Painting by Numbers?

 It's snowing again today and I'm glad I don't have to go out! I decided to continue playing with my circles and squares design which I made by following the step by step instructions in my new book 'Design Explorations for the Creative Quilter'. As you can see in the photo above I've been painting the design. I used a little watercolour paintbox and just kept mixing the colours up and painting in sections just like painting by numbers. Katie Pasquini Masopust says you shouldn't think about it - just paint! When I stand back I can see some colours I like and some I don't so I think I'll trace the design again and try painting with the colours I like.

The design started as several circles drawn on tracing paper then rearranged:

 Then I drew some squares and rectangles and layered those with the circles. There were too many lines here for my liking so when I traced the design for painting I just left some out!

 There are some beautiful examples of finished quilts designed this way in the book. They appeal to me because they are very geometric and I think they would work well with my hand-dyed fabrics.

Yesterday I found further inspiration in a couple of photographic galleries Martin and I visited on a day out. We went to Northallerton: a lovely market town in North Yorkshire and home to the Joe Cornish Gallery. Joe is a landscape photographer who takes stunning views of the local landscape. His gallery is fun to visit and it also has lots of local crafts on display too - jewellry, bags, scarves etc.

After a delicious lunch in Lewis and Cooper, an amazing delicatessen we carried onto Richmond. Richmond is famous for its castle overlooking the river and its cobbled market square. We were visiting the railway station. This one sadly doesn't have any trains running but has been restored as a gallery, cafe, and  heritage centre with several small shops selling locally produced goods.

This week there is an exibition of photos by local photographer Gary Brannigan and they are stunning! Many were close-up views of nature and a real inspiration for colour and pattern. My favourite was one of seaweed - honestly it was much better than this sounds! Take a look by clicking here.

Here are some views of the inside of the restored station:

It's well worth a visit and be sure to go to the bakery and brewery and perhaps in warmer weather the ice cream parlor! There is even a quilt group which meets monthly and a knitting group too.