Month: September 2011

Drawing Leaves

| terriaw

Earlier this summer, I filled up a page of Flower-A-Day thumbnail drawings. What a fun exercise that was in drawing a variety of flowers and creating a cool composition on a page.

Lately I’ve been working on leaf drawings, scattering them about the page, as if they are falling from the trees, blowing in the Autumn wind, landing randomly on the pages of my sketchbook.

I have to admit I haven’t had much of a creative mojo lately – hope you haven’t noticed! I feel like it’s starting to creep back, little by little, so I am loving this project. Hope you’re still sticking around!

Autumn Hike

| terriaw

The first day of Autumn always makes me want to go hiking.

Well, okay, you’re right, I would love to go hiking every day of the year!

I love all the yellows we are seeing in early Fall.

It’s refreshing to see wildflowers still growing along side the trail.

Soon enough, we will see more leaves change to orange and red.

These are the days I cherish!

Art Cards – Autumn

| terriaw

When Michelle and I decided to make a set of art cards each week and share our tips and techniques on our blogs or Flickr, we agreed to exchange cards and a care package on the first day of each new season.

Here we are, welcoming Autumn. For my Autumn cards, I used that text layered technique once again, which I love so much. I ended up making two sets of these cards, one set for her and one for me.

I also illustrated a new set of cards for the week, as we welcomed the first day of Autumn.

We’ve been embracing Autumn with an exhilarating hike, our first fire in the fireplace, a pumpkin-flavored latte, a juicy crop of honey crisp apples, beautiful fall flowers, and some illustrations to capture these moments.

A Pair of Minis

| terriaw

My husband asked me to make new mini quilts to put on our nightstands. He was bored with the previous ones. So I laid out a stack of fabrics I thought he might like, and let him choose two prints for his nightstand and two for my nightstand.

Here’s what his looks like:

Here’s what mine looks like:

He went with a combination of an African safari map and batik fabrics. He also wanted a simple patchwork design, so I used my pattern for my checkerboards (which are sold out). I love how rich they look on the wood stain of our nightstands. I also love how easy and quick these minis were to make over the course of a week.

Art Cards – Week 37 – Early Autumn

| terriaw

I love the beginning of each season, the idea of change, especially the subtle changes Autumn reveals. From the cooler temperatures, to the longer shadows, to the fading colors, to changing leaves, to harvesting late summer crops.

Whispers of Autumn represented by changing leaves.

Sweet September represented by the always-majestic sunflowers.

Of all four seasons, I especially love the gentle ways Autumn eases in.

Autumn Farmers Market

| terriaw

Happy day – This is the first Saturday I’ve had off in over two months.

Since we haven’t been to farmer’s market since the 4th of July weekend, we’ve been looking forward to this day all week.

I  knew there would be a variety of colors to admire.

That’s the beauty of Autumn – colors and surprises.

Some of my favorite flowers are the daisies, sunflowers, asters and mums we see more of this time of year.

I always forget to plant sunflowers, so I have greater appreciation for them at the end of the gardening season. They are so majestic, aren’t they?!

I love the tranquil charm of Autumn’s harvest, from the varieties of squash to mini pumpkins to varieties of gourds.

I also love the vivid colors we see in Fall flowers.

It makes me happy to be able to enjoy my favorite day of the week, and to find this much inspiration for art projects and drawing practice.

Art Cards – Week 36 – Finding Balance

| terriaw

My inspiration for this week’s art cards was the idea of finding balance in life. I’ve been contemplating what’s most important to me, realizing (and accepting) that life is not a contest or a race to see how much I can get done in a day or a week.

I used a couple of my favorites to illustrate these cards – the blue-green color combination, trees, leaves and a little stream – things that make me feel calm. I purposefully kept this set of cards simple to act as simple reminders to maintain balance in life.

Aqua Selections

| terriaw

I was arranging some fabric on my shelves recently when I discovered how cool an aqua print from each of Anna Maria Horner’s fabric collections look together.


These are all medium value prints, with not enough contrast, even with the addition of a solid aqua fabric. I’m thinking either black or extra dark brown would add some great drama.

In order to maintain a good life-work balance, I tend to be moving more toward making small projects, so I’m thinking about making a set of mini quilts to put on the nightstands in our guest room. Just need to decide what design to use. I definitely want to move this idea to the top of my to-do list.

A Pair of Notion Bags

| terriaw

I made a bag for a friend who shares my love for chocolate lollipop fabrics.

I use my bag to hold my sewing tools and notions in.

She fell in love with it when she saw mine at our quilting retreat this summer, so she requested one for herself.

She sent me a big stack of fabrics, so I thought it would be cool to make this into a trade. She sent me some fabulous dots and basics that I’ve never seen before, so I’m excited to find creative ways to incorporate these fun prints into my stash.

With my busy work schedule these days, it’s been awhile since I’ve done any sewing, so I was pleasantly surprised when this bag took me a little more than an hour to make. Relieved I still remember how to sew!