A Holmesian Solstice

Title: Breakfast Table
Recipient: rachelindeed
Artist: ghostbees
Verse: Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson (1980)
Characters/Pairings: Holmes/Watson
Rating: G
Summary: A domestic scene
Artist’s Note: I hope you like my gift as much as I've enjoyed creating it for you! Pickering's Watson is also one of my favourites, it was an absolute delight to read all your thoughts about him (and his Holmes) and get to make art for this lovely verse.

( Breakfast Table )

Title: "Labours of Love"
Recipient: ghostbees / vernets
Artist: strampunch
Verse: ACD canon, Granada
Characters/Pairings: Holmes/Watson
Rating: Suitable for general audiences (mild nudity in second to last image)
Warnings: None
Summary: After the gift receiver mentioned "scrapbooking" and "English paper piecing" I went down a rabbithole of research and learnt about this wonderful quilting technique.
From the EQS website: "English Paper Piecing is a method of quilting that involves using a paper shape, most commonly a hexagon, to add stability to the quilt. The quilt is hand stitched with pieces of fabric cut a ¼ inch bigger than the paper shape. The fabric is basted to the paper shapes before the shapes are sewn together. Once the quilt top is completed the papers are removed." The technique dates from 1770s and was popular during the early 1800s in the UK, then in the mid 19th century in the US and it made a comeback during the Great Depression of the 1930s, when the pattern was called in the sewing magazines "Grandma's Flower Garden", but before that it was simply known as hexagonal pattern or (you guessed it) honeycomb pattern.

The paper used for these quilts were usually recycled from newspapers or scrapped letters, and the fabric used to come from old garments that had seen better days, and since a lot of the times the paper was simply left in these quilts are marvelous time capsules that contain a wealth of information about the person who made them and their environment. I encourage you to look up English paper piecing (EPP) quilts from the early Victorian decades, they're fascinating!
So this little series of illustrations shows Watson dealing with Holmes still indulging in scrapbooking, and how the doctor picks up the discarded pieces and their old 221B era clothes to make something entirely new and uniquely theirs.

(Technique: India ink, watercolours and gouache paint over cold pressed cotton paper)


( Labours of Love )

Title: Caress
Recipient: strampunch
Artist: CommonCollective [beta'd by ghostingart]
Verse: Granada Holmes
Characters/Pairings: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Rating: Teen
Warnings: Scars, Partial Nudity
Summary: A soft morning with gentle breaths and the reverence of home. Some scarred Holmes and warm love.

( Caress )

Title: Baskerville After Midnight
Recipient: saki101
Artist: helloliriels
Verse: ACD/BBC crossover (S2)
Characters/Pairings: Sherlock/John
Rating: Gen/Safe
Warnings: No Warnings Apply
Summary: Sherlock and John in a Victorian setting, post-Baskerville, discussing the case at length. Sherlock is wearing nothing but his dressing gown and showing a bit of neck (scandalous!) while holding his pipe; Watson is sitting close with his legs around Sherlock's arm as he listens attentively, holding his well-earned cup of steaming tea.

( Baskerville After Midnight )

Title: Not Going Anywhere
Recipient: two-nipples-maybe-more
Artist: oraorahime
Verse: The Irregulars
Characters/Pairings: Bea, John Watson
Rating: Gen
Warnings: None
Summary: The piece illustrates the very last scene of The Irregulars but instead of a pat on the shoulder, Watson gives Bea a big comforting hug.

( Not Going Anywhere )