Category Archives: Trees

Cherry Blossom Time, Crow Calls, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Label Blocks, Pods, Samurai Romance, Starfish, Still Life

Moving Forward

April 13, 2017 admin

Hello,

I am enjoying the unfolding of spring here. There are lots of buds and birds. I went to the Towpath Quilt Guild quilt show on Friday.

My friend Noel’s quilt looked great as did many others. I enjoyed the show and saw many friends too. It was inspired to go home and work in the studio.

FAB had a meeting on Monday and Nancy show us this label that she programed for her Mom’s Blue Bird quilt. It looks good to me.

Progress Report: Cherry Blossom Time This work is 39” X 35”. I created it from the branch that was left over from the Blooming Branch project. It was too dark for that work so this one was born. The branch was created from the sleeve of a wool jacket that I then built up with two different yarns.

There area 61 blossoms on this quilt. I made the centers from silk paper that I cut in circles and then stitched down with long French Knots.

Flag-Starfish This is my newest flag from the Susan Challenge. The text on this piece is machine writing in the section on the bottom.

Pods These are the newest completed pods. I am enjoying the embellishing step as I get to use lots of beads sequins and pearls with this project. I cut six more felt embellished units this morning so there will be more in the future.

Crow Calls This project is a reworking of a completed quilt. I built up the trees and stitched them to the quilt. Now I am adding the crows. They are cut from suede that is then free motion stitched down. I added twenty five birds yesterday.

Samurai Romance I have been following the suggested techniques in Stitch, Fiber, Metal and Mixed Media. I have not purchased any new materials to do this project, but adapted what I have on hand to do the projects. This week I applied foil to thick interfacing and then did free motion machine drawing on top to create the flowers. The centers are glass beads.

Still Life This work is an experiment. I have been making silk paper for a while and for this project I made the silk in the flower shapes instead of the sheet form. Now I am stitching them down.

Ice I have started adding the leaves to this project. This week I made leaves out of copper. They are embossed with a blunt pencil. This first one is trapped under a bit of “ice” and I like the effect. The other one isset to be in the water section of the work. It may need netting too but I do not know at this time. I also want to also add some fabric leaves too.

New Works This is a started build up for a new work. There is a minimum of free motion machine work on this piece at this time. It is based on a photo of a rock face. This is a second pin up for another new work. It is based on another section of the same rock face- with a different color base

Top I fell in love with this piece form Guatemala. he hand work is beautiful. But it is far too short for me and I wanted the sides closed. So I have started altering it to work as a top for me.

Label Block #115 #116

I got inspired and did two blocks this week. I also cut 15 more black squares to complete the top.

Keep Creating,

Carol

Bee Happy, Blossoming Branch, Crow Calls, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Flag Challenge, Label Blocks, llegado

Home again

March 30, 2017 admin 1 Comment

Hello-

I am home from my trip to Florida. I had a good time and enjoyed my stay with Susan. We got up with the sun and went to the shore to see it rise. She and I worked on rust dyeing and I came home with a nice selection. Jim took this great photo of me holding one of my rust creations. We went to his home one night and drew all evening too. I will do a tutorial of the process rust and post it by next week. This shot is of Susan across the table at drawing on Tues.

Chris Winter visited on afternoon and we did image transfers with Citra Solv .

Through out the week we cut stencils and made flags with them. Now all I need to do is the finish up on all fifteen of them. They all need text of some sort because that was the main challenge to begin with. I will put the two I have completed in the progress report section. We worked away very day and the time flew bye. I came home to find ice and snow still remaining from the storm that dumped 24” before I left. This shot is of the sky light in the airport.

Monday I went off to visit with my friend Angela. She did a special demonstration for me of how to use pre felt. I now feel I know a lot more about how to use my roving and felt more effectively. She is a good teacher. I am sure the processes will be a part of future works.

This morning the FAB gals meant at my house. Nancy has finished the top of her quilt for her mom. It is beautiful. The colors make one feel so summery and warm. We will get together and pin baste it in the near future. Judy is still knitting away on her red sweater. She is working on the arm wholes now , so the end is in sight.

Progress Report: Flags 1 Bee Happy This is the fist flag I finished. I did most of it in Florida and only added the sleeve here at home.

Flag 2- Llegado I added the tabs and the beaded fringe on the bottom of this one to make it long enough to fit the size we agreed upon. Llegado is Spanish for alight.

Blooming Branch All the blossoms are stitch down now. I am working on the hand quilting step of this project. I did not add enough wind lines with the machine for me to feel it is stable . So I am outlining things in the background by hand.

Summer Meadow This work is nearly done now. I added the daises and little yellow flowers to the surface . All the work was done from the back side of the work with extra thick threads in the bobbin. Another new machine process that I will add to my tool box of techniques for use in the future.

Crow Calls I thought I was ready to add these trees to the surface of the quilt. But when I started pinning them up, it became apparent that the black trees are too dark. The crows will be lost in them if I do not build up more browns and grays into the black trees. So there is work ahead for this week on this project. I think the wash away partly obscured this problem until this point.

Samurai Romance I am adding the beads around the outside of the leaf panels for this project. That and the Turkey Work stitches take lots of time. This panel is done the other similar one does not have any hand work yet. It is smaller then thisfist pannel.

New Ice I started a new ice piece this week. I took a lot of photos of the ice forming in Xavier wood and this one had leaves sticking up through the ice and snow. I want to try to capture/show them with this piece. I have some ideas, so stay tuned.

Label Blocks # 111, #112,#113

The one thing I have completed in the last three weeks is my label blocks. But I did discover that when I laided them out that 120 blocks will not be enough to cover the bed without sashing. I do not like that idea so I will cut 25 more black squares and add labels to them before I put the top together.

Keep Creating.

Carol

Deep Jellies, Felt Work, Garden Gate, Generational Whispers, Going Deep, Label Blocks, Natural Elements, Sweetheart Tree, Trees

Preparations

July 14, 2016 admin

Hello,

This week has been a quite one and most of my efforts have gone toward preparation for two weeks of Quilting By the Lake. That begins on Sunday. But I begin helping with the hanging of the quilt show on Friday. I will be taking a dyeing class the first week so I have spent a lot of time pulling things together for that and soda soaking fabric. I am looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones. There will be no blog post for the next two weeks do to my classes. The next post will be Aug 4.

Progress Report: Generational Whispers

I put in a lot of time on this piece this week. I started out by taking Gwen off and re drawing her. Then I put her on again. There are still some stitching wholes, but I will remove them with water.

The I went forward to add Wendy and Alexis. I am going to rework Alexis a bit so I will not show her at this time.

Garden Gate The quilting step is going along nicely now. he paper patters help me keep the size correct with this one. I can also add the design beyond the print on the fabric with the paper stencils. They are made of paper and getting rather shabby now. It is a good thing I only need to make two more copies of them before I begin the fill in quilting.

Sweetheart Tree This is the saved work I started altering last week. With the quilt work complete the piece got its blossoms. The plan it to add beads in the green and blue to the centers. That will add another texture and build a focal point in each flower.

Deep Jellies The hand quilting is going slowly forward on this piece. It has been too nice out doors in the evening to set inside and watch TV so I do not put much time in on it.

Going Deep This felted work in building nicely. It is the only one with a title too so that is why it is listed separately. This is still a very early stage.

Wool Work This piece is nearly complete. I have not formulated a title for it however. That will happen before I stretch it.

Wool work III . Again no title yet. This one is at the adding fabric on top stage. They are mostly just pined in place. The two greens hanging off the bottom are possibilities.

Wool work IV is still at step one without any fabric added at all.

Label Blocks #68 and #69 I tried to get a head on this project this week as I know I will not be around to do this type of hand work.

Keep Creating

Carol

Blue Stone, Columbus Junction, Ice on Vincent, Label Blocks, Machine Drawing, Memory Map Quilts, One for Me, Two for You

Spring Changes

April 28, 2016 admin

Hello,

This week has been a quiet one with not a lot of activates. I have done a lot of work on the computer and getting ready for shows and such and put in alot of time in the studio. But beyond on that I have mostly enjoyed the rapid transformation that Mother Nature is doing to the plants. The grass is so much greener. As the leaves unfurl the long views of the neighborhood are cutting down. There is a wonderful feeling of being surrounded/ hugged by the natural world around me. Every day there are more buds opening and green things sprouting. I love it.

Progress Report: Two for You, One fore Me

I pulled out this work started by Ethel and worked away on it this week. The two trees; center and right were created by Ethel and I added the one on the left for balance. They were all bare trees at the beginning of the week and as the outside world added foliage so too did I.

Ice on Vincent I put in a lot of time on this work this week. Thread painting is a very slow process but I so like how it looks. It is another form of texture to me. I only started adding the ice yesterday. Fortunately I have several types of organza to build with so I can make the surface look similar to the photo I am working from.

Blue Stone This work also involves lots of thread work so it too is still in the building stage. Again I am adding lots of ribbon, nylon netting, organza and thread texture to the surface of the piece.

Memory Map: Columbus Junction This work also got attention this week. It is also a slow process as I do the machine drawing of specific events and things on this project. I tried drawing myself as a six year old on tissue paper and then following that lines on the sewing machine. It took several tries to get a image I am half way happy with. I added the nylon netting on the ballet skirt because I remember how very scratchy it was. The little matching skirt on my doll is lost in all the netting though. I had better luck drawing directly on the organza and then stitching on the lines like on the child climbing the slide. This morning I did drawing and painting on the organza to create the wild flowers I remember being so abundant around that house. I will stitch them down using black thread and they will be a lot easier to see I think. I am sure I am not the first to try to adding this type of detail to my work. I just am inventing as I do not know of any other way to find out what works.

Scrap Happy I did work on this project to balance out the careful intense work of the first three mentioned here. I have made so many of these quilts that I do not even need to think much when I am working on them. Some times I need that type of work.

Along the Shore When I finished the tree project I went back into the UFO Ethel box and pulled out this photo she had transferred to fabric. The I read an article in the April May issue of Quilting Arts about a way to Make a Mixed-Media Landscape , and thought I would try that technique with the photo.This is what I have so far. I need to do some hand work on the surface now.

New Project A possible title for this work is Wine and Cheese as the colors suggest that to me. It is in the very early stage. Again it is a process that I know well and I needed to begin this to help balance off all the machine drawing that Ice and Blue Stone require.

Label Block #49 They just seem to keep getting there little bits of attention and in doing so get completed.

Keep Creating

Carol

One last spring thing. May Apples

Columbus Junction, Ethel's Trees, Green Grass of Spring, Label Blocks, Memory Map Quilts, Out the Window, Second Wall, Stretch Works, Stretched Works, Truquoise Street Studio, Uncategorized, Watakoo Wall

Spring get away

March 31, 2016 admin 1 Comment

Hello,

Before I left for Florida I was a part of a second show at Turquoise Street Studio on the week end. I even sold a piece and I am thrilled by that. Barbara is so kind to share her studio with us and help us all benefit from that experience.

The photos tells the story of how I started many of my days when I visited Susan and Carolyn in Florida. The sun rises were wonderful. The light was truly “golden” as Barbara says. A big reason for my trip was to see their show. I went through the door and was stopped short by the visual impact. There was so very much to see I could not get myself started. I think I was fortunate to have seem some of the work before or I think I could have been truly overwhelmed. In trying to decide my favorite I was struck by the variety and the powerful use of color. I really like this altered Barbie that has become a god. Carolyn’s Swing Clocks with the moving feet made me smile too. This picture is only two of seven different variations that were presented. Some works were small and intimate and others were bigger than life size like this red dress. I liked Susan’s piece that was based on Little Red Riding Hood too because it had so many parts that were all fascinating all by them selves and also worked together. It was a full and delightful experience for me. We went to the building next to the gallery and saw a second exhibit of the works of the collage faculty and staff. I was taken by this wonderful small weaving. Susan told my it was by the director of the gallery were their work was on display.

Susan and I worked in the studio every day too. This shot is of Susan painting on Tyveck for her project for the Diva 15 Show. We worked with wood and fabric as well and had a lot of fun. We went for a morning at the beach as our way of celebrating Easter. The day was a perfect one for our ramble with a clear blue sky, white sands, crisp ocean smells and a cool breeze.

I found so many fascinating patterns and textures that I took over 75 pictures. But I decided that this shot of Cyprus stumps is my favorite. They almost look like they could walk the shore them selves. I had a great visit.

Progress Report: Watakoo Wall This is another in my stretch works. I am getting better at trimming back the corners enough that they lay flat now. It seems I learn a new trick with every one of these projects. I put lots of fabric bits on the surface as I build up the effect I am after. This one even has some “plastic twist” on it to give it a bit of a punch. It has silk paper as a part of the texture and color as well.

Second Wall This work is a partner to Watakoo Wall. Both are from the same photo, but a very different part of the rock face. This is a very early stage and I am sure it will grow and change as I work on the surface. It seems to cry out for some light at the moment.

Out My Windows I am to the fun stage of the work on this piece. I am doing the free motion drawing part and I always enjoy that step. I did all the dark purple squares yesterday afternoon. They are all night views across the roof tops showing the bare trees.

Green Grass of Spring This work is another of the pieces that is based on a collage. It grew and changed a lot as I enlarged it from the 5”X7” card I did the collage on. I did try to keep the tones of light medium and dark in the same areas however. I have it layered together and it is ready for the quilting. I am just looking and thinking about that step at the moment as I have no real clear idea of how I want to do that.

Memory Maps:Columbus Junction I started this work after talking with Susan before I went off to Florida. She mentioned how much she liked one of the other Memory Map works and I realized that I had not done all the pieces I wanted to do in that series. So after checking my list of possible subjects I selected Columbus Junction the home that I lived in from Kindergarten to the end of third grade. Then I did a list of possible subjects and began some drawings. I built my base and then started working on top. This shot is of the map section with our house being the square with the blue roof. This shot is of the upper right hand corner of the work.

Ethel’s Trees I inherited lots of Ethel’s unfinished work and this is one. I am sure I will not not put my stamp on all of her pieces, but using it as a starting point is a good challenge for me. This started out as only the brown tree painted on the white cloth. I added the gray painted “wonder under” to build up the land and then found this second Ethel cut tree yesterday. I need to live with this work to know were to go from here. The gray tree is not stitched down so it may move before I fuse it down.

Label Block # 45 I worked on this as I waited for the connections flying back and forth. I did not want to get behind while I was away and the activity does not require a lot of attention and its small so it travels well. Susan gave me a new batch of labels so I have more to work with.

I am going off to Chicago to the Quilt Festival and a visit with my Friend Sharron Evens on Wed next week so there will be no posting for April 7. It will be another double shot when I get back.

Keep Creating,

Carol

Acanthite, Caramelized, New Iris, Oak Leaves, Out of the Dark, Out the Window, Pomegranate, Red Nebula, Yellowstone

Realisations

November 20, 2014 admin 1 Comment

Hello,

I feel so Positive when I think about my work. I did a solo trunk show yesterday for the North Syracuse Art Guild titled

” Your Art /My Art”. In that lecture/ trunks show, I compared my work to the many styles and types of work that the members use. In doing so I really realized how much I draw from the other art categories to get my ideas across. I draw directly on the fabric with pencils, crayons and markers. I use my machine as a drawing tool too. I Paint with acrylic,water color and dye on the surface when I need to create a special effect. I print on the surface using silk screens, stamping and stencils to get images I want on the work. I use some weaving techniques like felting, silk papers and frapping. I often use collage techniques to build up my surfaces with

Red Nebula 18" X 24" — Red Nebula
18″ X 24″

textures and transparencies and different already textured fabrics like velvet and satins. I even embellish with old jewelry on occasion. I am thankful that I get to use from all the different art areas to full fill my creative drive. I realized too that I have been using my experiences and interests to fuel my work for most of my life. Doing a presentation like this is a good way to reflect and re evaluate oneself.

Oak Leaves 45" X 30" $ 350.00 — Oak Leaves
45″ X 30″
$ 350.00

I now have the monster job of returning all the work back into the category packs that I store them in. I feel so very thankful that I am working in so many ways to fulfill my creative ideas.

Acanthite: Foundations XXIV 18" X 23" $ 150.00 — Acanthite: Foundations XXIV
18″ X 23″
$ 150.00

Progress Report: Acanthite :Foundation 24 This quilt is went together very quickly for me. This stone added some problems as some of the areas where a sold white. I wanted to be sure to use velvet and now whale corduroy on this work to show the wonderful textures they add to the surface. There were also lots of cracks on the surface that added interest to this one.

This shot also shows some of the chenille yarn( dark green) and some silk paper( blue- near the top).

Broadcasting I am enjoying doing the hand work on this piece. Most of the saxaphone pads are stitched down now and I am adding beads and french knots to the surface. I have added some reflective quilting to the surface too. This work is going along well at the moment with each actions leading to the next.

Yellowstone The ease that Broadcasting is a great contrast with my slow process on this work. I think I finally have the map portions the correct size and location. I will do the paint step for that and then I will move forward. I also realized that the piece is too pale. Yellowstone has lots of forest and I want to project that feel too so I pulled out dark green organza ( pinned to the left) and adding that will help me go forward I hope.

The Blues This work just needs time as the hand work is a slow thing. I am playing with three of different types of stitches- the chain stitch, the blanket stitch and the fly stitch. I am varying the size of the stitches to add interest.

Caramelized This is a new work that is still in the shifting and pinning stage. I melted the Tyvec that I painted in the fall colors last week, with the iron between sheets of parchment paper. The melt results are so much fun because they are uncontrollable. Mixing them with silk paper makes me think of carmel and melting butter. That is were the title came from. I am enjoying the play.

Keep Creating

Carol

Daily's, Foundation XV New Direction, Mia's Tee shirt quilt, Trees, Wind Fall

Flowers April 17, 2014

April 17, 2014 admin 1 Comment

Hello,

Spring is teasing us here in central New York. It was so very nice and warm for three days and then we had a cold day that ended in a snowstorm. I am waiting for my spring flowers to appear. The day that it snowed I took matters into my own hands and spent the day with Noel in her studio along with several others and we made our own flowers. (look back two weeks to see Noel and Victoria’s first ones) It always amazes me how we human beings fliter and apply our own tastes to the same processes. These red, pink and purple blossems are Cheri’s and the black, tan and white ones are Noel’s. We all took the same basic materials and techhniques but treated them with our own unique “stamp”. Noel showed us how to create several types of flowers and then turned us loose. Victoria, like Noel had made flowers before, she cheerfully tried a complex rose type flower where each petal is made indavigaly. I can hardly wait to see how everyone finishes her necklace. I was so excited by the processes that I kept making more flowers for the next two evenings. I am sure I will have two or three necklaces even if I stopped with what I have. I did take the time to lay out one possible combination. It needs small additions like beads and buttons. I just keep thinking of more ways to play with these ideas. And recalling things I did not try yet like yoyo flowers that Cherri did. It sure was a wonderful way to combat the snow falling outside that day!

Progress Report: Foundations XV –New Direction I am still struggling with this project. I have added to the sides to pull away from the square format. Then this morning when I hung it on the wall- “What If” – hit and I turned it 45 degrees to the right and I liked it better- and even more so when I added to the those two sides as well. I try to always be open to what is happening while I am designing and wonderful things can happen. I will push myself to do the remaining work on this one over the next few days.

New Work I am still playing with this newest member of the Foundation series. This one does not seem to know what way is up yet either- but I am enjoying the process. I do think I will leaves this one in a basic square format even though I am trying to go beyond that idea. It is holding it’s own without that challenge.

Grove I am making progress here too. All the trees now have their horizontal branches. I have them all connected to one another but I feel that it is almost too much to take in visually. The blue below the trees is too busy as well, so I plan to remove it and try again. I just don’t know what will work until I try it sometimes.

Mia’s Quilt These green and blue pieces are my prepations for the back of Mia’s Tee shirt quilt. I am building the units and when they are big enough I will assemble them into the big back. It is a fun process from my point of view.

Daily’s I am finding time to do my Daily’s too. They are starting to really pile up.

Think Spring and Keep Creating

Carol

Daily's, Electric, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Out the Window, Stencels, Trees

Spring Warmth April 10, 2014

April 11, 2014 admin

Hello,

Spring is really here! I went for my walk today with out a coat. I even ate my lunch on the patio today. It was around seventy and the sun was shinning. It made me feel glorious.

I had a busy week end as I took at three day workshop with Carol Soderlund( www.carolsoderlund.com) called Waxing Eloquent. It was about how to use soy wax and build up layers of dye on fabric to create great depth. We had a grand time and the three days flew by. In this first shot the teacher is holding my experimental piece. I had tried this before several years ago and I am more excited about it on this second attempt. I sewed the prepared fabric with to two layers of batting and normal thread on the top and a wash away( water soluble ) thread in the bobbin. Then I painted the soy wax on the “mountains” of the project and painted the dye in the valley’s. ( the work is at that stage in this first photo.) We all brought along a big supply of tools to apply the soy wax to the fabric. I enjoyed the old calulator plastic and the empty spool a lot. After the wax was dry we applied the dye to the fabric . This shot is of Linda who was setting across the table from me. We worked all afternoon at adding wax and color to the pieces we had started. This shot is of my pin wall in the middle of the afternoon. By the end of that first day the floor of the room looked like a magic carpet shop where the pieces “batched” all night long. We then added more soy wax to the surface. Things were really getting lucious at this point. This piece is by a new friend, Peg. The big circles in the wax were created with a sponge that had a hole cut in the middle. To fully use the dye, Carol had us layer the fabric in two and three stacks. I folded over several of my pieces and so I had softer second pieces and there was much less dye to mop up when the pieces were picked up off the plastic sheets.

There is a little problem with the water soluable thread- the dye also causes the thread to disolve. So before I put on the second layer of wax I had to cover the valley area of the surface to keep the white.

There are several ways to remove the soy wax from the fabrics. One is to iron the fabric between two pieces of newspaper and this should always be done first. This process was done with my work and then it was placed in a boiling kettle of water. All the milky color is the soy wax in the pot rising to the top. The water is then carefully poured out of the pot and the fabric is ready for a hot was in the machine. It is OK to pore the water soy mixture down the drain because the soy wax is a natural product and will bio degrade. I was surprised by the color change. This photo shows some fabric( at the top that did not have the color washed out and the thread is still attached) and the bottom is the final color of the washed and ironed fabric. The green color came from the blue dye added over the yellow dye of the day before. It will still be a fun piece to do hand stitching work on top of.

This shot shows several of the fabrics that I washed out at home on Monday.

Then on Wed I went off to visit my friend Ethel and we did more soy wax work. She has a wonderful electric Jaunting tool and I used it on just about all the pieces I worked on yesterday. I wrote several bits of poetry as well as drew with the tool. Great fun! They are still batching and will be on the blog next week. Ethel is working on a wonderful piece on her pin wall. It is about 50″ wide and 60″ long at this point. I love the intense colors she is playing with here.

Then the FAB group meant at my house this morning. Patti is doing this wonderful portrait of her mom. She is still in the building stage without any of the pieces stitched down, but I am impressed. She told us she is using the front and back of some of her fabric to get the tones and shades to match her photo.

Then we did a little work with the silk screen so the gals could get the hang of using acrylic that was thinned with GAC 900. ( a Golden product especially made for use with fabric.) It was also a chance to play with a deconstruced screen as I had used Elmer’ s school jell on the screen to create a pattern. These are Nancy’s prints. I will continue to print with the screen until the image is mostly gone and I can show the others the effect at our next meeting.

Electric 19.5 " X 31.5" $215.00 — Electric
19.5 ” X 31.5″
$215.00

Progress Report: Electric I finished this quilt last evening. All the stopping, changing direction and starting sewing quilting patters made this project take a lot longer to quilt then I expected. I used the images I had created with the silkscreen print as my inspiration. I started quilting around them first to get a feel for the shapes. After I had done this it was a bit easier to create similar shapes on my own in the other areas of the quilt. The fact that my machine as a needle down position for the stop helped with this process. But there still is a lot of quilt were the printed images is not avaiable for a guide.

Out the Window This is my solution to

the quilt that I cut in half two weeks ago. Last week I had decided to add the tree and I tried it in several locations before I decided on this final resting place. After I had stitched the wool tree to the quilt I loaded my bobbin with black embrodery thread, and drew in smaller branches from the back. The whole picture makes me think of looking out my friends window in Brookline where the next building was so close there was hardly any space between the two. But a young tree had grown up there anyway. The nine patch from the origional quilt looks like a near by window too, so it adds to that feel.

Foundations XV- New Directions I have been struggeling with this work for a while. When I took it to the Diva meeting last week Alice asked ” Why are you keeping these Foundations pieces square?” After considering that idea I have decided to try to alter the shape. Hense the new name on the end. Here is the process I am now trying to see if I can grow from an existing rectangle format.

First I add some additional Buckram in the shape I think I want to add. (I put the brown fabric behind so to allow the Buckram to show up.) Then I build up the fabrics on top being sure some crosses over the original surface and i sew it down as I normally do. I like the fact that this method allows me to change my mind a lot as I work. I already know I want to change the left hand side and the top edge. I will know better what the piece needs as I look at the progress.

Grove I did not do a lot of work on this project this week. There has been too many other things demanding my time. But one more unit was completed. It is also at the back of the stack of work pinned to the pin wall so I run out of time before I unearth it many a day. I only have one more tree to create here before I need to move onto the next step

New Work

I have pinned the fabric to the buckram for this new work. I have the detail to show that when I begin the stitching down of the piece I start near the center and do not totally finish even that area until later. That allows the work to change as I progress through the work. I had cut the buckram before I decided to try the new shape, so I will at least start out with is as it is and let the piece grow with the work.

Daily’s I seem to be doing more stitch work with the Daily’s as time goes along. It is still enjoyable and something that I look forward to every evening.

Keep Creating

Carol

Daily's, Diva Meetings, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Green Grow the Grasses, Grove, Hand work, Quilt Exploration Group (QuEGs), Scrap Happy Quilts, Smoke

Spring! April 3, 2014

April 3, 2014 admin

Hello-

Spring is finally showing it’s self her in central New York. Three days in a row of blue sky and sun shine! Tue and I spotted this garden full of spring flowers and it made me smile every time I thought of it all day long. Hurry for the new season! This week has been so very full of stimulation I, hardly know were to start. At the FAB meeting Patti showed us two scarves she had knitted to send off to be given to runners at the end of the Boston Marathon this year. They both were so very soft that I am sure they will be welcome gifts. Victoria had been to a little workshop that Noel is giving. They are playing off the ideas of the necklaces that Mackenzie- Childs sells. The catalogue in the background was the inspiration, and Victoria really put her own spin on it I think. The when I went to the Diva meeting last evening I found that Noel was the gal who is leading this play. She is giving up her rented studio and cleaning as well as trying to create a new workshop for herself. Everyone in both groups loves the idea, myself included so she has agreed to open her space and try a variation with several more of us. I am looking forward to that play day.

The QuEG’s meeting was in morning on Tuesday and there was lots of inspiration there too. We got to meet in Sue Ellen’s studio, always an inspiration place all by its self. She ” wowed” us with six new works! Like all of us she has lots of fabric and these two pieces were created from her first dyeing experience over 15 years ago. She says she did them to try out different quilting patters on similar tops. I think she proved her point.

Then there is the wonderful on going work by Sally. She does such amazing stuff with her embrodery machine. The birds just blew me away all by them selves. Then all the unique nine patch blocks on top were just wonderful too. In addition to that she had a pack of about a dozen 6″ cards that used smaller images. Each card was different and where she used varigated gray black and white thread for this card, many of the cards used different threads for different sections. She pushed the idea further water color pencils to add more color to these small wonders. She gets sure gets miles of usage out of her machine.

Liz is playing with retro fabrics and antique blocks that are six inches on a side. The fabrics and patters sure play together well and are a delight to look at. The small size means it is not overwhelming- but it will sure take a lot of blocks to finish the piece.

Barb is working on this colorful work for her grandson. The dark blue is denim- just the wright thing for a young boy. She is just starting to quilt in the areas around the zig-zag lines- the white is chalk that will disappear when that job is done.

Then there was the Diva meeting on Tuesday evening to add further delight to the eye.

Anne is pushing forward trying unique quilting patters with the works she showed last month. I really like how the horizotal varigated thread seems to disappear in places on this work. Class projects are great places to play with new ideas and explore.

Alice had yet another new wall book to share with us. This one is called We Love the Water. The bid bird is one she hand painted on black fabric. The loon and flying Canada Goose are both from commercial fabrics. I find the way she mixes thous two ideas amazing. Most of the time putting these two things together just does not quite meet the mark- but she does it flawlessly.

Noel is working with thin strips now. All the brown units that are cut on the biases sure add to the challenge here. I like the limited values that she uses here.

She also had a second larger top in this same vain with kits in some of the diamond shapes.

Cheri finished the wonderful work she shared with two mouths ago. She has added a lot of hand work to her canvas painted quilt Fiddle Heads. I really like this work!

The last of the three Scarp Happy quilts was picked up on Friday. It went to the local Public Television Station for their spring auction. I also gave them a small wall quilt. I have done this for years as I so believe in public broadcasting.

Progress Report: Green Grow the Grasses This pale spring quilt is now complete.

Green Grow the Grasses 23" X 32" $260.00 — Green Grow the Grasses
23″ X 32″
$260.00

It too makes me smile as I recall the joy of creating the stamped areas as well as all the free motion flower and leaf forms I put on the surface of this one.

I really feel the sewing machine has become a drawing tool for me. That has only come with years of doing the process, but I want to encourage everyone to keep doing it until it is a natural act for you too.

Smoke

This work was also completed this week. More than once I thought that I was done, and I would hang the work on the pin wall at the end of the day. Then when I would look at it with fresh eyes in the morning I would see easly what else was needed- more hand work for the most part. I had never quilted through silk before I tried this project and learned a lot doing so. I really like how the needle glides through the surface of the project.

I cut up an silk scarf that I had created years ago and was not what I would call a success. All the dark and gray areas are a part of that project. I like the result here.

Grove I am still working on the insertion process. I only have one more tree to add the branches to and then I will start the stumps and setting. I may shuffle the parts I have created too. But I make those visual decisions by looking at the subject.

New Work This is the top half of the work I was considering cutting apart last week. It was not working as it was so I cut it. The black tree is just pinned in place. I did try several other placements before I settled on this one. Again the visual decisions was made visually. I have quilted in the ditch the background sections of this work and plan to free motion in the tree with additional limbs as needed.

Daily‘s I am working away on the these little fellows. I discovered one of the black circle and units from last month in the bottom of the tin where I keep the prepared squares. So I finished it too.

Keep Creating

Carol

About To Bud, Golden Rain, Natural Elements, Slicing Through, Trees

April18, 2013 Natural Changes

April 18, 2013 admin

Dear Friends,

It really feels like spring today. This was the third day this week when I ate my lunch out on the patio and enjoyed the out of doors. One of my favorite sketchbook assignments that I did with my eight graders was what I called ” Noting Natural Changes” and I started it this week with the drawing on the left. I when out into the sun shine and selected a branch and tried to draw it life sized in my sketch book this morning. I will follow up next week and draw the same branch- again life sized and in so doing note the changes a week makes for growth at this time of year. My students always were suprised by the change a week can make at this time of year and I feel like paying attention to that myself. This week has been as busy as they all seem to be. I went off to visit with my friend Ethel again yesterday and we had great fun making silk paper. Silk paper is created from silk threads that have not been spun. They come in great long hanks that one gently pulls apart and lays down on nylon netting. Three layers of thread in alternating directions is the usual lay out. then a second piece of nylon netting is placed on top. The whole thing is gently soaked with water and then a mixture of fabric medium and water is applied to first one side and then the other side of the sandwich. After the sandwich is all dry the nylon netting is carefully pealed from both sides and ironed. The top image shows the pre-dyed silk drying on the line and it is still encased in the nylon netting. Pictured on the left are two others we did in the morning with the netting removed. The blue and purple piece is made of what are called silk hankies- a group of squared off silk layers that can be pulled apart as apposed to a hank of silk. We dyed both of these two pieces before we added the water and fabric medium to them. We had such a good time that we are going to play at this another day next mouth. I already have an idea of things I want to try next time.

Progress Report: Spot On

This quilt is done now. It is one more of my piece that grew out of my ” Use the old materials” push. The marbleized fabric in the upper left and the center bottom are both old materials. The light blue with the natural shapes in purple and white near the center left are from an experiment that I tried last fall. I was attempting to do shobori with paint instead of dye. This piece is the most successful section. The tyvek is painted on both sides and I did that last winter when I first started going to the Turquoise Studio. The pink color is painted on the back side of the tyvek. I have used tyvek several times before and not been to happy with the results. But this time I quilted it before I applied the heat. I also waited until I could go out of doors and I wore my respirator while I did this process. I like how the heat gun distressed the tyvek and how much the stitching controlled the distorting too.

Golden Rain. This quilt is all quilted now and ready for the embellishment. That is the part that will add the rain running down the surface. I wrapped gold pipe cleaners with two different yards.

They will become the rain when I hand stitch them to the surface. I still need to tack the facings on both the left and right sides as well. The copper ribbon really shows up the quilting patterns and adds to the flow motion down the quilt that I was looking for.

Slicing Through: This quilt is moving along although very slowly. After Sue Ellen’s tutorial on how to make those little cuts and sew them in I feel I am successful with that part of the process. Now to work out the design part. This work has gotten away from me as far as size is concerned- the rule says 18″ X 24″- and this is bigger than that already….. I am not sure how to go forward, so it is fermenting under white paper and two other starts, on the pin wall.

About to Bud: This piece is basted and ready for quilting. It too has some marbleized fabric in it, ( Use the Old Materials)although this is a newer experiment then Spot On. It also has some of my foam stamp work in the dark turquoise fabric. The off rounded long forms are from a commercial stamp and come from my play day where I was trying to use every stencil I had in my note book that I had never tried before. After letting this work hang on the wall over night I decided it needed to have a machine drawn/quilted bare tree added on top of it. I will do some sketches before I stat that part of the project.

Silver Slivers: I have had these silk triangles for several years. ( More Use the Old Material ) On Monday when it was so rainy and gray I pulled them out and added the gray to them at the end of the day. Now there irregular shapes means that I can not keep the full silk shapes and make traditional connections. So the following morning I though I might insert silver slivers between the units and in so doing sort of square them up. If and how that works remains to be seen,but I do like a challenge and this is a good one. It may also help when it comes to doing Dawn’s fabric form the DMC challenge because the colors are the same.

New Work: This one remains to be named and completed. True to my solution when I am frustrated I start something new- all this wonderful hand dyed/ printing fabric in a discarded pile on the cutting table …. put it together. Only time will tell if it becomes anything. I go off on these little seaming sprints some times- knowing that it can always become a part of a Scarp Happy if nothing else…. But is spring and anything is possible.

Keep Creating

Carol

Cre-8

Category Archives: Trees

Moving Forward

Home again

Preparations

Spring Changes

Spring get away

Realisations

Flowers April 17, 2014

Spring Warmth April 10, 2014

Spring! April 3, 2014

April18, 2013 Natural Changes

Creative Fiber Collage Artist Carol Boyer