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Applique, Birds, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Robin Flight, SAQA, Shows, Stencels

My Travels

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Hello,

  I am finally home from lots of travel.    On the second of April I flew with Liz to Florida to stay with Cheri for a week.      We went off to the SAQA conference on Thur.   After registration we went to the Deli Museum.     The work was great and very stimulating.     There was some of his early work along with some of his last pieces.   We enjoyed the whole thing.

The conference actually started on Friday and It was very stimulating.  The talks were full of interesting  ideas.  Hollis Chatelain talked about using emotion in your work.    Her piece about gun violence in schools  was epically moving to me.   After a great luncheon, the topic was about writhing and your work.  I write every day and this really reenforced this idea.

Ellen Noble did an expanded version of her talk about the Apple Tree along The Railroad, like I heard last  summer.   The talk and her examples  have grown as she has had all winter to keep developing  the using  of the many dyed fabrics that she and her husband made from the dye that they created with the bitter apples, leaves and bark  of one tree.

 

 

The Shin-hee talked about developing  her personal style  and showed us wonderful quilts that used only Yoyos as building blocks .

I did not find that talk by gallery owners very informative, but I think the idea of doing this topic is a good one.

 

 

Pat Pauly was the last speaker that day and she was/is always full of energy .      Life is full of images,” she said. We all went out looking for more and took a lot of photos to prove it.  We went to dinner and found some in the lighting of the restaurant.    After eating we went to the galley opening of works from the Florida  SAQA  group.      My old friend  Roberta had a piece in that show .   There were some great works there too.

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday we went  to the Ringling Museum. After a great lunch in their cafe, explored  the grounds a bit.     We really only got into the first building, but visually it was lots of fun.

 I loved this stilt walker.      Lots of history here in this museum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also made it to the mansion   were we visited the Japanese Ceramic exabit.    We all took lots of close up of amazing work.  My images of  this sculpture have grown into a work already.

 

 

 

Monday we went to the  Art Center of Sarasota we where enjoyed two great shows and spent the afternoon printing.

This felt work was by Christina Vicente.    I know hard it is to make these  felted shapes and I have been trying to make owls in felted ovels myself and so far that are a diester.

 

 

 

There was also a members show with two works by Cheri and lots of other folks.  They are a talented  group.

 

 

 

 

 

This shot was of the garden outside the Center.   It is a wonderful sculpture.  

 

 

 

 

 

These are the prints that I made that day in the Art Center.

 

 

 

Then on Tue while  Cheri went to a portrait class, Liz and I explored the Art galleries at the Ringling Art Collage.       This is part of a community project where folks told stories and wrapped these circles to create a big work of art.

 

 

 

There was a wonderful little show of painting showing folds viewing Vamier’s work.      You can easily see The Girl with the Pearl Erring in the center here.

 

 

 

 

There was also this visual color and light feast in a hall way in the gallery.   We walked it twice and the colors were different both times as the sun changed the view.

 

 

 

 

We got home just fine and then Liz and I  started the three day   Spring Retreat at the Schweinfurth.     The usuals were there as well as as two new gals.       This is Joyce’s bed sized work for her daughter.

 

 

 

Nancy shared her end projects from the on line class she and I were taking with Fiber Art Take 2.    These are so much fun.  I am now inspired to get going and finish that class. Her work plus the fact that we now have a working printer.

 

 

She also did a lot of work  as she finished this powerful landscape and the baby quilt one can see pinned up in the background.

 

 

 

Zas  finished tying this work this weekend.   Great mix of images.

 

 

 

 

Liz spent the time building these delightful little houses.

 

Susan gave birth to this lizard.  I say gave birth as it took three of us to turn the form with lots of pulling and pushing to get the job done.

Victoria was there as was Sharon but I neglected to collect images of either of their works.

The Schweinfurth also is showing their Made in New York show at this time.

 

This piece is by Julia G.

 

 

 

 

This one is by Regina S.  I sort of lost contact with her.    This is strong.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This work called Working Hands really ticketed me.  It won a prize too.

 

 Progress Report:  Plastic Silver Wear.     This work is  30.5′” X 41.5″.   It is my response to the NY/New Jersey  Oxymoron Challenge.  I finished it before we left for FL.

 

I really enjoyed adding the real plastic silver wear to the surface, but it makes storing it difficult  as I sewed so many angles in my placement  of the plastic parts.

 

 

 

 Blood  Test   This work is 11″ X 25″.     The nurse gave me the wrap that they use to make ones vain stand out when she took my blood at the last test.  Thus the name.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The metallic shapes are leftovers form another project  and the little buttons used to hold down the cut blue circles are leftover from my doll making days.

 

 

 

Lap 7-25

This

lap quilt is made with leftovers from other projects.

Lap 8-25  I finished assembling this new top yesterday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Light    This is my second run at the Oxymoron challenge.   I had this idea first but could not find a way to express it.  I started this at the retreat when there was no stress.

 

 

 

 

 

Red Tide    I put in a lot of time on this piece this week as I did three meetings on Zoom.

 

 

 

Dreaming   I started this at the Spring Retreat.     It is based on the close up of  the sculpture that I took at the Ringling art museum in Sarasota.  The full shot of the sculpture is pictured above.

 

 

 

It took on a life of its own as I worked on it of course.

 

Robins Flight   I did the stencils and printed the birds a few week ago and this piece asl got it’s start at the Spring Retreat.   I am having fun with it and I have a new idea for a Red Winded Black Bird in a similar style.

It has been a full two weeks and I hope to catch up with myself soon.

Keep Creating

Carol

Collage, Drawing, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Lap Quilts, Paper Dolls, Pixies Group, Shows, Stencels

Winter Beauty

Hello,

We are in the middle of a deep freeze, but there is a strange beauty about it all as well.   We   then experienced  a freezing rain and it coated the branches is a glorious  manor.     The cold and snow on top added to it, and then we had a full cold sunny afternoon.

 

 

Everything just sparkled.

 

 

 

That was followed  by    glittering crystals falling last night in  the street light  out side my window.      Today the world out doors is out lined in white and the sun is shinning in the cold.   We are enjoying a true winter here this year.

 

 

 

This week I went off to the  Both Ends of the Rainbow opening for seniors with my friend  Liz.     This is her pastel drawing two sleeping dogs.

 

 

 

 

 

Marty had a great quilt in this show.    I love how she did so much with only two fabrics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharon had a piece in this show.  This is part of her fallow fields series.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bev also had a strong piece in this too.

 

 

 

 

The other end of the Rainbow included lots of fun student work.  I found this cat by a second grader epically fun.

 

I made it to the Textile Talk this week as well as a FAD meeting and a Pixie zoom.     It had been and active week.

 

 

Progress Report: California Burning- the Victorian   I finally completed this work this week.   It is 42.5 “w X 34” t.  I used nylon netting, silk, organza, silk paper and cotton on this applique quilt.    The base is one of my last Judy Robert’s fabrics.

 

 

I enjoyed working with this project.  I am only sorry so may lost  their homes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cut & Print    This work is  37’w X 44″ t.     I sure seemed to struggle with this project.   It was started in Nov.   Then I took out a lot as it was not rite.   Changing the  size of the opening in the “film” did the trick.      I am happy with the end result.

This scissors quilt is quiet different than the others as it is made with stencils I cut and printed.  At the moment I feel this is the last of the scissors series.   But,  I do like the scissors shape and may return in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lap 2-25     This lap quilt is made from the leftovers of the two purple sweat shit jackets.     Oh,  I have more purples, but none left of most of these  purple prints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lap 3-25   I started a new lap quilt  right away,  in a different color range.   I finished assembling the top this morning.

 

 

 

 

The Tide’s Out    I just keep adding to this surface.  It is starting to fill up and I like how it is building.

 

 

Paper Dolls-the card  characters    As a part of my ” act on it now goal” – when I saw some similar paper dolls made from playing cards this week , I decided to try it.  They  are a fun little fast challenge with lots of possibilities.

 

 

 

 

Sisterhood Challenge   I finally pulled out the fabric for our group challenge and got going on it this week.   I have mostly laid out the shore line and  I am ready to stitch it down .

 

 

 

Collage/ Drawing  In looking at this collage/drawing now I think there is not enough color contrast to make this a successful piece.   It many need some additional work.

I hope everyone is staying warm and  creating a little.

Carol

 

FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Felt Work, Finger Lakes Fiber Artists, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Pixies Group, Re Work, Shows, The Tide's Out

Winter Moon

 Hello,

Happy Valentines Day to everyone.      The Moon was full last night- a snow moon – and we have had lot of that this week and last.  There are three more storms headed across the country that are set to hit us as well.     I guess we are making up for the mind winters of the past few years.

Last Friday the gals in the Trifurcation show meant at La Moyne with a young student and did a TV interview about the show.     He told us he selected us for his interview because he wanted to learn more about fiber arts.   I am glad we tickled his curiosity.

 

FLFA meant on Saturday   and we added Jean to our membership.  This is her leopardess.

 

 

Pat had a new jacket that she had made for her next fashion show.

 

 

 

 

 

Noel who told us she will be moving to Oklahoma, shared her newest hand work.

 

 

 

 

 

Maureen  is doing more Shiori for  her next hand work project.  This will be her starting point.

 

 

 

 

 

Anne is getting ready for a two man show and these are two of her new works based on her  Yellowstone trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joan did a seirs of six studies in line.  They are all fun and interesting.   She selected tis one for me to shoot.

 

 

 

 

Linda is doing thread painting.  She taught a workshop in Colorado and now she is  hassling  to completed this for a class she is taking.

 

 

 

 

Bev is delighted to finally be back in her studio and she is working on this powerful muted piece by hand.   She is using all her own hand dyed fabrics here.

 

 

 

I also had  FAD meeting this week.   Judy shared one of her works with us.

The Pixies meant this week as usual too.

 

 

 

Progress Report:   Purple Jacket #2  I am happy to sha this project dose in deed fit as apposed to the first that I had to give to Judy because it was too small for me.  I also added pockets on the inside yesterday.  I will say it is warm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

California Burning- the Victorian  I can see the end of this project.  All the quilting is done and I am working on the sleeves and labels now.

 

 

 

The Tide’s Out   This  is a shot of the top edge of this piece.  I have been working on it most of this week and hope to finish this section today or tomorrow.

Cut & Print   I am out line quilting the scissors now on this project.  I have 22 pairs to go at this point.     I will be working out additional  quilting as I go forward.

 

 

 

 

Handwork  I am working away on this project when time allows.   I have had so much other handwork it has been pushed to the bottom this week.

 

 Felt Owls   I   am going to do  bit of felting now.  These four bodies will become small owls I hope.

 

Lap 2-25    I decided to use all the leftover fabric from the purple jackets to make a lap quilt.  Here is day ones work.

 

Enjoy the holiday and keep your fingers in the creative pot

Carol

Applique, Collage, Cut Away, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Scissors, Shows

Indian Summer

Hello,

We have enjoyed two wonderful days of Indian Summer here in central NY.  The temperatures were above 75  and I finished most of my yard work on Wednesday.   All the lawn furniture is put away and   first run at sheading leaves is done.

 

 

 

 

Then on Halloween the FAB  group  with Judy, Nancy and Sharon up to Old Forge to see the Quilts shows at The View in Old Forge.      Most of the trees had abandoned their leaves in that part of NY, but the shows were all stimulating.   I loved this work because the apple green shape on top really adds depth to the work for me.

Sharon had three works in the show.   This is one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

She  won an  Honorable Mention for one of her works.   This is great.

 

 

 This work was also in the Schweinfurth show last year.

 

 

There were many works with great raw edge applique of very small pieces that I really enjoyed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found this work really intruding too because of her use of overlapping  nylon net circles  to created different colors on the background striped fabric.

 

 

Marcia Decamp was in this show.   This is her work.

 

 

 

 

 Julia also had a work in this show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The show upstairs was a small repetition from Genesee Valley Quilt Group.     This example of wool applique was especially enjoyable to me.

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed the strong graphic  feel in this work too.

 

 

  In additon there was  a SAQA show called “Imagery in Fiber”.   It was fascinating too.     Most of them had a bit of Photo transfer in them.      This work is by one of the gals  who was in my dyeing class last summer.

 

 

I spent all afternoon on Monday playing with collage .  I limited myself to using something from the Gelli plate play days of a few weeks ago and an images of a bird  in each of them.

 

 The play was fun and it change with time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My friend Patti, had moved to Penn Yan and she left me with a parting gift of two boxes of oil pastels.  I added the rule that I had to use them in the works too.

 

 

 

 

 

I think I will try to do a little collage work every  Monday for a while.

 

 

 

 Progress Report:  Cut Away   This work is  35.5″ X 42″.      The background fabric ( deep purple and blue) for this work is hand dyed by a fellow artist.

 

 I really enjoyed doing all the pebble quilting on this project.  I also learned that my machine likes some metallic threads better that others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lap #5  This work is pin basted and  all ready for the quilting   step now.     I need to deliver some of these lap works to the nursing home soon .

 

 Lap # 6    I have cut the strips to fill

in   around theses squares for this project and will get moving on it soon.

 Bleaching         I    still have pieces form the rock series that I want  use as bases for for additional stitch work.

 

 

 

I did a little free motion  work over roving   to create  sea shells.

 

 

 

 

 

Then I did some punch needle work for this next project.

 

 

 

 

 

 I plan to add these two elements and  other stuff from my collection of goodies , plus stitches and buttons to create  and work that will be my little commentary on  Coral Bleaching.

I hope you adjust well to the day ight savings time change this week.

Keep Creating

Carol

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

100 day Challenge, Collage, Felt Work, Hand work, Pixies Group, Re Work, Shows

Busy Week

Hello,

This seems to be a very busy time for me.  I started off by going to the Both Ends of the Rainbow Show at the Schweinfurth last Thru afternoon. I always like this show as it reminds me of the fun of teaching and the rich amount of work that is being done here in central NY.   I was surprises by this bit of felting done  by a middle school student.     I enjoy looking at the student projects and trying to figure out what the teacher’s assignment was.

 

  Many of my friends were well represented.     There was these two wonderful works by Marty.

 

 

 

 

 

These two works   are by Sharon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And these works are by     Anne, (   the top brail  piece and Noel’s is the Santa work.     It is a delightful show.

 

 

 

 

 

Then things settled down for me and I enjoyed Valentines day  by meeting with Noel’s Needle Work group.     This work is by one of her friends.

The Pixies also meant on Wed.

 

 

 

Then this morning I  and meant with Joyce to get some information for the wedding travel dress project and got to see some of her wonderful water color experiments.   Her granddaughter has asked her to  design some possibilities for the wedding invitations.   What a supreme compliment.

Progress Report:  Barbara Blocks    This quilt is 32″ 32″.      I really enjoyed working on this project and it ahs helped me process the loss of my good friend Barbara Vural.

 

 

 

 

 

Barbara II   Doing my usual thing I made more blocks than I needed for this project  and so I put together a second top.  It is all pin basted and ready for quilting now.

 

 

 

 

Ethel 3   I have not made much progress on the quilting of this project this week.  The quilting the diagonals across each square takes lots  of time and  these queen sized works are a bit difficult to move under the machine arm.

Tidewater I I think this work is complete at this point and I only need to face it now.

 

 

 

Past Times  I too this project to the Noel’s Needle Work meeting and made great progress on it.

 

 

 

 Collage  I put in a bit of time on collages this week and finished up three.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Finding Fragments Class has really encouraged me to continue to add materials and stitches on paper works.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Tides 1 & 2     After finishing up Tidewater II, I pulled another old work and decided to use it as the base for the next work as a rocky shore line for  the subject.     This old work called Whip Shot Hill  has been cut in half and will become a diptych.    I plan to work on both pieces along side one another.

 

 

  I have started with the punch needle step in a very muted pallet.

 

 

 SAQA 100 day project  Day 23    I have designed another set of three blocks that are three different scales with the same shaped  pieces.   This shot is the pattern before I cut up the biggest block,

 

 

 

   I am  using the snow died fabric as my starting  color point. ( dyed it this year after the first snow fall  of the season)   At this point I only have two of the biggest block ( 12″ X 18″) assembled.  This shot shows the blocks with the pieces flipped .

 

Handwork  I intended to use  this bit of handwork as a part of my entry for the  SAQA  raffle piece.  I an not so sure  of that idea now.  I plan to finish and then make a decision.

Keep Crating

Carol

 

 

Color Study, Drawing, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Hand work, Pixies Group, Shows, Split Compliments

Moving Along

Hello,

Fall seems to be a time of lots of action. I continue to be in my clean the nest mode and I finally got to the fabric stash this week.    I sure have a lot of raw material.   I have been putting in and hour  plus  every day  this week and I am a long way from done.   It is good to put all the like stuff together and I am sure I will be glad when the job is done.  It is just that progress is slow at this point.    The desk is totally covered, so there is not turning back until the job is done.

      I helped hang the Associated Artists Show on Saturday .    My good buddy  Barbara won Best of Show this year for this dramatic piece of pastel work.

Carol  A was also a part of this show  with a new metal piece.

 

 

 

One of the newer members,  is doing this wonderful high relief fabric sculpture too.   She told me there is no thread work involved   just ticking the self designed  and printed fabric into a sold backing.     I need to consider this process a bit.

 

 

 

I entered Wildfire in Whisky Hallow for this show.   Liz add two great little drawings, but my shot of them is blurry.

 

 

 

 

FAB meant this week as did the Pixies.  I did a Mud Dobber for my insect this time.

 

 

 

I did the Joyful Embroidery class this week too.  We painted fabric for a color base as the assignment this week.

 

 

 

 

Progress Report  Scrap assembly   I will add another strip to all the little parts later today and cut more squares from them tomorrow.  It is just at the building stage now.

Split Compliment Green  I am building away on this project.  It  is proving to be a challenge and although the progress is slow, I do enjoy it.

 

 

 

 

Handwork   I worked away on this project through the many zoom meetings I had this week as well as at the FAD meeting.  I  seem to need to keep my hands busy.

I hope everyone is enjoying cooler weather as fall builds strength.

Keep Creating

Carol

 

 

 

100 day Challenge, Collage, Creative Assistants, Felt Work, Green Collection, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Pixies Group, Purple Impinging, Shows, Stretched Works

Spring Growth

Hello,

It has been a full week for me.  One of the event that I Zoomed was a review of a fiber art show that I did not get into.  I found it very interesting that only 17 pieces were accepted and over 400 were entered.  That says a lot about how difficult  the judges job was.   The Judge talked and went into great detail about how she considered what selected.   I did not feel badly about not getting into the show even before I listened but,  it did make me think about why one dose enter competitions.   It sure is a boost to ones self image when one gets accepted but dose it really say anything about ones personal direction?     Three of the artist who were in the show also talked about their work.  They were all young and I think they need the acceptance and encouragement of being a part of this event far more than a person like me.  I am established and although I love a challenge, I know who I am.  That has great power in its self.  For those young women who are new to the fiber world it is far more difficult  and important.    I hope I can encourage them to grow into there full  potential and self confidence.   So why do I enter?  Well I think it is a self challenge and a motivator to keep on my own toes about what I do.     Going forward is important even as one ages.

 

I was in the Social Art Show this week( no judging).   This shot is of my friend Victoria’s work and several admirers.  I  got lots of positive feed on my work,  “Three Witches”.

 

The Pixies meant and  we had a lot to talk about.    Laura had taken photos of Susan’s work in her yard sale last week.  I like Susan’s playful style.  Everyone had their say about the week

We are one day 72 of the 100 Day Challenge for SAQA and things are moving along.   I am building up a top with my Tiger prints from earlier this year.

 

 

 

 

I am also doing the Sketchbook Revival and having great fun  as color is the emphasis this year.     One lesson was on mixing water color backgrounds with lettering.

 Several were  collage projects.

 

 

 

 

Progress Report:  Green Collection    This work is 48″ w X 61″l.   It is one of the 100 Day Challenge lap quilts.    I was still in the spiral mood when I free motion quilted this work

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring Mushrooms    This is a felted stretched work that is 22″w X 16″ t.   I have been working on it for a few weeks and had the most trouble deciding on what size to make it.  I did cut off quite a bit and I think that was for the best.

 

 

 

 

 

 Purple  Imagining   I am nearing the completion of the machine quilting on this project.  There are lots of little sections  here.

 

Blue Beach   I just keep adding buttons to the surface.   I am doing lots of looking at the surface too.

 

 

 

 

 

Creative Assistants   As you can see I am ready to put arms and backing on a new batch of these guys.   I am making progress on them although it is slow.

Enjoy the longer sun shine days and keep creating.

Carol

 

 

 

100 day Challenge, Bare Forest, Childhood Memories, Curvie Cuts, Enamel Beetles, Lap Quilts, Shows, Tattered Memories

Beginning of fall

Hello,
I have enjoyed a busy two weeks sense I posted last. On Monday last week I helped hang the new show at the Center for the Arts in Homer NY. It was great to see the gals in the group an to help with the set up.
This one is Noel’s contribution. She hand dyes most of the silk she uses in her work.

 

 

 

 

 

This is Donnas newest piece. I really like how she builds her one of a kind sculptures with found objects. This gal has wings made from Victorian curtain tie backs.

 

 

 

 

Cheri did a great job with this cheery piece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are Mary’s ladies. I had to depart before the hanging was complete so that is why the wires are hanging down from the work here. The opening in a week from Friday.

I then got on the road and drove back north and picked up Nancy for our drive up to Mill Site Lake. Judy and I decided that we have been doing this for about 35 years.   This retreat was for years the sign that summer was over and school was starting.       Judy  got me started on a knitting project. I am working on creating a poncho.
Patti joined us on Tue and we had fun. Swimming, Kacking, and talking filled our time. We also did a lot of walking. It is always so peaceful there.

 

 

Liz and I did two color runs for our dyeing project this week. Turquoise to purple worked well.

 

 

But the yellow to raspberry one is not as strong. I do like all the colors though.

 

 

 

Progress Report: Granite and Silver This work is 45″ X 42.5″. I really like how the Silver Maple leaves look on the granite background. This work is based on a photo from Adirondack Life magazine.

 

This work is also my entry for the Associated Artist show at the Manlius Public Library.

 

Enamel Beetles I made more beetles this week. I think I am ready to start stitching them down.

 

 

100 Days Wed was day 100.  So I am done with making parts now. I will put it all away for a while and let my mind rest on this project before I begin to sew the parts together.

 

Bare Trees I thought it would be fun to do a forest with many layers of trees in lighter and lighter shades of machine drawing.

Tattered Memories This quilt is made up of cut away parts from Granite and Silver. I am embellishing it with lots of beading now.

Pillow I have three  New Pillows Mola’s that are just setting in a drawer  Have become  pillows where they will be seen. I am  stuffing  them with the trimmings of quilts.

 

 

Childhood Memories- culture and fun

For all the sadness I felt about Grandfather’s death I quickly got bach into the swing of things. I usually worked two nights a week at the Student Center and I seemed to fill most of the other evenings too. I went to the Movies a lot that spring.  I saw “Thunder Ball” and “The Great Race” as well as the foreign films on Sunday afternoons that Ball State offered. I remember seeing “Knife in the Water” and “ Unicorn in the Garden” there. Margaret and I went to the “Sleeping Beauty Ballet”, “Barefoot in the Park” and “ My Fair Lady” at Emerson auditorium. The Drama Department at Ball State put on “ Three Penny Opera”, “Fantasticks” and “Under Milk Wood”. It was great.
Gene and I decided to take Scuba Diving Lessons at the YMCA with Phil Ritter, Mike’s older brother. I enjoyed it and learned enough to certified as did Gene. I went on to help Phil teach classes while I was in collage too. I went along on many diving trips over the summers in lakes in Indiana. The visibility was limited and there was lots of mud, but it was still enjoyable. Sometimes we went water skiing on those trips too. The buddy system really works! One time in the fall Phil and I went diving in a spring fed pool. He wanted some polls that he knew were on the bottom as he wanted to put roll bars on a car he was going to enter in a race at the local track. We worked at getting them untangles and up from the bottom. As we neared the end of the process, I took a breathe and no air was left in my tank. We were down more than one G so I knew I could not shoot to the surface without doing damage to my lungs!   I frantically shingled to Phil that I had on air. He took a deep breath and passed me his regulator were I gratefully took two lungs full before returning the regular to him. We grabbed the last poll and sharing his air slowly rose to the surface. I never was so frighted diving again. Phis said it was probably due to the extra effort we were exerting to get the polls untangled and up to the top. I only remember on other outstanding event to do with diving and that was the time went diving under the ice. After descending through the cut in the ice we could see farther then usual do to the calm water under the frozen surface. When we got close to the bottom we really stirred up the mud however. We followed out old bubble trail   from the under  side of the ice back to our cut opening. It was really cold when we climbed out and I remember how cold the area around my lips was and the small patch of skin between the mask and the hood of my wet suit felt frozen.
The next big event in my senior year was the Senior Prom – “ From Lillepops to Roses” was the theme.   I worked on decorations  and  made big Lollipops.     I asked Keith to go with me. Jon Walters asked me on the Monday before the dance, but Keith had accepted by that time so I went with him. Keith wore a white jacket and a bow tie. I had a dress with a white short sleeve top and a long pink skirt. I gave him a carnation boutonniere and he gave me a wrist courage of white carnations, surrounded by baby pink rose buds and leaves of pink. We danced many dances and hug out with kids form band at the  dance. We left a little early to go to the Pizza King and got a table under the willow in the Willow Room. We ate Pizza and had a good time along with friends. I got home at 3 AM and stay up to help Gene warp his papers for delivery that morning. Then I crashed and slept until noon on Sat.  Then  I ran off to help dismantle stuff from the dance. That was a bit sad, but clean up is part of the progress.

Stay safe
Carol

Break Up, Childhood Memories, Exploring Blue, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Ice on Vincent, Quilt Exploration Group (QuEGs), Shows

Warming?

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Hello,
The days are growing longer and the Snow Drops are up. I did  spot a Robin on my walk and heard one singing this morning. Spring is on its way.

 

 

 

I did lots of running around last week starting with the Art show at Cazenovia  College. Sharon is teaching there now so of course she is in the show. I like this mix of photo plate imagery and fiber work.

 

 

The RATs meant last Friday at Barbara’s again. It is good to get together and talk. This image is one of her newest works.

 

 

I had my opening at the Broad Street Gallery on Sat and it went well. I talked non stop for two hours and came home on a real high. I took photos of all of the work that is hanging and these are just a few of them as there are 49 works in the show.

 

 

 

 

 

This work is  Brier Patch.   

 

 

This work is called “Ice on Vincent St.”

 

 

 

The first Tuesday of the month was this week so the QuEG’s group meant too. Corrine is going great guns with her books. Her leather is so soft.

Sue Ellen had three works to share. This is a One Block Wonder table runner that she made.

 

 

 

Them FAD meant here yesterday. Sharon is nearing the end of her work on number seven in this commission. Lots to look at in this work.   Sharon has done a good job hiding lots of little images under and around the plant life in this work.

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: SAQA 10X10 Because I did not have big stretches of time to work this week I did lots of little clean up and small tasks. This is my entry for the SAQA auction for this year.

 

 

Bags Plastic bags have now been banned in New York state. My friend Elizabeth asked me if I would make a few from some apolstry samples that she had collected. These are the 5 I have finished. There is a stack of yet to be completed ones too.

Scarves I had so much fun making these that I have made more. I gave away three at the RATs meeting on Friday and then four more at the FAB meeting yesterday. I also gave one to a neighbor who admired one that I was working on. It is fun to use up little bits and pieces of leftover yarns from various projects. I have made possible collections of yarn combos for at least two more . I am loving having the space in my yarn bin too.

 

 

 

 

 

Exploring Blue I gave this work a little attention this week. There is so much happening on the surface that I feel I need add more contrast to make it work.

 

 

 

 

Break Up I like the idea of this work- but I am very unsure of what I am doing so it is not going anywhere at the moment.

 


New Work This is my beginning work on Regina’s second “trade and finish ”  challenge piece.  The pink painted fabric is hers.

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories -Building the house in Carroll

We moved into the basement of the house in Carroll as soon as it was habitable. The house was built into a hillside with three terraces in the back. The front south east corner was level with the top of the hill. By the time the  yard reached the north west corner of the house one could walk out the basement door onto a patio that was surround by  rock walls on two sides. The rocks were carted in from the farm where the twins lived. The walls also head back the soil on those two sides. There were also two terraces on the north east side that did the same to hold the soil back from the drive into the garage.
I remember Mom, Dad and Grandpa laying black and white tiles in the big room in the basement  and building a long set of cabinets on the north wall of the great room in there. The fun part was the special banister they built along the stairs. It was designed so we could slide down it with ease. I even learned how to do that slide in a  side saddle fashion .
I recall the day they came and pored the cement for the drive too. The forms were all set and Dad and another man used a big long 2″X 4″ to level the drive. They started at the edge of the opening for the garage and worked out to the where that part of the drive meant the strait run. Then they started at the street and kept sliding the board back and forth past the section to the garage and all the way to the end of the drive. Dad let Gene and I make hand prints in the cement at the far west end of that turn around section of the drive.
Grandpa Howard was our electrician. He and Mom built cornices for all the windows in the living room and they installed indirect lighting behind them. They found some cool new light switches with rocker plates in them. One day Grandpa broke one of those switches and there was a bit of mercury in it. The living room floor was done in oak boards that had been sanded but not yet sealed . The afternoon after the break when  I got home from school,  Gene and I had little races down the living room floor with our balls of mercury. We finally used it to shine up some pennies and a couple of dines. I don’t remember that the shine stayed too long. After lots of sanding Mom and Grandpa sealed the north wall of the living room and installed a photo mural of the Tetons. It made a great statement in that room.  We took lots of photos in front of it over the years we lived there.

Take good care and enjoy Spring.

Keep Creating

Carol

 

Animals, Childhood Memories, Fox in the Rocks, Old and New - Purple and Blue, QBL- Quilting By the Lake, Quilt Exploration Group (QuEGs), Shows

Full Summer

Hello,
It has been a quiet week here with a few events thrown in for spice.

 

 

 

 

I hung a dozen works at the Oaks for the on   Saturday .    Then on  Sunday I went to Marcia’s to Percilla’s Sale. The flowers are from Marcia’s garden.

I purchased a few Jackets and got this wonderful applique from Gautama that Percilla had purchased on one of her trips.    I love this little bat.

 

 

 

 

Tues was the QuEG’s meeting and folks had a lot to share. This is a work that Victoria made and gave to Susan.    They were working with hand  painted    silk organs.

 

 

 

They were in Micky Laure’s class and Susan purchased this piece at the scholarship auction by the teacher.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is Susan’s work from the class.

 

 

 

 

 

Corrine is off to Ghost Ranch for a workshop and she made these leather journals for her self and her daughter for that trip.

 

 

 

 

Sue Ellen did this commission of one of the lakes in the Adorancks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linda made this nice bed sized quilt at QBL . It is from a Jelly Roll with the dark blue added for contrast.

 

 

Angela is taking a class on line dealing with hand stitching.  This is one of nine squares she has done for one of the first three units  of this class.

 

 

They are only using strait stitches with different spacing and yarn thicknesses.   Here are two more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Fox in the Rocks This work is 27″ w

X 39.5″ t.    I started it in the  Rock On class with Cynthia Corbin  and finished it this week. I used some of the techniques from Betty Busby’s class to create the fox.  The painting and the use of colored pencil to create detail are from that class.

 

 

 

 

There are several more form this class that I am working on now too.

The cheese cloth texture  is some I painted earlier this spring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bee Blouse I loved this shirt but it had a bad spot on it and I thought I would save it by covering up the spot. I had purchased bee appliques from Amanda Mc Carver at QBL and thought to use them.

 

 

 

I though three bees were not enough so I made some myself and some lady bugs too.   The bees are on the shirt and the lady bugs were used  to cover a tear on my new blue jeans.   This shot is of the insects drying after I washed out the wash away.

 

Blue Jeans
They do the trick I’d say.

 

 

 

 

Feathers I made the fabric for the feathers in Betty’s class and she cut them out on her stencil machine. They are fused the fabric and I am building a quilt around them.

 

 

 

 

 

Old and New- Purple and Blue

I keep adding the new hand stitching to the blocks and I can see the end now. There are only four more blocks to do. It takes about 15 min to do each one so this project will be done with this phase by next week.

 

 

 

Beaded Bag I came across this old project while looking for a piece of fabric. I could not remember when I had started it, but I knew it was long ago so I started the neck unit. This little red tab is what an hour will do- so now I know why I put it aside.

 

 

 

Childhood Memories; Saturday’s in 6th grade.
My allowance when I was in 6th grade was $.75.         $.25 of that went into the Skippy Peanut Butter jar bank. That was saving for a $25.00 savings bond. The rest was for spending.
My best friend was Julie and her parents owned the local roller skating  rink. It cost $25 cents to get in and .25 for sake rental so that is what how I spent my allowance. I loved the Limbo and the Hokey Poky.         Julie was the first person I had meant with a birth defect. Her second finger did not have the last digit and she had a very small fingernail growing out the top of it. She was an excellent skater and the first Sat of every month she went off to  competitions.   So on the Saturdays when she was not at the rink I did not go rollerskating.    I went  instead to movies with Gene and Lee.    $ .25 admission and $.10 for popcorn. That allowed for a nickel for a  Slim Jim- a Camel Taffy on a stick that took the whole afternoon to consume. The remaining   dine   was spent for ice cream on the walk home from the theater. We saw a lot of old westerns and had a good time.  I had always blown my whole  spending  allowance by Saturday evening.

Keep Creating

Carol