I went away for a few days to the Sierra Mountains at the high elevation that I love so much.   Now that I am back at home, it is strictly playing and planning indoors for me now.   As I was doing just that, I thought I share with you another set of b&w photos, along with a few other things I have been playing with – paint making, quilting, bookmaking and photography.

Simple 365 – Set 11

Here is another set of Simple365 photos.   For those of you who are new here – A few years ago,  I took one b&w photo per day of simple little things around me for a year.   I have been sharing those photos here every now and then.  These were taken during July and August of that year. 

Please Click on the image thumbnails to see the photos and read the captions.

I created a page with all the previously shared photos from Simple365.  I continue to add photos to that page as I share them here.  That way I can relive the journey through the year via black and white photos, like in an old photo album.

Since I share mostly artwork and photos on this website, one thing you probably don’t know about me is that there was a time when I wrote software for most of my waking hours.  I loved it and I still do.

This is the month when I worked on the computer almost non-stop while drinking countless mugs of coffee and poring over code and art photos.  Tech and art side by side.  My shop went live that month.  Since then, I have added my handmade journals to the shop and sold quite a few, which has been a dream come true.

Paint Making

This is only a very small subset of pigments I made last year from things found in the garden.  I am planning on turning them into paint this year.  I need to get a respirator first since I don’t want any of this powder to get into my lungs.  I can’t wait to share more with you.

Quilt Making

I design paper piecing quilt patterns from the ground up, not using quilting software, but a vector drawing program.  I don’t have a design wall, so I create the layout using a software/app as well. 

I have finished making all the blocks for this quilt.  Now with the finished layout, I can start cutting the rest of the  fabric for sewing.

Notebooks and Journals

My husband is studying for his pilot license, and he loves using paper for his notes.  So, I made this notebook for him in the style of old leather books, but with new NAT / vegan leather.  I saved the trim for him to use as a bookmark.

More books are in the making as I write this.

Photography

When I am out and about, my DSLR camera is my perpetual companion.   A few years ago, I switched over to using non-zoom lenses, which are incidentally manual focus only.  It’s a bit old fashioned compared to the modern age of auto-focus zoom lenses, but it suits my style of photography. 

I find black and white photography to be highly expressive.  As the color is stripped off the scene, it becomes all about light and shadow. 

I wanted to try out my recently acquired new lenses.   Tavish is the only cat who sits quietly enough for me to take his photos.   I took two portrait-style photos of him.  I couldn’t decide which one to share since they show two completely different sides of his personality – curious and quiet.  So I am sharing both.

Although I miss being outside, looking through the Simple365 photos made me want to play with new ideas, plan for the next road trip, and spend extra time with the kitties.   So that is exactly what I will be doing until autumn calls me out to play again.

I hope your summer is going well!

Until next time,
-Soma

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