Fall scene

Sketchbook seagull

Jetty Island, WA

Grey Jay

Woodpecker

I took ten minutes for myself while the kids were watching Shaun the Sheep, and sketched this woodpecker. The details look different in different light, so I included several photos, one in natural light, one under fluorescent, and then the last modified in Brannan filter from Instagram. This was sketched on orange paper, so the colors don't transfer to a photo well. Plus I didn't use the fancy camera for the photos, just the one that was handy - the iPod Touch. Felt *great* to create again, and I get a sense of full energy, and space opened up, space on the inside, as Eckhart Tolle refers to it.

My latest project - the Roll Kit

My latest project - the Roll Kit, originally uploaded by jlib.

When I saw a sewing idea to make a pencil and paper travel kit, for kids, out of felt, with dividers for the pencils, I thought I would try something similar for the kids' bathroom stuff. We travel a lot and I thought this would help us stay more organized. I had also grown tired of using zipper plastic bags because they become yucky after just one use. So, I came up with this simple bathroom kit with a few pockets. I used a full size toothbrush to gauge the height of the pockets. In this picture I used half of a hand towel, folded up about half way. I've also used large washcloths folded about 1/3 of the way. I stitched in some pockets and sewed the edges of the towel up to start. Then I sewed a flannel backing with the rough edges tucked in, around the edges of the whole towel or washcloth, making sure to add the 18" length of 1/2 " cotton twill to one of the sides, just above the pocket, for a tie. I carefully sewed as close the edge of the bottom of the pockets as possible so the pockets would not lose much depth.
I've given these away as gifts as well. The kids seem to like packing their own stuff and it gives the toothbrushes and toothpaste, and floss a much better chance of making their way back home. I used all cotton fabric so they are easily washable. :)