Botanical Sketches in stitch - update

Ooh yes! I've made it before November sneaks in. (Whaaa November already??)
I'm very pleased to say I've managed to keep up my 'challenge' of stitching a botanical sketch each week (though that could all change as I've one day to go and I've still to do this weeks one.. aherm).
I thought it would be nice to gather the little sketches that have been stitched so far in one place (and help keep me motivated!).

Rowan

Oak Wand

Conker ( from Horse Chestnut )

Fern

I've discovered a few things through doing these stitched sketches so far. I know that stitching is sloooooow, but it can become almost painful when a simple line that would take milli-seconds to sketch takes several minutes. It's fine if i'm not working within a time constraint,but to make this challenge do-able my aim was to fit the sketch in an hour. I didn't manage that on any of these pieces except the oak wand,the longest being the fern which took me 3 hours. 

I took some photos while stitching the fern, which you can see below. The photos are not the greatest as it was evening time (I was sitting on the sofa watching a film). You can see the running stitch which I use as a quick way to stitch the shape of the line and work from, as it's all free hand stitched.

I'd like to make my stitches more loose, and I miss using colour.

I'm going to play and see how I can add some colour to the mix and still keep things 'quick' and sketchy. I shall be back with more soon :)

Have a lovely weekend xx

A finished project - my stitch book

Hello lovely peeps! 
Ok so let's see if this will work.....I've created a little GIF (oooh get me!) of the "stitch book" I created. I've made it quite slow so you can see the pages clearly.

It was my winter evening project which I spoke about here, and shared an update here........ my stitch version of a sketchbook. In other words slightly messy, without too much care being taken. The aim being spontaneity rather than perfection.....which you will notice by the slightly wonky pages!

I am still not 100% finished with the book...there are empty spaces asking for a little more time and attention. However I anticipate that like most of my sketchbooks, the empty bits will remain that way. Which I guess captures sketchbooks perfectly...the unfinished imperfect parts leaving room for ideas to grow and flourish, and inspiration to be sparked.
I'm happy anyhoos. It was a great winter project to have ....now onto Spring :)

A new take on a sketchbook....

Its taken me a long time to get into sketchbooks, but over the last year or two I've really enjoyed letting loose amongst the pages. The phrase "letting loose" has been key to my enjoyment, as for so long sketchbooks have intimidated me with their blank pages full of expectations! 

Now they are simply a place to splurge, explore and play around without much focus or direction at all.

As you can see from the little snippets below,my sketch books pages are full of  mess and colour, as well as different mediums - paint, pencil, pens, paper and fabric amongst them....

Lots of ideas and projects have sprung from the quick sketches and splurges of creativity, but the best bit for me is the pure and simple happiness that comes from creating without agenda. 

You see I find myself often falling into the trap that has come with being a self employed artist... you know, the one where you seldom find yourself creating for creativity's sake, but rather with an end product in mind. Somehow the hobby (and love) gets replaced by a full time FULL TIME job, where there is never any down time (and not much room for love either!) 

I noticed myself falling into that little trap again recently, so decided to pull out the old sketch book again..but this time with a twist!

Evenings (especially in winter) are a time when I love to curl up on the couch with a little sewing project on the go. So my thinking was to create a sketchbook where I could stitch and doodle, add mixed media, splodge paint and draw with pencil as the notion  took. A sketchbook I could perch on my knee with the required bits and bobs on hand and work on in the evening "down time".

You can see what I came up with below.......

I got a long strip of fabric and divided it up into squares for "pages". This will turn into a book when I'm done, but for now is like a very long scarf! (see! exactly what a winter evening requires!) I began by dabbing, stamping and sticking a few bits of paper and paint onto the fabric with no specific plan in mind,  then the little step by step ideas /experiments/explorations begin. Turns out I'm doing a brown/blue and pink colour theme....it may change! 

These are a couple of close-up  "sketch book" pages, where things are in the beginning stages....

I'm look forward to coming back and sharing what this little winter evening project of "letting loose" will bring!

What are your plans for the upcoming wintery evenings? Have you got a little something planned to bury yourself and keep (creatively) cosy in? Hope so :) xx