I started writing, I didn’t realize how much I got done in these past few weeks.  We were out and about, from the Columbia River Gorge  to the coasts of Northern California.  Walks around the neighborhood prompted some impromptu paintings.  I finished making a few toys and blankets for the kitties, and also knitted up a couple of things for myself.  Working toward another flower block for my wildflower block printing series and another watercolor book cover joined the list too.  Last but not least, I painted this Girl and Her Cat book cover last Monday.  It is going to be quite the show and tell today!

 

 

Fiber Works


 

 

Home made cat toys @ InkTorrents by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

 

My kitties  love to play with these toys.  They tend to see red and yellow very well on our light-colored carpet, which is why I picked those colors.  I made these with fleece and filled them with catnip.   They are also flat, so the kitties can easily carry them around in their mouths.

 

 

Please click on the image thumbnails to see the photos –

 

 

I got a new sewing machine early this year.  That was the perfect excuse to make more blankets for them.  They love to sleep on them and it keeps the house tidy.   I stitched two layers of fleece together with wavy lines as if I was quilting them.

 

 

 

Home made cat blankets @ InkTorrents by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

 

I always hand stitch my bindings.  So relaxing!  With these new additions, along with the previous set of blankets, they are all set for now.

 

 

 

Knitted Skyrim Hat @ InkTorrents by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

 

Knitting is another very calming activity for me.   I particularly chose this pattern because it made me think of both architectural details as well as trees.

 

 

 

Knitted Blue River Mitts @ InkTorrents by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

 

This one is my favourite set of mitts.  The color of the yarn matches my kitty’s blue eyes.  I am glad I got these done just in time for our travels. 

 

 

 

Out And About


 

 

Please click on the image thumbnails to see the photos –

 

 

We traveled to the Columbia River Gorge for a few days.  If there was ever a Rivendell (from Tolkien’s stories), this has to be the place.   Despite the heavy rain, we walked around on the trails a lot.  I also got to have my first snow of the season there and walked on it.  These are just a few photos taken from my phone.  I will write a proper, separate post on our visit there sometime.

 

 

 

Northern California Coast @ InkTorrents by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

 

Last Sunday we drove out to the coast of Northern California.  We had a picnic lunch there and stopped at several places. 

 

 

 

Northern California Coast @ InkTorrents by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

 

Our last stop was at this place where Russian River meets the Pacific Ocean.   We stayed there until it got dark.  It was a really lovely day.

 

 

 

 

 

We went for a walk around our neighborhood and found these Ginkgo trees.  I wanted to get a few leaves, but it got dark and we were both still recovering from being sick, so we decided to come home.  

 

 

 

Ginkgo Leave Watercolor painting @ InkTorrents by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

 

The next day we walked back over and I got my leaves.  That afternoon I painted them in my nature journal.   I only used a couple of colors and a small brush to paint on the details.

 

 

 

Little Stories – Little Dabbles

 

In this post I talked about being inspired by brush strokes in the Chinese and Japanese paintings, and about using that technique for painting the water around these leaves.  I used a very similar technique to paint the details on the Ginkgo leaves too.  I’m getting more familiar with the technique now.  Practice makes perfect.

 

 

Upcoming Work


 

 

Snowdrops print @ InkTorrents by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

 

I finished drawing the flowers for my next block print in the wildflower series.  I always practice a little on a small sample piece before diving into the large carving.  Specially useful for all the curves I tend to have in my designs.  With newly sharpened tools, I am all set for working on the large piece.

 

 

 

Enduring Thistle lino print and Thistle hand bound journal @ InkTorrents by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

 

Once I finish, that print will join these – Fairy Lantern and Enduring Thistle.  The journals are available in my shop.

 

 

Burrow Owl book cover for handmade book @ InkTorrents by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

 

I have been working on a book cover with this little owl.  I was only going to test the colors on a test piece.  Before I knew it, I ended up with this little one.

 

 

 

Burrow Owl book cover for handmade book @ InkTorrents by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

 

I need to make a watercolor book anyway, so I will incorporate him on the cover.   The book signatures are all done and ready to be stitched.  I will start working on them tomorrow.

 

 

 

Book Cover Art


 

 

Persona 5 Sketchbook by @ InkTorrents by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

 

Ever since I painted this picture on the cover of one of my hand bound books,  I have been wanting to paint another one like this.  It is a little daunting.  If I make a mistake, I will have to bind the book again, as I had to do with this book because of a washi tape mishap.

 

 

 

Handmade book @ InkTorrents by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

 

I made this book a couple of years ago, I think.  Since then, I have been wondering about what to draw on the cover.    I wanted to incorporate the binding ribbons as a part of the cover art.

 

 

 

Girl And Her Cat in the library handmade book @ InkTorrents by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

 

Then, last week, the idea literally popped into my head.  In my sketchbook, I drew the Girl and Her Cat in an old library, leaning against a stone wall, reading.  The ribbons became part of the stone wall.  I copied the finished drawing on to the book cover and painted it.

 

 

 

Girl And Her Cat in the library handmade book @ InkTorrents by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

 

Once I finished the front side, the back looked so bland.  My husband suggested continuing the stone wall on the back.  That was a brilliant idea.

 

 

 

Girl And Her Cat in the library handmade book @ InkTorrents by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

My finished book.  I could not be happier with it.

 

That wraps up everything I have been doing outside and inside and paints a good picture of my winter break. Kitty cuddles, weekend drives, reading by the fireplace and playing in my little atelier.  I wish you a wonderful holiday season!

Until next time,
-Soma

 

The Ink Torrents Graphics shop remains open.  I will continue to mail orders, as always.  You can also purchase  quilting patterns, which you can access immediately via Instant Download. I will also be available via email.  Thank you for continuing to shop from my store, so I can support my favorite rescue organizations.

 

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page.  Please pay a visit to some of them.

 

 

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