Kitties

Hello Everyone! After six long months of being confined indoors, by the time October arrives, I am desperate to step outside and breathe in a lungful of fresh air. I have been missing taking photos with my DSLR camera and lenses. So, very suddenly at the beginning of the month, I decided to do a mini everyday photo project called My October.

1st October – First travel dates are set. Poring over maps and making notes for best photo spots and times. I typically do most of my photography either very early in the morning or late in the afternoon. The window of photography per day is very short, so I have to make the most of it.

2nd October – I always read The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury in October. I used to visit an old bookstore in Los Angeles. The proprietor was a wonderful lady who saved this copy for me. The shop has since sadly closed down, but the book has fond memories for me. I have even read it by campfires, so there may be a few soot marks here and there in the book.

3rd October – Yellow Chrysanthemums. I have had this wee plant for close to two decades now. The extreme heat wave this year took a toll on it. I spruced it up however, and the buds are starting to bloom like starbursts. This means my favourite seasons are here.

4th October – October colour – Orange. “Hi! I am Tavish. Nice to meet you.” He spends his days with me while I work in my room.

5h October – Getting ready for some extensive photography days. My camera and I go way back. My best friends and my security blanket. It is well-travelled and bear many marks of spending time outdoors. Now it is time for some generous TLC.

6th October – A little treasure. I had the most wonderful art teacher in high school. She had a fabulous teacher’s assistant who gave me this reference photo for painting. I lost the painting, but the photo survived. I don’t know if this kitty even belonged to anyone, but I feel like she belongs to me and she has become my oldest kitty friend. I get most anxious when I misplace this photo. Now she is going to reside in my sketchbook, which is more of a painter’s notebook. The photo actually has some splatters of the green watercolour paint I used all those years ago.

7th October – Getting cosy. Much to my delight, it gets very cold in my room and I love to get cosy and warm. The old blanket is my most favourite. All my kitties have grown up on it. They pile up on it on the cold days when we read, watch tv or play video games together. I am wrapped in those memories whenever I use this blanket.

8th October – Mud-stained boots. I love to do photography in what is known as “bad weather”. If I am to be a storm chaser, then I better keep my gear in tiptop shape. Time to clean these up, check for damage, and have them ready for the outdoors.

9th October – I open my Advent calendar in October! I get the Lego Harry Potter one every year and save it until the next October. I love to walk into my room every morning with a cup of coffee and open those little windows, one per day.

10th October – Garden surprise. We have two HUGE trees flanking our backyard: a black walnut tree and a redwood tree. They both shed a lot starting in October. Sometimes I come across little treasures on the ground that the trees drop for me to find. Here’s a little look at what happens far up there, at the top of the tree. I had to use my macro lens to take the details, it is tiny!

11th October – Sun glow. Our Japanese Maple sadly suffered much heat damage from the steady 49 C / 120 F temperatures we had for a few days during late summer, and from the drought. The sun-facing leaves are all burnt. We started the TLC right away and are seeing signs of life returning. The leaves turn into little rubies glinting in the last firelight of the sun. I get to see the drama unfold every day through my window starting about this time of year while I sit at my desk and work.

12th October – Late autumn Forest. I often imagine hearing a sudden whisper of winds blowing through the leaves, and a part of the forest floor transforms into a cat form. She goes by the name Pemberley. Just like the wind, she is never still.

An extra photo – Before I wrap up I want to share this little story with you. Recently, this everyday bullet journal I made travelled to its new home. During an email exchange, she shared about the things she made from my quilt patterns and how they are enjoyed by her family, one of whom lives in Italy. She also mentioned that this journal is going to travel to Spain to her granddaughter who is studying there. I love hearing these stories specially on the days when I am lacking motivation and wondering if all the artwork I do and write about has any purpose.

The journals are available in my shop.

If you are new here, I suffer from really bad allergies to the point where I can’t breathe and get chest constriction. Even though I am super excited about being outside after so long, I have been feeling a bit lack luster lately. I can always rely on photography to give me much-needed focus. So this is first half of My October. It is such a magical month! Let me know your favourite thing about October. I love to read little stories in the comments.

Until next time,
-Soma

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page. They are always a source of new inspirations. Please pay them a visit.

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Hi Everyone! Little Stories are posts I write every now and then where I share odds and ends that I work on or things that happen around me. This time I want to share a few finishes consisting of knitting, sewing and this impromptu little owl book I made. I love to keep my hands busy by working on projects like these, mostly after dinner.

Previously I wrote about an exchange that Mary and I did. She made me an amazing artist apron ( you can see it here ) and I knitted her a couple of sets of hats and mitts. Since Mary and I both love autumn colours, I had fun shopping as if I was buying the yarns for myself.

I used the patterns Westward Hat and Westward Mitts by Rebecca Woelber for this set. The cable part of this design required my full attention. I mostly worked on this one while my husband was playing a video game and I was “helping”.

For this set, I paired Prim hat by Andrea Mowry with Staghorn Mitts by Pamala Jane Patterns. Both were quick knits and easy cables too. They are not beginner patterns, but very well written. If you are a generally a confident knitter, and want to try cable knitting, both of these are very good patterns. Once you get used to the cable patterns, they don’t require so much attention either.

It was so wonderful to make them for a friend, and I am happy to hear that she got to use them a lot during the colder months.

During the time I was knitting for Mary, I decided to donate my serger. The lady who was fostering our kitten was delighted to hear that I would donate the serger to the Rescue. She lives an hour away, and halfway along the way is a JoAnn fabric store. I wanted to remake this blanket for our kitty Charlie ( You can read about it and download the leaves file for free here ), so my husband and I made a quick pit stop to pick up some fleece.

I had to pick up some extra fleece for a few more kitty blankets, of course. I cut the pieces in half to make them double-layered. I like both the slow process of binding by hand, and also the look of hand binding. Instead of matching bindings, I decided to use contrasting colours and designs. They had to have an autumn and winter theme to them as those are my favourite seasons. I specially love the wispy and wintry tree branches of the binding on the top blanket.

Please click on the image thumbnails to see the photos –

Now they are all ready for my little kitties when the weather turns cold around here. These would make cosy and quick baby blankets too.

One of the original Fairy Lantern flower prints is going to a new home soon, as are a few of the everyday journals, which is always exciting! They are available in the shop.

Most of my work is thought through and planned ahead. This little owl book, however, was a complete exception to that and was certainly not on the list. At the end of one day, I was so mentally exhausted that I needed a feel-good project. I had a little 2″ x 3″ book made from before that needed a cover. I pulled out washi tape, some scrap pieces of book binding boards, paper, micron pen, glue and scissors, and set to work.

I didn’t even feel like drawing anything new. I have always had a soft spot for owls. I traced the owl from one of my old marker paintings, copied it on the cover and inked it with micron pen. I love designs by Morris Brown, and I got this washi tape from Jet Pens recently. After affixing the front and back covers to the book, I attached the spine board with a strip of the wide washi tape. I added some scrap washi tape triangles to the corners and the book was done. It took me a total of around 30 minutes and it certainly uplifted my spirit quite a lot. Paper, pen, glue and tape – ingredients for utter happiness.

These after hours projects have a calming effect on me. While I work on them, I mentally prepare for the next day too. Do any of you do anything special to wind down? I would love to know.

-Soma

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page. Please pay them a visit. Also linking up with Favorite Finish Linky Party @ Meadow Mist Designs.

My October – Part I

Little Stories – After Hours