Coming Along Nicely...

 

Sunflowers...

A friend of mine commissioned this and provided the pattern.  It's not something I would have thought to make by myself, but I am very glad that someone asked me to as it was a lot of fun.  It was also a fair bit of work - each sunflower is crocheted individually, and then joined by crocheting together with the green - again individually.

This meant there were an awful lot of ends to be woven in!

As with all my knitted and crochet wraps and shawls, I washed this carefully by hand and then thought I would pop it in the washing machine for a short spin to get rid of the excess water before blocking it. That was when disaster struck - the washing machine decided it did not want to spin that day, it just kept going round and round, tossing the unfortunate shawl as it went.  Despite several tries, and increasing panic at what might be happening to the shawl, the washing machine never did spin that day.  I ended up taking the shawl out and wringing it by hand before squeezing as much water out as I could by wrapping it in a towel and standing on it.  Thankfully there did not appear to be any damage other than a couple of ends had come loose, and I successfully blocked the shawl - it did take nearly 3 days to dry however!

Mr. B pulled the washing machine out and took the back off it the following day - discovered there was no way he could get into the workings without breaking various seals, so screwed the back on and put the washing machine back in it's place.  Needless to say, it was worked perfectly ever since - go figure!

No More Snow...

 That's the background just about done, now on to the good bit!

It's Cold Outside...

I woke up to thick fog and frost on the ground this morning - it's been a week of heavy frosts here, which makes outside activities not a lot of fun.  However, it also means I have no excuse not to get on with my current commission.  This will be a double dog portrait, but I am starting with the background as it is nigh on impossible to paint a detailed background around completed animals without it looking weird.  This is painted in acrylics and it feel so very good to be back at work!

Currently on the needles - or should I say hook - a very showy crocheted shawl made of sunflowers and leaves.  Not something I would ever have thought of making myself, but a friend has commissioned it and it has been a lot of fun and will certainly be a talking point once it is finished as it is absolutely gorgeous!

First Painting of 2023...

 Happy New Year!  After December being full of sickness, things going wrong and bad weather, 2023 seems to have got off to a bit of a better start, although the weather is still abysmal.

I've not been able to paint for about 6 weeks since Mr.B had his second knee replacement surgery.  It's hard to find the time when you are caring for two people as well as trying to prepare for Christmas.  It has been incredibly frustrating, especially as I have three commissions waiting patiently in the wings. So rather than start with a commission, I thought I'd get back into the swing of things with a quick bear - I know what I am doing with a bear, and it is a excellent way to get those painting muscles moving again. It felt very good to get paint on to paper once more!

So now that is finished (and it looks like I may have sold it already) I can get on with my first commission, which is a double pet portrait in acrylics. I've not painted one of these for a very long time, so I am really looking forward to it.

I'm also crocheting a very interesting shawl for someone - consists of 15 sunflowers.  Watch this space!

Unbearable Hat...

 Due to circumstances beyond my control - Mr.B has had his second knee replaced and needed full time care, plus I was ill for a week with a stinking cold, and Christmas - I have not touched a paintbrush for over a month.  To be honest, it is doing my head in!  However, I have been knitting and made myself this hat.  It is a pattern I found on Ravelry called Unbearable Hat.  Unfortunately, electric light does not pick out the pattern & colours of the top of the hat - they are grey and a nice ice blue.

Christmas was not as planned this year - difficult to organise when you are sole carer for two people instead of just one.  Also my son and his family caught Covid two days before Christmas, so we did not get to see them - very disappointed not to see my granddaughter for the first Christmas where she will be aware of what's going on.  We plan on doing a re-run of Christmas Day once everyone is healthy.  

Hopefully in January life will return to normal - I have three commissions patiently waiting in the wings, and if I don't get to paint soon I am going to throw a major tantrum!

Fat Bear Hat...

I knitted the Katmai hat from the book, Knitting the National Parks.  The bear seemed to turn out looking very well nourished - at least he is ready for hibernation!  This is a Christmas present for someone and had to be posted in a hurry to avoid strikes/Christmas rush, so does not have the faux fur pompom as shown in the pattern book.  The next ones (yes, plural, I've already had requests) will have the pompoms!

Not much else going on as far as arts & crafts - Mr.B has just had his second knee replacement surgery so I am tending to him while he is incapacitated, not much time left for painting unfortunately.