Hello-

This week has been a full one what with the Memorial Day holiday and the beginning of summer – at least in my mind.   I went off to a picnic at my friend Beth’s Camp.  It was a glorious day and full of fun, water, boats, food and friends.   Hats and sun screen meant that I came home with only happy memories and no sun burn.

We had brief  Thunder Storm  with lots of wind and noise  pass through our area.  There was a lighting strike  just down the street and the big old oak was hit.  That knocked off one of the big branches and scarred the tree.   The branch was across the street and across a power line too.  We did not lose power until it was turned off for the clean up.  The tree looks old now with the side missing.    The reason I titled this blog Trees was a second event this week where a tree was featured.  That was the installation yesterday of Sharon’s  Tree Quilt at the chapel in the Children’s Hospital.  The tree is made up of  hand  and foot prints all of them came form patients and hospital staff .   The childerns  hands became leaves and branches the Dr and nurses hand prints became  the roots and stalk of the tree.   Sharon used the baby’s foot prints for the ground area.It is 10′ X12′ and quite an under taking to quilt with her regular sewing machine- but she did it and did so splendidly.   The names of the participants are also a part of the colorful blocks that make up this quilt.   Sharon is proud and I think she should be- it was quite a task.                                                                                              Progress Report: Slipping Through  I  am enjoying working on these units to slide through the quilt.  This photo shows the five I have created in various stages of completion.  The fist three are ready to be added to the top.  The fourth shows the strip with the fabric fused to the surface and trimmed.  The next step is to add the yarn to the edges and embellish it with the brad and stitching.  The last strip has been fused but it is not trimmed yet.  I really like the different textures of the fancy fabrics that are used on these units and think they will look good passing through the other parts of this quilt.

 

 

 

Single Drop– Adventure Challenge This quilt is  the second in the wrinkle series.  It is complete now. The  blue and brown silk scarf that this work was made

form was one of my Aunt Mays scarves and very fragile.   from the 20’s I think.   This technique of wrinkling and then stitching it down allowed me to display and preserve the scarf and to feature one of the buttons from her button box.  I do not know the history or any special significance of the button.  But it is a fascinating piece.  I like the three cranes and the tree   branch on top of the radiating pattern.  That pattern effected my choice of quilting pattern.   Although I did not try to make it as regular spaced and uniform as the button I did try to make a flow pattern that moved around the quilt top.                                                                                                                            Purple Power  This quilt also became a completed piece this week.  It had to hang on the door for several weeks while I

looked at it in order to see how I could conquer the problem of the big white whole in the middle of the top.   My solution was to add the ribbon over the top to break up the area.   The  Shinny squares came first and them the two horizontal  transparent  ribbons.  It is wonderful how the same ribbon when applied vertically reads with such a difference in color.   I added the buttons on to break the squared feeling of this work.   The white area is still a very dominate center area, but I feel it reads more as a window behind now and not a whole in the center.

Layers and Lines  I though this quilt was completed  a  week ago.  But after time and a second look this week

I felt differently.  The original irregular shape was interesting, but some how not enough.  So this week I added a Shape on the back of the project.   It helps with the balance of the work I think. This shot shows a close up near the top where on can see the  line up of the  pink section.

Nick’s Quilt      I am still struggling with the assembly of the crazy quilt blocks for this work.   I am sure there has got to be an efficient  way to do it by machine and perhaps someone else has it all figured out.   But  I am striving to create my own way of doing so.   The white in the bottom par shall block is my paper  template for size. I do love a challenge.

 

 

Regular Red  I started this quilt last Friday.  It is wonderful when one sort of puts its self together the way this one did.  It is trimmed now and ready for facings.   I have had these red paper clips for awhile and I really like the shape they create.  They are what I wanted to feature with this quilt.  As can be seen in the closeup I used that shape as the inspiration for the quilting pattern too.

New Top Untitled

This start happened yesterday.  I used two of the fabrics( the yellow  and the light orange ) that I purchased on  the shop hop tour that I took earlier this mouth.  I may yet change the arrangement of the units of this work as I am in the early stages.  

Blue Blocks  Finally I did work on the Blue Blocks this week as well and here are two new ones.

 

Keep Creating

Hugs

Carol

Hello-

This week I seemed to be in the spring cleaning mode.  I sorted my clothing closet and drawers in the kitchen.  For the studio I pulled all the fabric off the shelves and refolded  most of it.  I put  them back in a new arrangement.  I used the 3-in1 Color Tool by Joen Wolfrom as my guild.  Ever sense Angela did a color talk at the Quilt Exploration Group meeting in the beginning of May I have tried to consult the tool for color ideas more and more.  It only made sense to me to arrange the fabric in the same manor as the tool to make it easier to pull fabric when I want it.  I like how the arrangement looks and I sure can tell where my color choices are thin.   I had already noticed that my choices of greens was not all that big- but when I used the tool I realize I have only one piece of fabric that is Chartreuse.   I did not rush out and by more  but I am now aware.  The process also has brought to my attention the fact that what I always though of as wine is labeled Fuchsia and the color labeled  Magenta is the really strong color in my collection.   I guess it really only is a case of the label, but it is better for clear understanding if I use the proper label.   I keep my fabric on metal shelving in a four foot deep closet so this  shots only shows one shelf at the open door.

I am still working on the graduation quilts.   The tee shirt project is three fourths is done with the fused interfacing step.   Nick’s strips are still in the process of being assembled.

Progress Report: Cobble Stones

This quilt is completed now.  I like how the beads are similar in shape to the quilting on this piece.   The opening reflect this idea as well and I think this adds unity to the piece.

I now have a true understanding about why this quilting pattern is so popular.  It is lots of fun to do and there are seemingly few ways to make errors.

 

 

 

Wrinkle Work  – Adventure Challenge  

This quilt also got completed this week.   The wrinkled silk is fun to sew on and I like all the lines that it creates. The close up shows how easy it is to follow the wrinkles on the silk.

Berry Blast

  This quilt is also complete.   The Angelina triangles really add a feeling of motion to this work.   I am not real happy with how this shot makes the quilt look off square .  I hope to get some additional instruction on how to take better photos in the near future.

Slipping Away  I intended to make this quilt one with units slipping through this background.  It has proved to be a challenge.  First I tried a series of strips in cream black and rust.I really like these strips but think they would fight with the back quilt and not enhance it.  Visual decisions need to be made visually. These are fun- but far too busy  with an action that does not work here.   I will use them sometime some where- but not on this project.   So I went for the idea of a different texture and a color combination that is closer to the quilt that would not have a textural competition with the back quilt.   For body in the strips I used the Pellon like my pyramid mobile.   I added  machine stitching and gold brad  on top for texture.  There is some gold in the print of some of the fabrics and I feel this pulls the two ideas together a bit more.I have only finished the one strips.  The edges are  closely zig-zagged to act as a finish.

Paper Quilt   I stared an new paper quilt this week as well.

  This piece has almost more color than I want.  That or they are all too close to the same size so I will be doing some over painting.  I want to move on to the next step of cutting it before I paint though.   I did have fun with the quilting of this piece however.  I did connect the paper to the felt along most of the edges and then I loaded the bobbin with a heavy nylon thread and did all the big sweeping free motion stuff from the back side.  It was very freeing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Single Drop-Adventure Challenge  This quilt is also a silk wrinkle project.   The quilting is where the name for this quilt came from.

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Blocks I have completed some more in this series.   My goal is to explore new stitches and I feel like I am doing that .

 

I hope that spring is treating you well.

Keep Creating.

Carol

Hello,

I am still enjoying the unfolding of spring here in upstate New York.  The oak tree is now leafing out and I enjoy the wonderfully translucent  apple green of the leaves.   They are so very delicate and frail now. The shadows they cast seem some how softer too.   I know that  they will thicken and change color in a week or two.  The tree is flowering as well and the long pollen filled pale green blossoms are falling all over the walk and drive.  The season seems to be doing double time with it’s amazingly fast changes.      I realized that I need to do a bit of double timing myself as graduation is just around the corner for my grandson and my nephew.  I got a box full of tee shirts from Zane for his quilt this week.  He has been in 22 plays and wants his quilt made from them.    Most of them are black with a few blue, one white and one green.  I have already put in an  hour and a half  cutting away the backs and arms and I still have five shirts to go.  I will then iron fusible interfacing to the backs so they will not stretch before I add sashing.   Zane’s graduation date is the 25 of May so I will be late with this gift, but he seems OK with that.  When Nick was asked what kind of quilt he wanted he told me he just wanted lots of color.    So yesterday I started through my stash cutting  three strips from different pieces.  One strip was about 1.5″, the second 2.5 ” and the third was4.5″.    The pulling out pieces and  cutting  process made me realize I need to do some refolding and sorting.   I will sew all the strips together in a random manner and slice them again.  It will be a real playful quilt.       I will enjoy that process.

Progress Report:   Wiggle Wiggle – Adventure Challenge( previously Blue Boundaries)

The cream fabric on this project is from an old silk shirt.  I sun printed the blue patterned fabric using paper stencils I created by cutting away parts of scrap booking pages.    The texture and the reason this quilt belongs in the Adventure Challenge category is  from Terry White’s book Enhance Your Quilts- Embellish!   The process is one where you take a slender strip of fabric and accordian fold it.  Then you slip a threaded needle through the folding and insert a bead.  Then you continue folding and inserting beads.  If you come to the end of the fabric and you want a longer unit, just add more on.   It  is fun and the fabric add interest to the beads.

Opel Opening- renamed Cobble Stones- Adventure Challenge  is still in progress.   This quilt uses the whole process and the suspension of the cut outs with the faggoting.   I like how the faggoting is going, but that process is very slow for me .  Now that comes from Louis Ericson’s book, Design&Sew it Yourself. This shot shows the quilting and on the right you can see the dark blue that will become the facing for this quilt.

 

 

 

 

Wrinkle Work- Adventure Challenge

  I had lots of fun with this project.  I tried not to make the pieces square and that turned out to be more difficult than I expected.  It stared with three pieces of fabric that I had previously sewn wrinkled silk to.  That process is from Louis Ericson’s book too.   Then to quilt this work I started sewing lines from the end of the lines on the silk units.   The final effect of the quilting is a lot like water flowing around rocks.    This quilt has turquoise print  panels on left and right sides that will become facings.

This close up shows the facing good side to good side with the quarter inch seam shewn.

This shot shows the trimming away of the batting and the backing so the facing is flat and the bulk is minimal.

This shot shows the machine tacking the facing back to create a crisp line when it is pressed and then hand stitched to the back of the quilt.                                                                                                                 This last shot is of the facing turned to the back and ironed in place the pin is holding it and I will hand stitch the facing to the back.  You can see the machine stitching line along the far left just inside the turned area.   I think the fact that I used the same material for the backing and the facing makes this hard to see.

Purple Procedure    This work had been shifting around on the design wall sense the  April 26 post when I noticed how the while unit in the center became a big  whole to my eye.    I have added ribbon on top and built up the surface a bit and that is helping solve the problem.  .

  I plan to do some hand stitches and add some beads to the surface as well to help this quilt along.

 

 

 

Slipping Away- working title

This is the back unit for some more of my slipping through units.  It is made up of some of the same fabrics that I used in Beth’s quilt from Dec.   I wanted a bold but low contrast body to pass through.   I am leaning toward a blue or green at this point.  I will try several combos before I make the final decision.   I think this will work.

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Blocks

   This photo shows two of the hand blocks that I have been building  this year as my weekly mini projects.   The block is 8.5″ square with a 4″ square in the center.  I stamp two or three of my hand carved stamps in the blue center and then embroider and bead around the square until I feel it is finished.   I will show two every week until I catch up with the completed blocks.   These may become my Calender for next year.

Keep Creating

Hugs

Carol

Hello,

I was awakened while the world  was still dark today by the birds.  “Calling up the sun ” was what Grandfather Howard called the predawn bird songs.  The birds have been an active part of my life over the last few weeks.  I watch two Cardinals vivaing for the territory near the front window a few weeks ago.  They kept flying and screaming at one another for the better part of a sunny afternoon.  I do not know who won or how they decided who would occupy the area.  But I do know one proud fellow sits on a branch of the oak that  stretches over the house and sings from that point on a regular basis.   I also see and hear Robins, Black Capped Chickadees  and various other birds while I am out of doors.  The crows who are so present all fall and  winter seem to have found other places to haunt as I do not see or hear them much at all.    I do not know or recognize many bird songs but I do enjoy there cheerful sounds.

Progress Report: Circuit Board

   This quilt is completed now.  I enjoyed doing the quilting in the pattern of the circuits and hope I can find a new place to use that pattern.     There is still fabric remaining with the print of the circuit board on it so it will appear again some where.   I have also decided to include the size along with the title for the works that are what I consider complete.   I also have a bit of real circuit board out of a computer key board that would be fun to stitch into a work sometime.

Wiggle,Wiggle  Adventure Challenge- 

I am only showing a close up of this work as it is nearing completion.  I still need to hand stitch two facings down and to add a sleeve to finish this piece.   It will be done for next week.   The texture here is soft and only stick out about 3/4 inch.

 

 

 

 

 

Wholes- renamed Opel Openings 

I am making progress on this quilt.   I decided to make the quilting as a reflection of the openings.  I know lots of other quilters use pebble quilting but this is my first try at it.   I know understand why it is so popular as the process seems to just flow along.     I also plan to use the faced shapes that where cut out of the quilt as a part of this project.

Berry Blasts

It was suggested a that I show my process a bit more.  So here is a sample of that.  I made this top with the intention of applying the painted lace on the top of it.    Here is the audition of the lace.  It did not work in my eye.   The background is competing too much with the lace.    So I removed it and tried another  solution.    Turning the top 90 degrees  helped give the quilt a stronger orientation.   But is did not have a focus to me.      So I created so  triangular shapes on top.  After pinning   Angelina to the surface was much happier.  I  find the new look much more agreeable and it has a much lighter feel to me.

Layers and Lines

I am having fun using transparent fabrics here.  They add so much dimension to the surface when the quilting is added.

Sea Shore -Adventure Challenge:  This piece belongs to the Adventure Challenge because the wrinkled silk that creates the image in the center grew from the Louis  Ericson’s book.  I tried her method of crinkling silk and then sewing the wrinkles  down to create a texture.  I only saw the landscape in the silk after it was applied.  Then I tried to add a bit to that feel with the material that looks like an old fence to the work.

 

The weeks sure seems to be flying by.

Keep Creating

Hugs

Carol

Hello,

I got  two  new pairs of  glasses  this week.  One pair is  specially  for close work, like the computer, reading  and stitching.   What an adjustment this has become- taking them on and off…. the not having them handy and having to search for them when I want to get going on a project.  I know I will get the hang of it with time- I just do not want the disruption.      Adjustment and disruption have become the words of this week for me.   It started out smoothly with last Thursday’s outing with three of my friends.  We went for a Shop Hop to break in Liz’s new car.   I tried to build my green stash a bit as it seemed thin when I returned fabric to my shelves the day before.

We had a good time and enjoyed the day.   I  am glad to say that I did stay under the limit I had set for my spending.

We are having a garage built and that requires a few adjustments too.  We needed to cut down some trees in the back yard so I called the tree men and to my surprise they appeared in 15 min.  I though they would give me an estimate and we would plan from there- but they where ready and willing to do it then.   So I said yes.   Now that is not much of an adjustment- but it was unexpected and I could not help but be pulled away from the studio to check and watch the trees fall.      Below is a before shot.  They took down five trees.   The wood men did not have their shredder with them so they offered me a deal.  $400 less if I would drag the cut down tree and limbs parts to the curb for city pick up myself.   The money made me agree- adjustment #2.  I know have that job awaiting me, but I will get help from the 19 year old on Monday next week  after I take him to the Dr-adjustment  #3.   Tuesday went as I had planned and I went to both of my quilt meetings and got the usual stimulation.  Wednesday morning I hit the studio all excited for a full day of   using the some of the new  fabric and exploring some of ideas from the day before.  I did a little work and then a phone call from Alexis and the school nurse, interrupted me.  She needed to see a Dr do to a foot injury- adjustment #4.   By the time that was all settled the day was gone.  We have a follow up Dr appointment on Fri- adjustment #5.  This morning I expected to see the contractor to make final decisions about the garage-but my husband could not be in attendance do to a final exam-  adjustment#6.  That appointment got moved to Friday morning- adjustment #7.    I guess I am a bit frustrated as I see my studio time slipping away due to all these unexpected  suspension of work time.      I know life is full of interferences- I guess I just want the interruptions to  be a bit more spread out.  In reality there a where not that many- only one adjustment per day- so I really have no grounds for complaint.

Progress Report

Circuit Board– formerly Ramble.   I changed the name of this work when I stated quilting it.  After deciding to feature the intersections of the fabrics and reflect the images from the screen printing, it became Circuit Board.   The screen that was used for the print on the fabric from two weeks before was made from an enlarged photo copy of a circuit  board out of an old calculator.    I am  enjoying the quilting process as I look at yet another bit of electronic work from the  inside of an old computer key board as a suggested direction.  There is a lot going on under the surface of the world we live in.

 

Purple: did not get any attention this week  as I am not at all happy with the arrangement of the parts.  It will just need to be studied for a bit longer until I know what needs to be done with it.

Wiggle -Adventure Challenge:   This top has become part of the Adventure Challenge as a result of the addition of beads.   In the new book Enhance Your Quilts- Embellish by  Terry White,one of the many techniques she suggests is the use of fabric scraps and beads.  There are lots of cool ideas to try in this book from my point of view.  I had some scraps of the multi colored fabric form this quilt and some blue beads so I followed one of her suggestions.  I like the effect of the torn  fabric with the smooth beads  as the contrast id so strong and the texture is so high.     Calling it Wiggle is  a comment on the use of the fabric and may change.

Pyramid Mobile:   This project has been lots of fun and I enjoy the final result.  The colors are a bit weak I think so the next one will be bolder in  that department.    Taking photos of the was a challenge all by its self.  Not surprising as it is a  work that moves. I really like the play of the shadows with this work.  But I have always been fascinated by shadows.

 

 

 

 

 

Wholes: working title:   This top has five faced openings  in it.  I was attempting to reflect the shape of the pattern in the green fabric with the openings when I cut them.  I am not sure how this work will develop, but looking and thinking about the problems it presents is a great part of the fun for me.

 

May your week be a calm one without too many unexpected  events.

Keep Creating

Carol

Hello-

We have had a lot of cold and  rain this week. I was especially aware of the rain as I drove home this morning.  I like the sound of the wind shield wipers as they slap across the glass in their rhythmic action.  When I got home I sat in the drive and   watched the drips run down the window  and noted  the colors of the world reflected upside down in the streaming droplets. Light on the bottom dark at the top.   I so  took walk in the rain  that I went around the block before I retreated into the house.  Some how the world seems calmer or closer  when it is raining.  The drumming of the drops on the umbrella create a rhythm- a dance that I enjoyed ,but could not match.     I enjoy the fan splash of water created by swift cars, but only when I am not in the path of the spray.  The rain  ring  patterns on the pools are also fascinating to me.   The world is greening up around here and I am sure this rain will push that action forward.

Progress Report:  

Lots of new work this week.  I started out silk screening and then  over printing fabric.    This shot shows some of my creations.  I find that when I get going on this process I do a lot of images not knowing what  they may become- but sense I am making a mess I just have a lot of  fun.   As it turns out I used two fabrics that I produced in tops this week and one even got all the way to the framed stage.

Intense

   

Thia work was one of those rare works that seemed to have a mind of its own.   So from the first cut of the painted material and it’s placement on the pin wall it all just came together.    Even the quilting pattern was suggested by the white patterns created by the stencils.   I do not resits when this happens but  just go along when the fingers seem to do all the work without my “controlling” things.

Ramble( working title)  This top came from the printed  fabric in the upper left hand corner.  It is a top that I put together yesterday afternoon. I like the intense colors here.   All the small fuchsia sections really make the eye travel across the surface of  this work and the big solid sections give your eye a place to rest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purple Procedure    This top is a  personal challenge, as it  has such a strong central plannel surrounded by the purple rectangles.  It has almost become a whole.    I am not sure how I will solve this design problem at this point. Blue Boundaries   
 This top was actually the first one I did this week and started me on the printing  .  The beep blue  patterned fabric was created last summer at Quilting By the Lake  in the Independent Studio.  I came across it while looking through my stash and it excited my fancy.  In looking at this photo I see I may need to take out some of the seams as there seems to be a great deal of puckering here.

 

 

 

Pyramids   These four fellows are going to be added to the  3-D sculpture  I started in my workshop a few weeks ago.  I needed time.  I am thinking that they may all work together well now.

   I am feeling quite comfortable with this constructions process now and want to go forward with the inter action between the forms.  Choosing the fabrics to be used on the various sides of the units turned out to be a more difficult design decision than I expected- especially  sense I do not know for sure how they will interact with one another.  I just seem to plow blindly forward however.  I have realized that I can re make any unit and fix a color problem in the future too and that is very freeing.

 

Keep creating friends and enjoy the daily changes of this season.

Hugs

Carol

Hello Readers,

Spring is here and I am enjoying the sunshine and the greening of the world around me.  We experienced a turn off of our city water for the better part of one  day this week while some work was done up the street.  I am thankful for the warning so I had time to fill pots and the bath tub  with water before it was turned off.  After seven hours we are back on the city’s system and there is a big patch on the right hand side of our street up near the corner.  I had not  used much of the water I had stored by the time the trucks closed things up and went away in the afternoon,  but the loss of the water from my tap set me to thinking about how much I take it for granted.  I never had to carry water from a well or pump, but I can imagine how necessary and difficult a job that must have been and still is for millions across the globe.  My grandmother Ruth told me stories of how the water she had to pump was used repeatedly.  First use  in the kitchen was to wash  fruit or vegetables. Then the water went  to wash the dishes and then to wash out a shirt or some other garment if it was not too dirty.  It might then be used to wash the floor and if there was still any water left it was used to was the sidewalk out front.    Not a bit was wasted on just one use and never pored down a drain as we so calmly do after just one use now days.    The fact that I could not paint fabric that day as I had planned is just a temporary set back  and I will print today with a lot more care.    We can not live without water.   I plan to be more aware of my use in the future.

Progress Report : Glide

  This quilt is finished now.   I like how the metal looks against the fabric.  It is the  high contrast in texture that I find exacting I think.    I did the quilting with a thread that matched the embroidery thread to unit the quilt as well.Purple Squared

This quilt is  now finished.  I quilted it with purple Madera Super Twist thread in a pattern that reflects the bead created squares on the surface.   I seem to be in a purple mood at the moment as I have material pulled for another quilt on the cutting table.

 

 

X ed Out    now titled  Raw

I decided to rename this quilt as I finished it.  I like all the raw edges and the primitive nature of the whole thing.  The idea of calling it X ed  Out was based on the big X stitches I used to add texture to the white squares. Some how that term seems to diminish the feeling I wanted to create and the word ” raw”  does a better job.    It is a work that came about do to the cut away parts form my cutting up a bigger work.   The scraps where so colorful as they lay scattered on the cutting table – I just had to use them.    This piece is more of a defiant  thing and not something to be discounted.   Raw says that.

 

 

 

 

 

Pull Away   This quilt has been in progress sense the fall.  I just was not sure how to finish it.  But when I pulled it out this week I knew that I was really happy with how it did appear and so I added the snaps to the strips and now the job is done.  I have been playing with the idea of a surface with parts that come forward and this is the second attempt at that idea.  The creative work at the Philly show has really encouraged me to go froward with this idea.

The loop really do stick out about 2.5 inches from the surface and the shadows are really exciting I think.  The fact that I used a metallic  fabric also adds to the way light effects the surface of this work. I am going to keep playing with this idea.  This second view shows better how far away from the surface I am pushing the quilt.  I always have loved texture and now I am pushing toward sculpture I a bit.I hope spring is dancing on your door step.   Keep Creating.

With Hugs

Carol

Hi hi,

I am still feeling a little behind – natural I guess what with being away and then holidays.   The kids are out of school this week too and so I have done a lot with them.  The weather has not been very cooperative for doing work out of doors, but we did  do a little.  Raking the last of the leaves  and getting the grass ready  it’s first mow. The leaves are starting to bud out and screen off the views of neighbors homes and yards too.   I enjoy the fresh green of spring and the transparency of the leaves.   I am looking to start a new round of Project Divest- or perhaps it is just Spring Cleaning.   I have contacted one of the local Elder care homes and I will deliver a dozen quilts on Monday to decorate their halls.

I will take photos this time and try to do a little article for the local news paper in order to encourage others to pass their work on into the world.

I did finish quilting  my Dragonfly Days mini quilt for the SAQA auction this week.  I need to add the sleeve and do the documentation and it will be ready to send.   I had a good time outlining wings in Maderia metallic thread.  I am hopeful about being a more active participant in that organization after the conference.

 

Progress Report:

The 3-D project is still on the wall.  I am not sure where I want to go with it so I will let the piece rest until I “see” a future for  it.    I have been busy working on the tops that I had started before I was away.

Dawn’s Green

I need to tack the facings back and add the sleeve and this one will be complete.  This is the end of Dawn’s green fabric from the DMC  project and that is where the name came from.  I had fun quilting this one with all it’s circles.  As I look at it now however I may replace the silver beaded circle with a glass beaded one as it seems too strong  for that location.  Design decisions  like this one must be made visually I think.

 

 

 

Glide

This quilt  top was made on the same day as the one above.  I sure must have been in a “Blue Mood”  that day- or more likely I had all the colors out and they just came together in two works.   Glide features some metal units that come from Grandmother Ruth’s home.  Mom boxed up lots of stuff from her house when she emptied it and sent me several.  As I keep sorting through them I keep discovering these strange treasures.  The brown envelope only said glides on the outside so I assume that these where for furniture legs. I stitched each one down with a different stitch pattern to make them interesting.       I am about half why along with the quilting  with the triangular  patterns.Purple Squared

This is the third quilt I started.   I applied the silver drum beads in square patterns to reflect the print on the fabric this time.  It is ready for me to begin quilting.  I am still in the “think” stage for that step.

 

 

 

 

 

 

X ed Out      I have lots of mixed feelings about this work.   It was created from the leftovers of the cut up quilt  that I made  the mini from.  They where all lying there on the cutting table and looked so challenging.   I may have gotten carried away here.     I love all the hand stuff- but I am in question about it.  I really like the overlap of the applique parts- and the negative  space is strong.     I hope that trimming it up and squaring it off will help make the work feel more organized.   The title may say it all and it may just be an experiment to toss.    We all have failures when we step out of our usual methods of the creation process.          I hope spring is dancing at everyone’s door.

Keep Creating

Carol

Hi All-

I am just home form my wonderful experience in Philadelphia.  I am sorry if you checked in last week and there was no post.  I did the work on Wed and tried to post from the hotel on Thur eve- but I had no success.  Sometimes the technology is beyond me.

I did enjoy the drive down to as the trees are starting to open and things are greening up the father south one ventures.  When I went for walks along the river next to the hotel I saw Dog Tooth Violets and Blue Bells.   The Van Goth Up Close Show at the Philadelphia Museum of Art was my first stop.  It was amazing!  I had only seen to of the works presented before so my eyes where hungerly looking at each work.   I have always enjoyed his use of heavy paint- but I was not prepared for the use of the  color red.  There where paintings of grasses and fields in large numbers of green tons and shades and then Van Goth would throw in one ore two thin little dashes of red!   It would wake up my eye and make me look for more surprises.  I saw lots of red by the end of the show in all sorts of unusual  places like the weave in a basked of fruit or in a shadow.   I was jazzed by the end of the show and even though I tried to look at other exhibits  in the museum- that process was useless- I was viewing  brain full.  As my friend Barbara would say of the students when we would take them to the Museum of Modern Art- I had”museum feet”- and was overwhelmed and needed processing time to absorb it all.

The Identity:Context and Reflection conference sponsored jointly  by the Studio Art Quilt Association and Surface Design Association started on Friday morning.   There was a great lecture by Bruce Pepich titled ” Museums and Contemporary  Fiber Art: Where Are We Today?”.  He held up lots of hope for a strong growing interest in fiber works as a growing field for museums.  He also noted the changing complexion of fiber/weaving departments  in art schools curriculum’s as further proof of  the change in attitude toward this art.   The rest of the day continued with more information in the form of a slide show and two panel discussions about fibers.   The evening  included a trip to the Wayne Art Center where we participated in the opening and awards ceremony of the Art Quilt Elements 2012  Show.    What a visual feast that was too.  It was great to see and talk with so many of the artists about their work and have them explain about specific parts.   I purchased the catalogue and although is does not  have the impact of the actual event- I still find I am drooling over the images.   Perhaps I was sensitized to red by the Van Goth experience- but it seemed like there was a lot of red and orange in this show too.     Saturday morning we boarded buses and started touring Fibers Philadelphia.   There where nine spots on the tour with at least two galleries in each area and  five in several.   I took lots of photos for my own enjoyment- but because I did not get permission form the artists I will not post any of them.  I was amazed at the variety of images and materials from knitted  wire jewelry to the fanciful use pin tucks for building surfaces in a fine quilt.  For the second time I went back to the hotel with “museum feet” and  image fulled head.   The Sunday morning session was a good as Fridays had been.  Sandra Snider did an especially fun bit of roll playing to the theme ” And What do You Do?”   She helped us all see how we as Artist can approach this point at the beginning of conversations and present ourselves in a more positive light.   It was great.     I then hooked up with a three other gals, one from Texas and two from Oklahoma and we went back and visited three galleries we had missed the day before.   Our last top was the studio of one of Dianne Koppisch Hricko  who’s studio is housed in the same building as the  “In the Box out of the Box”  fiber show.    It is great to see another artists studio space.

   Dianne is primarily a fabric dyer who works a lot in silk.  She is the gal in the middle of the photo.  Michelle   Lasker  is far left, Janice Filler second,   Dianne,  Sharon Hedges is forth and I am on the far right.  For a second time I went to bed with lots of new fiber images in my head.

 

I was glad to get up on Monday and go to a workshop where I would be focusing on one thing.     Cameron Mason was my teacher and the class was Beyond the Surface:Sculptural Explorations with Soft Materials.   What fun for me!    She did a great little power o point to start us off . Them we did a little sketching and she demoed some ways of working and we  all went to work.  Our first markets where in paper and tape.  It was fun to see how things would fit together.   I settled on a open pyramid type form.   I continued my exploration of openings with this project too.   After the paper was worked out we moved onto cutting the forms in  Pentex.  She made us sew them together before we went forward even though we cut them apart.  This step allowed for design changes before the fabric was added.  The fabric made for a whole new set to design decisions.

 

                                                                                                                                                                     This is one of the units half way assembled.  I stopped and fray checked all the thread ends before I sewed the last side by hand.   I think now that I used too may fabrics in the three units- but this is a beginning project and not for a serious piece.

 

This shot shows all three finished units.  The wholes where the most fun.   I sure like the shadows and  sense they are not connected to one another yet I keep playing with new set ups.  They might even make a very nice mobile too.

 

 

 

There were as many different directions to the use of the materials as there were folks in the class. Only the Kathleen, who was setting across the table and I did geometric shapes.   You can sort of see the yellow box within the gray one from this photo. It was cool.   The others were wonderful too.  I want to keep playing with this idea and I hope to do some more natural forms in the future.

                                                                                                                                                                             Several of us did not get things at all completed( note the clips and the books inside the one on the far right.    It sure was a growth experience and something we all strive for when it comes to learning.

I am sure I will be playing catch up with myself for several days before I get back into the studio- but I am anxious to do so.

 

Keep Creating

Hugs

Carol

I am a bit off balance as there was an accident involving my friend on Wed.  She fell and after stitches she is OK- but unwilling to go to Philadelphia with me.  I am sorry and I will miss her presents this week, but I understand  things change.  I am fine doing the events on my own and the excitement will just be diminished without her.    Life is really a paradox because we must act like all our plans will work as we intend, but there is always  the possibility that they will not.    So I need to stop feeling sorry for myself and just be glad that she will mend and we can share another experience in the future.

Good things happened this week too.  My friend Barbara won a second place at the Recycled Show at the Rome Art Center.  I am so very happy for her and I like this piece too.

 

 

 

I had several things accepted as well.  These little Spice Girls as I call them were all presented on the mantle piece of the gallery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also had two found object collages in this show.

Both were created from stuff that was from my past and mostly out of my grandmothers house. In Blue Too is  the watch that did not work even when I was young and the Hein’s Pickle pin came from the time we visited the factory in about 1958.

 

The glasses in Orange Objects  where Aunt May’s and the elephants are carved ivory from a necklace that was broken when my cousin was wearing it  at a garden party.  We never found all the parts to put it back together again.   They are both real memory pieces for me.

  I got excited by the wonderful sunny weather and cut a stamp of a tulip and made Spring Cards one day this week.  I put them in the mail this morning.

 

 

 

Progress Report: Angled Balance

This quilt is finished now.  I really like how the quilting lines run across the printed fabric lines on this surface.   It was fun to work on this one too.

 

 

 

 

 

Knot Know DMC Project #7 and Adventure Challenge

 

 

This quilt has lots of extra items after the title because it fits into to series.  I used fabric from the DMC project for the colors.  The black is the addition.  I am nearing the end of the yardage from that project.  I did however use the last bits in two other tops.   The knots make this part of the Adventure Challenge as they are my own derivative from the Lois Ericson Book Design and Sew it Yourself.    I have tow more ideas I want to explore out to that text and then I will be ready to move onto the next book in that Challenge.

Pot Shards

I am done with this quilt except for the addition of the sleeve on the back.   I did use the pottery design for the quilting patterns as I mentioned last week.   I like the final effect here and may look to pottery again as a source for quilting designs.

 

 

Paper Pieces

This piece uses  the last of Dawn’s crimson from the DMC project with a lot of tan fabric.  One of my quilting buddies gave me these paper bits that she had created in Rayna Gillman’s class.  They are all sealed with matt medium.    I have carried them around in an envelope for a couple of years and they seemed to be the embellishment that this surface needed. I have just started the quilting on this one.

I know there will not be any progress on my works this week because of the Surface Design Conference that I am going to.  But I will have lots of other news to talk about next week.    Keep Creating

Hugs

Carol