Sewing – InkTorrents Graphics

Handmade journal featuring a painting of the weathered stone chapter house at Dryburgh Abbey, Scotland by InkTorrents Graphics

Ruins, Tales, and Quiet Moments

Posted on August 26, 2026
by Soma Acharya
Bookmaking, Paintings, Pattern, Photography, Quilting, Sewing, Travel

Very often, a little story quietly finds its way into my mind and becomes the heart of my artwork. In that fashion, a story about a little penguin called Glen who roams the rugged Scottish countryside popped into my head while I was working on a set of penguin quilt patterns. That reminded me of my first visit to the Dryburgh Abbey in Scotland. Last week, I hand-made books with my painting of its weathered stones as the cover, feeling the spirit of the place, and being reminded to pause and note the details we so often rush past. I will be hosting an art event in September where we can just take a few moments during the day to breathe and create.

Quiet Earth

InkFortnight: Small Pages, Stolen Moments

This September, I intend to do daily small artwork for 14 days, make something without any pressure. I would love for you to join me. You really do not have to have any drawing skills to partake. It’s about making room for the small pages that don’t usually get filled.

To that end, I am hosting InkFortnight.

The name and design were inspired by my love of books and medieval stone ruins.

Theme – Quiet Earth: small, unhurried things. Not landscapes in the grand sense, but corners of them — a leaf, a steaming cup, the particular hush of staying in.
Dates – A 14-day art event, running September 17 through September 30. Wrap-up post on Oct 1st.
Venue – It will take place right here, no social media needed.
Prompts – I came up with 14 prompts built around the theme of Quiet Earth. Follow them if they call to you. Freestyle work is just as welcome. You’re also free to use any media you want.
Constraint and Size – The one constraint: size. 2″ to 3″, no larger. That’s it. That’s the whole rule.

Please feel free to share:

InkFortnight – Small Pages, Stolen Moments Theme – Quiet Earth Dates – A 14-Day art event — Sept 17 to Sep 30, 2026 Venue – inktorrents.com Size – The one constraint: size. 2″ to 3″, no larger

Download the InkFortnight Badge

The Dress-up Penguins

Scottish Penguin Glen Quilt Pattern

Glen had always loved wearing his kilt, but the other little penguins made fun of him. He spent his days roaming the hills and dales alone, having his own adventures. Although he was happy to go about on his own, he sometimes wished he had a friend with him. During one of his excursions, he found a new hill. As he walked up the hill slowly – he was a little penguin after all – it started getting colder and darker. Rain clouds covered the sun and very soon, strong gusts of wind started blowing him all over the place.

He hurried up the hillside and found an old broken ruin there. The hill was in a remote area and the entrances to the ruin were all overgrown with brambles. He took a little knife out of his sporran to clear a path so he could get in without spoiling his clothes. As he was cutting the brambles, something pink plopped down along with a few Thistle flowers. He loved Thistle. When he bent down to pick up the flowers and put them in his little sporran, he found a small pink stone among them. By this time, big raindrops had started pelting down on him. He scurried into the ruin to sit inside a big stone fireplace. There he sat, thumbing the stone and looking at the sky, waiting for the rain to let up a little.

Little Penguin Polaris Quilt Pattern

A sudden flash of lightning, and he suddenly found himself elsewhere, facing two other penguins. One was dressed in woolens and the other in Viking clothing. They were as surprised to see him as he was them. After a round of awkward introductions, Glen learned their names were Polaris and Olaf. He also found out that before they met each other, they had been lonely penguins too. Polaris said he loved his matching woolens, and that he had quite a few sets.

Viking Penguin Olaf Quilt Pattern

As for Olaf, not only did he love his Viking clothes, he also insisted on having horns on his helmet even though he was told Viking helmets didn’t have horns. He thought the horns made him look very mighty and formidable. They both welcomed Glen with open arms.

Painted during another trip to Scotland

Polaris gave Glen a little snowflake that sparkled in the moonlight. Olaf gave him a little fire-stone which glowed in the dark. Glen remembered the thistles in his sporran and gave each of his new friends a thistle. He showed them his pink stone too. All three wondered if rain and thunder somehow activated the stone. They were delighted to have found each other.

They are a happy bunch, aren’t they! I love them! Polaris was the first one I made, and then the others followed.

A Dryburgh Fragment

Very much like Glen, I also love to roam the Scottish countryside. The southern border abbeys are amongst my favorite places. Of them, Dryburgh Abbey stole my heart many years ago, during my first visit in 2007. The rain had just stopped. The wet and glistening stones and the serene choir music they were playing there shrouded the place in peace and quiet. There was not a single soul other than the two of us. The steward kindly kept the place open a bit longer for us. I sat on that bench in the far corner for a long time, soaking in the spirit.

I loved the tranquil moment of standing alone in front of this aged and wet stone abbey chapter house so much that it became the subject of my painting.

I never got to mention it here – a few years back, this painting was featured in a professional art paper product.

I make a new organizer book every year. It is such a favorite of mine that I have been using the same painting for the cover. There is comfort in familiarity.

The Chapter House was fairly dark when we visited. So I had originally painted it dark, as I had seen it.

However, in recent days, I had been thinking about updating the doorway. I knew the risk of ruining the painting completely, but my curiosity got the better of me. So with much care, I managed to make the changes.

Once that was done, I got to sewing books with the new art as the cover.

I add a little coordinated artwork on the endpaper of the cloth-bound books.

I added one of the windows on the linen-finish endpaper. I do love sepia-brown ink on cream color paper.

The hand stitched thick white paper really sets me in the mood for taking a little time to slow down for writing or sketching during an otherwise busy day.

These books are cloth-bound. I really like how the red cloth background enhances the warm tones of the stones.

Shop in Two Colors

I got the forest green cloth specially for the books with this artwork; the color echoing the weathered stones. It evokes memories of the weathered abbey surrounded by green trees as if I was there just yesterday.

The Dryburgh Fragment – A surviving piece of Scotland’s rich history.

Painting and binding these books lets me tap into a quiet space lost in time. I hope to see you in September for InkFortNight to find those little quiet moments. I am looking forward to it.

Until then,
-Soma

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Links page. Please pay a visit to some of them. Hosts of linky parties – please grab a photo of your choice for your party. Thank you for hosting!

Little Stories – Threads, Tones, and Textures

Posted on August 6, 2026
by Soma Acharya
Outside The Lines, Paintings, Photography, Sewing

I am a very happy girl whenever I get to deep dive. Not only did I figure out the geometry of a triangular pencil case and how to draft the pattern for it, I also pulled out my sewing machine and promptly stitched one afterwards. For another Outside the Lines art supply review, I painted this same picture twice, so I could compare the behavior of paint on both cold press and hot press watercolor paper first-hand. I am excited to share more about sewing and painting along with another set of black and white everyday photos.

The Unexpected

Coming back from the bookstore, we saw a bank of lenticular clouds. It is not a common occurrence here at all. That really surprised me. I have only ever seen them at the Eastern Sierra region.
Linking up with Skywatch Friday.

Cracking the Code of The Pencil Case

Back at home, I really wanted to sew a pencil case for myself. It would have been easy to follow one of the myriad patterns out there, but I wanted to understand the 3-D geometry of a triangular pencil case so I could draft a pattern for any size. After drawing and playing with the lines and angles on scrap paper and building a little model pyramid from the mini pattern cut-out, I had my math for the project.

Fabric pulled and pattern drawn out, I set about sewing.

I followed a sewing tutorial for the triangle box corner. I really, really did not like the little “pockets” it originally created in the left photo. So off I went to stare at the stitched pieces until I came up with an idea. Since this was at midnight, I grudgingly decided to go to bed. Next day, after a couple of tries, I found the correct seam line that avoids the “pockets”. Now my little case looks like the right picture. I am just glad I did not tear any fabric while continuously undoing the stitches until I got what I wanted.

I used a piece of faux leather for the bottom, and was happy to see that it stitched up just like fabric without even changing my needle. I love the bi-color case.

Now I am all set with my new sketchbooks and my brand new pencil case. One note – the case tapers toward the top, so longer pens and pencils need to sit at the bottom. Otherwise it holds my plethora of pens and pencils easily. It measures 8.0″ x 3.0″ with a depth of 2.0″. Next time I will make it a little longer for my Tombow markers.

Life in Black & White – Simple 365 Set 16

I took black and white photos over a year. Time had rolled into October during this set. That is the time I can finally head outside after spending long months at home.

That year though, it was different. So all the photos are from around the home. Things that remind me to be happy. Greens from the garden, art supplies (of course), little notes and cards that bookshops sent me with my orders, and so on. I was thankful about those little things.

I dabble with making fruit and herbal wine, so last of the mint got collected for a new batch of wine.

Please Click on the image thumbnails to see the photos.

I created a page with all the previously shared photos from Simple365. That way I can relive my journey through the year via black and white photos, like in an old photo album.

These two are stylized paintings of my cats. My vet contacted me for a set of prints of these paintings that he wanted for his collection. In these photos I am preparing the prints for framing.

I really like the black and white versions of them. The contrast surprised me.

Outside The Lines

The Two Textures of Hot Press and Cold Press

Although I paint with almost everything under the sun, I am in love with watercolor. There are two kinds of watercolor papers – cold press (CP) and hot press (HP). The difference is mostly the texture, which makes the paper behave differently.

I mostly use the textured CP paper for my paintings. However, occasionally I reach for the smoother HP paper. I often found myself wondering: what is the real difference?!

So I set out to paint the same painting twice, side by side. Same colors applied the same exact way.

Painted on hot press paper

Because of the smoother surface, HP paper tends to be lighter and gentler. This paper can’t be overworked like CP paper. So it needs a more sure hand.

Paint sits more uniformly on the smooth surface, so it looks more even.

Painted on cold press paper

I work on very wet paper and I continuously layer my paints until I get the color intensity I’m looking for. CP paper is much hardier, so it is a much better choice for me.

The texture of the CP paper is a bit temperamental with paint. The ridges and valleys hold on to paint unevenly, resulting in a more unexpected yet dramatic look.

I got much sharper lines and edges on the HP paper. Because of the smoother surface, the paint does look a bit more brilliant. Although, I hasten to add, you really have to try to see the difference.

CP paper creates a much softer edge. The texture of the paper makes the colors look a bit mellower.

When I painted the face of the fairy, I had to be super mindful to avoid the wobble of the brush as it went over the rougher surface of the CP paper.

My Takeaway

CP paper – Hard-wearing, softer outlines, and temperamental with paint. The result is not always very predictable, but that is the nature of watercolor anyway.
HP paper – Gentler, sharper outlines, more predictable paint dispersion. I found it provides a bit more control. It also stays wet longer, even in our dry California climate.

I used Arches 100% cotton paper for these paintings.

Owl and The Autumn Fairy – At The Hollow

A Little Story

All summer I wait for the Orion constellation to show up in the night sky. The idea of the owl and the fairy came from that. Each of the four fairies come to visit their owl friend when they wake up at the beginning of each season. Here, the Autumn Fairy is very happy to find her friend at the Hollow. First of many visits.

It will be a while before I can step outside comfortably without having to worry about breathing. I am looking forward to the first sighting of my perpetual sky friend.

Until next time,
-Soma