Painting - crochet coffee break

I'm making slipper socks for the chillier weather and made a drawing for this still life during my coffee break.  I needed to finish the slippers, so I added notes to remind myself of tonal values and colours so I could paint it later.

BONNIE BOON gets her own blog!

JUST A QUICK UPDATE!
Some of you may have noticed that I'm a fidget, who can't keep her hands still. When I'm not painting, I also like to fiddle with fibre and threads. I fear that this, my studio blog, had begun to look slightly schizophrenic and confusing, with all my output mixed together. So as of now my alterego, Bonnie Boon, has her own blog to play with.

See you there!

Now a little something for me ....

Last Christmas a special friend from England sent me this gorgeous yarn along with other knitterly goodies. Since then I've taken it out and stroked it lovingly occasionally, but mainly I've had it tucked away safely in tissue paper until the day when I could relax and enjoy using it. I have a few days now before leaving for a very chilly London and our family Christmas .... so the time has arrived to make something snug for myself :))













Work in Progress 1.

LATEST PICS!

Bonny Boon's 'new look' continues.

Introducing the Divine Miss M!

At long last the new studio helper has arrived from New York, without a hint of jet lag as luck would have it. So I set her to work straight away and got the camera clicking on a few new pics.

FAVOURITE BOOKS Challenge

I just checked messages on my way to bed and got such a surprise. My Bella Scarf has won the 'Warm & Cosy' Challenge set for the fabulous Etsy European Street Team of artists and craftistas by Chichi last week. These challenges are a fun way to encourage thinking outside the box of our usual creativity and though I've only recently become involved I'm finding it all great fun!

It's now upto to me to choose a new topic to inspire the team. As I'm new to this, I just hope I don't suggest a theme that has been chosen previously.

I suggest the theme of FAVOURITE BOOKS. How does that grab you Euros?! Ways to interpret this should be many and various! I'll update this post during the week as entries are sent to me. So please email or convo your entries as soon as they are created.

1) Hundred Years of Solitude necklace - by Vadjutka. One of her favorite books, along with East of Eden and The Master and Margarita.

This poppy flower - made of a colorful silk - recalls the sometimes sultry, sometimes ethereal, sometimes magical and sometimes realistic atmosphere of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's world.

The poppy flower is accompanied by olive colored glass flowers and pink, lilac, yellow and olive glass beads.


2) Como Agua para Chocolate necklace by Fleurfatale, inspired by Mexican novelist Laura Esquival: , it's translated as: Like water for chocolate.

The novel follows the story of a young girl named Tita who longs her entire life for her lover, Pedro, but can never have him because of her domineering mother's traditional belief that the youngest daughter must not marry but take care of her mother until the day she dies.

Tita is only able to express her passions and feelings through her cooking, which causes the people
who taste it to experience what she feels.


3) 'The Time Traveler's Wife' necklace by StarOfTheEast. Inspired by the magical book by Audrey Niffeneger.

The Time Traveler's Wife is the extraordinary love story of Clare and Henry who met when Clare was six and Henry thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-two and Henry thirty. Impossible but true, because Henry suffers from a rare condition where his genetic clock periodically resets and he finds himself pulled suddenly into his past or future. In the face of this force they can neither prevent nor control, Henry and Clare's struggle to lead normal lives is both intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

4) 'Elizabet Bennet goes out' felted wrap by Ingermaaike.
Her all time favorite is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

This wrap full of beautiful colors and loaded with silk is the one Elizabeth Bennet would have worn when going for an outing with the wonderful mister Darcy after they were happily married.

The wool is dyed in pinks, purples and deep blues and it is overlaid with a layer of silk fiber in the same colors.

115 cm (45.3") X 125 cm (49.2")

5) Lizzie Wrist Warmers by Petronella of P8Accessories, who says:

'These wrist warmers were made for Elizabeth Bennet ("Lizzy"), star of "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen (1813).
This is my all time Favourite Book, because Jane Austen creates her characters in a humoristic and frighteningly realistic way (these 19th century persons still exist today ....), and this book is her best one because I am in love with Elizabeth Bennet, Mister Darcy, and in another way with Reverend Collins. Elizabeth is my all time Favourite Book Character, because she is witty, intelligent and robust, and because I recognize many of her characteristics as the person that I myself would much like to be.

I have made these wrist warmers of a turquoise stretch cotton ribcord with a paisley pattern, which was very popular in Elizabeth's Empire period. Especially with the short sleeves of that period, these wrist warmers would have been very comfortable, also because they are lined with a light blue stretch cotton tricot'.


6) Big Brother Brooch by Nanouke.

Nanouke says: 'My favorite book is 1984 by George Orwell.
It's a book about fear, totalitarianism, how the reality can be shaped by the media and propaganda.
It's also a book about love.
I read this book when I was 17 and it changed my life. It's a reference to my life and that's what I love about books, they can change you.

"Big Brother is watching you", there's where I got my inspiration. The darkness of it, the unusual shape, and the bead, resembling an eye. I wrapped the bead in hand knitted black wire and attached a pin to the back'.


7) Queen of Hearts necklace by Dinafragola

Inspired by the Queen from Alice in Wonderland, a lovely all red necklace featuring a polka dotted heart and 3 little all red hearts. It is 15 inches long and closes with a lobster clasp.





8) Dark Alice Necklace by Dinafragola.

Inspired by Alice in Wonderland, a lovely all black ballchain necklace featuring a teapot, a key and a heart. It is 18 inches (46cm) long.

I've just discovered that fingerless mittens are brilliant for wearing while crocheting or painting on chilly evenings. Here's my latest pair in Dark Chocolate. Perfect if you're a secret choccie nibbler and need camouflage. 

For sale $22 plus shipping.  Please click here to convert to your own currency.

BELLA SCARFLETTE Neckwarmer FREEFORM CROCHET

I love neutral greys but this time I've also added a shot of warmth to it in this Bella Scarflette. Mohair and manmade fibres in Warm Grey, Deep Wine, Terracotta/Lavender blend and Muted Coral.

For Sale $42 plus shipping.  Please click here to convert to your own currency.

Baby Viking Hat

Here's my second attempt at the European Street Team challenge. This week's theme was Vikings! Not a subject I would normally have been playing with, but what fun it turned out to be. I wore a smile all the time I was making this Baby Viking hat.

Just goes to show that Challenges are good for us. Makes us experiment in ways we might not otherwise.

Also, here's a little Flower Brooch in shades of Grey and White.

SHADES OF GREY skinny scarf

Today's Skinny Scarf in 3 shades of Grey, is having to be draped over the stairs for this shot as still there is no mannequin doll delivery yet :(

I hope when she arrives that she's as glamourous as I'm hoping. And ready to work, despite the jet-lag :)

I intend giving her a name! Better still, why don't we have a Contest to find a name for her. Maybe I'll offer a prize to the person with the best suggestion. But don't comment with any suggestions just yet. Wait until you've been properly introduced to her and then I'll give you a few days to take part. In the meantime, keep your eye on this blog for her arrival. I ordered her 3 weeks ago, so she's somewhere between New York and Cyprus. (Deep sigh)

Scarf for sale $35 plus shipping.

COFFEE LATTE AND DARK CHOCOLATE Skinny Scarf

I've ordered a mannequin doll from the USA and she's taking an age to arrive. I think she'd look really snug all gussied up in this Coffee and Chocolate skinny scarf. But it's nothing if not versatile and for now I had to temporarily adorn some ironwork on the staircase whilst I took this shot.

I love using free-form crochet and letting things happen organically. At the moment I'm loving neutral shades, together with smooth and textured yarn worked together.

For sale $35 plus shipping.

WARM & COOL!

At last I've got my wish for the weather to cool down. Daylight hours are just perfect now, with a little warmth from the sun... around 23C . In the evening however it really is a bit chilly ... not used to that at all. And definitely feel the need for something snug around the neck.

I made this choker neckwarmer for Bonnie Boon, and now making another one for myself. Also starting to incorporate vintage buttons from my collection into some pieces. I've been looking at them, stroking them and storing them for years ... so I guess it's time to share.

RIPPLES IN A POOL felt beads and crochet brooch.

This brooch is my Aqua entry for the Etsy European Street Team weekly Challenge. 

Now SOLD.

It was inspired by the idea of ripples caused by throwing a pebble into a pool of water. Created using felt, cotton and woolen yarn, irridescent glass beads, mother of pearl and a turquoise bead. Using crochet and embroidery techniques.

This is my first attempt at a group challenge. It was fun. I shall try to find time to do others of the challenges as they occur.

Introducing BONNIE BOON Designs

Now here's a surprise! My secret it out .... atleast I've decided to 'come out'. And confess that I am a closet crafter. There .... I've said it! Phew! that wasn't as hard to say as I thought it would be. I feel better already.

Ok, to family and folks who know me well, it's not that big a surprise. When I was 5 years old, my Granny Boon taught me to crochet and knit. And when a little older Mum showed me simple embroidery stitches. In the 1970's I ran a tiny cottage industry, with homeworkers converting my designs into handmade sweaters. Then later I was a needlework project designer for craft magazines and eventually Amathusia Designs was born.

For some time now painting is all I've wanted to do, except for a blip last Autumn when the slipped disc put me on my back for a couple of months. To stave off boredom, verging on temporary insanity, I discovered that it's possible to crochet whilst horizontal. Since then I've been back to a painterly norm until Baby Max was expected and I set about making tiny garments for him.

To my surprise I've found that I still love to crochet and so I just kept on going. I love the fact you can do it practically anywhere with no pallaver or masses of equiment. I love the fact that you have just one stitch and it can just happen free-form without a pattern (similar to painting in that respect), adding bits and taking them away just as easily (the equivilent of a turpsy rag when painting with oils LOL)

OK .... so there's a limit to the need for hats and scarves in Cyprus. So what to do with the finished pieces all neatly and lovingly wrapped in tissue paper and increasing by the day? It was obvious really .... open another shop. My Granny Boon, who was 93 when she died, would be astonished to know there's such a thing as the internet. It just feels so appropriate to give the shop her name. So Bonnie Boon it is. She would have been tickled pink :)

I toyed with the idea of creating a separate blog for Bonnie Boon. Should I be precious and keep the 'art' separated, breathing purer air so as not to be contaminated by it's lowly cousin, I thought. Or should I push the shy new-borne forward and let her mix with the rest of the family. To heck with it, I decided. They're all my children LOL!