I have some very exciting to share with you this social saturday….I have started to display my artwork at a local gallery!
This is a dream of mine that I have been wanting to happen for a long time, and I made it one of my goals for this year. And now, just a few months away from the end of the year, I have actually taken the plunge and got my photography and watercolours hanging on the walls of the Upper Level Pottery and Art Gallery! I will be there for the next four months (maybe more). I’ve brought just a small amount of work to begin with, but have a few more pieces almost ready to bring and add to the wall. Anyways, that’s all I have to share for today…I hope your weekend is going well!
Happy October! Even though it’s a short season I love fall. I can’t believe that it’s already the beginning of October and the leaves are starting to fade!
Yesterday I snapped these photos of the beautiful golden light shining through the trees…and today is a cold and blustery day which has left almost all of the trees bare. We’ve had a beautiful long fall this year though, with so many sunny warm days. I love seeing the contrast of golden yellow leaves against a crisp blue sky.
Today is a quiet day spent inside with a book and a cup of tea. I got a couple of novels from the library yesterday, and have already finished one of them! (Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce and moving onto Longbourn by Jo Baker next)
I finished my patchwork sewing project a while ago. I made a new purse to go on these vintage wooden handles from my Mom. The bag that was originally on them was coming apart, so it was time for a refresh. I was able to use up a bunch of beautiful scraps I’ve been saving for years. I’ll have an outfit post with this purse up soon!
Another quick and easy project recently, was making some new pillowcases. I sewed them out of a couple of damaged vintage sheets I had and they go perfectly with my pillow shams and quilt. I used to have 50 different patterned throw pillows and white pillowcases, but I was starting to get tired of how busy it was when paired with my quilt. So, instead of changing out the throw pillows for new ones, I decided to update with floral pillowcases and keep my shams and throw pillow all white lace. It was the perfect solution and I love the look!
One final item of note for today is that I added a couple of new card designs, as well as phone cases etc. to my Society 6 shop. I added these ages ago, actually, but never posted them!
How is your Fall going? What are your plans for October?
Here we are already at the end of July and beginning of August! The summer seems to be going past very quickly- how about for you?
This has been the Year of Reading for me- I’ve just finished book #33. I’ve been trying to spend my evenings reading, rather than browsing the internet. It’s been nice to get through quite a few of the books on my list, although of course, as soon as I cross one off, I find several more to add to the bottom!
I requested Mistress Pat by L.M Montgomery from the library (review: not my favourite of her books, but still enjoyable) and the copy I received was this beautiful first edition from 1935! I love it when they keep older editions of books in circulation, rather than replacing them all with new copies.
We had some exciting visitors to our place; my sister walked out the back door, and spotted two lost Mallard ducklings in the flower bed! When their mom never showed up, we brought them inside and put them in a brooder, and then my mom brought them to the wildlife rescue shelter a couple days later. They were so tiny and cute, and actually very quiet as well. (At least compared to the chick we’ve got inside; we named him Mortimer, because he never stops cheeping!) They were hard to photograph and got a little bit panicked when my sister picked them up, but I’m glad I got a couple of pictures to remember them by.
I’ve been working on some more watercolour illustrations; this time houseplants. I’ve been trying out this mini format- just 4″ x 4″ and I quite like it. So far I’ve done a Kalanchoe, a grouping of Cacti and a Pothos.
I’ve added them to my Society 6 shop as greeting cards or mini prints. There are “hello”, “happy birthday” and “thank-you” cards as well as blank ones available. I will also be listing these original paintings in my shop here, but am waiting for some mats I ordered to arrive first (hopefully they arrive soon!).
Ps: I’ve also added some more photography prints to my shop, and am slowly adding more as I have the time.
How has your summer been going so far? I hope you have a great weekend!
Reading- Just finished Pat of Silver Bush by LM Montgomery. I enjoyed it, but it’s definitely not one of my favourites of hers. It had a rather slow start, and took a while to get into the story. But, I did request the second one in the series from my library, so I’ll see if I like it better.
Loving- Taking photos of all the flowers in my mom’s garden. So many beautiful blooms, and the camera really doesn’t do justice to them!
Watching- The Closet Historian channel on YouTube- mostly her tutorials! I especially enjoyed Bianca’s Victorian bonnet video, and am planning on seeing if I can use some of her techniques to mash up a few hats for myself.
Making- A crazy patchwork purse in a 1970’s style. It’s going to be quite wonky by the time it’s done, with nary a straight seam to be seen, but that will add “character” right?
Eating- Lemon Almond Crinkle Cookies from The Iron You blog. Just rediscovered his recipes lately, and have been saving almost every single one!
Thankful For- Cool summer days. We’ve been going through an extreme heat wave (a “heat dome”) in Western Canada lately, and that makes me appreciate the mild summer days all the more. After a week of extremely hot temperatures, we finally have one in the mid twenties today, and are all breathing a sigh of relief!
What are some fun things you’ve been doing lately, dear Reader? I hope you have a wonderful weekend, however you spend it!
It’s been a while since I have posted on Saturday, but I had to pop in today to post because we have chicks! The chicks are actually a few weeks old already now, but I even though I am posting these late, I still wanted to share, since they are just so cute! My mom has a mixed flock of Black Copper Maran and Chantecler chickens. This brood of chicks is our first of mixed breeds of chickens, so instead of being either pure white or black they ended up grey! We had four hatch out, and we’re not sure what they’re going to look like when they are grown, but are hoping that they will at least be more Winter hardy.
Anyways, I’m no chicken farmer, but here are some photos of the little chicks running around with their mama hen to brighten your Saturday!
And one final photo, with this little guy peeking out from under the hen!