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Childhood Memories, Exploring Blue, Scrap Happy Quilts

Evidence of Spring

Hello-

As these flowers show Spring is trying to make an impact here I New York, it is getting warmer too.  The walks we take daily really help break the feelings of confinement and lighten my spirit. Everyone’s life has and is facing a major shift in thinking and existing.     Being out and  seeing spring reviving its self helps me.    Working in the studio has become even more important to me  as well.   I have no destination for the work I am doing, but is  it does help me feel sane. I hope everyone is doing what is best for their sanity too.

I was a part of a Video chat this morning and that was a real positive event.   Just one example of how  I am practicing ” Social Distancing” and  one of the changes my life is going through.   As my Dad said “ It is not what happens to you- but what you think about what happens to you that counts.” Please keep looking for the positive view.

Progress Report:Exploring Blue    This work is 33.5″ w X 18.5″ t. It all started with me finally deciding to put the machine lace I had done over a year ago into a piece. I added stuff from the packet that Angela had give me too. It is the biggest piece  of hand work with add on’s that I have done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Talisman Pouches These two little pouches are based on the instructions in Quilting Arts Magazine. I had fun building up the textures and stitching down the ribbons and beads. 

 

 

This is a shot of the bags open  showing the back and the flap.

 

 

 

 

Felt Dry  Balls I have created these four new balls this week. I have the cores started for six more so there will me more in the future. It is a fun way to use some of my roving.    I plan to give them as gifts.    My laundry is nice and fluffy as I have run them in the dryer once to make sure they did not comp apart.

 

 

Scrap Happy– I stated cutting 4.5″ strips and sewing them together and adding the scrap pieces I did last fall to the sides .  ( on the left) I think I have enough for three quilts here. This is a project that I know I can rely on to get me going when I am in a bit of a dry time. It pulls me into the studio and gets me sewing.

Place Matts These are a commission that I am working on. I have two quilts from Joyce.   ( the stay in the right)   Both  quilts  have some places that have bad wear places so she wants me to make them into place matts so they can continue to “live” in the world as apposed to setting in a drawer. It took me a long time to get past the emotional discomfort of cutting into them. They are cut to size and I will begin to fuse the parts together and move forward on this project.

New work- Regina Challenge I finally got an idea of where I want to go with this project. I was cleaning off a shelf and came across the rust, brown and blue fabric and though that they could work together and I am rolling now.

 

 

Cowls The News is so very stressful that I find if I keep my hands busy with these projects I do not get so upset. Some one will benefit in the future I am sure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My collection of wild yarns is greatly diminished and I like that part too.

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories – Creative Mom

Mom  was  always very resourceful. I remember her spending hours in the sewing closet in the hall. She made clothing of course and lots of curtains for the new house. Gene’s room had a nautical theme. The  fabric had big three masted boats in a  large directional print on it.    I think it was really designed for skirts that were popular around that time. Mom added a green boarder on the bottom to make them long enough. She made the curtains for the basement in a diamond print that used red, orange, pink and black diamonds alternating with white. She also made a doll dress with the leftovers for my Mexican doll, Rosalia.    She made a silk screen of big leaves that she printed in dark green on white. From this   printed fabric she made kitchen curtains. She painted two murals in that house. One was in the bathroom in the basement. It was a picture with a lake in the foreground, pines and aspens in the middle ground and then mountains in the far background. The second mural was behind the kitchen sink. The double sink was set at an angle to the corner and a piece of bent Masonite was the paint surface. This painting was also a work featuring mountains with a tree in the foreground.
Mom stayed at home the year I was in third grade and Gene was in half day Kindergarten. One day in the spring I came home and came in the front door to see one orange leg hanging down from the ceiling over the piano. Mom had accidentally stepped off the pallet at the top of the attic stairs and come though the ceiling. She was in a position that she could not pull herself up to get out. She yelled for me to help. I could not do the job  either , so she sent me to the Annaberg’s house to get David( who was 18) and Mrs Annaberg . They all came running back with me and quickly helped her get the leverage she needed to puller her leg out from between the rafters. The only thing broken was the Sheetrock . After assuring them she was mostly embarrassed and a little bruised they went home. No one ever mentioned it again. Mom did make a fancy cake and took it to them as a thank you. Dad got lumber the following weekend and put flooring down over the whole attic space over  the next few weekends. The ceiling got patched and the front hall got a  new coat of paint. When ever Mom wore those orange wrangles I always thought of that leg in the ceiling.

Stay Safe

Carol

Beyond, Birds, Birds, Childhood Memories, Chinese Exchange, Curvie Cuts, Hand work, Talisman Pouches, Thread Painting

Vernal Equinox

Hello,
I hope everyone is doing their best to stay safe in these trying times.
The days are in deed getting longer and the nights shorter with today being the real start of that effect in a way we can really mark as the equinox is the time when the day and night are the same leanth .     Enjoy the awakening of spring.
I did go and visit with Liz and Angela last Friday. We all sat across the room from one another, talked and shared our work and worries. Liz is doing lots of hand work in preparation for a class in Ohio later this spring.

 

 

Angela is working on a piece where she is using quotes from folks about memories where they wish they were invisible or felt that way.

Progress Report: China Exchange This work is 15″w X 21.5″ l. It is the first of the challenges that Regina and I are doing. We traded three works we had started but did not know how to finish. Regina sent me this one with only the background done. I added the glove and gold work, plus the Chinese coins.

 

 

 

Beyond This work is 39″w X 35″ t. It too is part of the exchange with Regina too. She sent me the printed pink  dyed fabric with the lace pattern. I added the curvy cut fabrics to create the background. Then I embellished with the pink circles that were added with free motion work in a metallic thread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Talisman Pouch: This work is going well and I am almost done adding handwork on the outside. I will add a lining and close the sides and then  be done.

The stone button is the closure.

 

 

 

 

Cowls I just seem to keep creating these guys. I think I am done and then I find I have pulled out a new mixture of yarns to try. I did send two off to some friends this week as well.   I am enjoying the process .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exploring Blue This project is nearly done. I have been adding buttons to break up the surface a bit. I am at the “look carefully” stage  toi see if I am done.  Then I will  I do the final work.

 

Thread Painted birds. I have added the birds to a background now and I am just about ready to stretch the work. I do not have the correct size stretchers so I will put it on hold until I get them.

 

 

 

 

Felt Dryer Balls I saw an article on line about how to build these guys. I have three of my own and I love how they work so I am trying to see if I can use up some of my roving to create some for my friends. These still need a lot of rolling and “water shocking ” to get to the stage of completion.

 

Painting  Fabric    This is the last piece of fabric from the Regina exchange.   It was too plane for me so I added paint yesterday.    Now to use it as a jumping off place for the last piece.

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories-  My Bed Room  in Carroll

The House in Carroll was designed by Mom and Dad. They did research in the form of visiting lots of open houses and collecting lots of house plans from magazines. They then drew up their own plans based on what they liked and what they wanted.    It was a great house for us.
To approach the house,  you would climb the stairs on the north end of the lot and follow the cement path to the small  poach and front door. The house was sided in cedar shake shingles. I loved the smell and even though they were stained red they faded to a beautiful rusty gray color with time. Upon entering the front door one would see a door to the left that opened onto a cloths closet for coats. The next opening  was an entry  to the den where Dad had a built in desk and we kept the new stereo. The third opening on the left lead to the kitchen. If you continued froward past the piano you would enter the living room. Opposite the piano was the door to the basement stairs followed by a hall that lead to the back of the house and the bed rooms. Gene’s room was the first room on the right. The next door was to Mom’s sewing closet and that was followed by the door to my room on the front north corner of the house. If you continued to walk forward you entered the bath room. Across the hall from the bathroom door was the door to the attic stairs. Lastly  and on teh right,  was the door to my parents room. They included a small bathroom with a shower in there plans and it was rather cool I thought.
My bed room was above the garage so I always heard Dad come home late at night when the electric door went up and down. My room had light yellow walls with a coral red ceiling. I loved it. I had a corner room and had corner windows looks east and north . The east window look out a cross the front yard and across Adams Street to an apple orchard. The north window looked out across our dive, the ceder trees and the picket fence to the Lightings house. They continued to live in the finished basement for many years and I had an unrestricted view down the street past two houses and onto an open field.   Mom made curtains with ruffles for the windows in a pink and whited stripped fabric. The bed spread was made with the same fabric. She also make pillow shams with a solid pink center and the ruffles there were in the pink stripe. That bed was long the left wall as you entered the room. Next was the book case, under the north window. My chest of drawers was along the east wall. Dolls had a place of honor on top as well as a black lacquer musical  jewelry box that I had gotten for Christmas. The closet was around  the corner followed by Dads old desk. It got a coat of yellow Emanuel for my room. I loved the desk and did my homework there. I stored lots of paper doll in one of the four   file drawers. The desk had a center compartment where Dad’s typewriter had been stored.   I used that secret compartment to hid my candy from Easter and Halloween there. It was a room where I did a lot of day dreaming too.

Stay healthy and keep creating

Carol

Birds, Childhood Memories, Drawing, Hand work

Spring Forward

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Hello,
I keep seeing and hearing signs of spring. There are lots of Robins around now. It is great to walk and hear all the songs.   I am not adjusting to time change very well.  Having trouble getting to sleep at night and over sleeping in the morning.  I hope this settles soon.
This week has been quiet as the Diva meeting got canceled due to the fact that Kendell, where we meet was closed to visitors. This pandemic is having an impact.

Progress Report: Bags This project is done now. I made 19 grocery bags for Elizabeth for her project. I am sure folks with use and enjoy them, They all took about 25 min a piece to finish.

 

 

 

 

Beyond This is my second work where I am completing Regina’s start. She really made it easy as she just gave me the fabric with the circular print on it. I did the wavy cut insertions and I am now adding the pink circles on top with free motion stitching to hold them in place. It is a fun project for me.

Talisman Pouches I saw an article in Quilting Arts that suggested this technique. I have done most of them before so I saved some felt- the base and went to work. They both need lots of embellishment.

Cowls I just keep working away on these. I have pulled yarn for two more and then I will stop. I will pass them forward to my friends.

 

 

I”m in  real blue themed thing at the moment.

 

 

 

 

Drawing  I am challenging myself to do a bit of non objective drawing due to Barbara’s influence.  It is fun and colorful

 

 

New Work This too is one of the pieces of fabric that Regina gave me. I think it was to be used with the first one- but I am not going that way. I have fused down a lot of cut ways from my class with Betty Busby from last summer for this project. I will do hand work on this too. I seem to have piled up a lot of that sort of thing lately.

 

Birds    I am all set now to do two Warblers for my next bird piece.

 

Childhood Memories – Carroll Yard
The yard played a role in my life in the house in Carroll. Out front and to far south of the lot was a large triple trunk-ed Mulberry Tree. Gene and I had great fun climbing experiences in that tree . We enjoyed the fruit when it was ripe too. Dad teased us about our climbing by saying” If you fall out, be sure to land on your head- then you will not do any permanent damage.”
Along the southern boarder between our yard and the Feltons’s was a wonderful hedge of Lilac bushes. One could walk out the kitchen door and onto a little poach and smell them in spring. They remain one of my favorite flowers and we have lilac bushes in our yard today.
The back yard had three terraces. It also supported 5 black walnut trees in that part of the yard . On the second terrace was a log cabin/play house we inherited from the Annabergs. The logs were small about 4″ wide and cut in half nailed to a frame. It was about 5 feet square with a door opening on the north side and big open windows on the other three. One could climb to the roof using the window openings. We defended it form “invisible “ invaders in the form of Indians, Pirates and Spanish Conquistadors.
On the next terrace level was the one that surrounded the patio outside the basement door. One climbed four steps from the patio to the ground level and there was the T close lines. My assignment was to take the clothing out of the washer and hang them on the lines before I waked to school. I recall taking frozen clothes down from the lines after I got home too. I knew about freeze dried long before I herd the term in advertising.
On the last terrace layer was Dad’s vegetable garden with as strawberry bed running along the back. The house behind us was owned by two sisters, Edith and Helen. Their huge Rhubarb patch was along the boarder line between our lot and theirs. I was given free rain to eat as much rhubarb as I wanted. It was a great “bitter” treat in the spring.
All along the north side of the property was a white picket fence that Dad built. I remember helping Mom paint it. At Thanksgiving the first year we lived there when we went to Grandmother Esters’s house for the feast. In the morning before we ate Dad, Mom , Gene and I went out into the big pasture and Dad dug up about 75 small cedar trees. Gene and I held open grain bags that Mom placed the trees inside. We took them back to Carroll and planted them along the picket fence on our side . It made a great hedge by the time we move away. I did the same type of thing for our home in Muncie, Indiana. Grandpa did not miss the trees at all.
The only other bit of landscaping I recall was the planting of a Blue Spruce outside my window on the north corner of the house. For several years Robins built a nest just a my window level and I could watch the eggs hatch and see them feed the young. Beyond the tree was a light post and steps that descended to the drive. The face of each step had a row of bricks placed vortically along the front edge.
Keep Creating
Carol

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

Warming?

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

This work is  Brier Patch.   

 

 

This work is called “Ice on Vincent St.”

 

 

 

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

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

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

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

 


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

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories -Building the house in Carroll

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

Take good care and enjoy Spring.

Keep Creating

Carol

 

Childhood Memories

International Polar Bear Day

Hello,
It is cold here with blowing snow a good day for Polar Bears and a fine day to celebrate them. This week has been full as ever with little time spent in the studio. I did go to the RATs meeting on Friday and had a good time catching up with folks.  This work is by my good friend  Barbara.   She is doing fine work and I enjoyed it.

Progress Report: China Exchange This work is 14.5″ w X 21″ t. It is part of the “finish for a friend project ” that Regina and I are doing. I added the glove, the coins and the gold leaf fabric units. I like the final effect.   Hope she does too.

Knitted Scarves At the RATs meeting I needed something to work on so I started a circular scarf.    This is the one that I did that day.   Some of the

 

materials used in it were a gift from Barbara years ago.

 

 

I had such fun I pulled yarn and have done two more and a fourth is nearly complete. I can really see a dent in my yarn stash as I use up to five balls of yarn to do each one.

 

 

New Work. I did some looking at old photos and found one of a marble floor that I really liked and decided to begin my next hand work project in this style. It is already diverged a long way form the original, but I am OK with that.

 

 


Childhood Memory- Pulling Teeth.

I remember my Grandfather Howard with great love. He was always found it easy to laugh and had many fun ideas. The house they built was a ranch with a big open L shaped area that ran from the back door at the top of the L, flowing from there into the kitchen. There was a big picture window over the sink that looked out across part of the back yard and across a field. The space then flowed into the dining area and on into the living room that formed the bottom of the L. Grandpa Howard’s big brown easy chair sat at the inside corner of the L and faced the TV across at the outside corner. A beautiful long stone fire place ran along most of the bottom of that L. One day when I was returning from the bath room on rout to the back door I found Grandpa asleep in his chair. I looked at him and started to giggle. Mom rushed from the kitchen area and roughly pulled me out the back door where she proceeded to give me a good smack on the bottom. “ Don’t you ever disrespect your elders that way again,” she said!

“ But Mom,” I said “He’s so happy that his smile lines are there even in his face when he is asleep.” He was a great positive influence on my life.

All kids lose there baby teeth . For me that was always adventure usually with Grandpa Howard. The first time he tied the string to my tooth and then the door knob. Slam and the tooth was out. One time we tied the string to Snooky’s dog collar. When she pulled away form me, the tooth was out.   Another time I had a very lose tooth but kept resisting pulling until I saw Grandpa. At dinner the night before we were to visit – I swallowed the tooth while eating mashed potatoes. I recall Grandpa pulling one of Gene’s teeth by attaching the thread to a Wiffle Ball and Gene tossing up the ball and hitting it. The last tooth removal for one of my teeth was  during the building of the Carroll house. Grandpa tied the string to the tooth and then tied the other end to a brick. I tossed the brick from the framed but still empty big living room window. We never found that tooth either. I never really cared about the money and that part of the process. The fun of ” how” we would do it was always far more important to me.

Keep Creating

Carol

25 Million Stitches Project, Cardinals, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Finger Lakes Fiber Artists, Killdeer, Mom VI, Robins

Winter

Hello-
Snow continues to fall here in central New York. We just shovel and drive with care. This week there was a Finger Lakes Fiber Artist meeting. It was good to see folks even if there were not a lot of gals in attendance. Pat had three pieces – two big and one small to share. This is a close up of one.

This is Bev’s newest work. It is all pin basted for quilting now.

 

 

 

Noel is back to working with silks in an effective new approach.

 

 

 

Liz is doing lots of hand work and she asked for advice on how to quilt this great piece.

 

 

 

 

 

There was also a FAB meeting this week. It was good to see these gals again too. Sharon is busy finishing the last commission in the series of 7. These little flowers will be added to the base she has already produced.

I did get my two pieces for the 25 Million Stitches project mailed off this week too.

Project Report: Two Cardinals This work is 10″w X 16″ t. I am really enjoying doing the free motion drawing of birds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Killdeer This work is 19″w X 12″ t. I had to do some small modifications to is after I showed it to the gals at the FLFA meeting. The birds faded into the background too much until I added some dark to their backs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fall Robins This work is 24″w X 18″h. I did end up adding the third adult robin to make the composition work. Because I had done five other birds before it only took and hour and 15 min to do the new bird. Experience does help.

Exploring Blue  This work is going along slowly as it is all done by hand. I am enjoying working away attaching all the little units I have pinned down.

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood- Move to Carroll

At the end of second grade we moved from Columbus Junction to Carroll Iowa. About a six hour drive from the part of Iowa that my Grandparents lived. Dad got a new job as a high school principal in a larger school there. We moved into the Park View Apartments that summer . The apartment was a half level with the windows on ground level. It was dark. A girl a little older named Joanna lived in the apartment above ours. She taught me to play the card game “War” that summer and we spend many an afternoon at that activity. At the back of the lot behind the apartments there was a tall hedge and just in front of that was a huge sand box.
We spent a lot of time playing there as well. Across the street in front of the apartments was a big city park. There was a band shell there and on most Friday evenings there was a concert. Gene and I went with Mom and Dad to listen and play in the dark. The public swimming pool was across the park. Mom did not know how to swim so she signed up both of us for lessons. I remember putting my clothing in a numbered wire basket and pinning a safety pin with the same number on it to my suit to get my clothing back. The one had to walk through a very cold chlorine wash to get out to the pool area. One day we were late and so I ran across the park bare footed. I cut my foot on a piece of glass. I had to set out for that lesson . I did learn how to swim that summer and passed the test at the end of lessons as did Gene. Most days Dad went off to Adams street and worked with Grandpa Howard and some twins from the high school on the house. I remember seeing the place the day they removed the forms from the pored cement basement walls. They were tall I though. My next clear memory was visiting the house when they were framing the main floor. The furnace was also being put in at that time. I was fascinated by the furnace man because he could do tricks. He was a “ sward shallower” of sorts.   At least he could swallow those long slender strips of metal that were used between the joints of the heating ducks. He was not fooling me as I walked around him to view from all sides. We moved into the basement before school started. Mom and Grandpa worked on the upstairs that fall and winter to finish the house.

Keep Creating

Carol

Childhood Memories, Robins

Quiet Week

Hello,
This week has been a quiet one for me. The snow and cold head me indoors for several days and I have had lots of appointments too. I did take advantage of the snow and do snow dyeing .
This is a shot of the bucket it before it melted.

 

These are the three pieces I created. The yellow is for the next fire piece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Robins I finally decided that a Robin facing left was needed for this project and did the thread painting. I will attach all the parts and stretch it this week.

6X6 Rochester Show I got the call for this show and did the work. They are all packed up and ready to ship now.   They will all be for sale at $20.00 a piece for their fund raiser next month.

 

 

 

 

Exploring Blue This is my new hand work project. I am enjoying adding the stitching and building up the surface.

 

 

 

Childhood Memories – Creative Mom

Mom was always looking for ways to express herself. She had a sewing closet near the bathroom in the Junction and then when they built the house in Carroll, she repeated that idea. She made most of her own clothing and lots for me as well. I remember a red and white buffalo check dress with a square opening that she made for me to wear the first day of Kindergarten. I loved that dress and wore it to shreds. She used her machine to make curtains and pillows as well as organizing bags as she called them. They were like folders with snap tops and she often put like things together in them. I remember a wonderful display she made for Christmas. It was a set of three angles and a basket with a Frozen Ann in it to represent the Christ child. The angles had pipe cleaner bodies that were dressed in a white silky material that she then added gold stars that one licks to stick on top. They had large wings that were created from two layers of foil backed card stock. There was a silver wing with a smaller pink foil wing   added on top. The halos were done in the same manner. The heads of the angles were little gold Christmas balls that Mom had carefully painted  that had closed eyed faces on with fluffy cotton hair. They stood at three different levels on foil covered milk boxes. I enjoyed setting up that display for many years. One year at Christmas she made wonderful cards where she water colored a beautiful woman holding a muff. By lifting one arm of the muff and then the other one could see the message.

I remember her working on an invitations one spring. They  too included a figure made with a solo pipe cleaner with a wintergreen life saver for its head. There was a small bit of a golden scrub pad for hair and a bit of nylon netting for its skirt. I lusted after those, but they all got mailed. I still think of them every time I smell wintergreen. Mom knitted as well. I remember one pair of red mittens that stained my hands pink when they got wet. I lost one of the mittens and there was no more red yarn so Mon knitted a green one. After that we played a lot of “Red Light- Green Light” that winter. Her hands were always busy and perhaps that is where I got my busy hand thing too.

Keep Creating

Carol

25 Million Stitches Project, Birds, Childhood Memories, Collage, Drawing, Sandpipers, Summer Robins, Thread Painting

On the Go

1 Comment

Hello,

I am home from my travels to Florida to help with Susan’s recovery. In the fifteen days of my stay I saw a lot of growth on her part.

 

She progressed for a support forher broken wrist on her walker to using a cane some of the time. She mastered use of the stairs with the walker on her own. She went form house bound to an outing where she went nine blocks. I am quite proud of her.    This is a shot of her with the stamps she made and printed one afternoon.

 

 

Laura came many times and we worked in a parallel fashion.  She is and excellent water color painter in my mind and this is her painting of me one day.

 

 

I started the Childhood Memories project because of Susan’s suggestion so I  brought them along so she could see them.   I had never laid then all  out before and was a bit surprised  by the size.

 

I enjoyed the green and all the flowers as well as the bird song during my visit.    We worked every day on art of some sort. Chris came   one day to visit and we did collage.

 

 

 

 

I did a lot of collage work at Susan’s.    Here are about half of them.

 

 

 

 

 

On the Friday before I left I went to a play day at Barbara’s. Beth had all the fixings for making knows and we had a good time creating the little guys.

 

Here are the finished little guys.   Left to right – mine  Barbara’s , Beth’s,  Georgia’s.      It was a fun day.

 

 

 

 

Georgia also shared her paintings. I like what she is doing.

 

 

 

 

Tue was the first one of Feb so there was a QuEGs meeting. Sue Ellen was busy and made this great pillow case that will be for sale in Cazenovia at the Artisans.

 

 

Susan is working on these four 12″ pieces for QSDS this summer. The challenge was/is 1 2 3 4.

 

 

 

Progress Report: Sandpipers  I got this work nearly completed before I went away. The birds are all stitched down and I only need to stretch it.

 

 

Summer Robins I finished the machine drawing and washed out these too. I am not happy with the placement yet and may even need to create an additional bird to be happy with it. I am still shifting and testing.

Drawings
I did draw every day and have a lot on new work. There were two specific evenings where that was the soul purpose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did lots of little collages too,

25 Million Stitches I am glad to have finished this work while I was visiting. I will press it and add the label and then it will be ready for shipping.

New work I did purchase some beautiful linen while I was away and started this bit of hand work as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories- First and Second Grades
The early school years for me meant that we made a special trip to the local drug store to bye workbooks along with new pencils, tablets  and crayons. I stared first grade with a bad case of Poison Ivy. There were lots of weeping soars on my skin and the teacher sure made me aware if how repulsive she found that. I did wear a lotion, but by late morning before I went home for lunch it was really bad. My parents did take me off to Iowa City to see a specialist and that really helped and cleared up the problem.   From that experience, I learned it is really hard to get beyond first impressions. My only other memory of first grade was the difficulty I had with word regition and spelling. I did the work in the spelling book and Mom spent time quizzing me. She even made red construction paper flash cards. I especially remember straggling with “ What – Where -Were- When and Why”. The reading technique in that school at  that  time that was used was one of shape recognition- not individual letters or sounding out  the words.  I am sure that did not help me at all. The teacher was so frustrated with me that I got spanked in front of the class for each word I misspelled on the spelling tests. I was so shamed by the whole thing I did not tell Mom until years later and she was appalled. Mom worked with me on addition and subtraction too. She made up games with playing cards were I had to add every two cards that were turned over.  The game  was modified for subtraction, having to always subtract the smaller number from the larger one. Later the game changed to one of color to determine the process. If I drew red first it was addition and if I drew black first it was subtraction. I really got the logic of mathematics and did well in that subject all through school.
Despite my trouble with spelling I was advanced to the second grade. That class room was up stairs on the left. We learned cursive that year and I was so very proud of myself even though I did not think it was fair that Joe Fox got the same red star for his name that I did for mine – Carol Mc Elhinney. An early lesson on the” fairness factor” in  life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Toys
I have good memories of the toys that we got as we grew up and where we lived when we got them. Gene and I got a little red folding table and  a two chairs set while we lived in the Junction. We had a few meals on it and played many a game at that table. Grandfather Howard made a wooden cupboard with a pullout drawer that was painted blue for Christmas while we lived there. It was so very sturdy that it survived through my child hood and Wendy’s. It was here in the house when Alexis was little but I do not think she played with it. I recall two different “Play School” products. One was a red plastic clock with white hands that one could adjust. The numbers were pale blue and could be removed to show minutes underneath. I got that concept quickly as a result I think. The second Play School toy was a balance scale with hooks on both ends. There were lots of blue plastic numbers with loops on the tops of them that were all of increasing size and weigh. The goal was to teach values and have the arm of the scale be strait. We also had various games like Kootie and card games. My first memorable baby doll was a Betsy Wetsy. She came with a beautiful white dress, eyes that opened and closed and wonderful short, soft, curly brown hair. She took a bottle that was filled with water and then wet her diaper. I remember wanting her – perhaps due to TV adds- but quickly tired of the novelty. The doll bed soon gave way to a home for my Tony Doll that I loved. She had a stiff body and limbs with eyes that opened and closed and hair one could comb. She could even stand alone if one balanced her correctly.   Mom made lots of changes of cloth for her and I still have that doll. Mom made soft dolls too. Gene had a sock little boy with green stripe pajamas that was called Mousy. I had an Aunt Jemina made with a pair of Dad’s brown socks and she had a red poke-a-dot dress and scarf along with a white apron. Both of them survived to recent times and although gave Jemina to a friend who collects dolls, I still have Mousy.

Keep Creating

Carol

Birds, Childhood Memories, Collections, Creative Assistants, Drawing, Scrap Happy Quilts, Thread Painting

Thread Painting

Hello,
This has been a busy week. I went to Judy Hand’s opening on Sunday. She is an amazing painter. Tue was the Diva meeting. There were only three of us so it was a bit disappointing. Regina gave me this wonderful little stitch piece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

She and I also made our UFO exchange. I think I got the good end of this as two of the three are only fabric .      The ones I passed to her are farther along.

The FAB group meant today and it was good too. Always lively discussions.

 

Thread Painting.   I have been doing this and I thought I should explain   my process.   After I have selected  subject, I sketch it   in  my sketchbook.  That way I can trace it on the wash away.   I then make a sandwich that is one layer of wash away, a layer of  nylon netting as I tend to tear the wash away if I do not reinforce it.    In this case with the Kill Deer I have added a bit of brown roving too.   Then a second layer of wash away with the traced images on it.  This all goes into a hoop where I then do the thread work.    I outline the   one colored area I want to fill in first.  Then I fill in small sections until I am happy with the solid feel of the area.

 

  I change color when I need to and often times run  two different colors of thread through the same needle to get a richer color.   I continue until the total figure is filled in.  I tear away as much of the wash away as I can before I  pin it to foam where it is flat and I use hot water to remove the rest of the  wash away. ( Check out the Robins)   I let the project dry over night and then trim away the nylon netting that remains .( The Cardinals are trimmed and pinned to a background)   I hope this makes it clear enough for folks to follow.

Progress Report: Snow Dye

Here is the result of the was out that I showed last week. It is unique I think

 

 

 

 

Cardinals The Thread painting is going well. Now I need to build a limb for them to rest on.

 

 

 

 

 

Robins I finished this family yesterday and did the washout. I need to unpin them and trim away the  nylon netting next.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaves I tried the machine drawing on roving with these leaves too. They worked well and are just pinned down here.   I’ll adds some birds and until I get that done I do not want to make the final decision about the leaf locations.

 

 

Collections- Memoirs of the Women  The women on this piece are  Grandma Butterworth, and Mom.   The pictures are from when both were about 20.   The bits and pieces are all from their lives. I only have a few more things to attach and this will be complete.

Creative Assistants I added the arms, hair and backs to these assistants this week. Then I turned and stuffed them. They were sewn shut and the pin backs added. Yesterday I added the squeezie paint embellishments.

 

 

Scrap Happy     I finished this work this week too.   It has been waiting for the return of the  sewing machine.    I  have been work with  one that only does strait stitches and zig- zag  so I could not apply the binding with the button whole stitch that I like to use.

 

 

 

 

Drawing –   

I was trying to work with reflection this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories- Junction Bed Room

My bed room in Columbus Junction was also the den. It was just to the left inside the front door. Along that south wall was a window and below it was a small book shelf that Dad built. Grandma Ruth had seven grand children by then and she gave us all magazine subscriptions for Christmas. Gene and I had subscriptions to Humpty Dumpty and Child Digest. They were stored in the book shelf and Mom or Dad would often pull one out to read to us at night. That was where I was first introduced to “Mike Mulligan the Steam Shovel and wonderful Dr Suess stories like “ It happened on Mulberry Street” and “ Mac Elliot’s Pool. “ On top of the book shelf was a lamp that Grandpa Howard made from wool that was cut and milled from the timber near the cabin he owned. The lamp was made of five blocks of walnut there were 4″X 4″ X 2″ stacked on alternating with 1 “ thick circles of a lighter wood. There were several other lamps like this in the house too. Next to the book shelf was a single bed. Mom made a cover that was gray on top with a long slightly gathered ruffle of 1″ strips of cream and black that hung to the floor. Along the back were two bolsters in red that Mom made and stuffed with rolled woolen blankets. There were two pictures above the bed but I don’t remember what were the subjects. I was sick with chicken pox in that bed. On the north wall was a door to the hall and the piano. Many times my Paper dolls were dressed up and lined up on top of the closed key board for a parade on that piano. On the east wall was a closet. I had a little dressing table with a bench and mirror in the closet. Sometimes I hid in the closet with the door slightly ajar and studied the shadows cast on my face in the mirror. Next to the closet was that chest of drawers that Dad and Grandpa built, and on top of that was a record player I had gotten for Christmas. It played 33.3s, 45s and 78s. I had a set of children’s records in red and yellow plastic that played such tunes as Poor Little Robin, Take Me Out to the Ball Park, The Rolly Poly Man in the Moon and Oh Susanna. I played them until I knew them by heart and can still sing them all.

I will be away for two weeks to help my friend. I know we will make art, but I will not be posting until I return so the next Bolg will be Feb 6.

Keep Creating

Carol

25 Million Stitches Project, Childhood Memories, Coral Sea, Creative Assistants, Curvie Cuts, Experiments, Felt Work, Jumping Off Place, Three Grosbeaks

New Year 2020

Happy 2020,
I hope that good things to come to all who read this blog. 2019 certainly was a full and good year for me. With trips to Mexico and Australia as the highlights. I still have lots of ideas to explore for both of those events. They are a big part of my To Do list for this new year. After giving it a lot of though this week I think my color emphasis for this year will be Red. It is not a color that I go to often although I do like it. I hope to use more and started out this week in the studio with at in mind.   A little challenge.

Progress Report: Jumping Off Place this piece is 30″w X 15″ t. Angela gave me a work pack full of goodies last spring and I finally got it all together. It is fully my own design using mostly the things in the pack plus a lot of my own stuff that I thought went along well. The packet was to be a starting place – hence the name. I did have fun.

Three Grosbeaks This work is 16″w X 15″ t. I needed to do a little free motion machine drawing this week and the birds are the result. here is a red wool base that I felted into to  build this work.    It fits into my new  Red goal.

The leaves are silk paper.

 

 

 

 

 

25 Million Stitches Project This project is 15″w X 25″l. I will send it off to the California add this week. I have an idea for a second and may do that too as I am still quite concerned about the kids separated from their parents on our boarder.   After sewing the work to my friend Sharron  she pointed out two spelling errors.  So I will be doing some reworking on this project before I send it out.  It is goo to have friend who are honest with me and will help me do a better job.

 

 

 

 

Coral Reef I am doing the hand embellishing on this project now. Building the patterns on the sea horses is fun.

 

 

 

Experiment- Lone Tree  I had the roving out for the background  of  the birds and though why now see if one can free motion work on top of it? I drew the tree on the wash- away and put a layer of nylon netting, then the roving, topping that with a second layer of wash- away.

 

 

It seems to be effective as I did so much stitching. I will place it on this rocky landscape that I created last summer in class.

 

The clouds are silk paper too made  with silk batting so they are courser.

Creative Assistants I can see the end of creating these little faces as football season is drawing to a close. There will be a few more this weekend I am sure.

 

 

Felted Landscape The Machine Felter is still out on the desk so I ma using it. I did purchase some roving at the Plow Shears show and it was a good starting place for this.

 

Then I did some felting to try a water fall like felt base.    It is not very effective yet so  I will work with it.

 

 

 

 

 

Then I tried mixing  roving with fabric to build a surface.   I feel there is potential here but is is not quite it either.      I may have gotten carried away with the color play a bit too.

 

 

 

 

More Felting As usual I was having so much fun I just kept building backgrounds. These two have not been under the machine’s influence yet. I have only hand punched them. One of my next jobs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drawing I have been working to improve my drawing skills  by drawing for 10 min every morning after I do my  Morning Pages.      This Thorn-bug represents about  four days with my ball   point pen.  It is a good way to start my studio work every day.

 

 

 

Childhood Memories  Geysers, Putrefied Trees and Bears

When we were in Yellowstone that summer, we visited all the Geyser Basins. Gene always ran ahead on the board walks. I remember Old Faithful as erupting about every half  hour in those days as compared to the 40 to 60 min. intervals now. But then things change. Norris geyser basin was much louder too. Growler howled so loud one could not even shout and be heard. Even in the parking lot a bus had to honk at us to let us know he was coming up behind us. Mom pointed out the sign for Handkerchief Pool- ( it was dead ) – too many folks throwing their handkerchiefs into the pool and watching them rise again to the surface had clogged it up. Mom taught us to never take anything away with us from the park except photos. “Leave no evidence of your passing” was the rule. We visited the Petrified Tree sight. It is a big tree that is about 20 feet tall and six feet in diameter. The whole thing is surrounded by a metal fence like a zoo exhibit. It seems there were three trees at one time( I later saw an old post card to confirm that ) and folks just helped themselves to a little souvenir until two were gone. We did hike the Petrified Forest trail and got to see lots of petrified trees and stumps. Mom took lots of photos on that walk and we got to touch the rock trees as well.
One cannot talk about Yellowstone with out thinking about bears. We did experience lots of “bear jams”. I remember seeing one bear family with the two cubs up in a tree. One day near the end of summer the trail crew brought a bear trap into the housing area. It was a corrugated pipe, like the kind used under roads, with metal bars welded to one end and a trap door on the other. I learned that they trapped a “problem bear “ in the cage and then released in the back country. They did tag the “problem creature” and if he continued to cause problems they would have to eliminate it. One of our trips was on a dirt road along the back side of Yellowstone Lake to the dump. We watch 8 bears foraging there from the safety of the car. I know that the garbage is no longer stored that way and trash cans are much improved. The trash  barrels are buried and all have heavy latched lids now days so bears can not get inside.
One other memorable adventure was to Cody Wyoming for the forth of July parade. Gene and I both got cowboy hats that day. Mine was red and his was black. We wore them nonstop from then until the end of summer. There were lots of horses with fancy saddles and dressed up riders in the parade. There were Indians in full regalia and floats too. In the afternoon we went to the Rodeo. I remember the sun was very hot and Dad finally bought a bottle of pop that Gene and I shared. I found the calf roping a bit cruel and rooted for the horses when it came to the bronc riding. Gene and I fell asleep on the way home. I recall Dad tucking me in and noticing that the full moon was lined up with the circular window in the door of the trailer. A coyote was howling too. It was a good day.

I hope the best for everyone in 2020 .

Keep Creating

Carol