Category Archives: Hand work

Hand work, Lap Quilts, SAQA, Trees, Uncategorized

Fall is Here

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Hello,
We are seeing fall colors in this part of the country. The sky’s have been gray many days, but the trees don’t seem to mind. I had a quiet week with on events except the Dr appointments and PT. Keeping the body in shape takes more and more time as we age.
My good news for the week was learning that my contribution Flight, to the SAQA auction, sold.

Progress Report Lap 26/26 I did 8 lap quilt tops at the retreat last week. Now I am doing the finish up.

Tree Blocks I got all excited when I realized I only had three more blocks to make to finish the piece. So I laid out all three when I got home. This is the first using dotted Swiss as teh base form.

This is the second using cut up felt to define the crown of the tree. I sure have enjoyed making each tree in a different manner. It has been sort of a techniques record/ challenge for me.

This is the last one and I used organza to built the tops of the forest of trees for this one.


Emily’s Project I am excited to be doing the quilting of words that describe the practices types of law cases that it deals with as the quilting. I like doing cursive as quilting.


New Work I know this doesn’t look like much at this point as it is the base. I want a natural beginning for my next piece for the Art Rage show. I found a quote that I want to use and that is want I want to feature.

Protest on a Stick This idea popped into my head and so I exactitude it. I really love it when an idea comes so easily- and that is a real thing for me.

I hope you are enjoying fall.

Keep Creating
Carol

Hand work, Lap Quilts, SAQA, Scrap Happy Quilts, Sisterhood of the Scissors, Trees

Home Again

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Hello,
I arrived home yesterday from the Sisterhood of the Scissors fall retreat. We have been going to Keuka Lake for 6 years and it feels like home coming. The weather was fine with rain only one day, so we did walk every day and did tons of work.

Every year one of the group chooses a fabric for a challenge. This year there where three rules.
1.the fabric had to be recognizable.
2.there had to be some ” bling”
3.there should be some handwork as a part of the project.
They were due and it was fun to see how others used the fabric that Susan selected last year. This is my solution.

Joyce did hers in 3-D. Her bling was teh handwork she added.

During the week she did this scarf weaving. Nice job with great colors.

This is Susan’s challenge project. Her bling was beading in the center of each circle.

She worked on a puff quilt for her mom during the retreat time. This looks luscious to me and it is so very colorful!

This lovely green print is the challenge fabric for next year selected by Cheryl our newest member. Ann will also add a quote for us to respond too as a part of this year’s challenge.

We also had a bit of show and tell. This is Ann’s work- the Block Head Challenge for this year. Very handsome, I think. She has challenged us to Do the Block Head by MODA challenge for this next year as an extra as well.

Ann spent the time doing handwork on this pieces that she had hand dyed a few years ago. Strong start I think.

Za za shared this beautiful top. Her use of gray as apposed to black for the filler is really nice. She spent a lot of time putting bindings on work at the retreat.

Deb worked on a portrait of her grandson and the dog.

This was Cheryl’s first year and only her first quilt. It is a very strong start! I hope she continues to quilt.

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Progress Report: Bog Log This work is 38″ X 34 “. I worked away on this project at the retreat. There is lots of handwork as well as free motion on here. Joyce let me use her markers on the Puff Balls so they look more realistic.

I enjoyed creating the shelf mushrooms too. They were made with interfacing and paint.

Scrap Happy I arranged and put together these rows of blocks for the next scrap happy quilt. I will have to make a back now.

Tree Block quilt I trimmed up all the blocks that I had created at the retreat and discovered I needed three more to completed this work. Back to work.

Tree Block When I got home I got busy and layed out a new one. I worked on this during the Pixie Zoom meeting yesterday afternoon.

Emily’s quilt I had finished the top and the back before the retreat. There I had access to four tables for a few hours when I first arrived so I got it pin based in that time. I did not get started quilting until I got home because the throat of my travel machine could not handle the size. I will move forward on this now.

Lap Quilt Tops I had lots of left over 2.5″ and 4.5″ strips from previous lap quilts so I decided to bring them along and make tops out of some of them. It was fun and I now have a very reduced pile of strips. I think I could stretch one or perhaps two more out of remaining strips- but I will concentrate on finishing up these first.

Being back at my normal life I am sure production next week will be back to normal. It was enjoyable to have no goals but to work from the time one got up until one went to bed.

Keep Creating
Carol

Bog Log, Hand work, Landscapes, Lap Quilts, SAQA, Trees

Moving into Fall

Hello,
The days are getting shorter and the sun is moving north. I now see the sun coming up directly through my east facing door. By the end of next week it will be beyond that point.
This week was quiet except for my meeting with Emily about the commission. I was excited about the chance to show off the work I had done, only to discover the afternoon before that I had made a big mistake in my thinking and all the stitched work had to be taken out. I am back on track now. I did a lot yard work this week and had a few Dr appointment so I did not get as much done as I wanted. Next week is full meetings so studio time will be limited next week too, but that’s the way it is sometimes.
I was delighted to discover that my 12″x12′ quilt “Flight” was featured in an add for the SAQA Auction.

Progress Report: Broken Blocks II I started the backing of this quilt this week. I am making it out of leftovers. I like to use my fabric wisely.

Bog Log I am moveing forward on this project and I made these ferns yesterday. I have more to wash out, but I don’t have a big enough foam board to wash them out on. I am moving forward on the clutter on the forest floor too.

Tree Block I think this is the last block for this project as I now have 30. I have not laid out any of them yet. Nor have I trimmed them to size, but that will happen.

Pillow I finished up this pillow this week. It is stuff with thread and cut away parts form other projects.

Lap 22/26- Yellow Challenge Susan of Pixies challenged up to use yellow last week and so I did a lap quilt with that in mind. This week the challenge is to use Red. I don’t think I will have time to do a quilt this week, but I will do something.

Quilt on a Stick Challenge At Marcia’s camp two weeks ago’ Victoria suggested that we do a small quilt on a stich like they do at the Minnesota State Fair. She shared great photos and we agreed it would be fun. So this is my drawing of a 8.5 ” X 11″ of the project. I am moving forward on this one as I want to share it with the group on Wed when the Sisterhood of teh Scissors next meets.

I hope you are enjoying the season and making wise choices.
Carol

Bog Log, Broken Blocks, Hand work, Landscapes, Lap Quilts

Camping 2

Hello, I made a second trip up to Marcia’s Camp over the weekend. We had as good a time on this outing as before. Nancy joined us this time so there were five of us. Marcia’s big van held us all for our outings. She is a gracious hostess and a great guild.

Our first stop was a walk to a bog. It was not a long way and there were hundreds of mushrooms along the trail. I am really full of ideas about how to finish up my Fungus project now. But the trail was steep down to the bog with lots of roots. Going back up was much less fun, but we all made it.

The next stop was The View to see the Adirondacks Watercolor Show. Lots of beautiful works of art there.
We had a very good time.

Before I went to the Adirondacks, I took down my show at the Library. They were very kind, but it was still a bit of a let down.

I got home to learn that two of my works were accepted in the Quilts Unlimited Show at The View. Polk Berries and Canadian Wildfires will both be on display there. I am delighted. So I will be making another track to Old Forge in the near future.

Progress report: Sisterhood Challenge I can see the end of the handwork part of this project. I worked on it while I was at the zoom meeting for the Pixies this week. I am glad to stay connected with them. There are only three more stars to outline on the project.

Broken Blocks II I did the slice, shuffle and reassembly of the blocks for this project this week. The arrangement of the blocks after they are made takes as long as the creation step for me.

Blog Log Not only did I see lots of fungus on the bog walk, I found my title for the work. The foreground is mostly laid out as far as a base is concerned. I will add to it as I go of course and work on the background as well as decide on what I want in the background this week. I have lots of photos to inspire my work now.

Emily’s Project Now that I have all the greens I want to use in this work I can really move forward here. It is going along nicely I think.


Tree blocks Each little stitch moves this work forward. My being away meant it did not get much attention this week.

Enjoy the holiday this week and keep creating.
Carol

Broken Blocks, Collage, Experiments, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Machine Drawing, People

Quiet Summer Days

Hello,
Things have slowed down this week with only one event. I only went to Dryden with Cheri to a postcard party. About 20 folks got together and made postcards. It was fun to make collage cards with others.

I did a little playing with candy foils too. Saw the idea in a book I was looking through and tried it. Fun, but I have no idea of what I want to do with them. For now I will put them in the embellishing idea book.

Progress Report: Self Study 28.5 X 33″. This is the project that I started in Luke Haines’s class at QBL in July. I will keep using his idea to cut details with an Exacto knife and using a glue stick to put pieces in place before stitching. The glued small pieces were easier to free motion around.

Lap Quilt 21/26 This is the newest one in my push to use up the strips made for other projects. The box is not full any more, but I think there are still two more of these types of quilts in there. I will give away eight this week to make space.


Sisterhood Challenge I am continuing to work on this project and it is moving forward. No rush here as it is not due until Oct.

Let’s Play Kathy gave me a guitar neck and I though it would make a great hanging bar so I am making a quilt to go with that idea. On revaluation this morning, I feel the body of the guitar is still too big, so I will cut it down before I go froward.

Broken Blocks II I purchased a charm pack when I went to the Vermont Quilt show and I decided to revisit the idea of cutting and reassembling units to create a work. Here are four of the 22 rectangle blocks.

Lichens This project is moving forward, be it slowly. I did felted the log this week and I am planning the ferns to go around it now. I do not seem to have a clear vision of where I am going here, but I will keep moving on.

Emily project I also put in a little time on machine drawing some of the characters for this project. A two inch block is not a lot of space to work with, so it is slow going for me. The pink will wash out of the image when it is done.

I hope summer is bringing you joy.
Keep Creating
Carol

Hand work, Lap Quilts, Machine Drawing, People, QBL- Quilting By the Lake, Scrap Happy Quilts, Sisterhood of the Scissors

Working Away

Hello,
I am feeling like things are really starting to go well now. Summer is in full swing and I am doing well. This week I went off to the Schweinfurth on Monday and helped dismantle the show along with lots of other gals. It was fun and tiring. When I left the job was almost complete.

I went to Marcia’s this week too. There were only six of us but we still had a good time. Nancy showed off her simple cover all.

Susan worked on one of her projects from QBL. She cut and printed the chair stamp in class and tells me she plans to use it in another project.

Progress Report: Liberties Lost This work is 24″ w X 34″ l. It is my second entry for the Justice for All??? show at Art Rage in April. I am pleased with how it has come out.

I may go back and darken some areas, but I think I need to let it rest for now.

12″ X 12″ This is my entry for the SAQA NY/NJ challenge. We are suppose to challenge our selves with this work. I decided to keep it keep the colors simple and see how many different materials and textures I could play with and still have it work. It was a fun exercise for me

Lap 20/ 26 This is another of the works were I used pre existing strips to create it. The box is no longer overflowing, but I think there will be another one of these before I have nearly empties it. Susan has agreed to take them to the nursing home were her mother is when I am ready. That is wonderful!

Scarp Happy blocks I got busy and made these blocks for the next scarp happy that I want to create at the Sisterhood Retreat in October. It is a big enough space I can lay the rows out and see how they will look so that is what I intend to do.

Portraits from QBL I emailed Lynn and she helped me remember what Luke Hanes had said about finishing up our portraits. I spent the afternoon yesterday doing the free motion work and now I am ready to move onto the background.


Sisterhood Challenge On Friday we were talking about the Sisterhood Challenge and Deb reminded me that handwork was suppose to be a part of the final- so I had to pull the project out again. I got the “Bling” part of the assignment- but not the handwork so I decided to make the silver part of hand stitched stars. Now I think all the stars will need a second row of stitching. Got to see how it goes.

Life is full and good.
Keep Creating

Carol

Hand work, Landscapes, Lap Quilts, QBL- Quilting By the Lake, Trees

Moving Along

Hello,
I am feeling like I have my feet back on the ground now. I do get so much from QBL and it so exhausting too.
My big adventure for this week was a little trip to Homer to see the Rock Garden show at the Art Center and spend the day with Cheri. She had lots of great work on the wall. Exploring faces is her goal of late. I really like this work of her friend Liz. I think it looks like her too.

Terry also had a great piece in this show. We enjoyed our time to just talk as well.

Progress Report: Lap 19/26 I am still trying to use the extra edge pieces that I have created for other lap quilts. I think there are two more quilts in this style in the box. I only need to sew down the binding on this work now.

Lost Liberties I stitch down the flame and the broken tablet this week. I am working on the tree lines now. I hope to complete this project this week too.

Tree Blocks – Joshua Tree I finished up this work while I was in the Pixie Zoom meeting this week. I am getting close to the end of the blocks for this project. I think I will need to add a bit to the earlier blocks as I seem to have gotten a bit more elaborate over time.

Sorrel Cactus I started right away on the next block when the previous one was finished. I do so enjoy hand work.

Cross Lake I stared this at QBL in Valerie’s class. I am almost finished with this project. It needs a label and a bit on the binding.

Wildfire The wildfires are haunting me as we seem to have smoky skies almost daily here. Not having any more Judy Robert fabrics to use as my starting point I created one of my own yesterday. The colors are not as rich, but the challenge is to make it work.

Keep Creating
Carol

Hand work, Lap Quilts, Trees

Summer

Hi,
Summer is in full swing and everyone is very busy. I had a stomach virus for three days last week and so I stay home and did not get much done. I missed most of the 4th of July events. I only watch fireworks on the television. Being ill sure makes on appreciate their good heath!
We are putting lots of effort into preparation for out annual July Birthday event on Sunday. We are mixing it with a celebration of living in this house for 50 years. Today, we will put up the assembled cabinets in the laundry room. Tomorrow the yard clean and organize will be our goal. Sat will be food prep and finish up. It will be fun to see everyone.
Progress Report: Lap 18-19 I did set at the machine a bit yesterday and added to this piece. It may not be finished before I go off to QBL, but I am Okay with that.

Broken Blocks I have pressed the back in preparation for layering and assembly. Again, this may on may not get attention as the yard and so many other little things are demanding attention.


Tree Block- Palm Tree I seem to find more time to do handwork as that is a sit down activity I can do in the evenings.
I am off to hold up cabinets while Eric connects them to the walls.
Keep Creating
Carol

Drawing, Felt Work, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Trees

Adirondack Trip

Hello,
Last weekend I went up to Marcia’s camp on Chase Lake in the Adirondacks. I enjoyed the dock and did my morning pages there every day. We had three wonderful days of good weather and good times. On Friday we went out and did a bit of shopping.

One of our stops was a basket makes and we all purchased great baskets from her. We visited two jewelers and the others spent there as well. Our last stop of the day was the sweet shop for ice cream.

Then on Saturday we took a dirt road north to Old Forge and went to The View to see the displays. We were not at all disappointed there either. The Members show included this awe-inspiring felt work. There were several other felted projects to and I am sure I will do some work in a similar direction. There was also a wonderful tryptic by our friend Divina Roddie. So good to finally see one in real life.
There was also a solo show that was inspiring. Then Victoria and I took a long walk on Sunday morning before we started home. The whole time was relaxing and very pleasant.


Progress Report: Lost Libertys I was away so much this week that I did not make a lot of progress, but the flag as a binder is all sewed down now.

Tree Block This was the only project that I took on the trip so I finished it. I intended to make a cherry tree- but the French knots looked more like apples so that is what it became. Sometimes the materials have a mind of their own.


Color Challenges – Green This was the color word for this week and I just started doodling in the sketch book for this one.

Broken Block backing I used leftovers from the front for this backing. The starter fabric is the Sisterhood Retreat Challenge fabric. None of it is visible here. It was a challenge for me as I usually don’t use this pallet of gray and pale rose. It pushed me to look at my stash of neutrals and so I pulled some out for the next lap quilt.

‘


Lap 18/26 AS you can see I have done very little on this project so far- but I think it will go together quickly.

I have to add this shot of a power line full of sneakers that we passed under on our travels over the weekend. It was/is very impressive as it stretched across the highway! I can’t imagine how many hours and dollars it represents.

Enjoy the 4th, stay cool, and be creative.
Carol

Hand work, Lap Quilts

Silk Screen Workshop

Hello, I am spent three days this week in a workshop with Pat Pauly doing silk screen printing with dye. She really packed a lot into those three days. It was a lot of work and I got a lot of fabric printed. Having three quilting friends in the class added to the joy too.

This shot is of three of my products. I have not started to wash anything out yet, but I will get there soon.

The weekend also included the opening of two exhibitions at the Schweinfurth. T3%+!LE$-The Language of Fiber opened on Saturday evening. It is full of many wonderful works This one called Canadian Prairies spoke to me. It is a very diverse show from the Surface Design Association.

Up stairs in the Davis gallery was the exabit Sa:gwa’yo Gayogho’:nq? Cayuga People, We Return. It too has wonderful work on display. I really like Art of Peace. There are so many corn husk figures with beautiful bead work, it really made this work for me. This exabit also has a lot of variety in the types of works presented. The shows will be up Until Aug 15 and i encourage folks to visit if possible.

Then on Tuesday I went off to the Quilt DIVA meeting with Cheri and Donna. It is a wonderful group with lots of variety there too. Maureen is nearing the end off her stitch work on this pieces that she hand dyed. There are lots of details on this piece.

Donna is playing with paper mâché’ and doing head gear with this horse head. She says this is a very early stage. I find it entreating and could easily get pulled back into mask making with challenges like this one.

Alice is doing posters at the moment. She has always like collage and this is a good example.

Denise had three of these paper Kamona’s to share with us. She is also working on a piece for the SAQA show on Touch. She is always taking chances and tiring new stuff.

Barb delighted us with this great Slot Canyon quilt. She sure uses color well. She had three other examples work she is doing. Barb is nbe iof the most productive folks I know.

Cheri shared some of her dyed fabric from the print dye class of teh weekend.
She also shared these wonderful machine drawn and painted faces.

Anne is having a bit of fun doing bed quilts. I love the patters and colors she is playing with in this work.

Progress Report: Lost Liberties I have been so busy that I have not done a lot of work this week, but I did add some drawn texture to teh three layers of landscape I have put into this work. I will use quilting to enchase it too.

Night Tree Block This block only needs the last bit of branching on the lower right and the shadow and it will be done.


Shore Line Wash Up It is building ever so slowly.


Lap 17/26 I am doing a second one of these using strips that are leftover from previous lap quilts. I sure seem to be working in similar color families.

New Block After being away from the pin wall for the three days of the workshop, I realize that the curved block was not working well. So I pulled more fabrics that I though would work and I plan to use one color several times in a block and see if that helps the design.

I hope you are enjoying spring.

Carol