Sunday 9 August 2015

Colouring for Adults

Have you heard of this new craze? People are designing colouring books for adults!  I spent many hours colouring Doodle Art pictures when I was young, so I had to try these books out. One of the most popular is Secret Garden by Johanna Basford. This is my first page from the Secret Garden book.


Johanna's book was totally sold out in New Zealand in July, so I bought a Bollywood one instead (on the left below). I started a couple of pictures in it, but soon found that colouring was eating into stitching time.



another picture from the Bollywood book

Last week new supplies of Secret Garden arrived on the shelves, and as soon as I looked inside I knew I had to buy it.  The drawings are amazing - there's so much detail in them.

with my la passacaglia rosettes
It took me four days to colour this picture. I used felt pens on this one. I used to do card making and I had some old Tombow brush pens which were great for this.  I think I'll try coloured pencils on my next page though, just to see the different effects.

In other news: This is a Trip Around the World block I made for our Capital Quilters Block of the Month.


Here's how they looked together:


I would have loved to win them all, but they went to someone else, so I might just have to make my own version one day. Another quilt to add to the list.

Finally, I've just finished this book and I enjoyed it. It's the true story of a New Zealand gardener working in Wellington, Scotland, Los Angeles and Mexico City. He's not the greatest writer ever, and I did skip bits, but most of it was very interesting. I got mine on my kindle from Amazon.


12 comments:

Granny Maud's Girl said...

I am staying away from the colouring. It looks like fun, but I have too many sewing WIPs to let myself start another hobby.

Stitchin At Home said...

I am resisting the temptation to even look at those colouring books. I have way too many other things to do.

Bees Knees Granny said...

Hmmm...I wonder if coloring and quilting can be combined. I've heard regular crayons are about as colorfast as fabric crayons when ironed.. Perhaps these little Secret Garden rosettes can be scanned and printed on paper-backed fabric, then colored, then fussycut for hexies. Cwoosley12@yahoo.com

margaret said...

I think most of us liked to colour in! I know I used to do it with the girls and then with my granddaughter. Zentangle seemed to take over here but think the colouring is now more popular have not given into it yet think I will stick t needle and thread

Linda H said...

I LOVED to colour when I was little, no doubt most quilters and needleworkers were "colourers". I don't dare let myself purchase one of these books, I have trouble now finding enough time to get everything done.... :) Maybe someday... when I'm caught up on unfinished projects...

Daryl @ Patchouli Moon Studio said...

Those coloring pages are great and look like they would make beautiful quilts too!

Yvonne from Quilting Jetgirl said...

The coloring book looks like a lot of fun! I am going on a vacation soon, so I might look into having something like that with me since I won't be able to take a sewing machine along. Pairing the colored page with your La Passcaglia rosettes is really beautiful (and I was thinking about how similar the colored page was to your blocks at the start of the post, so thanks for reading my mind!).

I really love getting to see bee blocks all together; the trip around the world blocks look great together.

Liz said...

Love the coloring book! When I saw the picture at first I thought it was another la passcaglia type quilt. Looked great with your clusters!

Katrina said...

Oh wow, your page looks amazing :) I used to spend hours and hours colouring as a little girl too, and used to think all my Christmases had come at once when Mum bought me a new packet of felt pens, lol. Have a good week Wendy :)

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

I bought a coloring book. All the images are so pretty, I am afraid to ruin it with my coloring! I really like yours, especially with the quilt blocks next to it. Your TATW looks beautiful - great fabric choice.

Ruth said...

I got a really nice art therapy colouring book but its too nice to use so I've been photocopying it! Great fun and almost every page would make a great quilt!

Pedal Sew Lightly said...

I have a FB friend from back in my oldest son's HS days competing in speech and debate. She has published ZenTangles and she shares them on FB. It makes me want to doodle and color too. Sucking time away from quilting keeps me from diving in. I also want to tell her she need to get a long arm. She would be fabulous! Love your EPP and coloring shot. So vibrant! Our guild does those draws too. We draw for Black & White C&S blocks this month. Wish me luck! Thanks for sharing.