Succulents in Series

I seem to be doing a series of pictures featuring sets of things. These are my succulent houseplants. Apparently succulents are very trendy right now, there are many interesting new ones available. They are also easy to look after. This was inspired by a lovely book I borrowed from the library: 

Urban Botanics by Makkie Koster and Emmie Sibley, which features beautiful, minimal watercolours of different houseplant types and hints and tips on their care.

Kitchen Tools

My new kitchen has a hanging bar for tools. Can you recognise them all? It’s fun drawing the shapes.

Gardening Joy

Snowdrops, came up by themselves

Primula, came up themselves, I like this blue one best

Hellebore, £8 from B &Q, also come in white flowers

Joy as we have flowers in the garden even in the Aberdeen winter! You really need flowers in winter and I am obsessed by any signs of life at this time of year.

Mono Nude

And because the last post was pretty dull, here’s a fun monoprint I cracked out this evening in tribute to the series on nudes in art on the BBC.

Sewing Mojo

I am finally back on a new sewing project. Its hard to find project energy sometimes in the dark days of winter when you just want to hibernate!

Following the success of the bat patterned pyjama trousers I am trying to sew more things I really like and would wear. So better and fewer is the thing.

Currently wrestling with a wrap front blouse, based on one I own but which is a bit small. I like wrap dresses and tops but they always gape at the front. The aim here is to gain new sewing skills and create fit in 3d using my new sewing dummy torso which I got for christmas.
I am hoping this will help me to alter patterns to fit me and to move beyond only sewing stretch fabric clothes and skirts because they are easy to fit.

My objectives are: wrap blouse, wrap dress for summer, tshirt, trousers, more pyjama trousers in nerdy fabrics.

Monoprint Mania

On thursday night I went to a class in my local community centre on monoprinting using recycled materials. Mono prints are one off prints, made by hand using oil paint to print with. Found objects often feature and the results are unpredictable. I like it. Here is a selection of prints I did, some inspired by landscape, archaeological things or just messing about with shapes.

An animal, a standing stone and the moon

Trees, sun and hill, inspired by my trips to Braemar

Pictish crescent

Abstract Henry Moore type thing

Two with 50s style shapes