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# 2, Coping, Label Blocks, Moon Fall, Parts, Scrap Happy Quilts

Snow Bound

January 21, 2016 admin 2 Comments

Hello,

I was snow bound for three days this week as we got hit by lake effect snows. I felt like hibernating- but spent time in the studio instead. The snow measured 18” on my deck and the shoveling was tiring even though it was light snow. There was just so much of it and along with the wind, being out doors was cold work.

Before the snow I spent a

day with QuIGs gals doing screen printing at Angela’s house. We had fun and I got a new batch of fabric to work with.

I was also invited to be a part of the Valentine sale and show at the Turquoise Street Gallery. That sale and show will be Feb 12 and 13 from 11:00 until 8 both days. I created a few little images in fabric with bead trims for that show. It was fun and it got me in the spirit of doing Valentine stuff. Liz had a really cute pin she had created last year that was a Valentine Cookie in felt. I was thinking about them and so I tried to create my own.

Here they are in a tin all set to be sent in a few weeks to my gal pals.

Progress Report: Moon Fall I am to the quilting stage now and enjoying the free motion part of the process. I decided to use three colors of thread. A variegated red to rust, a blue and a burgundy to outline the shapes of the dyed areas. I am about two thirds done with that now.

Parts I am stitching down the camera parts by hand. I am also embellishing them with hand stitches to add interest. The process is slow and I only add about two pieces and evening, but I am enjoying it.

Coping I pulled out this top that I had started last summer and did a second look at it. Then I decided to do the quilting in a block like fashion. I am trying not to be too pridctable with that step and so I over lapped the starting squares and now I am building in more lines and little squares to the surface.

Coastal Colors II I continue to build on the top of the wool work here. I just enjoy adding more texture to the surface. The colors become so much richer I think.

Scrap Happy I had a whole box full of left over squares form all the scrap happy quilts I have been making, so I put them together in random rows and I am now sewing/quilting those rows together. It will be a colorful one when it is done.

New Work I pulled out these pieces of fabric and I will start a new work using some of them. I have not chosen a focus fabric from this collection yet, but when I do I will know what the next steps will be.

Label Block # 36

I got a letter from Judy this week full of labels and I am thrilled. It is always good to have help form one’s friends.

Keep Creating

Carol

# 2, Autumn Leaves, Creative Assistants, Label Blocks, Little Foxes

Winter Ice

January 14, 2016 admin

Hello,

I am paying special attention to ice as I slipped and fell last week. I am fine. This shot of ice along the street really shows how water shrinks as it freezes. I love all the layers of air pockets in this shallow pool along with the leaves for extra texture. I took lots of photos of ice this week so there may be another ice quilt in the future.

Angela is having a play day in her studio tomorrow and we will be printing with interfacing stencils. I got carried away as usual with my preparation and made 4. I will show the results next week.

Progress Report: Autumn Leaves This is the last of my leaf series for the time being. I had a good time doing bobbin work on this piece as well as the free motion quilting of the leaves on top. The out line of the leaves was done with cord that was so thick it could not go through the eye of any of my machine needles so that is why I put it in the bobbin and drew from the back. I then changed the thread and did the vanes from the front. I also used this one last piece of printed fabric from one of my trips up at Mill Site Lake . The rest of the leaves are from trees in my yard. There are two different types of Oaks and Maples.

Coastal Color 2 I am having fun adding to this felted piece. I really like the build up of the texture with stitches and yarns for color.

New work fuchsia This is the third top developed from a collage. I also meant all three of my personal monthly challenges with this piece. The challenges are: 1. to use some of Ethel Fabric in a work. 2. to use some fabric I have altered in a work 3. to use a collage as a starting point. Now I need to decide how I want to quilt this piece.

New Work green This top is not quite finished yet,but close. I have always been interested in how things work and seeing the insides of stuff. So when I got a new camera last year because I had dropped the old one, I did not throw it away. I finally took it apart this week . I love all the little plastic and electronic parts and so I decided to make a top to stitch them too. It will be a stitching challenge of sorts.

Little Fox I made this little fox pin this week too. After receiving positive feed back and having two friends ask for pins of their own, I decided to make a tutorial on how to make this fellow. It is started and I will finish it this week.

Creative Assistants I finished off 30 creative assistants this week. This is a shot of the last ten. It sure goes to show how easy it is for me to improvise.

Label Block #35 I just keep working away on these little guys.

Keep Creating

Carol

Autumn Leaves, Coastal Color, Creatibve Assistants, Label Blocks, Natural Elements, Quilt Exploration Group (QuEGs), William's Quilt

Winter

January 7, 2016 admin 1 Comment

Hello,

The woman who works with her hands is a laborer. The woman who works with her head and her hands is a craftsman. The woman who works with her hands , her head and her heart is an Artist. St Francis of Assisi

This quote really spoke to me this week. My wish for all my friends is that they be Artists. I spent a lot of time with those artist this week. One day I went to the Turquoise Street Studio and work with three other gals. Beth was doing pastels, while Barb and the other two were painting. What a lot of fun to work with this energy flowing.

Then because it was the beginning of the month the QuIGs and Diva’s meant too. The gals in those groups help me so much when it comes to problems I have with my techniques. I learned a lot about mixing different types of fabrics this week. Corrine was showing off her daughters aromatic jewelry at the meeting and she even sold one. Then yesterday the FAB group meant at Patti’s house. She shared beautiful fabrics from the far east with us. There was wonderful weaving in all of them with lots of color and gold threads. My one other event this week was to be a part of the judging of Scholastic Art. I so enjoy seeing what the middle school and high school students are doing when it comes to art. It was very enjoyable.

Progress Report: Creative Assistants While I was at the studio with all the other artists I worked on these little guys. I was only stitching them closed and adding a pin to the back, but I got 20 of them done. I added the paint when I got home and they are now ready to pass along to others.

Williams’s Quilt I finished the stitch in the ditch quilting on this project this week. There were lots of lines to do. Now I am ready to start to do the binding. It will take about and hour to do each side. It is a bright colorful work – just great for an active little boy.

Coastal Colors I made progress on this piece this week. It is done as far as the machine work is concerned. But I am concerned about the ripple. The gals at the meetings all had great suggestions about how to deal with that and I learned from them.

Hopefully I can stretch it well enough to get it flat. The bad news is I already laided out and started two more that I fear will have the same problem. But the next time I try to mix felting with machine drawing, I will know better then to put stiffener as a part of that step. It does not shrink at the same rate as the wool and that is the source of the problem we think.

Autumn Leaves I am doing the free motion drawing of the vanes of the leaves now. I am having fun and I have learned how Mother Nature designs each species differently.

Label Block #34 I remember taking the Pooh label off a blanket for Alexis when she was little. She is 20 now. Do I hold onto things for a long time or what?

Keep Creating

Carol

Autumn Leaves, Autumns Collection, Buffalo Bluffs A & B, Coastal Color, Label Blocks, Natural Elements, Stretch Works, William's Quilt

Reflection

December 31, 2015 admin

Hello-

We are coming to the end of another year and I have been thinking not only about my dreams for the future, but also reviewing what happened in 2015.

A Jewish Proved says it best:

The Quality of life is fuelled by our productive wealth.

With this in mind I can say I am very wealthy. For me it has been a very productive year. For the first time I counted the number of spools of thread I used in my work. All that machine drawing does add up and I finished off 65 spools this year. This is reflective of the number of works I completed and with Autumn Collection added today that number is 49. I do so enjoy challenging myself and the amount of work I do reflects this drive I have.

I enjoyed my travels this year and visited lots of friends. I went south to Susan in Florida in March. I took a trip to Maine to see Barbara and Elizabeth with Marty in May. I went to see Barb in Indiana in June. There was also loss in my life this year as two friends died. The WWII veteran, Fred Bishop, who lived up the street passed away in March. My good friend and mentor Ethel Whitmore died in August. I miss her greatly, but do to the generosity of her children I am wrapped in her fabrics and dyes that now fill my studio. I made a promise to myself that I would use some of her material in every work I create for a year. That will not be too much of a challenge as I already find her fabrics blending into my work with ease. She helped me grow so very much and all the joy I find in creating and using Silk Paper is do to her introduction to that material. I am thankful that she was a part of my life for such a long time.

Progress Report: Buffalo Bluffs This diptych is now complete. Both units are stretched and measure 16” X 20 “. I learned a lot about cutting up a unified work with this project. I had to make some additions to both sides when I sliced it to make each section work on its own as well as in tandem. I based the work on this part of a photo I took last summer. I enjoyed building up the surface with lace , velvet, cotton, felt, silk and organza.

I continue to use the fabrics that do the job texturally as well as colorfully to keep the piece functioning.

Autumn Collection This work is 37” X 30.5 “ With is quilt I finally used the silk leaves that I created with Cris in the silk paper workshop earlier this fall. The piece has lots of different techniques and fabrics in it. Not only the silk leaves but also leaves cut from cotton and organza fabrics. The trunk has some of the fabric that Marty and I spray painted after we came back from visiting with Elizabeth last spring. I also included some colored pencil drawing along the top of the hill to suggest far away trees behind the weeds. It was great fun to work on this piece.

Autumn Leaves I am now doing the quilting on this piece. I loaded the bobbin with thick cotton thread and did the outline of the leaf from the back of the quilt. Then flipped it over and drew in the vanes. I am happy with how it is coming along.

Coastal Color- Red Rock I have only just started the thread painting on this work. It is different to be building on top of a felted surface. This work is based on a small portion of a photo. I block off only the section I want to look at and use it as my starting point. This is the section of the rock face.

New work I built this collage a few weeks ago and it is the start of another work. I am not going to copy the colors – but try to keep the shapes and tones in the work the same. This is the first pin up of the fabrics I have selected for this project. Two of them are from Ethel’s stash, but most are ones I have altered with dye and paint.

William’s Quilt The top and back are now complete and I have the two sections united. I am doing stitch in the ditch quilting starting by quilting around all the photos and working out form there. This process is not fast, but it is enjoyable for me.

Label Block # 33 There is not rush here just slow and steady progress on this project.

May the 2016 bring you joy and delight.

Carol

Autumns Collection, Buffalo Bluffs, Coastal Color, Label Blocks, Turning Autumn, William's Quilt

Solicits

December 24, 2015 admin

Hello,

Winter has begun according to the calendar. But I am not so sure about that as our mild weather sure makes me feel otherwise. I have enjoyed my walks and the sun shine helps me feel calmer and much less stressed during this holiday season of hurry and worry. This shot of the sky reflected in a rain created pool is also a part of this unique season. If I ever had any doubts about how the weather effects my work a look at the colors of the stuff I am working on this week will sure confirm the fact that I am still feeling the influences of fall.

My only out side activity this week was an afternoon when I sat in the gallery at the Schweinfurth to answer folks questions. It was pleasant to talk with students and quilters and I did a lot of hand work. More little faces for Creative Assistants.

Progress Report: Buffalo Bluffs

I am now done with the assembly of this work. This is the last photo of it as a total unit as I plan to cut it in half and make a diptych out of it. That was the plan form the start and building it as one big unit first makes for unity I think. I will slash it and stretch it before next week I hope.

Autumns Collection This is a close up of this work as I am almost done with the building. I even got the silk leaves on the piece this time. I am adding the facings now so it will be done by next week. I have a little bit of bobbling in two areas so I will need to go back in and quilt a bit more to flatten it. I can always draw more leaves with my machine.

Turning Autumn This quilt is ready for the quilting step now too. I am doing stitch in the ditch at the moment to stabilize it for now and then I will begin to do the machine drawing step. I will do some sketch book work before I begin that however.

Williams Quilt This is a shot of the back of this work. I only need to add to the sides about 10 inches as it is a bit narrow . Then I can begin to assemble the parts. It sure is bright and colorful for the grand child who will receive this gift.

Coastal Color This series of three works is based on a photo of the Atlantic coast. On one cliff the color of the rock went from green moss covered section to red rocks at the top. I tried to capture that feel with these three starts. My main machine had to go for a quick cleaning – I can not believe I have had it a year already. So I pulled the Felter out for a little play in a different mode. They are starting places for machine and hand work now .

Label Block 32 I just do the work.

Enjoy the wonders of the season. Hugs

Carol

Autumn Collection, Label Blocks, Near Indian Creek, William's Quilt

Mild Days

December 17, 2015 admin

Hello-

I like most of folks in the east am enjoying the wonderful weather we are having. Blue sky is always a welcome sight and the mild temps do not hurt either.

I came across this quote this week.

There are no mistakes. What happens during the process of making something is sacred and organic. Vicki Noble.

I like this idea and always used and thought a similar idea when I work. I just see errors as a small challenge to my way forward. It is reassuring to find reinforcements for ones ideas.

There was a FAB meeting this week. Judy is creating her one of her wool tied quilts for her daughter. Big and bright is her motto. I am finished with Scrubs for my grand daughter. They are cheerful as she asked.

Progress Report: Near Indian Creek This piece is 16″ X 20″ and stretch on a blank canvas. I m trying to think of different ways to present my work and this is one of them. There is a lot I do not know about this process.

It is finally complete after many starts and stops getting it stretched. I need to thank Andrea for explaining how to cut away the excess fabric at the corners for a smooth fold over. Then she also suggested that I put fabric on the back instead of paper and I really like that solution too. I have all the materials and I am set for three more rock based pieces in this little series. I learned a lot doing work this way and look forward to next ones.

William’s Quilt I am working away on this project and I can see the end of this step. I only need to assemble three more rows and the top will be done. Then it is on to the back of the project.

Autumn Collection The back ground is all laid out and stitched down for this project. Now I will begin to add the leaves. I am so lucky to have my friends looking out for me. In this case Patty gave me some great old scarves that are just the perfect color to use as a part of the leaf clutter under this tree.

Double Rock This is not the official title for this work. Just a working one. I am trying to make two pieces that work together so I am sewing both of them at the same time and I will cut them apart when I am done. These will also be stretched pieces. The only draw back is the big size problem when I am doing the free motion work. But I think it will pay off in the end.

Label Block # 31 One more done in this process. I For me this is very calming work at the end of the day. Thanks too to the folks who have passed more labels on to me.

Keep Creating

Carol

Grounded, Label Blocks, Uncategorized, William's Quilt

Paying Attention

December 10, 2015 admin

Hello-

I was trying to pay attention to lines and I noticed this rather gray bit of pavement. It is almost a landscape in its self. All the horizontal lines suggest it could become one without too much effort. What I was really trying to notice on my walk that day was how the leaves pilled up around the tree trunks. Sometimes they are deep and the tree seems to lean a lot. Sometimes the leaves and earth round the base of the tree pile high and other times it seems to fall away. Then I came across this tree on the side of a hill and found many of the roots exposed. I was doing all this visual research for my next quilt project using leaves as the first took on a life of its own and I could not use the silk leaves I had created.

I went up to see Sharon’s senior show in Oswego this week. Lots of good work there. She explored lots of different areas in her college work. Sharon will start work on her master’s degree next month.

Because of the way Nancy works I made a run to her house today to talk about the lay out of her boarders on her next project. She really did not need me as she had done the work- but it was fun to talk about what she is doing. I enjoy how she mixes and uses fabrics that I would never pick out to use myself.

Progress Report: Grounded This quilt has been fun to work on. I really enjoyed the free motion work. Out lining all the printed leaves was a learning experience. There were so many veins. The paint I used was transparent so the leaves showed through one another. That made the image seem deeper I think. I the background is made from Judy Roberts hand dyed fabric( the brown) and Randy’s deconstructed screen printed fabric( the yellow) The irregular surfaces of both fabrics added interest too. I am showing one shot of the back of the quilt to show the machine work with out the color distraction.

Hand Bag I also though I needed a new hand bag for the season so I pulled out this piece of Regina fabric and made myself a one. Its dark and will not show spots I don’t think. My only regret is that I did not put a pocket on the outside of this piece and I do miss that.

Williams Quilt I am building the blocks for William’s Quilt. It will be colorful when it is complete. I will lay it all out on the floor this week to see how the parts work together.

New Work These fabrics are my loose layout for the next leaf quilt. I will try to mix the two images from the top of this blog into one image that I can work with. I will also be on the look out to keep the leaves around the base of this tree a little simpler so I can use the silk leaves that got me started on this leave thing from the first place.

New Rock Work This is the very beginning of my next rock piece. I am working from the same photo graphic that was taken of Dead Horse Canyon wall. This is about a 4″ X 6″ section of the photo. Lots more build up is yet to come here as even what it pictured is only pinned in place.

Label Block This is block # 30. So now I am one fourth finished with the creation of the blocks for his project.

Keep Creating

Carol

Grounded, Label Blocks, Truquoise Street Studio, William's Quilt

Moving Along

December 3, 2015 admin

Hello,

Our fall has been dry and crisp. I have enjoyed my walks and enjoyed natures bounty. It is raining today however and I will walk to the Dr with my eyes and umbrella open.

A week ago Saturday I went to a new group. Lots of old friends were there and we talked and shared ideas about going forward with a unified idea. There was show and tell of course. Anne talked about her work as did everyone else. I really like this work that she created for a challenge project. There was a lot of talent in that room.

I also spend a day at the Turquoise Street Studio last week. Barbara was working on a sign for a Black Friday event. Beth worked on two pastels. This one of cows and another of a barn landscape. Both were from pictures she took last summer on the same day.

I went off to the Schweinfurt on Sunday to hear my good friend, Cheri do a trunk show and talk. She was very entertaining and I enjoyed seeing all her work together again.

This is also the beginning of a new month so I had group meetings to attend.

At Diva’s Regina had four Christmas banners she had completed to share with us. They all used Christmas carols as the themes for the blocks. She said she will put one up and then replace it with another the next week. All the thread she uses makes my mind boggle.

Noel showed us a fun nine patch she had done years ago of her husband to demonstrate what she was working on. She has a cartoon of her grand daughter that she was cutting up in the same fashion to make for her a Christmas gift. It was cute but still all in pieces.

Tanya came to the studio yesterday and we made silk paper. I have more material for my rock quilts now.

Progress Report: Grounded I am to the fun part of this project now. I do enjoy the free motion work so very much. I am outlining the leaves- each in a different colored thread as my quilting on this one. I am about half way done with the process.

Christmas Cards I took time to make a batch of Christmas cards this week too. I am finally using the great printed papers that I got from the British Museum. Simple but enjoyable.

Williams Quilt I finally got the images transferred to fabric this week. I plan to really concentrate on this project now as I want it finished in two weeks if possible. The fabrics are all washed and ready for cutting. It was fun looking for the topic fabrics on the list. Nancy found the brownie print fabric for me.

Label Blocks Two more blocks numbers 28 ans 29. Soon I will be one forth done with this project. I do need and infusion of labels though as it seems I am getting near the bottom of my box. I will just have to ask for help with this.

Keep Creating

Carol

Uncategorized

Thanksgiving

November 26, 2015 admin 1 Comment

Hello,

I am thankful for my family and friends, my health and my chances to create.

Hugs to all

Carol

Curvie Cuts, Dead Horse Canyon Rock Face, Grounded, Label Blocks, Stretched Works

Leaves

November 19, 2015 admin

Hello,

Leaves seem to remain a strong interest to me. Most of our local trees are stripped now, but as this photo shows some still have their fruit. I am still searching out places were I can walk through the piles of crisp fallen leaves and enjoying the crunch. I found a wall in the park where the leaves are piled deeper then my knees and I felt like I was six again as I plowed through them. There is still lots of colors in those piles too- pinks, greens, tans, browns, yellows and purples. So wonderful! The fact that I am printing leaves on one of my tops is part of the reason for my strong interest I am sure.

The FAB group meant here this week and we had a good talk. Judy finished tieing the bunk bed quilts she brought with her that day. Nancy has added two of her boarders on the quilt she is making for her daughter. It is great when we all make progress.

Progress Report: Grounded-This work is a part of the curvy cut series. I am stamping the leaves I made last week. The colors are not as strong on the brown as I would like. But I feel it will work out in the end. I am stamping from the largest stamp to the smallest. Each stamp is a different color combination. There is also a number increase with each stamp I am using. I started with five of the biggest leaf and moved to seven for the next one. I am increasing by two every time I change leaves to get a deep pile feeling.

Dead Horse Canyon Rock Face This work is going to be stretch. I think I am ready for that step as I have done all the free motion drawing and tacking of the parts. I am finding the small format a challenge. There are three more canvases so I will keep putting in the effort.

New work This work is one of my first pieces using some fabric from pile of hand dyed works I have been creating sense the beginning of Oct. In this shot there are about six units. I was happily putting them together this morning and I did not pin then back on the board every time after I pressed the seams. That was a mistake as I put an early connection together backward and did not notice that error until I was “done”. Now I have lots of seam ripping to do before I can go forward with this piece.

Label Block #27 The daily hand work goes forward on this project.

Keep Creating

Carol

Cre-8

All posts by admin

Snow Bound

Winter Ice

Winter

Reflection

Solicits

Mild Days

Paying Attention

Moving Along

Thanksgiving

Leaves

Creative Fiber Collage Artist Carol Boyer