October Art

October is Inktober. While I'm not much of a pencil or pen artist, I am a big fan of digital art. I love my undo. Layers are also a super-handy feature. With paper and pen you only get the one chance. Based on tutorial by Art with Flo.  

I'm pretty much complete rubbish with following prompts for these sorts of things so I just do what makes me happy. This was done following a tutorial by Art with Flo. If you're new to digital art and Procreate I recommend checking YouTube for some tutorials to help you through some creations. Tutorials are a great way to learn the tool even if you don't want to do the same kind of art. 

Sometimes what I come up with is really just tracing a photo and adding my own touches. I follow several Instagram cats and Curious Zelda is one of my favorites. When I saw the inspiration photo for this one I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Very minimal drawing and colors and I love the result. 

Some are better than others but they are steps along the path to getting better at digital art. Besides, once you get the tools you can create again and again and use very few resources. 

Follow my Instagram (@beccascrazyprojects) to see these as I complete them. Because I'm me, you will see sewing, quilting, digital art, and sometimes photos of my dog. 

Buy your own (affiliate links):

Apple iPad Mini (Wi-Fi, 64GB) - Space Gray
Apple Pencil
Fintie Case with Pencil Holder for iPad Mini 5

Going Home Sweater

I stacked up some of my glorious loot from Aunt Betty so I could settle on something. 

I pulled this cute little print and a coordinating solid. 

The pattern is the Going Home Sweater by Ellie & Mac. 

I want to tell you I love this pattern but I don't. I love the quality of the pattern and the directions. What I don't love is that neckline. I'm not one to show off and I wear t-shirts with a crew neck almost every day. Yes, every day. For work. This neckline just didn't suit my comfort zone or style. What's a person to do? Well, Ellie & Mac also make the Straight Fit Raglan Top. That collar on that pattern totally suits me. So I did some simple mashing and now I can make the Going Home Sweater with a crew neck. 

The difference isn't that obvious in this photo but I can assure you I'm much more comfortable. 

Here is my finished Going Home Sweater with crew neck. The next hack will add pockets. Half the fun of making your own clothes is to put pockets in everything ready-to-wear leaves them out of. The color blocking on this one was fun, too. 

Tools and Supplies (affiliate links):

Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
Fiskars Rotary Cutter
Fiskars Rotary Cutter replacement blades
Creative Grids 4.5" x 12.5" Rectangle Quilting Ruler
Grabbit Magnetic Pin Cushion
Fiskars 8-inch scissors
BLACK+DECKER Classic Steam Iron

Aunt Betty Strikes Again

In case you haven't heard of Aunt Betty, you should check out my tagged blog posts on the matter. If you want a quick primer, you should check out this Professor Pincushion video which explains it all. 

Over the last couple weeks a friend of mine has been cleaning up her sewing room. Partly to clear the clutter and partly to make room to work. Some of that decluttering went to the thrift store and some came to me. I am like an overzealous fosterer when it comes to fabric. I love it so much I can't say no. 

That's right, five trash bags full of fibery treasures. What's inside? Well, mostly a thing I don't really have much of: knits. 

Let's save some time and post a couple collages. Here we have each bag of fabric dumped out. 

Then, each fabric (not in the same order, surely) but folded and stacked neatly. There are some wovens in there, some fleece, some denim. A generally fun mix of fabrics. I see so much sewing ahead of me. I may have to reinstitute Wardrobe Wednesdays while I work through some of this fabric. Remember, if you sew your own clothes you get to add pockets to everything. 

Pattern designers I'm supporting in this endeavor:

Rad Patterns

Ellie & Mac Sewing Patterns

Patterns for Pirates PDF Sewing Patterns

Not a fan of printing on your home printer and assembling patterns yourself? I highly recommend PDF Plotting. They offer excellent service at a reasonable price. Save on shipping by sending several patterns at time. 

New iPad and Procreate

Somehow I managed to own this iPad mini for about five years and never dropped it hard enough to crack the screen and then, in one day I dropped it twice in about 10 minutes and this is what I ended up with. I decided it was time to buy a new iPad. 

If you already have an iPad setting up your new one is a snap. It is as simple as turning them both on and following the on-screen prompts. I was up and running in about 10 minutes. All my apps and files were copied over so the transition was painless.  

I picked up a case that I liked. These come in many different styles but this one was my favorite. 

I really splurged and also bought the Apple Pencil. I'd seen them and really wanted to give it a try. I also downloaded the art program Procreate because I have seen so many artists use it. I've been doing tutorials to learn the tools. Procreate is very powerful and you can get amazing results. 

Here is the second drawing I completed using a tutorial by Art with Flo. Flo makes learning the tool fun and you get to complete something without feeling like you're just learning the ins and outs of Procreate. I've done several of her tutorials and I've learned something new each time. The finished drawings show up in my Instagram feed as I finish them if you want to see more. 

Buy your own (affiliate links):

Apple iPad Mini (Wi-Fi, 64GB) - Space Gray
Apple Pencil
Fintie Case with Pencil Holder for iPad Mini 5