Merry Christmas
Welcome to Christmas Morning, for those who celebrate, I hope Santa was good to you and maybe brought you some fibery goodness. For those that don’t celebrate, I hope you are enjoying a nice day off and have time to felt.
I was stuck about what to blog about today. I haven’t made any presents or really anything much. I haven’t been feeling very Christmasy until the last few days when we got some snow. But then we had this surprise last Saturday.
Yes, they should not be born now but some of our sheep are able to breed all year and this Ewe and the Ram seem to have plans that were different than ours. Best laid plans and all that.
That was a good start and I bet the cuteness has hooked you to keep reading.
Chatting the other day about sketchbooks, some people said they don’t have one because they can’t draw. I can’t draw but I keep them anyway. I try to write things beside the pictures so I know what I was thinking later. I don’t always do it and later wonder what on earth I was trying to draw. Sometimes it sparks new ideas.
I thought I would share a few pages to encourage people. Sketchbooks are just for yourself, for ideas or inspiration not an art project in themselves. I have seen some that are published, they are beautiful. Mine are not like that. I am sure you will recognize some of these ideas.
I use them to doodle shapes
Do sketches. Can you tell I like sheep pictures?
And work out how to do things.
I like smallish flip pads. These are 6 inches by 9 inches. or 152mm by 229mm. I have some that are a bit smaller A5 size. I think that’s a standard everywhere but in North America. We always have to be different. 🙂 I like them because they fit easily in my basket or a bag. They are also cheap pads. $1.50 at the Dollar Store.
I will be doing some sketches for some Christmasy things for next year. I just need to remember to look at them in October so there is time to work on them.
They may not be pretty but I find them useful. I hope I have inspired you to give it a try. It doesn’t matter if you can draw, once you stop worrying about it, its fun.
Thanks for reading and commenting and joining us all year. You have all kept me going as we all work our way through these difficult times. All’s wool that end’s wool.
20 thoughts on “Merry Christmas”
Good morning Ann and what a lovely surprise, I wasn’t expecting to see a post this morning (obviously hadn’t looked too close at the posting calendar)and certainly wasn’t expecting to see new born lambs!
Regarding sketchbooks, mine aren’t particularly beautiful but they are meant for my eyes only so that doesn’t matter. They are mostly on the lines of your third example, illustrated notes of ideas or diagrams/notes of how I have created a design or piece of work. I keep notes of where my inspiration came from, template shapes/sizes, fibre type, colours used, weight of wool, things that went right/wrong, etc. All useful stuff for future projects.
Enjoy the rest of your day and Merry Christmas to everyone!
I am glad you like both surprises. I don’t mind surprise lambs so much when it’s not so cold, last Saturday was a nice unseasonably warm day. We have snow again now so it looks like Christmas today.
It’s good to hear that I am not alone in having a non-publishable sketchbook.
How nice to get a post on Christmas Day!
My husband had a fall yesterday and although he’s not badly hurt himself (we hope) he is in a lot of pain. We were having a friend to visit for the day and he’s not too well either. So Christmas is postponed and I’ll just get on with Iphelia’s costume!
Hope everyone has a good day.
Ann
I am sorry to hear about your husband and your friend. we had freezing rain last night so I hope we all stay on our feet as we wander around. I hope you get to have Christmas soon. Enjoy the costume making.
Happy Christmas everyone (sorry to hear about your husband Ann).
Lovely lambs Ann – so cute! I like your sketchbooks and you are right – drawing skills are not essential just as long as you can get your ideas down on paper.
When your comment showed up in my email I read it before Ann’s and wondered what I had said about my husband.
I am glad you like the lambs. They are very cute.
It’s fun to doodle and work out ideas for future projects.
Merry Christmas! I always love your lamb photos. Your sketch books are great and I think you draw just fine. Always good to have notes to go with the drawn ideas. Otherwise, I am definitely confused 🙄
Thanks, Ruth, I am confused a lot. LOL, I hope you have a great Christmas.
Thank you for your honest writing. 2021 was another tough year. You inspire.
Your welcome Lillian. It has been another year for the books, hasn’t it? I hope 2022 will bring some improvements. Hang in there.
How lovely to get a Christmas post especially with the lambs that symbolise the hope we all have for the new year.
Sketch books….mmm! I have fits, starts & stops with them, then end up with bits of paper with the ideas on. I really should be more disciplined.
Hoping that sore husbands, poorly friends, and struggling folk have a better year to come.
Happy festive season everyone.
Thanks, Antje. I have ups and downs with my sketchbooks. Lots of sketching and then only occasionally, then another spat of drawing. Disciplined? that sounds like too much work.
Happy Holidays!
Oh what a perfect surprise. They are really cute. Thank you for sharing your sketchbooks. I am in the can’t draw don’t do sketchbook camp but would love too, so your encouragement really helps. The daft thing is I do occasionally draw stuff when planning something!
Lambs are so cute, aren’t they?
All you need to do is do that planning in a sketchbook. Then you can find it later.
Get a cheap one. Mine cost $1.50 Canadian. I’ve looked at them in the book store and the art store and if I paid that much for them I wouldn’t be able to draw in them. As a first project, design a cover for the sketch pad.
Ann, really sorry to hear about your hubby, I hope he is recovering and that your friend is feeling better. Looking forward to seeing your progress on the costume. Alas, all our pantomimes have been cancelled – it’s a real blow to the entertainment industry here, just heard on the radio this morning that the final ‘big panto’ is no longer – actors and staff were advised by email yesterday. Needless to say all are gutted. Here’s to better times!
I haven’t been looking at my feed for the past few days and saw your post this morning. I love your two lambs, just want to cuddle them. Did I see one of them modelling a jumper on FB Ann?
You just hit on what will be my New Year resolution (forget healthy eating and losing weight) mine will have to be to keep a sketchbook. I tend to work through things in my head and lose nights’ sleep in the process. Yours are really detailed, thank you for sharing them.
The one with the jumper was born on Boxing Day. The weather has turned cold again. There was another set of twins too, so we are up to 5. The other ones were smarter and found the milk bar right away. Rams can be very fast when they are not supposed to be out.
Keeping a sketchbook sounds like a far better and more fun resolution than losing weight.
i truly love your lamb collection! (you get the best living room decore sometimes!- but this year all in the barn) you may have to have a chat urlyer next year with the boys so you dont get more fabulous barn presents!
i tend to think a lot and then go look for foto reference, but for Dragon i went back to sketching. just not in my sketchbook. i should pull it out again, with no teacher wanting to look through it, its freeing to expand or abandon an idea as you want. mine is an old spiral bound more expencive sketch book. i think the cheep sketch book is less intimitdating, its not a maskerpeice its a quick visusla note to jog your memory later (dont forget or loose a good idea!)
i hope i can see your new christmas additions soon!
Stop wishing living room lambs on me. sheesh like I don’t have enough to keep me busy. LOL Rams are boneheaded so not much penetrates.
You will need to venture to Dollarama and get a new just for me sketchbook.
Happy Christmas, Ann! What a lovely present the two lambs must have been. They’re adorable and the parents look proud (humans included, haha)
As someone who lives with a professional painter with lots (LOTS) of sketchbooks, I definitely see the appeal. I’m more of a bullet journal kind of girl and you’re right, writing/drawing things really helps with creativity 🙂
Have a lovely rest of the season!
Lambs are always so cute. Do you sneak peeks at his notebooks for inspiration? I hope you having a good holiday time.