As October loomed, I considered whether or not to squeeze in daily drawing for this year's #INKtober. I've let daily work on the Watermark Cardigan fill creative time, so wasn't sure if I could actually make time. And then the muse whispered in my ear: bridges. Hmmm . . . I do like to have a theme to follow and I do love bridge structures, so I made the decision to at least start and see if I could keep up with it. This is a fresh sketchbook and I decided that in order to keep time for each sketch at a minimum, I'd only use a Japanese brand Zig Cartoonist Mangaka Flexible pen - one I got in a selection of such felt pens - to keep me from spending too much time on detail. I got that tip from an urban sketcher I follow who also wanted to participate in #INKtober with quicker sketching than her usual detailed work. I think it's working. I started with sketching the different types of bridge construction before moving on to actual bridges.
As usual, there are some whoopses even as trying to draw loosely (or maybe BECAUSE I was drawing loosely) but good practice, and it should get better as I get back into shape. I'm using pictures from internet searches as my guides, although there will be at least one photo I'll use that I took myself. There will be bridges I've seen in person as well as famous bridges. Should be fun.
And now that it is officially October, most of the trees that have been holding back are now letting their leaves turn. With another week of beautiful fall weather leading to another cold and wet weekend, I made it to the Bay trail again and was rewarded with views of cottonwoods finally going yellow and other trees showing their colors.
Brilliant against the blue sky.
How lucky am I to live by this gorgeous lake with this nearby trail lined with these cottonwoods.
With the crochet bag done, I've started another project for that small block of time after lunch when I'm watching a news program. This is called "Distance Scarf" for some reason but has quite a beautiful pattern made up of cables turning this way and that. The yarn is a skein I bought years ago when a local alpaca rancher was shearing, spinning and dyeing up wool from her herd and selling it in a downtown shop. She even added to the tags the name of the alpaca the wool came from. It's the most gorgeous raspberry color, soft as a cloud and expensive enough that it was a real splurge to buy even a single skein. It's sometimes difficult then to figure out what to do with a limited amount of yarn, particularly when it is a special yarn, and so it has sat in my yarn stash waiting. A few years back I decided I'd like to knit a scarf or cowl for a cousin, and then settling on this yarn while I dithered over cowl or scarf, and now at last getting to it with this recently found pattern. The beginning is really fiddly as you go from a few stitches to enough to make about a 4 inch width, and the yarn slippery on the equally slippery knitting needles, but it's going faster and easier now that all the increases have been made and a sequence established. I want this done for a Christmas gift, along with a couple of small shawls, so I best get going!
No comments:
Post a Comment