Category Archives: Hand work

Applique, Experiments, Finger Lakes Fiber Artists, Hand work, Lap Quilts

Moving Along

Hello,

Last Thru evening I looked out to see the Bever Moon as it was rising.      The moon was actually full the night before, but I found it still stunning.   Many folks saw the northern lights this week, but sense I live in the city that was not my experience.     I hope some of my readers did see it.                   The days seem to be rushing forward and the holidays will be surrounding us soon.    I had a FLFA meeting on Sat this week.  It was really fun with lots of great ideas moving folks along.

 

Susan is still exploring the stitching of fabric  and paper work   that she started at the workshop that attended.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joyce showed off some more of her quilted works.

 

 

 

 

 

Kafka has been doing little quilts based on drawings by her grandchildren.   What a great way to save  memories.

 

 

 

Sharon is working away on this bleach altered piece.  That  pinkie/orange in the center is made with   French knots.

 

 

 

 

Jean G  has built two quilts that she plans to merry into one work in an accordion style.   ( note the little experiment at the top)   I am looking forward to see how this work out for her.

 

 

The only other thing I did this week was walnut stain some different types of fabric.     I really like how the dye is so much of a surprise as far as color and where it ends up on the surface.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Crystal Blocks   I added an extra row of 2.5 ” units around the out side edge of this work and then felt it was complete.  It is pin based and I did stitch in the ditch around the blocks, but I am not suer how I want to do the rest of the quilting so I m letting it rest.

 

Lap 24/25  This work is pin basted and I  have started to quilt.  It sure looks like the colors of fall are effecting my choices now.

 

 

 

 

 

Lap- 25/25    the fall color theme   is still working here.   I am enjoying using some of the fabrics that I have dyed now.

 

 

 

 

Flotsam and Jetson    This work is going forward.  I am am surprised by how much green and blue materials I have collected.   It is fun to use them together for me.

 

 

 

 

 

Handwork   I am moving slowly forward on this piece too.  It is very calming  work.

 

 

 

 

 New Self Challenge- Trees  I have not had a weekly challenge in a long time so I though about what I could do.  I decided that I would try to make eight inch square blocks and make a little landscape featuring trees  every week for a while.   Only time will tell if I can keep this idea going.

Keep Creating

Carol

 

Experiments, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Hand work, Lap Quilts, Nine Play

Changes

Hello,

This is one of the last trees in our area that still has leaves.   They are a glorious red  and  almost look like they are burning.    It is amazing how quickly the trees have shed their crowns of leaves.     Again we see their strong dark  bones and walk across their  carpets of gold.   I love this time of year.

I had very little quilt action this week.    My only event was a  FAD lunch.  But the other half of my life was full with plays and family events.   I did make a little progress however.

 Progress Report: Lap 23/25   I finished this lap quilt this week.     The center section is  hand painted by my dear friend and fellow art teacher Barbara Veral.   She died a year ago.

 

 

I enjoyed   tracing  her drawn lines with my machine.     I miss her a great deal and I am glad to have her work in my life.

 

 

 

Lap 24/25  I started my next lap quilt yesterday.   There is always a need at this time of year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cells  This project got going at  the Sisterhood  Retreat a few week ago.   I was playing with zig-zag lines and  overlap a bit here.

 

 

Transparency and movement were also a part of my thoughts.  I also played a bit with fancy stitches .

 

 

 

 

 

Crystal Blocks   I am moving forward on this project.  The original nine blocks are assembled and I made a row as a boarder yesterday.  I think that really helps frame the project.

 

 

 

On the Sands ( formerly Shore Lines)   This highly textured work is moving forward.

 

 

 

 

Handwork   this piece came to the top of the pile  and I am putting in time on it now.    I started it at Susan’s when I went to stay with her before the pandemic.    Some things just get buried.

Keep Creating

Carol

 

 

Felt Work, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Re Work, Stretched Works

Mid October

Hello,

The world is spinning quickly and we are past the middle of October already.   The weather continue to cool as the day  grow steadily shorter.   We have had some beautiful sun sets   and the leaves continue to give one blasts of color.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My only adventure this week was a day of playing with roving and  felting with Cher.   We enjoyed the process.

Progress Report:  Spinning Out   This little bit of handwork got a lot of attention this week.   I have been using it as a fill in for the times when watching TV  while  I had no other pressing work to do.  Stretched it over so foam core this week as I felt it was complete.

 

 

Rework of Autumn Tide Pool #3.  I learned that this pieces was too heavy to hang from a sleeve in the normal way when I put it in  my solo show in June.  I am finally getting it stretched and stitch to foam core now.  Liz gave me a batch of her old foam core so that has been a push to do the work.   I need to stitch through the buttons and foam core to make it squire.    I am about one forth of the way along on that step now.

Hollyhocks and Hummingbirds  It took several attempts to get wings that I liked for my birds on this project.  I have seven stitched to the base now.  I can see the completion of this project is coming soon.

 

 

 

 

 

Circulating Rings   I started this project at the retreat.  I am finally happy with the color and placement of the rings and I started stitching it down yesterday.

 

 

 

Morning Meadow I am working away on this piece and it too is nearly complete.     I think it needs to have a fabric frame and then it will be done.

 

Lap 22/25   This quilt will be finished this week as I only need to  do the hand step of the binding.   I took seven finished lap quilts to a nursing home this week.   This one is the finish  of a top by Noel.

Life is full and busy.

Keep Creating

Carol

Applique, Circle Challenge, Hand work, Pixies Group, Scrap Happy Quilts, Sisterhood of the Scissors

Home from Sisterhood Retreat

Hello,

I arrived home from the 2025 Sisterhood of the Scissors Retreat on Kuka  Lake yesterday.  We left on Friday last week so and  I  had a good time.   Liz got sick on day two and Victoria was not at the top of her game either.

It was a glorious time to be there as the color was great.   I walked every day and that added to my pleasure.

 

Everyone  sharded great little gifts and I came home with a horde of new items.    They are a generous and thoughtful group of gals.   The spotted fabric at the bottom is the challenge fabric for 2026.   Susan selected it for us.

 

 

 

 

This years challenge produced a wide variety of solutions.        Deb saw a lamp in the fabric and produced this bed room.  She also used it in the head board.

 

 

 

 

 

Joyce saw a volcano in the fabric.      She got to use  a little her new coloring technique as well as the insert.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kathy worked on this nice big project with lots of hand work on it .

 

 

 

This handsome small work was by Victoria.

 

 

 

 

 

Ann had a nice solution as well.

 

 

 

This is my work.

 

 

 

Everyone had projects that they worked on during the week as well as some show and tell.

Joyces spent some time beading on this beautiful batik piece.

 

 

 

 

She also had a good time working with her Gelli plate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ann worked on this piece that is a map of Kuka lake.   She stitched down all the buildings and is now ready to begin adding grape leaves to represent the vineyards around the lake.

 

 

Ann had some wonderful little quilts for show and tell.   She also showed off some of her beautiful crochet work.

 

 

 

 

 

Susan was jut home from another retreat doing three D work using paper and cardboard that she hand stitched together.

 

 

She showed off and worked on this flat  piece too.

 

 

Kathy worked on this Quilt of Valor.  It is ready for layering and quilting now.

 

 

 

We took a  field trip on Sat to the Windmill and shopped and ate lunch.

 

 

 

 

It was a beautiful. day and we enjoyed ourselves.

 

 

 

We ate a lot of ice cream, sat on the big poaches and talked.   The whole event went very quickly with  a lot of work and relaxation for us healthy folks.

 

Progress Report:   Hummingbirds    I took lots of projects to the retreat.    I did draw and outline the humming birds for my Hollyhock quilt.  But I was not sure how I wanted to do the wings and so this is all I got done.

 

 

 

 

Round It Out   I feel like I made a good start on this new project.  The base is built and I have some of the circles pinned in place.    It is really a work in progress.

 

 

Cut It Up     I had cut up all the squared before I left and I sent a day squaring them up and putting them together  at the retreat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scrap Happy The box of leftover squares from old scarp happy quilts was overflowing so I knew there were enough for a new top.  This one is in rows with no pattern .

 

 

  Handwork- Summer Meadows   I took this along as my evening handwork  and I only want to add little white butterflies to it and it will be ready for finishing.

Crystal Squares    I took this photo of a high relief sculpture at the show that the group visited in Rochester earlier this year.    I though it would be a good basis for a quilt square.

So at the retreat I drew it up and added quarter inch seams.  Using those templates,  I built one square.    I need to do some modifications on it, before it will work as a square .  But I think it is worth the effort.

 

 

Book Page   I needed to do something completely different while I was at the Zoom meeting of the Pixie group yesterday afternoon, so I pulled out this old project and worked on it.    One more flower to build  now.

 

It has been a good week and I  as soon as I get stuff put away I will be ready to tackle the projects that I am in the middle of.

Enjoy the fall and keep creating

Carol

 

 

Applique, Experiments, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Hand work, Lap Quilts

Seasonal Changes

Hello,

We are starting to really feel fall here.  Eric  and I went for a walk around Green Lake this week and enjoyed it a great deal.  We also sat out  doors and read one afternoon while the wind blew down lots of leaves and some walnuts too.   There will not be many more days like these, so we are enjoying them.

I had a full week with a FAB meeting and the Social Arts Tea. The tea was to celebrate this organization that has been in existence for 150 years.      We dressed up and wore hats  as well as having a display of antique clothing.   I had a lot of my aunt and grandmother Ruth’s dresses to share.

 

 

 

 

I showed off my  mothers wedding dress that was part of a quilt I did several years ago.    Mom has a beautiful voice and she was always singing.  I embroider the chois of songs about weddings and marriage around the dress.    The tea included a great speaker, tea cakes and tea.  It was a fine way to kick off our new year.

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Lap 21-25  As the colors show I am already inferenced by the cooler season.

 

 

Autumn Tide  Pool    I picked this finished work from the framers this week.    She dose a great job of making things look professional.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diddie Do   This work is done now.  I have stretch it and tacked it to a foam core board.   I have not decided if I want to frame it or not.

 

 

 

 

Holly Hocks   I am done with all the hollyhock stocks and leaves now.   I will start to design the humming birds this week.

 

 

 

 

 

New Handwork   I was playing with my sewing machine and  running it without tread on a soda can to cut out circles for centers for flowers this time.   Now I will start to hand stitch them down .   It was a fun bit of play.

Friday begins the Sisterhoods of the Scissors retreat.    I have put a lot of time into thinking about what I want to do for the five days  and I have a very full bag of fabrics.     I hope to accomplish a lot.

Keep Creating

Carol

 

 

 

Aplique, Birds, Experiments, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Thread Painting

Fall

Hello,

   I am just home form a drive up to Old Forge and The View to deliver my quilt and Sharon’s for the Quilts Unlimited show.     I saw lots of trees that were colored, but due to the fact that it was raining they were not very attractive.  We need the rain so I am glad of that,  but disappointed by the views.    So you get a shot of one of the few flowers blooming at the moment instead.

My other big event for the week was to judge the original design category  of the  quilt show for the Thompson County Quilt Guild.   It was a great show and would have loved to give more than one ribbon.   My choice for the top original design is  this one.  There are so many wonderful designs going on here  and the applique is beautifully done.

 

I also liked this  bit of machine drawing.   The bird could have been a photo, but it is not!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another of the judges told me she gave this quilt the embellishment award.

 

 

 

Progress Report:  Protesting Sisters   As you can see I followed Kathy’s suggestion and added to the final shape of this work.     I enjoyed doing this work.

 

 

Hollyhocks  and Humming Birds   I keep stitching down the part of this project.  I only have five stalks to go and then I can move onto the birds.

 

 

 

 

Lap 21-25 I pin basted this project yesterday afternoon.  Hopefully I will get to it this week end.

 

 

 

 Cut Ups    I am playing with some squares that I am slicing up and re assembling.   This is about one forth of the blocks.

 

 

 

 

 

Handwork Diddle Do     This work is 24″ w X 18″ t.   I need to stitch the foam core to the work and it will be complete.   It has been fun to do the handwork on this project.

I can’t believe we are nearing the end of September already and the next time I write it will be Oct.  Time is running at full speed forward.

Keep Creating

Carol

 

Diva Meetings, Experiments, Hand work, SAQA, Scrap Happy Quilts

Close of Summer

Hello,

I know that Labor Day is not really the end of Summer, but 28  years of teaching school and it is a hard habit to break.   So I feel like I am heading into fall and all the joys it holds.

I went to the opening of Contrast- Oxymorons,  SAQA NY- NJ   show with Marty on Saturday, at the ROCO gallery in Rochester.    It was exciting for me to not only be a part of the show, but to also see all the interoperations.   Jean had a good piece with great silhouettes  of elephants.

 

 

 

 

Cynthia, had a very political piece of  “Small Crowds”

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really loves this work titled “Head over Heels”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Denoise had a wonderful felted work in this show.

 

 

 

 

My work Plastic Silverware was a part of the show too.

 

 

 

 There was a fun Artist talk as a part of the event and I enjoyed that as well.

 

 

On Tuesday I took Liz to the Rock Garden show and  the Diva meeting that Cheri held.     There was lots of exciting work by my friends.  Cheri had complemented a second feather pieces from Pat’s dye class.

 

Donna had several good works.  I like this paper Mache’  Alligator head  that I liked a lot.

 

 

 

 

Denise had some great handwork on one of her dyed felted pieces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barb is going great guns with lots of work too.     I really like the movement here.

 

 

 

Then I stopped at the  Edgewood Gallery   yesterday and saw this colorful work.

It has been a busy week.

 

 

 

Progress Report:   Hollyhocks and Humming Birds       This work was formerly called Sumer.  I have changes the flowers as I did not think the organza showed up well enough.   I am much happier with the taffeta.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scrap Happy 2-25  I am now adding the binding to this work.  Next step is do the extra quilting that I like to add.   bed quilts get lots of washings so I want it a bit more stable.

 

 

 

Tropical Waters   I am now  ready to finish this work up.  I am done with the stitching and ready to face and hang this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exploration 2     I have started doing the quilting on this project.    Progress.

 

 

 

Square Beads    I only have about 20 more of these fabric beads to stitch and I will begin to string them.   I am looking forward to that step.

 

 

 

The weeks are full and I am enjoying them.  I hope the same for all my readers.

Keep Exploring

Carol

 

 

Curvie Cuts, Fabric Flowers, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Machine Drawing, People, SAQA, Shows

My Walk

Hello,

We are enjoying a very pleasant cool spell here in central NY.   A  little rain made the Goldenrod bend over a bit, but they are still flying their flags of yellow.   The sparrows are busy arguing with one another and  the blue jays  make their raspy calls every now an again as we walk.   I am seeing evidence of  little squirrel feasts   in the form of acorn and walnut remains on the street.   I often see them running down the power lines from one tree to another as I chase my own shadow down the hill.   Even the apples are starting to add a little color to their skins.    Fall is definitely around the corner here.

I went to the opening of the Rock Garden Art Show on Thursday last week.    Some great work.  This is a quilt that Cheri started in Pat Pauly’s dye class earlier this spring.     Cheri had her wonderful felted flower piece and several prints too.

 

 

 

Robin, who Liz and I meant in Florida in the spring, was also a part of this show.   Her big life sized ceramic  women are very powerful!

 

 

 

 

 

 Progress Report: Under Grand    This quilt is 35.5″w X 42″ t.   I started this work at QBL in Sheila Frampton Coopers class.     It is my interoperation ow what I saw when  I looked under the Grand Pinto in the classroom.

I enjoyed working with the curves and using orange and blue together.

 

 

 

 

 

Lap # 19  I am having a good time with the fabrics form Pat Pauly’s dye class.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lap 20  More of the product form the dye class here.

 

 

 Protesting Sisters   I have been struggling with how to move this project forward.  I got a little help from the Pixie group yesterday.    I still do not have a real clear vision – but I can see hope here now.

 

 

 

Summer Delights   The next SAQA challenge is Pollinators.   I have decided I will do flowers as my starting place.  I read about using organza and doing free motion with it.   So this  is really a self challenge to see if I can do this to my own satisfaction.   So far so good.   It has a curvy cut background too.

 

 

Tropical Waters    This is my newest handwork project.  I used plastic news paper bags that were pressed between typhoon sheets as my bottom layer.   Then I added  some blue vegetable bags that my friend Marcia gave me and I was off and running.  I am enjoying this work and plan not to add any buttons and limit the beads I use here.

 

 

 

Class 2    This project is also form Sheila class.  I used this  pieces to explore and play with the new techniques she was teaching.   The top is now ready for the next steps.

 

 

I hope you are enjoying the end of the summer season .  Yes I still a see Labor Day as the end of summer just as if I was still going back to the classroom.

Keep Creating

Carol

Birds, Creative Assistants, Hand work, Lap Quilts, SAQA, Shows

Summer Progress

Hello,

 

The  days are running a head of me and I can’t believe we are  moving so quickly.      Last Friday I went to Cazenovia Artisan’s with Liz  to see Sharon Souva’s solo show.   It is wonderful.  She told me last night that this work has sold.   I am so happy for her.  There are lots of other wonderful  works still for sale,  including this one .     She is doing so very well.

 

 

 

 

On Sat I went to the retirement party   for Donna Lamb.   She is leaving  after 25 years of leading the Schweinfurth forward.      She has moved the Art Cente in amazing ways and I will miss her a great deal.  I ,  along with Susan and Liz’s help produced this giant Creative Assistant to present to her at that event.

 

 

 

 

My other big excitement came in the mail in for form of the Catalogue for the Elements Fire  show.    It is exciting.   I was also in the  SAQA journal – again about the show.   Published in two places at one  is a real high.

 

 

 

Progress Report:  Sparrows  This piece is 38″wX 52″ l.     I am pleased with the final result here.   I tried to use the quilting to show the wind action around the birds.

The four color stencil proved be be a bigger challenge than I expected.    I am glad I did it however.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lap #19   I made great progress on this piece this week and now I am doing the binding.

 

 

 

Lap#20  I hare a real running start on this project at this point.   The colors are sure a contrast  from the previous one.   Again I am using fabric from Pat’s Class here.

 

 

 

 

Shore Line  I think I am nearly done adding to the surface of this work.   I will live with it a few days and then decide.

 

 

 

 

 

Scarp Happy # 2- 25   I got busy and started assembling this pieces this week.   With out a definite person to deliver it to I am a bit slower to act.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SAQA Auction Piece 

I see that the SAQA auction stuff is getting going again so   I finished up this work to ship this week.

 

The week has been a full and exciting one.

Keep Creating

Carol

 

Forest Fires, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Raw Edge Applique

Needs

Hello,

It is very dry here in our part of the country as apposed to the areas were flooding is a problem.   The trees here desperately need water, so many are sheading some of their leaves.   We all experience needs in our lives.  After the basic needs of food, clothing and shelter we all experience needs that are special to each of us.  Some need power, some need fame, while others need to go along without being noticed.    It is a really good thing we are all different with different desires and wants.   For me the space and time to create is a strong need.   I get so much joy and satisfaction out of the designing and making  work.    I can become very crabby when I have not had ” me time”  to do these actives , epically when the situation  has  gone on too long.    I am almost driven to go to the studio and play with the fabrics and sewing machine.     After I am done with the work I have no real need to hang on to   or sell the projects.   They just become a storage problem.   I guess my next need  is to find a home for the work I do.

I did do a trunk show over the weekend and in doing that I did have a wide variety of works to choose from.   I designed the show specially for a friend who asked me to do the show as she had seen the one I did in the winter.  I designed this new one to show off work she had not seen the first time and I was successful with that.  As it ended up she was not present.

Progress Report:  Canadian Wildfires This quilt is 35″ w X 42″ l.   I started the work in Quilting By the Lake in Independent Studio.   There are still over 700 wildfires burning there.

 

We have felt the effects of the smoke for the fires a lot this summer.

 

 

 

But I am really more concerned with the loss of the oxygen production that is being lose with the fires.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lap # 18   This work is made with fabric that I printed in the Pat Pauly workshop earlier this spring . The big squares where stenciled and rubbed with dye.

Lap # 19    This is just the beginning of this project.    The  printed  fabric with  strong dark with lines is some  I printed  in the past.

 

 

 

 

Souring Sparrows   This is  a second project that I stated in Independent Studio.     I really learned that cutting a four color stencil pattern is much harder to register that I expected.    I am trying to  quilt in what I imagine  might be the wind patterns  on this quilt.

 

 

 

Under Grand   I have started to quilt this work now.   Again I started this project in class with Sheila Framton-Cooper.   It is based on a sketch I did of the space under the grand piano in the room.

 

 

 

 

Shore Lines    I just keep puttering away on this project.   Some sections are complete at this time.

 

 

 

It as been a good week for me and I feel like I am moving forward.

Keep Creating,

Carol