Category Archives: 3X3

Geza Series, Hand work, Heat, Manzi, Old and New - Purple and Blue

Quilt Canada 2019

Hello,
I missed doing a posting last week because I was off at Quilt Canada with the New Your Quilt Consortium. I caught the bus and rode along with 54 other quilts five hours to Ottawa. Regina and Liz shared the trip with me. It was peasant and we really caught up. There was a second bus from NY and we knew lots of gals on that bus too and had dinner with  several of  them.

Then on Friday, off to the show. We shopped of course and then went to the National Juried show. There were lots of very impressive works. I really liked the mix of hand and machine work on this Cherry Blossom Triptych.(Close up)

This work by Daniela Tiger, “Where are We Going from Here” about emigration was very thought provoking.   This is a close up too.   The machine drawing is wonderful and the paint work is strong.

 

 

I really liked all the wonderful machine work on this face.  “Arborist: Tree Spirit” got my vote for best of show.

 

 

 

 

 

This “Exotic Fathered Friends”was a great study in Machine work and painting.

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed the mixing of media in this work “ My Tribute to Indigenous Powwow Dancers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the ribbon  work and beading was stitched to the background before it was quilted together.

 

Thousands of pieces of fabric where used in “Technicolor Dream Parrot” by Roxanne Nelson. It was a visual feast and we ran out of gas before we visited all the works.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ordered out Chinese at the hotel the second night.   This is dinner with Bev,  Joyce  , Liz, Regina and Terry.   We laughed a lot and fell into bed exhausted.

 

 

 

Day 2 we visited the QSDS  Metamorphose show. It too had a lot wonderful work.

I was delighted so see this felt work as apart of this show.     Wonderful hand dyed stuff too.

We went home on the bus very tired with our treasures that eve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liz and I got back on track to doing our weekly  dyeing again and this is what the line looked like on our first run.

 

 

 

I really liked this little piece of Liz’s work.

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Into It –Geza Series.   This work is 41.5″ w X 35″ l. I did the last of the quilting and bound it before I went off to Canada. This is the first one in based on the  Car Wash.

Rosalie really helped me with the quilting on this project. I had not thought of using double needle for this work, but I think it helps.

 

 

Heat – Geza Serious.   I am quilting away on this work and will soon be ready to all the silk paper to the piece. I will stitch it down by hand.

 

 

Old and New , Purple and Blue This work got a lot of attention on the bus. I finished all the purple blocks and made all the nine patches. Now I am adding the sashing and will begin the final assembly this week.

Scarf Liz purchased this bit of commercial Cant-ha to make a scarf. I did the assembly with the twist in it so I have a mobious strip.

 

 

 

 

Jacket I observed Victoria’s blue jean jacked with a panel sewn on the back when we went to Ohio. In my search this week for a fabric this week I came across this beautiful bit of Shobori and though I would add it to my own jacket. It now has a good home.

Handwork Shirt Having finished the hand work on the blue squares I needed a new project. So I pulled out this shirt that I had purchased in Florida earlier this spring. I will keep adding the distorted blanket stitches to the shirt until it feels finished.

 

 

 

Childhood Memories: Homes
My childhood was full of moving. My parents were always finding better jobs and moving to new locations. Be cause they were teachers that also meant that summers also included living in different locations. This also meant building new houses and I have lots of great memories of that activity, but I will include them another time.
I will try to cover them in time order. My fist memory is of the house in Ainsworth,  Iowa. It was a simple four rooms and a bath set up and my brother Gene was born there. Mom saved every thing and I even have the recite for the lumber for that house $350.00. I remember too that they did not build a barrier in the closets- back to back – between the two rooms and we could run through the hanging clothes into there room and jump onto their bed when we hear them in the mornings. Dad was an English teacher there and basketball coach. I got to be the mascot and at half time I sat in my little purple skirt and white sweater on the center of the court while the cheer leaders did there thing around me.

Dad got a job as a principal in Columbus Junction, Iowa and we moved. This time they purchased a house were the basement was built into a hill and with Grandpa Howard’s help built the main floor on top while the first school year went on and we slowly moved up stairs. I stared kindergarten while we lived in that house. The city park was our view from the front room and as kids we spent a lot of time there.

The summer I was seven, Dad got a job as a temporary ranger for the summer in Yellowstone National Park. My parents burrowed a air stream trailer that they pulled out and back with our yellow and white Ford. We did not have electricity that summer and only had fresh meet and milk on the night after we went to West Thumb( no longer there) to the store. I remember sleeping in the front room of that trailer and watching the full moon one night line up with the circular window in the door and listen to the coyotes howling.

Our next move was to Carroll Iowa where I started third grade. Again we lived in the basement that Dad, Grandfather and twin high school boys built into a hill the summer before school started. We actually lived in an apartment for the summer. It was across the street from the city park and both Gene and I took swimming lessons there. Gene started Kindergarten and Mom went back to work for the school as a seventh and eight grade science teacher.

Our next home was again a temporary summer Ranger Job for Dad in Tetons National Park at Colter Bay Campground this time. They provided housing and we had electricity. We spent the summer in a army surplus tent with a wooden floor, wood stove and screen door. Mom made a birthday cake in the electric fry pan that she brought with us. We did have to walk/run to the bathroom in the camp ground though.

We continued to live in the house in Carroll in the winter and we went off to Greeley Colorado so my parents could work on there Master’s degrees. We lived in a much nicer trailer that had two bed rooms. Gene and I both went to summer school that summer. We played with kids in the park in the afternoons. The girl and I played dolls. Barbie was popular by that time, but my little doll of choice was Betsy Mc Call. Her legs bent and she could set in chairs.

Dad Graduated from the University of Iowa and he and Mon got jobs at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. That was the only house that they did not build them selves. But they did choose the lot and arranged the floor plan to suit us. We moved in there and I started eight grade. Gene was at the local elementary and for the fist time we did not go to the same building for school. My parent shared that house until their divorce in 1973.

Childhood Memories: Dad’s Office
Fathers’s day is Sunday. In thinking about him I have wonderful memories to share
We moved the year I was six and ready to begin Kindergarten. Dad took his first job as a High School principal in Columbus Junction Iowa. I remember going to his office. The Superintendent was across the hall and there was a huge grandfather clock that fascinated me in the hall. I was really hypnotized by the hug pendulum and I love the chimes. Dad’s office had a clerking floor that even made sound when I walked across it. I remember setting in Dad’s chair and my head was barley above the desk top. There was a closet in the back of the office that held the candy that they sold at sporting events. There was also on the back of the door to that closet a big wooden paddle. It was larger then I was tall. I had always know that Dad meant business when he talked- but this really reinforced that in my young mind. It Dad gave me a Milkyway from that closet when we left because I had been so good. Later he sat me down at home and we had a serious talk about behavior. Dad said I was getting too old to spank, but I was still responsible for my actions and there would be other punishments if I needed them. We had other variations on the responsibility talk as I grew up.

Gardening with Dad
Every place we lived Dad had a garden. I recall the second spring in the house in Columbus Junction and watching him use the spade to turn over the ground. I sat near the strawberry bed and he uncovered a carrot that had survived the winter in the ground. He wiped it off on his pants and told me I could eat it. I backed a bit”Its still dirty” I said. “Aw,” he replied and wiped it a second time. “Don’t you know you have to eat a cubic acre of dirt before it will kill you?”, as he tried yet again. I took the carrot and took a small bit from the cleaner end- it tasked OK. Dad smiled and said “That’s my girl- my Carrie berry bin” -And I got my first and favorite nick name. As Dad was always teaching he explained about nick names when I asked him. This one is a sign of “endearment “ he told me and I added this to my list of growing vocabulary.

Hope you are all creating wonders of your own

Carol

PS   Posting for the next two weeks will be on Friday.  Next Thur I will be teaching a Silk Paper workshop and the following Thur is 4 th of July.

3X3, Childhood Memories, Hand Bags, Icarus, Tee Shirt Quilts

Moving Along

Hello,
I saw this toad on my walk this week. He is difficult to see. Looked for him in the same area every day sense, but no luck.   I am just glad to know he is in our world.
The Associated Artists had their opening for the Flight show.   This wing is Liz’s entry.   There was a woman who was 102 how came along with one of the other artist. It was fascinating talking with her. Openings can open one to new ideas and this one was especially simulating.

This is Barbara’s entry.  The top one sold that day too.

 

 

 

 

 

Liz took this shot of me  and my piece there.

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Tee Shirt Quilt
This quilt in nearing the completions stage now. The back is complete and I am in the middle of the quilting.

 

 

 

Purple Squares-Nine patches I did a lot of work on this project this week. The some of the older blue blocks have been combined with the newly completed purple ones to create these four nine patch units.

 

I plan to make a second entry for the 3X3 show if I can get them done in time.

 

 

 

 

 

Hand Bag I made a new more colorful spring bag this week.

 

 

 

 

Scarp Assembly This process just keeps inching forward. I have been putting in about an hour every day stripping together fabric strips.

 

 

Preparations I am preparing to depart for QSDS on Sunday. I did two more drawings from the car was photos.   I think they will be a good jumping off place for me.

It also means that I have limited my color pallet and that means a concentrated box of fabric for me. I decided yesterday that I need a little security too, so I pin based a base for a new wild fire piece. I have a clear idea of what I want to do on it  so when I feel too frustrated with the car was project I can work on a piece with more potential for success.

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memoirs- Belief
As a child I had a great imagination. I really could believe in the stories that were read to me and fairies, witches, trolls and pixies were just out of sight. One summer day I spent with my Aunt May. I spent a frustrating morning trying to learn how to jump rope.   At lunch she talked to me about believing one could and would accomplish things with time and belief. “I belief you will learn how to jump rope”, she told me. After lunch she read a story about Aladdin and the flying carpet before I was to take a nap. I was fascinated by the idea and could not get to sleep for thinking about it. In my childhood mind, one didn’t need the carpet-just belief. So I climbed out the window over the poach and walked to the edge. I folded my arms, step off and folded my legs and proceeded to “Fly” down into the snowball bush. Aunt May say me “Fly” past as she was setting on the front poach  and screamed as I passed by. Needless to say the snowball bush was never the same. My only injuries were a few scratches.  Mom could not believe I had not broken anything – the power of belief saved me. I did conquer the jump rope later that afternoon too.
I am off to Quilt Surface Design Symposium on Sunday and will not return until June 3, so there will be no posting next week.
Keep Creating
Carol

3X3, Childhood Memories, Collage, Creative Assistants, Finger Lakes Fiber Artist Group, Scrap Happy Quilts

Lilac Time

 

Hello,
As the photo shows the Lilac are blooming. The smell is wonderful. We continue to have warm days with lots of rain.
There was a Finger Lakes Fiber Artists meeting this week end. It was good to see the gals and the discussions were good ones.   I know I took photos but I can’t seem to put my fingers on them at this time.  Lets just agree it was a visual feast.

The Sketchbook Revival class ended and I did a lot of drawing / collage works to finish up. It was enjoyable to stretch in that way for a while.  It is always good to step out of ones routine and try new things every now and then.

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Circular Thinking I am glad that I did the rework on this piece. The edges are square now and I like the flipped piece. It did mean some additional stitching across the seams, but it was well worth the efforts.

 

 

 

 

Tee Shirt Quilt 1 This work is moving forward now. All the shirts are assembled into the top  and I am building a scarp back in  shades of green and brown.

I would love to get this one completed in the next week.

 

 

 

 

 

Creative Assistants I got busy and made a new batch of faces for these little fellows this week. It is always a playful activity.

 

 

Prep Work I am going to the Surface Design Symposiums in Ohio the last week in May thanks to Susan G.   She can not go due to a join replacement she had last week. She is gifting me her spot with Rosalie Dace in Independent Studio for seven days. I am working on sketches of things to try with her guidance.
The this one is of an antique auto  that I took years ago. I want to do a few more before I limit my choices and then I will start to pull fabric to do the work.

This is my pencil interpretation of a shot I took in the car was.   I have several more from this adventure that I want to try.

 

 

 

 

Scrap Assembly   I  keep putting together my scarps and the box is now almost full of units to cut up. I have emptied one of my five bags of scarps too.

 

 

Purple Squares I had a good week and managed to finish off six new blocks this week. I want to complete three more and then I will build a nine patch by adding them to some of the blue squares that I excavated before the retreat.

 

 

Childhood Memories- Berrying Doubloons One of the summers that Gene and I stayed with the grandparents while my parents went to Iowa City to work on their Master’s Degrees, we where in love with the idea of pirates. Our great Aunt May had worked in the button factory when she was younger and she was allowed to bring home the button  seconds. There were buckets full of pearl buttons in Grandmother Ruth’s house. Gene, cousin Russell and I called them doubloons and decided to make a treasure map and bury some. We got a old cigar box from grandmother and filled it with the buttons. We even tried to make “ink” with some berry juice, used a chicken feather for a pen and drew a map of “ Cocklin Island” .   Cocklin was my grandparents name- and the map was our interpretation  of the yard.  We noted all the landmarks in the yard like the three Blue Pines and the dead cherry tree .  We  put an X where we buried the treasure of course.   It was in the garden near the old  stone encrusted  cement pillars that  great  grandfather Herman, had made when Mom was young.    We berried the “treasure chest”  there because  it was the only place in the yard that was soft enough for us to dig  successfully.   I do not know if anyone ever went in search of the treasure or what became of the map. I am sure grandmother dug up the box when she dug potato that fall. It was a great way to spend a summer day  and my memory of the day is a golden one.

Keep Creating

Carol

3X3, Childhood Memories, Daily Practice, Diva Meetings, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Icarus, Quilt Exploration Group (QuEGs), Re Work, Scrap Happy Quilts

Spring Studio Schweinfurth 2019

Hello.

This last week end was the spring retreat at the Schweinfurth.  It is a time when one can work on projects of one’s own choosing and be with other like minded folks. This time I was in the dry studio and worked on lots of projects. Many of my friends were present too. Sharon did some wonderful pillow covers down stairs in the wet studio.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joyce did some explorations that look a lot like her paintings.   As you can see she really  loves the apple green color.

 

 

 

 

 

Regina worked in the wet studio too and showed me one of her finished indigo/ hand dye painted pieces the first morning before she got to work.

 

 

 

 

Liz was up stairs and she took advantage of Nancy’s expertise to move forward with machine quilting.

 

 

 

Donna did hand work.

 

 

 

 

Norma put together a new top made with fabric her grandson brought back from Sweden for her.

 

 

Sally worked diligently on this piece and got the top all assembled over the weekend.

 

 

 

 

I worked away on may projects- but folks were most amused by my “Pig Pen” like approach to building scrap units.

 

 

 

 

I put in a lot of thought into the old blue squares and decided to cut them down to 6″ squares. The 42 of them will be added to 43 newly embroidered  purple squares that will be my new Daily Practice work.   Later   I will assembled the old ones and then new blocks into  a quilt.

It was a great fun weekend and we did get silly as this picture shows- we were excited talking over one another and laughing when the Kindergarten teacher in Liz came out and she put us in line.

There was an extra benefit to being at the Schweinfurth, we got to see the Made in New York show. I really liked this wonderful bit of fiber work that greets one at the opening of the show.

 

 

Tues was also meeting day for QuEG’s and Diva’s. For QuEG’s we meant at Dori’s house.  Sue Ellen had a great sunset to share with us.

 

 

Corrine had more of her wonderful leather works.

 

 

 

 

Victoria showed off one of her new projects too.

 

 

 

Dori had a beautiful bed quilt that she is doing for her grand daughter. Dori also shared a portion of her Paper Doll collection with us.

It was amazing and brought lots of laughs as well as memories to all of us. A fun meeting.

Diva’s was a lot quieter. Maureen showed off her newest bit of hand work. This photo does not show all the stitch work.

 

Mary brought back her finished “Painted Ladies”. They are delightful.

Wednesday, the FAB group helped Nancy do a bit of moving by all showing up at her old house and loading up our  cars and  then driving to the new house and unloading there. I took this shot of the drooping tulip in the garden at the old house. I was taken by the shape.   Nancy is leaving beautiful gardens behind- but looking forward to building new ones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Icarus This work is 35″w X 41.5″ l. I spent a lot of time on this at the retreat. Not only did I add the  body  parts to the background I added the loin cloth and did more quilting. I added the harness and wing connections on Monday when I got home.

I am quite pleased with it and it is off to be hung at a part of the “ Flight Show “ by Associated Artists in the Maniluas Library for the next 30 days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Circular Thinking 3 X 3- revisited. The more I looked at this piece the more unhappy I was with it. So over the weekend I took it apart and re assembled it. I am still working on evening up the sides.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scraps assembly This is the way the strips look when they are sewn together and pressed. I will then cut them  horizontally  into 2.5″ strips and put the strips into long rows that will later be added to blocks or as boarders for the Scarp Happy quilts I make.

 

 

Sketchbook Revival: This class is over now but I am still working doing the lessons that I did not get to. This is what I did in response to Rachel Taylor’s instruction. The whole process  has been a good way to stretch a bit.

 

 

 

 

Daily Practice – Purple squares Here is the first purple square to go with the blue ones I mentioned before.

Fortunately I still had the cut letters  that I had created for the first set of squares so I could add the stamping like the first ones.

 

Childhood Memories- Fishing in Minnesota
My brother, Gene always liked to fish. Me – not so much, but I would go along and read while he did the fishing. One summer our family took a vacation in the 1,000 lakes of Minnesota. For 10 days we did not see or talk to anyone other then the family members. Gene and I spent several days” fishing”. On one of those days we were quietly floating in a nice sunny area when Gene had a strike. He reeled the fish up and out of the water- it was a big one! Then the line snapped and the fish fell back into the water. Gene was upset. But upon looking over the side of the boat he spotted the bright silver  lure against the  dark green bottom. He quickly tied another lure  to his line and carefully dropped it back into the water and hooked the new lure into the first and proceeded to reel everything back in. This time however he quickly pulled the fish over the boat where the line broke for a second time and the fish and two lures landed in the bottom of the boat. He was thrilled. A great fish story.   He went on to catch three more fish that afternoon. And guess who got to clean the fish?- Me of course.

Keep Creating
Carol

3X3, Childhood Memories, Creative Assistants, Finger Lakes Fiber Artists, Icarus, Shows, Tee Shirt Quilts

Show Work Week

Hello,

The Blood root is from my garden. Spring keeps pushing forward. Thank goodness!

 

 

This week has been a busy one. Sat. Liz and I went to Varna for a play day. I taught folks how to make a boiled book. We had mixed results as the leaves are still too soft to get really strong images. But we did have fun with it. Liz made progress on her applique circles. I think this will be a great quilt when it is finished.

 

These books and tags are the work of Donna.

 

 

I have put in a lot of time making labels  doing artists statements and making sure I have all the necessary items to hang and present a good shows.   Yesterday with the help of Angela and Julia,  we hung the Finger Lakes Fiber Artist show at May Memorial at 3800 Gennesee St here in Syracuse.     The quilt  by Sharon is a part of the show.   The works  looks good against these dark walls.

It was great to have the help and the process took less then two hours. I forgot to print out our into statements so I made a stop there today to post that addition. The show will be up until Wed May 29 and is open most days from 9 until 4:30.
Today  with Beth’s help we hung a show at the Life Force Center.   This quilt is called Tucson’s and is one of 32  of my works  in this show.  It  will hang  from now until the middle of June.    Beth was very helpful and it took about two hours to hang this show too.  Building  and hanging shows is a part of being an artist,  but  I   look forward to doing my own creative work for  a while now.

Progress Report: Circular Thinking- 3 X 3 This work is 51″w X 51″l and it  is my response to the Sisterhood of the Scissors challenge 3 X 3 . It was a bear to assemble. I see now that I really need to take a second look at the one side and perhaps re do the facing there. When one is working on a piece as big as this it is hard to see the total until the end.
I am glad I did all the stitching, even thought there seems to be as much embroidery thread in my stash as when I started.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Icarus I am finishing up the machine drawing on this work now. Even though I fused the fabric to batting before I did that step it sure got distorted.    Lots and lots of heave pressing has flattened out most of that however.   Again I need to live with this a while to see where to go from this point.

 

 

Creative Assistants I finished another batch of these little fellows this week. There are 23 this time. When I was cleaning I discovered under my chair, one more that needed the last three steps to finish it off . Guess that means I have a starter for the next group.

 

 

Tee Shirt Quilt I have make little progress on this work this week, but it is moving forward.

 

 

 

 

 

Sketchbook Revisited Class   Along with many others am doing a online free class for the last week and a half.  It is a great way to stretch and explore.      This lesson was by Anne Butera.   The emphasis on studying the subject, but not getting too hung up on the details.  Looking  at color and using a big brush captures it all quickly.  I  am enjoying myself even though I am behind a few lessons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories -Crack the Whip    One year at Thanksgiving time we had a real cold snap for about 4 days and there was no snow. We all went to the cabin that Grandfather Howard had built on the slew.( It is a back water of the Iowa River- created when the river changed its course and left old Chanel still full of water) The ice was thick and flat. One could skate in a strait line for as long as one wanted to if you went up the slew. All the cousins who had ice skates spent a wonderful afternoon skating.   Being one of the older kids I had done the “hand me down” thing with several pairs of skates.    Uncle Paul pulled us in a laugh filled game of Crack the Whip. Gene, Danny, Russell, Tracy and Doug were there I am sure.  My memory is a little fuzzy about who else was there.  When we  got cold  and tired we went up to the cabin and had hot coco and popcorn from the popcorn machine around the stone fireplace that grandfather had built.   It was a great day!

Keep Creating

Carol

3X3, Collections, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Icarus, Linnen Jacket, Scrap Happy Quilts, The Grandfathers

Birthday Week 2019

Hello,
It was my Birthday this week and Eric got me these beautiful spring flowers a great card and took me to dinner.  I had dessert and ice cream with the FAD gals, some cards from my aunts came in the snail mail, got lots of emails, a great phone call from my daughter and a text from my grand daughter. It was a great day for me.


The FAD gals meant and we had  a good time. Sharon was doing the hem on her quilt – Moon River in the Rain.   I like the way ones’s eye roams across the surface with this quilt.


I made a vow at to try to do a follow up on an idea from one of the magazines I get every month. This month I tried cheese cloth painting from Julie Booth’s article in the April May issue in the  Quilting Arts magazine. It was fun and messy. I was trying to build up some more material for my next wild fire piece. I also just played- something most of us do not spend enough time doing.

 

Progress Report :   Jacket 
I just keep working during the news on this project. I am adding the Turkey work on the last patch. It will be evaluation time again before I know if I am done or not.

 

 

 

 

Tee Shirt Quilt I am now starting to build units with this project. I cut 2.5″ and 4.5″ strips of various blues, browns and greens and connected them to the sides of the squares from the clothing. I do not want the work to have an up or down so I am placing the blocks together with the text reading from both directions. All the small units are built and now I am adding things together.

 

Scarp Happy.     I am done with the assembly of the rows for this   Scarp Happy quilt,  But I am out of the strips of scarps that I use for the edges and boarders.   Here is one of four bags full  leftovers and “cut aways ”  that I have to make those  new strips with.  So I  guess I will have to get going and put some together for this quilt in order to finish it.

  Blue Squares  I was doing a bit of spring cleaning and I came across this stack of 42   squares. I do not remember what my intentions were- but I think I got frustrated when I reached this point because the squares are not all the same size.    After giving it thought, I think I will make 45 more squares using the same theme and put them together as nine patches. I will make them all the same size by cutting down the big ones so everything goes together smoothly.  All the new squares will be this new size to start with too!  I guess this will be my new Daily Practice for a while.

Collections VI I have started stitching a few things to the base on this project. It is not getting much attention at the moment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Icarus I put in a lot of time  in on this work this week. I fused the body and legs to quarter inch batting.  I have done colored pencil  drawing and free motion thread painting on he work to create  the shading. The top half is done. I have stitched down the wings so I am playing with position for the head and trunk at this point. The legs need the thread work before I can trim away the extra  batting and add them to the surface. I am happy with the progress.

 3 X 3 -Circular Thinking 

This is a shot of the back of the work.   I am done with the most of the embroidery work on this piece now and have moved to assembling the rows into a nine patch.     The yellow with the red and blue print is sashing.  The center row shows how the back of the work looks before I fuse a solid print onto it to stabilize the work  and finish it.  There are 27 sides to stitch down to finish this piece.   

Childhood Memories- the Grandfathers This project keeps evolving as I work on it.   I have been looking at slides and photos of when I was a kid  and noticed that mom seems to have dressed me   in  red a lot, so I will use that to help identify me in the works from now on.     As the title suggests this piece is about my grandfathers. Grandpa Howard was my Mother’s father. I remember him always wearing Carhart pants and shirts in forest green. He had a very inquiring mind and a good sense of humor. He helped my parents build three of the four houses that we lived in as I grew up. He was helping Mom on the house in Columbus Junction, Iowa, the year I started Kindergarten. I come home from lunch every day. After eating together he and I would set in the red and silver print chair in our living room  and he would read one chapter of Alice in Wonderland to me before I ran back to school in the afternoon.
Grandpa Merritt was a farmer. Except for Sundays, he always wore gray and white striped overhauls from Oskash and a woven hat. I remember enjoying running in the furrow of the plow behind the tractor. It was a red International Harvester. The feeling of the rich dark earth between my toes and the powerful earth smell always delighted me. I can’t remember how many springs I followed him as he plowed that 160 acre filed, planted it and harvested the bounty when fall came. He lovingly rotated his crops to keep the fields rich too.

Keep Creating
Carol

3X3, Collections, Curvie Cuts, Mom VI, Scrap Happy Quilts, Sea Stars, The Grandmothers

Itching for Spring

Hello
I am itching for warmth and more flowers and green leaves. We continue to get little tastes as these photos show.  Even the trees are blooming -But I am greedy and I want more Spring.

This week was a very quiet one when it came to seeing other folks and meetings. So I got a lot done in the studio.

Progress Report: Sea Stars This work is 36.5″w X 21″ l.  The base of this work came from leftovers from Wave. I just put the remainders together in a curvy cut fashion and had a great pallet to begin on top of. The starfish are created from wired ribbon that was leftover from Christmas.  The coral came from a purchase of paper that I made last spring in Rochester at the Art store.  Beads and yarn were in my collection. It was a fun project.   No money was spent on the creation of this project.   I already had/ have a deep supply of stuff to use in my work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Puck This stretched work is 12″ w X 16″l. I stared this work years ago and came across it in one of my searches. I decided to completes this work because with time I  could see what it needed. I added some shading and then did the machine drawing on top to complete the work.

I have a friend who is in Mid Summer’s Nights Dream next month and I will give this work to her as a memento.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Collections This work is slowly moving forward. I added the old leather book mark that was my mothers. The post card was from her trip to India. The pictures of Candy Grandmother, ( upper left) and Grandma Butterworth(  the flapper)  I had, so I decided to use them as well.

 

 

Icarus  The feathers are all made now and most are stitched down to the wings. I will finish this step and then move onto the body in the up coming week.

 

 

Circular Thinking- 3 X 3 I continue to work on the assembly step of this project. Columns A and B are stitched together in long columns. I have also stitched the first two blocks in column C.

Each connection also includes adding circles that cross over the boundary between squares.  I will begin to connect the columns this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scrap Happy This is the newest scrap happy and it is made  from leftovers. I even made the back yesterday from remainders of other backs that I created for other projects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jacket

I keep working to integrate the patches into the body of the work.   each stitch moves me forward.

 

 

 

Childhood Memories – The Grandmothers On the left is grandmother Ester, my fathers mother. I will show her in pale purple from now on, because the dress that she made and I loved the most was a calico print with purple pussy willows printed on it. Grandmother  Ester taught me to sew in the summer before  seventh grade.   My first project was pajamas in cotton  duck fabric. The top was white with big quarter sized multi colored circles. The bottoms were turquoise. I made them to wear to church camp that summer.
The    tall figure on the right is grandmother Ruth, my mothers’s mother. I will show her in royal blue as I remember a blue dress with a big white line pattern on it.  She always wore an apron made from a retired dress- just the skirt over the top of her clothing. I decide to show a summer day when she and I were clearing out the out buildings of Great Grama Gast’s home. ( that was Grandma Ruth’s mother)
In one of the buildings we opened the door to find a big ball of string so large it could not come out of the space. Strings from the butcher, mailed packages and groceries were tied one to the next and wrapped into this ball. Because  Grandmother Ruth and her mother Great Grandmother  Gast had lived through the depression, they   did not toss out any thing that could be reused! We had to cut away the string with a knife until it was small enough roll it our the door. But the real amazing thing was on one of the shelves in the back of the room. In a brown paper bag- and it was full- written in Grandmother Gast’s hand were the words “ string too short to save”. It was full of the knots and bits! I still have that bit of brown paper under glass on the back porch.
Keep Creating
Carol

3X3, Childhood Memories, Core family, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Mom VI, Scrap Happy Quilts, Sea Stars

Spring Flowers

 

Hello,
It is so nice to walk out the door without boots, gloves and hats.   The early spring flowers are making their appearance in central NY as well . That is always a good sign.


The FAD group meant this week and the talk was lively.  Judy shared her newly completed sweater. She was working away on the next one all during the meeting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sharon has been busy at her machine and she had three quilts to share. This one is a commission where she tried adding pines in the background for the first time.   That layering adds a lot of depth.


Progress Report: 3 X 3 Circular Thinking I finished the last square this week and I am now in the process of connecting all the squares together. The first row of three is stitched.  I now need to go back into the work and add a bit more stitching to complete some of the circles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sea Stars I have stitched down the stars now and I am on to the coral. I did the coral by machine. The coral is cut from hand made paper that I purchaed at The Art  Store in Rochester last spring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jacket This work goes forward now that I have a new direction. I have added Turkey Work to three of the patches to integrate them into the jacket. I think it really pushes them back and anchors them too.

 

Icarus Here I am working on creating feathers for the wings. It takes a little over 12 min to do each one, but I think it is worth the effort.    I have created  16 feathers so far.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Collections I keep pining items on the surface as I come across them. I am just about ready to begin stitching on this project.

 

 

Scrap Happy I looked  again at the box of fabric that Angela gave  to me and found more of the fruit  bathers in a much bigger format. So I cut the 4.5 in strips from  it and added the sides. These new blocks  plus the leftovers from the first fruit swimmers  quilt will go together to make a second.

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories This is a new venture that will be my  weekly project. This square is to introduce the core family characters. The memory connected with this work is one that happened every in our house  every Christmas as I grew up. My parents were married on Christmas eve and my Mom put on her wedding dress on that night every year.  Dad took a photo of my brother Gene and myself in the folds of the gown. I loved the dress as it was a beautiful silk double weave of a star pattern.   When one grows up one dies not realize that every family has its own traditions.   I  was Jr high before I realized no one else’s Mom dressed in her wedding gown on Christmas eve for a yearly photo.    The idea of celebrating an anniversary by dressing in the wedding  gown was just something my family did and it  had nothing to do with Christmas.   What childhood “traditions” where particular to your family?

Next week I will be trying to represent my grandparents in a new machine drawn  collage image.

Keep Creating
Carol

3X3, Collections, Curvie Cuts, Diva Meetings, Hand work, Linnen Jacket, Mom VI, Quilt Exploration Group (QuEGs)

Travels in Florida

Flying PigHello,

I got home form sunny Florida on Sunday and arrived in a snow storm.   The trip was beautiful and exciting.   I spent five days with Chris T  in Brenton Florida.  She is a great hostess and took me to see the Museum  of Whimsy.  It was a visual overload with so much to look at that I felt  a bit overwhelmed.   The flying pig is from that museum and a very small portion of what the museum has to offer. Then it was off to the Ringling museum with a different feel altogether.   It is divided into three separate museums.  The actual  circus stuff and the art collection is where we spent most of our time.    The dioramas where full of  amazing detail, like this one of the big top.   I had not considered all the parts that went into running a Circus including, black smiths, adverting men and  costume repair folks along with cooks and performers.  It was a delight.Chris  Chris’s son took us out on his boat into the Gulf to see the sun set one night.  it was glorious.  Manatee Chris  took me to the Museum of Southern Florida where  I watched a great  talk/demonstration on Manatees among many other things.      This fellow  is set for release back into the wild soon.

I enjoyed the   Village of the Arts   where her  shop is located.   It was fun to explore and see wonderful art at every turn.    Ihelped in Chris’s gallery two days too.

.IMG_3007 We walked the Mangrove grove shore on Sunday morning.   There were lots of interesting plant forms there.    Chris’s home is on the water and we got to see lots of close up of wonderful shore birds,   every morning and evening .

IMG_3032Then we went off to Gulfport and I moved in with Cris W.   Susan, Cris and I spent a day at Fort Desoto on the beach and had a good time relaxing, drawing and watching the passing birds.   I did collect shells too.

Cris took time to teach Susan, Carolyn, Laura and myself   how to do Boiled Books.    I was apicallyBoiled book open happy with how mine came out.    This shots shows the plants that created the white on this page.

Susan and I painted fabric and work on projects in her garden several days. In the garden 2019We went to exercise class, drawing on Wednesday eve and did the Gulfport editable garden tour.   I learned a lot on with that experience.

IMG_3040 I  even got up twice to see the sun rise over the water.    I had a wonderful time.   I feel so fortunate to have such nice folks to visit.

IMG_3053This week was the first on the month and there was a QuEG’s meeting on Tues.   Angela  has been making books.  Thirteen last month!   This is one of her Secret Belgium binding  ones.    Corrine shared her  Coptic stitch binding books too.IMG_3056  I think we are headed for a book play day in the future.

Susan was busy getting ready for The Surface Design Conference with a series of small color based quilts.  This one is Green.  She also had   red,  yellow and  blue ones in similar fashion.  Great fun with letter forms and color I think.  IMG_3051  Sally made a table runner for the holiday this month.

Liz shared her  new mystery block project with us.   Lots of color here.  She also had her 6X6 entries for the Rochester Art Center  ready to ship. IMG_3067

 

 

There was also a Diva meeting on Tuesday evening.   This is Anne’s work on machine drawing and quilting.   I really like the quiet dignity of this work.

 

   Mary shared her  women project.   They are all to be stretched and will all have portions that hang off the side.  There were  ten of them.   That is a lot of work.

 

 

Regina presented her gorgeous snow dyed work!    She really can get great colors!      IMG_3086Noel brought a crazy quilt she is working on and this rework of one of her older pieces.   They are very impressive groups and I find them stimulating.

Progress Report:Icarus   I think I’m just about ready to launch into the figure for this work .  I keep fiddling with the position of the body parts but feel now I can at least begin the wings this week.  That way I can still play with the body if I want.

Collections VI  009  I keep collection and  adding things to the surface of this piece.    I have lots of stuff of Moms I can use here.    No stitching yet, but that will begin soon.

019Jacket   I have been frozen with  this piece for a while so I took it to the meetings on Tue and got some advice.  I now have a few ideas on how to go forward.  That is one of the best parts of belonging to groups of fellow artists.

3 X 3 A-1 I finished this block while I was in Florida.      I will work into it more when it is joined with its sisters and I can see what needs to be built up.

 

 

A-2   I moved into this one when I finished the work on A-1.  This is my last block and I will soon move into the  next phase.

Sea Stars

007   This work grew out of leftovers from Wave and the SDQA   starfish block I did for their auction.   I find that my mind sometimes just keep asking “What If?” and away I go on the next project.

The Card project has changed.  It grew out of the Florida connection.  We meant and decided to change the focus to Childhood Memories.  I realized I could not do collage to fulfill this project so I am changing my approach too.  I plan to work larger and to do painted fabric and machine drawing to solve the problems presented.   Over the core of time it should help my machine drawing skills too.

Keep Creating

Carol

3X3, Auction pieces 12 " X 12", Label Cards, Mom VI, Puck, WAVE

Inching Toward Spring

Hello,

It has been a quiet week for me.   Sometimes we need fallow times to catch up with ones self.   I did spring clean out of the closets and that sort of thing with a big run to the Rescue Mission and I am feeling  being a little lighter.  The weather is improving too.   On my walk today I heard lots of different bird songs and noted four different flocks of Canadian Geese in migration flights north.   These things plus lengthening days of sun light mean spring is coming.

Progress Report: Shore Line This work is 16” w X 32” l.   I did a lot of hand work on this piece and it is my solution to Cris’s challenge.    The white is like the egg sack that we picked up on the beach that was the basis of the challenge.IMG_2963Then I added a little challenge for my self.  Angela gave me a box of items and I tried to use a lot of the trims and items from that box  on this piece .   The white bead like items came from her box as well as  the ribbons and shells.IMG_2964The starfish too.

Starfish II   This work is 12” X 12” and my entry for the  QSDA auction for next year.   IMG_2975I just seem to get going on theme and keep at it.IMG_2976   I used the  big  starfish that was too big for the fist work and added two smaller ones  on this piece.

 

6 X 6   These three works are my entry for the 6X6 fund raiser for the Rochester Arts Center.   I had fun playing with these small works and experimenting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 X 3 C-1   This blocks location is  the upper right hand corner  of the piece.   IMG_2993I am enjoying to process and it is going smoothly.

3 X 3 B-1 This is the next block in the series.  It is the for the center of the top row.     I am enjoying this daily practice project.

IMG_2989 Here is  a shot of all of the blocks so far.   There are two blocks that have not even been started.   They are the top and middle block of the far left row.( white here)

 Wave    This is the new background for the wave word.    The contrast is much better.   Here is a shot of the old background. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Icarus Because I cannot waste  a single thing- the old background for wave  will become the background for my   Icarus quilt.  I am taking the Aloft challenge   from QSDA and this is what I want to play with.   I am working on a drawing for the figure at this time.

IMG_2974Collection VI Mom  I was pawing through  my tins when I was looking for stuff for the 6X6 cards and came across  items that my Mon had   made and given me.   The little dog and sail boat were the bib parts on some rompers that I wore as a toddler.   So I am honoring her with this collection piece.

Puck IMG_2967   I also came across this piece and due to some more recent purchases of roving I had the colors I needed to finish up the felting step of this piece.   I intend to add some stitches to it to add detail.

Cards  The Brain I have been thinking

about the brain and how it functions of late.  Sometimes my thoughts seem as confused as this image and other times it is like one picture laid over another with no real connection.  It is  really a complex item!

IMG_2998  This card is the representation of the scattered  working of ones mind.

I will be away for the next two weeks so the next post will be  April 4.

Keep creating,

Carol