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Childhood Memories, Mayan -Leopard Priest, Mayan- Eagle priest, Pine Tree, Scrap Happy Quilts, Textile Artist Stitch Club

Advancing

Hello,
I hope everyone is doing well as we emerge from our cocoons of isolation. Please stay safe in all your activities.   On my daily walk of about two miles in our city I pass by  the homes of six seniors who’s high school years were cut short by the epidemic.    I am glad to see the signs on their lawns.  But  my heart goes out to them as I recall all the joys of dances,  ball games, honors, meetings  and hanging out, that were a part of my last semester of high school.    Even visiting colleges is done virtually for them.    For a person who is a tactical and visual I am  this sure would have stunted my senior year.

I continue to work and I attended another Zoom meeting  Of FAB this week.    Liz and I dyed again  this week too. We are both doing a lot of over dyeing this season.

 

 

 

 

I completed the work from last week and my class with Merrill Comeau on Saturday.    I really enjoyed building up all the layers with lots of stitches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then   I finished my   new assignment for Textile Artist Stitch Club for this week.   The lesson was from Susie Vickery and we were using plastic bags in combination with embroiders thread  to do the stitch work. I like the effect and will keep an eye out for more different colored bags to recycle into my work.

 

The plastic has a lot of shine and one needs to think about the printing on the surface when cutting the strips.  But I feel that adds interest.

 

 

 

Progress Report: Mayan Series- Jaguar Priest This work is nearly complete. I did a lot of quilting around the figure this week. It still needs a sleeve for hanging and a label. This is the second in the series. I really like the head of the Jaguar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mayan Series- Eagle Priest This is the third piece in this series. It took a long time to cut out the shapes and fuse them down, but well worth the effort. I am now ready to start outlining the shapes and adding details.

 

 

 

Layers This work is still building. The maze portions take a long time to cut and add to the surface.

 

 

 

 

SAQA 100 days I will keep working with this theme but I think I will go beyond the 100 so I need to think of a new title.

 

 

I really enjoy the hand work  and doing variations  on radial designs is something that I find very calming.

 

 

 

 

 

Scrap  Happy  I finished three scrap backs for these projects this week. I have only three rows of Garden Path stitch down to the base . It will just take effort to finish now.

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories – Allowance

On Sunday morning before we went to church we got our allowance. It was sixty cents. To earn that full amount one had to have done all his or her  chores. I don’t remember all Gene had to do, but we did share  the drying dishes duty. It was a case of alternating days with the two of us working on Sunday. The other chores were to clean one’s room, a job also done on Saturdays before we went out doors to play. One job that I did alone was to empty the washing machine and hang the wet clothes on the line before I went to school on Thursday. I also had to take it down when I got home. I remember taking it off the line when it was frozen sometimes. I  forgot on a few occasions and had to do that job in the dark. I also had to collect and empty the waste baskets every Tuesday evening because the garbage men came on Wed. The  last chore for the week was to polish my shoes. Dad had grown up poor and went barefoot a lot. He only wore shoes to school and church and they were hand me downs many times.   A a result,  we always had three pairs. A daily pair for school and such. A pair that were play shoes, that were old schools shoes or tennis shoes. The last pair were Sunday shoes. I remember his teaching me to polish my Saddle shoes. First one took the laces out. The dark section was polished with a  wax polish. One did one shoe while the first dried so one could buff the dark section and move on.  .When both shoes were done  with that  first step,  then one applied the white with a dauber from the bottle of liquid polish. When they were dry one had to buff the whites to make them shine as they dried with a chalky appearance. The last step was to put the laces back in the shoes. When Sunday saddle shoes became school shoes, the polishing still  had to be done on them too. I liked it a lot better when I got a pair of cordovan Loafers as they were only one color. I was also allowed to add pennies when they became school shoes. We wore shoes all the time. No bare feet in our lives. If Dad saw you with out shoes he would say” Put your shoes on Lizzy, don’t you know your in the city.” The allowance was divided three ways. Ten cents went to the collection plate in Sunday school. Then a quarter went into the Skippy Peanut Butter jar that each of us had that was our savings.   Mom had painted our names on the lids with finger nail polish.    Birthday money and tooth fairy money went into the savings jars too. The money was collected  until we had enough to by a savings bond, that would mature to a full $25.00 in seven years. I remember thinking that seemed like a long time to me. Some times we got savings bonds from our McElhinney grandparents for Birthdays. The last twenty five cents came to us in nickels and dimes with the words” Don’t spend it all at once” as part of it. I put mine in the jewelry box. That spending money was to go for things like dues for Brownies and treats. We were allowed to take loans from Dad if we were away from home and saw something we could not live with out. But it always had to be paid back when we got home. We got lunch Money on Mondays too as well as milk money and that was extra and had to all go to the school. Gene pushed for a raise in third grade. With his arguments the allowance went up twenty five cents for both of us. I recall thinking it was a bit unfair as I had live on the old amount until I was in 5 th grade. Gene was always more concerned about money then I was and he still is.  Dad continued our money education as we got older, but I will cover that later.  It was a good enough system that I did learn the value of saving and thinking about how I wanted to spend my money.

Keep Creating

Carol

Childhood Memories, Heron, Mayan -Leopard Priest, SAQA Blocks, Scrap Happy Quilts, Thread Painting

Young Robin

Hello,
With spring moving forward, the young Robins are now leaving their nests. We noticed one that was out near our hedge yesterday. He still had a few white tufts and lots of white spots. Saw another this morning up in one of the low branches. Wonder if he is the same bird. They grow so very fast.  My iris are blooming too.  This is a shot of Betty’s iris however.
I had a Zoom meeting with Patti this week and enjoyed talking with her.

Started the Stitch Club from Textile Artists this week. Made treasure containers with Debbie Lydden instructions. I am enjoying the process. I really liked making the grommets that she taught us.

These are the treasures.     The bracelet is  from the high school and the little turquoise hearts on that bracelet  are from our tip to Texas when I was a senior .  They re from Judge Roy Bean’s office.   The amber ring is from Mon’s Trip to Russia.  I wore it for years and it saved me from a broken finger when it stopped a slamming door. The rock is from my trip to Australia in  November to celebrate my daughters’s 50th Birthday. .

I dyed with Liz today . We had fun and I didn’t take a single photo.

Progress Report: Heron I finished this project this week and it is 18″ X 27″. It was a good stretch for me.

I like the reeds too.

 

 

 

 

Scrap Happy This is the one that I was working on and it was completed on Sunday.

 

 

 

New Scrap I started assembling strips for building a new back on Monday. Lots of cutting to begin with and then adding parts together. A good use of my extras.

 

 

 

Jaguar Priest – Mayan series I made real headway on this project this week.There is felt behind the fabric to give the work stability as I stitch.

 

 

 

Layers      Formally Black, White and Green.    I am building on the top of this quilt now. It is at the ugly stage when I am considering tossing it out. But I know from experience that I really need to keep pushing forward.   I still many need to throw it away- but it is far to soon to do that at this time.

 

 

 

 

100 Day Project I am enjoying the hand work that I selected with this SAQA challenge. I am caught up now and a little ahead as I always use the extra thread on another square instead of saving it because I always ended up with a tangled mess in the past.

Childhood Memories- 4TH Grade
Starting 4 th grade meant a new classroom and a new teacher, Mrs Wilson. Our east side ground floor class room was connected by a corridor to the high school building. I recall the sound of the high school girls crinkling  petticoats when they walked by on their way to the cafeteria. Our desks were a new design. An I-shaped floor unit supporting two poles; one pole holding the desk, the other pole supporting the seat. The top of the desk lifted up at an angle and it always squeaked. The desk itself was a metal rectangular bowl and most stuff slid to the center. I remember cleaning it twice during the year and being surprise by what I found. There was a small class library in the front of the room. I recall settling on the floor to select books. There were lots of turquoise bound childhood biographies with silhouetted illustrations. I remember being disappointed that there were only three books about girls- Louisa May Alcott, Sacajawea and Madame Curie. Despite my reading difficulties, I read all three book and several others. . I was assigned to the slow reading group with four boys.
For Valentines day, Mrs Wilson made two big white hearts that she stapled together on the bottom half and added a red valentine to the front with our names on them. We then decorated them. They hung on the wall and we put our cards into them. That year I had special valentines with heart shaped suckers as a part of the card. I had an argument with Billy on the play ground the day I addressed my cards and I decided to eat his sucker and not give him a card. When he disappointingly asked me about it on Valentines day many days later- I lied and said it must have fallen out That’s when I learned not to do things in anger and how bad one could feel about being left out. I tried to never do that again.
For Christmas we had a concert on the stage in the gym . Our Class was to represent Christmas cakes so we all wore paper hat cakes to sing our little song.
One day were standing in a line to present our papers to the teacher, when Wanda, the girl in front of me fell to the floor and started thrashing around. She was having an epileptic seizure. The teacher quickly put a ruler in her mouth so she would not swallow her tongue and sent one of the students for the nurse. After Wanda was carried out , the teacher carefully explained to us what had just happened. An electrical miss-fire in the brain- like a back fire of an engine, she said, and we were not to worry as we could not catch it. She also told us how to act toward Wanda when she returned to school.

Mrs Wilson was into science and we had lots of science lessons . I remember the Magnet lesson very vividly. There was a table with magnets and lots of objects on it. We were all given a check list of the objects and were to check the objects attracted to the magnet. I insisted that paper was attracted to the magnet until she showed me that it was the nail under that paper that was attracted to the magnet. Grandmother Ruth had a pair of Scottie dogs- one white and one black that were mounted on little bar magnets. One could make them “run away” from one anther, kiss or connect back to back. That is were I learned about north and south poles.
In the spring we did a class play . It was about Dr Doolittle -one of the stories from one of our reading books. I was the narrator. I really memorized my part more than reading it. I helped my friend Judy make her Parrot costume of wings and a tail. My first costume. Little did I know how many I would make in my life time. I have pleasant feeling about fourth grade.

I hope everyone is staying safe.

Keep Creating

Carol

Childhood Memories, Drawing, Felt Work, Heron, Mayan -Leopard Priest, Scrap Happy Quilts, Thread Painting, Yellow Ramped Warbler

Quiet Week

Hello,
This week was rather quiet after a trip on Friday to pick up my work from the Broad Street Gallery in Hamilton. Wendy and I went together and enjoyed the day. We walked the fitness trail at Colgate and saw lots of great views after climbing lots of hills. We stopped at Oriseany Falls on the way home too. It rained on us at the end of the drive but we still had a good time.

Progress Report: Red-Winged Black Birds This work is 18″ w X 20″ l. The background is a mix of felted work and fabric. The reeds are all added on top as well as the birds. The male, female and adolescent are shown here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yellow Ramped Warbler This work is 12″ X 12″. It too has a felted base with the thread drawing birds added on top. It is also a stretched work. I have lots of little bird studies done this way as I picked up 7 from the gallery Friday.

The leaves are cut from hand dyed fabric and the limb is made from torn strips of fabric and yarns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heron This work is nearly complete now. I still have eight reeds to attach and the heron too. I do enjoy thread painting.

Scrap Happy This is my third scrap quilt this year. I only need to finish the binding and quilt the big squares and this will be complete. That is about two hours of work remaining.

 

 

 

 

Mayan Jaguar Priest I am  now to the cutting and assembly of the parts of this work. It is like doing a puzzle- but backward as I have put fusible on the back of the fabric so I cut them correctly  before I iron them down. .

 

 

 

Australian Reef After looking at my pictures of the Birthday trip with Wendy last year I decided I wanted to do a reef picture. The top is painted fusible and the bottom is felted. I will start the hand embroidery next.

 

 

 

9 Square – Textile Artist Stitching Challenge This challenge is from Christine Chester. I will finish it this week I am sure.

 

100 Day Challenge The SAQA group started a challenge to make a block every day for 100 days. It began a long time ago but I am just getting on board. I started Tuesday. Two done and a third on its way.

 

Black and White plus Green This work came from a dream I had about black and white. I am going to add lots of layers of greens and metallics on the surface.

 

 

 

 

Drawing I only did a little drawing this week. One is a seed pod the other is from the oak tree over our driveway.

 

 

 

 

I love the delicate leaves and small flowers or spring oaks.

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories – Camp Life
We quickly adjusted to life in the park provided army surplus tent behind the camp ground office at Colter Bay Camp Ground. Our tent faced west.      A second tent for a second ranger faced south. That tent housed Pete Nickels, a ranger from Texas who had quite a lidrawl. We called him our Texas Ranger in honor of a TV show that was popular at that time. There was a third ranger and his wife who lived in a one room cabin along the highway. They had two Siamese cats- the first special breed I had come across.
One day early after our arrival,  we walked along the side of Jackson Lake to their home. Gene threw rocks into the lake the whole distance. I got to see my first sight of a kayak. I was really taken by it. But I was far too young to do anything more then look. We walked back along the highway  after a pleasant afternoon. We came across a young buck that had been hit and killed by a car. Mom persuaded Dad to remove the antlers- only four points and they were still furry. Then Mom spent a long time rubbing them again trees before they became clean and shinny. They went home with us at the end of the season and later got sawed into buttons with holes drilled into them. She put them on her leather jacket. I still have a few. Gene used his little ax a lot, and the day that the reporter from our home town showed up he took a photo that appeared in the local news paper of the family with Gene chopping in the foreground.
The campground had about 150 sites that were on six loops of about 25 sites each. Every day the rangers had to drive the loops and check the sites in the camp truck. They stopped and talked with campers as  needed and checked to see what lots were indeed empty.  I remember playing Jacks on the wooden floor of the station on rainy days below a big map of the campground.
We did not have running water in the tent and we used the camp ground facilities.   I recall carrying water many afternoons.   The bathrooms- one for each loop- consisted of men’s and women’s sides with four sinks and four stools in each half. One of the toilets was a new ceramic stand up design. One backed over a trough and one did not sit to do business. I got real comfortable with that system as that stall was usually empty at the morning rush because folks were not aware of how to use it.
We went to the campfire talk every week. It was at the top of a little hill and had benches made from sliced longs laying flat side up. The sight  faced the mountains. One of the Naturalists usually talked about some aspect of the park. I loved to watch the sky darken and see the light creep up the mountains until only the tops were lit by the setting sun. Then the stars came out before we started our walk home.   Mom sometimes gave us little astronomy lessons while we were there.      On Wednesday nights we went to Jackson Lake Lodge. We had gone to the grand opening of the lodge two years before when we were in Yellowstone and I still was impressed with the big two story windows facing the Tetons in the lobby. There were also wonderful huge western paintings in the lobby. I remember one of an old miner that was made up of lots of little horses that one only saw up close. It was my first encounter with optical illusion. We went to the lodge to participate in the Square Dancing. Both Gene and I got real good at following the directions given by the caller and were very comfortable with “ al-la-mand left” and “ dosie doe”. It was fun for us and it sure made square dancing at school an easy A for me later.

Keep Crating and stay safe

Carol

Birds, Childhood Memories, Experiments, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Heron, Mayan -Leopard Priest, Red-winged Black Birds, Scrap Happy Quilts, Thread Painting

Temperature swings of Spring

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

Big Pop, Blue Corn, Childhood Memories, Curvie Cuts, Drawing, Experiments, Queen Ann's Lace, Re Work, SAQA Blocks, Scrap Happy Quilts, Thread Painting

Working Away

Hello
I hope all are doing well. I see more and more evidence of spring every day with daily changes in my garden as well as the trees see blooming on my walks.   It is wonderful to see the world filling in with green.

 

 

 

I spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon assembling stuff in the yard. My grandson gave me this windmill for Christmas. It moves beautifully in the light breezes now.

 

 

 

 

Then I moved on to this swing. That took three hours and really was a two man job. Eric came and helped at the end.   I need to seal it now.

 

 

 

There was one last challenge do for  the Textile Artists Stitching group this week. I will move on to it when I finish the folk art challenge from the week before. I have used this project as a chance to do some exploring with stitches and techniques I have not tried in along time. I am making progress even though it is slow.   Sense there is no dead line for this , I am enjoying the exploration.

I did finish my SAQA entry for the auction this week too. It is 12″ X 12″ and called Spring is Coming. I enjoy doing works for this great group and have done so for many years.
I will ship the last of my masks to the Navajo Nation this week too. They put out a call and I am glad to do this.

 

 

Progress Report: Big Pop This piece is 30″ w X 41″ t . We have been eating a lot of popcorn and I have always loved it so it seemed appropriate to make a bit of a tribute. The corns are appliqued on top of the curie cut  base unit.

 

I added paint to the kernels to add interest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Corn- Rework This piece is 40 “ X 32″ and is a rework of a older piece. I changed the orientation to horizontal and appliqued the corns on top. It was an okay piece before but this helps I think.

This is a shot of it before additions were made.

 

 

 

Ethel always said I made beautiful backgrounds. So when I was painting kernels for the first piece I just did additional ones in a smaller fashion for this piece. It was enjoyable and now the piece is out of the dark and will go somewhere I hope.

Queen Anne’s Lace Tiles This work is my attempt to try a project from a Quilting Arts Magazine article by Julie Hirota in the Oct/ Nov 2007 issue. I have only really applied the tiling and the attachment technique she suggested. The grommets attachments  are  a slow and some what frustrating process. It takes me about 15 min. to do each tile. I will finish it but doubt I will use this technique again. As my Dad always said” It is just as valuable to know what you don’t want to do as to know what you do want.” It’s part of learning.

 

Mayan Project I did do my first drawing for this project and then I enlarged it. It is early in the process. But I am looking forward to moving on it.   I hope there will be six panels when it is complete.

 

 

 

 

Thread Painting I decided to do some more birds for my next project  thread project. The Red-winged Black Birds will be a warm up  of sorts. The true challenge will be the Heroin as it is so large  with very little color change.   They are drawn on wash-away  and ready to go into the hoop now.

 

 

 

Drawing I did a lot of sketching this week but not a lot of the drawing.

 

 

 

 

 

Scarp Happy I am done assembling the top and I am working on the boarders now. I have two  borders on all four sides.    I plan to add  one more before I add  the binding.   The work also needs some additional quilting.

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories- Grandfather Howard stories

Not only did Grandfather Howard collect coins and rocks he had lots of other interests. He sold Hudson’s and ran a SUPER 8 S station, The cars were mostly used ones. He was always quick to laugh and play jokes. He told this  story about how he fooled one of his dealership friends.   It seemed he took the engine out of one of his cars, then hauled it to Muskatine.    At the top of the hill they disconnected the tow rope and giving the car a starting push rolled down the hill where Grandfather skillfully “drove “ into the dealership. He got out and his friend came out and walked around the car looking in the windows and such. They went in to the office and completed the deal. When they came out the car was still setting out front even thought the dealer had told his mechanic to pull it into the bay.    Only when the mechanic laughing said he couldn’t did the joke get revealed.
Grandfather ran a Essix Super 6 gas station in town during the depression. He discovered that someone was stealing gas at night as he noticed unexplained shortages. So one night at closing time he put some rice in the nozzle of the pump. A few days later a man came to him with an ailing car.    Knowing what to look for, Grandfather quickly had his thief.     He took many things in trade for gas at that time. One of the best things he said was family photo albums as folks usually came back when they had the money to retrieve them. Years later when I helped Grandmother Ruth clean out the flour house one summer, we still found lots of those albums and I still have one of the more interesting ones full of strange faces and tintypes.   In the basement was a little green safe on wheels that we often played with as kids. We would wheel it about and try for hours to “crack” it. We were sure it was full of valuable stuff. The year I was a senior, at Christmas time,   when the family was gathered in the basement and enjoying the fire place – Someone asked Grandfather to open that safe. He did and I wish he had not. It was full of IOU’s mostly of folks who were long dead he said as he tossed then into the burring fire. Grand father closed the station in town as the new highway passed west of the main street. He built a new station, a Phillips 66 and diner there. Mom told stories about making pies at night to sell the following day at the diner. She was also a waitress  there and said she hated that job. Twice a year the a gypsy family would migrate through. The dilapidated vehicle would pull into the station, then folks would pour out, scattering in all directions. The leader would stand respectfully next to the pump and talk with Grandfather as he put in the gas. When the car was serviced the leader would shrilly whistle and all folks who had not returned before pilled into the car and off they went. Then Mom, Grandmother Ruth and Grandpa would see if they could discover what was missing- be it a wrench or a bottle or two of soda pop. Grandfather would laugh and say” Well they must need it more then we do.”
Eventually Grandfather sold that station and built a new one diagonally across the intersection. It was a DX station. He also built some tourist cabins there and did quilt well with that venture. The cabins were simple- a bed, a sink , a stool , and on the out side a car port of sorts.     He was successful at that venture.

Childhood Memories – More Grandfather Howard

My grandfather Howard was fascinated by electricity and gadgets. He wired all three of the houses that he helped build for my family and built one for himself and Uncle Dale and his family too. He even set up a wireless for Grandmother Ruth’s students so they could hear a broad cast by the president in her classroom. Grandfather purchased the first television I ever saw. It had a round screen that was about 6 inches across. It only got one channel- out of Chicago and was very snowy! He purchased a record recording machine when I was about 7. I recall cutting a record about the wonders of the park in Columbus Junction and I still have it somewhere. He did taxidermy for a while and I recall a owl that hung in the basement for years. The glass eyes fascinated me. He also stuff a three and half foot alligator from his Pecan Farm in Georgia. We played with it for a while then it disappeared when he discovered how dangerous the arsenic it was stuffed with was.  There was also a tanned fur rug of a badger that he as credited with creating.
He was a skilled wood worker. He built a little cabinet for me with doors and drawers. He then a few years later built a much more elaborate one for my cousin Tracy. I also was the recipient of a wonderful doll house that was a copy of the floor plan for the house in Carroll. It even had the stairs to the attic. It was to scale for my Betsy Mc Call. I had fun with mom collecting furniture and  doing curtains and rugs for it. I still have the dolls and the furniture, but the house went back to the Grandparent house when we moved to Muncie. It was in the basement for years turned on its side so one could use the walls as shelves to store other stuff on.       Grandfather  was in World War II in the Navy. When I was a teenager he gave me one of his old blue wool uniform shirts. I wore it with pride until I wore holes in the elbows. He had a great Macrame Belt that was made of small nylon cord done in square knots. The letters U S NAVY were part of the design. It was amazing to me.
He taught me to eat a baked potato when I was 6, with lots of butter, pepper and salt. He introduced me to lots of exotic cheeses. That became a game of sorts    and he would often pick up something especially strange just to test with me. I remember Coon Cheese- it was awful. One year at Christmas, I was dressed in my new white lace blouse and black and white plaid wrap around skirt and he gave me my first Pomegranate. It was love at first bite. It was also quite messy and I ruined my new blouse with the red juices, but it was worth it. I still look forward to my first Pomegranate of the winter and think of him when I eat it. He was always experimenting with food. The first year Eric came to Christmas with the family, Grandfather made turkey ( from his farm) with pink rice dressing. He had soaked the rice in Hawaiian Punch.
Grandfather was a justice of the Peace . I remember when I was in third grade he let me number the pages in his court book. I was so very proud. We had to play quietly out doors when he was holding court. In is capacity as Justice he married my cousin Russell to Donna in Whisky Holler on the Bell Farm. My cousin Danny, the oldest grandchild, could drive. He was bragging that now he could speed and get away with it as Grandfather was the judge. To that Grandfather said” You better not- I’ll throw the book at you!”   I had a wonderful grandfather and I remember him with great fondness.

Stay safe and keep Creating

Carol

Agitated Aggie, Childhood Memories, Curvie Cuts, Drawing, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Granite, Hand work, NEW, Pomegranate, Re Work, SAQA Blocks, Scrap Happy Quilts, Sisterhood of the Scissors, Snow Dyeing

Getting Warmer

Hello,
Spring is winning the battle for the weather. I see more and more evidence of new growth every day. My Blood root for example is doing beautifully and Betty’s flowers are also blooming.

 

 

 

 

 

I continue to work away on the Textile Artist stitching challenges. This is my applique piece. It is not at all the assignment – I could not get logged on until Friday so I will do it later.

 

This weeks is folk art and I am started as this shot shows. Again I am stretching the piece to fit what I wish to accomplish.    I will incorporate as much of the instruction as I can.
My Fad group meant on Zoom again this week and it was good to talk with them.

 

Progress Report: Agitated Aggie This work is 38″ w X 41″ l. It is my solution to the Sisterhood of the Scissors Canada challenge. Many of us purchased the print fabric and the challenge was to use it. I have only seen one other work doing the challenge.


 When I was in Florida I came across more material by the same artist so I added a second piece of material to my piece. It’s the same artist and meant to go with the first. It is the colored background piece here.

Granite I keep doing the hand work on this project during the news.   This is a close up.

 

 

 

 

 

Re Work Self Challenge I was cleaning and came across this piece in the process and although it is okay, I decided to use it as a base for a new work. Stay tuned.

 

 

 

Popcorn I spent an afternoon this week playing and decided to paint giant kernels of Popcorn. They came out fine so I built a curvy cut base to applique them on. It is pin basted and ready for quilting now.

 

 

 

 


New Sea Floor A long time ago I painted some fusible inner facing. In my cleaning this week I uncovered it. I thought it looked like something I could use as a abase for a small underwater piece. Pulled some shells and found a bag of yarns and ribbons. More play in my future.

Queen Anne’s Lace When I was painting I also did this little piece. I had reread an article in Quilting Arts from Oct/Nov 2007 and it got me thinking about a tiling technique of quilting. This may or may not work. But Experimenting is always just taking a chance.

 

 

Mini’s    I cut up one of the quilts that I discovered in my cleaning and made these little starts for use on cards.   Only the one on the bottom right is done.

 

 

 

Scrap Happy   I finished the first of the pieces that I started at the beginning of the isolation.   It is a queen sized piece.

 

 

Drawing I was influenced by the Sketchbook Revival class and so I did some clean the brush painting on a few pages of the sketchbook. This is what the page suggested to me.

 

 

I went back to my herb book and while I was on the phone I drew this Dill. It may have influenced the Queen Anne’s Lace I did later too.

 

 

 

 

Popcorn- well we have eaten a lot of that of late and it too was on the desk when I was waiting on the phone.    It grew into the later work.

 

Then I just opened the sketchbook in the middle of eating my orange and did this drawing.   I see know that it needs strengthening  the green was too intense for this subject sense I did not draw with a strong enough pen.

 

 

 

Snow Dyeing  I actually did this last week but was in the process of washing it out last Friday.  The two dark pieces are from this summer and were in the bottom of the bucket.

 

Childhood Grandfather Howard

Grandfather Howard was a wonder filled inquisitive person. He often went to Auctions and other places and purchased boxes of books. Then he read most of them. One of the other things he collected was coins. He build a wonderful display that hung in the Den for many years. It held a pounded metal curved blade, brass collars, strings of shells and beads, strange little stamped metal pieces as well as many other odd items that were used as currency and trade goods in Africa.
I remember one summer asking Grandmother Ruth for some dress up clothes and she went to the attic to look. I was allowed to climb the stairs and wait near the top. I spent the time slipping my hands into the space between the flooring and the ceiling were lots of small stuff had be placed. I explored and I pulled out a heave cigar box. It was filled with three rows of silver dollars lain end to end. I called to grandmother “ Look what I found.” “Where did you find them she asked ?” I pointed as she took them form my hands. She carried them up into the attic and they were never seen again as far as I know.
Grandfather collected rocks all his life. He built shelves in the basement from floor to ceiling and displayed his collection there. He also fronted the fire place there and at the cabin with wonderful rocks and geodes. Uncle Paul even carved a pink sand stone dinosaur with a green stone eye, that was featured as part of that fireplace. There was also a part of the basement that was a workshop. There was a rock tumbler that was always running and as a result there were baskets full of Michigan Agates all over the place. The space had a lot of cutting and grinding tools as well as buffer and polishes. He kindly showed me how to use all of those tools and I spent many happy hours working away at carving and creating little works of my own. I still have a stone rabbit and tiger eye “arrow head “ I made.
There was lots of new highway construction in the 50’s and 60’s. We did lots of traveling by car as did lots of Americans. When Grandfather was along , one could count on many stops at the raw cuts along the road side for a bit of exploration. I recall one time when we stopped and collected about 100 petrified Hor Coral. They polished up beautifully and two of them ended up in that fireplace I mentioned.
Grandfather won ribbons for his rock creations . He designed and built three swag lamps that had shades made from sliced beautiful rocks that he suspended in fiber glass. When the light passed thou the stones it was beautiful. Of his two big hobbies, he said that Rock Hounds were much more fun. At Grandfather Howard’s death his collection was given to the University of Iowa and they were glad to have it. My cousin Tracy also took some of the stones to use in her classroom as she was a Science teacher.
Mom too became a Rock Hound and many was the time we carried rocks home in the car. When Mom retied to Tucson, I would visit every February break and we would go to the Gem and Mineral show. I purchased stone beads and she bought more rocks of course.

Stay safe and keep Creating

Carol

Agitated Aggie, Childhood Memories, Drawing, Granite, Linen Shirt, SAQA Blocks

Coping

Hello,
I hope everyone is coping well with the social isolation. I find I am focusing more on my art although I do not seem to be producing more.    I continue to do my daily walks and find that the time I spend moving and being out of doors very good for my overall feelings of healthiness.    It is a good time to be out in nature as it is changing so much now too.

I did complete the Sketchbook Revival program this week.
Chiara Mazzette.   She directed  us through a water color landscape. I like what she had to say, but feel my work is really lacking this time.

We did water color sun flowers with Olga Soroking. I found this class very enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

 

Cartoon character development was the goal of the workshop with Ildiko Karasy. Her relaxed style was easy to follow and enjoy.

 

 

 

 

Melissa Lee did a strong little exercise on simple one point perspective. I am glad that I did the exercises and feel I am moving forward in my own sketchbook as a result.

I got a slow start on Textile Artist – stitching challenge this week. It is about applique and this is my layout.

 

 

 

I continue to make masks like many quilters. I delivered 20 on Tuesday.   In my process of cleaning
drawers I did discover yesterday some  elastic so I am sure I will make a few more.     This is really helping cut down on my fat quarter collection too.

 

Progress Report: Kites and Flowers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This work is 43″ w X 44.5″ t.   It is the final piece from the Regina  complete it challenge. 

 

 

She gave me a piece white piece o fabric with stenciled kites on it.   I first dyed the fabric yellow and then I used it on my work.    (upper left here)      I have  added the hand painted floral- very old- and built the quilt. 

 

I really enjoyed this challenge.

 

 

 

Agitated Aggie I am done with the stitch in the ditch part of this project. I am now doing free motion outlining of the characters. The second is the back.

 

 

 

 

Scrap Happy This project is moving along.   This shot is of one corner.   I am adding the boarders now and have two on all four sides. I will add one more boarder and then add a binding.

Shirt I stated adding hand stitches to this   linen shirt this week.    I am trying to keep it simple.

 

 

 

 

 

Granite This project continues to move along. I am beginning to see the end of work in some areas.

Drawing As I said earlier I am working at the sketchbook a bit more. I pulled on of Mom’s old books out and I am drawing from the flower photos in it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 X 12  I did a little exploring for this project.  I got out a stencil I had cut but never used and tried it a few times.   The one  exploration was on metallic fabric and really like how that appears.    More to follow.   Then I tried it on the  project.   I am ready to do some free motion work on it next. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Childhood Memories- Museums at the University of Iowa

Dad always believed that education was the way to better and more fulling life. I recall him taking Saturday classes at the University of Iowa. Grandpa Howard, a reinnance man himself, often took classes at the same time. Grandfather even took a class in Spanish. Grandfather was so outstanding in his geology classes that when he had completed all they had to offer, they asked him to come and work for them. Grandfather laughed and thanked them saying “ You can’t really do that- I didn’t graduate from high school.” He was a very smart man!
On several occasions Mom, Gene and I rode along and went to the Museums on campus to entertain ourselves.
My favorite was the Museum of Natural History. There were great displays there. I think that those experiences influenced Mom when she later did displays for Ball State. I have a very vivid memory of the Hall on Mankind. There were lots of ethnic costumes, mostly Native American. My favorite was of a crouching man in a solo cabinet. He was dresses in a beautiful carved and painted wooden raven’s head mask that was about 5 feet long from the shoulder rest to the tip of the beak. It was colored in black, red and white in the beautiful patterns of the North West Coast Natives. I spent most of my time in that room just studying the that figure and I tried to draw what I remember when I got home. The were rooms of sea creatures in jars and shells as well as rooms full of mammals. There was a room full of drawers where one could carefully open the drawer to revel rows of stuffed small birds lying on there sides. There were always three examples of the species, a male, a female and a adolescent. I few had wing spreads, a nest and sometimes eggs. Mom carefully controlled what we looked at each time and we both got to choose two drawers. She would read the outside first to see if we knew what we were about to see and she used the geographical to encourage or discourage our choices. She also got to choose two drawers and would choose two species that we knew to check out. She was always teaching.
There was a second room of drawers that were full of insects. There were lots more examples of each type of insect in each of those drawers. Mom did not structure our learning there so carefully. I do remember a drawer full of bees and a second full of enamel beetles. The beetles were amazingly colorful.
On one of the visits we went to the Museum of Art. It was very enjoyable to me of course. But my most vivid memory was of going down a stairwell, turning a corner and coming face to face with an eight foot red poppy. It was a Georgia Okeef. I was awe struck and stopped point blank on the stop. It was so very beautifully intense and I was in love and  I have loved her work ever sense.

Stay Healthy  and keep Creating
Carol

Childhood Memories, Drawing, Hand work, Kites and Flowers, SAQA Blocks, Scrap Happy Quilts, Sisterhood of the Scissors, Solo Butterfly Flight

Contrast

Hello
Mother Natures and old Man Winter are playing games wit the weather here. Wed I took the flower picture and it was a glorious day  sunny and warm. This morning I got up to cold, snow on the ground and all  over the trees. It is a time of contrast.

 

 

 

 

I spent a lot of time working on the Textile Artist stitching challenges this week. I did finish Sue Shane’s assignment from week one. I will work on creating more simple patterns using only strait stitches in the future.

The assignment for this week was from Richard Mc Vetus and it was to do four different ways of couching. I added it to the fabric piece from last week. This morning I though of one more thing I want to try so I drew another circle to fill.

I did more of the Sketchbook Revival projects.   Melany Rivers did a fun exercise where we drew with our left hand and then finger painted in the drawing. It was enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

Noah Scanlin gave us a challenge were we were to put 100 dots on a page and then connect them to create and image. The crazy clown with the deflated balloon came out of that. The we added to the image using the same blokish style. I good way to loosen up.

 

 

Ryana Campbell did a collage and paint piece with us. Her approach uses more paint on top to join the image and build it up then.  I normally do  not add much paint when  I  collage, so I learned a new tool to add to my   creative tool box.

 

 

 

Progress Report: Place Matts I have now completed all 17 of the place matts. They are all in a the bag that Joyce gave them to me in and I will deliver them to her front poach on Tue. The new rule that says I am ,as an even year birth date , only be out on Tue, Thur and Sat.   That does limit me. But I will use Tue to do lots of little errands like deliver masks and    go to the post office and mail some of my cowls to friends.

Solo Butterfly Flight This work is 22″ X 22″. The blue and pink background is from Regina and one of the completed it challenge pieces that she gave me.
I finished this free motion drawing part and added the butterfly yesterday.

I looking at it today I think I will add a bit to the butterfly as it seems a little dull to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kites and Flowers This work is also a part of the complete it challenge. I am finishing up the facing part now and the yellow and orange on the right is that section. I did reflective quilting after I quilting around the kites and flower.

 

 

 

Agitated Aggie When I went to the Canadian Quilt show last fall with the Sisterhood of the Scissors group we created a challenge using the graphic fabric with the women holding the scissors. I am finally getting around to working on it and having a great time.

Marble This is my hand work project for now. I am just trying to mimic some floor tile that I took a photo of.

Drawing I only did one drawing this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scrap Happy This is the start of the assembly of this one  quilt. It has taken longer then I expected to put together the backs. That reflects the same problem I encountered before- trying to do three at one time is just a lot slower then doing just one. I will not do it this way ever again.

12″X 12″   The call came out this week for the Surface Design Quilt Association   auction entries.  This is my start on that challenge.

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories- Des Moines

The move to Carroll was made because Dad got a new job as Principal of the Public High School there. It was a much larger school with about 2 75 high school students. One of the new things that the job offered was his  participation in the Iowa Administrators Conference that happened in Des Moines every year on the Saturday  of the week following Thanksgiving. We went along with him and spent the day in the city while Dad went to the meetings. It continues to be the biggest city in the state and it seemed huge to me as a kid. Mom started her Christmas shopping at that time so we went to the big department stores, J.C. Penny’s, Sears and Roebuck and Gimbles. Mom let Gene and I pick out an ornament for the Christmas tree every year. The first one I selected was an orange Santa with a real fur beard and arms that were attached by springs so they wiggled. He could be separates at the belt to reveal a opening in the middle were Mom hid a special treat every year to be opened on Christmas morning. One year I selected a blown glass blue bird with a long tale that was like a paint brush. There were lots of shoppers, so to keep us together Mom always held Gene’s  hand, while I held onto her coral colored coat  sleeve and often carried a shopping bag. Mom gave us a few coins with instructions to donate to the charity buckets that were manned along the street. “ We need to be thankful for out blessings and share what we can,” she told us. Gene did not want to do that and I think he kept a few of the pennies, but he did put something in the pot too. As we walked from store to store, I kept looking at all the different people. We walked past two dark blue black men who were talking. They were the first live black men I had ever seen and so much darker then the brown King in our nativity set. Mom corrected me for my staring- but it was not the color  of their skin that captured my limited childhood mind- “ But, Mom they were talking in tongues!” In my world I had jumped to the conclusion that they were doing something religiously amazing sense the only time I had ever heard that one could not understand the words of another was from the Bible. She laughingly  explained to me that they were just from a foreign country not from the Bible. I was so  naive.
The last even of the day was a stop for dinner at a big smorgasbord, called Bishops. Mon carefully took me all though the line and Dad helped Gene. She let me look at everything before we started to fill the plate so I would not take more than I could eat or fill that plate with too much of one type of food and want some of an item further down the line. It was a very pleasant meal and we followed that ritual every year that we went to the conference. At the end of the meal a waitress brought Gene and I balloon’s that had  Bishop’s printed on them  and with   little cardboard feet so they sat flat. I remember bouncing the feet on my hands in the car as we started the long drive home.   The family followed variations on this trip for four years.

Stay safe and keep creating.

Carol

Drawing, Hand work, Kites and Flowers, Scrap Happy Quilts

Slow Spring

Hello,

I took this photo of the daffodils on Tuesday it has rained  every day sense then and then today it is set to snow.     The temperature has fallen from 50 this morning  to  29  this evening.    Mother Nature can’t seem to make up her mind.

 

 

 

I am still working on the Textile Arts Stitch Challenge. This week Emily Tull did a demo on how to stitch an eye. Mine is okay for the first try – but I think I need more practice. I am still working away on the week one piece from Sue Stone.

Sketchbook Revival is still giving me lots on stimulation. Nina Rycroft built an Easter Bunny wit us. It would be a cute card.

 

 

 

 

David Drazil worked with lettering. Lots of potential here.

 

 

 

Wendy Holler who works for the Botanical Gardens in NYC worked with us on how to paint a petal. I went on with the idea and did a flower.

 

With Stephanie  Lee one worked on personal responses to the meanings in quotes.   It is an usnusal use of a sketchbook.  I see it more as a note book myself.

 

 

A Wild Garden was the lesson that Karen Stamper lead one through. It is wild and very freeing.

 

Juliet Meeks did a floral display with us. I am having fun and it is nice to explore new ideas outside quilting.

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Masks I just keep making these. I passed on eight this morning to a friend who wanted to send them to her children. I have requests for more too so there will be more in my future.

 

 

 

Kites and Flowers  I finished the free motion drawing around the kites and flowers yesterday. Now I need to decide on a pattern for the rest of the quilting to finish this work up.

 

Place Matts I have finished five of these now. The rest all have there nylon netting on both sides but I have not done the stitch in the ditch quilting to bond the four layers together on the rest. Then there is the binding to do too. It just takes time.

Scrap Happy I am making progress on this project. I am building backs Now so I can do the assembly to the units.

 

 

 

 

Regina Challenge. I fused all the parts down last week and now I am doing free motion drawing on top to hold things all together. I plan to make a free motion drawing of a bird or butterfly to add to this work for a center of interest.

Drawing I have been drawing every time I spend time on the telephone. I had
Several long conversations this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cowls I did more cowls this week. Now I have made 23 of them. I am down to small bits of yarn now and I feel good about that.

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories– 3rd Grade
I went into the third grade the fall we moved to Carroll. The elementary school building was built in 1952 and seemed very modern and new at the time. It was a long low L shaped building with a wide hall that ran down the center of each the two levels with classrooms branching off both sides and stair wells at the ends. The short leg of the L connected to the high school building that was three stores high and much older. The new gym was attached to the north end of the high school and it had a stage on one side and permanent seating across the basketball floor in the center. In the elementary the kindergarten was on the south side and faced the playground. Gene was in that room in the afternoons and I picked him up at the end of the day
and we walked home together most days as my class was just across the hall. I do recall one Tornado  Drill in that hall where all the kids sat on the floor with our knees up, our heads down and are arms over our heads in the dark. I am sure it did not last long, but it seem like forever to me as kid.
The play ground was on the south side of the elementary building. It was a huge pea gravel lot.
A wide cement area was next to the building and ran all the was across the front of the building. Lots of jump rope space.
The swings were along the east side and the south side had two slides, several see-saws, and a double sized jungle gym. I spent a lot of time at the top of that structure in third grade. The west side had two  ball fields that overlapped a lot. One was used mostly by sixth grades and the second was for the forth and  fifth  grades.
My memories of third grade are few but I do recall some . I remember laying on the floor on top of a big piece of paper and the teacher tracing around me She did that for  all the students. We then drew in the details and colored our life sized selves to sit in our seats for open house in early October.     In Dec we made a class Nativity scene in ceramics. I made a very simplified figure( modern I though) of a Shepherd- my assigned figure.    When they were fired we painted them and set up the display.   When I brought the figure home, it became  a part of our family Nativity and appeared for years. Third grade was the first time I ate school lunch.    I had carried Dad’s old black round top  metal lunch pale a few times in second grade before we moved. The lunch room in Carroll,  was directly below my class room in the basement. I remember standing in line on the stairs waiting for the hot lunch many times.
I recall too the day when Mrs Fister , the high school art teacher came to our room to do Art Appreciation. The big reproductions that she showed us was Grant Wood’s “Stone City”. She told us he as a native Iowan.   The painting has a  corn field in the foreground with a farm behind and a huge windmill, a road that winds between hills to the horizon.   There are lots of round trees that are all uniformly green .    When asked what I saw in the painting I said” Pea Trees”- and got a lot of laughs from my peers.   I was embarrassed but  Mrs Fister did not make a fuss.   We had a similar lesson every year in elementary.  In Jr high when I had Mrs Fister for  seventh grade art  class, she rewarded my talent by doubling the time I got to come to her class  for art and so  I went every day.   I did my first stitchery in her class.  It was an underwater landscape with lots of fish and  bubbles that were cut circles of blue fabric with a pearl  button on top of each circle.

Stay safe in these trying times and keep creating

Carol

Childhood Memories, Drawing, Felt Work, Kites and Flowers

Exploring

 

Hello,
Despite the times spring is coming and I am enjoying my walks even more with the sunny warm weather. It did rain two day this week, but we walked in the rain anyhow. We are deep in week three of home confinement. I read on the internet that a good way to think if this time is as an “Artist Redundancy”. I am adopting that attitude as it is so very positive.   I am   also using this time to explore some new avenues.  I doing this by  participating in Textile Arts Community Stitch Challenge  for one thing.   I have finish week two’s challenge created  by Cas Holmes. I am still working away on Sue Stones challenge from week one and will post it when I am done.

I am also doing Sketchbook Revival. There are two lessons every day for 10 days in this program. The program is at an end – but I am only finishing the second half of the lesson for day 3. This one is  form the lesson by Carla Sontime.    It a paint blotch animal.   Sure opens one to creative looking.

For Charlie Ohedald the assignment was to draw food. He lead us through each step. I am sorry I did the next assignment on the back of the page and it bled through a bit.

 

 

 

 

Number 3  was Mary Beth Shaw – a Doodle painting /collage was what we were working on. She had lots of ways to make different textures with acrylic paints  and lead us through one step at a time.

 

Tamara La Port guided  us through how to do a Quickie Bird.   It is one of her specialties and lots of  fun.

 

 

 

 

 

Amanda Arneill worked with us on lettering techniques. I’ll keep pushing through and posting my finished works.  Exploring new ways of thinking and playing is always good to shake one up a bit.

 

 

Progress Report: Kites and Flowers. I assembled this top this week using the gold piece of fabric from Regina as the jumping off place. The work  is all quilted with the stitch in the ditch technique. Now I am going back and doing free motion flowers and kits on top to hold it make it stronger.

Scrap Happy Quilts  I have three going at this point and squares for two more I think. The rows are all done for only three and I decided this morning to finish up these three before I go forward with the rest of the blocks.

 

 

I seem to be in a  bit of a purple  thing at the moment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Felt Dryer Balls. Three more are done and there are three new ones is early stages.

 

 

 

 

Cowls I have made 22 of these now. I find them very calming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Masks I tried my hand at these this morning. These have non woven interfacing in the centers. I am using ribbon for ties as I do not have any elastic. Eric likes them better too as one does not have to put them over the head to put them on. I will make more as they are so simple and a good way to use the little bits of fabric that I seem to collect. I ‘m sure I can find homes for them.

Childhood Memories- The Annabergs

The Annabergs, a family of six, lived at the south end of the block where we lived. Their lot spread all the way across the end and I guess it really was a double lot. The house was designed by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, and although I did not appreciate it at the time, it was a great house. It had ramps to go from one level to another instead of stairs. A lot of the house was tucked into the hill top and although it was two stories inside, it was very low on the out side. One could enter through the garage and be on the bottom story. One took a ramp up to the main level passing bedrooms and a workshop. One then doubled back and continued up a second ramp to more bedrooms. Each bedroom had a sink as well as lots of built- in storage spaces with lots of wood. The kitchen was in the front corner and it had a window that allowed one to see both south and west with only a small seam where the glass met and changed direction. There was a great counter top there. One time we made donuts and set them to rise on that corner counter. The great room had a stone fireplace and again, built in seating, storage and book shelves. You could walk out the great room to a beautiful patio with a brick fire place and cooking area. I remember how sad it was when the three great American Elms that shaded that patio died due to the American Elm disease.
The man of that family was the main Doctor in the little town of Carroll and his brother, the town’s pediatrician. Mrs Annaberg was a house wife. David was the oldest child and he was 18 when we moved in. I recall him trying to teach us to play Horse- a basketball shooting game with a series of shots. Each letter was a different shot with the shots being as one spelled the word Horse. David went off to collage the year after we moved in so I did not really have much contact with him. The next child was Beth and she was 16. She gave me her old baby buggy It was blue leather, and had rubber wheels. After years of my use, it went off to grandmother Ruth’s where it lived on through many other grandchildren. Beth was a cheerleader at the high school. One time she even taught me the words and moves for a cheer call “Your Pep”. I can still do it although I do not think I can do the cartwheel that goes at the end. The third child was Spencer. He was ten and enough of a kid that we played together for a while. His favorite game was “Pump Pump Pull Away”. It is a running game where the person who is “it” stands in the middle of the field and the players run from one goal line to the other. The middle person tries to catch the runners and when they are successful they join him to catch the rest. We played it as touch and tackle at different times. One time Spence broke his nose. His Dad set it as he was the only Doctor in town. Spencer wore a bandage on his face for six weeks. When that was over Spence said he was never going back to have his Dad work on him again! Because when they took the bandages off the nose was crooked- so Dr Annaberg had to break it a second time.
The last kid was Lee and he was my age and in my class in third grade. We were great friends as I was a real Tomboy. We included Gene in our play and built forts, climbed trees, and played a lot of football. I could punt, pass, tackle and catch as well as boys. Gene went on to play football in high school and was a star quarter back and tackle. Another great passion for the three of us was sledding. The Annaberg house was on a hill that fell away on the southwest corner and every winter we spent hours building sled jumping ramps with packed snow. Gene and Lee both had Flexible Fliers. They were the best sleds available as one could bend the runners and with a really steer. I recall one snowy night that Mom took the three of us to a steep street that was closed off and we spent the evening sledding down and walking up. When the evening was over and we were all cold, we went back to the Annaberg’s for hot chocolate and cookies. They were wonderful neighbors. Mom stay connected with them through Christmas cards for years. Lee also became a Dr.

Stay safe an keep creating

Carol