tania howells

patterns

I am taking a doodle break, because I was craving patterns! I have been doing up quick little patterns to store in my paint bucket fill tool in photoshop because one of the roles square plays in the book, is as a quilt piece!  I get a bit zoned out spending long periods of time cleaning up my files, moving eyes this way and that, erasing lines that are too thick or patchy, all the teensy things I need to do before I can colour in my pages.  I get colour hungry!  So coffee and patterns break!  I think I doodled this for Finch at lunchtime one day...it's me coming in to hug him! 

working girl

Here is a screen shot of my desk top right this minute!  I am at the bottom end of my afternoon cuppa and I am so happy to be working.  I really have no clue how I got Willow Finds a Way done with Finch around.  He did nap then, but not every day...this is so much easier! Yay for JK!!  As you can see, that's Oval.  He is a busy guy but you will just have to wait and see!

Grateful today. Grateful for health (praying for an ill neighbor and her kids), grateful for home ( in a tidying up mood) , grateful for dinner ( a chicken soup in the slow cooker and homemeade bread!), grateful for my neighborhood ( a playdate after school and tommorow morning and friends all around), grateful for the quiet (right now) and grateful for the noise (some new music from itunes!). Grateful for the weekend!

 

shapes patterns

Playing around with end paper pattern ideas!  This will be my first "all mine" book!  Written and illustrated by little me.  I can't believe it!  I feel very grateful and lucky.

 

See?  Shapes!  It's crunch time, in a way- got to get this book done now by the end of November!  Eek!  Can't wait to show you more!

I am kind of all over red gingham right now!  It is so cheerful.  I finally got 2 yards of it to make a dress I have in mind ( inspired by this one I liked on FLICKR - yes I know it's for a little girl, but I can't deny that I think most little girls clothes should SO be made into ladies sizes!), but for now it is sitting on my desk.  I am trying to dial down the polka dot passion too, which peaked mid-summer sometime.  A girl really can have only so much polka dots surrounding her!  (kitchen cushions, milk jug, tea towels, tea pot - seriously!!)

These birds I made in a rush this summer for finch, who wanted to re-enact a visit down to the lakeshore where he chased seagulls and watched trains go along the lakeshore line.  I kept the birds because I like them and also never know if Finch will remember things suddenly and ask where they are.  This is not the best tactic though, as things pile up very fast!  Still a rookie at this mum thing!  Moments of thinking it's all getting completely out of control tend to be met with moments of feeling like things are actually going quite well.

Ok, this is blurry I know- still getting the hang of taking shots of myself!  Even with the auto setting and timer, somehow its blurry...working on it!  But I made this up yesterday afternoon to ward off the gloom of darkening days.  It is the second one I have made in the grey fleece with the McCalls 3940 pattern and it comes together super easily and fast.  This one is a bit bunchy at the front as I had to sew two halves together instead of one flat piece, but no one sees me these days!  It's so comfy and nice to wear, and I love that fleece doesn't need hemming!  Look at the sad empty chilly winter flower pot- brrrr. It's coming!

good day!

A little doodle to comfort myself this morning.  Monday's are hard to get into!  But a little red gingham and tea helps!  Just polishing up the last of the rough drawings for the new book.  It is going to be called "Starring Shapes!" and I am trying to get it just right, which is happening somewhat.  There is always one page, this being the second to last page, that poses some tricky problems and never quite feels right!  But I will take a little break and come back to it after lunch with my little boy.