Category Archives: Childhood Memories

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

 

25 Million Stitches Project, Childhood Memories, Creative Assistants, Owl, Scrap Happy Quilts, small god

Happy Kwanzaa

 

Hello,
I hope the holidays are being filled with joy and delight for all of you. Kwanza begins today and for those who celebrate it, enjoy. This time of year one  takes stock of all the people who mean something to each one of us. As I write each holiday card I think of old friends and miss those who are on longer part of my life.

This week was full of many for me with lots of family events and for that I am truly grateful. I did finish Nick Quilt on Tues eve so I really meant my goal.


Progress Report: Owl quilt for Nick This queen sized quilt proved to be a struggle when it came to appliqueing the owl down. It is difficult to roll the quilt tight enough to fit under the arm of the machine and still be able to turn it to do the machine work. Nick and Haily did seem to like it however.

 

 

 

 

 

Small God      This work is 23″ W X 28.5 “ long. I found the blue woven fabric when I was pulling fabric for the back of Nicks ‘s Owl and set it aside.

So it did not take long to add it to the sides of the already stitched piece.  I did the drawing for this work over two years ago.   Sometimes I just have to wait for the fabric to show up to complete the task.

 

Scrap Happy I just keep inching along on this project. I surely will finish it soon.

 

 

 

 

 

25 Million Stitches Project

I am working away on the figures now and only need to add the work HOPE in the center of the circle and complete the figures.

 

 

 

Creative Assistants These little guys just keep rolling off the work table. I will need to stop and count sometime soon.

 

 

 

Childhood Memories: Yellowstone Critters
Mom was a continuous explore and   constant teacher. We learned the wild flowers in Yellowstone just like back in the Junction. I could quickly identify Bear Grass, Fire Weed and Shooting Stars. We walked up the high way one day and spent the afternoon exploring a lily pond. Gene just wanted to throw in rocks, something he seemed to driven to do with any body of water. One day we saw a solo Buffalo in a small meadow off the road. Mom charged us to take note of how high the buffalo was in relationship to a small tree there. On a later day we stopped the car and walked across the meadow up to the tree. I realized that my sense of scale was way off as I could only reach the branch that seemed to be level with the buffalo’s hump, if Dad boosted me a bit. They are very big animals!

On one of our outings we saw a Porcupine. He was very shy and ran away before Mom could get a photo.

One of our hikes revealed a Fire Ant mound. The nest was built of pine needles to help it suede water, Mom said.  The mound also made it possible for some of the aunts to weather the winter.  The mound  was so tall it reached about Gene’s waste and was three feet across. The bite of those ants hurt a lot too.
One of our outings  was up to a fire lookout station. The station was above the tree line and one could see across tree tops and peeks in all directions. There was a large brass device in the center of the room that cold be turned in any direction with a little window that the ranger then lined up with smoke so the fire could be pinpointed. The Range also gave us his binoculars and pointed out a Balled Eagle nest with 3 young all brown birds in it. They do not get white head feathers until they are three years old.   They were only six weeks old he told us.    Yellowstone  was a great experience for me as a kid.

I am stating to think about my goals for 2020.

Keep Creating

Carol

Childhood Memories, Creative Assistants, Jumping Off Place, Owl, Scrap Happy Quilts

Working Away

Hello,
With Christmas fast approaching there are always lots of craft fairs in our area. I went to one and purchased these wool dryer balls. They are a great way to speed up dryer time and fluff up the clothing just like lint sheets- but no waste. They work well.

Progress Report:   Owl   Quilt – Nick’s Christmas   I am assembling the base and quilting that part now. The quilting is all stitch in the ditch.

 

Scarp Happy I finished the back and I am now flip quilting all the rows together. Only have a few left.   I will do a diagonal quilting pattern on top to make even more connections.

 

 

 

Jumping off Place This work got berried under other projects and only came to light again this week. I want to add some buttons for emphasis and think I will finish soon.

Creative Assistants I did watch a lot of football this week so I finished up 25 more of these little fellows. More are in various stages too.

25 Million Stitches Project My good friend Cheri alerted me to this project to note and bring to the attention of others the fact that there are 25 million refugees in our world at this time. I continue to be worried about the children that our country has separated from their parents and this is my small contribution to  that  awareness  and to other aspects of this problem. I started my contribution last eve. If you are interested in participating the email add to find information is AQUinfor@comcast.net

 

Childhood Memories Base Camp in Yellowstone
Dad was stationed at the South Gate Ranger Station  in Yellowstone so that was where we parked the tailor for the summer. There were four families there plus a barracks full of young men who were the trail crew. They also tended the horses that were in the meadow in the day time and in the barn at night. Two of the families were permeate ranges. They lived in a three story duplex that the park service provided. There were three stories because the snow became so deep in winter that one could only escape from one of the upper stories through doors on those levels. The Children- all boys- five of them were home schooled. Across the dirt road on the meadow side sat our trailer and the smaller camp tailor  of the Jaquin’s .    We where  the  seasonal ranges families  and there was no housing provided at that time. We did not have electricity or running water.  (Welcome to how most of the world lived for hundreds of years.)    Mom had to hall water and the out house was down the road a bit and closer to the barracks. There was running water there and the barracks had indoor pluming so we never really crossed their paths. Mom had to use a wash board to do the laundry. With on way to keep food cold we only had real milk and fresh meat on the evening after we went to West Thumb and visited the trading post. We did drink a lot of powered milk though.  Because there was no  electricity and running water meant that Mom had to boil water on the Coleman stove for baths. We had a big stainless steel tub that we used for that. But I only remember doing that a few times . More often we went off to secluded section of the Snake River down stream from some geyser activity and went “swimming” there with soap. Mom often washed my hair there as well. It was great as it was warm and very clear. There was electricity available as Gene discovered the first night we were there. It was dusk and  he and I where catching June Bugs. He ran into the electric fence and it knocked him to the ground. He was more surprised then hurt. The fence was there to cage the horses and we had not noticed it when we parked the trailer. Later that summer we ducked under the single strand of wire and went into the bog part of the meadow. I was fascinated by the fact that one could find frogs in all stages of development from tad polls to two and four legged  little frogs with tails ,  all at the same time in the small horse hoof  pool wholes in the bog. The bog turned into a small stream just south of the barn. Jay, Gene and I played in it the first week or so. We built dams and such. No chance of getting lost as long as one stayed in the stream bed or next to it ,  so we did wander far. That all ended when a bear went through the camp area. Mom could not find us at that time and after that we had to be within hearing or eye sight of the camp for all our unsupervised play time. With only seven children and me the only girl,  it was a bit wild. We played hide and seek, tag and various other made up games. There was a big Marian of smooth rocks left by the glaciers that we used to play King on the Mountain on too. The rocks were all rounded so there were no sharp edges to get too badly hurt on. There was a big sand box near the big house and as kids we played there a lot. Gene had a toy we called a Trunner Rucker. It was a toy version of a road building bit of equipment. It was deep green and consisted of a cab unit with a trailer behind that had a crank on it so you could rise the bed and dump out the contents. It was a popular toy in that sand box and we played there a lot.    One day when Jimmy got angry with me and brook a glass jar on top of my head. I was banned from the sand box after Mom picked the glass out of my scalp. My first experience of “might makes right”. Dad tried to explain that even though it seems I was being punished –  sometimes it was better to avoid a conflict.     I just felt” wronged “and things between me and the boys were never the same. Mom did build me two tents- one out of a green army blanket and one out of a red Indian blanket to compensate.   It was fun but lonely.
We did eat a lot of peanut butter and canned meat that summer but we did get fresh fish too. One early morning the rangers took all the kids fishing on Yellowstone Lake. The kids mostly played on the rocky shore and only reeled in the fish that the men caught. Each child got the limit of 3- Cut Throat Trout. I remember being very proud. The eating was great too.

 

Hope everyone is preparing for the holidays and enjoying the time.

Keep Creating

Carol

Childhood Memories, Creative Assistants, Finger Lakes Fiber Artists, Owl, Scrap Happy Quilts

Busy Time

Hello-
As the photo shows I am still sorting my images of Australia.

I have been busy this week with a Finger Lakes Fiber Artist meeting. We added a new member to our group and I welcome her. Her work is very personal and this quilt is about her concern for a friends lung cancer.

 

 

Angela shared her second quilt for her brother that is constructed with fabric from her fathers old shirts.

 

 

Noel showed two baby quilts and her new excoriation work with pears. She is expanding her knowledge form her QBL class- one on the many qualities I like about her.

 

 

 

 

Pat just completed this big work.

 

 

 

I also spent time at the Quilts = Art= Quilts show. This was my second visit and I was attracted to new works this time. This work is by Shannon Costly  if Marco Island Fl  and is called Emerging.   The white words are “cut through”   the quilt and only connected with thread.    I love how used color and negative space to convey her message.

Progress Report: Bed For Kids- Scrap Happy I put in a lot of time on this to finish it on Tue.

 

I am glad I have done the build work with scraps so that this quilt only took two weeks to complete.

 

 

 

 

Pink Windmill This work was what I started at Sharron’s earlier this fall. It too went off to the Beds project on Tuesday.

 

 

 

 

 


Owl- Nick’s Christmas quilt I have built the back of this quilt and I am now assembling the rows. I hope to get to work on the owl piece for the top soon.

 

 

 

Creative Assistants These guys have served as my hand work for this week. It looks like I need to add the arms and hair so I can complete these guys.

 

There are two Childhood memories this week in my attempt to catch up.


Childhood Memories- 6th Birthday

In my family we always celebrated birthdays with candles and cake. One time Mom made angel food cake and inserted a little doll in the opening and made the cake frosting her gown. Mom did special parties when one was 6 and again when one turned 13. I’ll do 13 later. For my 6th birthday I had six guests all from the neighborhood- Billy, Susan, Sally, Doug, Anne and my brother Gene. The theme was Out of this World. The party hats were red vinyl with red crepe paper manes and two antenna with a ball on the end of each. The party favors were little forest green clothespin men with red ta-bards that sported a lighting strike. The were set in marshmallows to stand up.

Mom made a cake shaped like a space ship. The base was the usual cake tin and the second layer was baked in a domed Pyrex bowl. It had pink frosting with gum drops on it for lights. I got a big tricycle for my gift from Mom and Dad. It was red and white with a huge front wheel. I really loved it.   I spent many and afternoon  riding  it in the basement or up and down the driveway.

Childhood Memories – 1948 Ford 

As a kid, I did not pay much attention to cars until we got a used 1948 Ford. It was a ugly faded shade of dark green. My parents took it off to the garage and had it updated. The visor over the front window was removed and it got a new coat of paint. The Sunday before it came home we visited the car at the garage. The windows were taped with paper and the wheels were protected, the smell of paint was strong in the air and the ugly duckling was now yellow on the bottom with white on the top. It looked great! It was the car my parents used to pull a rented air stream from Columbus Junction,Iowa to Yellowstone National Park for that summer. I was seven. Mrs Mc Donald across the street gave  us a box of cookies the morning we left. Mom carefully dulled them out and made them last the whole trip. She also used the top of the box to keep track of the mileage. I recall smuggling down on the floor with my head resting on the lump- (drive shaft) and falling asleep on that trip. Later that summer we used the cookie box to create a diorama. Sand was on the bottom with short branches for trees, wolf liken for bushed and peeled corrugated cardboard became  the log cabin. Mom arranged a trip away from South Gate every weekend Dad had off from his guard duties. The car got a lot of use. On the first trip out of the park we went to Silver City- a soon to be tourist attraction. We walked the town and talked to the man who was running the press.    He was printing  hand bills for a show that evening at the opera house. We decided to stay . It was a Melodrama and great fun. I had never “Booed” or thrown peanuts shells at a villain before. When the show was over it was too late to drive home,so we stayed just out side of town sleeping in the car. Dad proceeded to pull the back up from the front seat and lay it down between the front and back seats. We were sort of flat and all four of us slept that way that night. In the morning Dad put the seat back in place and we drove away.
My only other memory of that car was going home. We were pulling the trailer over the centennial divide and the car did not like the work. The engine overheated.  Dad stopped the car and we all got out. Dad carefully removed the radiator cap -jump back just in time to avoid a scalding eruption. We had our own “Old Faithful” with lots of steam! After it cooled Dad filled the radiator with water from a canvas bag that hung on the front of the car. It was mostly down hill the rest of the way home so it did not happen a second time.  It was a good car that sure provided me with lots of memories.

I hope everyone is enjoying the season and is not stressed .

Keep Creating,

Carol

Childhood Memories, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Quilt Exploration Group (QuEGs), Scrap Happy Quilts, Wool Rounds

Australia plus

Hello,
I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and enjoy the day. It has been a long time sense I have written and a lot has happened. The trip to Australia was wonderful. Wendy and I tried to do everything.
Melbourne was a beautiful city .  Wendy took a selfie of the two of us every day and this was our first.

 

 

 

 

 We did explore a small bit with our guide.   They have a great policy about art- a lot like Maine.    They have also cut down on graffiti by  designating special ally ways   to be used as such.

There were lots of wonderful ones.

 

 

 

 

 

Then we went off to Phillips Island to see Fairy Penguins with to stops on the way.

We went on an Animal park and got to see and pet koalas and feed our first Kangaroos.

 

 

 

 

 

We went to a surfing beach were the wind was blowing sand so hard one got a facial just stepping out of the bus.   Yes, those streaks are sand.

 

 

From there we went farther along the shore, checked out some penguin burrows and marveled at the crashing waves.

 

 

 

At sun set we watch the small navy blue Fairy Penguins come ashore to feed their young. No photos are allowed and the one shone here is form their free down load. They were very cute.

 

 

We   then flew from Melbourne to Cairns for more adventures. We went directly form the air port to a crocodile area. We saw emu and cassowary there. The Cassowary are very big- over 6 feet tall and a bit vicious. They are a very primitive bird with a finger nail type crown on its head. When she made a sound it traveled through the ground and we felt it in out feet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did got to hold a three year old crock and have an experience with a anaconda. On the boat trip through the marsh we witnessed adult crocodile on that was 16 feet o long and was estimated to weigh over 600 pounds. He could have easily over turned our boat if he had wanted to the guide said. No swimming in that area!

We were still a bit messed up with time so we got up at 5 one day and went to the lagoon with four of our new friends and went swimming at 6 in the morning.

 

 

 

 

That day was also the day we went snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. The fish were beautiful and the coral was as well. I swallowed lots of salt water as I tended to watch fish as they would swim under me and the snorkel would fill with water.

We also took a ride on a glass bottom boat. That is were my photos of under the water came from.

 

 

In Cairns we saw fruit bats that have 6 foot wing spans. This is a shot of them resting in a tree in the center of town. We also saw them in flight at night when we were watching a fire dancer.

We went on a train ride up ( 52 degree incline) to Kuranda, a gold mining town. It is now an Artist colony were art was every where.

This shot of the side walk was only one of many like it, There were murals all over town and every sigh post sported a welded insect of some sort.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then went on to to Sydney and took a dinner cruse on the harbor. We visited the Opera house- it is amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

We went to a Animal Rescue Center were we saw many animals.   We got to feed kangaroos again .

 

 

 

 

This is my shot of Fairy Penguins that were there for help. There were Koalas there too and I was told that they were expecting a dozen more from the burn area later that day.

 

 

 

We had an aborigine experience that evening.  They even taught a simple dance. I learned a lot- mostly what I do not know about those peoples. Like the fact that there are over 200 different tribes that all speak different langues and have different practices. The only two myth’s they all share is the one about the Rainbow Serpent who is said to have crawled across all of Australia and in doing so sculptured the land. When you see a rainbow the Serpent is said to be going from one water whole to another. The other myth that is shared is that all creatures were born out of a Cassowary egg. Every area has a distinct type of painting and one can identify the tribe if one know the code.

These are the only pieces of fabric that I purchased and I learned that the artist gets a commission on the sale of each tea towel.

 

We walked the harbor one afternoon. There we took a photo on Santa’s large lap and were joined by another tourist from Russia, she is setting on my knee.

 

 

 

We went to the Chinese gardens and I got to have a wonderful review of all the different gardens I had visited with Mom on our trip to China 20 years ago.

 

 

 

 

It was a wonderful experience and I am glad that I did it with Wendy. We did celebrate her 50 birthday at the Harbor View Bar at the top of our hotel in Sydney.

 

There was a QuIG’s meeting on Tue this week. Susan shared her piece that she worked on at the retreat at the Schweinfurth that happened when I was away.

Liz also used the retreat to further her free motion quilting skills.

 

 

 

Yesterday was a meeting of the FAD group. Sharon shared her leaf quilt. She also showed us her new landscape , both she will be selling at the Plowshares Christmas show this week end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Wool Rounds This quilt is 36″ w X 59.5″ l. I really finished this before I left. I really like the circular pattern building and hope I can up with a new variation to do again soon.

 

 

Little  Priest I finished the back outline stitching on this piece this week. I want it to be a bit bigger so I am considering boarders now.

 

 

 

 

Nick’s Quilt Nick asked for a new quilt with an owl on it. I built this graded blue background this week and will move forward with the bird when it is assembled.

 

Beds for Kids Project-Pink Quilt Liz V asked me on Tue to make 2 more twin quilts for this project a week ago Tue. There are over 200 children in this county who do not have beds. I though of this work that I stared at Sharrons earlier this fall and though some child would enjoy it. The top is all done and I am working on a back now.

 

Scarp Happy This twin quilt will also be a part of my contribution to the Beds project. This one is better suited for a little boy I think.

 

 

 

Scrap Happy Queen I have put this quilt on hold until the kids ones are done.  The rows are all done and the back is made so when I get to it it will go together quickly.

 

 

Childhood Memories- May Day

When we lived in Columbus Junction our house was at the edge of town in a hill. Along the east side and that the back of the garden was there were steep gullies that were fully wooded. Sometimes Mom would take us for a walk in the timber. The walk would begin at the back south east corner of our lot where we would climb a fence and descend the steep gully side that was well forested with oak trees. At the bottom was a little spring that produced a small flow down the center of the gully to the east. We would follow along the bottom and Mom used the trips in spring to teach us to recognize and name wild flowers. Yellow Dog Tooth Violets, along with the normal purple ones, Dutchman’s Britches, Trillium, Indian Pipes and Jack in the Pulpits were to be found there. They became familiar and we learned to recognize and spot them. At the end of the gully the stream headed South east along a meadow before it entered another wood and gully that flowed down to the Iowa River. We never went that way but instead turned south and east across the meadow to a large boulder about the size of a half sofa. It was pink quartz and Gene and I would race to it and scramble to the top where we would face West and yell” We have discovered America!” Because the boulder was know in those parts as Plymouth Rock.

In spring after my Birthday, I spent time making 3 construction paper baskets. Then after school on the first day of May I went to the edge of the wood and picked some wild flowers- violets mostly, and put them plus two hard candies, a piece of gum, and a lolly pop in each basket. Taking the baskets one at a time then I stealthy went to the front doors of three of my friends and hung a basket on the knob. I ran home hoping not to be seen ,and waited, hoping I would be fortunate enough to get a May Basket from an unknown friend. I got one in the two years that I did participate in this May Day ritual. We moved away after second grade and the new community did not follow this tradition. I still recognize all the flowers Mom taught us about though.

I hope all are doing well and enjoying the delights of the season.
Keep Creating
Carol

Childhood Memories, Creative Assistants, Felt Work, Finger Lakes Fiber Artists, High Priest, Raw Edge Applique, Wool Rounds

November Chill

Hello,
Fall is disappearing here and we are cold with snow in the air. Good time to quilt.           This week has been full. I went to the Quilts=Art=-Quilts show on Sunday. It is powerful and I know I need to make at least one more trip to see and absorb it all. This shot is of “Crickets”, the work that won the Finger Lakes Fiber Artist Award.

My friend Joyce did a trunk show. This is a shot of her in front of her newest piece. The talk was fun. She also showed her books.

 

 

 

 

 

QuEG’s ,meant this week too. Susan shared one of the pieces she did as a result of her class at QBL with Ellen Nobel.

 

 

 

 

 

Angela made this quilt top from her father’s old shirts. She plans to do a second for her brother for Christmas.

 

 

 

Corrine continues to make great books. She had seven to share with us.  This cover is marbleized paper.

Liz spent two week in Ohio with Clair Bends and did lots of dyeing. This is dye painting with sticks.

This is a silk scree she did. I love it.

 

 

 

Progress Report: High Priests I am really enjoying do the black outlining on this work. It really emphasizes the forms and adds detail.

 

 

 

 

Wool Rounds I am stitching the circles down now. I had 55 more to stitch down  at the last count.

 

 

 

Creative Assistants I finished up these 20 little fellows this week. Now I need to start the faces on a new batch.   I like to have plenty to give away at QBL every year.

 

 

 

Coral Sea I just keep doing little bits on this project. The fancy button eyes really help define the fish I think.

 

 

 

Jumping Off Place Sense I try to work on this project every evening, it really has become my daily practice. I am still looking for a big project to fill that goal.

 

Felt project Before the leaves were all striped from the trees I pulled out all these fall colors and laid out this felt piece. A good base.

 

Scarp Happy Blocks After putting together all those scraps I just felt I had to start a new scrap happy quilt. There are 60 birth tree blocks , but only 55 of the blue ones. I will have to add to the blue stack to make the top.

Childhood Memories – Mom and the Operetta
Mom was a constant presence when I was young. One time she saved Tide box tops until we had six of them that she then sent off to for a 2 little dolls that were issued in commemoration for the crowing of Queen Elizabeth. The dolls were both alike. One I got to play with the other was set aside in its beautiful box to be saved. I do not know what eventually happened to the second- but I enjoyed playing with the one I had for several years.
My Mother had a beautiful voice and she sang all of her life. She was in the church choir until I was 14 doing many solos. I remember when she was in a Operetta at the High School in Columbus Junction. I got to go and be a part of it too. Mom wore a beautiful gold brocade dress that eventually ended up in the “George Washington Collection” at Onondaga Hill forty years later. For my part I did not sing or even have a line in the operetta , but I made daisy chines on stage every night when she sang a solo. I was thrilled. I got to wear a blue skirt and pantaloons like the pictures of Little Bo Peep. They were made from  peddle pushers that had a white cuff on the bottom with lace rows added on top. It was my fist experience being on stage and how one could alter existing clothing to create costumes.   That idea really is  something that  helped me when I did the many costumes for my students while I was teaching middle school. One never knows how experiences can and will influence one.

I am off to Australia and will miss the next two Thursdays.  The  following one is Thanksgiving.   I will be back in Dec with lots to share.

Keep Creating

Carol

 

Childhood Memories, Jumping Off Place, small god, Wool Rounds

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween,
The color here is beautiful, but it will be raining this evening with lots of wind. Not great weather for the little costumed children  and I am sure it will change our landscape.

I have had a good week. I went down to Millport last Friday to spend a day playing at Regina’s studio.

Liz is holding up one of Regina’s new tops. I am so happy to she her cutting up her fabric.   Regina printed all the fabrics.

 

 

 

I also spent an afternoon with Tanya this week. She is doing eco -dyeing with silk. This is her beautiful stash so far.  She is experimenting and exploring.
I did a trunks show for the Mohawk Valley Quilters this week too. It was fun preparing for that as I try to approach each talk with a little bit different slant.  I discover something about myself with each talk too.   I still need to put away some of the work.

Progress Report: Wool Rounds

The wool units are all stitched and they needed a good foundation to show them off. So I spent a lot of time this week building up a base.

 

 

It is made from layers of organza in earth tones that I quilted in place. I will pin the rounds in place next and stitch them down.

 

 

 

 

 

Applique- small god  I have finally started working away on this piece. I think I did the original drawing over a year ago. The beautiful woven red piece from Guatemala that Sharron gave me, was what I needed to get moving I guess. The pattern is enlarged and I am cutting out the units to applique down now.

 

Jumping Off Place I did more hand work on this piece this week. It has not gotten any attention in a while, but now it is the top of the pile of hand projects.

Childhood Memories- Kindergarten

I started my school career when we lived in Columbus Junction.  It was all day Kindergarten that I attended  along with lots of other excited young people. I remember the first day of school where I wore a red buffalo check gamin dress that Grandmother Ester had made for me.  I was so prod.    There were three girls in the class with Carolyn for first names. Carolyn Reed, Carolyn Woods and Carolyn Hall, but I was the only Carol. There was a big calendar in the front of the room and every day we gathered around it to select a symbol of the weather- clouds, rain, snow, a  smiling sun ect to put on the correct day. We learned the days of the weeks an the months of the year. There was nap time  after lunch and if you had earned the privilege you got to spread your rug under the grand pinto on near the windows . I only remember getting that pleasure once. Art class was in the afternoon with Miss Clark just before we went home. I remember cutting out Jack-o-lanterns from orange construction paper and cutting very small triangles out for eyes. Then on the back we put a button under a soda bottle cap that we taped down behind those  cut out triangles so the buttons would move if you shook the paper pumpkin.
In the spring we took a field trip. We walked around to the back of the school and carefully took a set of steep  wooden switch back stairs down the long  hill to the road. We   then crossed the main street and walked on down the hill downtown into the Dr’s office.   There  we each got a Polio Shot.   The needle looked huge to my young  eyes.   I did not cry but many did. Mom had taken me to visit an acquaintance of one of the folks she knew.   They had a daughter. The girl was 8 and confined to an iron lung. It filled the room and she was never going to leave that huge, noisy mechanical tube for the rest of her life. She could talk, eat  and turn her head , but that was all the movement she knew. I learned then that I would do just about anything not to have that be my fate. I am glad that the disease is almost a thing of the past now.

Keep Creating

Carol

Childhood Memories, Creative Assistants, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Wool Rounds

Visiting Sharron

Hello,
I am enjoying the wonderful fall colors of central New York. My trip to visit Sharron was wonderful. She has a very beautiful new home in a country village outside Chicago called Somanack.

 Sharron enjoys lots of space and has a very nice new studio.  This is a shot of the design wall there One of the amazing features of the new house is a 6 foot walk in safe in the basement.  Sharron had shelves built and stores her liquer and soda there as it is behind the bar.    We spent five days breaking in her new basement studio. She learned that she can handle up to 11 folks for workshops in the future. Gals cycled in and out and four of us were there for the whole five days.

Sandy took the trophy for the most tops completed in the five days with three.   I only have good photos of two.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Melody was working on a “block of the month project “A Stroll in Paris BOM”. It is very quiet and lovely.

 

 

Susan happily worked on several projects. She and I talked a lot about books.

 

 

 

 

 

One gals spent her time honoring her daughter by working on a quilt that her daughter started before she died.  She made lots of units.

 

 

 

 

 

Val did 20 of these leaves for a quilt she was working on. She also built some bigger center blocks too.

 

 

 

 

The holidays were on Sharron’s  mind.       She showed off  her snow men project from QBL. Then got busy  making  lots of pillow cases for her Christmas party.

 

 

On the last day she put together this top.

 

 

 

 

 

I Worked on my Collar project of Aunt May’s collars and wool rounds.

This shot is of the  wool rounds at the first of the week.   I got a lot done thanks to Sharron’s encouragement and the fellowship of other quilters.  I always enjoy working in a group setting like this.

Sharron and Jim kindly took be back to the airport early on Thur morning and we got to see a spectacular sun rise.

 

 

 

 

There was also a FAB meeting  this  week.  Sharon shared her latest commission in the series of 6.  This is #4

 

 

 

 

Project Report: Collars and Old Lace This work is 34″w X 53.5″ t.. I intended to applique all the parts by hand but Sharron encouraged me to use her sewing machine. I included some lace sleeves she made and hankies too.

 

 

 

 

I am so glad she did as I applied all the pieces before I flew home. Finishing took place this week. I also discovered another box of old family lace this week……

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wool Rounds: I built this base to put the wool pieces on. I will machine stitch them down today and take the circles  with me to Regina’s for a play day tomorrow and work on this project.

 

 

 

 

 

These are the 1/4 of rounds ready for cutting and application to the background.

 

 

 

Pin Wheels:

Sharron surprised me with a gift of a kit of beautiful fabric. It is very traditional- and not my thing. I learned how to make perfect pointed centers – but not before I made some awful ones. Now to move on to the next step.

Creative Assistants: I did watch a bit of football this week and so I finished up 18 of these little folks. I have added the pin backs now and will do the squeezie paint embellishment before I put them away for QBL.

Pillow Case

Sharron mentioned that no one had ever made her a pillow case so when I got home I made her one of her own from some of the fabric that I got at the Quilt show in Canada.

Childhood Memory -Columbus Junction Basement

We moved to Columbus Junction the summer before I started Kindergarten. My parents parched a huge lot with a finished basement on it. We lived down there while Dad, Mom and Grandpa Howard put up framing and worked on finishing the up stairs. I took a good part of that first school year to do the finish work and Mom and Grandpa did that, while Dad went off to his first job as a high school principal . The move up stairs was gradual. After all the building was done, I remember Mom painted a mural on three sides of the big room at the foot of the stairs. It was of mountains and a lake, a theme that she repeated many times. She also made me a play house from old sheets that fit over a card table. There was a door and flowers painted on the out side. I spent may happy hours in there with a card board table, sink and stove. The basement was also the home of my first pets. I had white mice that lived in a blue glass battery jar at the foot of the stairs. It was my first bit responsibility. I remember too that it did not last long and we had to let the mice go in the timber.

I hope everyone is  enjoying fall.

Keep Creating

Carol

PS. One more shot of that wonderful sun rise.

Autumn Leaves, Childhood Memories, Coral Sea, Curvie Cuts, Landscapes, Out the Window, Scrap Happy Quilts

Quilt Show

Hello,
Fall is really in the air as we continue to have cool nights and crisp days. I went off to see the Thompkin’s County Quilt Show on Saturday this week. It was fun and full of old friends.
Tracy had a wonderful solo show within the quilt show of some of her thread painted birds. She did the work from photos she took on her many adventures. They were wonderful. Kirsten finished her her project form the Rock class this summer. I think it came out great.

 

 

 

 

Donna had this fun little quilt as a part of the auction that was held. I got excited about the work and came home all revived.

 

Progress Report: Autumn Leaves-Past My Window

This work is 35″w X 29.5″ t. I got rolling and this piece went together quickly. I used leaves from my class with Betty Busby and made more in that same style.

Then I found a bag full of silk leaves someone had passed my way and they were added. The quilting is all free motion in a leaf pattern too.

 

 

 

 

Topographical This work is 39.5″w X 27″t. I enjoyed working on this project and learned a lot about how to couch yarns. I think there is potential for more exploration along these lines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scrap Happy

This quilt is queen sized and will go off to the Ronald Mc Donald House some time soon. The centers for the Roman Strip blocks came from fabric that Angela gave to me. It has a fun feel.

 

 

 

 

Nick’s Quilt

I pulled all these blues and even started cutting some for that base of Nick’s owl quilt. It is early.

Jumping Off Place I just keep doing hand work on this piece. I am trying to use yarns and threads that are atypical for me as part of this exploration.

 

 

 

Coral Sea

I just added fish and starfish to the surface this week and started to stitch stuff down. It is colorful and fun too.

 

 

 

Mountain study I stared this in the Rock class this summer. Pulled it out and did a little work. I am unsure as to  where to go with this point, so it may need some down time for me to think on this one.

 

 

 

Wool Rounds I just keep stitching away with this project. I finished up 5 rounds this week and continue to button whole stitch down the last sheet of cut wool  circles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories- Chickens
This will be the last piece dedicated to Ainsworth as we moved in the spring just after I turned 5.  I have one more” Storied Memory ”  to tell here. My brother Gene was born in Feb before I became four in April. It seems that I was in Grandmother Ester’s care while Mom was in the hospital for 5 days. She says she was anxious to see me and according to her I disappointed her by being more interested in chasing chickens in the chicken yard then seeing her and the new baby.

I do remember her giving me a Toni perm though. It stunk and burned my head a bit. I also  remember helping her clean chickens in the sink standing on a stool. I was plucking feathers and I soon tired of the task.     Many days Mom  would ask me what I wanted to eat  for lunch. My response for many times  was “ Spinach again today.” I still love it.

Dad was going to school working on his Masters Degree at this time. He took a class in early childhood literature. I benefited by having lots of books read to me. Two that seems to have nestled in the back of in my young mind were Lois Linsky’s “Strawberry Girl” and “Cotton in My Sack.”   At Least the illustrations did because when I came across them later and asked Mom why they seemed so familiar she told me of Dad’s readings. Dad spent lots of special time with me because Gene demanded so much of Mom’s attention. I remember his taking me up to the high school one sunny day.     The librarian was culling the book connection. I was allowed to select one book to have as my own. I chose one book full of black and white photos of Japan. I spent hours looking and later drawing women in komons. I can still bring some of those images up in my mind as an adult.

I am off to a week quilting retreat in Chicago with my friend Sharron on Friday so there well be no posting next week.
Keep Creating
Carol

Autumn Leaves, Childhood Memories, Jumping Off Place, QBL- Quilting By the Lake, Three Sea Horses, Topographical, Two Trees

October Cooling

1 Comment

Hello,
There is a real feeling of fall now as it has turned quite cold around here. The hardy Zinnia are still doing well and we have not had a frost yet. But if is in the air. I did some house/studio cleaning too. It seems I need to get my “nest” in order for winter. I have eliminated three boxes and a bag of stuff to pass forward for others to use. It makes me feel good to do that sort of thing.
There seems to be another thing in the air too,  because three of the groups I meet with cancelled meetings this week. Two due to low audience.   Perhaps everyone is busy hankering down for fall and winter too.

Progress Report: Three Sea Horses This work is 22″w X 16″t. Noel talked of this method of laying down roving and then putting netting over the top so one could  machine stitch on it. I tried that method on this project. The sea horses are cut from felt so there are sharp edges and then I added roving on top too. I like this technique. It is very soft, but  I think I need to work on contrast more the next time I try it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two Trees The work is 18″ w X 18″ t. I started it in the Rock On Class With Cynthia Corbin at QBL this summer. This week I got busy and did machine drawing of two trees from a photo of them on Dad’d farm. It sure has the gray feeling I was having about the day.

 

 

 

 

 

Topographical I had a good time working away on this piece this week. I think two more hours of couching will complete the process. I feel there is lots of potential in this process and plan to explore it more in the future.

Past My Window- Autumn Leaves

I stared working away on this piece this week and it just seemed to take on a life of it’s own.     I started pinning the leaves I had created to supplement the ones I had made in Betty’s class on the final day.  Then I found a package of silk leaves that someone had passed my way and they just seemed to go together so I was off and pinning like a fool. It will take a long time to do all the free motion applique I think. But it is enjoyable for me.

Jumping Off Place        Angela gave me a packet called Through the Looking glass. It contained some great textured yarns and fabrics. I pulled it out yesterday and read the instructions. It is not my thing any more then it was Angel’s, but it turned out to be a good starting place. Only the organza, and little blue sequined square are from the kit. The rest I pulled from my collections. I will use the wonderful threads and supplement then with my own as the project was designed for a 12 “ square and I have gone way beyond that.

Coral Sea This work did not get much attention this week. But I did find some more felt that has misty fuse on it already so I am off and running again.

 

 

Wool Rounds I keep my hand in this project and finished three circles this week. My process is to fill in  one circle  at a  toime and every time when I finish with one stitch on a round, I have thread on the needle. I use that  thread  to do the blanket stitch on a new wool unit to tack it down. When all the units are tacked down I will move onto the next ring of stitches in the circles while still finishing off one fully.

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories Depot

My parents built their first house in Ainsworth Iowa. Mom saved the check for the lumber yard for the construction and it was $180. In thinking about the houses I lived in I realized that three of my childhood homes were built into hills with a walk in door at that level.  Two of the them had garages . The Ainsworth house faced south with a gully on the west side that slopped up to the high school where dad taught high school. When we lived there we  two trips to the train depot in town. One time it was to get a great big box that contained parts for a rocking chair with an  apple green plastic on it. I got to play in the box while dad did the assembly. That  process was mostly one of  adding the arms and legs. I love rocking in it . The second time we went to the depot, it was to pick up a shipment of 100 live baby chicks. We took them home and checked them before we drove the m to Grandmother Esters house. I remember setting next to the box in the dark in the back of the car listening to the little peeps. I think I fell asleep. Because my next memory of the chicks was in Grandmother’s basement behind a 2″x 12″ that made a short wall next to the corner furnace. They all ended up in the brooder house and later in the hen house. I’m sure I must have gather eggs from some of them in later years. and  had some of them for Sunday dinner too.

I hope everyone is enjoying fall and creating great work.

Carol