Category Archives: Out the Window

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

Quilt Show

October 10, 2019 admin

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

FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Foundations XII, Label Blocks, Out the Window, Quilt Exploration Group (QuEGs)

My Travels

April 14, 2016 admin

Hello,

It is really spring when the dandelions begin to bloom. I see more and more every day. I have enjoyed my last two weeks and my mind is full of all sorts of ideas and happy memories. On the Tuesday before I left I went to a FAB meeting at Judy’s house. Everyone was full of news and even though there were no new projects we had a good time. Then that same day I ran off to a QuIG’s meeting in Sue Ellen’s studio. Sue Ellen is still working on her tree theme series. I really like all the hand work she put into this work. Linda is experimenting with Yupo Paper and ink. She sure got some fine results. I think I purchased some of this stuff a while back, I wonder what I did with it. Sally took a class from Noel were she made this wonderful rose and then built a great evening bag with the knowledge. We had a good time.

Then on Wed. I flew off to Chicago to see my friend Sharron and go to the Quilt Festival. She picked me up and we drove around the city in her wonderful new 2015 Mustang. I was stopped cold when I opened the door and this logo appeared at my feet. Techknowledgy is every where. The Festival was wonderful. The quilts were amazing. Such strong use of color and texture as well as wonderful patterning and breath taking images. I do not feel like I can post any of them on this sight –just believe me. We did go to the dedication and delivery of Quilts of Valor. It was so moving I found myself with tears running down my cheeks. Later Sharron and I spent time at that booth working on blocks and we both finished six for some future Veteran’s quilt. We came home with tired feet and a pile of goodies. This is only my pile. Sharron had one as big. She has a wonderful studio with a full wall of fabric. Her own Quilt store I would say. She is still working away on her six “ Dear Jane “ quilts. She has all the centers doneand is a little beyond a third of the way around all six with the triangles in the boarders. I am sure she will finish this year and they will be amazing! Again I am not going to show them here as she has a show in mind that needs to keep the images off the net until they are shown there. Sharron also has a second passion and that is her Christmas Village. It is set up in a space that was once a dinning room. It is electrified and has a train that moves through the display. Most of the building have lights inside as well. I just kept looking and looking .She told me she has been collecting parts for over 30 years. I sure can believe that . What a delight for the kid in all of us.

On Monday I went to Ithaca and took down my solo show at the Briar Patch. The staff did not want to see it go, but all things must end . Anne has someone else lined up for the next two months now.

Progress Report: Ethel’s Quilt This quilt was designed cut and partially assembled by my quilting buddy Ethel Whittamore. She asked me to finish it and then pass it on to Quilting By The Lake for there raffle in July. The Raffle money goes to the scholarship fund for the classes at QBL the following summer. I did finish the assembly and started doing the hand quilting like Ethel always did on her quilts. But I was unsatisfied with my work so I sent it off to an Amish woman I know who does beautiful handwork. The results came back and I was delight and she got the cash for a new calf. I was so excited when it came home that I took it to a Diva meeting were Cheri asked if she could take it to be shown at the YMCA Central New York Quilt show April 8 /9. I said yes and now it it home with me in all its glory. I will enjoy it for a few months before it goes off to QBL and its new home.

Riverwood This work is 31” X 49”. It meets all three of my monthly challenges. The orange and yellow fabric is some I hand dyed in a class last fall. The silk and the browns are from Ethel’s stash. The design is based on a collage I created. There are always alterations when one goes

from 3” x5” to a larger from. I liked using a limited pallet working with a the bold print against a smaller scaled area. I am also enjoying using the faced shapes to add another detention to the surface.

Out My Window This quilt is 38” X 41”. I hand painted the big white sections. They are all views of things that I saw out different windows in my life time. This shot is of the barn yard I could see from my bed room in Iowa. All the dark purple blocks are machine drawn trees and most of the other areas are leaves or clouds.

New Work -Ice on Vincent As I mentioned before the quilt show was inspiring and so I started this work based on a photo I took earlier this spring of ice along Vincent St. It is a close up and I have already done some major altering of it as I have put down the fabrics.

New Work This is an early shot of the beginning of a new piece. I want to do another stretched work, so this piece is 26” X 50” . It is based on a shot I took in Washington State on a trip with Marty. I am doing it all in shades of blue instead of gray.

Label Blocks # 46 and # 47

Two weeks- two blocks. I did a lot of the work in the airport waiting for the plane. The beat goes on….

Keep Creating

Carol

Columbus Junction, Ethel's Trees, Green Grass of Spring, Label Blocks, Memory Map Quilts, Out the Window, Second Wall, Stretch Works, Stretched Works, Truquoise Street Studio, Uncategorized, Watakoo Wall

Spring get away

March 31, 2016 admin 1 Comment

Hello,

Before I left for Florida I was a part of a second show at Turquoise Street Studio on the week end. I even sold a piece and I am thrilled by that. Barbara is so kind to share her studio with us and help us all benefit from that experience.

The photos tells the story of how I started many of my days when I visited Susan and Carolyn in Florida. The sun rises were wonderful. The light was truly “golden” as Barbara says. A big reason for my trip was to see their show. I went through the door and was stopped short by the visual impact. There was so very much to see I could not get myself started. I think I was fortunate to have seem some of the work before or I think I could have been truly overwhelmed. In trying to decide my favorite I was struck by the variety and the powerful use of color. I really like this altered Barbie that has become a god. Carolyn’s Swing Clocks with the moving feet made me smile too. This picture is only two of seven different variations that were presented. Some works were small and intimate and others were bigger than life size like this red dress. I liked Susan’s piece that was based on Little Red Riding Hood too because it had so many parts that were all fascinating all by them selves and also worked together. It was a full and delightful experience for me. We went to the building next to the gallery and saw a second exhibit of the works of the collage faculty and staff. I was taken by this wonderful small weaving. Susan told my it was by the director of the gallery were their work was on display.

Susan and I worked in the studio every day too. This shot is of Susan painting on Tyveck for her project for the Diva 15 Show. We worked with wood and fabric as well and had a lot of fun. We went for a morning at the beach as our way of celebrating Easter. The day was a perfect one for our ramble with a clear blue sky, white sands, crisp ocean smells and a cool breeze.

I found so many fascinating patterns and textures that I took over 75 pictures. But I decided that this shot of Cyprus stumps is my favorite. They almost look like they could walk the shore them selves. I had a great visit.

Progress Report: Watakoo Wall This is another in my stretch works. I am getting better at trimming back the corners enough that they lay flat now. It seems I learn a new trick with every one of these projects. I put lots of fabric bits on the surface as I build up the effect I am after. This one even has some “plastic twist” on it to give it a bit of a punch. It has silk paper as a part of the texture and color as well.

Second Wall This work is a partner to Watakoo Wall. Both are from the same photo, but a very different part of the rock face. This is a very early stage and I am sure it will grow and change as I work on the surface. It seems to cry out for some light at the moment.

Out My Windows I am to the fun stage of the work on this piece. I am doing the free motion drawing part and I always enjoy that step. I did all the dark purple squares yesterday afternoon. They are all night views across the roof tops showing the bare trees.

Green Grass of Spring This work is another of the pieces that is based on a collage. It grew and changed a lot as I enlarged it from the 5”X7” card I did the collage on. I did try to keep the tones of light medium and dark in the same areas however. I have it layered together and it is ready for the quilting. I am just looking and thinking about that step at the moment as I have no real clear idea of how I want to do that.

Memory Maps:Columbus Junction I started this work after talking with Susan before I went off to Florida. She mentioned how much she liked one of the other Memory Map works and I realized that I had not done all the pieces I wanted to do in that series. So after checking my list of possible subjects I selected Columbus Junction the home that I lived in from Kindergarten to the end of third grade. Then I did a list of possible subjects and began some drawings. I built my base and then started working on top. This shot is of the map section with our house being the square with the blue roof. This shot is of the upper right hand corner of the work.

Ethel’s Trees I inherited lots of Ethel’s unfinished work and this is one. I am sure I will not not put my stamp on all of her pieces, but using it as a starting point is a good challenge for me. This started out as only the brown tree painted on the white cloth. I added the gray painted “wonder under” to build up the land and then found this second Ethel cut tree yesterday. I need to live with this work to know were to go from here. The gray tree is not stitched down so it may move before I fuse it down.

Label Block # 45 I worked on this as I waited for the connections flying back and forth. I did not want to get behind while I was away and the activity does not require a lot of attention and its small so it travels well. Susan gave me a new batch of labels so I have more to work with.

I am going off to Chicago to the Quilt Festival and a visit with my Friend Sharron Evens on Wed next week so there will be no posting for April 7. It will be another double shot when I get back.

Keep Creating,

Carol

Briar Patch, Creative Assistants, Label Blocks, Out the Window, Riverwood, Watakoo Wall

Green Day

March 17, 2016 admin 1 Comment

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. It is sunny and bright today and I am really feeling the wonders of spring. Notice the bee in the center of the wind flower on the left. So many trees have big fat buds I am sure they will open soon. I had no meetings this week so I got a lot done. I do have stuff coming up however. This Sat and Sunday I will be apart of the Spring Thing at the Turquoise Street Gallery. I will be there on Sunday afternoon from 1 to 4Come along and have so goodies if you can. My other news is I am off to visit Susan on Tues and I will not be back until the following Tuesday . So there will be no post next week. I am sure I will have lots to share when I get home as she already has lots of plans for activates for the two of us.

Progress Report: Briar Patch I have completed this work, but I do not feel like it is really done. It is OK- but it has no life for me. I will take it to the Associated Artists meeting this week end and get some feed from other artists on it. I do like all the textures and colors that the patch contains but it seems fall short .

Ribbon Rose Pillow When I went to visit Susan last spring I fell in love with a wonderful piece of red fabric that she had. It was topped with these wonderful ribbon patterns. It has taken me a year to study and then adapt the technique to my collection of techniques. I am quit pleased with this typeof embellishing. I will admit that it is not a surface that is comfortable to press against however. But the texture is wonderful!

Out the Window I have finished all the stitch in the ditch work on this piece. It is now stable enough to start the free motion drawing part. I Think I will make each block a different view. I plan to leave some of the “windows’ blank and all the white ones with purple blocks printed on them will be curtained windows. I am thinking that the deep purple blocks will be night scenes. This is a big challenge and I may change my mind as I go along. But that is my plan.

Riverwood This work fits all three of my monthly challenge criteria. It is based on a collage, has my altered fabric and some of Ethel’s fabric too. I changed the color when I went to fabric from red to oranges and from grays to browns. I am showing one of the early pin up steps of this work because I have realized that as I enlarge the work from the 4”X 6” collage to a larger size it takes on a life of its own and I alter the work accordingly. ( note the additional half circles. ) I have finished all the stitch in the ditch work on this piece too and I am now ready to add the free motion work. I am not sure what to do so I am living with it.

Watakoo Wall I started some new work based on photos of rock formations. This is the beginning. I always try to lay the wool out in a pattern that follows the lights and darks of the start, but it too takes on a life of its own when I change mediums. Is this what is meant by abstraction?

This is a second work from a different section of the same photo before I add any fabrics on top. It to has morphed from the photo to this point.

Creative Assistants I have been inspired again this week to get back into doing faces for my creative assistants. I have done about two dozen and I will keep at it for a bit longer. Then move on to the next step.

New work Here is another work that is fits the monthly challenge work. And it too seems to have pulled away from the collage with enlargement. I have broken things up and altered the sizes of color blocks as I have gone along. I guess I will just have to face that the changes are a natural part of my process. It is all a part of learning and creating as I go along. A natural part of the process for me.

Label Block #44 I like the label form my Minion sculpture Christmas gift ( upper left hand corner ) the best in this block.

Keep Creating

Carol

Briar Patch, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Foggy Dawn, Label Blocks, Out the Window, Parts, Silver Growth

Purple Touches

March 11, 2016 admin

Hello,

It is really feeling like spring here and this wonderful shot of Nancy’s quilt in progress really expresses this feeling. I love all the flowers and the bright colors. She is amazing with her use of more and more pattern. This shot is only about one eights of her quilt. It was all we could show on the small space of my studio at the FAB meeting yesterday. Judy is working away on her sweater. She got some of the yarns from Patti . Judy is such a good knitter she does not even need a pattern to do all these fancy stitches. We had a good time yesterday.

I finished up my entry for the SAQA auction this week. I had a good time creating this little twelve inch square piece. I enjoy and support this organization.

Progress Report: Parts This work is finally complete. I sure enjoyed doing hand stitches all over the surface. I think I will give this work to the local camera shop were I purchased the camera that the parts are from. I got the new camera from them too when I dropped this one an broke it.

Foggy Dawn This work is the second half of older work. I took Corrine’s ‘s advice and did the quilting in a spiral patterns.

The glitter that is on this work was on the fabric when I purchased it. Lots of us like glitz.

Silver Growth I am almost finished with this project. I did all the free motion silver thread work earlier this week and I only need to add the facings now.

Briar Patch I am to the stage where I am adding the leaves and black berries to this quilt. I added most of the black berries first. I did not realize how many leaves I cut until I had them all pinned to the surface . It sure makes it pricklier at the moment.

Out the Window I was having so much fun with the turquoise and purple combination that I did a second quilt using this color combination. I lightened it up and did not go for much of the deep green of summer here. It is a lot closer to the colors of spring and windflowers and snow. Something that I saw on my walks this week.

Label Block #43 Slow and steady get’s the job done on this one.

Looking back over this blog I see lots of spring purple here. I sure am influenced by the season.

Keep Creating

Carol

Cre-8

Category Archives: Out the Window

Quilt Show

My Travels

Spring get away

Green Day

Purple Touches

Creative Fiber Collage Artist Carol Boyer