Category Archives: Scrap Happy Quilts

QBL plus

 Hello,

It has been a busy three weeks sense I last wrote a message  with lots of events.   Summer is in full force here and  very beautiful.   I am looking forward to the Art, Garden and Sustainability  Trail that will be taking place in my nationhood this Sat.    More about that next week.

First I want to talk about Quilting by the Lake 2023.    This year, its 37th,  the event took place at Wells College in Arura NY.  The college is in a splendid  setting  on beautiful Cayuga Lake.   Several folks went swimming in the lake too. The campus has lots of gracious  old building and as it runs along the lake edge there are lots of ups and downs.

This is a shot of my dorm.  I was in the front corner room,  level one with two windows.  We spent several evenings on the balcony stitching during the week.

There was also a very large and comfortable parlor were we worked to put together a puzzle week two. It had 2,000 pieces and we did not complete the task, so I broth it home and I plan to bring it week one next year so we can get the whole thing done.   This shot is of Lori and Reggi early on in the process.

This is how far we got before we had to dismantle it for travel.

 

Week one I was in independent study with  a dozen other gals.

 

 

 

 

Nancy finished this top, a quilt and did some machine drawing of a Goldfinch.

 

 

 

 

 

Reggie, who specializes in picking up finished blocks  and making tops out of them, did five during the week.   This one is make up of Dear Jane  blocks.  One   of 4.5″ block had 49 hand pieced units in it.

 

These pineapple blocks were done by another gal in studio and they got completely assembled as a quilt top for her grandson.

 

 

Rachel Clark taught a coat making class in our building week one and also gave the opening lecture.  It was inspiring.

 

 

 

 

Week one ended with show and tell in the dinning room.

This is a shot of a few folks from Irene Rodrick’s class ” Dancing with the Wall. ”

I went home and did laundry before returning on Sunday for week 2 and my class with Amanda McCarver.

Our class was was working with wash away  and roving to create different effects.   We did lots of little experiments and I learned a lot.    I am sure I will apply what I have learned to my work in the future.    This  a shot of the Solvy sandwich  with roving, yarn and loose threads before machine work is applied.

Here are my works for the first three days.

 

 

More experiments.

 

 

 

 

 

We  also had a quilt show that was of work of the Finger Lakes Fiber Art’s group.     This shot is Victor’s Work  from the show.

There was an event every night that included a trip to the Schweinfurth to see the Nancy Crow show were she gave a lecture.  We visited a local farm were there was a talk on antique quilts  and both weeks had a night were we gathered around the fire pit and made  Smores.  This shot is of Davana enjoying hers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Liz  too.

We had good time and made some new friends and enjoyed our old friends too.

 

 

 

 

Week II of QBL completed with show and tell and the Apron Auction.

 

This shot is of Elsa and her Blue Bird.    She was in David Taylor’s class.

 

 

The Apron Auction was lots of fun with lots of silliness.    The money goes to the Scholarship Fund, a very worth while cause.

It was a bit sad to see it all end, but I enjoyed myself as did many others.

Tue was the Aug Diva meeting.

 

Most of the time was spent talking of how we will finish up the “Together We Rise Project.”   This is Lori’s entry.

 

 

 

 

Mary  reworked hers as she did not feel that the burbles read well.    I think the balloons do a great job.

 

 

 

 

 

Mary also had a great self directed project.  She is still working through some of the fabric’s she purchased when she traveled to Africa.

 

Her beading adds an extra layer of interest.

 

We visited the Rock Garden Art show at the Homer Art Center while we were there.       Terrie had four little cityscapes .  There were all fun.

 

Cheri had four more of her wonderful prints in the show too.     I really like what she is doing now.

 

 

 

 

 

I also had a Pixie meeting yesterday and enjoyed catching up with those folks.  Our new assignment is to do something with insects.  I need to finish my lettering for that too.   I did an L and an S    at  QBL that I plan to turn  them  into pillows this week .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Wild Fire in Whisky Hollow   This work is  35″ w  X35″ t.  I did this in indigent study at QBL.    I did the binding and  sleeve after I got home.     With this work I really wanted to show a green tree paired with one on fire.    I saw and image like this in my check in with the wild fires in Canada that week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the Fire  I was struck by the destruction  of the fires and what remains afterward , so I made this quilt as it is a part of the story too.   I think is needs more work so it is not completed yet.

 

 

 

 

Handwork   This is what I worked on during QBL while setting on the balcony of my dorm .   It is moving along.

 

 

 

 

Lap quilt #11    I finished this top before I went off to QBL.  That seems like a long time ago to me now.    On to the layering and quilting.

 

 

 

 

 

Scrap Happy    I assembled and quilted this quilt tis week in preparation for the local  Art, Garden and Sustainability  Trail on Sat.   I will  deliver it to one of the organizer this afternoon.

 

 

 

 

It has been a busy time , but I have enjoyed it all.

Keep Creating

Carol

 

 

 

 

Summer Time

 Hello,

 

It is full summer time here.    I enjoyed Fireworks along with my friends  and was out doors a lot this week.   I went to the Towpath quilt show on Sat and  enjoyed the work of many hands.

 

I got to see Noel’s  pieces for the group challenge.  Participants got a line from The Night Before Christmas” to illustrate.     I think she did a great job.

 

 

 

 

  There was lots of wonderful work.  I was fascinated by this quilt where  the artists had added ink tense color to her embordered work.   It was a great show and there were lots of good pieces.

 

 

 

I also had a pixie meeting this week.  We are challenging  ourselves to use letter or text in our work this month.   I did join the SAQA Strolling Along  45 day Challenge on July 1 too.  I am using Prepared as my first emphasis.

Progress Report: Prepared   This is the 5th in the Split Compliment series.   It is all assembled and ready for quilting at this point.

 

 

 

Collage    I did my collage work this week as usual.   This is were I did my Letters for the Pixie challenge with this orange work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did add some drawing with this second collage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Beach   I have decided that this work is complete now.  I only need to add a sleeve and labels  and it is done.

 

 

 

 

 

Scrap Happy    Our nationhood is having a Art and Garden show in early Augusts and I told them a few month ago I would donate a quilt for them to raffle off.  I had forgotten about that commitment until I saw the advertisement.   it has taken a bit of a effort, but the blocks got assembled and put into rows this week.  I will make a back and put the work together this week as I want to have it done before QBL on the 16 of July.

New Work  Sense I can see the end of a the Prepared work, I pulled some more of the printed fabric from the SAQA 100 day challenge pile and that was the starting point for the colors  for this project.

Enjoy the summer.

Carol

 

 

 

Spring

Hello,

This week was a busy one as they all seem to be.  I went off to Bever Lake with my friend Sharon to the Wool Festival and had a good time.  I did purchase a few oz. of purple and pale blue roving for my next felting project.    The trees were still bare, but the temperature was wonderful so we took the woodland trail and enjoyed the reflections in the pools and all the wonderful textures we saw.    The Sisterhood of the Scissors had a Zoom meeting as did the Pixies.  I always like to catch up with my fellow fiber artists.  I also listened to the SAQA talk this week so my stimulation has been high.

Progress Report: Circus Parade   This is part of the SAQA 100 day challenge.  It is 35.5″ w X 39″ t.      We are on day 96 of the challenge so I only hope to nearly complete one more piece before the challenge is over.  I used all the animals that I printed for his project.

 

 

 

 

 

Circus Grounds   This is the last one of the SAQA Challenges that I will finish in the 100 days.   I may or may not keep going with the printed images as my starting place for some new work- that remains to be seen.     I am also using lots of the precut curved pieces that Liz gave me in this project.   Doing that adds another bit of a challenge to the process.

 

Analyze-  Split Compliment 1   This a self challenge continuing with the color play stuff.  Again I must thank Liz for the most of the fabrics here.   I am quilting following all the skinny  insert lines for this work.      I am using a metallic blue thread for this one  sense blue is the  Primary color.

Fractured -Split Compliment 2   I have just pulled the fabrics for this project.  The primary color is Red with Yellow Green and Blue Green as the t

 

Creative Assistants   I have been working away on these little guys.  I am having fun cleaning out containers of addons as I go.

 

Take Off   I added one additional curvy cut insert into this base this week and pin basted it .   Now I can begin the birds.

 

 

 

Scrap Happy   I have been working away at this project for a while and I am now to the stage were I have lots  of strips to connect to one another .  These long strips become the edges of the 4.5″ centers for my Romans Strip blocks that I use to create Scrap Happy Quilts.

I hope you are enjoying springs awakening.

Keep Creating

Carol

Into the New Year

Hello,

I hope the new year is treating you well.   I am moving forward with my many projects and working hard to prepare for my solo show that I will hang on the 14 of Jan.      I spent Tuesday judging for the Scholastic Art competition.  I helped judge Film and Animation this year.    There are lots of great  programs going on and the work was strong.

The Pixies meant on Wed.  I am playing with the new markers that Laura sent me  and shared my image’s with that group. 

The FAD group also meant this week.   Sharon generously gave all of us one of her hand made scarves.   She also shared her newest work in progress.   We had a good time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am doing a five day drawing challenge as well and enjoying that too.   It is good to stretch out those mussels some times.   The assailment for this one was ” Bunny,  Flower”.

 

 

 

 

I stopped at my friend, Barbara’s to drop off a lap quilt for her and she surprised me with a gift too.  She gave me two boxed of her fabric to use or pass on.  What fun.

Progress Report: Forbidden Fruit    I keep stitching away on the extension of the curves that I built into the work.   I am moving along , but it is slow.

 

 

 

 

Blue Horizons    This work is all layered and pin basted.  I did stitch in the ditch quilt in  a few places, but it has not gotten any attention beyond that this week.

 

 

 

Presume   I got going on the mono chromatic color scheme thing with greens this week.  Most of the units are built now and I only need to put them together  so I can move to the next step.

 

 

 

Creative Assistants  I did lots of faces this week and added the backs and arms to those little dolls.  They are turned and stuffed now too so I can add the squeezie paint to them today and  then the pin backs.   All the body bases now have their trim so I can move onto the hair step with them now.

Scrape assembly   I just keep putting in the hour a day on this step of this project.  I can see that there is less in the basket- but it still seems very slow work to me.

 

Handwork   I did a little handwork during a Zoom meeting this week and this is the result.  I think it will go off to the Rochester 6″ X6″ show later this year.

 

 

I hope that the new year is only presenting the types of challenges you want to deal with.

Keep Creating

Carol

End of 2022 Reflections

Hello,

It has been a full year for me.  I started the year by doing the Quilt Surface Design 100 Day challenge.    That resulted in the two black and white figurative quilts that both won awards.  One at the Associated Artist Show and the second is still hanging as a part of the Quilt=Art=Quilts show at the Schweinfurth until Jan 8.  I plan to do that challenge again this year and do it as printing.   I did a lot of hand work this year response to the Fiber Artist Stitch Club’s mini lessons.  I was distressed by the wild fires in the west and did two different  wild fire quilts this year.    I started Creative Strength Training in March and that proved to add lots of meetings and challenges to my creative life too.  I was glad to be a part of that.  We have  our final meeting on the year on Sat.

I continued my weekly meeting with the Pixies.  We discovered at our meeting on Wed that we have been getting together virtually sense Aug of 2020.   I completed my Childhood Memories series this year.  That was a prompt from Susan.

Happily Quilting by The Lake returned in the summer.  I had two great classes and I am glad to say it will meet again in July of 2023, but in a new location.

The Sisterhood of the Scissors had  their retreat in the fall  and I made three new tops in those five days.  I finished the last one this week.   I had a fine year and I resolve to pass forward some of my materials and  to be a bit more selective in what groups I join this year so I can spend more time in the studio.

 

Progress Report: Analise   This work is 30″ X 31″.   I did the top at the Sisterhood retreat and only finished the hand work on it this week.  I really liked playing with the complementary colors  and that sparked the monochromatic series that I am in the middle of now.

 

 

 

 

Michell’s Project   This little project is 26″ X26″ and is a commission for my friend Michele.   It is going to be framed so it is not a traditional quilting job.   It is made from the neckerchiefs that her dog wore when he was alive.  A  memorial project of sorts.

 

 

Forbidden Fruit    This is the first in the Monochromatic Series. That is a sub set of the Meandering Mind series.  One thing leads to another in my processes I guess.   I started the quilting this week.  I am doing all the hand work  at this point and extending the curves to see how they can interconnect and pull the work together.

 

Blue Horizons     This is the second in the Monochromatic Series.   I finished assembling the top yesterday.

 

 

 

 

New Work  In keeping with the series I pulled all my greens yesterday.  I hope to begin today on this one.

 

 

 

 

 

Creative Assistants  I wrote last week that I will make this my last tribe of Creative Assistants.   It will be a big one as this is the pile of started body bases and I plan to make them all before I stop building.

Scrap Assembly   I continue to strip together my scraps for my scarp happy quilts.  The baskets does not seem to diminish very fast even though  I try to put in and hour at that task every day.  I gave myself a break yesterday and cut the 2.5″ strips I use in the quilts for about half an hour and put a few together.

Do stay safe and keep Creating throughout  2023!

Carol

Lots of little things

Hello,

We continue to see the opening of spring in this part of the country.    I love how fast things are changing out of doors.

I thing I made bit of a mistake by signing up for Sketchbook Revival again this year.  Two new assignments/exercises/projects every day plus all the other things I have my fingers in, is hard for me to keep up with.   I am trying  and  I do like the assignments.   There is lots of mixed media this year.

 

 

 

 

 

I am still working away on my Fiber Artist Stitch Club project.  It is slow by growing .

I am still doing the reading and attending the Zoom meetings  for my Creative Strength Training class too.  I am feeling better about things as I go forward.

Progress Report:  Scrap Happy    I finished the back assembly on Monday and I am stitching down the rows now.  I only have three rows to add and then I am on to the boarders.

Action   I keep stitching away on this project.  The left side is all completed at this point.

 

 

 

 

Lap #7  This top is all ready pin based and ready for quilting.  I do enjoy this process.

 

 

 

 

 

Drawing    I have signed up for Quilting by the Lake again this summer and one of my classes is in Machine Drawing.  So with that in mind I have decided to draw at least on continuous line drawing   every day until then. I just might help.

Cowl    I finished this cowl on Tuesday.  I am ready to begin a new one today.

 

 

 

 

 

 Necklace   I did pass a necklace forward this week and I was delighted to do so.  I do enjoy making these  as well.

 

 

 

College Life – Fall Quarter continued

That fall really cemented our love of movies and performances. I remember a week of film called The New Cinema. Every night for five nights there were award winning films from all over the world. It was great. There were also all the wonderful films that the Governing Board showed. We saw Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Grapes of Wrath, The Spy Who Came In From the Cold, and Who Shot the Piano Player among others that term. We also made it downtown to the Rivoli to see A Man and A Woman. The drama department did Hamlet and Chalk Garden, along with another that fall. Eric and I also went to a Jack Jones live concert in Emens. I loved his work and had several of his albums. It was a great evening.

The summer before Larry had worked at a YMCA camp called Tecumseh. He had found a new girl friend there, Ellie Perry. Ellie came for a visit in October, and we went to Mounds State Park for our favorite picnic spot. Again we played badminton and climbed trees. We had our usual cook out and Larry manned the grill. Eric lay on a blanket in the warm Autumn sun wearing my favorite yellow and brown plaid shirt and got his first back rub from me. Ellie had such a good time she returned in November for Larry’s Birthday on the 4th. She was a great gal and we became good friends.

Early in the fall, I think I was cooking something, and I dropped a new glass bottle of cooking oil, which shattered. Glass and oil all over the place. The clean-up took a long time. I used all the newspapers I could find and at least a whole roll of paper towels. In the process I discovered the door to the basement. I could not resist and I went down. It had dirt walls and was very dusty with cobwebs and lots of junk. I discover a collection of rusty round and oval faucet handles–which I took and used as part of a wind chime. There is one in use today: it holds the keys for our backyard sheds.

Later that fall, at Halloween, Eric purchased an especially ugly, bearded-faced Halloween mask. Because they now lived on the ground floor in a neighborhood where little kids would be trick or treating, he planned to join in. He wore his black trench coat and that gruesome mask to answer the door when the first little boy knocked. When Eric opened the door the child was so frightened that he forgot “trick or treat” started to back up slowly across the porch. His mother was on the sidewalk, so–fearing that the child would topple backwards down the steps–Eric rushed out and grabbed him–which, of course, caused the poor boy to be even more terrified! Eric took off the mask and did not use it again for fear of a repeat event. That mask made the move to Syracuse and was around here for years before the rubber rotted and fell to shreds.

The third exciting adventure in that house happened one Saturday night when we heard Fred and Denny shouting out in the front hall. Wondering what the commotion was about, Eric and I came out of his room to find a bat fluttering around the entry way. Eric propped open the front door and I went to the kitchen for the broom. I tried to shoo the bat out the door, but I inadvertently knocked him to the floor. As he lay stunned, we swept him into a paper bag and quickly closed the top. Then Eric and I linked hands, carried the bag and bat out the front door, and down University Avenue. and across the porch. Taking shelter behind a big cottonwood along the sidewalk we carefully opened the bag, with Eric stretching his arm around the tree as far as he could get with the opening pointed up. The bat flew off into the night. And we were heroes.

I will be away next week so there will not be a posting.

See you in two weeks

Carol

Starting Fall Color

Hello,
We are starting to see fall color here in central New York. I sure enjoy walking through fallen leaves. The sound of  the   shifting  and crushing of  leaves as one passes through them is one of my favorite sounds of fall.

 

 

 

 

It has been a busy week for me with two days spent dying with Liz. I have lots of fabric to was out today.

 

 

 

 

Liz is doing clean up  in this shot.

 

 

 

I had a Finger Lakes Fiber Artist meeting this week.   It is always so good to talk and share with my fellow artists.     Noel had a great piece to share with us.   There is lots of movement here.

 

 

 

 

 

Joan shared too.   She hand dyed all the fabrics in this piece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bev also shared her work with us.

There was also a Pixies zoom meeting that I enjoyed.

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Tattered This work is 26″ X 40″. It is made up of cut aways from Granite and Silver with lots of hand beading added for interest.

 

 

 

 

 

Lap # 19 This work was formerly know as Circling Thoughts, but I do not think it is strong enough to be and art quilt. It was a good exercise none the less.

 

 

 

 

Lap # 20 I just had fun putting this piece together. I really like using   my alerted fabrics together.

 

 

 

Day Dreaming I am in the process of building up the face and arm for this project. I will start the assembly this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scrap work I am putting in about an hour a day assembling scraps together so I can make 2.5″ strips to add to the centers for my Roman Strip squares.   they will be used in my next  bed quilt. This step always takes a long time, but I sure like the review of fabric projects that it offers me. Sue Ellen also gave me a box full of strips and unused blocks.    I am mixing  then  into this project so there is lots of variety here.

Handwork I started this project on our trip to visit family. I am building in  more color now.

 

 

Daily Process This project sort of got pushed to the side so I could finish up bindings and such this week. It is good to get back into the habit.

 

Childhood Memories- Summer 1966

Summer after graduation was a busy one. There were lots of water related activities, including scuba diving, canoeing, and swimming. Dad teased me by saying I needed gills to assure my safety. The gang did lots of things together, but like everything else this too was changing. Cecile and Mike still did things with Margaret, Jim and me. But Susy spent most of her time with her family, and Bobby had flunked out of college so he went off to work. We played lots of Putt-Putt, with the winner seeming to change with every game. One day I went regular golfing with Jim Freshwater. That was one sport that did not work at all for me. My swing was way off and I kept sending divots into the air. My score was very high and by the end of the third hole Jim had become disgusted with me. He said I could walk the rest of the course with him if I promised to never golf again. And I never have.

In late July I went to orientation at Ball State. It was three days of tests and meetings with other freshmen and a councilors. The group I was in was full of folks who were all living off campus so there was lots of talk about parking and public transportation. There was a big jump in population on campus and I was glad I was not living in the dorms as there were three and four folks in rooms designed for two. The tour of the campus was not to new to me but that too turned out to be informative. We had our photos take for our student ID’s that we picked up in the fall when we returned to campus. The special mixers in the evenings were fun and I felt excited bout the new adventure a head. I did meet a lot of people but I did not make any connections with folks that I even remember seeing again on campus.

The next big summer event was the Band Trip to Detroit. We went to Greenfield Village, where Margaret and I had fun exploring together and got peppermint sticks at the general store.   There was also a cigar store Indian out front that we both liked. In the afternoon the band group went to the Ford museum. That turned out to be a bit of a rush as we had to hurry to get ready for the concert in the evening. We again went to a practice session with the Detroit Orchestia on Sat morning. In the afternoon the band went to see “Dr Zhivago” in a special movie theater with a big curved movie screen. The sound was great and I enjoyed the movie a lot. On the bus ride home I felt a little sad knowing this was my last adventure with a group that had given me friends and real identity throughout high school.

Be safe

Carol

Inching Forward

Hello-
I hope everyone is doing well as we head into the last few weeks of Aug.    I am just working away one day at a time on my projects.   Sometimes that is all one is doing.    My big excitement for this week a quick trip down to New York City by bus with Liz to see the Virtual Van Gogh show.   I really liked the interactive “rooms” that were set up so one could go into the paintings.   Liz and I got silly and she tried to throw me into the insane asylum at one point.   It was a beautiful experience  and I enjoyed it very much. We walked a few blocks from the display to the World Trade Center Memorial and enjoyed that as well. We followed that by a quick trip back north to the bus terminal and back on the bus at 5:30 for the rid home. It was all a bit of a whirl wind trip but is sure was wonderful.
I had two Zoom meetings this week too. One with the Pixies and a second with the Sisterhood of the Scissors. Bother were good stimulations for me.

Progress Report: Poppy Field This work is 34.5″ w X 43″ l. I made the big poppies at the bottom out of wool roving with thread drawing to hold it all together. The centers are yo-yo’s with beads added to the centers. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Granite and Silver The Silver Maple leaves resting on the granite are a great contrast.    The idea is from  a old cover of Adirondack Life magazine. I painted the base with a rubber band brush to get the texture and added nylon net to create shows on the stone, with the leaves on top.   It is a very shallow image.

 

 

Scarp Happy I am having fun doing the rows for this project.

 

 

 

 

Lap quilt # 16 I started to do stitch in the ditch quilting on this work today. I am sure I will finish it soon.

 

 

 

 

 

Lap quilt # 17 This is number  two on the   current assembly process.   I like building the units and then uniting them.

 

 

 

 

100 Days Project I am up to day 71. Today is actually day 73 so I am behind myself I will need to do a few extra later today.

 

Daily Practice This small wipe up rag will be done soon.

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories- Christmas 1965
We enjoyed a bit of rock hunting at a ranch and then drove on to Big Ben National Park. The camping that night was in a very empty campground. Lots of evergreens in the area and almost every other tree supported a bit of mistletoe. Christmas morning started with a good breakfast and a few gifts. I got a ID Bracelet that I had been hoping for and a beautiful hair piece. I then realized why Gene had wanted a lock of my hair in Nov.     I wore the hair piece a lot when I went back to work as it was a perfect color match.      We    then hit the visitors center, were they had a hug Century Plant decorated with Christmas balls. We went on from  to get our first view of the Rio Grand. The shore was sandy, the water was muddy and there were steep bluffs on both sides. We saw fossils imbedded in the canyon walls. We walked down the canyon a bit and came upon a young man who would take one across the river on the back of his burro for a dime. So on Christmas day we all rode across the river on the back of a mule. We climbed the bluff toward a small village. In the process we were “ attached” by a bunch of bambinos” selling rocks. Grandma and Grandpa both purchased a pockets  full  of useless rocks, but I am sure that the process made the kids day. The town was dusty and very poor. There was a small open school building, scattered mud huts and a saloon. It was sad. The next day we went east and visited a country store. Dad brought us all soda pop that we enjoyed in the heat. We cross the Rio Grand a second time- this time by row boat. On the Mexican side were steps up the bluff and we emerged into a more substantial town. First we came across some men making pack saddles. This village had streets that were packed dirt and many more buildings. There were lots of active people doing business. There was a small church and a water pump in front of it. There was a wooden school house that I went into. There were benches and a chalk board but nothing else. I had my sketchbook and soon tried out the little bit of Spanish I could remember from 3ed grade on some children. Some how I got to asking them their ages. I would write the number and then turn it into one of the cartoon characters that I had created for my Honor Society speech. The kids were thrilled and I folded pages and tore them out and gave them to the kids until I had use all my paper. I didn’t  see much of the town, but I did have a good time.    That night we camped again in Big Bend in a different camp ground. The following day we drove east out of the park and crossed the boarder a third time on a bridge this time. The town was very prosperous. We did lots of shopping there. I perched a famous Mexican Bandit Marionette that wore a sombrero, black flannel suit that sported a white zig-zag trim down the legs and had a six shooter in each hand. Mom purchased me a beautiful turquoise and purple poncho that I loved.    Grandmother got all three kids sombreros. As it turned out, I think our younger cousins, Casey and Curtis ended up with them when we got back to Grandview. My favorite purchase was a guitar that I got for $6.00. I spent hours trying to learn how to play it. But the thing would not hold tuning. The neck kept bending under the pressure of tuning to the point were the strings and the neck were so far apart that one could put there index finger between the strings and the frat board at the bottom and not touch either surface. After our shopping we returned to the states and drove north. Our Next stop was the Alamo. Gene and I had seen the movie and were a bit disappointed. It was much smaller then I expected and being in the middle of the city with big tall buildings all round made it seem even smaller. It sure made me realize how much Hollywood played with reality. We continued north and stopped at Platt National Park, one of the nations smaller parks. It was too cold to wade in the river, but Gene and Danny threw lots of rocks in the river. Crossing Kansas and Missouri we arrived back in Iowa. Dad and Mom went to see Grandpa Merit, but Gene and I did not. Then it was another 12 hour day drive back to Muncie and School the next morning.

Stay safe

Carol Boyer

Summer Days

Hello,

We are feeling the heat of summer here this week.   I am not complaining as it is very mild compared to some forks – but unique for us this early in the season.    We continue to walk in the  early  morning and we have shortened our route to adjust.    These  wild grapes are a sure sign that summer is still producing her bounty.

 

 

 

 

It has been a full week.  On Saturday the Finger Lakes Fiber Artist meant live for the first time in months. was very exciting and folks had lots to share and talk about. Pat had two pieces and they were very fun, active and bright.

 

 

 

 

Susan came with her work from a on line class she had taken with Joe Cunningham.

 

 

 

 

 

Bev brought the piece that was in the Made in New York show. Good to get a second look.

 

Maureen had a wonderful collection of her hand dyed scarves  along with several other works.

 

 

 

 

Mary brought her fabric baskets.   Great fun.

 

 

 

Sharon showed her latest work and a few of her new cards. It was a great meeting and I think everyone came away super charged.
I also did a Zoom meeting with the Pixies and a live meeting with the Retired Art Teachers.

 

 

Yesterday, Liz and I mad a trip to our friend Paul’s house to drop off out quilts for him to do his Photography magic. We both want to enter some shows.

We visited our friend Angela’ new house that is under construction. She is looking forward to the completion of this wonderful kitchen/ dining room/living room. I love her view too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Lap Quilt # 15 This work is 40″w X 70″ l. I really enjoyed doing the drawing of the trees to add interest and quilt in some of the bigger areas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lap Quilt # 16 I just keep playing with these projects. I will deliver 15 to one of our local nursing homes soon.

 

 

 

 

Poppy Field I am still building more thread painted blossoms for this project.

 

 

 

100 Day Challenge Here is the next batch of finished pieces. I am up to day 72 now.

 

 

 

Granite and Silver This work is on level two of its building. The granite base is just about done. I plan to add silver maple leaves on top when this step is complete.

 

 

 

Daily Practice The hand work just keeps moving forward here. I think I will complete this bit of fabric in the next day or two.

 

 

Scrap Happy    I started a new scrap happy because I gave away the one i had  to a refugee family from Banqualadash.      I also gave away two more for their children.   Glad to find homes for them.     I like to keep a scrap happy  on the shelf for just such events.   These are just the strips before they are cut into squares .

Childhood Nov/Dec 1965
When we got home from Iowa in 1965, Gene started pestering me for a lock of my hair. I resisted a while, but finally gave in and cut a small section from the middle of the back. School was a busy and fun as ever and the work picked up at the Student Center, so Dec flew bye. We got a letter from the Dean Family and a second from the Bells saying that a trip to Texas was not going to happen for either family at that time. I was disappointed, but everyone has a life of their own. We celebrated our Christmas before we left for Iowa as usual. Gene and I got Walkie talkies so we could communicate between vehicles on the trip. We were excited about that. When we went got to Iowa we went with Grandmother to visit Grandpa Merit in the hospital. He had lost a lot of weigh and did not look as robust as he had in the past. He begged to come home, and Grandmother reluctantly refused. She just could not care for him. It was heart braking. Our family went forward with our travel plans and got up at 4 and drove to Grandview were we waited for Grandma and Grandpa to get going. It was snowing and cold, but we got going with cousin Danny driving the Van and following us. The Walkie talkies worked and it was great fun. After lunch time Grandmother Ruth joined us and Gene went to the van. Mom moved to the back seat with me. We drove south west all day and stopped at a run down motel in Kansas. It reminded Grandfather of the ones he ran next to the Station in Grandview. We moved our sleeping bags inside and slept on the floor of the room that night. It was still a bit cold. We continued to drive south most of Tuesday too. There was one stop to do a tour of a Cotton Refining Factory. It was fascinating to see all the steps from removal of the seeds from the cotton balls to the spinning of the thread. The air was full of cotton fluff. I remember being amazed at how red the soil was in that area. Wednesday as another day spent mostly on the road seeing lots of oil derricks pumping away before the scenery gave way to catus and lots of yucca plants growing on the genital hills. We did arrive at Carlsbad Caverns National Park and camped. It was warm and pleasant that night. We spent the whole day doing the full tour of the Cavern the next day. It was specular with wonderful formations . We saw lots of stalactites and stalagmites as well as cave straws and what the guide called popcorn formations. We went on a boat ride on an underground river and ate lunch at the underground lunchroom. Ham and cheese sandwiches I think. The guide turned off the lights and although Mom was setting next to me, it was so dark and quiet it was like no one in the world existed but me. We even saw mummified bats before we exited the cave. It was great! We loaded up and started driving east into Texas. At that time we got caught in a wind storm that blew huge tumble weeds as big as the car across the road. It was like a big game of dodgeball for a while.  Exciting and scary at the same time. Our next stop was Judge Roy Bean’s office/salon/courtroom. Langtree was almost a ghost town with the exception of the saloon and the tourist store. We did the talk/tour of the Lilly Langtree Saloon. It was about the size of a half basketball court like one sees in a park, with tables at one end and a bar at the other. The guide explained how Bean was the law
“West of the Pacos”. He   used the bar as his court room and would close the bar for court  actions  .  He was know to change fines that  that took most of the person cash. If they could not pay and sense there was no jail, he would chain them to a log out back  for the night. As soon as the case was complete the bar opened and jurors were expected to by a drink. On a shelf behind the bar was Bean’s law book. I did purchase some little carved turquoise heats in the store and glued them to a bracelet that I had purchased at Carlsbad. Mom got a very nice silver bracelet that I still have.

Stay Safe

Carol

Quiet Spring

Hello,
This week I seem to have finished up lots of things. Clearing the decks is always a good thing in my mind.   It is like the raking I have done this week to clear out the gardens for new growth.   One needs to move on.

Yesterday Liz ands  I went to “Sew What”, a recycle sewing supplies shop in Auburn NY .   It felt great spending my money to up cycle materials that other sewers no longer needed.     I know that as a society we are generating far too much material that can easily end up on land fills  or polluting the water.  That is really only  a poor solution for our planet.    This resel/recycle shop is so much better!      Liz purchase two quilting hoops as they were so inexpensive and she did not know what would work best for her.    She also sorted through there button    bin to find some 50’s buttons to make a bracelet for herself.   As you can see I made a bigger purchase- but it is all stuff that I can and will use.  I used the pre wrapped bobbin thread today in my machine when I did the illustration  for Childhood.    They had a wide selection of sewing related materials, yarns and books.    It is a good resource and I will donate to it as I sort through my studio and support it by stopping and purchasing materials that I will use in my work.    We all need to take care of this world and recycling is one of the best ways we can all do our small part.

Pixies was the only group that meant this week. Susan challenged us to draw last week and these two are my answer to that. The Woman is my Mom.

 

 

These are my favorite red shoes.

 

 

 

Progress Report: Coral Sea II This work is 16 X 18. I enjoyed embellishing this work. The fish are made from fancy ribbons so they will not fray.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Twilight Crows This work is 40″ X 48″. I cut all the stencils in the past and just used them together in a different arrangement this time. Most of the other fabric are altered as well.

 

 

 

 

 

Lap Quilt # 10 This work is 37″ X 51″. I so enjoy just putting fabrics together to create a new unit. I always seem to make extra filler and I am challenging myself to use that as the starting off point for then next one.

 

 

Scrap Happy. I finished this scrap happy this week. I plan to pass it on to my granddaughter.

 

 

 

 

 

Poppy Fields I was frustrated by this work and Liz suggested that I stamp on it to build up the contrast. I am much happier with it now. I plan to push forward now.

 

New base I built this base of all silks. It proved to be a challenge to get them all strait. I plan to use it for a base for my next leaf exploration piece.

 

 

 

 

Horsetails This quilt is a result of a dream I had this week. I have no idea where it came from, but I am enjoying the process. I have not tried couching poplr fleece before.

 

 

 

Daily Practice I am done stitching all the units down now and moving on to the background. I am about one forth done with that step on this section.

 

Stencils   I cut and printed some new and stencils that I mixed with some other ones.  A fun way to build more complexity in my work.

 

Childhood Memories – Sophomore Year II
I was always good at sports and   loved the gym class that meant alternate days with the Health class. Indiana is a big basketball state and Muncie Central was a real sports  power house .They had won the state   Basketball championship several times and for  two years in a row before I attended. I was looking forward to playing basketball in high school, so when  the school  morning announcement   made no mention of girls  basketball try-outs, Iwas  baffled.  After  the second day announcement of boys try-outs, I went to the Principal’S office and asked. The Vice Principal told me that” We don’t do that, because its not “ Lady-Like”. When I asked Dad about this, because I knew he had coached girls ball, he just laughed. “ Carol,” Dad said, “ There is only one gym and if there is a girls team, that would cut the practice time for boys in half.” That realization made me quite angry. I also realized that the cards were stacked against me and there was little I could do. I sort of worked on the issue of girls sports with Miss Anderson and by the time I was a senior there was a girls Track team and I was on it. No threat to the boys with that sport. We had the hand me down uniforms from the boys team. I was the base for the relay team and we won several races. I do have one ribbon from that activity.    I took synchronized S swimming at the YMCA as my  fall Junior year  physical ed class and joined that team. I was glad that having  straight hair was popular as the class was just before lunch and my hair was dry by the time my first class started. There was no travel for the swimming team and we did only  two performances . Despite the lack of outside support, I did have fun. I can still do all the fun moves we learned like  the clam shell and star fish.
> Lunch was a full hour and I  often at in the Cafeteria .   Sometimes I spent some of my lunch hours playing Chess with the Chess Club  that met  in one corner of the big room. We were also allowed to leave campus at noon to eat in the community. I got in trouble financially with that in October . I went with a couple of other gals to the Woolworths counter and  where we ate lunch. The cost of one Woolwoth lunch was more then a whole weeks work of lunch from the school lunch room. I should have realized early on – but the social aspect of it captured me. The last week of Oct I had only 15  cents in my pocket. Just enough to purchase milk at school at three cents a box for the week. So I stopped going to lunch with the “in crowd” and carried peanut butter sandwiches that week. I needed to learn that lesson. Being downtown also presented other temptations. There were three bookstores in the downtown area and I used them to purchase many paper back books. I know I spent money on every copy of an Edger Rice Burrows book I could find. Charm bracelets were all the rage at this time and I often checked out jewelry stores for charms for my self and gifts for friends Birthdays. My friend Ann’s parents owned a jewelry store there too. I did go several times and looked at charms there, but found they were just a little bit more expensive than the other stores, so they did not get much business from me. I still have my three bracelets that include charms from all the states I had lived in and some of my interests,   another bracelet that is all gifts , and a third , witch was the last one I built and it is very eclectic with a small Opal, a cowboy, a part of scissors  and a graduation hat , among other things.

Please take good care of yourselves
> Carol