Knitterly Notes

 

Have I ever told you I love to knit?  

And so I have…here and here and here. The only thing better than knitting, is to draw or paint what I’m knitting or crocheting. I loved making this little painting of my hands knitting a scarf. Mind you, this lace scarf was begun several years ago…but I have finished it! And I’ll give you a proper reveal soon!

So here’s the photograph I worked from to create the above painting. I thought you might like to see the reference photo and how it gets translated into line and watercolor. I also thought you might like to see some of the projects I’ve been happily working on of late.

 

I knitted this little cupcake hat for my niece’s one year birthday back at the beginning of March, the early days of my U.C. diagnosis. That’s my beautiful sister with her fifth child, Brynley.

Then I finished this pair of socks, which I wore and wore through the chilly days. For some reason, I kept messing up on grafting the toe together. I’ve done the kitchener stitch successfully many times before, but a brain glitch prevented me from getting it right on both of these socks. Of course, I made it work somehow so the socks hold together without being uncomfortable.

So, on THIS sock, finished just recently, I was delighted to work the Kitchener stitch correctly! Yay! Maybe my recent surgery re-worked my brain as well!

And I love the colors in this yarn!!!!!

This is a random photo of the basket of yarns I used for my Resurrection Shawl. 

And this is the beginning of another multi-yarned confection, all in creams and whites! I have quite a vision of this shawl in its finished state…we’ll see how it all turns out.:)

And a photo of me knitting on our front stoop. This was taken prior to being in the hospital, hoping and praying that the medications I was on would put the U.C. into remission. There’s something about this photo I like… 1. I love knitting outdoors, even if it means wearing a coat and knitted hand mitts. 2. Knitting became synonymous with “hope” during my recent illness. Knitting and Hope…I like that.

Well, that’s enough for now…I’ll share more “knitterly notes” with you soon. I’ll be stocking the Shoppe with some new items soon…more on that coming up!

**Thank you so much for visiting me here on Drawn2Life!! I can’t thank you enough for sharing in these creative ventures with me!

***And…if you ever wanted to take up knitting, try my little photo tutorial HERE. I haven’t yet transferred it over from Drawn2Knit. It will happen someday. For now, check there for free patterns and tutorials.

****ANNDDD….if you’d like to try your hand at drawing/sketching OR need a little boost or encouragement to get back into it…check out my Drawing Your Life Mini Lessons. These were offered last year and still receive a lot of traffic.  I hope it’s helpful to you all!

My Name Was Drawn!!

It is rare that my name is drawn for a giveaway! Partly due to the fact that I haven’t entered my name in very many giveaways, but that’s because I tell myself I would never win. I have proof in the pudding that I’m wrong!! I just won this awesome set of cards by some pretty fabulous illustrators!

I have long admired the work of Suzanne and Edgar Cabrera, a husband and wife illustrator powerhouse, whose website/blog is called An Open Sketchbook. Please visit their blog and Online shop to browse the marvelous drawings, prints & cards.  2012 marked a huge year for them, launching out on their own to do what they love full-time.  They are doing this while also raising two beautiful twin boys. You can read about them in many of their blog posts. This couple lives and works in neighboring Greensboro. Consider following their blog, or at least “liking” An OpenSketchbook on Facebook, so you can receive all their updates. They have been known to teach a sketching workshop at a little shop in Greensboro, and you might want to attend their next one (when they announce this!:), if you live in the area.

I am so very thrilled about my gift: 4 awesome designs in a set of cards that I’ll be putting to use right away! My favorite of them all is “Dream Big”…I just love those skinny legs and feet in the big dress up shoes! Should you wish to purchase this set for your very own, click HERE!

Thank you Suzanne and Edgar for my fabulous gift! And for leading the way in following dreams! I hope 2013 brings many of your creative dreams to life! Merci!

Out of the Garden Project’s Honor Card!

Once again, I am honored to have a piece of my artwork chosen (this one above) for this year’s Out of the Garden Project Honor Card!! Beginning very soon, folks will be able to receive a beautifully printed card with the above painting on it as a way of saying thank you for your donations throughout the Holiday Season.  Click here for more information about this wonderful mission to provide meals for children and their families on the weekends throughout the school year.  It is an EXTRAORDINARY  work started by ordinary people.

Don and Kristy Milholin are ordinary people who, like myself, have a love for ordinary things.  I suspect that they, like me, love to see Beauty happen in unexpected places…perhaps even in hopeless places.  The above drawing, I created in my unassuming small town, in a place that is somewhat hidden from plain view.  I did not travel to France to create this artwork.  I did not go trekking in Nepal.  Nor did I stand on the edge of the Grand Canyon.  I sat down in little ole Kernersville, and put pen and paint to paper.  Ordinary stuff.

I imagine Don and Kristy sitting down a few years ago on their back deck perhaps, and thinking they could provide some food for a few kids at a local school in Greensboro.  A fairly ordinary thought: providing food for those who have difficulty getting it.

I think about Don and Kristy a lot. They don’t know this. But I thought about them in the spring, as my neighbors were planting their gardens.  I thought about how a garden starts off with a good bit of enthusiasm, energy, and some resources.  You have this plot of land, some seeds, a hose.  You plow and dig, plant and stake.  You water.  And then…you wait.  At first it seems like it doesn’t really take much, this gardening thing.

But along about mid-summer, your garden goes POOF! And all of a sudden there are more tomatoes and cucumbers than you know what to do with.  The weeds are multiplying faster than you can deal with them.  The ground can’t seem to get enough water.  And you wonder how you’ll be able to bring in the harvest…there aren’t enough hands, resources, or time to do everything.

I’ve wondered if Don and Kristy feel this way when they look at how their ordinary desire to feed a few children and their families has mushroomed to cover over 40 schools in Guilford and Forsyth Counties, providing weekend meals for over 750 school children.  Out of the Garden Project has surely POOFED.  An extraordinary thing has happened in an ordinary place.  Hope is brought to places where it is lacking. Food is provided for children whose families struggle to have this most basic of human needs.

The amazing thing about all of this, is that when ordinary people pool their ordinary resources, EXTRAORDINARY things can happen.

Your “ordinary resource” may be a bit of time to help sort food, bag it, deliver it.  Maybe you have an ordinary talent or gift that can be given in some way.  Or your “ordinary” may be $5, $10 or whatever. Don and Kristy want to thank you for your monetary donations by giving you an Honor Card for every $5.

Won’t you join me, in offering some of your ordinary resources, to accomplish something extraordinary this fall and throughout the holidays:  Food and Hope for every child!

A Line for Maddie

Friends of ours who went to live overseas, said to those of us sending them off, that we were the ones holding the line on the other end for them.  I loved that thought! And, as an artist, the idea that I hold one end of the drawn line as they “draw” the lines of their journey, fascinates, inspires, and touches me deeply.

This is what I envisioned this past Saturday, as we Walked for a Cure for Type 1 Diabetes with our daughter Maddie.  ALL of these people, the long ribbon of folks ahead of and behind us, hold the line for her and for every Type 1 child and adult who lives with this disease. We were ALL connected that day.  All of us joined together by one single line… a HOPE for a cure for juvenile diabetes.

I thought how, for me, this line begins with my daughter and connects to me, my husband (the one carrying the young girls’ jackets:), Maddie’s cousin Zoe, our friend Anna, and all of you!  You who have sent donations (over $500!) and well-wishes and cheers of support for our girl.

Thank you for holding the line for my Maddie! Randy and I are deeply grateful to all of you! Merci.

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Give and You will Receive!

As a special thank you to ALL who have already given and to any who might wish to make a donation to Maddie’s Mission to Cure Diabetes…I will give you a Genevieve Print of your choice!!

Just click on the highlighted words Maddie’s Mission to Cure Diabetes and for any $15 donation or greater, I will send you one of the above Prints of Genevieve (value $12) to thank you!!  You choose which one you want!

This offer closes on Saturday, October 27th, 2012…the day we Walk!!

A Grateful Girl!

A couple of Sundays ago, Maddie told me on our way home, that in Children’s Church, the teacher asked them all a question:

What is something you are thankful for and why?

“Mom”, she said, “I’ve always felt thankful for insulin, and that is what I said.  But I don’t think it ever really hit me, because the reason I said I was thankful for it is ’cause…I wouldn’t be alive.”

I looked back at her in my rear-view mirror.  A sweet smile was on her face. No self-pity there. No desire to be dramatic. Just glad gratitude.

I was the one struggling with the self-pity…or the pity for her.  It  made me remember back to being at Brenner’s, when she was first diagnosed. We had been there a day or so; she was receiving regular shots of insulin. We were all learning the ins and outs of this new life called Living with Diabetes.  The nurses had given her a JDRF bear with a toy shot so she could practice giving him his insulin shots.  I remember her also practicing on us.  And before she would give us the “spot”, she would say, “When I give you this spot, you will never be thirsty again.”

She had realized even in those first hours of her new life, that insulin was what made her feel so so much better.  Her thirst was going away.  She was able to make it to the bathroom and not have to go so much.  She wasn’t hungry all the time.  Her energy was returning.

I am grateful too! I cannot tell you how thankful we are to JDRF and to the support we receive through this organization locally!! Won’t you join us in our gratitude and make a THANK YOU donation to Maddie’s Mission to find a Cure for Diabetes.  They are close! In the next decade we may see a cure for this disease! Wouldn’t that be amazing?

Maddie (and I) will be even more grateful!

And we are so very grateful to those of you who have already given to Maddie’s Mission!!! A big hug to you today!

Mr. Whicker & Maddie: A Diabetes Story

In early December of 2009, Mr. Whicker knocked on our front door.  My parents answered the door, as Randy and I and Maddie were not there.  My parents had come to stay with our two older children since we were at Brenner’s Children’s Hospital.  My parents told Mr. Whicker where we were and why. Maddie had been diagnosed with juvenile diabetes.  Mr. Whicker’s eyes filled up with tears and he stood in our doorway and wept.

When my parents recounted this to me, at first I marveled at his compassion. And as my dad continued to tell me that they reassured him things would be alright for Maddie, it dawned on me that in his generation, children who were diagnosed with juvenile diabetes often died, or at least were bound to develop all kinds of eyesight, heart, and nerve problems due to the disease.

We live in a grand time when insulin and so many other discoveries and technological advances have made it possible for children and adults who are diagnosed with this disease to LIVE!!  Not only that, but the efforts of JDRF and others, have made living with Type 1 Diabetes so much less cumbersome and allow for a greater degree of “managing” the blood sugar levels.  As blood sugar levels are maintained within a healthier range, the debilitating effects of diabetes are lessened.  It is still by no means an easy disease to live with.  Compared to “normal” kids, even today’s technology seems cumbersome.  But compared to what it used to be like…we have come a long way!

We celebrate today that our daughter LIVES!!  She enjoys the benefits of so many things that JDRF has played a vital role in providing for her.  Here are just a few:

Maddie’s Test Kits

Won’t you join us in celebrating the HUGE advances the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation has been a part of?  Consider donating a few dollars to this organization so that they can continue down the path of finding a cure!

Mr. Whicker and Maddie will be so glad you did!

So will I!

Maddie’s Pump and Inset

Remember! We Walk for the Cure on October 27th!! Come join us if you’d like!

Combo Awards!

A couple of weeks ago, Cathy, of the crazy-good-drawing blog Ziggyshortcrust, awarded me the Sunshine Award! I am so tickled to be granted this blog award and it got me to thinkin’…  Somebody gave me an award back in December, for which I remember being equally tickled to receive, but had neglected to acknowledge and pass on!  Francina of Season’s Poetry had graciously awarded me The Versatile Blogger award.  This was a real treat since she is an incredible poet and I felt honored to be listed among other painters and poets in her list of award winners.  A heart-felt thank you to BOTH OF YOU for thinking of my little blog when giving out these lovely awards.

The Sunshine Award is awarded to “bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others”.  This is one of the most wonderful compliments anyone could give me! My desire is to do exactly that: to positively and creatively inspire others to be creative!  I imagine the Versatile Blogger award is just what it says: someone who has a versatile approach to blogging, perhaps creating in a variety of ways.  Thank you Cathy and Francina…I’m humbled to be chosen.

The Sunshine Award requires that I answer 9 specific questions, while the Versatile Blogger award simply states that I’m to give some random facts about myself.  I’ve decided to merge these into one so that you get 9 random facts, specifically generated by the Sunshine questions…HA!  I realize I’m fudging a bit here, but I hope it’s ok. Here are the 9 questions/random facts:

My favorite color is…lime green!

My favorite number is…5! (Don’t know why…it’s always been 5 since I was a kid)

My favorite drink is…coffee with cream and sugar!

My favorite animal is… a sheep! (Collected them when I was little and I love knitting with their wool:).

Facebook? or Twitter?… Facebook! Love connecting with friends…besides, many people link their Tweets to Facebook, so I get to enjoy the tweets there as well.

Getting or Giving presents…Giving! Oh I do love receiving a present; but I love to give one even more, especially if I’m able to MAKE it!

My Favorite day…today! I can’t do anything about the past except learn from it.  I don’t want to fritter away today worrying about tomorrow (it will take care of itself).  Today has been given to me to live to the fullest, to receive it with joy, to draw it in some way in my sketchbook.

My Favorite flower… that’s a tough one, since I love so many!  But I’d have to say roses! All colors, all kinds!

My Passion… is to draw my life and encourage others to do so as well!

And now, I am to name 10 recipients for the Sunshine Award and 15 for the Versatile Blogger award.  I’m going to combine these two and award them BOTH to 15 hand-picked winners!  I tried to stay away from any whom I knew to have received these awards in the past.  I apologize if you’re receiving it again, but then perhaps you will feel doubly awarded!  It’s always nice to have someone say, “I see what wonderful work you do, and here’s a ribbon (badge) for your blog to wear!”  Here’s my list in no particular order:

Stew of StewCrotherArt.  His digital art, pen and pencil work makes you wonder…how in the world did he do that?

Cathy of Down a Dusty Lane.  She creates beautiful and sensitive colored pencil works of her life…as well as other stuff.

Hanneke of Hannekekoop.  She creates marvelous illustrations of thought and story…her work is a real treat!

Barbara of Drawing Breath.  Her exquisite watercolors and sketches will have you doing just that: drawing your breath and holding it for a few seconds.  Loveliness.

Alex of Weekly Art Assignment. His versatility and expertise in portraiture, illustration, cartoon..well, just about everything will delight you for hours!

Raena of Raena’s Sketch Journal. Her superb drawings and watercolors perfectly portray her life.  This blog is a Must-Visit.

Meegan Parkee of Scratchyas. Cruise around on all the sections of this artist’s website…you’ll have to pick your jaw up off the floor!

Liz of Art, the Beautiful Metaphor. Her embroidered works on silk based on her original designs are exquisite.

Chris of Chris Murray Art. Beautiful art and wonderful sketches make Chris’ blog a spot of heaven.

Deborah of Making a Splash…  You can’t help but leave Deb’s blog with a smile on your face…happy, sunshine colors, joyful art!

Ann of BlueBird Hill.  A fellow mountain girl who still lives there and paints her life in multi-mediums…gorgeous artwork.

Carrie Holst of Portland Plein Air.  A recent find…her watercolors of plein air excursions in and around Portland, Oregon are simply lovely.

Sandra of Sandras Mixed Bag. The header image of her blog says it all…she is truly proficient in NUMEROUS art forms!  Go see what she might be stitching, drawing, mandala-ing, etc.

Stacey of Creativesqueblog. Stacey’s work is rich and colorful with a touch of whimsy.  Be sure to check out her Etsy shop too!

Dan of Dan’s Canvas.  A Must-visit blog! Dan’s life (and blog) is, like the Danny Kaye quote in the header, a great big canvas on which he has beautifully thrown a lot of paint!

Revelle of Imagemaker. Revelle’s artwork is the epitomy of versatile: fantastically realistic animals, wonderfully humerous illustration and everything in between!

**So here’s what you do if you are receiving this award and passing it on:

These are the rules for the Versatile Blogger Awards:
Nominate 15 fellow bloggers
Inform the bloggers of their nomination.
Share 7 random things about yourself.
Thank the blogger who nominated you.
Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture on your blog post.

The rules for the Sunshine Award are the same except that you can choose just 10 other bloggers to pass the award on to.  And you only have to answer the 9 questions I answered above.  Plus, all the rest:). And here’s the button for the Sunshine Award:

Thank you, thank you, Cathy and Francina, and to all who make a blogging a delight!

P.S. Ok…so I chose 16…so I can’t count! But I’m not changing it! You all deserve both of these awards!

Petal Showers

“Hey mom! It’s snowing or hailing outside! Did you know this?” my freshman-in-high-school son hollers to me from the living room.  Dashing to the window, we all said in response to him, “That’s not snow! Those are petals!”  It was raining petals from all the pear and plum trees in our neighborhood.  It looked something like snow! Maybe not hail, but like pink and white snow!

I’m guessing we just didn’t have enough real snow this winter to remind him of what that stuff looks like.

I don’t think I was very clear about WHY my kids have cheshire grins…my oldest daughter, after postponing getting her license for a while, was able to get it back in February; the soon-to-turn fifteen year old boy has just finished the written part of drivers’ ed and can’t wait to get his permit in May; and my youngest just got braces.  Though she was so excited to get braces at first, her enthusiasm has since diminished due to a very sore mouth! Poor girl…so much to manage with Type 1 diabetes, braces, and growing into a young lady.  In approximately two months time, our oldest daughter will graduate from high school.  So many rich and wonderful landmark events going on in our house.

With all this happening, I’m so grateful for drawing.  It’s as if my pen or paintbrush becomes a straw through which I can drink in my life and the lives of my children. Drawing enables me to taste and savor these moments.  And I’m so thankful for many of you who have plunged in to these mini-lessons with me.  I can’t wait to post Friday’s lesson…and next Friday…and the next…:)

Life is there for the drawing! Let’s have at it!

Drawn2Zine!

A Zine…what is such a thing? From Wikipedia here’s a definition:

“A zine ( /ˈziːn/ ZEEN; an abbreviation of fanzine, or magazine) is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier.

A popular definition includes that circulation must be 5,000 or less, although in practice the significant majority are produced in editions of less than 1,000, and profit is not the primary intent of publication.”

The only Zines I had seen (hm, no rhyme intended:) were those of Andrea Joseph and Dan Price.  I own two of Andrea’s Zines and they are terrific!!! You should treat yourself sometime to one of her zines…her mad drawing skills will delight you to no end!  Though I do not own one of his zines, I have read one of his books, How to Make a Journal of your Life, and can imagine the zines being just as wonderful.

I have no idea why Andrea or Dan create Zines, but I just thought it would be fun!  Fun to create, fun to offer, fun to see a bit of my blog stuff in a little booklet.  I thought my kids might like them one day to add to all the paintings and sketchbooks they will eventually have dumped on them!

But the other reason, was just for myself.  When I started this blog, I really didn’t know the specific direction it would go.  I just wanted to share drawings, paintings and other things I like to do creatively.  Now that a few years have gone by, I am able to see some overarching themes that pop up fairly often.  A Zine was the perfect way to highlight just one aspect of what gets covered here in Drawn2Life and in my other blogs.  So there are plans for more Zines on different topics, of course with artwork!

Thank you to those of you who have ordered one of my Zines thus far! You’ve really made my day! And that’s the icing on the cake: when something that I enjoy, is in turn enjoyed by others.  I know there are many of you who enjoy visiting my blog…and I am so grateful for each of your visits! Drawn2Life is getting close to having 100 followers! Can you believe that?  When it hits 100 followers, I plan on having a little giveaway! No, maybe a BIG giveaway of several goodies made by me!  Keep popping by to see when that will happen so you can add your name in the hat!  If you’d like to subscribe to my blog, please do so! It’s always free!!!