Category Archives: Hand work

Snow Bound

 

Johns-pictures-095.jpgHello,

I was snow bound for three days this week as we got hit by lake effect snows.     I felt like hibernating- but spent time in the studio instead.   The snow  measured 18” on my deck and the shoveling was tiring even though it was light snow.  There was just so much of it and along with the wind, being out doors was cold work.

Before the snow I spent aIMG_5000

day with QuIGs gals doing screen printing at Angela’s house.  We had fun and I got a new batch of fabric to work with.

IMG_5005I was also invited to be a part of the Valentine sale and show at the Turquoise Street Gallery.  That sale and show will be  Feb 12 and 13  from 11:00 until 8 both days.   I created a few little images in fabric with bead trims for that show.   It was fun and it got me in the spirit of doing Valentine stuff.      Liz had a really cute pin she had created last year that was a Valentine Cookie in felt.    I was thinking about them and so I tried to create my own.

Here they are in a tin all set to be sent in a few weeks to  my gal pals.IMG_5007.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_4999.jpgProgress Report:  Moon Fall  I am to the quilting stage now and enjoying the free motion part of the process.  I decided to use three colors of thread.  A variegated red to rust, a blue and a burgundy to outline the shapes of the dyed areas.   I am about two thirds done with that now.

 

Parts   I am stitching down IMG_4993.jpgthe camera parts by hand.  I am also embellishing them with hand stitches to add interest.  The  process is slow and I only add about two pieces and evening, but I am enjoying it.

IMG_4994Coping   I pulled out  this top that I had started last summer and did a second look at it.  Then I decided to do the quilting in a block like fashion.  I am trying not to be too pridctable  with that step and so I over lapped the starting squares and now I am building in more lines and little squares to the surface.

Coastal Colors II   IMG_4989.jpgI continue to build on the top of the wool work here.  I just enjoy adding more texture to the surface.  The colors become so much richer I think.

IMG_5002Scrap Happy     I  had a whole box full of left over squares form all the scrap happy quilts I have been making, so I put them together in  random  rows and I am now sewing/quilting those rows together.   It will be a colorful one when it is done.

IMG_4997.jpg New Work   I pulled out these pieces of fabric and I will start a new work using some of them.  I have not chosen a focus fabric from this collection yet, but when I do I will know what the next steps will be.

 

Label Block # 36

IMG_4990  I got a letter from Judy this week full of labels and I am thrilled.  It is always good to have help form one’s friends.

Keep Creating

Carol

Summer Actions

 

Morning GloriesHello,

These beautiful Morning Glories are from Susan’s garden.      I had an unexpected invite to go to Quilt National last week and that happened on Thursday and Friday.  That was the reason there was no post.   It was a glorious experience and I have a ton of new thoughts and ideas about work.032

There were wonderful works  by many folks I have seen before as well as lots of new comers.  I purchased  the book,   and I treated myself to a poster with Elizabeth Bush’s quilt on it.    It was a good experience.

Susan  I did not get busy and write on Wed before we departed because I went to Susan’s with Noel and  we had a play day.  We did a mimic of the work form David’s class and I have a lot more paper to play with now.  It was a pleasant day and we all enjoyed ourselves.

I also spent a day  001both weeks making silk paper.  I have used some of it on quilts already.   But my main reason for making the paper is I want to teach a class were the we make the paper and then use some of it to make book jackets.

020Progress Report:Rifts 

This is the new rock piece that I am working on.  It too is another close up of the shore of Arcadia.   I am struggling with    direction on this one and keep pinning it up with different orientations.   Looking is the only answer for me.  It is also were I used some of the silk paper that I mentioned earlier. 027.jpg

  The process is still in it’s early stages so there will be lots more build up of the surface and changes.      

030Mill Site  Melody   I stared this piece at QBL and I am to the quilting stage now.  I have had a good time doing reflective quilting in this section and making additional  machine drawing in other areas.Wheat heads

These wheat like shapes are based on the  images I see in the discharged print image.

Forest Floor 033  I continue to  do hand work on this piece.   The stitches are beginning to build up with more remaining to be added.

023Scrap Happy     I finished this quilt this week.  It will be a gift to help comfort my friend Tanya who had to  have her horse put down.  She is quite sad about that and I hope this red and black quilt with give her warmth and comfort.

New Work   I took David’s suggestion and selected one of my collages as a starting point for a new work.034

The collage only has two pieces of paper in it- but I could not limit 021.jpgmyself to just two fabrics.   I have added more and as I build I can see I am making alternations in the design due mostly to scale I think.  It is a different approach and I like that.

There is no shot of a finished block this week either because I am not done with one.  I am off to spend tomorrow playing with another friend working on Gelli plates  so I am writing this a day ahead.  Summer is just a busy time.

Keep Creating

Carol

Active Summer

 

Sharon workHello,

Summer seems to bring lots of movement for me.  I went to a studio sale on Friday last week.  What a bargain for me- fabric at $3.00 a yard- how could I go wrong?  I helped empty the tables.   Then stopped at Sharon’s studio before I went home.  These are two of her River Grasses series.  They are bot sold.   I am happy for her.     I also spent a day this week packing up four quilts to ship off to the opening show at the Pink House Gallery in Saranack Lake.     My friend Cris Winter kindly asked me to participate.   There will be a second opening in Aug and I will be sure to attend that one.

Then I Blue Notesmade a trip down to see my friend Ethel and pick up two of her quilts for the Quilting By the Lake show.  This quilt is titled ”Blue Notes”.      I always love the way Ethel builds such a complex surface with such a limited pallet.011  Fun too to have it in my studio for a few days for close and repeated study.   I will be helping hang the Quilting  By the Lake show tomorrow.

Something BigProgress Report:  Something Big     This work in nearly finished.   I used the felted jelly roll cuts from one of our play days at Blue Moon Studio  on this one.   I have put so much time into the hand work on this project that I did not finish a Label Block this week.

 

IrisesVan Goth’s Iris’s    This is the full finished panel that I purchased in Maine.     I know who will get this work in the fall.

015  This close up shows how my practice with the free motion work paid off.

Butterfly Days  This work has been pieced for a long time.  It has spent most of that time under other works.  Then one night last week just as I was falling asleep- I realized that I could add Butterfly Dayssomething on top to make the quilt work.  I had noticed several butterflies on my walk that day and so that is what I added.  They are cut from ground cloth( the  stuff one puts down under stones so weeds will not grow up from below).   I think now I will add some paint to the surface of the ground cloth before I stitch it down.

I am off to Quilting By the Lake for the next two weeks so there will not be any posts until  Aug 6th.

Enjoy the summer

Keep Crating

Carol

More on Lines

Summer flowersHello-

I just had to post these flowers today.  I love both the color and the contrast in textures.        I have not been very good about

Street linesconcentrating on lines as I intended to be this year.  But I took a renewed look this week.     I was caught by the lines on the street and thought the are indeed one type of line- strait.  They are a lines of direction and ones of illusion.  They create a feeling of depth on a flat surface and lead the eye back in space.    Most art is an illusion and a  bit of magic.  I say magic  because  if one looks at the materials ( paint, pastels, fabrics and yarns) that an  artists starts with-it is nothing but magic when one looks at the end result.

Encounters 26" X 25"
Encounters
26″ X 25″

Progress Report:  Encounters This is my newest completed hand embellished work.  I put a postage stamp on the lower left to help with scale.  It is a standard size- but I am not happy with it.  So I will keep looking for an item to add along the side to help give the viewer a clue as to the size of the piece.

104 - CopyThis work has more of the fabric form the discharge screen printing class in it.  The  dark fabric is a Judy Roberts piece form her monthly mailing.   It came in January and I just knew I had to use it with the white material.   I think they play well together. 105 - Copy106 - CopyI have enjoyed doing the various stitches on the surface of this piece.  I only did machine work as stitch in the ditch on some of the seams  to hold it together. 107 - Copy

  By the ShoreBy the shore

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am ready to start to build up the dark sections of this work.  I want it to feel deep – not just black so I am going slowly.     I like all the textures too

Name Game- Three Grand Sons    This is the next one in the series. Stage one here with Nick and Ben.  Both positive and negative shapes are shown here.

090091094 Gavin shows the second cut of the fabric.   It is already getting difficult to read the name.   I will slice all three  of the names into 4.5″ blocks and shuffle them next and put them all together for the top of this quilt.

New Work  New workThis top is all put together now.  It seems quite weak to me so I will have to do some wild machine work on top to  pull it into a work of some interest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scrap Happy 108  Sense I sold one more of my Scrap Happies to Beth  and there is a wedding for  Barb’s son coming up I started more work on these types of quilts.  The one with the red and black centers  is all setScrap II in rows. This shot is only three rows.

This second with three shades of blue as it’s centers   is not as far along When the rows are all assembled .  I will make scarp backs for the two of them.   They are always fun.

 

 

New Hand Work   Becausehand work I always want to have some hand work to do I laid out and pinned up this new start for my next hand challenge.  The white base has a bit of screen printing in pink on it.  I added some organza, yarn, silk paper and some of the felt slices  I made as a part of a play day with Cheri  had last fall.     I will be using mostly the same colors of yarn and floss as I did  for “ Encounters”. 

 

 

 

 

 

Spray paintedSpray Painted    I plunged in and started the quilting on this one this week.     I am outlining the reds and purples and then inventing the areas on the solid units on this top.   I am enjoying the process, but I am not sure about what I am doing.

 

 

092Label Block   I just keep working away on these little fellows.

I will be away next week so there will be no post again until July 2.

Keep Creating

Carol

Natural Beauty

 

Hello,Moth

This moth was in my yard this week.   I have never seen a live one before and it is beautiful .  Marty and I IMG_3846came across it when we were out side painting on Friday.  We were so taken by Elizabeth’s  spray technique when we were in Maine that we had to try it our selves. It was a lotSpray Painted fabric of fun and we both have a new respect for what Elizabeth is doing.   It takes a lot of  skill to control the application and just folding the fabric is not all that is involved.   We altered lots of different types of surfaces with the paint.  From cotton,  satin to corduroy  and organza.    This play sent me off in a bit of a new direction.

Painted workProgress Report:  Painted Work I got all excited by the painted cloth and so I started and assembled a new top.  It is big simple blocks because I want to feature the painted surfaces.    Adding in IMG_3863sharp quilted lines will really extend and enhance the painted areas I hope.  I am really taken by the sometime crisp edges and sometime soft ones.

By the Shore By the Shore  Now I am to the fun stage with this work as I am building up the surface with colors and textures.  It is so much fun to add all the different types of fabric, paper and yarn to the surface.

IMG_3855Encounters     I am still doing hand work on this project.  The base  is a mix of fabric that I did deconstructed silk screen printing   work on and some of Judy Roberts wonderful  hand dyed material.    It seems to become lost for periods of time and when I come across it again I see it with new eyes.  I think I am nearing the end as I add different types of stitches to the surface.  They have helped me solidify the vision for the work.

New work I am still building this piece.New work  At the moment I am not real delighted with it and feel it is only a background for something more.  It needs a focus I think.

 

IMG_3856Label Block  These nightly practices are moving along.  I am finding it very hard to keep the labels square sense I can not stretch the fabric.  I will not do a  hand project  like this again.

Keep Creating

Carol

Warming up

IMG_2696.jpg  Hello,

We are starting to see the melting of the snow  around here.  It is beautiful in its own way.  But it can become very dirty and discolored before its gone.    With the longer days I find myself spending more time cleaning and sorting.  I seem to have the  clutter rule  of  “ One   thing in one thing out” well under control in my closet and dresser drawers.   But that is not the case in my studio.     I have piles of stuff all around and I need to do some serious culling.   I know that a clean and clear space helps one get going on the creative work and I do love to walk into that sort of setting.  But I have been traveling and working with IMG_2701_thumb.jpgothers so much of late, that I have let the materials pile as I rush from one play date to another.    I have done a good job a voiding going out and spending money on new supplies and materials however.   I have kept my spending sense January at less then $35.   Not bad for two and a half month I think.  But   it is the gifting of stuff from those friends that is getting me into trouble.      I did spent yesterday with my friend Ethel doing screen dye printing.   It was great to play with the rich colors.  Now I have all the rinsing andIMG_2699_thumb.jpg washing to do today.  She also gave me a couple of yards of white duck…… I am hopeless!

I did work a little on the  Challenge Project Susan and I started in   Florida.  I added a blue wash to this piece and think I have decided on the text that I want to add.  I can  already see that the word part of this challenge will be the most difficult for me.    I plan to add some beads tomorrow when I go to see my friends at Turquoise Street studio.

IMG_2706.jpgProgress Report:  Nail Castings   This project started as a  result of  finding the white  plastic units that hold nails in electronic nail guns.  I was fascinated by the shapesIMG_2710_thumb.jpg of the things.  I have enjoyed working away  with thread out of Grandmother Ruth’s needle  basket  and exploring differentIMG_2711types of stitches.

Name Game 1-Carol IMG_2713.jpg Now I know I say that words are not my strong suit- but I do love the shapes of letters and the spaces around them.    To build this top I first printedClose up of Name game out my name in very large letters.  22″ tall  and 22” wide in fact.  Then I stitched around the letters and cut away the negative space.  I stitched the negative spaces shapes to a second pieces of light blue that was also 22” X  22”.    I found that the letters them selves  created  units of the turquoise  that were too big. So I cut just inside the stitch lines close up 2and  then added those new shapes to the negative space piece on the second fabric.  Next I cut both pieces of fabric into 5.5”  squares and began playing with the blocks.  Some I turned side ways or even upside down, always paying attention to the relationships of one square to the ones next to it.   This play part took me a long time and several days.   When I was happy with it I sewed the blocks together.  This is such a fun and challenging design project I started a second as soon as I had the top  all assembled.

IMG_2698.jpg

Name Game II – Lexi    This  second   top went a lot faster as I knew were I thought I was going.  I made this one more complex by using a plaid taffeta for the background fabric.     I also made more blocks and will not use all of them in this project.    I think this will create a stronger piece in the end.   In this shot some of the blocks are sewn to one  another.  

Memory Map- Canyon de Chilly  cose up of  spider woman I added the Spider Women’s Towers to this project.  I really enjoy working on these Memory Map projects, but they as all very slow in there development.    The ruins are  also attached now too.IMG_2705I am still trying to decide what other elements I want to add to the work.

Whip Shock Hill II      I wantclose up of Wip shock hill  to enter a show where one needs two quilts that relate to one another.    I have been thinking about how much I enjoyed the work on Whip Shock Hill.  The first project shows less then half of the hill so I though I would use this challenge to do the second half.    This is just the roughed out

Whipshock Hill Foundations XXI 44" X 35"
Whipshock Hill Foundations XXI
44″ X 35″

stage.   But I do not think I have shown this step before when it comes to these type of  collage projects that I do.   The base  fabric is only pinned to the buckrum at this point and no stitching has been applied.   This second shot is of the first piece.

I am keeping myself busy as the Spring season gets going.

Keep Creating,

Carol

Florida Holiday

the shoreHello,

I am home from a week in Gulfport Florida.  I really enjoyed the new sceanry .    There was so much to lookSplit pine at my eyes could hardly take it all in! From the shore with lots of bird forms to the sky and the plant life- I was a shooting fool when it came to taking pictures.    I just love how this split pine looks and I am  sure it will turn up in some work at some time. gorman  Then  there was all the art.   We went to a show of work by  Geoffrey Gorman.  He builds  wonderful found object sculptures of animals and birds that include wire and canvas that he has aged with rust.   His work was wonderful.

Susan took me to an opening at the Florida CraftArt IMG_2621Gallery, where both  Oiseau Sisters had pieces.  This shot shows Susan with her birds.  She and I played in the studio every day.    I did Gelli prints with Lora on Tuesday.  I used one as a base  when we went to drawing on Wed eve.    Susan and I designed and then startedmy stencils a flag project.    We each made six stencils and printed two of each.  These are my images. At the end of the week we traded one of each of our images for one of each of the other person’s works. IMG_2656 Now we will both work on the flags as we see fit and when we meet again at the June Diva meeting we will compare how each of us has altered all the images.   We designedOwl it to be an open exploration project- trying new materials and techniques.   It will be fun I think.

I worked away all week on this owl stitchery project.   It is nearly complete now.  I had intended to work on a piece that I brought form home, but I did not do a stitch on it.  The first day  Susan pulled out one of her bins  of fabric and I got inspired.  Something about some one else’s materials I suppose. Nancy and her project

Tuesday was a FAB meeting and after a month of not seeing folks we had a lot to talk about.  Nancy is making great progress on her bed quilt( this shot shows the center section folded up  as it is all the stripes. ) Now she will build  more images on top.

 Progress Report:  Boiling Point

Boiling Point 16" X 20"   $225.00
Boiling Point
16″ X 20″
$225.00

This project went together quickly just before I left.  I am still using the fabric collage technique thatClose up 1- Boiling point I used with the Foundations Series, but it not based on any stone this time.    I also did all the work on canvas this time and then stretched it around to the back of the stretcher bars before tacking.  This first close up is near the center of the work.    I used  red, rust, gray and dark green velvet in this work as well as satin and silk fabrics.    The more I play with the layering and folding of the various fabrics the close up 2 of Boiling pointmore I enjoy the process. This second shot is near the middle on the right.   Boiling Point cl 3 A little copper paint adds fun.

 

 

Raw edges here add another texture to the mix,

 

 

Name Game close upName Game 1- Carol     I cut  the work  into 6″ square and then reassembled it.  I am only going to show this close up this week  because the only step that remains for completion is the facings and I will complete them for next week.

 Owl   I amIMG_2688.jpg showing the completed owl that I did in Florida as I am going to send it off to the framers this week and OWL close up 1shooting through glass is as strong as a strait shot.  I really enjoyed working on this.  I tried lots of varieations on the fly stitch on this work.    The vanes in the leaves are fly stitches all connected to one another. Owl close up 2  The tree bark is that same stitch on its side and interlocked with its neighbor.  The wing tip is shown here and it is made from a pair of textured panty hose.  The pin feathers on the chest are woven copper ribbon that has been tacked down with open fly stitches.   The claws are made from fake leather that was frapped.     The found Owl close up 3objects that started this whole work are the chroched  rings that are the whites of the eyes.  The orange is a bit of bias tape and the black is a sequin held in place with a french knot.  The beak is created from the same fake leather as the claws.

 

Memory Map- Canyon de Chelly Canyon de Chelly     I am still strugling with with were this project is going.   But I feel closer then before.  Adding Spider Women’s towers ( on the left) will help anchor the work I think.

Nail Casting cl 1Nail Castings

I am still fasinated  by the shapes of these plastic parts.  I enjoyed tacking them down with lots of different types of stitches.    the shapes just tickled me.

Keep Creating

Carol

Sports Lines

IMG_2355.jpgHello,

I am still thinking about lines and although this is a shot of tire lines  I think it shows one way we see them and do not really realize they are a part of our lives.   When I made my list of line types I was surprised by how many were  related to sports.     Almost all sporting events have a starting line  or beginning line and finish line.   In Basketball there are center lines,  free throw lines,  foul lines, boarder lines, side lines.  Foot ball has some of these lines and adds yard lines, front lines, boundry lines  and line men.  In auto racing you add fuel lines, break lines and checkered lines.  Other lines in sports include kite lines, trap lines, bow lines  and in horse racing you blood lines.  I am sure there are lots of othersIMG_2501_thumb.jpg I have not though of too and perhaps I am getting to the point were the lines have different meanings- but line is a very useful tool in art and sport. I went and spent a day playing with Cheri last week.  She had some wonderful felted work to share with us.         Colleen worked on this IMG_2504_thumb.jpgbarclet for the day.  It is more than half done now and I like the colors.  Cheri worked on this wonderful spider. IMG_2505_thumb.jpg Look at the scissors near the top of the photo to get the scale of how large this project is . I spent my day working on my entries for 6X6 for the Rochester Contemporary Art Center fund raiser.       Check out the web sight and see the work for sale at  $20  for each one IMG_2506_thumb.jpgor even better send them one of your own little 6″ X ^” creations and join the fun. 

 

 

 

Progress Report: RusticIMG_2520_thumb.jpg Rambles IIMG_2518.jpg and Rustic Rambles II   This is the first of the works  new stretch series that I am doing.   I wanted to try my collage technique on a stretch surface so I an enter it in a art show that IMG_2527_thumb.jpgis specifically asking for stretched works.  I like the effect. There is no batting but I have not been using  batting in most of my foundations works for over a year.   This work also includes paper that I have done wax resits on.     I used the same machine drawing  work I have been developing for the last year. IMG_2522IMG_2523IMG_2524IMG_2525  These two works are a set and flow into one another when they are hung with that in mind. IMG_2526  

Circuits    This project is completed now and is 20″ X 30″IMG_2513.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This was a fun project to work on in the evenings while I did machine work onIMG_2515_thumb.jpg Scrap Happy’s during the day time.

I started this with the orange stamped shapes.  I used the errasor  end of a pencil for the stamp.   When the paint was dry I stated to connect the  rowsIMG_2517_thumb.jpg of dots together like the welds on a circuit board.     I added the orange beads as I tough they were needed to make the idea feel complete.  The stitching and beading became more and more complex  as I went along.   I am very happy with the final results.IMG_2516_thumb.jpg

 

 

 

 

Scrap Happy # 4   I am still working away on these scrap quilts and finishing them as time allows. IMG_2547 IMG_2546  Scrap Happy #5   I gave one away yesterday to the Prevention  Net Work.  It is an organizations that helps direct high school kids away from drugs.  I have starts for two more and then I will set this work aside for a while.

New works    I am still strugglingIMG_2550_thumb.jpg with how I want to finish this piece.  But yesterday I looked at it and though of my trip to Canyon De Chilly again and think I will try to push it in that direction. This is another experiment I am trying.  It really falls into my Graffiti  play stuff so I am  IMG_2548_thumb.jpgnot sure at all were it is going.  But when I give my self the Okay to play some good stuff can come out of that.

I will be away next week so there will be no post   March 5.

Keep Creating

Carol

Happy Chinese New Year of the Goat/ Ram

IMG_2475_thumb.jpg Hello,

Here in upstate New York we are deep in snow.   The gate is 24″ off the ground and you can hardly see the top of it in this shot.

Today is the first day of the new year of the Goat/Ram if you  celebrate the Chinese system.  Lots of fire crackers, dragon dancing and paper money will be part of the goings on in many places today.   The Goat is the fifth in the symbol system.  Folks who are 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 and 72 this year are also part of the goat clan.   Goat people are said to be calm, gentle, creative , honest, thoughtful, persevering and frank.    This sounds like a good group to me.

IMG_2481   I spent one day this week visiting with my friend Cheri.  We took a little time to visit the Art Center where her piece had won a first place in the art show that is up  there now.   She also did someIMG_2479_thumb.jpgwork with stenciled pieces she did last summer.   I spent my morning doing IMG_2480_thumb.jpgcollage work and came out with about four pieces that I think I am finished with.

I spent a lot of time in the studio this week too.  It has been so snowy and cold it is hard to feel like moving around too much.

Progress Report:IMG_2492.jpgSpring Song    I started this work last week.   I feel like the free motion work adds more definition to the piece.  I like how the finished work looks.  I think I will not build my next piece onIMG_2494 - CopyIMG_2495 - CopyIMG_2496 - Copy wool felt as the felting process stretches the felt too much and I can not get this to be as flat as I want it to be.  I will work on woven wool or cotton next time.  I am sure I learn lots of stuff from my mistakes.

Pebble Pile    I was  finished with this work  from  last week too.  It is done now.

IMG_2498  IIMG_2499_thumb.jpg like how the three dimensional felted units work with the flat ones.  Both projects in felting were  a good growing experiences for me.  I will try it again sooner next time.

Nail CastingsIMG_2489  I am only showing a detail of this work this week. There are so very many hand stitches  I do not know !    But I sure like trying new ones.  How the stitches interact with one another is also  enjoyable.   Line  patters are a part of my self  challenge for this year and this project is filling that bill.

Circuits   I am nowIMG_2491_thumb.jpg now done with the machine quilting on this piece and I am adding the boarders.  I am sure I will complete it in a day or two as I only need to do the facings and the sleeve now.

IMG_2484_thumb.jpg Return   I think I know were want to go with this work  now.  I am going to build some ruins on top of the background that I started a few weeks ago.   It will come together this week I hope.

New work   I started a new piece yesterday in the collage style that the rocks wereIMG_2485_thumb.jpg constructed alone.  This time I stared with the  multi/red fabric  that is in the center.   It is only in the pin up stage now and will change a lot before I begin to sew.   I just wanted to try not basing a project on any special images this time.    It is a different kind of challenge for me.    I am trying our one more new thing.  This time I am building the project on canvas instead of buckram.   I will keep folks posted as to the success or failure of this.

Keep Creating

Carol

Valentines Day

/

IMG_2436 Hello,

I have finished and sent my Valentines Day Cards.  The making is the best part of the whole event from my point of view.   It is always a fun excuse to get out the paper and play with it.   I do not care if I get any response from doing these- the joy of making is all I really want anyway.

This week has been a full one for me as they all seem to be.IMG_2439I went to visit my friend Ethel and we spent a fine day playing with felting.  I do enjoy the process and do not take time to do that very often.  I started out making a background for the pebble like  felted units that I made  on the  play day at the Blue Moon in the fall. IMG_2471   Ethel suggested that I slice the units in half to add to the surface.  I really like that idea and would not have even thought of doing that without IMG_2465_thumb.jpgmy play time with her.    Another point of view is always a good thing.       After lunch I tried a whole new picture like image in felt.  What fun.  I ran out of energy and time before I completed it, but I am sure I will finish the bird and flowers later.

IMG_2441  Ethel created this wonderful felted bag.  I love the soft colors and the button she found is just perfect for its job here.   It was a fun and productive day.   We have set a date to do something similar next month.

IMG_2456.jpgProgress Report:   Rustic Rampaging I  & II  I wanted to enter a art completion were all the work had to be mounted and framed so I did a set of pieces that would fit into that format.  I thought why not try stretching my work on a frame like one does canvas for a painting.    The first piece show here is Rustic Rampaging II – and it is not stretched.    It is ready for that step as I did the two works at the same time, but I did not have a canvas so I could not do that step until I went out and got the materials.  IMG_2470 This is Rustic Rampaging I. The process is  is all experimenting  so I am learning things.   For example -the next time I will make the piece just  a bit bigger as I like how the side were I could rap the project all the way around to the back much better then  were I just had to attached it to the side.

IMG_2464Circuits   I am finally finished with the  hand stitching on this project.   It was enjoyable,, but a slow process.  Now I need to add it to the quilt top.  That portion  will be a piecing project for this week.

Paint Play   When Cris WinterIMG_2463_thumb.jpg came to visit a few weeks ago she gave me a little gift that was work on canvas and I really liked the look.  So I did a little playing in a similar style this week.  It too will get stretched around a frame when I am done with some hand work on the surface.

IMG_2461Old work Revisited   I finally looked again at this work I had started last spring.   This time I saw a way to go forward with it.  The red on the side is added and now I will work on the embellishment to pull the work together.   Sometimes one has to just set work aside for a while and look at it again later with fresh eyes.

Keep Creating

Carol