Something old, something new...

New grandson = new quilt

Been seeking inspiration for a few weeks now...

When Hector was born, the family dogs

 seemed just the thing to feature on his quilt,

 but what to do for Meyer...?

Was at a loss until a dig through the

 family archive produced this little gem...

I've always loved this delightful drawing,

created many years ago by Meyer's daddy.

It was the perfect centre for the quilt -

but I needed three more figures

to complete the family group 

To clone or not to clone...?

Decided not to clone.

Decided to try doing more drawings in the same style -

which turned out to be harder than it sounds.

Drawing kid-style is difficult when you're an adult -

we can't help making things too perfect.

Fancy having a go yourself?  Then try this -

If you're a Righty, get a massive felt tip,

hold it in your LEFT hand and just go with the flow on a B-I-G sheet of paper.

It feels odd, but adds lots of naivety to a drawing...

so here are a couple more.

Using Electric Quilt software I created basic

 borders and a large central panel.

Then the drawings were scanned, imported into

the programme, and traced using the mouse.

It took a while as I haven't used the drawing programme

for months and it's amazing how soon we forget...
If you're finding EQ hard to get your head round,
hang in there and experiment - it's worth it.

Here's the result.

It's a work in progress, but I quite like it so far.

Now comes the interesting bit -

chasing up the right fabrics at Patchwork Chicks ,

plus a detour to the Alma for lunch of course.

I can think of a few people who'd be up for that...

Obi Wan Kanhoover

 The universe is safe! 

Obi Wan Kanhoover has found his true identity and is cleaning up the far-flung corners of space...

power up the weapon

Hmmm... something's missing...

'Use The Force and dress to impress, my young apprentice!'

Aha - that's better!

Boldly going - Ooops, wrong film, but you get the idea...

 

Whistler's Mother

Wuuurgh... not feeling good!

Have honked, hooted, coughed, sneezed and sniffled all over the weekend - but last night was the most orchestral.  Even the breathing between coughing fits sounded like a geiger counter.

I've offered to sleep in the spare room but Al wouldn't hear of it.  Think he might change his mind tonight...

Been shivering under a shawl I crocheted back in 1968.  Glamorous it ain't - it makes me look like Whistler's Mother - but I love it at moments like this.  Buster was press-ganged into modelling again as there was NO WAY anybody was going to see me wearing it. 

I think he does Whistler's Mother rather well.

A bit of family history 

Because of this cold, I haven't been able smell or taste a thing for several days.  Food tastes of nothing, flowers have no scent, and I sprayed deodorant twice yesterday cos I couldn't tell whether I'd already done it. 

It's reminded me a lot of Alan's dad...

He was shot and captured during the Second World War and ended up in a POW camp near Dresden, where he witnessed the bombing of the city by the Allies. Afterwards, the POWs spent weeks digging people out of the ruins.  It was a terrible job and, after a time, his brain just switched off the sense of smell and taste in order to cope.  It never switched on again for the rest of his life.  I remember him saying that food had lost all its pleasure and the scents he'd loved were all gone.

Not a big thing in the light of the whole event, but life-affecting nonetheless

Dresden after the bombing

Looking forward to feeling better soon. 

Having a curry tonight - maybe that'll clear the tubes...