Grandma’s vinegar cruet

I cleaned out my ink pen drawer today. Among the things forgotten is this refillable felt tip pen with Kuretaki refill cartridges in its body. It still writes, with a soft gray ink.

So I jumped right in and drew Grandma’s vinegar cruet — without pencil guide lines!

It would have been more impressive if I’d included those bursts of light in the shadows and on the bottle itself. But for a quick sketch without any fuss, this was fun!

(The text turned messy, even with previously drawn pencil lines,)

UPDATE: Ahh! Mystery solved! I found the pen on jetpens.com — it’s a Kuretaki Karappo that comes with empty cartridges. I had apparently filled these with Noodler’s Lexington gray ink.

eggs have grown in size . . .

My brother and I were looking through some of our mom’s belongings yesterday, and among them was this very tiny egg cup. We don’t know if it once belonged to Mom’s mother or grandmother, but eggs were definitely smaller then!

I spread out my sketching tools in a Wichita hotel to sketch it this morning. And was obviously too quick at erasing the faint pencil lines where text was added. Ink smudges seem to be my trademark. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 🖋️ 

Grandma’s snack set

When my brother and I were children, our grandmother would sometimes serve us snacks on her set of glass plates with ruby-red colored glass cups, made by Anchor Hocking in the 1950s. And we never dropped or broke a piece!

Later she gave the set to me — and sadly I lost it. When we moved from the 1913 bungalow we once lived in, we forgot to check the tiny cupboards in the kitchen near the ceiling. After all, they were only hiding some vent work, right? Wrong! Years later I remembered that these dishes had been stashed up there when I needed room for something else. For all I know, they may still be hidden up there. And I don’t know the buyer’s name anymore. That was well over 20 years ago.

I looked them up online to sketch this memory page from the photos.

remembering Grandma in triads

This past year, my mother moved into my brother’s home to recover from an injury . . . and was asked to stay permanently. They are clearing through her house and belongings, getting ready to sell.

These items are some of the treasures she sent to me that had belonged to her mother. I remember the vinegar cruet sitting on the dining room table, and I have long loved the flapper-style half doll. My grandma was a “flapper” in her youth! Half dolls were often sewn into pin cushions and Grandma was a very talented seamstress, as is my mom. Maybe I’ll do that with this doll some day.

Grandma also collected salt & pepper shakers. This bumble bee set from the 1950s is more correctly a condiment set but online sources say they were sometimes used for salt and pepper. That thing sticking out the back is a tiny spoon.

Bill was thinking they’d be great for holding mustard and horseradish. Other sources say jam and honey.

I wanted to use the “winter” triad from my new Triad Palette for both pages as the colors seemed “antique” to me, but I ended up using the spring palette for the half doll to mix the delicate skin tone. The bees were done in the winter colors — I found out that indanthrone stains when I didn’t move quick enough on the front bee’s back!

recent sketching

I sketched this lovely teacup and saucer last Friday at a friend’s place. She also gave me a rock she had picked up last year at Loch Lomond — the song by that name has always been a favorite of mine! I often sang it to babies while rocking them to sleep. A time or two the baby would cover my mouth, knowing it would make them go to sleep!

So, over the next few days, I drew the new rock alongside two other rocks from Scotland, from the Black Isle and Loch Ness, to fill out this 2-page spread.

playing with the negative

I drew some old jewelry and watches here, just to practice painting a smooth background negative space. But #1: the color I picked was not enough contrast from the ink lines, and #2: the color I chose is a granulating blend of blue and black (Daniel Smith’s Lunar Blue) which jumps from blue to black in unexpected ways. More practice needed . . .

The watches belonged to Bill’s and my mothers, the pearls and small child’s ring were his grandmother’s, the man’s ring we think was his great-grandfather’s, and the brooches and ruby ring were my grandmother’s.

decorating with found objects

As we walked through the barn last year, trying to imagine how the alley and tack rooms could be converted into our home, we noticed some things we could use later on — an old-time telephone sign, a Texas star, and a large tree stump that made a good seat now being used as such on the patio.

The phone sign now hangs on a cedar post on the covered back patio which is our family gathering spot. The star decorates the very tall pantry door.

Later, as I was cutting back one of the Very Overgrown lantanas, I found a deer skull with antlers completely hidden by the bush. What better to hang from the center support beam?

Studying the deer skull up close, I was reminded of Psalm 139:13, “For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.” The seams of the bone actually do appear to be knit together!

our old windmill

Yesterday I spent most of my time errand running, grocery shopping, and reading. (We went to buy paint but then I realized I had forgotten my chosen paint sample card — couldn’t remember the name — seems like there’s a hundred different “whites”.) 

I wished to draw something but hadn’t much energy left — so I sketched another of Bill’s grandmother’s treasures. This wooden toothpick holder sat on her table for as long as Bill can remember; no one knows who carved it or how old it is.

The waviness of the journal text side shows that when I do add watercolor, I’m still using too much water in my mix. But this is just an illustrated diary so page crinkling doesn’t matter. This Stillman & Birn Nova sketchbook does seem to call for text on the left page, sketch on the right. I’m not sure why, it just does. Sketches crossing the center gutter seem awkward due to the book not opening completely flat.

I used a Lamy Safari fountain pen this time, filled with my own “burnt sienna” mix of De Atramentis Document red plus a wee smidgen of black. A few highlights were added at the last minute with a white colored pencil.

BTW, if anyone is interested in the text quotes I jotted down on the left page, this and 2 other books can be downloaded for free from Wayne Jacobsen’s website, HERE.

Grandma’s tools

Lately my hands have been itching to do some knitting or crocheting. I found this great online site, Hobbii, that offers free patterns I’ve been browsing through. After selecting a pattern and ordering some yarn, I went to my grandmother’s cedar chest where I store sewing and knitting supplies.

And came across these antique tools that once belonged to Bill’s grandmother. They are old enough, they might have been passed down from her mother or grandmother. Some are carved of bone while others might be ivory; all are very tiny for producing fine doilies and lace.

I used to work this tiny, producing things like beaded necklaces from the Flapper era. My eyes just aren’t happy with such tiny work anymore but I love handling these tools that generations before me have used.

A crocheted beaded necklace, c. 1920

woodshops and dust collectors

Monday afternoon we headed towards Pflugerville to attend a Boy Scout Christmas event with grandson Quen. Heading out too early, we stopped first in Elgin where we saw an antique shop that we’d somehow missed up till now. Tons of treasures! We’ll have to come back when we have more time to look. Bill did find this old scraper — says he’s wanted one “forever”! — so we bought it.

Then we made a stop in Manor where our son Matt is hard at work getting a new woodworking company set up with contract jobs. Bill loved looking at all the equipment they are setting up to do the work. The shiny new dust collector system shown in the above sketch is not nearly as picturesque as the rickety old dust collector where he used to work in Georgetown, shown below.

new kitchen light

Bill is now back in his woodshop now — his first project was to turn a vintage galvanized milk strainer into our new kitchen light. And we love it! So much that we are keeping the old lights just in case; if we should ever move away from this cabin, we are taking the new lights with us!

His next project, make the task light that goes over the stove — out of a galvanized chicken feeder!

(The cool thing about sketching is all the dirty dishes and clutter instantly disappeared!)

soon-to-be kitchen lights!

I’ve finally caught up with the actual date of the Inktober challenge! I’m not following the official drawing prompts and I began a few days late, but this sketch is my #7 drawing and I actually drew it on the 7th!

When we bought our log cabin, it had lots of ”fru-fru” type lights and decor  — even a silly chandelier! Definitely NOT our preferred style for a rustic log cabin in the woods! One by one, we have made changes that better fit a simple country cabin.

The current kitchen lights are frilly-looking glass shades on lots of chains — chains that collect lots of grease and dust! After thinking through lots of ideas and visiting lots of antique shops for inspiration, Bill found a vintage chicken feeder and milk strainer on Etsy. He plans to wire them with LED lights and hang them upside-down from the log rafters: the large milk strainer as the central light and the chicken feeder as a task light over our main work area.

finally! I found another one . . .

The upper vintage Prang watercolor box is one I've had for years. I love it's being metal yet so much lighter in weight than modern metal watercolor boxes. And a full-sized brush fits inside, depending on how many pans of paint I put inside.

A couple of years ago, I foolishly took my Prang box to the beach --- we were camping right at the gulf shore on Mustang Island. Lots of wind and sand! My poor box was sand-blasted inside and out as I sketched and painted! 

The paints were able to be cleaned up without too much loss but the inside finish of the box was ruined. I tried sanding it down and spraying with an enamel paint, but the surface still fought my mixing paints on it.

Now and then, I would check on eBay but these boxes have caught on in popularity; average prices were $25 and higher for boxes in poor shape with rusty areas. I was willing to settle for a box from the 1950's though I do love this Art Deco version with it's wee Old Faithful geyser, as long as the inside was in good shape,

And finally I found this one for only $10! I didn't know the Prang company had a primaries version. I removed the tray and set my own pans in place -- this time, using pans with a magnet on the bottom to hold them in place easily. 

And here it is, filled with an earthy granulating palette for autumn. (Granulation without all that sandy grit furnished by the Gulf of Mexico!)

ordering tea & other tea tales

I have not found a local source to purchase one of my favorite teas, Earl Grey Green. The absolute best of this blend is the loose leaf variety made by Taylors of Harrogate! In Kansas, the "local" source was actually about a 3-hour drive to Kansas City, but we were passing through on our way to sketchcrawls with Cathy "Kate" Johnson anyway.

In the Kansas City Plaza there was a cheese shop called The Better Cheddar which carried a large assortment of Taylors teas, both loose leaf and tea bags.

While tea bags are handy to pop in my purse and go, the full flavor of the tea is usually better when brewing loose leaves. I have amassed several infusers for the purpose.

 

 (An exception would be those tea bags generally shaped like pyramids, like this tea bag from T2 that Australian artist Liz Steel gave me. She was on an extended visit to the United States and made a stopover in Kansas City for a quick sketchcrawl with Kate and me.)

I used to steep loose leaves of tea in this spoon-shaped infuser, but Liz taught me that it is too "cramped", not allowing the leaves to expand for the best flavor.

 So I now own several infusers that allow leaves to expand. Including the glass infuser that fits in its own glass teapot that my daughter gave me for my birthday.

Anyway, I began ordering tea on Amazon, being unable to find what I want in local stores. I was specifically looking for Taylors loose-leaf Earl Grey Green but could only find it offered in teabags. So I also tried a loose leaf of the same flavor from The English Tea Store. After sampling both, with and without a bit of milk added, I've come to the conclusion that Taylors, even in a teabag, is way better than English Tea Store in loose leaf!

 Even wee Jeremiah enjoys a good cuppa as he sits on my kitchen shelf.

Bill's "new" woodshop porch lamps

After looking for over a year, Bill finally has the outdoor lights he wants for his woodshop! At least he has them in his possession --- He needs to clean them up, electrify them, and hang them on the shop's wrap-around porch.

He has often found one single antique lamp he liked, but never two. Then, on Saturday, we took a spur-of-the-moment drive to Round Top and wandered through several antique shops . . . where he found these two railroad lamps. Both still contain the original reflectors inside and both still have the filters that change from clear to blue to red. After electrifying them, he plans to use flame-type bulbs in them to maintain the antique feel.

teatime

So many online sketchers have drawn lovely tea cup & saucers, especially after taking classes with Liz Steel. But I don't own any real tea cups with saucers, preferring to drink my tea from large mugs.

Unless you count the tiny tea set pieces left from Bill's grandmother's childhood set. I have several mismatched pieces that will be passed on to our granddaughters.

For years I have steeped tea leaves with the diffuser drawn on the upper right, balancing the little handle on the edge of my mug. But the handle broke off and tea leaves get loose in the mug. So Bill found this new diffuser for me --- Oversized to allow leaves to expand and it dimly clips onto the side of any mug. An added bonus: the attached handle forms a drip-tray so I can set it down anywhere without making a mess.