Bits And Pieces

Derwent Watercolour Pencils | Whims And Fancies

 

 

With the approach of October, one of my favourite months, I find myself in the flightiest of moods.   Sitting with anything for long is a chore and the thought of finishing anything seems an impossible task.  My otherwise tidy desk is now a mirror image of my brain.  This is true except for one thing- books!  A book is the only thing that can still pin me down for hours on end.

 

 

Freedom and Read Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

Purchase Freadom Pattern

 

This week is Banned Books Week, an event sponsored by the American Library Association.  I am lucky enough to celebrate my freedom to read and think independently every day.  This FREADOM quilt I made last year is possibly my most favourite piece!  You can read about the story behind this mini here.

 

 

Dryburgh Abbey With Derwent Watercolour Pencils | Whims And Fancies

 

 

Other than travelling in the pages of my books, I also travel by means of painting places I have visited before.  I love Derwent pencils.  I already have a set of their Inktense pencils and recently I was gifted a set of the Derwent Watercolour pencils.   I am trying them out on this sketch of Dryburgh Abbey.

 

 

Hexagon Quilt | Whims And Fancies

 

 

I pulled out my Hexagon quilt again.  After having made a little over 2000 hexagons, sadly, I have lost interest in this project.  I will probably sew a few more rows and then come up with a design sans hexagons to finish this quilt.  Any ideas, anyone?

 

 

Fall And Halloween Quilt Patterns | Whims And Fancies

 

 

October of course means Autumn and Halloween.  I have been selling quite a few Fall/Halloween quilt patterns from my shops.  That means very soon I will be able to make a sizeable donation to my favourite charity.

Here is a collage of all the Autumn / Halloween blocks I made until today.  I have two orange kitties in real life, and they are both here of course!

 

 

  1. Halloween Witch Hat
  2. Cat Eyes
  3. Fall Maple Leaf

 

I always get asked about pattern links right after I publish a post, so I am including the links here should you like to purchase any.

 

 

Halloween Quilt Patterns | Whims And Fancies

 

Charlie’s Adventure

 

There won’t be any new fall or Halloween projects this year, but I have pulled out the Charlie’s Adventure quilt and its backing fabric.  I made this one for the Black Cat Crossing blog hop alongside writing a short story that goes with this quilt.  You can read the story here.  It’s high time I quilt this one.

 

Whims And Fancies

 

 

Janine from Rainbow Hare wrote a wonderful post called Leap In Colour.  I myself have been thinking about taking a leap for a while now, and her post gave me that much-needed push.  Many thanks to all of my online friends as well for their constant encouraging comments.  I started taking the first steps toward the next phase of Whims And Fancies.  Following on Janine’s footsteps, I am also letting my byline be my inspiration.

 

On the note of taking a leap, I just created a Twitter account – https://twitter.com/inktorrents

If you are on Twitter, I would love for you to follow me there!

 

 

Handmade Halloween

Joining Handmade Halloween at Needle And Foot

 

Thank you for listening,
-Soma

 

I am also linking up on Photo Friday, Life Thru The Lens, Through My Lens, Seasons, Our World Tuesday and Friday Photo Journal along with with other linky parties on my Events And Links page.

 

 

 

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FREADOM

Freedom - Bookshelf Reading Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

Purchase FREADOM Pattern

 

My grandmother grew up in a time and a place when women’s education was not valued.  While her two brothers went on to become headmasters, she didn’t get to finish her education.  When she got married, my grandfather provided her all the books she wanted to read to quench her insatiable thirst for knowledge.  She learned the value of equality and humanity from those books.  In a culture steeped in segregation, she opened her home to everyone.

 

Unlike my grandmother, I am lucky to live in a country where I can receive education, express my opinion freely, read banned books and write without fear of censorship.  I dearly love my country for all that and more.  My FREADOM quilt is made to honor the books that continue to free my mind and in red, white and blue for a country that makes it possible.

 

 

Freedom Quilt Pattern , mini made by Susie from Susie's Sunroom| Whims And Fancies

 

Purchase FREADOM Pattern

 

I asked my wonderful friend Susie from Susie’s Sunroom if she would be willing to make a mini for this blog post.   She was so enthusiastic about it that I had photos of her finished mini in my mailbox within a couple of days.  Susie has impeccable colour choices, so I knew I would love the colours she would use.  I really fell in love with the photo of her beautiful mini amidst her  books.  It was very hard to pick just one photo for this post.  Make sure to visit her blog to see more.

 

The FREADOM bookshelf quilt pattern makes a 10″ x 16″ quilt block. Both striped and non-striped versions of the R-E-A-D letters are included in the pattern.  It is also a very scrap-happy block.  Other than the background fabric, I used scraps for every bit of this mini.  The pattern is now in my shop.

 

 

 

4th Of July Fabrics | Whims And Fancies

 

 

As a thank you for reading my blog, I am giving away two sets of these Fourth of July fabrics.  Make sure that you are subscribed to my blog and leave a comment.  I will announce the two winners on July 16th.

 

 

I will leave you with my next set of index card drawings for the icad project –

 

 

ICAD 2015 - Solitude in rain | Whims And Fancies

 

Solitude in rain, breathing in the smell and quietness

 

 

ICAD 2015 - Windmill sentinel against the sunset sky| Whims And Fancies

 

Windmill sentinel against the sunset sky

 

 

ICAD 2015 - Vintage Porsche | Whims And Fancies

 

Always have had a weakness for vintage Porsches

 

 

ICAD 2015 - California Poppies | Whims And Fancies

 

California Poppies – lovely flowers of my state

 

 

ICAD 2015 - Corn Lilies | Whims And Fancies

 

Corn Lilies – I always stop at the site of corn lilies on hiking trails

 

 

ICAD 2015 - Supernova Tardis| Whims And Fancies

 

The colours started taking their own forms

 

 

ICAD 2015 - Grey dapple foal | Whims And Fancies

 

A grey dapple foal, free and beautiful like moonlight

 

 

There you have it!  They are taking up every last scrap of my time, but I am letting myself get lost in these mini index card paintings.

 

Have a fabulous weekend!
-Soma

 

 

 

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