Lizard Smile 2

Not sure it's finished. Not scary enough.

Everyday Magic and the Mysterious Disappearing Comments

This quietly came together in small bits of sewing time lately.

So many small and large gifts opened lately in my life.

Dad's death in Hospice House. HH having an open room for him(they only have four).

https://williamsburghospice.org/

Meeting cousins I hadn't seen in 55 tears (!).

Being with dad as he died.

My Parkinson's symptoms responding so well to Yoga.

Most days I don't use a cane where last year this time 

I needed a walker.

With my mind on all I have to be grateful for I began noticing

everyday magic... bright yellow leaves, the pup's soft muzzle,

crows roosting and gossiping, the hawk flying to a fence right

outside the big window, wild turkey families

crossing harvested fields - every day the world hands out visual magic

to us here in Va's rural zip codes. Right now the West field is

turning the color of a ripe melon. Deer walk the tree line.

Then we come to the Chrome browser/comment problem. Took time today and

may have found some possible fixes. In a nutshell, my browser has been

Firefox but mysteriously this summer changed to Google Chrome. 

I'm in the process of finding the Borg-like Chrome, removing it as my

default browser, deleting the tentacles of Chrome's program and

firmly reestablishing Firefox as my browser. 

Here's a link to where I started this morning;

https://support.google.com/blogger/thread/4035725?hl=en

When I get this fixed I'll be more specific. If anyone reading knows

a quick fix I'd appreciate your info. Just tried commenting to

Grace and know it's not yet fixed but I'm ot done trying.

Semper Fi

My dad died last Friday. He was a Marine and lived to be 90.

At the memorial part of my family I hadn't seen for 55 years came to honor

him. So he left me a gift... four Cousins and an Aunt. Thanks, dad. 

My good friend sent me this photo that, without words, says so much.

Crow Moon

There is no Crow Moon in named full moon months so I made one.

This cloth kept me company during a death vigil this last few days.

Fortunately, I had a big hearted friend to remind me to play and look

at the sunny side even in dark times. All is well.

Lizard Smile

I worked on this most of the weekend. I keep seeing it look back at me no matter

how I configure the blocks. That little lizard insists on being a smile. There

is another watcher I put there on purpose. Very faint but there.

Sew blind

I've spent so much time with this cloth I can't really see it anymore.

At the top of summer it began as a love song to our home.

I'll put it away awhile.

Go outside with the little dog now that it's cooler. Move outside

 and listen with the the trees and cooling land.

What I've learned about WC and drawing on cotton

I use 100% cotton and usually dye it first.

Then I spray it with regular spray starch. This somehow

keeps the WC from seeping outside the lines. It's a nice effect - the

seeping color - but I like to make that decision. I iron it dry.

Then I iron freezer paper to the back side of the fabric. This is temporary and just keeps the

cotton flat while I draw/paint. I suspect it also controls the seeping of WC.

I draw the design with a fine point permanent pen. Sharpies are not so

good. I found that older pens make more regular lines with fewer blobs of ink along the line.

I use pan WC with a water brush. Most water brushes have a really good point.

I sometimes dip the brush in a bit of water for more concentrated color. 

I do blot the brush just a little before painting. It takes awhile to 

apply the paint as the fabric just drinks it in.

 Here I sprayed the right side (from your perspective) with

starch but left the left side with no starch. I think you can see the slight

bleeding/seeping on the left side.

For details I use WC pencils. Dip the tip into water then you can transfer the

WC to small details. They work best on very small areas.

Please keep in mind this won't last on cloth exposed to water. Also, I haven't

been using WC for more than a few months on fabric. Not certain how it will

age. I use Daniel Smith WC so the pigments are rich and relatively color fast.

If you can add anything I'd love to learn from you.