Quilt

Stone House Painting With Inktense Pencils | Whims And Fancies

During one rainy weekend in March, I started painting this old stone building on a meadow. I may have unintentionally echoed the grey sky outside with my newly-acquired Sennelier paint. The tiniest little dab of paint flowed effortlessly though the water. Everything else was painted with Derwent Inktense pencils. I was trying out those pencils on different kinds of paper. They seem to work best on smooth surfaces. So hot press watercolour paper or Gesso-ed paper works really well. They do not spread very well on cheaper paper or even good cold-press watercolour paper.

Since I have been in the mood for playing with colours recently, I am joining the One Monthly Goal link-up this month in an attempt to revisit one of my earlier projects in a different colourway.

Purple Star Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

My original plan was to make a very different version of this Morning Star quilt as a wall hanging. Since my kitty fell ill before I got to it, I made this purple mini for him back in early 2014.

Star Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

I would like to work on this gradient quilt in April.

Fabrics For Gradient Quilt | Whims And Fancies

I don’t even have to purchase any of the fabrics needed for this one. I just can’t decided which white I want to use, I am tending toward the one on the left.

It was dry here last weekend after a long time, and we took care of some much-overdue yard work. Since we moved into our house two years ago, we have been gradually updating the interior while just maintaining the lawn and a few plants. This year, finally, I am going to start planning the garden. I want to focus on mostly local, draught-resistant flowers. To educate myself, I am planning on attending a wildflower festival in two weeks. Until then, I am getting my inspiration from nature. I would like to leave you with a few more wildflower photos.

Wildflowers Of Napa | Whims And Fancies

See you next Thursday, April 7th, for Wandering Camera.

Wandering Camera

-Soma

Leave a comment

Striped Tabby Cat Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

Thank you so much for visiting me last week and for your lovely comments on my paper piecing. I have been working on a few different quilting projects simultaneously. Sometimes I start on one and then get carried away by something else. I am sure you know the feeling. I drafted this striped tabby cat quilt pattern months ago. I was really hoping to finish quilting the mini before showing it here, but alas, that didn’t happen.

My Orange Maine Coon Cat | Whims And Fancies

As I mentioned earlier, most of my quilt patterns are derived from different aspects of my life. This is my orange Maine Coon boy who is my shadow. He became the model for my mini.

Striped Tabby Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

For this special mini I cut into the swirly orange fat quarter that I had saved forever. I had just enough scraps of the black fabric left from another quilt to use as the background for this one. The faint gold in that fabric makes me think of magic dust. I had to add the night sky fabric in the window. So now my cat and I can sit by the window and cherish each other’s company and the night sky together.

Striped Tabby Cat Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

Susie made this pillow from my pattern way before I could finish mine. I love the vintage look of her kitty. Her kitty’s name is Tessie! You can read all about Tessie in Susie’s Post.

Hopefully I get to quilt mine soon! The quilting design is already traced on it and it is basted, but I may have to wait a few more days before I can sit at the machine.

Trees In Acrylic Paint | Whims And Fancies

Last week I suddenly got sick with the flu. When I started feeling a little better, I pulled out the acrylic set that I got during the holidays. Painting has always been my pastime when I’m sick. Whenever I can’t go outside, I bring the outside to me with paint. I love to paint trees. Last time when we were in the Sierras, we saw a lot of trees dying due to the draught we are facing in California. They look like fall colours, but sadly they are dried leaves on dying trees. The orange in the painting depicts those leaves.

Although I hadn’t used acrylic before, I learned a lot about acrylic painting just from this small sketch. The Liquitex Basics set I got has 48 tubes. It is perfect for trying out colours before purchasing better quality versions of the colours that I really like. I highly recommend the set for anyone who is interested in trying out acrylic painting. I can’t wait to play more with mine.

-Soma

Colour Play

Striped Tabby Cat And Acrylic Painting