Category Archives: Hand work

Apples and Chickadees, Autumn Leaves, Childhood Memories, Coral Sea, Night Fire, Wool Rounds

Working

Hello
As summer fades there seem to be an abundance of events.   These flowers are form Mim’s garden and they added to the setting for the the opening of the Associated Artist Show  this week.

This is a shot of three of the winners of awards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I went with several quilting friends to the Cornell Full Circle Concept Fashion Show. It is always full of wild clothing. I was taken buy this dress called Earth Angle.   In talking with the artist I learned she used many melting techniques that I have used to get the moss like texture in the bodices  of this gown.

 

 

I marveled at this work with its use of broken mirrors and clock works.  the creator admitted to getting lots of glass cuts from the mirrors when she put this together. The clothing is not meant to be worn, but to explore ides for the young fashion gals who will be a part of the wearable fashion show in the spring. It’s a good program.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Apples and Chickadees This work is 12″w X 19″l. I did the silk painting in a class with Michelle de Groot in Rochester earlier this fall. All the machine drawing came later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Topographical I started this project in class with Cynthia Corbin at QBL this summer.    This is a close up.     The couching adds color and texture to the surface.

 

Wool Rounds This is my handwork project for the time being.    This shot is close to life size.   I am trying to finish a circle before I start  a new one  while I watch the news.

Night Fires This project is going well. I have finished the trees now and only need to free motion quilt in the underbrush to finish that step.

 

 

 

 

Collaring Aunt May I will be going to Chicago to visit with Sharron in Oct and I want a hand project to work on. So I am going to applique down some of my Great Aunt Mays’s collars and lace work as my project.

 

 

 

Coral Sea

I only created the crochet plants this week. They are not tacked down yet as I want to add fish swimming through some of the branches.

 

 

Autumn Leaves I made the leaves in Betty Busby’s class at QBL this summer and plan to make additional ones. The base is simple and will support the idea.

 

 

Childhood Memories- Jackson Hole
When ever Dad had time off as a ranger, Mom had a travel plan of some sort. One week end we went down to Jackson Hole to view the ski lift and see what was there. We climbed to the top of the lift with Gene and myself in the lead as usual. Gene and I ran full speed down the wooden surface much to Mom horror. We both stopped before the end- but she did not know that.
We explored the town and went to a restaurant to have a late lunch. It was memorable for two reasons. One we rarely ate out. Two, because we had buffalo burgers. I do not remember them tasting all that different from beef- but I was a kid and do not nor do I know have a very good pallet. The then went to the Native American Dances up on a Masa like area. It was not commercialized and there were no seats. I remember tiring and setting on the ground at Mom’s feet and leaning against her legs as we were in the front I could still see the women dancing in one direction and the men in the opposite, around a fire. Drums and singer/chanters were the music.
It was late when we started back toward Colter Bay but we stopped at a fruit stand on the edge of town and got Bing -Cherries among other fruit. They were our dinner and we spit the pits out the windows as we drove home in the dark. They tasted great and I still think of that time every time I eat them. What we did not discover until morning was the streak stains on the white car. They did not wash off well. Years later when we sold the car one could still see a faint hint of the stains if one looked for them.

Keep Creating

Carol

Burning Woods, Childhood Memories, Finger Lakes Fiber Artists, Mom VI, Tee Shirt Quilts, Wool Rounds

Labor Day 2019

1 Comment

Hello,
This week was Labor Day and even though I have been retired for years it still represents the end of summer and the beginning of   fall and school for me. It was a quiet day and I worked in the studio a lot. I got to thinking about horizons as I watched the children walking to school this morning. The Father was sharpening them along toward new futures that would certainly broaden the horizons of those young minds. Horizons are a important part of artists work too. It is a part of many a landscape and a great tool to use to show depth in art work. Just a small shift can change ones perspective and the horizons one sees. It is a way for one to explore even thought we are through with formal schooling.

I did unroll my Eco Dyeing projects from the  Finger Lakes Fiber Artists play day two weeks ago.   I am sorry to say the beets red dye turned black  with time.  But the red silk that I used did transfer lots of its color.      This is the paper.

This is the fabric.

 

 

 

Progress Report: Seven Feathers I have stitched down all the feathers at this point and I am doing reflective quilting to complete this piece.

Tee Shirt Quilt I finished the construction of the back for this quilt yesterday. Now I can begin the sandwich and quilt it.

 

 

 

 

 

Burning Woods It seemed like it took a long time for me to begin pinning on this work. Now it is moving along quickly. I have even started to stitch down some of the parts of this work.

Memories of Mom This work appears and disappears the stack of things to do so progress is slow. I am also unsure about whether I   have pulled together all the items I want to use on it.   I just need to keep exploring.

 

 

Wool Rounds     I am finished with this first batch of circles.  I am now working on a second bunch.

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories- Schoolroom Glacier

This memory is also  of the Tetons. When Dad was a ranger Mom wanted to go to Schoolroom Glacier. It is a classic example of how a glacier pushes rocks to for a moraine and a lake as it moves forward. We never made the trip that summer as it is 14 miles from the trail head at Jenny Lake to the glacier. Farther then she thought we  ( I was 10 and Gene was 7 ) could hike in one day. But when we returned to the Tetons and Yellowstone the year I was a senior, we rented horses and made the trip.  Do to a heat event ( precursor of climate change) the snow at the front of the glacier collapsed into the lake and a lot of water flooded out. This destroyed the perfect V that was usually a part of the moraine. It left a big cave like form in the front of the glacier too. Mom was very excited and took a lot of photos to use in her class.  She also purchased older slides of how it had been before the collapse. While we were there it stated to rain. I had a new cowboy hat as I had out grown my old one,  so my head was dry. But to my dismay the horse I was riding threw a shoe and I had to walk her most of the way down. My hat’s form was ruined by the rain, but I still have the horse shoe.

Keep Creating

Carol

Childhood Memories, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Feathers, Mom VI, Old and New - Purple and Blue, Tee Shirt Quilts, Uncategorized, Wool Rounds

Busy Week

2 Comments

Hello
I have enjoyed a very active week. Last Friday I went to a silk painting workshop in Rochester with lots of creative gals. Liz did a great piece with flowers.

 

Joyce worked from a photo from her yard.

 

 

 

 

Regina explored a drawing.
I worked from the sketch I had drawn last week.

 

 

 

 

 

Karen did a great job from one of her photos of grapes.

 

 

 

 

 

The class was great and I learned a lot. I will add thread painting and quilting to finish this up in the next week or so.

 

The Michelle the teacher from Australia, did a wonderful trunk show at the end of the day.   This is her use of the techniques she was teaching us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then on Sunday I went off to Moravia and visited with Susan and Sally. We talked of may things and I got some great feed back on this piece- Old and New.

 

 

 

Tues I picked up Patti and the two of us drove north to Mill Sight Lake and Judy’s Camp for three days. Judy shared this colorful quilt that   Judy made and a Amish gal had quilted for her.

 

 

Patti and I worked with our machines while Nancy and Judy went out on the lake and platted around the island. We had a good time and made a few plans for the fall.

 

 

And just to let you know I make mistakes too.  I was not paying full attention while I was  working on my scarp  quilt and  I accidentally  ran the sewing machine into my finger nail.     I only caught the tip on my nail and a bit of skin.   So  please  be careful!

Progress Report: Tee Shirt Quilt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have now finished the assembly of the top of this work.  I have pulled flannel to make some base blocks that I will surround in the log cabin style for the back.

Feathers  I am half way done adding the feathers to this quilt.  I plan to do reflective quilting around the outside.

Wool Rounds     

I just keep building on these wool units.   It is calming work.

 

 

 

 

 

Scrap  I worked on these at Mill Site.  I am pleased to say I only have one more box of scraps to work from.  Over the weekend I finished up nine more units.

 

 

 

 

Memories of Mom

I did a little hand work on this piece this week that is made from  things that Mom had in her home.

Sketching   I just keep my fingers in the drawing game by doing a new one every now and then

 

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories – Lessons
The summer I was ten and Dad was a temporary Ranger in Tetons was a great one for me.  We went to many ranger talks and sat on logs looking at the lake with the mountains beyond  and learning fun facts while the sky darkened and the stars came out. Because all rangers need to be able to rescue hikers from the mountains Dad  learned to repel.  He took us along for his practice with a second ranger named  Jim. Gene and I also got to take a hand a repelling and I loved it. It was great fun to jump away from the vertical rock face and sour down with the rope to help one land safely back on land.
We rode across Jackson Lake to the undeveloped side and bushwhacked up the mountain one day. Saw a heard of wild goats and got lots of scratches on that adventure. Dad also taught us that if we ever got lost in the wilderness to do two things. Always go down hill and when you find water follow it down too. It will always lead you to civilization eventually and you will have a vital life saving source close at hand. I am glad to say I have never had to apply that knowledge. At the end of the summer there was a range’s picnic. Gene and I were the only kids. Lots of great food. The only things to drink were water and beer. So I thought I would try the beer. Just as I opened the can Dad came around the cabin. He was not happy with me. But he insisted that sense I had opened the can that I drink the whole thing. Then I promptly emptied my stomach on the grass. I was never tempted as a teen- and even later I never learned to drink beer. The lesson was learned.

Keep Creating

Carol

 

PS this is a shot of the sun set over the St Lawrence River.

 

Childhood Memories, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Finger Lakes Fiber Artist Group, Tee Shirt Quilts, Topographical, Wool Rounds

New Experiences

Hello
This week has been a busy one for me. Saturday was a Finger Lakes Fiber Artists Play day at the Schweinfurth. There was a lot going on. Cheri painted. Barb, Parilla, Marcia, and Joyce did starch resist work. Maureen did a little mini workshop on indigo printing and Eco-dying.  This shot is of the Eco-Printing that Maureen did before hand.   

 

This  is what my Eco Printing looks like as one needs to let the plant dyes  seep into the paper and fabric in the cold printing style we used.  Keep it moist for a month Maureen said, before you unwrap it.   Stay tuned.

The Indigo  printing was more direct,  and is finished like  other dyeing processes.

It was fun and enjoyable as well as a learning experience for me.

 

I did wash out some fabric that Liz and I had done on a print day earlier in the summer while I was at it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday the FAD group meant at my home. Sharon has finished another of her commissions works and they continue to be better and better.

 

 

 

Progress Report: Feathers This work is at the quilting stage now.  The feather on the right is all quilted the one on the left is only started.    I have learned that it take me a little more than an hour to do each feather so I will be at this project for a few weeks.

Tee Shirt work

I am quiet pleased with the progress on this project. Three of the four columns are done now. The top will soon be done and I can move onto the back construction.

 

 

Topographical I continue to hand couch down the yarn to show movement in this work.

 

 

 

 

 

Wool Rounds

I keep working to finish up each circle.  The are a limited number of stitches I can think of to do in a circular  fashion.

 

 

 

 

Class Preparations I am taking a class in silk painting tomorrow and in preparation for that class I have drawn the image I hope to use in colored pencil and black and white.

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories: Colter Bay Camping  Grounds
The year I was 10, Dad was again a summer Park Range. This time it was in  Tetons National Park. He and two other men ran the camp ground at Colter Bay on Jackson Lake. We were housed in a white army surplus tent with a   wooden frame, wooden floor,  door,  screen door, and potbelly stove. It was 18 feet square. Gene and I had bunk beds in one corner and Mom and Dad had a double in the opposite one. There was one chest of drawers with four drawers,  and a table with  four chairs. Suit cases were stored under the bunk beds and the wood box was at the foot. There was electricity, but we had to carry in the water. Next to the stove, there was a small unit for food prep and dishes as well as supplies. I do remember that Mom baked a birthday cake in the electric skillet she brought for Pete Nickel’s Birthday. ( He was one of the other rangers  in  another   tent on sight.) The bathroom was in the campground and it was always a brisk walk/run to visit it in the mornings. To bathe we went to the Snake River near a hot spring twice a week. It was a great summer with lots of hikes, going to campfire lectures, and traveling.  Mom and I even made little pillows and stuff them with pine needles. They smelled wonderful  for years after that. As it got closer to Labor Day and our return home, it got colder and colder especially at night. Two nights before the close of the campground and our drive home, when the lights were out, I heard mice in the wood box. I though I felt one run across my legs and when I mentioned it -Dad pooh-poohed that and said go to sleep.   Then just as I was dozing off one ran across my face. I screamed. Dad was not sympathetic and said I was imagining things.   Some how I did fall asleep. But the last night I refused to sleep in the bottom bunk- and insisted on sleeping at the opposite end of Gene’s bunk on the top. In the morning I was vindicated by little mouse dropping all over the bed spread. When we got home to Carroll two days later my own bed seemed huge and very secure.

Hope you enjoy your childhood memories as much as I do mine.

 

Keep Creating

Carol

PS

The post next week will be done on Friday because the FAD group is going up to Judy’s camp from Tue to Thur.

Childhood Memories, Falcon, Hand work, Landscapes, Tee Shirt Quilts, Wool Rounds

Summer Calm

Hello,
The squirrels in upstate New York are in full harvest mode. It has been a bumper year for acorns as we have had lots of rain. Our new driveway  is covered with their discards. This week has been a quiet one and I have enjoyed lots of time in the studio.

Progress Report: Falcon This work is 23″ w X 40.5″ l. I started this in the Rock On class at QBL. It too needed a center of interest so I drew on the new techniques I learned in Betty Busby’s class and produced the falcon. The use of Intense pencils to do the  shading really is wonderful.

 

 

 

I made the branch out of yarn, nylon net and fabric scraps. Then did a thick layer of free motion stitching on top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wool Rounds This is my new handwork project. I have not done any planning as to how I will use these or how many there will be. I am just enjoying the doing at this point.

 

Tee Shirt 2 It has finally been long enough that I feel I could tackle this second tee shirt quilt. It took three hours to fuse the inner facing to the back of the tees so they would not stretch when I stitched them to the cottons. The assembly strips are cut and the small ones are sewn together. I will be laying it out and putting it together next week.

Topographical I started this quilt in the Rock On class too. I am couching down the yarn at this point.

 

 

Mountain This is a work that grew out of the scraps from the Rock On class too. I had created the clouds at the play day where I was teaching silk paper and I wanted to use then. It needs a focus.

 

 

 

Feathers      I fused down the cut feathers from Betty Busby’s class 

and assembled this top this week.    It is layered and pinned now so I will begin tho quilt this week.

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories- Heart Lake
The summer Dad was a Forest Ranger in Yellowstone we did a lot of exploration of the park. We quickly discovered that we had not brought along enough warm clothing so the first time we went to West Thumb(   a shop area that no longer exists in the park) we all got new coats. Mine was a red polished cotton. I was proud. One day we did a hike to Heart Lake. It was eight miles into the lake mostly down hill. I was looking for rocks along the way and discovered a piece of flint about the size of a soft ball in a stream bed we crossed. I picked it and carried it for a while then put it in the pocket of the new coat. It was heavy so when we came across a  tall  tree stump that was along the trail I reasoned that I would put the rock there and retrieve it on the way home. The day warmed and we soon shed our coats.   Dad put them in the back pack. We arrived at the beautiful quiet lake. Ate the lunch Mom had packed and Dad started fishing. Gene and I play in the shallow water of the lake building rock towers and throwing rocks.    Dad caught one 12 “ Cut Throat Trout. Gene and I unintendedly caught leaches on our ankles. Time to go eight miles back out up out of the valley to the car and home. It was a long and difficult walk for the end of an active day. I remember Dad holding the handle of the fishing poll and my brother holding onto the poll to keep up the pace. When we got home to the trailer it was dark and we were all famished. The trout was soon sizzling in the pan and we had a great feast. Unpacking the back pack I remembered that I had forgotten to pick up the flint- and when I saw how the pocket of my new jacked was shredded by its sharp edges,  I was sure Mom would be angry with me. I don’t remember if she said anything- but I do remember every time I put hand in the pocket I recalled my foolishness.

Keep Creating

Carol

The Bachelor Buttons are in full bloom around here now.

Childhood Memories, Diminish, Old and New - Purple and Blue, QBL- Quilting By the Lake, Wool Rounds

Prep Week

Hello,
This week has been a quiet one. I did go and dye with Liz on Monday. We had fun and I worked to create several fabrics that look like rocks for my class. The work  pictured is what Liz created. Most of my efforts this week have been in preparation for QBL that begins for me on Friday. That day I will help hang the quilt show at Onondaga Community Collage. Then all the action will begin on Sunday. There will not be any new posts until Aug 1 after QBL is over.

Progress Report: Old and New- Purple and Blue The rework of this project is very satisfying. I like how it is much flatter too.

 

 

 

 

 

Diminishing I work hard on this project to complete the car wash series before I encountered Rosalie Dace again at QBL. I am done with the quilting. I did free motion spirals in the circles and pebble quilting in the rest of the work. Then the back ground was zig -zag stitched. That was new for me but I like how it looks.

 

Wool Rounds I started this new hand work piece this week as I finished the last hand project. I am not sure where I am going with it but I am enjoying the process.

 

 

 

 

New Work I am ready to do another forest fire piece and so this is all basted for that purpose.

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories :Parade Win When I was in the second grade there was a local parade in Columbus Junction. Mom made a green and gold tutu for me and a matching one for my Tony doll. I was so proud to be allowed to march all the way downtown without my parents. I had earned a quarter from Mrs Fister and I was going  to spend it all by myself.  After the parade I went into the drug store to do my solo shopping and the Draggiest leaned over his counter to talk to me. He said “ Congratulations”. I asked for what and he told me I had won a prize in the parade for my costume. I was surprised as I was unaware there was a contest at all. He told me to go across the street to Roundies Grocery and pick up my prize. When the manager, Mr Roundy gave me the prize of $5.00 I was delighted. I thanked him and took the money and ran all the way home to tell Mon, totally forgetting my goal to spend a quarter.

Gingerbread Men At Christmas time one year, again in Columbus Junction, Mom and I made gingerbread men with raisin eyes and mouths. We took them to the “shut ins”  in the community and hung some with red ribbon from silver ropes in the windows. I was disappointed that I did not get to eat any, but Mom said when we took them down from the windows after Christmas I could eat them all. That was about a dozen. I was nullified. When we took down the tree the weekend after New years, I got my reward. Then came the disappointment- the gingerbread men were hard as rocks and we had to throw them out.

Keep Creating

Carol

3X3, Childhood Memories, Diva Meetings, Finger Lakes Fiber Artist Group, Hand work, Old and New - Purple and Blue, Quilt Exploration Group (QuEGs)

Summer visitor

Hello
I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July. We where graced with a visitor in our neighbors yard in the middle of the day. Mother Nature is very abatable.

 

 

 

 

There were lots of meetings this week. Sat was the Finger Lakes Fiber Artist group meeting. Pat who had taught at The Surface and Design Symposium in Ohio for both week shared this little work by Sherri  ( she was behind me in class) that she purchased at the auction. She said it was based on advice about how to get a baby so go to sleep by one of the older gals at the symposium.
The meeting was a good one and folks had a lot to share.  Regina had lots to share.   The one at the top is her  3X3 piece.  We sure had fun with that challenge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joyce  had a lot to share too. the two at the bottom are her experiments  with Potato Dextrose  that she did at the spring retreat.

 

Noel    made this top in Pat’s class at The symposium.    She had this work quilted by the Diva meeting on Tue along with several others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharon  is really stretcher as she works on this commission of 6 quilts using the clothing of a woman who has passed away.

 

Maureen  displayed here banner that is 8 feet tall by 24 ” wide.  It hung at the Women’s exhibit in Huston.

 

 

 

 

 

Angela had a wonderful contribution.    She has finished these three pieces based on her husbands sax keys.    The blue one will be at QBL  in two weeks.

 

 

 

The Schweinfurt has a wonderful set of shows on recycled work in the main galleries as well.   

 

This artist is working totally with packing materials and labels.   I love how he has used a box as he frame.

 

 

 

This artist built all her pieces from materials that she got from the city dump.      It is a fascinating  show.

The QuEG’s and Diva’s meant too. The QuEGs meeting was small with only 4 of us but we did enjoy our selves.

At Divas Noel shared the  pieces she   had  finished sense Sat..

 

 

 

 

Anne  showed a piece got some advice on one how to improve it. I love the stitching in the leaves here.

Liesa did a nice floral work. Can’t believe she will be 99 on her next Birthday and still creating! It is always stimulating and a good time.

 

 

 

 

Monday Liz and I did do a dye day. This is her piece and it is very vivid. We had trouble with our color washing out to very light last week so we added fresh dye to the paste and I hope this helps. I am washing out mine today and I will know by this eve.

 

 

Progress Report: Diminishing

I ma now quilting on this work.   Doing free motion circles is a bit of a challenge and I am having fun.

 

 

 

 

Shirt   I just keep building up the surface of this work.  I am enjoying  this handwork too.

 

 

 

 

 

Rework of Old and New- Purple and Blue

After some careful study I decided that this work needed more quilting so I am doing cant ha stitches around each block.  I think I will add some French Knots to each block as well to further the uniting of the three layers.

 

 

Childhood- Watermelon Feast

When we lived in Columbus Junction the park was next door. It was a wonderful play ground for us and we used it almost daily. One summer day the JC’s had a Watermelon Feast. I was thrilled and ate 8 slices of watermelon. Three were lots of bees in the park that day attracted to the sweet rines and I was afraid to toss mine into the bin. They few up in a swarm but were not interested in anything but the fruit just as I had not interest in dinner that night.

Keep Creating

Carol

3X3, Childhood Memories, Diminish, Geza Series, Hand work, Heat, Old and New - Purple and Blue

Summer 2019

Hello,
This week has been a full one for me Summer comes and we all get busy. I taught a workshop in silk paper making on Thur and we all seemed to have a good time. Joyce did a lot of work that she will really use in books I think.

This shot is of Regina separating the silk paper from the nylon netting.

 

 

 

 

 

This shot is of my final products. I was working on building some material for my Rock Class at QBL in two weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

I also did wash out the dyed work from the week before. It was very pale so I think we need to add more powered dye to the mix to keep the intense colors.

 

 

Progress Report: Heat This is the fourth work in the Car Wash series. It is 31″w X 38″l. I had a good start on this work when I was in Ohio.

The two orange panels are silk paper that I made before I made the trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Old and New- Purple and Blue 3X3 This work is 56″ square. It is my second entry for the 3X3 show. I found the blue squares and I made the purple ones to add to them to create this work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diminished This work is the last of the Car Wash series. I was following a driver who kept hitting his breaks and the circles of his tail lights made an impression on me. I have abstracted it to suit me as you can see.

 

Shirt   I keep putting in the stitches on this work.    I  have also added a second color to the work.

 

 

 

Childhood: 4th of July 1961 Being a part of the of 4th of July parade in Grandview Iowa was always one of the joys of summer. Grandpa Howard was the organizer for yeas and that also pulled me in. In 1961 at the 100 anniversary of the start of the Civil War, that was the theme of the parade. Many kids dressed in blue shirts, union hats and carrying BB guns marched with tags around their necks listing the 27 men who went form the community to join the 19 Regiment of the Iowa Infantry. My cousin Danny, wore the sign for our great grandfather Herman Gast, who was a immigrant from Germany. Great Grandfather was discharged from Mobile in July 1865 and walked all the way home to Iowa from that point. He arrived in Oct. I wore a sign for Heneritta Wickelman, the only nurse from the county that volunteered to go. Because she was not a family member I do not know any history of that woman. It was a good experience for me as a kid.

Have a pleasant  Holiday on the 4th and I will post again on Friday next week.

Keep Creating

Carol

Geza Series, Hand work, Heat, Manzi, Old and New - Purple and Blue

Quilt Canada 2019

Hello,
I missed doing a posting last week because I was off at Quilt Canada with the New Your Quilt Consortium. I caught the bus and rode along with 54 other quilts five hours to Ottawa. Regina and Liz shared the trip with me. It was peasant and we really caught up. There was a second bus from NY and we knew lots of gals on that bus too and had dinner with  several of  them.

Then on Friday, off to the show. We shopped of course and then went to the National Juried show. There were lots of very impressive works. I really liked the mix of hand and machine work on this Cherry Blossom Triptych.(Close up)

This work by Daniela Tiger, “Where are We Going from Here” about emigration was very thought provoking.   This is a close up too.   The machine drawing is wonderful and the paint work is strong.

 

 

I really liked all the wonderful machine work on this face.  “Arborist: Tree Spirit” got my vote for best of show.

 

 

 

 

 

This “Exotic Fathered Friends”was a great study in Machine work and painting.

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed the mixing of media in this work “ My Tribute to Indigenous Powwow Dancers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the ribbon  work and beading was stitched to the background before it was quilted together.

 

Thousands of pieces of fabric where used in “Technicolor Dream Parrot” by Roxanne Nelson. It was a visual feast and we ran out of gas before we visited all the works.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ordered out Chinese at the hotel the second night.   This is dinner with Bev,  Joyce  , Liz, Regina and Terry.   We laughed a lot and fell into bed exhausted.

 

 

 

Day 2 we visited the QSDS  Metamorphose show. It too had a lot wonderful work.

I was delighted so see this felt work as apart of this show.     Wonderful hand dyed stuff too.

We went home on the bus very tired with our treasures that eve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liz and I got back on track to doing our weekly  dyeing again and this is what the line looked like on our first run.

 

 

 

I really liked this little piece of Liz’s work.

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Into It –Geza Series.   This work is 41.5″ w X 35″ l. I did the last of the quilting and bound it before I went off to Canada. This is the first one in based on the  Car Wash.

Rosalie really helped me with the quilting on this project. I had not thought of using double needle for this work, but I think it helps.

 

 

Heat – Geza Serious.   I am quilting away on this work and will soon be ready to all the silk paper to the piece. I will stitch it down by hand.

 

 

Old and New , Purple and Blue This work got a lot of attention on the bus. I finished all the purple blocks and made all the nine patches. Now I am adding the sashing and will begin the final assembly this week.

Scarf Liz purchased this bit of commercial Cant-ha to make a scarf. I did the assembly with the twist in it so I have a mobious strip.

 

 

 

 

Jacket I observed Victoria’s blue jean jacked with a panel sewn on the back when we went to Ohio. In my search this week for a fabric this week I came across this beautiful bit of Shobori and though I would add it to my own jacket. It now has a good home.

Handwork Shirt Having finished the hand work on the blue squares I needed a new project. So I pulled out this shirt that I had purchased in Florida earlier this spring. I will keep adding the distorted blanket stitches to the shirt until it feels finished.

 

 

 

Childhood Memories: Homes
My childhood was full of moving. My parents were always finding better jobs and moving to new locations. Be cause they were teachers that also meant that summers also included living in different locations. This also meant building new houses and I have lots of great memories of that activity, but I will include them another time.
I will try to cover them in time order. My fist memory is of the house in Ainsworth,  Iowa. It was a simple four rooms and a bath set up and my brother Gene was born there. Mom saved every thing and I even have the recite for the lumber for that house $350.00. I remember too that they did not build a barrier in the closets- back to back – between the two rooms and we could run through the hanging clothes into there room and jump onto their bed when we hear them in the mornings. Dad was an English teacher there and basketball coach. I got to be the mascot and at half time I sat in my little purple skirt and white sweater on the center of the court while the cheer leaders did there thing around me.

Dad got a job as a principal in Columbus Junction, Iowa and we moved. This time they purchased a house were the basement was built into a hill and with Grandpa Howard’s help built the main floor on top while the first school year went on and we slowly moved up stairs. I stared kindergarten while we lived in that house. The city park was our view from the front room and as kids we spent a lot of time there.

The summer I was seven, Dad got a job as a temporary ranger for the summer in Yellowstone National Park. My parents burrowed a air stream trailer that they pulled out and back with our yellow and white Ford. We did not have electricity that summer and only had fresh meet and milk on the night after we went to West Thumb( no longer there) to the store. I remember sleeping in the front room of that trailer and watching the full moon one night line up with the circular window in the door and listen to the coyotes howling.

Our next move was to Carroll Iowa where I started third grade. Again we lived in the basement that Dad, Grandfather and twin high school boys built into a hill the summer before school started. We actually lived in an apartment for the summer. It was across the street from the city park and both Gene and I took swimming lessons there. Gene started Kindergarten and Mom went back to work for the school as a seventh and eight grade science teacher.

Our next home was again a temporary summer Ranger Job for Dad in Tetons National Park at Colter Bay Campground this time. They provided housing and we had electricity. We spent the summer in a army surplus tent with a wooden floor, wood stove and screen door. Mom made a birthday cake in the electric fry pan that she brought with us. We did have to walk/run to the bathroom in the camp ground though.

We continued to live in the house in Carroll in the winter and we went off to Greeley Colorado so my parents could work on there Master’s degrees. We lived in a much nicer trailer that had two bed rooms. Gene and I both went to summer school that summer. We played with kids in the park in the afternoons. The girl and I played dolls. Barbie was popular by that time, but my little doll of choice was Betsy Mc Call. Her legs bent and she could set in chairs.

Dad Graduated from the University of Iowa and he and Mon got jobs at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. That was the only house that they did not build them selves. But they did choose the lot and arranged the floor plan to suit us. We moved in there and I started eight grade. Gene was at the local elementary and for the fist time we did not go to the same building for school. My parent shared that house until their divorce in 1973.

Childhood Memories: Dad’s Office
Fathers’s day is Sunday. In thinking about him I have wonderful memories to share
We moved the year I was six and ready to begin Kindergarten. Dad took his first job as a High School principal in Columbus Junction Iowa. I remember going to his office. The Superintendent was across the hall and there was a huge grandfather clock that fascinated me in the hall. I was really hypnotized by the hug pendulum and I love the chimes. Dad’s office had a clerking floor that even made sound when I walked across it. I remember setting in Dad’s chair and my head was barley above the desk top. There was a closet in the back of the office that held the candy that they sold at sporting events. There was also on the back of the door to that closet a big wooden paddle. It was larger then I was tall. I had always know that Dad meant business when he talked- but this really reinforced that in my young mind. It Dad gave me a Milkyway from that closet when we left because I had been so good. Later he sat me down at home and we had a serious talk about behavior. Dad said I was getting too old to spank, but I was still responsible for my actions and there would be other punishments if I needed them. We had other variations on the responsibility talk as I grew up.

Gardening with Dad
Every place we lived Dad had a garden. I recall the second spring in the house in Columbus Junction and watching him use the spade to turn over the ground. I sat near the strawberry bed and he uncovered a carrot that had survived the winter in the ground. He wiped it off on his pants and told me I could eat it. I backed a bit”Its still dirty” I said. “Aw,” he replied and wiped it a second time. “Don’t you know you have to eat a cubic acre of dirt before it will kill you?”, as he tried yet again. I took the carrot and took a small bit from the cleaner end- it tasked OK. Dad smiled and said “That’s my girl- my Carrie berry bin” -And I got my first and favorite nick name. As Dad was always teaching he explained about nick names when I asked him. This one is a sign of “endearment “ he told me and I added this to my list of growing vocabulary.

Hope you are all creating wonders of your own

Carol

PS   Posting for the next two weeks will be on Friday.  Next Thur I will be teaching a Silk Paper workshop and the following Thur is 4 th of July.

3X3, Collections, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Icarus, Linnen Jacket, Scrap Happy Quilts, The Grandfathers

Birthday Week 2019

Hello,
It was my Birthday this week and Eric got me these beautiful spring flowers a great card and took me to dinner.  I had dessert and ice cream with the FAD gals, some cards from my aunts came in the snail mail, got lots of emails, a great phone call from my daughter and a text from my grand daughter. It was a great day for me.


The FAD gals meant and we had  a good time. Sharon was doing the hem on her quilt – Moon River in the Rain.   I like the way ones’s eye roams across the surface with this quilt.


I made a vow at to try to do a follow up on an idea from one of the magazines I get every month. This month I tried cheese cloth painting from Julie Booth’s article in the April May issue in the  Quilting Arts magazine. It was fun and messy. I was trying to build up some more material for my next wild fire piece. I also just played- something most of us do not spend enough time doing.

 

Progress Report :   Jacket 
I just keep working during the news on this project. I am adding the Turkey work on the last patch. It will be evaluation time again before I know if I am done or not.

 

 

 

 

Tee Shirt Quilt I am now starting to build units with this project. I cut 2.5″ and 4.5″ strips of various blues, browns and greens and connected them to the sides of the squares from the clothing. I do not want the work to have an up or down so I am placing the blocks together with the text reading from both directions. All the small units are built and now I am adding things together.

 

Scarp Happy.     I am done with the assembly of the rows for this   Scarp Happy quilt,  But I am out of the strips of scarps that I use for the edges and boarders.   Here is one of four bags full  leftovers and “cut aways ”  that I have to make those  new strips with.  So I  guess I will have to get going and put some together for this quilt in order to finish it.

  Blue Squares  I was doing a bit of spring cleaning and I came across this stack of 42   squares. I do not remember what my intentions were- but I think I got frustrated when I reached this point because the squares are not all the same size.    After giving it thought, I think I will make 45 more squares using the same theme and put them together as nine patches. I will make them all the same size by cutting down the big ones so everything goes together smoothly.  All the new squares will be this new size to start with too!  I guess this will be my new Daily Practice for a while.

Collections VI I have started stitching a few things to the base on this project. It is not getting much attention at the moment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Icarus I put in a lot of time  in on this work this week. I fused the body and legs to quarter inch batting.  I have done colored pencil  drawing and free motion thread painting on he work to create  the shading. The top half is done. I have stitched down the wings so I am playing with position for the head and trunk at this point. The legs need the thread work before I can trim away the extra  batting and add them to the surface. I am happy with the progress.

 3 X 3 -Circular Thinking 

This is a shot of the back of the work.   I am done with the most of the embroidery work on this piece now and have moved to assembling the rows into a nine patch.     The yellow with the red and blue print is sashing.  The center row shows how the back of the work looks before I fuse a solid print onto it to stabilize the work  and finish it.  There are 27 sides to stitch down to finish this piece.   

Childhood Memories- the Grandfathers This project keeps evolving as I work on it.   I have been looking at slides and photos of when I was a kid  and noticed that mom seems to have dressed me   in  red a lot, so I will use that to help identify me in the works from now on.     As the title suggests this piece is about my grandfathers. Grandpa Howard was my Mother’s father. I remember him always wearing Carhart pants and shirts in forest green. He had a very inquiring mind and a good sense of humor. He helped my parents build three of the four houses that we lived in as I grew up. He was helping Mom on the house in Columbus Junction, Iowa, the year I started Kindergarten. I come home from lunch every day. After eating together he and I would set in the red and silver print chair in our living room  and he would read one chapter of Alice in Wonderland to me before I ran back to school in the afternoon.
Grandpa Merritt was a farmer. Except for Sundays, he always wore gray and white striped overhauls from Oskash and a woven hat. I remember enjoying running in the furrow of the plow behind the tractor. It was a red International Harvester. The feeling of the rich dark earth between my toes and the powerful earth smell always delighted me. I can’t remember how many springs I followed him as he plowed that 160 acre filed, planted it and harvested the bounty when fall came. He lovingly rotated his crops to keep the fields rich too.

Keep Creating
Carol