Wonderful uses for old sweaters

While trying to find the sweaters as chairs covers blog, I found this on another site.  Great uses for old jumpers or other knits.
http://www.crookedbrains.net/2011/08/how-to-reuse-old-sweaters.html

Linking to my Fav designer blog - Designers Block: cardboard frames and chicken footstools

I know I have this blog linked on my side bar but I've just been trying to find a particular blog about knitted chair covers in it and can't find it so I am going to blog each time I see something in her newsletter that I particularly like (well everything is wonderful but perhaps things that are relevant to what I am wanting to do).  I can then search it on my blog as she doesn't seem to have a search.

So I am starting with:

1. wonderful things made from cardboard:  http://designersblock.blogspot.co.uk/2012_06_01_archive.html

2. chicken footstools - because Kim and I were discussing shrunken jumpers and these looked like they are covered with felt or shrunken wool:  http://designersblock.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/put-your-feet-up-on-chicken.html

Painting bathroom furniture white

Bathroom chair and shopper that I use for laundry hamper.

I have a million things to paint white including the terrible aqua on that wall - the only colour left from the previous tennant.

Sofa covering

Didn't want black so covered leather sofa with old blanket and John's old blue cotton jumper.  Did as quickly as possible - yesterday and today.   Unlike John's when I took weeks and made proper covers with piping etc.  I had too many other things to do like painting etc.

Original black leather sofa which I had covered in white quilt.  It's my second sofa, other one is white.  I don't really have room for both, but until I can convince John he needs it, it's main use is for storing knitting basket and books.

Sofa recovered in cut up white cotton blanket and Johns old blue cotton jumper he had thrown out.  I had kept it because I loved the colour and the pattern on the edging.  I knew I would find a use for it.  The blue side cusions normally zip onto sofa but I forgot to leave gap and anyway I think it's better they are movable.

I had little fluffy cushions - see below - one black, one white which were really just dust gatherers so I used scraps to cover them.

I still think the white fluff looks cute but you just don't feel like resting your head on it cause you just don't know what might be in there.

Now you see the shoddiness - just sewn up corners and added ties.  I didn't have enough fabric and couldn't be bother sewing on other backing fabric and the above back cushion zips onto the sofa at the back so had to leave that open - Not zipping at the moment to see if really need to.

The base cushions underneath.

Now I need to find storage for all the blankets I use to store under the cushions and above them under the white quilt.

This poof might do - next project - if i can rip off bottom and find way of adding another closing bottom to hold in the blankets.

Starting a series of drawings in preparation for portrait

Took lots of very close up pics of John so I can make sketch studies in preparation for a painted portrait.  Not sure if end result will be one big picture or a series of small ones.  This first sketch is first of eye studies.  At the moment doing in PSD using the photo to start to 'see' the minute details and shapes before trying it freehand/eyeballing it.

Mucking about in Photoshop

Since using Photoshop for the Shadows projects as well as having intended to play with it's painting tools and my drawing tablet for first time in years,  I did a little flower painting - more graphics than painting style.  It was fun.  I finally got round to sorting out the shortcut keys for tools so I can quickly change between, brush, eraser, colour picker and bucket fill - all inspired by the phone app.  I was never this quick when I used it before.  It was the quick mode of use of the app that inspired me to check out how I could use PSD more quickly.

Mint and Parsley

New Artist I've discovered - Jane Corsellis

Going to see her exhibition at Messums in a couple of weeks.   I will miss the talk there tomorrow by David Tress because of the stupid jubilee street closures.

 See a lot more of her work on Messum's artist archive:

http://www.messums.com/inventory.php?artist=312

Postscript - I saw exhbition on 23rd June and the above interiors were my favourites.  I really studied them and want to try one.