Category Archives: Snow Dyeing

Getting Warmer

Hello,
Spring is winning the battle for the weather. I see more and more evidence of new growth every day. My Blood root for example is doing beautifully and Betty’s flowers are also blooming.

 

 

 

 

 

I continue to work away on the Textile Artist stitching challenges. This is my applique piece. It is not at all the assignment – I could not get logged on until Friday so I will do it later.

 

This weeks is folk art and I am started as this shot shows. Again I am stretching the piece to fit what I wish to accomplish.    I will incorporate as much of the instruction as I can.
My Fad group meant on Zoom again this week and it was good to talk with them.

 

Progress Report: Agitated Aggie This work is 38″ w X 41″ l. It is my solution to the Sisterhood of the Scissors Canada challenge. Many of us purchased the print fabric and the challenge was to use it. I have only seen one other work doing the challenge.


 When I was in Florida I came across more material by the same artist so I added a second piece of material to my piece. It’s the same artist and meant to go with the first. It is the colored background piece here.

Granite I keep doing the hand work on this project during the news.   This is a close up.

 

 

 

 

 

Re Work Self Challenge I was cleaning and came across this piece in the process and although it is okay, I decided to use it as a base for a new work. Stay tuned.

 

 

 

Popcorn I spent an afternoon this week playing and decided to paint giant kernels of Popcorn. They came out fine so I built a curvy cut base to applique them on. It is pin basted and ready for quilting now.

 

 

 

 


New Sea Floor A long time ago I painted some fusible inner facing. In my cleaning this week I uncovered it. I thought it looked like something I could use as a abase for a small underwater piece. Pulled some shells and found a bag of yarns and ribbons. More play in my future.

Queen Anne’s Lace When I was painting I also did this little piece. I had reread an article in Quilting Arts from Oct/Nov 2007 and it got me thinking about a tiling technique of quilting. This may or may not work. But Experimenting is always just taking a chance.

 

 

Mini’s    I cut up one of the quilts that I discovered in my cleaning and made these little starts for use on cards.   Only the one on the bottom right is done.

 

 

 

Scrap Happy   I finished the first of the pieces that I started at the beginning of the isolation.   It is a queen sized piece.

 

 

Drawing I was influenced by the Sketchbook Revival class and so I did some clean the brush painting on a few pages of the sketchbook. This is what the page suggested to me.

 

 

I went back to my herb book and while I was on the phone I drew this Dill. It may have influenced the Queen Anne’s Lace I did later too.

 

 

 

 

Popcorn- well we have eaten a lot of that of late and it too was on the desk when I was waiting on the phone.    It grew into the later work.

 

Then I just opened the sketchbook in the middle of eating my orange and did this drawing.   I see know that it needs strengthening  the green was too intense for this subject sense I did not draw with a strong enough pen.

 

 

 

Snow Dyeing  I actually did this last week but was in the process of washing it out last Friday.  The two dark pieces are from this summer and were in the bottom of the bucket.

 

Childhood Grandfather Howard

Grandfather Howard was a wonder filled inquisitive person. He often went to Auctions and other places and purchased boxes of books. Then he read most of them. One of the other things he collected was coins. He build a wonderful display that hung in the Den for many years. It held a pounded metal curved blade, brass collars, strings of shells and beads, strange little stamped metal pieces as well as many other odd items that were used as currency and trade goods in Africa.
I remember one summer asking Grandmother Ruth for some dress up clothes and she went to the attic to look. I was allowed to climb the stairs and wait near the top. I spent the time slipping my hands into the space between the flooring and the ceiling were lots of small stuff had be placed. I explored and I pulled out a heave cigar box. It was filled with three rows of silver dollars lain end to end. I called to grandmother “ Look what I found.” “Where did you find them she asked ?” I pointed as she took them form my hands. She carried them up into the attic and they were never seen again as far as I know.
Grandfather collected rocks all his life. He built shelves in the basement from floor to ceiling and displayed his collection there. He also fronted the fire place there and at the cabin with wonderful rocks and geodes. Uncle Paul even carved a pink sand stone dinosaur with a green stone eye, that was featured as part of that fireplace. There was also a part of the basement that was a workshop. There was a rock tumbler that was always running and as a result there were baskets full of Michigan Agates all over the place. The space had a lot of cutting and grinding tools as well as buffer and polishes. He kindly showed me how to use all of those tools and I spent many happy hours working away at carving and creating little works of my own. I still have a stone rabbit and tiger eye “arrow head “ I made.
There was lots of new highway construction in the 50’s and 60’s. We did lots of traveling by car as did lots of Americans. When Grandfather was along , one could count on many stops at the raw cuts along the road side for a bit of exploration. I recall one time when we stopped and collected about 100 petrified Hor Coral. They polished up beautifully and two of them ended up in that fireplace I mentioned.
Grandfather won ribbons for his rock creations . He designed and built three swag lamps that had shades made from sliced beautiful rocks that he suspended in fiber glass. When the light passed thou the stones it was beautiful. Of his two big hobbies, he said that Rock Hounds were much more fun. At Grandfather Howard’s death his collection was given to the University of Iowa and they were glad to have it. My cousin Tracy also took some of the stones to use in her classroom as she was a Science teacher.
Mom too became a Rock Hound and many was the time we carried rocks home in the car. When Mom retied to Tucson, I would visit every February break and we would go to the Gem and Mineral show. I purchased stone beads and she bought more rocks of course.

Stay safe and keep Creating

Carol

Winter

 

IMG_7387Hello,

We are deep in the cold of winter here and that makes me stay in the studio and get a lot done.  But I do have the meetings that come at the first of each month.  QuEG’s meant.    Liz is busy doing hand work on her project that she dyed last fall at the  play/work retreat at the Schweinfurth.  That is her work at the top.

Sue Ellen'sSue Ellen is busy too and she made this colorful quilt for the Linus Project.  I always get  a lot more out of the group meetings.

Circle Challenge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This time I showed them all the Circle Challenge pieces all together.  IMG_7436.jpg That lead to a whole lot of playing with how they could or should be presented.   I continued the whole idea when I got home.

IMG_7433.jpgThere are just so many ways to go with them.

 

circle placementThe Diva’s had a good time playing with them too.   There was a lot going on at that meeting as well.

 

 

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Alice has finished her Bed Quilt and she made prints of the finished work to give to all the folks in the family who owned the bed so they have the history.   I think that is a good idea.

 

LiesaLiesa  is building a wonderful book on stamps.   She printed the stamps on fabric for this work and laments that she still has all the original  stamps left.

 

Donna's work

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Donna just returned from a 10 day retreat where she did a lot of Gelli printing and pastel work. IMG_7409Maureen is doing lots of work with indigo so she can do more teaching of the techniques.   She shares her knowledge so very kindly.

 

Regina's work Regina went off to the  conference called “ Rocky Road to California” and took a class with the Tentmakers of Cairo.    She keeps exploring new techniques.

 

 

Ruth's

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ruth is busy with her wonderful clam shells too.    It was a good meeting and I came home with new ideas of things to do with my own work.

 

 

Three JacksProgress report: Three Jacks This work is 28” X 40”.  Because I had to take it apart  to fix the nail at the bottom I took photos of the work without the glass.  No  problems with reflections that way.   I also did a major cleaning of the glass- something that I had not thought of before either.  IMG_7446The work is dramatic and I like it a lot.

cl up- three Jacks  The velvet jacks really convey the rich contrast of the two parts of the flower.

Snow Dying

IMG_7420It snowed this week and so I did a bit more snow dyeing.  It is snowing today too so I will do an orange batch next.

TeasilTease I   I did the hand stitching on this work this week.  It is almost ready to stretch.

 

 

Teasel II IMG_7386  I pulled this fabric for the background  of the green teasel heads I made the week before on Monday.  Then I worked hard on getting that section done.   I got all excited  and even moved on to pinning the heads in place.  They are not stitched down.  Teaseil II   No problem with contrast this time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ScarfLeaf Scarf   I did a lot of free motion work on this piece and determined yesterday that it was complete.   It is based on a work I saw on Pintrest by  Amanda McCarvour.  close up os scarf I only work from what I remember not from any reading or recheck.  So when I did look a second time yesterday, I was surprised by how different they were.  I like the vanes of leaves mixed with the wool roving .IMG_7425  The places where I  tried to work in air collapsed so I think when I try it again I will put a layer of nylon net in the middle of the sandwich so there is a some stability to the whole thing.    That and more stitching lines will do the trick I think.  It will also help avoid the arching that happened with some of the gold leaves.

Xavier Wood IceXavier Wood Ice  I have been taking a lot of photos on my walks of ice and now I am ready to begin a new ice work.  This is the fabric lay out at about the middle of the process.

Pods IMG_7429 I have assembled two of the pods from the felted pieces that I made.  They are nor quite finished as I think I want to add some additional beads on the bottoms  of them.   But I am making progress.  It is like the circle challenge in the way that I can think  of more  variations for each side as I go along.   I will play until I tire of the process.IMG_7431

Scrap Happy  IMG_7432.jpgI have been assembling the strips and cut pieces from Ethel’s scrap box for a few weeks.  I cut them into five inch squares yesterday and made a block.  It is 17” on a side.  That is a little bigger then I usually use so I may need to make adjustments as I move forward.

Block #106Label Block # 106   I was in Jo Ann’s this week and I was tempted to purchase some additional embroidery  thread- but I resisted.  Then when I got home I did a little search and found a new bag full, so I am very happy I did not give into temptation.  Only fourteen more blocks to build.

Keep  Creating

Carol