Category Archives: Hand work

Water Main Break

  Hello,

One of the  big excitements for this week was a water main break on Sunday morning.   I was washing up after making muffins and suddenly no water came out of the tap.   I looked out the kitchen window to see the road full of muddy water.    I went out doors and discovered the gal across the street  had just called the water department. The water was bubbling up and running down the street- it overwhelmed the street drains  and ran all the way down to the park – four blocks away. IMG_9390  The water was so powerful it cracked and threw up the street.   The men came in about 20 min and turned off the water.  A little later they were followed by a  repair crew who started about 9.    First they broke up the tar via and cleared away all the mud and stone to expose the pipe so they could replace it.IMG_9393  The whole was about 8 feet deep and 10 feet wide.  It was huge.  They cut away the broken area of the pipe and then put in a new section.  It was about 3:30 by that time.   Then they began to fill in the whole with loads of stone.  It took four trips with dump trucks full to do that job.   Lastly after 9 in the evening they patched over the  filled opening with tar via.   There was lots of mud on the street and the street sweeper made five runs up and down the road to get it up on Monday – but it is still dusty here.

IMG_9437This shot of a side walk that got flooded and is still muddy this morning when I walked.   The street sweeper could not get to that space.   It was  quite and adventure.

FAB meant here last week too.  Marty came as she is in town.  She brought  her newest little project.IMG_9383

Patty had just finished a new scarf that she shared with us.  I think it is grand- only knit and pearl she tells us.   Judy brought one of her Disappearing Four Patch blocks that she started  up at camp when we were there. IMG_9382It was a good meeting and we all had fun.

The  first  Tuesday  of the month came this week so I had QuEG’s and Diva meetings too.

 

IMG_9398Angela is taking an on line class in felting and having a grand time.  She showed us about ten pieces she  had done already.  These two show different wools on the left and adding  different silks on top of the second one.Linda is finishing up this “ Almost Black and White “ top.   IMG_9406   Sally is working away on Christmas gifts and this bag she made was full of them- hand bags,   soft toy bags and such.  She dose great work.IMG_9404Corrine had this wonderful bracelet to share.  She made it from and exchange she did at a conference where she traded a great luggage tag for the charms.

 

  Before I went to the Diva meeting, I stopped and had a little private  visit to the Rock Garden Show in Homer.   Cheri and Terri- the gallery guru  show me through.   They both  had work there of course.   Cheri’s was one she started in the class she and I were in with Kerr at QBL.   IMG_9411   Terri’s work is much larger and full of texture.   It is a great little show with nine artists  and wonderful work.   IMG_9409  This work is Cheri’s too.

The Diva’s were hopping as well.   Lori had this wonderful little bag to share with us.  She did it for her entry for the Embroidery Guild of American  2017 challenge.   She got feed back on several other  stamped and hand dyed projects that she is working on.

 

 

 

 

Alice has  almost completed her Mary Colter quilt for the Woman Museum.    It looks great.

 

 

 

Liesa has  completed her quilt for the “Threads of Change  Show”.   Let Us Stay-is wonderful commentary I think.

IMG_9427Regina  wowed us again with all her indigo dyeing.  She is creating up a storm of beautiful work.

Anne has finished “ Blind In justice”   her work on the American’s with Disabilities Act.    All those brail dots are three dimensional.

IMG_9430 Ruth’s wave is moving along as she wants it finished for the  quilt show  this week end.     It was a powerful meeting and I enjoyed my self .  Came home all hipped up again.

The other thing I tried this week was dyeing with wall nuts.  IMG_9384It is great fun and I got some real nice browns.

Progress report: Buggy   I am to the reflective quilting stage on this project.  I  added two more oil stick stenciled insects to  it this week too.

Glyph IV  IMG_9449I just keep putting in my hour a day on this project.  It is moving forward.

Quartered Glyph   I started this one up  at camp.  I am ready to start assembling the  four units now that I have trimmed away the second layer.    The Cut aways are so beautiful that  I may need to do another  work using these shapes and  pieces. IMG_9450

Pond Water   This project has become my short term evening project.  I am hand quilting it so this is a good replacement for the time being.   I do have a new nightly project in mind however.

IMG_9432Card   Make Believe  This is my newest card.   I am so distressed by the shooting in Los Valgus that I want to escape into make believe.  Thank goodness I have art as a way of getting away into my own world .

Label Block quilt.  All the blocks are assembled now.   I will stitch in the ditch quilt it and finish the job.

Keep Creating

Carol

Two Trips

IMG_9045.jpgHello,

The past two weeks have been ones of travel for me.  Last week at this time I was on my way to the the Dairy Barn in Athens Ohio.  Liz and I were visiting Quilt National.   They have changed the entrance and it looks great.  No photos are allowed in this show, but my memories are rich.  I was epically taken by  Natalya Aiken’s Iron Spine work and then saw that she was the feathered artist in  the QSDA magazine that came this week.     I also like Colleen Anbaugh’s Hot Sugar Cell piece.  Lots of glitz and Liz said it was like my work in some ways.   Liz and I were both excited by the many techniques we had just explored in Kerr’s class at QBL two weeks before  and noticed several of them in the quilts on display at this show.  IMG_9057.jpg   This fact will  pushed me to do more exploration.     The next day we drove north to Zanesville to check out their museum and see another quilt show.    Liz has been in class with this woman at Nancy Crow’s barn.  We both noted Nancy’s influence here.    The museum was a bit of a work it’s self and I took lots of inspirational pictures  of the stairs and shadows.IMG_9062I can see works coming from these images.

IMG_9075.jpgThen yesterday Eric and I went for a road trip to Corning New York to the glass museum there.  We watched five demonstrations and learned a lot.  The artists made it look easy, but I know from my one experience blowing glass it is far from simple. IMG_9078    I also enjoyed the Tiffany exhibit.  Mosaics are always  fascinating and these were amazing.   This clock really blew me away.Tiffany glass clock  Tiffany’s many recipes for the  colors of glass were a real game changer for his work as well as the glass industry.     It was a great day.

Glyph I

 

 

 

Progress Report: Glyph I   This work is 26.5” w X 41”l.    I started the series in Cynthia Corbin’s class at QBL this summer.  The Glyph is based on the word OWL.  IMG_9098  I used simple  outline quilting because the shapes and the colors in the fabrics( by Judy Roberts)  did so much of the work for this piece.IMG_9099

 

Glyph II IMG_9094.jpg This is the second in the series.  I have pin based it down and I am now zig zag appliqueing down the  glyph.  I will make a second run around the out sides with more zig zag to make it smooth and solid.

 

 

 

Glyph IVGlyph IV    The bead work goes on for this project.   I am stitching it down with beading thread and back stitching every fifth bead to make a strong connection.

 

Pond Water IMG_9103  This work continues to get attention .     I did bead work here this week too.

Ethel's scrap happyEthel’s Scarp Happy   I finished the assembly added the boarder and binding on this piece this week.  I only need to do the diagonal quilting and the project will be complete

   Creative Assistants  IMG_9105  As fall approaches I start  thinking about doing these little guys.  I pulled out the box of trims that Debbie sent me this summer and  added a  row of trim to 100 bodies.  The last eve I did four faces.  One small step.

Cards  Ever sense I visited Susan in March I have been participating in a weekly collage card creating challenge with several other artists.    It began loosely based on Tarot cards but with time we have pulled away from that.    This is my card for this week titled Activities  and the accompanying  text.  IMG_9090

Activities: 
 Over the course of a day we demand many little task of our selves-One walks, 
talks , comb hair, opens doors, turns on and off lights, reads, checks the 
weather, brushes teeth,  drinks tea, washes hands, sets, collects and opens 
mail, takes pills, writes, climbs stairs, prepares and eats food, ties shoes, 
uses zippers and buttons, looks at the sky, does dishes, changes cloths, checks  
e-mail, and creates something.  It's a complex life. 

Label BlocksIMG_9100.jpg   I finished these two  blocks this week.   I only  have four more  to finish and the job will be done.    I need to start to think about another hand weekly project.

Keep Creating

Carol

Tree Work

 

IMG_9007.jpgHello,

I am feeling a bit sad today as the tree men came today to do some necessary tree trimming and removal.   As this shot shows the oak was rubbing on the roof as was the white pine.    I love trees and have done many works celebrating them so having two cut to the ground is the source of my distress.  One,  the ash in front of my studio window was suffering the effects of the  ash bore beetle.    I did do a drawing of IMG_9023 a short branch.   The second was a Maple that was greatly distorted because it was growing in the shadow of a second tree.    There is a lot more light in the yard and house now.    The roof will  be  better for the cutting, one can see the street signs again and walk the sidewalk without ducking.   All this is positive and I will concentrate on those positive things.   One can always plant more trees.   IMG_9011.jpg And there are always more quilts to build using trees as there themes.

IMG_8979As if a week of dyeing with Kerr was not enough, Liz and I did dye on Monday.  This is a sot of the dyes we have to choose from on the work table.   What fun.IMG_8978Some of the  altered fabric on the line.

I received a wonderful gift this week too.  My friend Marilyn stopped with a bag full of trims and linens from her Mom’s attic.  IMG_9020She said I knew you could and would make something wonderful out of some of this.  What a fine vote of confidence.  I can see several things I want to work with already.

 

owlProgress Report:   Owl   I am to the quilting step of this work.     But I have also decided I like it with a vertical layout better then the horizontal way I had it laid out.

IMG_9019That means I will need to change the title as one can not “read” owl with this change in orientation.   But it is still a work in progress so things could still change.

IMG_9021.jpgPond Water  I am still adding hand work to this piece.  The end is in sight however.

IMG_9014Glyph  IV  I am quilting the background of this piece now.  I want to bead the actual Glyph now that I have removed the interfacing I put in last week.    I  did some stabilizing quilting every 2.5” out from the center in both directions.   Those quilting lines will stabilize the piece.     

 

IMG_9015.jpgLabel Blocks     I finished up two more blocks this week.  The pile of black squares is getting smaller.

Enjoy the trees in your life and

Keep Quilting

Carol

Travel plus

 

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

Falling Back

LeavesHello-

The winds of autumn are stripping the trees of their golden bounty now.  I have been out  raking for two days.   It is cold and soon days will be spent inside.   This last week has been a busy one out side the studio for me. IMG_6845 I spent Friday mixing dye with my friend Liz.  We will be a part of open studio at the Schweinfurth during the up coming weekend.   Play is in my future.

Then this week end I was part Wall of workof and Exhibition and Sale at John Doweling’s studio  for two days.  I sold three little framed works and I am very happy about that. The work is still hanging there although I am not in attendance.  It will be there until the middle of Dec.

 

IMG_6817Progress Report: Hand Bag  I did put together a hand bag this week so I guess I did finish one thing.

close up of pond waterPond Waters   Because I was away so much there is not a lot of progress to report.  I continue to work away on this project in the evenings and it is building.   Hand work is just slowbut very calming.

 

IMG_6822Circle Play  This is my self challenge to play with faced circles in a creative way.   I have  a lot to learn with this process.    I have challenged myself to do seven works using this striped circle as the main unit.

wool II Wool works 1 2 3    I started these works last week but did not put too much time into them yet.   This work is # 2 only because I numbered my sketches as I did them.  I am sure it will get a better name with time.  This one is just about ready for some machine stitching.

wool wook 3

 

 

 

 

#3   This one is ready for fabric and machine work.   It really is not much different than last week.

 

 

 

 

 

#1 is still at the prep for wool stage.IMG_6834I have drawn the areas our for the color changes but that is all.  I will get to that later today I hope as the felting machine is out on the desk and waiting.

landscapeFelted Landscape I did make progress on one wool piece though.     This too is in an early stage.  I will keep you posted.

IMG_6824New Work  I did pull fabric for a new pieced work too.  This one will be a lot simpler then the pieced work I have been doing of late.   I hope I can stick with that attitude.

Label # 92-93Label Blocks # 92 & # 93  I can see the end of this project.  There are only 27 more blocks to complete.

Keep Creating

Carol

Leaves Change

 

Red Leaves  Hello-

It is really starting to be colorful here in central New York.   I have seen all shades of green, yellow, orange and red this week.  Mother Nature has been busy.IMG_6566  I went off to a Fiber Arts show  on Sat.  There was lots of weaving, spinning and roving.  I came home with a back pack full of new colors to work Cheri.jpgwith.  The yarns were beautiful as well.  It almost made me want to knit…. then I remembered all the yarn I already have so I walked away.    I also went off to the Rock Garden Art Group  Show.  Two Fiber arts friends had work in the show  Cheri and Terri.  It was great.     I so enjoy seeing the work of my fellow fiber Artists in gallery settings.Terri

 

 

IMG_6583Progress Report:  Ethel’s Nine Patch  I got all of the quilt  put together with week.  I am working on the binding and that is about one third done.    I  am sure it will be completed this week.

 

IMG_6572.jpgBirds  I am making progress on this work too.  I have not put much of it together but the layout is getting more and more complete.

 

 

 

 

 

Land Fall IMG_6576 I did work on this piece this week but this is the slow stage were not a lot seem to be happening in the over all image.

IMG_6570.jpg Orange Wool  This work is like the other wool based piece.  Lots of time but little difference on the surface.  I am pushing myself to go more toward a fire like image.   Time will tell if I can make this work.

IMG_6581.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Queen Ann’s Lace  I did work on the heads of the steams on this project.   I have been so busy doing hand work on other things that I have not really spent much time on this project.

Thread Painting IMG_6574 At the QuEG’s  meeting Angela talked about doing thread  painting on  wash away.  Well I tried it this week.  I like the concept, but I need to plan more carefully with the grid I put down to build on.  I also marked the pattern were I wanted the white in red washable marker.  I turned the thread pink.  Not my plan at all.     Mistakes are what we need to move forward.  Then today I re read the instructions and it said to do the machine drawing on both sides.    A second mistake.

Blocks#84 #85 Label Blocks # 83 and # 84

I  just keep working  at the little daily blocks.

Keep Creating

Carol

Summer’s Ending

 

Mill SightHello,

As the nights get shorter and a few bits of color are starting to appear in trees one is reminded that summer is fast coming to an end.    I went off to Mill Sight Lake along with  other FAB gals for a weekend of talk and quilt work.   We did swim in the lake too, but due to a much needed rain on Sunday we did not get any boat work in.      We talked and discussed all sorts of things including the projects we where working on.  Patti made Pillow cases and Judy and  Nancy worked on Disappearing Squares- a block with lots of possibilities. IMG_6261 The food was great and we had  a good time.

Progress Report: Deep JelliesDeep Jellies   This work is 37” long and 41.5 “ wide.    I did stay true  to my vow to do hand work on it every day for and hour and it got done this week.   I sure enjoy the mixing of the orange and blue.IMG_6279 The dyed blue green lace and the deep blue ribbons  represent the  parts of the jellyfish that capture the food and pull it into  IMG_6281the center so digestion can begin.    IMG_6282  I still find the idea that these colorful fellows live in total darkness.

Tall TextTall Text  This quilt is 49” long and  32.5” wide.    started this project in Rosalie Dace’s class at  QBL.      I did reflective quilting in the negative spaces  around the text in this work.   IMG_6269IMG_6273It has been a good week to finish things up as I  prepare for my  travels.    I like to come back with a clean studio as I am sure I will get lots of new ideas on this trip.

IMG_6268

Far Off Forests  Far Off ForestsI am now done with the free motion work on this piece.  I need to get new stretcher bars to finish it as the machine work has so distorted it that it will  not stretch to fit the ones I have.

 

 

 

 

 

Ethel’s Scrap Nine PatchIMG_6290  I inherited this box full of leftovers from Ethel.   I took it on the camping  weekend.  I had one idea about how to use these colorful pieces but the other gals have convinced me to make a nine patch quilt with them.

IMG_6274.jpg   This is a shot of all of the parts I put together  over the weekend that I am now ready to cut into 5” squares and mix with solids for this project.     I know I would not have done it in this fashion without the influence of the other gals.

 

 

 

 

 

Label Block # 75  Label Block #75 I only got one block done this week.  I have several near completion though so I will keep my numbers correct.

I will be traveling with Marty for the next  few weeks so the next post will be Sept 15.

Happy Trails to you as well.

Carol

Work Week

FawnHello-

I saw this young fellow in the cematery on my walk this week.  Later I watched in horror as he ran across Comstock Avenue  dodging cars  and into the woods behind Manley Field House.   Good luck Bambi!

This week was one where I got a lot of studio time and although I have not finished much I feel good about what is going on.      Uneventful  weeks are good for reflection I find.   In class with Rosalie Dace at QBL she stressed the importance of Values in our work.  Now I have heard that many times but I just never really got the concept.   One of my fellow class mates showed me how  to see it more clearly and although I have not got the whole idea yet I am seeing what they both meant.

IMG_6234  Here is a photo of a group of fabrics that I think work together.  In color they seem to have a wide range of values. ( this is were my eye needs training) because when the same fabrics are viewed in black and white it is easy to see there is very little middle value in this collection.   So now I need to go back in to the stash and fine a few more  pieces in the middle range like the grayed oranges to have more values in this work.

 

B&W1  It is good to always be growing.

Progress Report:Going Deep  Going Deep  I added the backing to this work after I stretched it yesterday.    I really enjoy the building up of the layers of these wool based projects.   This is the first one where I do not have a canvas under the fiber piece and I think that allows for more a feeling of buoyancy.   IMG_6242The thread build up on these works takes a lot more time then I think  will when I start.  But the final effect is well worth the efforts.IMG_6244  Sometimes it only takes such a small bit of fabric or yarn to really add color to an area.   It is like building a puzzle with flexible pieces.

IMG_6248Deep Jellies   I am still doing the hand quilting on this project.  I have been putting in an hour a day on that process- but it is a big quilt so I have about one third of it done now.

Tall TextTall Text   I started this in Rosalie’s class.  The top is all assembled now and I am in the quilting stage.  I am doing reflective machine work around the  cut up letter units with variegated thread. IMG_6247  I think the textural interest will add a nice dimension to the work.

Ivy Wall     Ivy WallThis is an early stage for this work.  The butterfly will all be done in thread painting with the machine.  The image is mounted on organza with tear away stabilizer on the back.   I did the brown leaves as a rubbing with pastels  last summer.   IMG_6252There is a little machine work at the bottom so I know this technique will work.

Far Off Forests- wool work   IMG_6256     From this corner one can see that it only takes a  small scarp to build up an area with a different color.

New WorkNew Project  This is my current three challenge piece.  It is all one unit now and I am pondering ways to quilt is as well as the way I want it oriented.  This shot is exactly upside down from the original,  But some how it works better for me.

 

 

 

 

Label Blocks #73 and #74

IMG_6236.jpg  I am pushing my self to get a few blocks ahead as I know I am going away for a three weeks at the end of August.

Keep Creating

Carol

Full Summer

Hello,

IMG_6207Summer is proving to be hot and dry here in central New York.    I am still washing out fabrics form Carol’s class at QBL.IMG_6224.jpg      The top half of this photo is stuff from the class.    The bight bottom half is what I did at the play day  meeting of the Mixed group on Sat.  We did discharge work and paint printing due to the water shortage.   IMG_6194 The day started out with Pat showing us the simple process of using watered down bleach to remove color. IMG_6193.jpg We watched and then went to work applying the knowledge.

 

This shot is of Anne and Anne working out in the sun.

IMG_6196.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The drying lines quickly filled with beautiful fabrics.IMG_6195

Not all of us worked out side.

 

 

IMG_6197.jpgPricilla and I both  work away in the barn with  paint  and acrylic ink.     I did my printing with shaving cream and inks.   I tried using shaving cream and water color too- but it ran when I heat set it as I sprits it with water. IMG_6223 The yellow is ink and the red is water color and it ran.   I was experimenting and when one does that there are no guarantees.

 

IMG_6225.jpg   I was very successful with the other pieces  however.          The fabric was beautiful and   we had fun.

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_6205.jpgYesterday  I went off to Susan’s and played.    She was busy cutting stencils and working on a big layered project.

 

 

IMG_6204.jpg

 

Sally was there as well doing paper clay figures.     She is marring the paper lay with drift wood to create her figures.

 

Regina was doingIMG_6203.jpg hand work on her projects that are due for a show by the 29th.  I did hand work on my Deep Jellies quilt.  We talked and worked all day and everyone made progress on there various projects.    It is good to work with others some times.

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report:   Deep JelliesIMG_6220.jpg I did a lot of quilting on this on Wed.  and I tacked down the fuzzy orange around the big jelly fish. IMG_6221   I made an assignment for myself  to do and hour on this every day for the next few weeks.

Class project  IMG_6233  This project  along with three others also need hand work attention so that is part of the reason I though I should start to dedicate an hour a day to hand work.

IMG_6232.jpgFelted Wool works   I keep moving forward on these projects.   The gold one is ready for stretching.  This close up is just one small section of it.

 

IMG_6229.jpgGoing Deep  This blue wool one is almost done too.  I discovered that it is longer then my stretchers so I will lose about six inches of it.  Again I am learning.      I do not know how much the wool with shrink when I do the machine workIMG_6228.jpg  because this green one will not fit the stretchers already and I have just started the machine work on it.

 

 

 

 

 

New workIMG_6219  This is my new three challenge piece.  I  have barely started it  so there is not much to see yet.  I do like using the collage as my starting place for work.  Looking with more intensity seems to stretch me more then my typical approach of responding to what is on the pin wall all the time.

IMG_6222.jpgLabel Block 72  And the beat goes on with this project.

Keep Creating

Carol

Summer Begins

 

IrisHello,

My iris are blooming.  These are the last ones from Dad’s garden on the farm that have survived the upstate winters.      I feel like summer has truly begun as we celebrated Memorial Day this week.   The weather has cooperated with that attitude too as it has really gotten warmer.   The week has been a full one starting with last Thursday as I went off to the Schweinfurth Art Center after I wrote last weeks   blog and helped hang the new fiber show from the Surface Design Association.  It was wonderful to see how folks designed there work up close and really check out the backs too.  It is a great show with lots of variety from weaving to sewing on x-ray  plates.     Then I ran home and off to a  pop up  dinner, were we learned how the chief prepared  food for presentation.IMG_5806  We each followed the instructions on how to present our plates.   This is mine with  pea sauce and egg dots.  I forgot to take  a photo of the final before I ate it.  It was very good.

The other event of this week really starts tomorrow with the opening of the Quilt Diva 15 show  in Ithaca.

IMG_5822.jpgProgress Report: Lion King- Coming Home    This work is  20” X 20”.  The quilting is all done on the machine.   I used a wiggle ray  type of pattern for the sky and  a  serpentine pattern to show the heat on the ground.  IMG_5823

The giraffes   were out lined and then a spot pattern was added to bodies.   IMG_5825

The masks all got out lining and free motion work to show off the shapes of the areas.   IMG_5824  I was glad I had this little stamp of a bounding lion to add to the edge  of the work.

Generational Whispers IMG_5814  It took a bit of work to find images of all of the women in the family that I want to use in this  quilt.     Now I need to do the drawing so I can begin the machine work on this project.

 

Deep JelliesDeep Jellies   I am beginning to put down the parts of this work.  I made the stunners  for the jelly fish out of  a metallic fabric and lace I had painted the aqua color on the  photo.

 

 

 

New work Sachiko SashickoThe  white on blue hand work of iris’s is done now.  So I pulled fabrics that I thought would go with it.  I had a pack of ten stamped Japanese  words that I though might go with it.  There is not a real clear vision for were I am going with this one yet.

New WOrk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New work     I used one of the collages from last week to build this work.  It is about half way assembled now.  Finding a title is proving to be a challenge however.

Label  Blocks # 60 and #61 Label Blocks #60/#61  Now I really am half way through with the creating of the blocks for this project.

Enjoy summer and Keep Creating

Carol