Hello,
I hope everyone is doing as well as can be expected in this time of high stress for all of us. I continue to see signs of spring and enjoy them as they come.    We had snow on Monday and Tuesday.    Then   the sky was so very blue yesterday it made me smile as we  walk in the 54 degree weather.     More trees are budding every day as this red bud attests.    This time of year is full of surprises.
I participated in a Zoom meeting this week. It was good to just talk with my friends and see there faces. I continue to work in my studio and enjoy the process.

Progress Report: Tiles One of the things I have been trying to do is explore with old Quilting Arts Magazines. The article was by Julie Hirota in the Oct Nov 2007 issue 29, is the source for this project. I think it falls very short as a final piece as there is so little contrast. The techniques of attaching pieces with grommets, I find very frustrating and time consuming. It took me 15 min to attach each one. But as my father often said one can not expect success on the first try of something new. In thinking about the idea I may try the tiles again and use lace as the connections.

Flower Vase This work is 16″ w X 20″ t. I did this work in response to the suggestions from Textile Artists community stitching challenge. Ann Kelly was the woman directing this phase of the challenge. I adapted it as I usually do. I use this project to explore different ways to make flowers. Using old linens as a vase was her suggestion and I really like that idea.

I went on to use old crochet flower forms on my piece. Then I did yo-yo’s as the centers for the blue flowers that have daisy  stitches for the petals. The big pink flowers are made from some trim that I had in my collection. I ended up stretching it to give it a stronger final presentation.

Granite This work is also 16″ w X 20″ t. This work has served as my hand work project for the last few months. I am pleased with how I feel it depicts the granite that I based it on. I now intend to start the 100 days challenge as my hand work.

Scrap Happy This is a queen sized bed quilt. I like to use up scarps and that is how this piece began. It is only the most recent in along line of pieces of the same type. They all go to worthy causes or folks who I feel need them.

Scrap Happy new I started a new one as soon as the last on was complete as I had made the squares earlier this year. There are at least two more quits like these  in the near future.

Red Winged Black Birds This is my newest bit of thread painting. I finished the machine work yesterday and now they are pinned to the board ready to have the wash-a – way removed from them.

Heroin I worked on this piece of thread painting at the same time as the other birds. I only now need to finish the legs and the beak and it too will be ready for the wash out step.   The wash-away has not been trimmed from this piece.

Pattering I started this work in January when I was caring for Susan. It only resurfaced a few days ago. It will get some attention now.

Mayan series –  Leopard Priest  I made on Mayan piece a few months ago and it received such a lot of positive feedback that I thought I would make a few more. This is the drawing and enlargement for that project. The orange fabric will be the background.

Mini   I have also been playing with small little works.  This is one of the first.

Drawing I did a little more drawing this week. The two on the same page are from Designs in Nature  a book published  by Dover.

This drawing of a spring branches, is from life.

Childhood Memories – Serious about Camping

In the spring near the end my third grade my family got a new car. It was a white Ford Station wagon with brown plastic seats that had brands all over them. I remember the circle X and the Bar BQ most vividly. Dad had to purchase a woven wire seat that he sat on because the plastic made him sweat in the summer time. Dad also got busy building at that time a wonderful car top carrier. It was made of plywood that was 2.5 ft tall at the front end and tapered to six inches at the back. There was a hinge a few feet back form the front so items could be stored in that area and easily accessed. Beyond the hinge , Mom made canvas sides and aback panel
that allowed the back to open up, but still  be protected from the weather  inside. Dad also made a ladder that could be placed on the back of the car so Gene and I could climb up into the carrier and sleep there.   We stored all of the family sleeping bags with the air mattresses fully inflated in the   car top carrier back area during the day and removed Dad’s and Mom’s bags at night and put them in the bottom of the wagon with the seats down. We all slept comfortably with this arrangement well into my college years. Dad also built two sturdy wooden boxes to store our food as well as 4 nested metal plates, cups and pans that had removable handles. Mom painted the carrier and the boxes white. There was also a Coleman Lantern and Coleman Stove for cooking.    Both of those ran on white gas and had to be pumped up for use.   We were set for years of great camping experiences with all this great equipment.    All this  preparation was  for Dad’s Summer job as a seasonal Forest Ranger at  the Tetons National Park.
We set out for the Park as soon as school was out that spring. Gene and I both had a suit case of course and we were allowed a small collection of toys. I took my 7″ doll and her clothes, jacks , papers and crayons. Gene took a new hatchet he had been given and his football.
We started out driving west on highway 30 out of Carroll in the early morning. As soon as we reached the Iowa boarder we drove north along the Missouri  River before turning west again in South Dakota. We hit many of the attractions along the way. I remember passing lots of “tourist traps” and a coffee shop built of cast concrete that was shaped like a coffee pot. We stopped and got gas at a Sinclair station that had a life sized green dinosaur on a little rise to the west of the station. We did stop at Wall Drug Store after reading the many Burma -Shave like signs that were along the highway. We drove into the Badlands. They were so barren compared to the green of home, but held a special beauty all their own.   I know we   went to the Black Hills and Badlands on other trips with the Bell family, Grandpa Howard and Grandmother Ruth.   On that trip we did a lot of exploring and fossil hunting in the Badlands.   I just do not know what age I was for that experience.     I do know it was not a  part of this adventure to the Tetons as we had a time dead line.   The next stop   on our trip was Mt Rushmore. I was quite surprised at the size of those of those heads. I remember being impressed with the modern lunch room and visitors center. I had warm prideful feelings years later when I saw the film “North by Northwest”. We then drove on to Wind Cave and stopped and did the tour. I was awe struck by the amazing block crystal formations on the ceiling of that cave. We continued west crossing Wyoming. I am sure we stopped somewhere along the way and camped with our new equipment, but I am not sure where. I do recall the long haul up the east side of the Continental Divide.   It seemed to be  just a long up hill drive with a few descents and then more up with no real view of what we were about to see.  There were lots of trees and no real views.    But when we crossed  the top and there was a wonderful view of the Tetons. We drove down into the valley and into the park. I am sure we went to the main headquarters first but I can’t say I remember it. I do remember  the wonderful summer at the camp ground at Colter Bay, however, and I will tell some of those stories next.

Please take good care of yourself and keep Creating

Carol