Category Archives: Pixies Group

Applique, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Flag Challenge, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Pixies Group, Scissors

Berry Season

Hello,

As I plucked a ripe  berry form the Mulberry Tree  on our walk, I was  reminded that when I was in Kindergarten I learned that there were 4 seasons.  So when summer came and there was Cherry season, and Strawberry season, followed by Raspberry season, I was a little confused and wondered why they were so short.   My Dad explained that the fruit seasons were just labels for what was ripe and a joy to eat at times of the year, while the four seasons represented the leant of day light and weather.   My childhood mind still though it was a bit unfair that the berry seasons were so short.   I am  now enjoying watching the  blue berry plants grow large wonderful large green berries in Rachel’s  yard,  and paying attention to the first ripening  wild  black berries  along our path.    I love berry seasons, perhaps that is due to how brief they all are.     My other big delight this week was to discover a young opossum in my hedge when I was watering my plants .    Then there were all the firefly’s  in my back yard last night .   Nature is constantly surprising me.

My only quilting events this week were  a  FAD meeting and a Pixie Zoom meeting.

Progress Report:   Lap 11   I really enjoyed this project this week.  It is so very cheerful.

 

 

 

 

 

Lap 12     I can’t let things go so I started a new one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Field of Flowers    I try to work on this every day  so I am making progress  on it.   I think I only need to add the last of the free motion,  Angela, and  roving flowers I did to start this idea .

  Tie Quilt   In my efforts to clear away and finish up things I came across a box full of ties that a friend has sent me.   I decided to tackle building some blocks for a bed quilt with them.

 

 

Scissors Quilt  Marty sent me this little image of a painting made with scissors.  The water color artist had allowed himself to have X-ray vision with the work.  Seeing that was all it took for my imagination to go flying.     So I arranged my scissors and did a drawing.  This full sized drawing is the result.   I have pin based a base  and I am ready to start cutting pieces to fuse down and stitch now.

 

 

Glove Block # 5      This is my handwork for the evenings at the moment.      I am now ready to move on to the next block.

 

 

 

 

Flag for Susan     I came across this perfect piece of handwork by my Aunt May and though of Susan’s flag project.   I will mail it this week.

 

I hope folks are enjoying the wonders of summer.     Due to the fact that next Thursday is the 4th of July ,  I will not publish until Friday next week.

Stay Safe

Carol

 

 

Hand work, Lap Quilts, Nine Play, Pixies Group, Stencels

Summer Solstice

Hello,

We are to the longest day of the year today .    It is also very hot in this part of the world.   It will be  a while before I really notice the shorting days.   I do enjoy the sunlight though. We also have the Strawberry Moon this evening. I hope it stays clear and I get to view it.

This week was a  busy one for me.   Friday,  Liz and I went to Marcia’s for a sewing day.    Joyce worked on her Bog Coat as did I.

 

They help on hemming was what I needed  and mine is finished now.

 

 

 

 

 

Deb enjoyed Zoie.

 

 

 

Marcia showed off one of her jackets.

We had a good productive time.

I had a Sisterhood Zoom meeting and the Pixies meant too.

 

 

 

 

The Naturally Inspired class got my attention as I did a group of Gelli prints for that class.

 

 

 

The teacher also suggested that one cut their stencil shapes from Yupo paper.  It really works well and  holds up nicely.    I  will use it in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Swoop II This work is 37″ w X 46″ l.    It is made from leftover blocks from the first Swoop piece.

 

 

I had more fun with the quilting on this one than the first.

 

 

 

 

Lavender Floor   This work is 31″ X 24″.  I was playing with the free motion work and the roving again here.    The fish and the starfish both have this technique  as a part of them.

 

The sea grass is made from nylon netting and two different ribbons that I gathered to get the ripple effect.

 

 

 

 

Lap 10   The top is all pieced together  and it is pin based now.  I will  move forward on it this week.

 

 

 

 

 

Glove Blocks I have just pinned this piece together and started to stitch the handkerchief down.    In my sorting this week I found some more of aunt Shirley’s and grandmothers handkerchiefs too.  The gloves here are from Liz.,

Floral Garden   I have stitched down all the sunflowers and most of the leaves on this project.   I am just about ready to add more blossoms.   These flowers and the one I plan to add are made with the roving and free motion  technique that I learned in the QBL class last summer.

9X9X9  I added a boarder to this work and it is pin based.    Now I need to wait for the last portrait before I can go forward.

 

 

 

Envelopes  I always save my papers from painting and turn them into envelopes.  I realized that there were quit a few of them rolled up in the corner so I pulled them out and made a new batch of envelopes.     It is my personal way of recycling.

 

 

Please stay safe and cool as you can at this time.

Carol

 

 

FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Fish, Hand work, Nine Play, Pixies Group, Plants, SAQA

Spring Closing

Hello,

We have slipped into a real summer like feel here in central NY, even though summer does not officially begin until next week.   Most of the early flowers are gone and the  spring  ones that are still around are looking a bit shabby.   The seasons move so very quickly.     We have moved our walks to early morning as it is cooler  too.   The beginning of the walk course is were the hills are and  at the middle we start down.  Then this last stretch is  about 14 blocks on mostly level ground.   I always fins it a great meditative time.

I had three events this week.  The FAD gals meant on Monday and Sharon shared her completed blossom work.    I have enjoyed watching this one grow.

 

I made it to the SAQA lecture on Wed and there was a Pixie meeting too.

 

 

Progress Report:   Stamps   I finally got going on cutting the new stamps this week.   Now to do some printing.

 

 

Lavender Level     I made lots of progress on this little sea piece.  I am using lots of the free motion and wool roving techniques from my class last  summer.

 

Flower Garden   I built some additional thread work to make more flowers.

 

 

 

 

This is picture shows the  roving before I do the thread work to hold it all together.  This will become some sun flowers- I hope.   The base is built so making the actual garden will be gin soon.

 

 

 

 

 

Dragon Fly   I continue to work on this hand project in the evenings.    It is progressing slowly.

 

 

Pillows    I was doing some more spring cleaning and found a  few unfinished pieces so I decided to complete them.  I have now made two into pillow cases.  I will  stuff them and then sew them  up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Asha”s quilt   I am all ready to quilt this project.  The heart print around the out side is polar fleece that will be a the back of this work.

 

 

 

 

Nine by Nine by Nine     This top of 81 little one inch squares in neutral colors will be the base  for some free motion portrait work I want to do.  I was inspired by the Genesee Valley Quilt show for this project.

 

I hope you  are enjoying the  pleasant days and nights.

Keep Creating

Carol

Diva Meetings, Felt Work, Pixies Group, Re Work

New Moon

Hello,

   Tonight we will have a new moon in our skies. .   When it is full in two wees or so, it will be called a strawberry moon.   I do hope that I can pick some berries at that time too.   Things change fast it seems.

I have been working out in my garden a lot this week and I feel I have made progress- even though the ground hog has eaten the tops off my Black-eyed Susann’s.      The hedge is trimmed too and now I am ready to do more of the leaf clean up around the bottom.   I  had two meetings this week- the  Pixies and The quilt Divas.

 

 

Cheri shared her new top.    I is so very whimsical and plant like I think.

 

 

 

 

 

Maureen is still stitching away on this glorious hand printed piece.   She really put a lot of effort into this piece.

 

 

 

 

Terri  showed us the last block for the quilt  that she is building for her son.   All the blocks represent his interests.    This one is of Hobbit Land.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Denise’s  felt and stitch work is very rich in color and texture.

 

 

It was a good meeting and I went away inspired.

Progress Report: Lap # 10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed working away at this project.   It will join the others to  be given away in the fall.

 

 

I hand printed the yellow with the plant image on it.

 

 

Lavender Shore  This is another in the altered rock works.  Meaning that the base is an old Foundations piece.  This is part of  Whipsaw  Hill in Vermont.

 

 

I used some melted Tyvek  on this project.   All the new items were applied by hand.

 

 

 Wool and Felt work   I started exploring the use of roving and free motion in my class last summer at QBL.   I am working away on creating some floral like units with it now.

 

 

Tyvek Project    I am trying more work with Tyvek altering by starting with different cutting before I melt it .      This time I only painted one side . I  did  not find  much difference in how the  material reacted to heat.     Not sure were this will lead at this point.

 

 

 

 Lap 11  I pulled fabric for the next lap quilt  yesterday/.   I like to always have lots of choices as to what to work on when I start the day.

 

 

 

 

 

  Bog Coat   I got the front panel added this week and the hem is done on the bottom edge.   Now I  need to pin and hem the bottom of the sleeves.

 

 

 

 

Take Off   I came across a bunch of UFO’s  in my search for the lost heat gun this week.  So I have resolved  to complete some of them.   This is the fist on I  tackled.     Only need to do the binding now.

I hope that the days of June are filled with joy and delights for you.

Carol

 

Collage, Flag Challenge, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Pixies Group, SAQA

Half Moon

Hello,

This evening we will see the flower half moon in our skies.  Change is such a constant  that one can forget to notice.  I did  notice the cottonwood seeds piling up along the road today on our walk.  “Summer Snow” was what Nick called it in his childhood.   I even caught one of the little white things as it drifted to earth this morning.  I guess  I am paying more attention that I thought.

The week has been a full one with a trip along with  Liz to Marcia’s for another play day.    Joyce had her newest doll  called “Holding It Together.” We all sort of feel that way now days.

 

 

 

 

 She and I also started Bog Coats at that time.   I am struggling along on it now.

 

 

 

 

 

My good friend Joyce  Holman had an opening on Saturday at the Art Rage Gallery.       I really love her work.   So much action  and great color.

 

 

 

 

 

I did the homework for my Naturally Inspired class as well.  We are [painting backgrounds at this point.

I did the SAQA on line lecture on Wed and attended the  Pixie meeting too.

Progress Report: Ethel 5   This is the last piece that is made with blocks that Ethel started.   I did have to make some to finish this, but I used her fabrics to do so. I feel a bit sad to close this door, but it’s time I guess.   Her fabrics are all integrated into my own stash at this point, but I still look of batiks and think of her.

Lap #8  I am working on getting this piece fully quilted at this point.  I am sure it will be done soon.    It is made up of blocks leftover from the 100 day BV project.

 

Lap  #9  I am to the binding step on this project.

 

 

 

 

Lap #10     Off on another  bit of play with this new lap work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Work  I am still building little nine patch works as a background.  Progress here even though my original goal has been cancelled.

Purple Washup    I was not happy with the melting of the Tyvek on Wash Up, so I used ink to color the surface this week  and started a new  piece with it.     The ink allowed for lots more distortion of the surface. 

 

 

 

 

Collages  I got busy and worked on collages on Sunday.   These are the results.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Handwork  I have been doing a little handwork on this piece.  It is a leftover form the Joyous Embroidery Class.

 

 

Flag  Susan’s assignment from a few weeks ago inspired a new flag having to do with the environment.

Enjoy the seasonal changes and keep Creating

Carol

 

100 day Challenge, Baby Quilts, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Lap Quilts, Pixies Group, Re Work, Stretched Works

Quilt Show

Hello,

I went along with Liz and Cheri to see the Genesee Valley Quilt Fest on Saturday.     The company was wonderful and the show a good one.   I am always glad to see that quilting is thriving.   I septically enjoyed the section of the show that was SAQA work.   I got some new ideas from those works.

 

 

And Yes, I did shop and purchased some fabric.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheri and I went to Ellen Blaylock’s lecture too.I have always enjoyed her work and I loved the two Medusa quilts that she shared with us.    This quilt is  what Ellen calls Medusa’s daughter.  It was a fun and stimulating day for me.

The Pixies and  FAB also meant this week .

My big news is Sharon’s proposal for a show was accepted and we spent a day looking at the space and talking about what we want to do for that show.

Progress Report: Shore Line Washup  This work is 21″ X  24″.   It is my latest in the works from my Joyous Embroidery  class.     I read about using Tyvek  by painting on it and then applying heat to get distortions. I  got carried away with the paint and it was too thick so it did not melt too much.   I will try again and  be more careful with the application.    I added old belt buckles , wooden beads, and yarns on top of  one of my old rock pieces then stitched it down.   This work also got some glass  beads from Cheri added to the surface .   This work  is on stretcher bars.

 

 

 Lap 5    I completed this work this week and I am pleased with the results.   It is made up of leftover blocks from the 100 day challenge.

The quilting is liner in the same fashion as the blocks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lap 6     I put together this piece from   more  leftover blocks .    I need to pin basted it for quilting now.

 

 

 

 

 

Lap 7  One more lap quilt  top that I put together on Monday and Tuesday.   It is pin basted from quilting and I plan to tackle it tomorrow.

 

 

 

Lap 8   I pulled these fabrics for the next lap quilt.   The print at the top is a photo print fabric that I purchased on line last winter.  I love the look, but I am having a difficult time descending how to use it.  It is almost too busy for me.

 

 

 

New Work  I decided to make a neutral background in nine patch for a little challenge that Sharon presented.

 

 

 

 

Shibui    I did these at Angela’s two week ago.   They were in the wash last week when I wrote.   I wish they were a little bit richer, but then we were  playing with lots of unknowns.

 

 

 

 

Asha’s Quilt  I am nearing the end of the precut blocks that my friend Ethel made.   I contacted her daughter and asked if she wanted one.  She suggested I make a baby quilt for Ethel’s great great Granddaughter Asha.   That is what this top will become soon.

The garden is calling at this time of year too so I  have less to to apply to quilt work.     I enjoy both processes.

Stay playful.

Carol

 

Foundations Series, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Pixies Group, Re Work, SAQA

More changes

Hello ,

My daughter gave me flowers for Mother’s day and they are beautiful.   This could be jumping off place for  some new work too.

Nature keeps amazing me.  The red bud from last weeks photo has dropped all its blossoms now and has little green leaves instead.  Both the oaks and walnuts have bloomed and leaves are forming.   They are about three inches long at this point and so very delicate.    It is such a wonderful time of year.

I shipped off five lap quilts to my Aunt for distribution in her  nursing home.   It is good to have a goal.

This week has been quiet here with only two meetings.   The Pixie Zoom group meant yesterday.  We always talk of interesting things and catch up with one another.

We had a play day at  Angela’s this week too.    We were  doing Shbori with watered down inks.     Victoria did some wonderful work.

Angela showed us her most recently completed work too.  She dose wonderful hand work.

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report:  SAQA Auction.    This is my   12’X 12″  entry for the SAQA Auction this year.     I do so enjoy doing them.

 

 

 

 

Lap 5   I quilted this piece this  week and I am now in the process of stitching down the binding.

 

 

 

 

Lap 6     This work also got totally assembled   this week.  The quilting is all done and it too with get the binding worked on this week.

 

 

 Lap 7  I started a new lap quilt on Monday and I only have a little of the parts to fill in now.

 

 

 

 

 

Ethel 5     I finished the binding on this work yesterday.   Now I need to do some diagonal quilting  and it will be complete.

 

 

 

Shore Line      The Tyvek  I painted last week did not melt much .  I think I used too much paint.  It is  was still fun to knot it up with additional stuff like old belt buckles and beads.   I am in the process of stitching it down and adding beads to the surface.   This work is  built on top of  one of my rock pieces  from the foundations series.

I love the season and all the changes that are happening.   Life for me is great.

Keep Creating

Carol

100 day Challenge, Diva Meetings, Experiments, Flag Challenge, Lap Quilts, Pixies Group, Swoop

May Days

Hello,

We are enjoying spring here and every day there are more leaves on the trees.  Lots of flowers too.  I really enjoy all the daily changes in the world.

 

 

 

It has been a busy week for me.  There was the usual Pixie  zoom.  Susan gave us a challenge last week .  It was to make some flags.   I did two  and now I only need to add  sleeves and some weight to the bottom so they hang strait.   I will sew on buttons  along the bottom  to do that job .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Diva’s meant on Tue and there were lots of goodies to look at the meeting.

Alice had several more of her bottoms series to share.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barb is working hard on her stuff too.  She is having trouble with her shoulder so  she will have to hold off  when the surgery happens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheri is doing a bit of Collage and this is one of three musicians  she did.    I like them all.

 

 

I did do modules 2 for my Naturally Inspired class so now I have a big collections of images and natural elements to work from.

Progress Report:  Swoop    This quilt is 34″ X 45″.     I am happy with how very flat this quilt is.

 I can see that all the pressing  and the intense quilting  really dose help.

 

 

 

 

 

Lap 2  This quilt used lots of bits from my 100 days prints from last year.      They are mostly consumed now .

 

 

 

 

 

Lap 3    This is an old top that just did not do what I was hopping for so I cut it down a bit and quilted it into a lap work.  I only have about a foot of work to do on the binding   to finish at this point.   It will keep someone warm.

 

 

 

 

 Lap 4  This lap quilt is made form leftovers from this years 100 day projects.   It is pin basted and I hope to get to  the quilting this week.

 

 

 

 

Lap 5   This quilt is a  made from remainder blocks form Swoop.  It too is a lap project that I have just started to quilt.

 

 

 

 

  Tyvek Project.   I took a little time out to paint some tyvek yesterday to make some new texture material to work with I wat to explore some more of the ideas  that I keep reading about.

I hope spring energy is filling your efforts too.

Keep Creating,

Carol

 

 

Drawing, Farctured Fragmants, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Pixies Group

It’s May

Hello-

Spring is every were around here.   So many fat buds popping out form one day to the next.    And the dandelions are going to seed already.      I started a new Art Take 2 class this week called Naturally Inspired with Tara Afford.  So I am paying special attention to natures changes.     I am still finishing up projects from  Finding Fragments too that I will add later.   I love all the changes this season brings so very quickly.    I was a part of our local park clean up this week as well.  It always amazes me how careless folks can be with their waste.

Last Friday there was a play day at  Marcia’s .     Deb  worked on the binding of this challenge piece.

 

 

 

 

 

I worked on the quilting of this block for the lace  and glove project.

 

 

 

 

 

We decided to try to make Bog Coats at our next play day .     This shots shows three of the gals looking at  a started Bog Coat by Perilla.

 

 

 

 

 

The Pixies also meant this week and  there was a challenge to draw the fellow members from the screen shots.  Here are Robert, Susan and Lora  as I saw them.

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Swoop   I am quilting away on this project now.  I only need to finish the corner areas and this step will be complete.

 

 

Lap 2   I pin basted this piece yesterday afternoon.     I have decided to send this one along with two others to the nursing home were my Aunt Marce  is living.    It has some of the printed blocks from last years  100 Day challenge in it.

Lap 3   I pin basted this piece this morning and it too will go to my  aunts as well.     It is so good to have a goal.

 

 

 

 

 

Ethel 5   I have now started to assemble the last  blocks that my friend Ethel started.  She passed away 11 years ago.   It is both a happy and sad act for me.

 

Fragments 1    This is the fragments project with the plaster overlay  on the parts.  The  plaster does do a good job of unifying the work .   It is very difficult to stitch through.

 

 

 

I don’t think I will apply this technique to much of my work, but one never knows what the future may holds.

 

 

Grandmother’s Fragments    The really strong point of this class for me was seeing a way to add new life to the bits and pieces of my Grandmothers’ work that was torn , worn and unfinished.   That’s the main purpose of this piece.

Drawing     I did this drawing from one  of the images that Tara  shared with us for the  Naturally  Inspirited  class.

 

 

 

 Post cards    I did a little work on post cards this week.    I always like to play while I am on the phone.

 

Enjoy the seasonal changes.

Keep Crating

Carol

100 day Challenge, Drawing, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Finger Lakes Fiber Artists, Pixies Group

Home Again

Hello,

  I am back from my travels and set to stay home for a while.  I did have a good time and the Glass Flowers at the Harvard Museum were amazing.    So many and only about 25% of the collection is on display.   I just could not look enough.   Taking in all that new imagery was  exhausting to me.   I am sure some new work will come out of that experience.

Before I went away I had some adventures too. I went with Victoria and Liz to Angela’s for a bit of creative play afternoon.   We were   adding surface treatments  to our handwork.  Angela had the plaster all mixed up for us as well as the softened paper clay.      Victoria had a difficult time  deciding what pieces to alter.

 

Liz did too.       It was a fun thing to work with and I added color on top of the plaster with my piece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are some of my pieces before the add on treatment.

 

 

 

 

 

Angela had been doing more felting sense out last visit and she sharded her new felted vase with us.   I really like the gradation of color her here.

 

 

 

We also had a FLFA meeting on the Saturday before departure.

This is the work Sharon had done to add to the project from the retreat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pat had a lot of new work.  This is her most recent.

 

 

Anne has finished putting together her Robin quilt  top from her class at QBL last summer.

 

 

 

 

 

Linda, our newest member, show off her finished migration piece.

 

 

Maureen is still doing handwork on this powerful piece.  It is  nearing completion she says.

 

 

 

 

Liz has pulled  out some of her older work and is ready to begin to finish this one now.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a shot of Liz wearing Pat’s spring coat that she made for a fashion show.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a FAD meeting on Monday this week and Sharon had a new mini land scape to share.

 

 

The Pixies meant as usual and we are going to do portraits for the next assignment.

 

 

 

My husband and I walked to Syracuse University on Wed and went to the art gallery there.  I was wowed  by this bit of  work that mixed thread with leaves.    There were 24 leaves surrounded  by thread  and suspended  in a frame like a table top. ( yes, those are my toes on the floor below the work.

 

 

We also walked around  the little lake in Berry  Park this week.    Spring is sure here  in our part of the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report:  B4  This is the last block I made for the SAQA 100 day  Challenge.     I am delighted to say  that I got it done before the trip.   It is 32″ X 50″.   I really learned a lot building this block with the change in curves in the center strips.

 

 

I also  had  very  good  time  with  the  quilting on this one.

 

There are enough blocks remaining for another small piece.  The challenge is over now, but I will put all the left overs into pieces.

Art 2    This work is 34″ w X 52.5″ t.   It is made from extra blocks from Art Blocks  the third of the SAQA Challenge. 

 

Doing the challenge was a good thing for me and I hope to apply the ideas from it to my future work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BV 2  This too is a second project that is a result of the SAQA Challenge.   It is created from leftover blocks from the BV Block.  This block was designed with my good friend Barbara Vural in mind. 

 

Again there are blocks remaining for another small project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drawing  The glass flowers were inspiring and I did a bit of drawing from some of the close ups.  This is a close up of a Lilly.

 

 

 

 

 

Swoop   I stated this quilt top at the spring retreat.  I go a lesson in how to do curves from Liz and Linda.   I am very proud of how very flat this quilt top  is and  how the curves all lie down very nicely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Fragments Piece    This is my piece showing the fragments that I altered at Angela’s.    The plaster dose make it difficulot to add more stitching.    I did added color on top of some of the  units   to unifly the idea before I mounted them.   The units are a result of my interpretations of the assignments in   Finding Fragments class as a part of Art Take 2 .    I am now ready to begin a new  on line class called Naturally Inspired- also from Art Take 2.

I hope that spring is filling you days with new sights.

Keep Creating

Carol

I am attaching one last glass flower for your enjoyment.