Category Archives: Drawing

Agitated Aggie, Childhood Memories, Drawing, Granite, Linen Shirt, SAQA Blocks

Coping

Hello,
I hope everyone is coping well with the social isolation. I find I am focusing more on my art although I do not seem to be producing more.    I continue to do my daily walks and find that the time I spend moving and being out of doors very good for my overall feelings of healthiness.    It is a good time to be out in nature as it is changing so much now too.

I did complete the Sketchbook Revival program this week.
Chiara Mazzette.   She directed  us through a water color landscape. I like what she had to say, but feel my work is really lacking this time.

We did water color sun flowers with Olga Soroking. I found this class very enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

 

Cartoon character development was the goal of the workshop with Ildiko Karasy. Her relaxed style was easy to follow and enjoy.

 

 

 

 

Melissa Lee did a strong little exercise on simple one point perspective. I am glad that I did the exercises and feel I am moving forward in my own sketchbook as a result.

I got a slow start on Textile Artist – stitching challenge this week. It is about applique and this is my layout.

 

 

 

I continue to make masks like many quilters. I delivered 20 on Tuesday.   In my process of cleaning
drawers I did discover yesterday some  elastic so I am sure I will make a few more.     This is really helping cut down on my fat quarter collection too.

 

Progress Report: Kites and Flowers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This work is 43″ w X 44.5″ t.   It is the final piece from the Regina  complete it challenge. 

 

 

She gave me a piece white piece o fabric with stenciled kites on it.   I first dyed the fabric yellow and then I used it on my work.    (upper left here)      I have  added the hand painted floral- very old- and built the quilt. 

 

I really enjoyed this challenge.

 

 

 

Agitated Aggie I am done with the stitch in the ditch part of this project. I am now doing free motion outlining of the characters. The second is the back.

 

 

 

 

Scrap Happy This project is moving along.   This shot is of one corner.   I am adding the boarders now and have two on all four sides. I will add one more boarder and then add a binding.

Shirt I stated adding hand stitches to this   linen shirt this week.    I am trying to keep it simple.

 

 

 

 

 

Granite This project continues to move along. I am beginning to see the end of work in some areas.

Drawing As I said earlier I am working at the sketchbook a bit more. I pulled on of Mom’s old books out and I am drawing from the flower photos in it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 X 12  I did a little exploring for this project.  I got out a stencil I had cut but never used and tried it a few times.   The one  exploration was on metallic fabric and really like how that appears.    More to follow.   Then I tried it on the  project.   I am ready to do some free motion work on it next. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Childhood Memories- Museums at the University of Iowa

Dad always believed that education was the way to better and more fulling life. I recall him taking Saturday classes at the University of Iowa. Grandpa Howard, a reinnance man himself, often took classes at the same time. Grandfather even took a class in Spanish. Grandfather was so outstanding in his geology classes that when he had completed all they had to offer, they asked him to come and work for them. Grandfather laughed and thanked them saying “ You can’t really do that- I didn’t graduate from high school.” He was a very smart man!
On several occasions Mom, Gene and I rode along and went to the Museums on campus to entertain ourselves.
My favorite was the Museum of Natural History. There were great displays there. I think that those experiences influenced Mom when she later did displays for Ball State. I have a very vivid memory of the Hall on Mankind. There were lots of ethnic costumes, mostly Native American. My favorite was of a crouching man in a solo cabinet. He was dresses in a beautiful carved and painted wooden raven’s head mask that was about 5 feet long from the shoulder rest to the tip of the beak. It was colored in black, red and white in the beautiful patterns of the North West Coast Natives. I spent most of my time in that room just studying the that figure and I tried to draw what I remember when I got home. The were rooms of sea creatures in jars and shells as well as rooms full of mammals. There was a room full of drawers where one could carefully open the drawer to revel rows of stuffed small birds lying on there sides. There were always three examples of the species, a male, a female and a adolescent. I few had wing spreads, a nest and sometimes eggs. Mom carefully controlled what we looked at each time and we both got to choose two drawers. She would read the outside first to see if we knew what we were about to see and she used the geographical to encourage or discourage our choices. She also got to choose two drawers and would choose two species that we knew to check out. She was always teaching.
There was a second room of drawers that were full of insects. There were lots more examples of each type of insect in each of those drawers. Mom did not structure our learning there so carefully. I do remember a drawer full of bees and a second full of enamel beetles. The beetles were amazingly colorful.
On one of the visits we went to the Museum of Art. It was very enjoyable to me of course. But my most vivid memory was of going down a stairwell, turning a corner and coming face to face with an eight foot red poppy. It was a Georgia Okeef. I was awe struck and stopped point blank on the stop. It was so very beautifully intense and I was in love and  I have loved her work ever sense.

Stay Healthy  and keep Creating
Carol

Childhood Memories, Drawing, Hand work, Kites and Flowers, SAQA Blocks, Scrap Happy Quilts, Sisterhood of the Scissors, Solo Butterfly Flight

Contrast

Hello
Mother Natures and old Man Winter are playing games wit the weather here. Wed I took the flower picture and it was a glorious day  sunny and warm. This morning I got up to cold, snow on the ground and all  over the trees. It is a time of contrast.

 

 

 

 

I spent a lot of time working on the Textile Artist stitching challenges this week. I did finish Sue Shane’s assignment from week one. I will work on creating more simple patterns using only strait stitches in the future.

The assignment for this week was from Richard Mc Vetus and it was to do four different ways of couching. I added it to the fabric piece from last week. This morning I though of one more thing I want to try so I drew another circle to fill.

I did more of the Sketchbook Revival projects.   Melany Rivers did a fun exercise where we drew with our left hand and then finger painted in the drawing. It was enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

Noah Scanlin gave us a challenge were we were to put 100 dots on a page and then connect them to create and image. The crazy clown with the deflated balloon came out of that. The we added to the image using the same blokish style. I good way to loosen up.

 

 

Ryana Campbell did a collage and paint piece with us. Her approach uses more paint on top to join the image and build it up then.  I normally do  not add much paint when  I  collage, so I learned a new tool to add to my   creative tool box.

 

 

 

Progress Report: Place Matts I have now completed all 17 of the place matts. They are all in a the bag that Joyce gave them to me in and I will deliver them to her front poach on Tue. The new rule that says I am ,as an even year birth date , only be out on Tue, Thur and Sat.   That does limit me. But I will use Tue to do lots of little errands like deliver masks and    go to the post office and mail some of my cowls to friends.

Solo Butterfly Flight This work is 22″ X 22″. The blue and pink background is from Regina and one of the completed it challenge pieces that she gave me.
I finished this free motion drawing part and added the butterfly yesterday.

I looking at it today I think I will add a bit to the butterfly as it seems a little dull to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kites and Flowers This work is also a part of the complete it challenge. I am finishing up the facing part now and the yellow and orange on the right is that section. I did reflective quilting after I quilting around the kites and flower.

 

 

 

Agitated Aggie When I went to the Canadian Quilt show last fall with the Sisterhood of the Scissors group we created a challenge using the graphic fabric with the women holding the scissors. I am finally getting around to working on it and having a great time.

Marble This is my hand work project for now. I am just trying to mimic some floor tile that I took a photo of.

Drawing I only did one drawing this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scrap Happy This is the start of the assembly of this one  quilt. It has taken longer then I expected to put together the backs. That reflects the same problem I encountered before- trying to do three at one time is just a lot slower then doing just one. I will not do it this way ever again.

12″X 12″   The call came out this week for the Surface Design Quilt Association   auction entries.  This is my start on that challenge.

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories- Des Moines

The move to Carroll was made because Dad got a new job as Principal of the Public High School there. It was a much larger school with about 2 75 high school students. One of the new things that the job offered was his  participation in the Iowa Administrators Conference that happened in Des Moines every year on the Saturday  of the week following Thanksgiving. We went along with him and spent the day in the city while Dad went to the meetings. It continues to be the biggest city in the state and it seemed huge to me as a kid. Mom started her Christmas shopping at that time so we went to the big department stores, J.C. Penny’s, Sears and Roebuck and Gimbles. Mom let Gene and I pick out an ornament for the Christmas tree every year. The first one I selected was an orange Santa with a real fur beard and arms that were attached by springs so they wiggled. He could be separates at the belt to reveal a opening in the middle were Mom hid a special treat every year to be opened on Christmas morning. One year I selected a blown glass blue bird with a long tale that was like a paint brush. There were lots of shoppers, so to keep us together Mom always held Gene’s  hand, while I held onto her coral colored coat  sleeve and often carried a shopping bag. Mom gave us a few coins with instructions to donate to the charity buckets that were manned along the street. “ We need to be thankful for out blessings and share what we can,” she told us. Gene did not want to do that and I think he kept a few of the pennies, but he did put something in the pot too. As we walked from store to store, I kept looking at all the different people. We walked past two dark blue black men who were talking. They were the first live black men I had ever seen and so much darker then the brown King in our nativity set. Mom corrected me for my staring- but it was not the color  of their skin that captured my limited childhood mind- “ But, Mom they were talking in tongues!” In my world I had jumped to the conclusion that they were doing something religiously amazing sense the only time I had ever heard that one could not understand the words of another was from the Bible. She laughingly  explained to me that they were just from a foreign country not from the Bible. I was so  naive.
The last even of the day was a stop for dinner at a big smorgasbord, called Bishops. Mon carefully took me all though the line and Dad helped Gene. She let me look at everything before we started to fill the plate so I would not take more than I could eat or fill that plate with too much of one type of food and want some of an item further down the line. It was a very pleasant meal and we followed that ritual every year that we went to the conference. At the end of the meal a waitress brought Gene and I balloon’s that had  Bishop’s printed on them  and with   little cardboard feet so they sat flat. I remember bouncing the feet on my hands in the car as we started the long drive home.   The family followed variations on this trip for four years.

Stay safe and keep creating.

Carol

Drawing, Hand work, Kites and Flowers, Scrap Happy Quilts

Slow Spring

Hello,

I took this photo of the daffodils on Tuesday it has rained  every day sense then and then today it is set to snow.     The temperature has fallen from 50 this morning  to  29  this evening.    Mother Nature can’t seem to make up her mind.

 

 

 

I am still working on the Textile Arts Stitch Challenge. This week Emily Tull did a demo on how to stitch an eye. Mine is okay for the first try – but I think I need more practice. I am still working away on the week one piece from Sue Stone.

Sketchbook Revival is still giving me lots on stimulation. Nina Rycroft built an Easter Bunny wit us. It would be a cute card.

 

 

 

 

David Drazil worked with lettering. Lots of potential here.

 

 

 

Wendy Holler who works for the Botanical Gardens in NYC worked with us on how to paint a petal. I went on with the idea and did a flower.

 

With Stephanie  Lee one worked on personal responses to the meanings in quotes.   It is an usnusal use of a sketchbook.  I see it more as a note book myself.

 

 

A Wild Garden was the lesson that Karen Stamper lead one through. It is wild and very freeing.

 

Juliet Meeks did a floral display with us. I am having fun and it is nice to explore new ideas outside quilting.

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Masks I just keep making these. I passed on eight this morning to a friend who wanted to send them to her children. I have requests for more too so there will be more in my future.

 

 

 

Kites and Flowers  I finished the free motion drawing around the kites and flowers yesterday. Now I need to decide on a pattern for the rest of the quilting to finish this work up.

 

Place Matts I have finished five of these now. The rest all have there nylon netting on both sides but I have not done the stitch in the ditch quilting to bond the four layers together on the rest. Then there is the binding to do too. It just takes time.

Scrap Happy I am making progress on this project. I am building backs Now so I can do the assembly to the units.

 

 

 

 

Regina Challenge. I fused all the parts down last week and now I am doing free motion drawing on top to hold things all together. I plan to make a free motion drawing of a bird or butterfly to add to this work for a center of interest.

Drawing I have been drawing every time I spend time on the telephone. I had
Several long conversations this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cowls I did more cowls this week. Now I have made 23 of them. I am down to small bits of yarn now and I feel good about that.

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories– 3rd Grade
I went into the third grade the fall we moved to Carroll. The elementary school building was built in 1952 and seemed very modern and new at the time. It was a long low L shaped building with a wide hall that ran down the center of each the two levels with classrooms branching off both sides and stair wells at the ends. The short leg of the L connected to the high school building that was three stores high and much older. The new gym was attached to the north end of the high school and it had a stage on one side and permanent seating across the basketball floor in the center. In the elementary the kindergarten was on the south side and faced the playground. Gene was in that room in the afternoons and I picked him up at the end of the day
and we walked home together most days as my class was just across the hall. I do recall one Tornado  Drill in that hall where all the kids sat on the floor with our knees up, our heads down and are arms over our heads in the dark. I am sure it did not last long, but it seem like forever to me as kid.
The play ground was on the south side of the elementary building. It was a huge pea gravel lot.
A wide cement area was next to the building and ran all the was across the front of the building. Lots of jump rope space.
The swings were along the east side and the south side had two slides, several see-saws, and a double sized jungle gym. I spent a lot of time at the top of that structure in third grade. The west side had two  ball fields that overlapped a lot. One was used mostly by sixth grades and the second was for the forth and  fifth  grades.
My memories of third grade are few but I do recall some . I remember laying on the floor on top of a big piece of paper and the teacher tracing around me She did that for  all the students. We then drew in the details and colored our life sized selves to sit in our seats for open house in early October.     In Dec we made a class Nativity scene in ceramics. I made a very simplified figure( modern I though) of a Shepherd- my assigned figure.    When they were fired we painted them and set up the display.   When I brought the figure home, it became  a part of our family Nativity and appeared for years. Third grade was the first time I ate school lunch.    I had carried Dad’s old black round top  metal lunch pale a few times in second grade before we moved. The lunch room in Carroll,  was directly below my class room in the basement. I remember standing in line on the stairs waiting for the hot lunch many times.
I recall too the day when Mrs Fister , the high school art teacher came to our room to do Art Appreciation. The big reproductions that she showed us was Grant Wood’s “Stone City”. She told us he as a native Iowan.   The painting has a  corn field in the foreground with a farm behind and a huge windmill, a road that winds between hills to the horizon.   There are lots of round trees that are all uniformly green .    When asked what I saw in the painting I said” Pea Trees”- and got a lot of laughs from my peers.   I was embarrassed but  Mrs Fister did not make a fuss.   We had a similar lesson every year in elementary.  In Jr high when I had Mrs Fister for  seventh grade art  class, she rewarded my talent by doubling the time I got to come to her class  for art and so  I went every day.   I did my first stitchery in her class.  It was an underwater landscape with lots of fish and  bubbles that were cut circles of blue fabric with a pearl  button on top of each circle.

Stay safe in these trying times and keep creating

Carol

Childhood Memories, Drawing, Felt Work, Kites and Flowers

Exploring

 

Hello,
Despite the times spring is coming and I am enjoying my walks even more with the sunny warm weather. It did rain two day this week, but we walked in the rain anyhow. We are deep in week three of home confinement. I read on the internet that a good way to think if this time is as an “Artist Redundancy”. I am adopting that attitude as it is so very positive.   I am   also using this time to explore some new avenues.  I doing this by  participating in Textile Arts Community Stitch Challenge  for one thing.   I have finish week two’s challenge created  by Cas Holmes. I am still working away on Sue Stones challenge from week one and will post it when I am done.

I am also doing Sketchbook Revival. There are two lessons every day for 10 days in this program. The program is at an end – but I am only finishing the second half of the lesson for day 3. This one is  form the lesson by Carla Sontime.    It a paint blotch animal.   Sure opens one to creative looking.

For Charlie Ohedald the assignment was to draw food. He lead us through each step. I am sorry I did the next assignment on the back of the page and it bled through a bit.

 

 

 

 

Number 3  was Mary Beth Shaw – a Doodle painting /collage was what we were working on. She had lots of ways to make different textures with acrylic paints  and lead us through one step at a time.

 

Tamara La Port guided  us through how to do a Quickie Bird.   It is one of her specialties and lots of  fun.

 

 

 

 

 

Amanda Arneill worked with us on lettering techniques. I’ll keep pushing through and posting my finished works.  Exploring new ways of thinking and playing is always good to shake one up a bit.

 

 

Progress Report: Kites and Flowers. I assembled this top this week using the gold piece of fabric from Regina as the jumping off place. The work  is all quilted with the stitch in the ditch technique. Now I am going back and doing free motion flowers and kits on top to hold it make it stronger.

Scrap Happy Quilts  I have three going at this point and squares for two more I think. The rows are all done for only three and I decided this morning to finish up these three before I go forward with the rest of the blocks.

 

 

I seem to be in a  bit of a purple  thing at the moment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Felt Dryer Balls. Three more are done and there are three new ones is early stages.

 

 

 

 

Cowls I have made 22 of these now. I find them very calming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Masks I tried my hand at these this morning. These have non woven interfacing in the centers. I am using ribbon for ties as I do not have any elastic. Eric likes them better too as one does not have to put them over the head to put them on. I will make more as they are so simple and a good way to use the little bits of fabric that I seem to collect. I ‘m sure I can find homes for them.

Childhood Memories- The Annabergs

The Annabergs, a family of six, lived at the south end of the block where we lived. Their lot spread all the way across the end and I guess it really was a double lot. The house was designed by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, and although I did not appreciate it at the time, it was a great house. It had ramps to go from one level to another instead of stairs. A lot of the house was tucked into the hill top and although it was two stories inside, it was very low on the out side. One could enter through the garage and be on the bottom story. One took a ramp up to the main level passing bedrooms and a workshop. One then doubled back and continued up a second ramp to more bedrooms. Each bedroom had a sink as well as lots of built- in storage spaces with lots of wood. The kitchen was in the front corner and it had a window that allowed one to see both south and west with only a small seam where the glass met and changed direction. There was a great counter top there. One time we made donuts and set them to rise on that corner counter. The great room had a stone fireplace and again, built in seating, storage and book shelves. You could walk out the great room to a beautiful patio with a brick fire place and cooking area. I remember how sad it was when the three great American Elms that shaded that patio died due to the American Elm disease.
The man of that family was the main Doctor in the little town of Carroll and his brother, the town’s pediatrician. Mrs Annaberg was a house wife. David was the oldest child and he was 18 when we moved in. I recall him trying to teach us to play Horse- a basketball shooting game with a series of shots. Each letter was a different shot with the shots being as one spelled the word Horse. David went off to collage the year after we moved in so I did not really have much contact with him. The next child was Beth and she was 16. She gave me her old baby buggy It was blue leather, and had rubber wheels. After years of my use, it went off to grandmother Ruth’s where it lived on through many other grandchildren. Beth was a cheerleader at the high school. One time she even taught me the words and moves for a cheer call “Your Pep”. I can still do it although I do not think I can do the cartwheel that goes at the end. The third child was Spencer. He was ten and enough of a kid that we played together for a while. His favorite game was “Pump Pump Pull Away”. It is a running game where the person who is “it” stands in the middle of the field and the players run from one goal line to the other. The middle person tries to catch the runners and when they are successful they join him to catch the rest. We played it as touch and tackle at different times. One time Spence broke his nose. His Dad set it as he was the only Doctor in town. Spencer wore a bandage on his face for six weeks. When that was over Spence said he was never going back to have his Dad work on him again! Because when they took the bandages off the nose was crooked- so Dr Annaberg had to break it a second time.
The last kid was Lee and he was my age and in my class in third grade. We were great friends as I was a real Tomboy. We included Gene in our play and built forts, climbed trees, and played a lot of football. I could punt, pass, tackle and catch as well as boys. Gene went on to play football in high school and was a star quarter back and tackle. Another great passion for the three of us was sledding. The Annaberg house was on a hill that fell away on the southwest corner and every winter we spent hours building sled jumping ramps with packed snow. Gene and Lee both had Flexible Fliers. They were the best sleds available as one could bend the runners and with a really steer. I recall one snowy night that Mom took the three of us to a steep street that was closed off and we spent the evening sledding down and walking up. When the evening was over and we were all cold, we went back to the Annaberg’s for hot chocolate and cookies. They were wonderful neighbors. Mom stay connected with them through Christmas cards for years. Lee also became a Dr.

Stay safe an keep creating

Carol

Birds, Childhood Memories, Drawing, Hand work

Spring Forward

1 Comment

Hello,
I keep seeing and hearing signs of spring. There are lots of Robins around now. It is great to walk and hear all the songs.   I am not adjusting to time change very well.  Having trouble getting to sleep at night and over sleeping in the morning.  I hope this settles soon.
This week has been quiet as the Diva meeting got canceled due to the fact that Kendell, where we meet was closed to visitors. This pandemic is having an impact.

Progress Report: Bags This project is done now. I made 19 grocery bags for Elizabeth for her project. I am sure folks with use and enjoy them, They all took about 25 min a piece to finish.

 

 

 

 

Beyond This is my second work where I am completing Regina’s start. She really made it easy as she just gave me the fabric with the circular print on it. I did the wavy cut insertions and I am now adding the pink circles on top with free motion stitching to hold them in place. It is a fun project for me.

Talisman Pouches I saw an article in Quilting Arts that suggested this technique. I have done most of them before so I saved some felt- the base and went to work. They both need lots of embellishment.

Cowls I just keep working away on these. I have pulled yarn for two more and then I will stop. I will pass them forward to my friends.

 

 

I”m in  real blue themed thing at the moment.

 

 

 

 

Drawing  I am challenging myself to do a bit of non objective drawing due to Barbara’s influence.  It is fun and colorful

 

 

New Work This too is one of the pieces of fabric that Regina gave me. I think it was to be used with the first one- but I am not going that way. I have fused down a lot of cut ways from my class with Betty Busby from last summer for this project. I will do hand work on this too. I seem to have piled up a lot of that sort of thing lately.

 

Birds    I am all set now to do two Warblers for my next bird piece.

 

Childhood Memories – Carroll Yard
The yard played a role in my life in the house in Carroll. Out front and to far south of the lot was a large triple trunk-ed Mulberry Tree. Gene and I had great fun climbing experiences in that tree . We enjoyed the fruit when it was ripe too. Dad teased us about our climbing by saying” If you fall out, be sure to land on your head- then you will not do any permanent damage.”
Along the southern boarder between our yard and the Feltons’s was a wonderful hedge of Lilac bushes. One could walk out the kitchen door and onto a little poach and smell them in spring. They remain one of my favorite flowers and we have lilac bushes in our yard today.
The back yard had three terraces. It also supported 5 black walnut trees in that part of the yard . On the second terrace was a log cabin/play house we inherited from the Annabergs. The logs were small about 4″ wide and cut in half nailed to a frame. It was about 5 feet square with a door opening on the north side and big open windows on the other three. One could climb to the roof using the window openings. We defended it form “invisible “ invaders in the form of Indians, Pirates and Spanish Conquistadors.
On the next terrace level was the one that surrounded the patio outside the basement door. One climbed four steps from the patio to the ground level and there was the T close lines. My assignment was to take the clothing out of the washer and hang them on the lines before I waked to school. I recall taking frozen clothes down from the lines after I got home too. I knew about freeze dried long before I herd the term in advertising.
On the last terrace layer was Dad’s vegetable garden with as strawberry bed running along the back. The house behind us was owned by two sisters, Edith and Helen. Their huge Rhubarb patch was along the boarder line between our lot and theirs. I was given free rain to eat as much rhubarb as I wanted. It was a great “bitter” treat in the spring.
All along the north side of the property was a white picket fence that Dad built. I remember helping Mom paint it. At Thanksgiving the first year we lived there when we went to Grandmother Esters’s house for the feast. In the morning before we ate Dad, Mom , Gene and I went out into the big pasture and Dad dug up about 75 small cedar trees. Gene and I held open grain bags that Mom placed the trees inside. We took them back to Carroll and planted them along the picket fence on our side . It made a great hedge by the time we move away. I did the same type of thing for our home in Muncie, Indiana. Grandpa did not miss the trees at all.
The only other bit of landscaping I recall was the planting of a Blue Spruce outside my window on the north corner of the house. For several years Robins built a nest just a my window level and I could watch the eggs hatch and see them feed the young. Beyond the tree was a light post and steps that descended to the drive. The face of each step had a row of bricks placed vortically along the front edge.
Keep Creating
Carol

25 Million Stitches Project, Birds, Childhood Memories, Collage, Drawing, Sandpipers, Summer Robins, Thread Painting

On the Go

1 Comment

Hello,

I am home from my travels to Florida to help with Susan’s recovery. In the fifteen days of my stay I saw a lot of growth on her part.

 

She progressed for a support forher broken wrist on her walker to using a cane some of the time. She mastered use of the stairs with the walker on her own. She went form house bound to an outing where she went nine blocks. I am quite proud of her.    This is a shot of her with the stamps she made and printed one afternoon.

 

 

Laura came many times and we worked in a parallel fashion.  She is and excellent water color painter in my mind and this is her painting of me one day.

 

 

I started the Childhood Memories project because of Susan’s suggestion so I  brought them along so she could see them.   I had never laid then all  out before and was a bit surprised  by the size.

 

I enjoyed the green and all the flowers as well as the bird song during my visit.    We worked every day on art of some sort. Chris came   one day to visit and we did collage.

 

 

 

 

I did a lot of collage work at Susan’s.    Here are about half of them.

 

 

 

 

 

On the Friday before I left I went to a play day at Barbara’s. Beth had all the fixings for making knows and we had a good time creating the little guys.

 

Here are the finished little guys.   Left to right – mine  Barbara’s , Beth’s,  Georgia’s.      It was a fun day.

 

 

 

 

Georgia also shared her paintings. I like what she is doing.

 

 

 

 

Tue was the first one of Feb so there was a QuEGs meeting. Sue Ellen was busy and made this great pillow case that will be for sale in Cazenovia at the Artisans.

 

 

Susan is working on these four 12″ pieces for QSDS this summer. The challenge was/is 1 2 3 4.

 

 

 

Progress Report: Sandpipers  I got this work nearly completed before I went away. The birds are all stitched down and I only need to stretch it.

 

 

Summer Robins I finished the machine drawing and washed out these too. I am not happy with the placement yet and may even need to create an additional bird to be happy with it. I am still shifting and testing.

Drawings
I did draw every day and have a lot on new work. There were two specific evenings where that was the soul purpose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did lots of little collages too,

25 Million Stitches I am glad to have finished this work while I was visiting. I will press it and add the label and then it will be ready for shipping.

New work I did purchase some beautiful linen while I was away and started this bit of hand work as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories- First and Second Grades
The early school years for me meant that we made a special trip to the local drug store to bye workbooks along with new pencils, tablets  and crayons. I stared first grade with a bad case of Poison Ivy. There were lots of weeping soars on my skin and the teacher sure made me aware if how repulsive she found that. I did wear a lotion, but by late morning before I went home for lunch it was really bad. My parents did take me off to Iowa City to see a specialist and that really helped and cleared up the problem.   From that experience, I learned it is really hard to get beyond first impressions. My only other memory of first grade was the difficulty I had with word regition and spelling. I did the work in the spelling book and Mom spent time quizzing me. She even made red construction paper flash cards. I especially remember straggling with “ What – Where -Were- When and Why”. The reading technique in that school at  that  time that was used was one of shape recognition- not individual letters or sounding out  the words.  I am sure that did not help me at all. The teacher was so frustrated with me that I got spanked in front of the class for each word I misspelled on the spelling tests. I was so shamed by the whole thing I did not tell Mom until years later and she was appalled. Mom worked with me on addition and subtraction too. She made up games with playing cards were I had to add every two cards that were turned over.  The game  was modified for subtraction, having to always subtract the smaller number from the larger one. Later the game changed to one of color to determine the process. If I drew red first it was addition and if I drew black first it was subtraction. I really got the logic of mathematics and did well in that subject all through school.
Despite my trouble with spelling I was advanced to the second grade. That class room was up stairs on the left. We learned cursive that year and I was so very proud of myself even though I did not think it was fair that Joe Fox got the same red star for his name that I did for mine – Carol Mc Elhinney. An early lesson on the” fairness factor” in  life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Toys
I have good memories of the toys that we got as we grew up and where we lived when we got them. Gene and I got a little red folding table and  a two chairs set while we lived in the Junction. We had a few meals on it and played many a game at that table. Grandfather Howard made a wooden cupboard with a pullout drawer that was painted blue for Christmas while we lived there. It was so very sturdy that it survived through my child hood and Wendy’s. It was here in the house when Alexis was little but I do not think she played with it. I recall two different “Play School” products. One was a red plastic clock with white hands that one could adjust. The numbers were pale blue and could be removed to show minutes underneath. I got that concept quickly as a result I think. The second Play School toy was a balance scale with hooks on both ends. There were lots of blue plastic numbers with loops on the tops of them that were all of increasing size and weigh. The goal was to teach values and have the arm of the scale be strait. We also had various games like Kootie and card games. My first memorable baby doll was a Betsy Wetsy. She came with a beautiful white dress, eyes that opened and closed and wonderful short, soft, curly brown hair. She took a bottle that was filled with water and then wet her diaper. I remember wanting her – perhaps due to TV adds- but quickly tired of the novelty. The doll bed soon gave way to a home for my Tony Doll that I loved. She had a stiff body and limbs with eyes that opened and closed and hair one could comb. She could even stand alone if one balanced her correctly.   Mom made lots of changes of cloth for her and I still have that doll. Mom made soft dolls too. Gene had a sock little boy with green stripe pajamas that was called Mousy. I had an Aunt Jemina made with a pair of Dad’s brown socks and she had a red poke-a-dot dress and scarf along with a white apron. Both of them survived to recent times and although gave Jemina to a friend who collects dolls, I still have Mousy.

Keep Creating

Carol

Birds, Childhood Memories, Collections, Creative Assistants, Drawing, Scrap Happy Quilts, Thread Painting

Thread Painting

Hello,
This has been a busy week. I went to Judy Hand’s opening on Sunday. She is an amazing painter. Tue was the Diva meeting. There were only three of us so it was a bit disappointing. Regina gave me this wonderful little stitch piece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

She and I also made our UFO exchange. I think I got the good end of this as two of the three are only fabric .      The ones I passed to her are farther along.

The FAB group meant today and it was good too. Always lively discussions.

 

Thread Painting.   I have been doing this and I thought I should explain   my process.   After I have selected  subject, I sketch it   in  my sketchbook.  That way I can trace it on the wash away.   I then make a sandwich that is one layer of wash away, a layer of  nylon netting as I tend to tear the wash away if I do not reinforce it.    In this case with the Kill Deer I have added a bit of brown roving too.   Then a second layer of wash away with the traced images on it.  This all goes into a hoop where I then do the thread work.    I outline the   one colored area I want to fill in first.  Then I fill in small sections until I am happy with the solid feel of the area.

 

  I change color when I need to and often times run  two different colors of thread through the same needle to get a richer color.   I continue until the total figure is filled in.  I tear away as much of the wash away as I can before I  pin it to foam where it is flat and I use hot water to remove the rest of the  wash away. ( Check out the Robins)   I let the project dry over night and then trim away the nylon netting that remains .( The Cardinals are trimmed and pinned to a background)   I hope this makes it clear enough for folks to follow.

Progress Report: Snow Dye

Here is the result of the was out that I showed last week. It is unique I think

 

 

 

 

Cardinals The Thread painting is going well. Now I need to build a limb for them to rest on.

 

 

 

 

 

Robins I finished this family yesterday and did the washout. I need to unpin them and trim away the  nylon netting next.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaves I tried the machine drawing on roving with these leaves too. They worked well and are just pinned down here.   I’ll adds some birds and until I get that done I do not want to make the final decision about the leaf locations.

 

 

Collections- Memoirs of the Women  The women on this piece are  Grandma Butterworth, and Mom.   The pictures are from when both were about 20.   The bits and pieces are all from their lives. I only have a few more things to attach and this will be complete.

Creative Assistants I added the arms, hair and backs to these assistants this week. Then I turned and stuffed them. They were sewn shut and the pin backs added. Yesterday I added the squeezie paint embellishments.

 

 

Scrap Happy     I finished this work this week too.   It has been waiting for the return of the  sewing machine.    I  have been work with  one that only does strait stitches and zig- zag  so I could not apply the binding with the button whole stitch that I like to use.

 

 

 

 

Drawing –   

I was trying to work with reflection this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories- Junction Bed Room

My bed room in Columbus Junction was also the den. It was just to the left inside the front door. Along that south wall was a window and below it was a small book shelf that Dad built. Grandma Ruth had seven grand children by then and she gave us all magazine subscriptions for Christmas. Gene and I had subscriptions to Humpty Dumpty and Child Digest. They were stored in the book shelf and Mom or Dad would often pull one out to read to us at night. That was where I was first introduced to “Mike Mulligan the Steam Shovel and wonderful Dr Suess stories like “ It happened on Mulberry Street” and “ Mac Elliot’s Pool. “ On top of the book shelf was a lamp that Grandpa Howard made from wool that was cut and milled from the timber near the cabin he owned. The lamp was made of five blocks of walnut there were 4″X 4″ X 2″ stacked on alternating with 1 “ thick circles of a lighter wood. There were several other lamps like this in the house too. Next to the book shelf was a single bed. Mom made a cover that was gray on top with a long slightly gathered ruffle of 1″ strips of cream and black that hung to the floor. Along the back were two bolsters in red that Mom made and stuffed with rolled woolen blankets. There were two pictures above the bed but I don’t remember what were the subjects. I was sick with chicken pox in that bed. On the north wall was a door to the hall and the piano. Many times my Paper dolls were dressed up and lined up on top of the closed key board for a parade on that piano. On the east wall was a closet. I had a little dressing table with a bench and mirror in the closet. Sometimes I hid in the closet with the door slightly ajar and studied the shadows cast on my face in the mirror. Next to the closet was that chest of drawers that Dad and Grandpa built, and on top of that was a record player I had gotten for Christmas. It played 33.3s, 45s and 78s. I had a set of children’s records in red and yellow plastic that played such tunes as Poor Little Robin, Take Me Out to the Ball Park, The Rolly Poly Man in the Moon and Oh Susanna. I played them until I knew them by heart and can still sing them all.

I will be away for two weeks to help my friend. I know we will make art, but I will not be posting until I return so the next Bolg will be Feb 6.

Keep Creating

Carol