It ain’t pretty, but darn it… I darned it!

They don’t make things like they used to – really, I mean it, “they” don’t. And most people don’t take the time to fix or repair their belongings anymore either. If something breaks or tears it is tossed.

I admit to sometimes replacing things that broke – like multiple VHS VCRs over the years… when it costs less to buy a new one than to get the old one fixed, that is simple economics. The beta machine I bought survived for over 20 years, to be donated on while still functional – that was a well-made machine.

With things like clothing, how many people take the time to repair items? Themselves?

I remember I once fixed a hem on a skirt that had completely come undone during a work day – I used masking tape to put it back in place. It was a heavy polyester so the tape stuck to it well.  Then I forgot about it.   The amazing thing was that tape held for years! Through the washer and dryer multiple times too. I did eventually notice and redid the hem properly – before donating the skirt in one of our regular closet culls.

Hand-me-downs were normal for clothes, toys, furniture… pretty much anything including cars, when I was growing up. Family, friends, neighbours, anyone you knew would pass along things they no longer needed to you if had a need. Like baby clothes if you were expecting, or furniture if you had moved, toys for the kids to be passed along, dishwashers when they got a new one, a microwave, etc. Before anyone got rid of anything or donated to charity, they would check with the people they knew to see if anyone needed or wanted it.

My mom made most of our clothing, right through high school. And she would fix hems, repair tears, and convert old clothing into something new. There were four of us to keep clothed and not a lot of money, so things made their way through the family.

I remember repairing a greatly loved flannel shirt myself. It was teal and yellow plaid and it was so comfortable. But it was wearing out. Mom actually wanted to toss it – she had repaired it multiple times, and refused to anymore. So I started to mend over her mending. It had up to four layers of patches and mending in spots. I actually don’t remember if it completely disintegrated or mom removed it, but it did eventually vanish.

I routinely fix hems and seams. A lot of clothing that is available now is poorly made and you wear it once and discover holes in seams, or unravelling hems, or other flaws that need fixing. Securing buttons is a big one on new clothes – so many seem to be hanging by a single thread.

Case in point – last week I pulled a pair of heavy winter socks out of my drawer. I had not worn this particular pair yet, even though I’d had them for a couple years.

When I took them off I realized that the heel “patch” had completely separated from the body of the sock along the bottom – grey sock with green toes and heel. The weave had completely separated, if indeed, it had actually been attached at all.

I didn’t want to toss them as they are new and warm, and I’m on a budget. So decided I would darn them.

I’ve done it before but my hands are not what they used to be, neither is my eyesight.

Darning isn’t rocket surgery but being able to see helps. Even though I probably had dark green yarn, I used up some scrap yarn and floss I had sitting around from a project I finished a couple of weeks ago.  As it was different colours I was able to see what I was doing… sort of.

I didn’t take photo before I started repairing them as I hadn’t thought about posting the process, but you can see my fingers through the hole in the heel after I’d started.

How darning works is that you go through the loops of the weave that is still solid all one way across the hole, then, you go across anchoring the same way and weaving your thread through those first strands, to fill in the gap in the fabric or to pull it back together.  At least that’s how I do it. It isn’t hard BUT is fussy.

In the old days they had hard balls of bone, ceramic or glass that they would put in the heels of socks to shape them and make it easier to pass the needles through without poking yourself. I really could have used one. An old incandescent light bulb would have worked too, but none to be found around here. I tried stuffing a jar and a couple other things in there, but nothing fit or was the right shape, so I just stretched it out with my hand.

I don’t claim to be an expert and I’m sure there are probably neater ways to do this, but it worked.

Looking at these photos I feel like I sewed Ed the Sock’s mouth shut!

I turned it inside out to check and it looks not too bad. Hole is gone and mostly closed up. Ideally I should probably have pulled the two sides completely flush together, but there appeared to be a gap in the heel area – which is part of the reason I suspect the hole was there all along.

I now have a functional pair of socks again – Darn it!

Birds, and feathers

I’ve been painting  birds. There are seemingly infinite varieties of birds, with an infinite array of colour and appearance. I find their beauty fascinating and I really wanted to try to capture that.

As I lean towards realism I am trying very diligently to be as accurate as possible in how I portray the species that I am painting or drawing.

I am very lucky to know several photographers who take amazing wildlife photos, including birds, that have given permission to use their photos as my inspiration and reference images.

Some of my earlier work that featured birds include these drawings. First was done in many years ago (possibly in high school).

Then a couple of small Micron pen drawings from a few years back of a chickadee and an Adélie Penguin.

The vultures were for a school assignment. The Turkey Vulture was a study in graphite as I was trying to find the right vulture for the assignment.

I settled on the African White Backed Vulture – who I drew wearing a gas mask because it was for an illustration. This was in Micron pen, with the watercolours added later.

Then most recently I was playing around with my new, high quality Derwent pencil crayons so found a bright coloured Finch to draw.

I like to work small (I get bored easily!) With the exception of the foot, all of these are less than 8 x 10″.

I had to create a diptych (two related paintings) for an assignment, so I asked permission from my photographer friend, Marilyn Grubb at  Chipabirdee Images by Marilyn Grubb Photography & Digital Art to use some of her photos.

These are my two paintings based on her photos – a Mountain Bluebird and a Yellow Rumped Warbler. Both paintings are 8 x 10″ on stretched canvas.

Below are detail close-ups of the two little birds.

As they were so small I didn’t get the feathers right on the Warbler – he has a LOT more wing feathers than I painted. Also… I think the Mountain Bluebird may have modelled for Angry Birds.

I decided to go bigger in my next bird painting. Again using one of Marilyn’s great photos as my reference. This is a Barred Owl, 20 x 24″ on stretched canvas. It took me 30 hours – most of that was spent on the feathers.

I took progress shots as I worked at the end of each painting session. First was after many layers of gesso to get a smooth surface and doing a rough sketch in a wash of acrylic paint. Second, I did an underpainting in burnt umber of the colour placement on the owl, and roughed in the background in bright colours, then I started adding the detail from the bottom up – I stopped after getting the tail feathers done as I was getting tired.

The next session I got most of the long wing feathers and the fence post done. Fourth session I managed to get the wings finished. The fifth session I finished the head, did tweeks on the whole owl, and painted in the background.

And, after my sixth session which involved adding some detail/depth, some colour washes on the background and cleaning up the edges, the finished piece.

Below is Marilyn’s original photo that I used as my reference. I also checked on the internet for other images of a Barred Owl as I wasn’t sure if my colouring was going to be right but there is a lot of variation in the browns and how much/little there is in proportion to the white.

I see things I wish I’d done differently (common problem with artists!) but overall I am pretty happy with this owl.

P.S. The birds paintings are for sale!