Category Archives: Curvie Cuts

3X3, Auction pieces 12 " X 12", Label Cards, Quilt Surface Design Assassination, Shore Lines

Winter Week

A A SatHello,

This week was a quiet one for the most part.   I did go to the Associated Artists meeting on Saturday and  enjoyed Julia’s talk about her collage technique.   She mostly paints textured papers and uses them to create her her work.   Her talk was informative.

IMG_2812We had a snow storm  this week so I did snow dye.   IMG_2816It was not  a real successful.  The yellow was power as I have used in the past.  The other colors were mixed liquids  and they did not take so well.   Too much dilution after soaking through the snow  I think.   I always think experimenting is worth while  however,   one always learns something- even learning what does not work, increases one’s knowledge. Tanya's Paintings

I had lunch with Tanya this week and she is working on Yupo paper with inks.   It sure make a bright splash of color in this dark time of year.

Progress Report:   Starfish  This little work is 12” X 12” and is what I want to send off to the QSDS  auction this year. IMG_2839  I added the French Knots on the starfish  to give it the texture  I was after  and add color.    IMG_2841

This work spawned another in the same vain.   I enjoyed doing the starfish so much I started a second. IMG_2827I see now that the starfish is too big for the background so it will have to find another home and I will have to build a different one for this project.

Scrap Happy  I did finish up the  quilt  that I was doing for  the Bed for Kids project and I passed it on to them on Tues.  In doing the back for that project I discovered  that I had a lot of material for making backs and so I decided to make another top to use up some of those pieces.   Angela had given me a box of fabric that she no longer felt she would use.    I pawed around in that box and came up with two fabrics that I though would make nice center blocks for this project.   I like the fruit ladies print  and the green batik she gave to me.

Shore Lines  Last March when I visited Cris we took a walk along the shore  and saw an egg sack of some sort and created a little challenge.  I am starting to respond to that challenge now.   The egg sack looked a little like the white unit on this piece.

3 X 3  C-3  This block is at a good stopping point for now.   Working in this segmented fashion   is difficult for me.   I find that I want the units to interact with one another and the whole and so I decided this one was complete for now.  When I get them all done I will look at the whole and make decisions about what if anything is needed to complete the project.

A-3  This is black 3 in column A.  It does not touch the other block pictured so it is difficult to see how they relate to one another.  That is part of the difficulty/challenge of working this way.   The process is   good for me I think and I am working excitedly on it

IMG_2836Label Card  Live Now    I think this message is good for all of us.   Life is short so do not put things off.

Keep Creating

Carol

PS   the post next week will be on Friday as  I will be away on Thursday  – weather permitting.

Collections, Curvie Cuts, Differences, Dramatic Episodes, FOX, Friends, Natural Elements, Scrap Happy Quilts, Wildfire, Word Forms

Fall presence

 

IMG_2021Hello

One of the sure signs of fall for me is the appearance of small mushrooms in my yard.   These golden ones looked like little coins  scattered  across the lawn.    IMG_2020   Marty and I made a quick trip to Maine last week  to see Elizabeth and Barbara.   We stopped at our favorite bit of geology wonder on the way home.   We had never been there in the morning when the rock was in shadow.   It changes the color a bit I think.

Progress  Report: Scrap Happy  Being away for five days meant I did not get as much work done as usual.   I am assembling the squares for  for this project now.     I am a little beyond the half way point with that step.    I always love how chance plays a part in this process.

Wild Fires I am in the free motion stitching process on this project now.   The trees are all done and I am working on the fire parts now.

IMG_2025Friends – collection   This work is moving along.   I have most of the big parts attached and I am working on details now.    This   embossed copper piece was a project from my teaching days.   The students made jewelry with this process.

FOX    I just finished all the reflective quilting on this project.   Now I will bind and finish it.

New work-  Curvie cuts  IMG_2029   I made this ripple cut background with the intention of applying all the “cut aways”  from the last few text pieces.   When I tried that I realized it is too strong to support the little pieces.    I have no idea for it’s future  now so I will live with it until inspiration hits.   As to the leftovers- well  perhaps  l will try a quieter base for them.

Label Collages:   Differences    I hope we can all be open to the uniqueness of each of the person  we meet.

Dramatic Episodes Everyone experience episodes of profound emotion it their lives.    Hopefully the sad ones do not last too long.

Keep Creating

Carol

Creative Assistants, Pealing Oranges, Pond Water, Raw Edge Applique, Tossed Salad, ZAP

Indian Summer

 

Hello,

I am enjoying the wonderful weather.   I noticed this Paper Hornet’s nest on my  walk this week.  I am sure it had been there a long time but with the fall of some leaves it was revealed.

I spent a day playing with Liz this week and we did some Shobori .  I have never done any of that type of dyeing before and sense Liz was just home from a week at the Barn where that was what she was studying she was anxious to share.   IMG_9502    Before we meant she told me to make tucks in my fabric.  So I ironed this piece and sewed down all the ridges the ironing created.   We then wrapped the tucked pieces around  polls.  Liz then instructed me on how to do some free from wrapping without tucks.   IMG_9506    The polls were placed in a bucket with dye inside and we agitated them.   In an hour the job was done and we took the polls out and unwrapped them.   The fabric on the left is the one where I pressed diagonally( the upper photo) across the  fabric with the sewing machine.  The other piece is s strait tuck.IMG_9525  These are the two pieces that I did the random fold and rubber band wrapping on.   I love the effect and I have wrapped my polls for the next time we get together to do some more Shobori.

Progress Report:   Pond Water( curvy cut)  This quilt is 32 “w X 36” l.     I put this work in the curvy cut category because    the base is made from two pieces of fabric that where curvy cut and then spliced back together.  The last thing I did to the base was slice it vertically and then shuffle the order before sewing it back together. IMG_9519

The round purple units are from one of Grandmother Butter’s  hats.   This pieces  has  a lot of hand work on it and because I only put my needle to work on it after I was done with the label blocks it has taken a full year to complete.IMG_9521

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peeling Oranges    This is the last of the first glyph series  and  started with a few cut aways not used in other works and a smaller version of  the word “Owl” cut in orange.

Toss Salad   I am in the process of raw edge appliqueing down this work.  I am not sure what way is up yet either.  My mind is just starting to think about how I want to quilt this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Glyph  IV    The beading  goes on here.     After showing weeks of close ups this week I thought I would show a full shot of the sections beaded.  When I work for an hour I can fill in about an inch and a half square area.

 

 

  Card  – Resilience  IMG_9508  This is a shot of my card for this week.  I find it wonderful how the deciduous trees prepare for the  stresses of winger cold by shedding there leavers and retreating into their cores for the winter.

New Glyph Series- ZapIMG_9500  Now I am ready to begin a new glyph.   I wrote out a lot of words and did a bunch of trial drawings before choosing   ZAP.   Then I enlarged it and varied the width of the letters in some areas.   This word is enlarged to about 18″ square.  Now I am choosing fabric for the project.

Creative Assistants     Football season has begun and so has my work on these little fellows.   These guys are ready for paint embellishment and  pin backs.

Keep Creating

Carol

Curvie Cuts, Felt Work, Label Blocks, Little Jellyfish, Rainbow Tree, Teasel III

Travel

2 Comments

 

IMG_8511Hello,

Summer is here and the long days are warm and pleasant.   I had a good time on my travels to visit Frank Lloyd Wright Houses.  Falling Water I saw four from dramatic Falling Water  to the simple Duncan House.  The house I really loved and thought I could live in was the Kentuck Knob house.    It has a hexagon themeIMG_8505 that he repeated over and over.  We were only allowed to take photos outside the house so this shot of the ceiling over the porch is my best example.  It was all built on one level under the brow of a hill and had  a studio.    I really liked the  crenulation and  the cutouts he added in the window openings too.IMG_8497 His use of local materials is wonderful , epically stone ,as well as his love of fire places.

Gray Stone Gray Stone, outside Buffalo was the only place we could take photos inside and IMG_8550so I am showing this shot of the fireplace.  Please note the black fire irons so you get a sense of scale here.  This house was very livable too.   The association that owns this house is restoring it and some of the local artisans are building furniture from photos to fill it. IMG_8551This table is an example.   I had a good time and enjoyed seeing all the houses.  It was  a trip to see an American Artist whom I have long admired.

 

AngelaBefore I went on my trip I went to an opening at the Edgewood Gallery where my friends Angela, Carol and Sharon were showing their work.  Angela’s felted works looked divine.  She did  25 new pieces just for this show and only showed  18 of them.    She is a powerhouse.  Carol and Sharon's workThis shot shows Sharon’s new style- on the wall and the sculptured bird is Carol’s.  I was so thrilled to know three of the four artists in this show.

IMG_8576I have had two dye days with Liz sense I wrote last too.   This is a shot of the ones from last week and the new stuff is in the wash this morning.   We are having fun and  I am working on a quilt using some of the fabric we have dyed now.

Little JellyfishProgress Report: Little Jellyfish  This quilt is 34” w X 43’ l.     I was working with transparency and feel I still need to explore this subject.IMG_8594  I have learned so much about jellyfish sense I started exploring this topic. Their only predators are sea turtles and they come in a wide varietyIMG_8596 of colors and shapes. I love how they can change there appearance with ease.

Rainbow TreeRainbow Tree   This work is  16” w X 20” l.     I had a good time adding all the beads and sequins to this work.IMG_8590 Everything I used on this work except the wool I felted with was a gift to me at some point.  Yarn form Judy,IMG_8589beads from Ethel and sequin from Sharon.  Perhaps I should call this a friendship tree.

Wool  1 IMG_8570 Cut up some wool from  Tanya with the idea of using it to build bases for the three sets of 12” X  12” stretchers  that Joyce gave me a week ago.

IMG_8572Wool 2  This is the second start.  It takes me about an hour of work at the felting machine to  build this base.

 

Wool 3 IMG_8575  All three works are based on the light and dark patterns from one of my rock face photos.  I was liberal with the colors though.

Bits and Pieces Bits and Pieces Liz challenged me to use the fabrics we have been creating.   This work does some of that.

 

Teasel III

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teasel  III  I am creating this work with my friend Vyvian in mind.    She liked my first two teasel works but they were too big for her use.  So this time I did the design with her  in mind.  I am to the hand stitching of the spears around the heads now.  Six completed and five to go- with one half way done.

Label BlocksLabel Blocks  This was the only project I took on the trip with me.  It is small and easy to transport.

Keep Creating

Carol

Dream, Ethel's Nine Patch, Fly Fast, Green Dargaons, Label Blocks, Little Jellyfish, Machine Drawing, Wind Blown Tree

Summer

 

Mapel treeHello,

It is the first full day of summer and now the days begin to get shorter.   It is also the beginning of what as kids we called “Maple Whistle Time”.  As a kid for about a week we would use the maple seeds as a devise to make a whistle sound and drive my mom crazy.  There is also a mulberry tree that is dropping its fruit  that I pass under when I walk.  That too brings up great childhood memories of  climbing the  mulberry tree in the front yard and eating those berries. They were so juicy. We even tried to make mulberry one time .  Summer was always one day of adventure after another. IMG_8401

Progress Report: Green Dragons Green Dragons 31"wX 37.5  This piece is 31” w X 37.5” t.  It is quilted with stitch in the ditch work and then machine drawing of five dragons was added on top. IMG_8425I stated out by outlining the dragon that was printed on the fabric panel in the work.  I did  little research on Google  and then  some drawings      I then  did the others in a mimic of fist dragon.IMG_8426I have not done a  dragon quilt for many years, but there was a time when I did one as a yearly thing.   It is fun to revisit themes .

Wind Blown 16" X 29"Wind Blown  This quilt is 16’ w X 29” t.  I built up the background and then painted that ground.  I knew I wanted a tree on the surface so I did some drawing.IMG_8394

After  this step I had to decide how I wanted to build the trunk of the tree.  I used tear away paper and drew the image again.  Then I laid treeout yarn for that trunk and the limbs and free motion sewed them all together.   After pulling away all the paper I free motion stitched the tree down.   Next decision was  how  to make the leaves.  I placed a  piece of wash away on top of the tree and  then sprinkled shredded bits of green fabric on top of the wash away.IMG_8395 Last, I placed a bit of green organza on top   to create a sandwich and  free motion stitched the  everything together.  After washing out the wash away  I flipped the organza to the back and free motion stitched it to the tree area. IMG_8415

 

IMG_8417.jpg

 

Little JellyfishLittle Jellyfish  I am still doing the hand work on this piece.  Stitching down all the tentacles is slow.

Ethel Scrap Work IMG_8431 I sewing sold blocks to the 5” pattern ones at this point.

Fly FastFlag- Fly Fast  For this banner I set the machine on zig –zag and drew the letters in free motion.  I like the strange effect.

 

 

 

Flag-Dream IMG_8420This is the last banner that I made in Florida this spring. The letters are done with a chain stitch.

 

new WorkNew Work  I am building this in the build a unit technique that I use.   The challenge Liz made was to use some of the hand dyed materials we had created.

 

Label Block # 130Label Block # 130 I can see the end of this process now.

Keep Creating

Carol

PS    I will be away again next week .  I am off to visit the Frank Lloyd Wright house Falling Water.

FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Green Dargaons, Label Blocks, Little Jellyfish, Rainbow Tree

Spring Warmth

Hello,

The north east has finally warmed up and we are enjoying the weather.  I have spent a lot of time pulling weeds and moving plants.  I do like playing in the mud almost as much as doing studio work.    I did spend and afternoon dyeing with Liz, but I have yet to wash out the dye so there is nothing to show for that yet.

IMG_8368FAB did meet on Tues and there was lots of activity.  Judy was tying  three baby quilts during the meeting.  She always uses such bright colors for them that it is a joy to the eye.  Nancy is finally finished with her Blue Bird quilt.  It is beautiful.  Unfortunately my photos of it are not- so take my word for it.

Spring Jacks 18X20Progress Report:  Spring Jacks  This work is 18” X 20”.  The background is all felted work  and the Jacks are appliqued on top.   IMG_8387 Sense the big Three Jacks piece has a new home I did this smaller one to remind me of that other project.  IMG_8389

 

 

 

Prayer Flag PinsPrayer Flag Pins  As the picture shows I am having too  much fun using little bits of projects and stuff that ends up on my desk making these little guys.  The freedom of no size or shape restrictions is wonderful.

 

  Rainbow Tree IMG_8383   I keep working away on this project in one hour units.  I love the effect so I am not at all unhappy that I am only about one third done with this project.   I am sure it will be well worth the time when it is complete.

JellyfishLittle Jellyfish    I am working by hand on this piece with a fly stitch.  The tentacles are  couched.   I do not want to use the machine to pull away from the movement  they produce.

Green Dragon IMG_8375 I am doing  machine drawing on this piece.  I did outline the print( its from Ethel)  and started to continue the body.  I took a lot of that stitching out yesterday as it was too big for the body.  I will try again this week.

IMG_8380Texture Project   I painted this background this week.  In doing a second look I think it needs another layer  of horizon so I will go back in and add some more paint   before I machine draw on top of it.

Label Blocks # 127 #128 #129Label Blocks  Do to the warmth I spent a lot of time out of doors in the evening this week and did a lot more  work on this project then usual.  I am having fun as I see the pile of black square diminish.

Keep Creating

Carol

PS   I made an error last week I   Label this  jewelry  as being created by Carrine and it is by Linda CIMG_8324_thumb.jpg.

 

 

 

 

This  beautiful work is by Carrine.  Please accept my apologies. IMG_8326

Along the Shore, Button Weed, Felt Work, Flag Challenge, Label Blocks, Little Jellyfish, Monkey Business, Play Time, Pond Water, Rainbow Tree, Soeing Jacks

Travel plus

2 Comments

 

IMG_8279 Hello,

We hit the open road to test out Eric’s new car.  It was fun but we spent a lot of time in the rain.  We went to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Coppers Town first. IMG_8260.jpg Then on the Norman Rockwell museum.  We saw Edith Wharton’s newly restored gardens were a sculpture show was going on. The sculpture was mixed among the woodland paths too.  We did the Emily Dickinson  home  and then moved on to Shaker Village in Canterbury.   I really liked all the wonderful innovative machinery there.IMG_8269  These machines were in the wash house.    We made it all the way to the Maine coast before we headed back west.IMG_8272  This model boat was in an old boat house that was converted into  restraint where we had dinner.    We stopped in the Adirondacks  for the night and then went to the Adirondack  Experience museum and had a good time looking at the treasures there.   The travel was great but as always I am glad to be home with many great memories, lot of photos and the ideas are flying in my head.

Tue as the  the QuEG’s meeting so I got even more stimulation.  IMG_8324Corrine has been doing a lot of beading and the results are beautiful.

Linda's top Linda C showed us this beautiful top.   There is a lot of hand work on it.

Liz is finding lots of UFO’s as she dose some spring cleaning.  She shared three.  IMG_8328 I look forward to seeing the finished work too.

IMG_8331  Linda H shared this hand printed fabric that she has started doing hand work on.    We all had stories and lots to share.  It was a good time.

 

IMG_8338   I have such great friends .   Yesterday I got a treasure box from   Debbie.   I love all these little bits of trim and ribbon.    She knows me too well. They will all go into the next batch of Creative Assistants that I will begin as soon as QBL is over this year.

White Iris's 15" X 19Progress Report White Iris   This work is 15”w X 19”h.   The white blossoms where originally created for the 9 Blue Iris quilt that I showed in the last post.  But they were too pale and faded into the background.

IMG_8356So  I did a felted and fabric wall and used the flowers on top.     I do like the shape of iris and hope to do some more of them.

ButtonweedButton Weed    I did a little rework on this piece.   IMG_8366It needed a center of interest so I added a dragonfly.   IMG_8364The body is three cords twisted together and then zig -zagged over with a  satin embroidery thread.  The wings are a florist’s ribbon.

 

PodsPods  These are the last two pods.   I have 36 of them and I have had a good time.  I also have all my little Christmas Favors done for this year.

 

Prayer Flag Pins

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prayer Flag Pins   I made these after reading the June/July issue of “Quilting Arts Magazine”.    The  article made it seem so simple and it really was.   This shot makes them about life size on my computer.  I will make a lot of these little guys as they are fun too.

Spring Jacks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring Jacks    When I make felted backs I try to do more then one at a time.  I did three when had the felter out  and this one is going to be my support for the third Jack In the Pulpit  project.

Rainbow Tree

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rainbow Tree This is the third of the felted  pieces.   IMG_8337I am having fun using my many clear beads to embellish this work.

Pond Water

IMG_8353This project is also done with a lot of hand work so it usually does not get much attention.  I did add the gold units and a lot of stitching this week because I got a head on my Label Block project while traveling.

JellyfishJellyfish  I continue to struggle with this work.  But I keep at it.  I sliced the top layer of the organza and did hand work on top of that.   I like the texture and will continue to work on all the Jellies in this fashion.

 

 

 

Green DragonsGreen Dragon   This work is all assembled and I have done the stitch in the ditch step on it.  Now to move to the dragon quilting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flags- Play Time   IMG_8250I worked on the flag project from my trip to Florida this week too.   I only have two more images to alter.  I used oil paint sticks to add color  to the works this week.

IMG_8248Flag- Monkey Business   With this flag I used a paint marker to do the lettering.

Flag –Along the Shore    IMG_8246 With this piece I used the oil sticks for the water.  The lettering was done with markers.

4 Label BlocksLabel Blocks #123, #124, #125, #126   This was the only hand work I took on the trip so every night I worked away on these blocks.    The pile is getting smaller.

Keep being Creative

Carol

Button Weed, Curvie Cuts, Felt Work, Label Blocks, Little Jellyfish, Pods, Pond Water, Truquoise Street Studio

Going Forward

 

IMG_8142Hello,

We continue to go forward into the wonders of spring.  I love all the smells that assault my nose as I take my daily  walk.   Some flowers are fading, but others Like Spiraea, and Lily of the Valley  seem to quickly take their place and demand the attention of the bees.

Sharon's laeves  I went off to see the  art show at St David’s last week.  It was very impressive and with so many of my friends represented  I really enjoyed  the  powerful work.  This is one of Sharon’s new works.    I like how she is building up the surface and overlapping the leaves.    IMG_8136 Carol had two sculptures  in the show.  I know she struggled with this one.

 

Barbara had two pieces as well and this one is a part of her street seen series.Barbara's street  Beth had two pieces too and both of them had red stickers on them.   She was delighted with the sale news. Beth's barn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Friend Angela had work in the show too.  I learned later that this piece sold too.  It is always a powerful show with lots of interesting work.   I am delighted for my friends.IMG_8126

I went off to play with Beth and Barbara on Thursday  afternoon at the Turquoise Street Studio.   IMG_8140 They were both working  away on pastels as is there usual thing.  It is fun to work in a parallel setting.IMG_8141

 

Button WeedProgress Report:  Button Weed   This work is 16” X 20”.     I enjoyed working on this piece as I have good memories from the Iowa farm and picking these weeds.  We use to use them as noise makers when we did Indian dancing.  IMG_8164I was always taken by the fact that they where such a strong spring green. IMG_8165

 

 

Pods Pods   I keep working away and finding new ways to embellish these little pods.   It is fun to find homes for the last few odd beads and buttons that I seem to have lots of.

 

Pond Water Pond waterI did hand work on this project at Turquoise Street.    I am adding the gold units now.   It is very calming   almost meditative  work  for me.

 

 

 

 

 

IrisIMG_8145 This project had proved to be a challenge.  I made all these iris blossoms and then discovered that they just got lost on my background.  I guess there will be a second one in this grouping.   So I built some in blue and purple for the actual project.  IMG_8143    I am ready now to go back in and build up this flower with more detail and color.

 

Little JellyfishCurvy Cut Jellyfish   This project is moving forward.   I really like the shapes of these jellyfish.  I have had to really challenged myself  with  I could  how to build them up to get the effect I want. IMG_8155   I am sorry that the dark centers get lost with the many layers of organza.

IMG_8144Brown Back  I found a use for the back I made last week already.  I am ironing down all the cut-a way’s from the   fusing I use in my work.

Red ScarfIMG_8150  I keep working away on these works.  They are fun to build, but they do take a lot of time.   I will add the soft neck unit when I have all the nets filled.  Only three more to complete.

 

 

Wool Brown  wool brown  I am a little beyond half way along with the felting of this work.  I will do the free motion work on top when that step is complete.

IMG_8159Mixed     I am all done with the felting here and ready to add the stitches on top.

 

Label Block # 121Label Block # 121    They just keep on coming.

Keep Creating

Carol

Curvie Cuts, Felt Work, Flight, Label Blocks, Pods, TaJira, Thaw in Xavier Wood

Spring Energy

 

IMG_8121Hello-

Spring really brings on fast changes around here.  Last week this lilac barely had leaves and now it is in full bloom.  And the smell is wonderful.  So too of so many plants.  I love all the quick changes Thaw in Xavier Woodthat happen this time of year.  The  leaves fill in all the empty spaces  as they reach for the sun shine and soon one feels under a canopy of green. The vast views of  the land are cut down as the leaves block the eye line to the horizon line and one feels enclosed and protected.   I find it really energizes me as well and I have had a great week.

 

Progress Report : Thaw in Xavier Wood   This work is 38” X 40”  and based on photos I took last fall when we had a nice thaw in mid November.     Ice is a subject that seems to constantly call back to me.IMG_8115   I love how the leaves are effected too not only in color but how they deteriorate. IMG_8116 I even tried using copper for a few of them knowing that they will also fade with time.   IMG_8119

 

PodsPods     I seem to be fascinated by the areas of connection of the units for these pods this week.  They sure got  most of the attention.   I am also using Sharron’s buttons as focus points on the surfaces of many of the pods.

IMG_8078 Curvier Cuts   This is the back ground for a new study of jellyfish.  All the curved cuts suggest the motion of moving water to me and  jellyfish  sure take advantage of the ocean’s motion to move.

 

IMG_8071Flags: Tajira   I keep working away on the flags that I started in Florida.  This one is called Tajira because that is the name of the new baby Giraffe that was just born to April  last week.   This “ child”  was 90 pounds and 6 Feet tall at birth.   The lettering was done on silk paper.

Flight IMG_8070  I enjoyed making this stencil.  It is colored in with water color pencils.  I had to add the beaded fringe because so how this piece of cloth was too short to meet the size requirement.

 

Spring Iris'sSpring Iris’s   I built up a base of several layers of different types of creams and white  fabrics and then added some brown and yellow  stains  to the surface for this piece.   I used some old lace that my grandmother Ruth created for the edge of a pillow case here too.   Then  I did a life sized drawing of the Iris’s I want to put on top of this work  and now I am ready to begin that step.IMG_8102 Because I want to use layers of sheers for the petals I am moving very slowly.  I am considering adding roving between the layers  for more color.

 

 Buttonweed Buttonweed   This rock wall background has been waiting for me to make a decision about the top layer for  a few weeks.  This week I finally decided to go with my original plan and drew these big paper  patters for the seed pods for the Button Weeds. IMG_8105 They will be cut from this bright green because that is the strong color the weeds are and that plus the shape is what draws me to them.

IMG_8107Harlequin Papers     This is a pure experiment.  I had read some where that one could fuse down candy wrapper  papers and use them on a work.  So this week when I spilled the box of papers I thought that it was a sign that I needed to act on that idea.   I will need to look and think about it for a while before I know how to proceed from this point.

 

Wool- Red  IMG_8097   My friend Tanya , gave me a big piece of red wool this winter and I finally pulled it out and cut three pieces from it.  The roving is just hand felted into the surface here.

wool BrownWool- Brown      This felted beginning has the same red wool base.  It also has a lot of fabric mixed with the roving  and wool yarn on the surface.   I have not started laying out the third one yet.  When it too is hand felted I will get out the felting machine and do that step to all three pieces and go from there.

 

Brown Base IMG_8092   These fabrics seemed to go together so I untied them.  It is just a raw base for  a future something.  I know that I will use it at some time and be glad that it is ready like a primed canvas is for an painter .

Purple Possibilities   IMG_8111 While I was pawing through my stash looking for the the green to use in Button Weed  and the blues I used in the curvy cut piece, I noticed that there were lots of small purple bits in the bottom of bins and such.  So I started collecting them in one place.   I will use this as personal challenge to use them all together in a piece some time.     I enjoy a little problem solving   every now and then.

Label Block # 120 Label Block # 120      I keep working away on these blocks.  Only 25 more  to go at this point.

Keep Creating

Carol

PS- One last look at the spring flowers.IMG_8088

Curvie Cuts, Label Blocks, Mantis, Milkweed Pods, Pods, Pond Water, Scrap Happy Quilts, The Fox, Three- D works, Wood Ibis

Spring Rains

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Red BudsHello,

The spring rains here in central New York sure have pushed the buds forward and the trees are greening up.Silk Paper  Its so pleasant outdoors I even ate my breakfast out on the patio this morning.       I finished up the drying and pressing of the silk paper from last week.  This one is my new favorites with the captured Japanese Lantern pods from Regina in it.    I did a lot of work in the studio this week and the project report will support that.

Milkweed Pods

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report:  Milkweed Pods    This stretched work is 18” X 24”.     There is a lot of  free motion machine drawing in this piece.   IMG_7977   The background was built up and then the milkweed pods were added on top.   The steams were created with three yarns that were   zig-zagged   together and then sewn down on the surface.   I did a lot of stitching on the pods to show the woody  textures on them. IMG_7978

ScribbleScribble    This small quilt is 18” X 21”.   It is made from   the cut away fuse backed scrap fabrics that I have  have created in the last few weeks.  The green from the Jacks and the pink from the blossom projects.   I then just do a lot of free motion machine play on top to hold it all down.   This quilt along with two others will go to the  Animal  Shelter here in town to be put in the wire cages.  They  soften the effect of the  metal cages a bit.

 

Flags- Wood Ibis    Wood IbisI just keep working away on the flags that I made in Florida.   The lettering here was done with a Sharpie marker.

 

 

THe FoxFox This too is one of my Florida Flags.   I used fabric markers to add color and do the   big lettering on this one.    The small text is stamped work.

MantisIMG_7939 This work has fabric crayons as the color agent.  The lettering is done with a stencil and  silver stamping ink.

 

 

Pond Water  Pond Water  This project is going slowly as most of the current attachments are being made by hand.  I work for several hours last week  adding these little white units.   This work is a part of my curvy cur series.IMG_7980 The white is deconstructed screen worked fabric that I purchased from Randy.

Four more PodsPods   I continue to create more of these pods.  I am having fun using lots of the beads from my box and some of the fancy buttons I have purchased  of the years.   It is much nicer to do little projects then to build a big beaded work.

 

 

 

Scrap HappyIMG_7982   Ethel’s scrap box was calling to me this week too.  So I got busy and spent time putting together the little  strips she had precut.   I can see this project will be a slow one- but sometimes I need to do “no mind” stuff  and this will go the trick.

 

 

Iced LeavesIce   Two days of cold rainy weather got me going again on this project.  All the white/snow  is free motion quilted  now and most of the leaves are attached as well.

Close up I do enjoy the process when I get going.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scarves    ScarrvrsI have completed the stuffing of two more scarves.  I like the process but it is very slow.  I takes over half an hour to fill all the units for one row of the scarves.    I am ready to add the silk fabric in the centers of these works.  I have learned that the nylon net is to scratchie for the neck, so I add a unit of softer fancy fabric to the center that rests against the neck .  The good part is finding homes for all those little  stray objects that collect in the drawers.   I am including lots of jewelry bits from grandmother’s   button tin  too.

 

Label Block # 118 Label Block #118 I put a lot of hand work into other things this week so I only got one block done.    Only 27 to go now.

Keep Creating

Carol