Category Archives: Drawing

100 day Challenge, Drawing, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Finger Lakes Fiber Artists, Pixies Group

Home Again

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Hello,

  I am back from my travels and set to stay home for a while.  I did have a good time and the Glass Flowers at the Harvard Museum were amazing.    So many and only about 25% of the collection is on display.   I just could not look enough.   Taking in all that new imagery was  exhausting to me.   I am sure some new work will come out of that experience.

Before I went away I had some adventures too. I went with Victoria and Liz to Angela’s for a bit of creative play afternoon.   We were   adding surface treatments  to our handwork.  Angela had the plaster all mixed up for us as well as the softened paper clay.      Victoria had a difficult time  deciding what pieces to alter.

 

Liz did too.       It was a fun thing to work with and I added color on top of the plaster with my piece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are some of my pieces before the add on treatment.

 

 

 

 

 

Angela had been doing more felting sense out last visit and she sharded her new felted vase with us.   I really like the gradation of color her here.

 

 

 

We also had a FLFA meeting on the Saturday before departure.

This is the work Sharon had done to add to the project from the retreat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pat had a lot of new work.  This is her most recent.

 

 

Anne has finished putting together her Robin quilt  top from her class at QBL last summer.

 

 

 

 

 

Linda, our newest member, show off her finished migration piece.

 

 

Maureen is still doing handwork on this powerful piece.  It is  nearing completion she says.

 

 

 

 

Liz has pulled  out some of her older work and is ready to begin to finish this one now.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a shot of Liz wearing Pat’s spring coat that she made for a fashion show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a FAD meeting on Monday this week and Sharon had a new mini land scape to share.

 

 

The Pixies meant as usual and we are going to do portraits for the next assignment.

 

 

 

My husband and I walked to Syracuse University on Wed and went to the art gallery there.  I was wowed  by this bit of  work that mixed thread with leaves.    There were 24 leaves surrounded  by thread  and suspended  in a frame like a table top. ( yes, those are my toes on the floor below the work.

 

 

We also walked around  the little lake in Berry  Park this week.    Spring is sure here  in our part of the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report:  B4  This is the last block I made for the SAQA 100 day  Challenge.     I am delighted to say  that I got it done before the trip.   It is 32″ X 50″.   I really learned a lot building this block with the change in curves in the center strips.

 

 

I also  had  very  good  time  with  the  quilting on this one.

 

There are enough blocks remaining for another small piece.  The challenge is over now, but I will put all the left overs into pieces.

Art 2    This work is 34″ w X 52.5″ t.   It is made from extra blocks from Art Blocks  the third of the SAQA Challenge. 

 

Doing the challenge was a good thing for me and I hope to apply the ideas from it to my future work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BV 2  This too is a second project that is a result of the SAQA Challenge.   It is created from leftover blocks from the BV Block.  This block was designed with my good friend Barbara Vural in mind. 

 

Again there are blocks remaining for another small project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drawing  The glass flowers were inspiring and I did a bit of drawing from some of the close ups.  This is a close up of a Lilly.

 

 

 

 

 

Swoop   I stated this quilt top at the spring retreat.  I go a lesson in how to do curves from Liz and Linda.   I am very proud of how very flat this quilt top  is and  how the curves all lie down very nicely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Fragments Piece    This is my piece showing the fragments that I altered at Angela’s.    The plaster dose make it difficulot to add more stitching.    I did added color on top of some of the  units   to unifly the idea before I mounted them.   The units are a result of my interpretations of the assignments in   Finding Fragments class as a part of Art Take 2 .    I am now ready to begin a new  on line class called Naturally Inspired- also from Art Take 2.

I hope that spring is filling you days with new sights.

Keep Creating

Carol

I am attaching one last glass flower for your enjoyment.

 

100 day Challenge, Coral Shore, Drawing, Hand work, Pixies Group

Eclipse Week

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Hello,

I, like many Americans got excited about the  Solar Eclipse  this week.    This is a shot from NASA from one  of the satalights .   We unfortunately  had cloud cover and only caught a glimpse as the moon moved away from  the sun.    I am glad so many folks have generously shared their images on the net.

My personal event of this week was  the Spring Retreat at the Schweinfurth Art Center.     I along with lots of friends got a lot of work done.

Liz worked on  her quilts for  the Beds for Kids project.  She made four tops and Pin basted three of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Susan  stated a  new project.  I love how she uses color in such a unique way.

 

 

 

 

Victoria worked away on  a new project that is based on a collage that she did in David Horning’s class last summer.   It is so different from her usual work , I am excited to see how it develops.

 

 

 

 

 

Linda  worked on this dye painted work and spent most of the time shading and quilting it.

 

She also shared her daughter’s cookie art with us.  Very tasty!

 

 

Sharon worked on her flower quilt and did some dyeing too.

 

I had my Pixie meeting and  I worked on the  assignments for  Finding Fragments the week..

 

 

 

These little fellows will go off with me to Angel’s for some surface alterations this afternoon  as a part of the Fragments class work .

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report:   B4  I got this quilt top all assembled at the retreat.   The I started quilting on Monday.

 

I am sure I will finish it before the 100 day challenge is over.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Art II     At the retreat,  I moved onto putting together the leftover blocks from the Art Blocks project .  This  top got put together too.

 

 

 

BV II     I also put leftovers together from   the BV project.    I have started quilting this one.

 

 

 

 

 

Coral Shores   I am sorry that I cut  off the frames on this picture.   I had to go out side to take the photo and it is raining now so I can’t reshoot.   I did get this work done and I am quite pleased with how they look together.   They will only hang together in the hall – so I have the same problem  with taking a photo there. 

 

 

 

 

 

I will take a  new set  and repost.

 

 

 

Drawing    I did a little drawing this week.  I always have good intentions , but time gets away from me.

 

 

 

Spring is continuing to open up to us here in New York .   I hope the same is true for all my readers.

Keep Creating

Carol

 

100 day Challenge, Drawing, Hand work, Pixies Group, Sisterhood of the Scissors

Spring

Hello,

Well the days are getting longer,  but today the weather around here is very cold with snow.  It was far warmer last week.   One can not control the weather so I guess I’ll just smile and go on.   I only had two zoom meetings this week with the Pixies and the Sisterhood of the Scissors, so I should have gotten a lot of studio time.  But I did go and get my covid booster, an RSV shot and a shot for Shingles all on the same day.  My body did not like that  and I lost a whole day to feeling tired and sleeping.  Much better now and I remind myself that getting any one of these diseases would be a lot worse!

Progress Report: BV  Blocks project     I am still quilting away on the project.   I’d about half done at this point.   This part of the   SAQA  100 challenge.

Art Blocks ( middle sized)  This is the third quilt in the SAQA 100 challenge  day project.  We are at day 67 and I am even farther behind than I  was before.  I still have seven of the middle sized blocks to assemble and then I need to do the small version.   I am still not happy with my self about being unable to meet my goals and although I put in time every day I am still behind.

Ethel Quilt # 4  I have started quilting on this project.  But sense there is not dead line for it, this is the last project I tackle at the end of the day.  It is also very heavy to get through the standard machine.   My Phaff Quilter is off at the repair shop due to the fact that the bobbin winder is not working.

Pixie Pieces    I decided to call this Pixie Pieces because the base fabric is one I did with spoon flower in response to a push by the Pixies group.  I am using it with the Finding Fragments class because it has to do with altering the surface and I  did not like how the fabric turned out.

Coral Shores    I keep adding to this work and because I had two zooms this week it got more attention than usual.   I like how it is coming together.

Drawing      I put in a little time in the sketchbook this week too.  It is good to switch gears for me  as it really clears my head.  I need to do that more often.

I am hoping for a warmer spring as the days go longer.

 

Keep Creating

Carol

Drawing, Lap Quilts, Nine Play

Cold Moon

Hello,

The moon was full on Wed and it is what is called a Cold Moon to represent the cold dark long nights of December.   It sure was a crisp one here.    The joys of Christmas are still running around in my head and I hope you can say the same.   Now one is considering plans for what changes one will try for the new year.

 I didn’t have any meetings this week but I did put in time on my “Finding Fragments” class.   I still have two more sets of exercises to do but these drawings of the objects I connected on my walk are the best of the bunch from exercise one.

Progress Report: Lap # 21   I have to get these works delivered here soon.  The quilts  are filling up my car so I will get going on this task today. 

 

The best part of these projects is getting to really play with the smaller fabrics that I have created in the past.

 Tide Pool    I picked this work up form the framer yesterday.     It is now hanging in the hall.  

I got to sew so many of the beautiful bits and pieces that I always seem to collect.   It is great fun for me.

I do love how it looks and that has inspired me to work even more on Tide Pool II

Tide Pool II      This is a close up. With this one I am using the textural ideas that the teacher encouraged us to create.   The Pompoms  and the needle punch for example.     It sure is what I love as texture is my thing.

 

 

 

6X6  I realized that the Rochester Art Center will soon be calling for pieces for it’s  6X6 auction, so I started this little one to work on during the news this week.

Orange Peelings  This is the New Nine that I started last week.  I really went crazy with the addition of the pre- fused  fabrics and all the efforts to make the split blocks really got lost.  I am ok with that, but I think I will try again with a variation on that idea.  The other idea that I played with here is doing free motion zig-zag’   I decided to use it as the peel edge of the orange slices.

 

 

New Lap   I pulled  these fabrics for the first lap quilt for next year.   It’s always good to have something in the up coming idea pile.

Have a joyous New Year and I will post again the 2024

Keep Creating

Carol

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories, Drawing, Experiments, Finger Lakes Fiber Artists, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Nine Play, Pixies Group, Re Work, Tide Pools

Winter Solstice

  Hello,

We have reached the end of the earth’s elliptical trip around the sun for one more time.   It is a tine for the return of light here in the norther hemisphere. The long winter nights will now begin to shorten once again.    I also see it as a time to begin reflecting on the events of the last year and star thinking about what I want to do differently in 2024.

This last week included a FLFA meeting for me.  I do enjoy seeing that creative group of gals and the work they do.      This work is by  Julia.  I feel she is really beginning to “speak ” with her own voice.

 

 

 

Bev is doing some wonderful silk work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pat is working away too.

She is really a printing crazy lady.

 

The Pixies also meant this week and everyone is busy and happily preparing for  the holidays.

Progress Report: Spores    This work is 18″w X 32″l.   It is another work that came out of the Joyous Embroidery class.   I made the tubes and stuff them with thick yarn and then couched them down.  The pompoms were another suggestion from Flur.

The painted parts in the  background is my own too,

 

 

 

 

Split  This work is 53.25″ w X  58″ l.    I started this work at the Sisterhood Retreat last month.   I put it through the wash to encourage more fraying of the torn and raw edges.

I really like texture and the feeling of depth they layers create.

 

 

 

 

 

Lap #21  I am to the stitch in the ditch quilting step now.  It’s about half done.

 

 

 

Scrap backs  I am working on building backs for the Ethel Blocks now.  I think one of the units is nearly big enough to start layering the first quilt together.

 

 

 

 

New Nine   I am starting a new quilt that is  a broken nine patch design.   This is in the early stages and even not all the blocks are built yet.

Or perhaps I should say broken at this point.

 

 

 

 

Linen Shirt   This  project only gets attention when there is no other hand work that needs doing.   That  happened this week so I put in time.    I am doing the flowers and French Knots on the shoulder area and across the back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tied Pool 2   I got a lot done on this new highly textured piece this week.   Starting with a old rock quilt as my base  others makes it easy and fun for me too.   Pompoms again and the frapped circles are some I made in the  Joyous Embroidery class as well.    She also encouraged us to use old bits of handwork that had no use any more.  The green lace  came from an old pillow case.   I painted it and used it in a seahorse  work this fall.   This little bit remained and I recall seeing a bit of sea weed in a tide pool when I visited Korine years ago.

 

 

Christmas Balls   I decided I wanted to decorate some new  balls for our tree this year.     At the RATS  ( Retired Art Teachers ) meeting a few weeks ago , Beth described what she was going to teach at the YMCA class and I took what I remembered and created these fun balls.    I made some as gifts too.

New Work   Last week I was working a project using a technique that was only described to me.   Well,  I think I did give it the college try- but it really is a disaster!    There are so many wrinkles and parts are not fitting together at all.   Not having the true instruction means I am flying blind.

 

 

  So I have decided to admit that I don’t get it and abandon the idea.  There are always mistakes very now and then.

 

 

 

Food Memory. 

Scramble

My Mom was a “stay at home Mom” until my brother, Gene went off to first grade. All that time she was always busy with one project of another . I remember her making and printing silk screen plant images on fabric that she made into kitchen curtains. She painted two big murals in the house in Carroll too. One was in the bathroom in the basement and a second was over the sink in the kitchen. For Christmas she was scenically busy. One yare she mad a little church out of sugar cubes and icing with a foil roof. That project was around for years. One of her seasonal traditions was to make Scramble. She would get out the blue speckled roasting pan from Thanksgiving and fill it with a mix of Rice Checks, Corn Checks, Wheat Checks, Cherrieos, mixed nuts and pretzels. She added some other ingredients and cooked it all in the oven, taking it out to stir occasionally. When it was done she put it into foil lined boxes and wrapped it as gifts to the neighbors. We al ways had some too. Her other seasonal cooking thing was to make chocolate fudge. There was always the candy thermometer and lots fussing with that project. I loved the smell of the house when she was doing that project, and the eating of it too.

Enjoy what the season brings your way.

Carol

 

 

Drawing, Experiments, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Pixies Group

Busy Season

 Hello,

I am enjoying the season and I hope you are too.    The wreath that I was working on last week got finished and is hanging on the front door.    I missed my only zoom meeting with the Pixies this week because I was off at my granddaughter’s college graduation instead.    With the packages wrapped, cards all written and set  and with  all the decoration up , I can listen to Carols and enjoy the merriment all around me.       I have done a lot in the studio and enjoyed every min.

Progress Report: Hand Out This quilt is 38″ X 50 “.  It is made up of left overs from my previous hand studies.       I did lots of hand work one the negative areas of this work and I machine quilted inside the hands .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lap Quilt # 20 I finished the binding on this protect last evening.  There are lots of old experiments in this project.    Printed blocks, painted blocks , and one were I experimented with markers too.     These project’s are a good place to try things our on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Lap Quilt #21   This is the next top all assembled and ready for layering and quilting now.

 

 

 

 

 

Ethel Squares  I am working on creating backs from leftovers for this project.   The stack on the right is backs that I have started for the five quilts.

 

Spores     I work on this project  as my handwork while I watch the news at night so it goes forward slowly.

 

  Split  I am ready to add the textured cream units on top now.   .  Then I will begin to quilt it.

 

 

 

 

 

New Work    This project is again my attempt to apply what folks have told me about a new process.    I do enjoy trying out new things.

 

 

 

Pudding  

The years we lived in Columbus Junction I grew from six to eight. I loved the house that my folks and Grandfather Howard built there. Along the east wall of that dwelling was a long row of windows that faced east into a deep gully full of old trees. I enjoyed watching the seasons changes from our dinner table there. One of my favorite desserts was chocklet pudding that Mom would some times make. She served it in yellow Melmack bowls. There was a thick skin on the top of the pudding that I would carefully scoop into along one edge of the bowl to create a little arch that looked like a little head in a dark pudding bonnet. I would then add a bit of milk into that opening and joyously eat my dessert.

Enjoy what you can of this season.

Carol

Aplique, Diva Meetings, Drawing, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Pixies Group, Quilt Exploration Group (QuEGs)

December is Here

Hello,

Time seems to be flying and I am busy with events of the season.   This week I had three  of Zoom  meetings.   The QuEG’s and Diva’s meant on Tue and Wed the Pixies had there weekly meeting.  It is good to stay connected.

Progress Report: Hands Off   I put in a bit of time on this work this week and now all the hand work has been done.   I will now quilt in the hands themselves and complete the project.

Lap #20 and 21      I started Lap # 21 this week.  I did not have any polar fleece to use as the middle layer for Lap # 20, so that top is waiting for attention.  I did get the fleece yesterday and I will start the completion  process soon on Lap#20.

 

 

 

Split   I started this work at the Sisterhood retreat.   It was intended to be my response to the workshop that I could not attend.   I cut and applied the top layer this week.      I have sense learned that this was not the direction that the teacher was trying to teach and I will soon be ready to try her approach.   Now I need to decide if there should be a layer on top of the textured brown one.       I have learned a bit doing things my own way none the less.

Rocky Tide Pool    I finished my hand work on this project this week and it is now off at the framers to be completed.

 

 

Wreath  We had a bumper crop of beautiful pine cones from our White Pines this year.  Eric and I collected three big shopping  bags full of cones.  I passed one onto Sharon and I am now making my own wreath for the front door.

 Ethel Scrap blocks   I have been making 9.5″ blocks from groups of four for a while.  When I finished using all the Ethel scraps , pulse some of my own, and had made the all into the big squares I put them into rows of 10.  It takes a dozen rows to make a quilt top.   Pictured here you see five packs of 12 rows each.   So now I will begin to make backs for these last five quilts I will make to honor my friend Ethel Whittemore!

Food Story: Eating Out

When I was 10, Dad was the High School principal in Carroll, Iowa. One of the things did then and for all the years he was a principal was attend the state Principal’s Convention. It was held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving in Des Moines. The city was only a little bit of a detour on our way back from spending the holiday in Morning Sun so the whole family went. While Dad was off at this meetings, Mom, Gene and I would spend the day shopping. One of the big events of that day was picking out a special new ornament for the Christmas tree. The one I recall the most was an orange Santa with a white fur beard and a lot of glitter. His other special feature was the fact that he could be split apart just above the belt and Mom always filled the open space with a special foil rapped candy. Gene, selected an air plane that opened up too.
At the end of Dad’s meetings and before we headed for home, we went to Bishop’s Buffett for dinner. It was a real special event as we did not go out for meals. I remember sliding my tray along on the metal bars and Mom helping me select what I wanted to have for dinner. There was always a special dessert island too were Gene and I loaded up on the sugar treats there too. It was wonderful. But the part I looked forward too was when the waitress came around with Balloons at the end. The balloons had Bishops’ Buffett printed on them and then had cardboard feet so they would stand up. Gene and I would bounce them on our hands. It was perfect ending to a tiring day.

These food related stories are a part of a challenge that Susan suggested.

I hope the days a head are full of joy for everyone.

Keep Creating

Carol

Curvie Cuts, Drawing, Ethel's Nine Patch, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Hand work, Landscapes, Lap Quilts, Machine Drawing, Nine Play, Pixies Group, Sisterhood of the Scissors

Joyous Season

Hello,

It feels like I have not done this work in a long time.   Lots of things have gone on in that time too.     First I went off to the Schweinfurth  Open Studio Retreat.   Three days of doing my own thing along with  8 other artists.    Linda  delighted us all with special cookies that her daughter had made. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Victoria   was  working  away  on  a fabric collage  where  she  was  using  a part  of  one  of  night gown that was one  of my grandmother’s.

 

 

 

 

Susan was finishing up her project from the workshop with Irene Rodrick that she had attended a  few weeks earlier.

She did finish making all the units by the end too.

 

 

 

Nancy did lots of things, but this landscape was my foavorite.

 

 

 

Linda’s project was coming along beautifully as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ellen    was busy  finishing up a project she had started in a workshop at QBL

 

 

 

 

I also visited the Q=A=Q show while I was there .  Sharon’s work looked great!

 

 

 

She was busy on a new piece.   It too is based on her trip our west last summer.

 

 

 

 

Judy, Sharon and I went off to visit Marty  on Tue the next week.   She is doing some fun water colors now.

 

 

 

 

 

Then Nov 15, I went off to the Sisterhood Retreat at Kuaka Lake.   This was the third year we got together and it was a good experience too.   The whole event was a bit disjointed this time.  Ann did not stay on sigh and Deb went home ill on  Sat morning with a bad cold.   Lots of work did get done however.

We shared our solutions for the challenges.    Liz made all of us little wallets.

 

 

Joyce did a great three-D landscape.   I did too.    Marcia was still working on hers.  Next year.  We did go shopping but decided ageist another fabric challenge.

 

 

 

Jeanne was the queen of production.   She finished up  this flower top   and worked on this spider web project.

 

 

 

 

 

 She also had a great quilt for show and tell .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deb finished a baby quilt top and went on   to build this Halloween top. before she went away.

 

 

 

 

Marcia worked on putting together  two projects that were started by her good friend Perilla.

 

 

Next year the retreat will be in early October and hopefully  a little more focused.

I had  a FAD meeting yesterday and a Pixie Zoom meeting too.   Life just dose not slow down.

Project Report: Nine Play #2  This quilt is 40″ X 41″.   It is a partner with Nine play #1 as I cut the blocks for both at the same time and mixed them up in both quilts.

I was still doing lots of inserting of narrow strips in this work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Applied Nine- # 3 in the series   This quilt is 41″ X 41″.   I started it at the Schweinfurth retreat and finished the quilting at the Sisterhood retreat.     I really deviated from the rule of inserting narrow strips on this one and applied perfused pre cut pieces from my box of fused fabrics.   I also split up the blocks before I assembled them  to add interest.

I still have lots of perfused pieces and the box is still overflowing so I think there will be several more  similar works in the furfure.

Twilight   This quilt is 18″X 28″ and my entry for the Sisterhood Challenge.  I only got the fabric from Liz( Her left overs as I had totally lost my fabric) on the Tue before the retreat,  so it was done with speed.    I did the tree on wash away with a wool center for the trunk and big branches.  The thin limbs are all thread draw.

I no longer own this quilt as it went home with Patti at the end of the FAD meeting on Wed.

 

 

Lap # 20   This is the last lap quilt I will complete before I make a run to the local nursing home.   I gave away 10 in the  early spring and I will pass the second group off next week.

 

 

 

 

Rocky Tide Pool   I continue to work away on this project from my Joyous Embroidery Class.     I try to put in an hour every day on it.   I am enjoying the textures.

Hands Off    I started assembling this at the Schweinfurth retreat.   I used all the remaining quilters hands from my work last year.   The black and white scraps came from my collection of pieces from Ethel’s box of un used  fabrics.   I finished layering and adding the binding this week.  Now I have started quilting by hand in the negative black sections .

Scrap Blocks   When I opened the Ethel  box earlier this fall I decided to finish up all the scraps  and cut blocks from them.  I finished that step and now  have all the pieced sections added to a solid square of the same size and they are all added to one another as of this morning.  I will begin adding the big 8.5″ blocks into rows for quilt tops this next week.

Spores  In my search for inspiration for work to do at the Scherinfurth Retreat, cam across a photo of spores that had fascinated me.  So I decided I would use it as a jumping off point.   I quickly realized I wanted to us pompoms at a part of the structures and they are a slow hand work  project.  So I set them aside and will now get back to that project.

New Work   I have not decided what to call this project so it is New Work.  I wanted to take a class at the Schweinfurth in Nov and had paid my money to do so only to discover I had two impotent events that wee.  So I gave my spot to Liz.  Susan was at the Schweinfurth Retreat and was settings next to me so I asked her how the class was designed and I thought I understood the process from her description.   So  I attempted to do it at the Sisterhood retreat.  While I was there Liz observed what I was doing and re educated me as to what I was suppose to be doing.  So I will finish this in my own way.

 Exploratory work    Now I think I know what the teacher was trying to teach and with Liz’s explanation, mixed with what I got form Susan I am starting again and this is my drawing to do that  idea.   Stay tuned.

 

 

 

 

 Food Story – Christmas Noodles

Christmas was always spent at Grandmother Ruth house when I was growing up. Seeing family and talking was the main point of the event. That was paired with the food of course and there were no gifts. Our family was coming from norther Iowa until 8th grade and then from Muncie Indiana after that time. We slept at Grandmother Ester’s in Morning Sun and then drove to Grandview, Iowa – about 25 miles on Christmas day. We were always the first family to arrive as all of Mom’s brother’s family and sisters families lived closer by and they had regular Santa morning get up. Mom would go directly into help cooking mode when we arrived. That usually meant she would start making egg noodles. After the ingredients were mixed she would begin rolling them out. The dough had to dry and set up so it was a task that needed to be done early. I recall trying to roll out the dough, but I lacked the strength to do much of it. The noodles had to rest on the top of the washer and dryer before they were cut into the noodle ribbons and cooked. The rest of the families trickled in as the morning went forwards and I along with the rest of the grand kids was shooed out of the cooking as the adult arrived. We eagerly went off to write our Christmas afternoon play that we preformed to entertain the adult s late int he day. The noodles were always a major part of the feast from my point of view and I really looked forward to eating them. They were popular with everyone too because there were very few left over for the late evening meal.

 

 

 

I hope everyone is now happily preparing for the joy of the season.   I have started my Christmas cards  and one had already come from my friend Sharron.

Keep Creating

Carol

Robert sent me a photo to go along with the noodle story-

Drawing, Felt Work, Finger Lakes Fiber Artists, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Nine Play, Pixies Group, Re Work, Sea Floor

Fall Beauty

Hello,

 Fall is creating her wonders around here now.  So many colors and changes.  I enjoy the walks whit the leaves skittering down the path in front of me while I crunch through them. I made my usuals fall efforts to catch the falling colored leaves as they rushed toward the earth, but was not real successful today.   The wall nuts are piling up and the white pines have dropped many cones.  I collected some and hope to create a wreathe later.

My weeks continue to be full.   It started with  a Finger Lakes Fiber Artist Meeting on Saturday.     This is Marcia’s newest piece.   She dose wonderful work I think,

Victoria had two new pieces and I liked them both.   The use of grommets to connect the units is a great solation as I am sure they would fight with the eye of the viewer  for attention other wise.

 

Her second one is very interesting with the weaving  too.

 

 This week also  included an opening at the Manlius Library for the new members of Assonated Artists.  Friends Adam Virial and Carol Adamic were among them.

I enjoy Adam’s playfulness.

 

The sculpture is one of Carol’s.   She can be so playful with her work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Pixies meant as usual.  Susan has asked us to do memories about food, so I will make that story and illustration at the end.

Victoria, Liz and I meant Cheri and Liz at the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester on Thursday and had a wonderful time.   We visited the Infinity Room with it many mirrors and reflection balls.  It was powerful!

I also did more with the Joyous Embroidery Class.   I am enjoying creating my Fabric Collage piece although it is slow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Nine Play    I am to the quilting Stage on this project now.   I am doing reflective quilting with little added picks were there are color changes.

Nine Two    This is the second nice patch with similar colors in use.   I am using curves here too to add a different feel.

 

 

 

 

Lap # 17   This quilt is also ready for the quilting stage now.

 

 

 

 

 

Sea Floor I am nearing the completion of this project I think.   I only want to add a bit more clutter to the bottom and it will be ready for binding.

 

Blue Sea  I am doing the hand work of adding trumpto  to this piece.  It is very slow as I don’t put in too much time on it.

 

 

 

Food Memory :  Strawberries and Ice Cream

In those summers when we lived with the McElhinney grandparents I recall getting in her bright blue Ford and driving about mile down the road to the Samuels house. We would go in and Grandmother would talk with Mrs Samuels for a while . I had to seit quietly while this went on. The we would all go out to the strawberry bed. It was huge and there were 12 foot 12inch boards placed across the bed every so many feet. One would walk out on the board and kneel down to pick the berries. I loved doing that as I would always eat a few as I picked. I don’t recall, but I am sure Grandmother paid her- be it in cash or eggs. Then we went back home and washed and cut the berries before some were frozen and some just went into the refrigerator. Later in the afternoon Grandmother loaded Gene and I into the car and we went to town to the Ice House. She would put some coins in the box on the out side and then go into the building and carry out a block of ice with some enormous thongs. She would but put the ice block on a burlap feed sack in the trunk of the car. Then back to the farm. The ice was carried down to the basement sink were Gene and I had to break it up with the ice pick and put it in the ice cream maker. We did not work on that long as folks started to arrive and the Uncles and Dad took over the job. Soon Grandmother carried down a silver cullender full of cream and such to make the ice cream. She put it into the barren and ice was added around it. Then the cranking began. I remember Uncle Ernie, Uncle Jim, Uncle Bernard, Grandpa and Dad cranking for what seemed like hours to me. I did beg for a try once and found it to be a lot harder than I expected. Every now and then more ice and salt was added to the top of the wooden crank barrel. Ice water leaked out the bottom of the barren as the ice cream hardened. Mean while up stairs the women talked and the kids, myself included, played in the yard. Finally the ice cream was done and it was celebration time. I recall how exciting it was to be handed a old margerin bowl with a power milk biscuit inside and a couple of big scoops of ice cream. One then moved to the table to add fresh strawberries and get a spoon. Kids went out to the picnic table to enjoy the feast. The fireflies came out and we ate all the ice cream. From my point of view life could not be better.

Have a creative week

Carol

 

Diva Meetings, Drawing, Explorations, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Nine Play, Pixies Group, Re Work, SAQA, Sea Floor

The View

Hello,

     Yesterday Liz and I made a trip to Old Forge to see the quilt shows at the View.     It was wonderful.   I was so attuned to seeing composition after the show that I had to take a photo of the wall was we walked away.   Look for a work based on this in my future.

 

 

 I really enjoyed the shows and having work by people I knew only added to the enjoyment.      Marcia had one of her real beauties accepted .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noel had two in the show and this one won First Prize.

 

 

 

 

Sue Ellen also had two works accepted in this show.    ( it is square the angle is my fault)

 

 

 

 

This quilt won the award for best use of color and it is the one I liked best too.   All the colors are done with silk.

 

 

Denies had a quilt in the Contrast QSDS show that was also on display at the View.

 

 

 

 

 

This week I also had a zoom meeting with the Pixies.   My Food entry for this week was  a Baked Potato.

Here is the accompanying story:

When I was about 10 my parents decided to go back to school and they did it in the summers. Gene and stayed with them in student housing in Iowa City for the fist week. It was not designed with children in mind and very desolate. When we went to visit our grandparents on the week end it was decided that we would stay with them instead of living in Iowa City. All that summer and for several others we would alternate between Dad’s parents on the farm in Morning Sun for a week and spend the following week with Mom’s folks in Grandview. As kids it was great for us. I recall one day when Grandmother Ruth had prepared baked potatoes as a part of dinner. Both Gene and I turned up our noses at that. Grandmother asked “ do you like mashed potatoes and potato chips?” We agreed we did and then she said “ Has anyone ever taught you how to eat backed potatoes?” Then she preceded to slice the skin and mashed it with a fork followed with salt and pepper. Then she topped the whole thing with of butter.“ Now try it.”  We both did We loved baked potato’s ever sense.

 

  The Quilt Diva’s  had a meeting on Tue and it was a fun and lively one.       Anne took a  class called “Forest Bathing” .   It was all bout slowing down and enjoying the environment.   She  then did a follow up drawing class with the same teacher.       We are  a malty  talented group.

 

 

 

This quilt was a challenge from the Modern Quilt group that Anne belongs as well.

 

 

 

 

 

  I also am working away on my Joyous Embroidery class stuff.    I am enjoying the fabric collage project that we are now working on.

 

 

Progress Report: Nine Play   I have split up and shuffled the nine basic blocks.  I added some strips in as well to add interest.  I think I am ready to start assembling the  top  now.

 

 

Blue Sea    I have layered  this work and after some suggestions form the Diva group I now have some good ideas about how to do the quilting.

 

 

Sea Floor  This work is being influenced by the Joyous Embroidery class  and my interest in the sea too.  I painted the lace that my friend Judy gave me with the intent to use it on the class project- but it works better here.   This project is also a re work of an older quilt from my Rock based work series.   The sea horses are the ones  that did not work on Blue Sea.

Scrap work   I am working away on this project.  I  sewed a lot of blocks tougher this week.

 

 

 

Lap quilt # 17     As a part of the  SAQA 45 day challenge I am working away on lap quilts.  These are the colors I have selected to use for the next one.

 

The days go by quickly and I am filling them with work and good times.

Stay safe and enjoy the season.

 

Carol