Category Archives: FAD (Fiber Art Dames)

Childhood Memories, College Life, Creative Strength Training, Dancing, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Fiber Artist Stitch Club, Pixies Group

Summer is Here

Hello,

  Summer solstice was Tue and now we are officially into the  summer season.   That also seems to mean more and more out side activates.    I found I did not have much time in the studio this week and next week looks the same.  The yard gets more attention for one thing and I love it.  I have lots of flowers blooming and the world is full  of greens.    I have also been to lots of picknicks lately.  We had a big Birthday party on Sat and we will have a second family event in two weeks to celebrate the July birthdays.

I did attend a FAD meeting this week and got some help with a few works that I had questions about as well as enjoying the socialization.   The Pixies had a video meeting on Wed and we had a good time sharing our works.  The project for the Textile Artist Stich club is coming along.   I am starting to really fill in the spaces now.

I also put in some time on the second hand piece.   I tried to create a totally different feel for the hand surround.

 

 

My other activity this week was to start summer dyeing with Liz.   We spent one day checking and cleaning out old dyes  and one day dyeing.   I am in the wash out step now.

Progress Report:  Dancing This work is  31.5″ w X 39.5″ h.    I started this work at my friend Sharron’s a few weeks ago.   All the figures are hand drawn from photos of ballet dancers.

 

 

This close up is of the big figures hands on the  right side of the quilt.

I enjoyed the process, but at this time I do not  have any ideas of new directions to follow.

Against the Wind   I am now in the process of building a  free piecing background for the birds of this project.   It takes a lot of looking and thinking to do  this, almost more then doing the birds.

New Work   I got a new book last week  that  is  authored  by  an  artist  I have  long  admired.   Irene Roderick has had many works in Quilts =Art=Quilts so I have had the opportunity to study her work, but the book sure makes it easier to follow her thinking.    I  now  in the process of doing some of  the exercises she suggests.    They are techniques I am familiar with, but my goal is different this time. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

College Memories Spring 1969

March was the beginning of spring term and Eric and I decided to get married at the end of the quarter. So it was a whirl wind of activity for both of us. He would be graduating at the end of summer school, and I would take classes and then only have my student teaching to complete my degree. My most rigorous class that term was Comparative Religions. I did not know a thing about Hinduism, Buddhism or Islam, so I learned a lot. The class I enjoyed the most was Sound and Light, a class designed especially for Art and Music majors. There were lots of experiments and the teacher explained things well. I got an A in that one. My three art classes were Sculpture II and two night classes. Tuesday was Nude Drawing. We started out each evening with short two- and three-minute drawings. The posing time expanded gradually ending with and hour and a half at the end of the evening. I filled several big news print pads and they are still in my portfolio. My other night class was Ceramics III, on Thursday. That class was lots of exploring of mixing glazes, so I did lots of throwing that term to have work to experiment on. It was fun. With Eric around it was back to lots of movies. I remember seeing Flower Drum Song and really liking it as I had listened to Mom’s record for years. Among the other movies we watched on campus were Chalk Garden , Gypsy, East of Eden and Friendly Persuasion. We went downtown to see the big his of that spring, Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet. Bill Cosby also entertained us that spring in Emens Auditorium. We had seats in the second row and enjoyed ourselves very much.

I spent a lot of time at home that term sewing. First I made my wedding dress. It was white full length silk with woven diamond pattern in organza on top. I then made two bride’s maid’s dresses, a blue and white stripe with little flowers woven into the blue. They were for Ellie and Margaret. Last I made a little white dress in the same weave pattern for Kelly, who was to be my flower girl. Eric’s youngest brother, Scott, was the ring barer and he wore a suit like Eric. Dean would be the best man accompanied by Gene. Larry spent the spring transcribing “What is a Youth” from the Romeo and Juliet record album, as there was no sheet music available yet. Later, Larry would it at the ceremony while a fellow music major accompanied him on the piano. There were so many preparations and details to attend to I felt like I was always moving. We tried to keep the costs down and I do remember thinking that $70.00 for flowers see like a huge sum. I did have a wedding portrait taken and it appeared in the paper. We wanted to have the wedding ceremony in the Unitarian-Universalist Church–it had such a glorious setting with a glass wall that looked out into a green wood behind the front of the sanctuary. Eric and I had to attend several marriage counseling sessions with Dr. Kelly, too. It must have taken, as we celebrated anniversary number 53 on June 7 this year (2022). Finals arrived and were taken, the last being June 4–three days before the wedding. All the family was there, of course. Dad had set up for all of my extended family to stay at one of the conference centers that Ball State owned near by. Eric’s father opted for the local Holiday Inn for his half of the family. Eric and I had decided to rent the upstairs apartment from Mom and Pappa Mayor for the summer and I moved in after the final exam. We had our rehearsal and it went well. Afterward, Bob, Eric’s dad took us all to dinner.

Keep Creating ,

Carol

100 day Challenge, College Life, Creative Strength Training, Daily Practice, Diva Meetings, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Felt Work, Fiber Artist Stitch Club, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Quilt Exploration Group (QuEGs)

Every Day Longer and Brighter

Hello,

The days grow and grow like all the plants that are opening and extending their limbs.   The tilt of the earth and the warmth of the sun really makes our lives worth while!     Every day I see changes in the landscape and I enjoy every walk in the world.

I drove off to Bever Lake on Sat and went to the Fibers Festival with Sharon.      We both had a good time and purchased roving.     I am now jazzed to begin a new work on the piece I want to do about the fires in New Mexico and Arizona.    We took the Swamp path after the show and saw lots of turtles sunning as well as lots of new buds.

It is the start of a new month so I had lots of meetings.    The QuEGs had a zoom meeting on Tue morning with only three of us.  I did enjoy it none the less.

Then I joined Noel and we went off to Ithaca with Terri and Cheri to the DIVA meeting.    Terri and I got a little silly before things started.   Our show was a big success and now we are planning for the fall show in Trumansburg.

Barb is trying a new approach were she is building a quilt based on one of her paintings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noel did another of her roving stitching projects that she dased on one of  her drawings

 

 

 

 

 

I did work on my Creative Strength Training stuff and also did the Textile  Artist Stitch Club work for this week.  It was stitching on paper with geometric shapes.   I used some of my Gelli plate print papers form the week before for a base for that project.

 

 

The FAD group meant Wed.  Sharon showed off her son’s   illustrations in a new book that just got published.

 

 

 

 

Thursday I spent the morning doing Gelli  plate work with Barbara again.    I was working to create stormy sky fabric for a new piece.

Progress Report: Lap # 11 I am half way through machine quilting this project now.   I am sure it will be finished by next week.

 

 

 

 

Athletes  This work is  75″ w X 31″ t.   I am happy with it, but as you can see my space is not big enough for me to hang it flat.    It has quite a different feel from Action, its partner piece.  The close up work allow you to see the blue figures I outlined from the back .


 

 

 

 

This shot of Action was done at the Schweinfurth were I could pin it out flat.

Blue on Blue    This is my handwork project that I am doing as a part of my Creative Strength Training  program .  It is what I work on during the mini Slow Stitch meetings.

 

 

 

 

Daily Practice  I work on these pieces of wipe up fabric that I have added  fused cut away fabrics to.   I have only three more pieces of fabric that I want to treat in this fashion before I start to assemble them into a quilt.

 

 

 

Sea Floor     This is a stitchery that began on a felted base.  I have been working off and on with this piece for a while.  It only came to completion with the fish that are cut from leather that Noel gave to me.

College Life- Camp week one

Reveille got us up at 6:30 and the next day began. At breakfast on Monday we passed out the campers’ class assignments. And we got ours, too. I had two sessions of Nature Crafts and then I helped with Archery for the third session in the morning. In Nature Crafts we printed leaves, painted and collected spider webs, wove cattail matts, painted rocks, along with other activities. It was fun and I think the kids enjoyed it, too. Throughout summer, I had two sessions where I taught three classes of Nature Crafts. And over the course of the summer I got to fill in with swimming, boating on the water front, and horsemanship.

At lunch, there were always announcements and singing. We sang to any child or adult who had a birthday and they had to walk around the table while we sang. Larry taught lots of fun songs like “The Grand Old Duke of York,” and “Little Rabbit Foo Foo.” It was always a good ruckus time. The afternoons the were less structured. The pool was open and a favorite of many kids. I often had that duty and for the first and only time in my life I was tan by the end of the summer. I also attribute the high number of times I was in the chorine for keeping me from getting any poison ivy that summer. Campers could also check out equipment from the sports center. When Inis had Play Ground Duty, as we called, it she always organized a volleyball game. The water front was open and kids could check out canoes and row boats to go up river for the afternoon. The trail ride was also very popular event–but hot!.

After dinner there was an event every evening. Mondays we had a movie in the big room in the main lounge. Tuesday was Olympics Night and all the campers participated events like relay races, potato sack races, three-legged races, tugs of war, and jump rope contest. Wednesday was dance night. There was a special event every Thursday. And, at the end of each day, Taps was played over the loudspeaker.

The first special event was a carnival with lots of games. Gene and Larry organized a wild game with the three ping pong tables where each player hit the ball, put the paddle down, and moved out of the way so the next person in line could pick it up and hit the ball when it came over the net. Then the players shifted to the other end of the table to wait their turn to do it again. If you missed the ball, you were out. It was wild with lots of action and laughter. It was a game that we counselors even played off and on for the rest of the summer. For the Carnival I recall a “candle bowling” game were one had to blow out ten candles from a distance. Chrissy and I ran a game with bean bags and a wooden bucket. Bubble gum was the prize.

Friday after dinner we returned to the open air chapel for closing ceremonies. Saturday morning after breakfast the campers packed up to board the busses that arrived around 10:00. The rest of the summer was alternating camp for one or two weeks each. I will talk of the special events in the next entry.

Keep Creating

Carol

100 day Challenge, College Life, Creative Assistants, Daily Practice, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Fiber Artist Stitch Club, Finger Lakes Fiber Artist Group, Lap Quilts

Spring is coming

Hello,

The longer warmer days  seem to give me lots of energy.  But I also seem to have my fingers in so many pots that it is a good thing I feel energized.

For me this week has been full of meetings and play.   I finished my work on the Fiber Artists Stitch Club project and got it installed in the box as suggested.

The Finger Lakes Fiber Artists meant on Saturday and it was a lively meeting.    Mary stated us off with this bed sized quilt that she is entering in the Genesee Valley quilt show   next Month.

She was followed by Joan’s newest piece.   She is doing direct dye painting for her faces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Susan has been doing lots of workshops and enjoying the play opportunities  they provide.    Almost everyone had work to share and I got so involved in the discussions that I did not take any more pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

The Associated Artists had and opening on Sunday I and work as did Liz.

 

 

 

 

 

This is Liz’z sunflower in tribute to Ukraine.

 

 

FAB meant on Wed and we had a good time talking about what was happening in our lives.

 

For Creative Strength Training I did some play with my hand made brushes and went to the meetings this week.    This shot shows what I did with the nylon netting brush.

I also spent a day doing more Gelli Printing with Barbara. 

 

I will cut most of these up and make post cards out of them.

 

 

In addition I completed my Surface Design Association Auction piece this week.  I am now searching for a box or envelope to ship it in.

 

 

 

I also got a box full of my Grandmother and aunt ‘s old linens and such form my cousin.  So kind of him to send them my way.  I will have to push forward on a new project to display them.    My Grandmother’s Wedding  Dress was in a show and it was just returned, so I passed it forward to my Aunt who wore it at my cousin’s wedding.   I also shipped off two more quilts to the Ukrainian Relief Fund auction.   I am trying to get control of my big stash of finished work.

Progress Report: Lap  # 10   This work is all assembled at this point and I am ready to begin the quilting step.

 

 

 

 

100 days # 2    I am now to the free motion quilting step on this work.   I have decided to use black in the bobbin now so I will have some work to take out.

 

Blue Wandering   This is my new hand work piece.  I am trying to play with texture in a limited color pallet at this point.

 

Creative assistants    I am doing the faces on a new batch of Creative Assistants as I gave away some at the Spring retreat two weeks ago.   I had forgotten how much fun making them can be for me.

Daily Practice   I started a new bit of fabric for the daily stitching.   I only have three more pieces of fabric prepared and so when they are done I think I will assemble what I have done so far.

 

 

 

College Memories- Spring 1968

The term was a good one with lots of work for me. I had four art classes and a class in Public Speaking. I got a B in the Public Speaking. My work in Art History and Lettering only received C’s, but Drawing and Photography both got A’s. I loved the Photography and spent hours in the dark room. Mom framed four of my prints, and they hung in the house for years. I still have many of my prints, too.

I changed my job within the art department to take attendance in Dr. Pum’s Art Appreciation class. It was held in the Art Building lecture hall and there were about 250 students. I often had to do the attendance in the dark while he lectured and showed slides. I helped with his grading too when the tests were multiple choice. I had done the same for Mom when she was teaching high school. Dr Pum was a jeweler, and he taught jewelry, but I never had him as a teacher.

Eric and I continued to see lots of plays and films. We started the quarter off with Hello Dolly as a part of the Famous Artist Series and we also attended the American Folk Ballet presentation. The drama department did several plays, but I only remember Odysseus the King. The movies that quarter were wonderful. We saw Love with a Proper Stranger, Cincinnati Kid, The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, Shane, Great Expectations, The Birds, and Shenandoah. We even went down town to see Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner that spring. Eric’s love of the movies even carried on into his college teaching at Cazenovia, years later.

I did participate in the Art Show and Sale for Kallista, as I had done the year before. I was never a good sales person, and I did not sell any thing. Eric Sevareid,, CBS journalist, gave a lecture early in the term, and there were lots of political events in preparation for the Presidential election in the fall. Paul Newman came to campus, as did Mc Carthy himself. Robert Kennedy came April 4 in the afternoon. Eric caught a glimpse of him, since he was setting up audio equipment in the gym for Kennedy’s speech. Martin Luther King was shot in Memphis that evening, and because Robert Kennedy was in Indianapolis and spoke to the growing crowd, Indy was one of the few big cities where there were no angry riots.

Early in the term Larry suggested that I join him as a camp counselor in the summer. He had such good stories, and I had meat Ellie, who also worked there, so I applied. I had the job interview in early April and I was soon awarded the job of Counselor and Director of Nature Crafts for the summer. I think Eric was a bit jealous, as his summer job was back at the foundry. Being a counselor at YMCA Camp Tecumseh is my next big adventure.

100 day Challenge, Childhood Memories, College Life, Creative Strength Training, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Fiber Artist Stitch Club, Lap Quilts

Longer Day Light Days

Hello,

With the longer daylight days I seem to feel I need to do more stuff out side the studio.    This   week was the start of my Creative Strength Training with Jane Dunawald  and I have lots of reading to do.   So much to learn out there.   I am enjoying the challenge though.    The FAD group meant this week and that was enjoyable too.    This is one of Sharon’s works.

I talked with the Pixies and the Textile Art Stitch Club project is moving along.  I am not real good at all those tiny stitches and only seem to be able to work for about 30 min before I get big stitches and have to stop.

The big excitement was a trip yesterday to the Schweinfurth Art Center to see the Both Ends of the Rainbow Show.  I had two works in the show , and  Liz kindly took this close up of me in front of Granit and Silver .

 

 

 I also showed  Bonzi Tree .

 

 

Liz had two collages in the show.  It was great fun with lots of my friends represented.

 

As were many children.  I am going  on Monday to help take down the show.

 

 

 

I did the center pieces for the Social Art Club meeting this week as well.  I honor of the Ukrainian  people I made big Sun Flowers in blue vases.

 

Progress Report:  Action  I just keep working away on this project.  I have reached the outer boarder on two sides now and I feel great about it.

 

Lap # 9     I early winter Sue Ellen gave me a box of scraps and blocks.  I found these star blocks this week when I was sorting through the box and so I added some stuff of my own and put it all together this week.  The top is all done now to build the sandwich.

 

 

Cowl   I just keep knitting away on the yarn from Joyce and the cowls keep  being completed.

 

 

 

 

 

College Life- Summer weekends

I got to see Eric on several weekends during the summer. The first was a surprise. I got a call on a Saturday late in June and it was Eric at the Student Center asking me if he could see me. I was delighted and thrilled that he had driven down so we got together right away. He was showing off his new car, a pea green Lark station wagon. It was a fun little car with out much power. We called it Lighting as a joke. My parents were great about Eric’s surprise too, as they liked him. Dad took us all to the Ponderosa for dinner. After dinner Eric and I went off and played Putt Putt. Despite the fact that I made a hole in one I still lost the game. Later that night we got in trouble with a policeman for “parking” in the park. It was a fun weekend with that one exception.

Our next get together was much more planned. I got on the bus and went to South Bend on Friday of the last weekend in June. Eric’s family picked me up at the bus station and drove me to their home. Eric was working in the foundry for Cummings Engine that summer. His job was to knock off the excess “slag” from the engine blocks as they came down the line. It was a hot, dirty business, and I remember being surprised by his big steel-toed boots. When he got home he quickly went off and showered. Then the whole family got together to share Eric’s father’s birthday cake. Scott, the youngest boy, was so tired he could barely stay awake. As soon as he was done with the cake he went off to bed. Everyone else disappeared quickly too. Eric and I sat on the couch, listening to the stereo and talking late into the night.

Saturday morning, all the kids helped Mark assemble his news paper “The Voice of the Kids.” All the boys in the family are good with words and very conscious of literature. Their house seemed to be the center of neighborhood activity, too. Before I knew it there were lots of children playing in the yard. Somehow Eric mentioned that I knew judo, and they begged him to let me flip him. Now, Eric had gymnastics the quarter before, so I really did not flip him as much as helped him to give that illusion. We did it several time and had fun with it. We went to an early dinner at a fancy restrant called the “Wooden Keg.” I wore the new yellow dress I had made for the occasion, and Eric and his father both had coats and ties. Entering the dining room, we crossed a little bridge over a pool that was full of big coy fish. I remember I ate crab, and everyone else had steak. When Eric’s mom, Gwen, and I went to the bath room at the end of the meal she told me she had been worried about Eric in high school as he did not seem to be interested in girls. “But,” she said “ when he finally got around to it he picked a good one.” After dinner Eric and I went to the Play House to see The Music Man. I was excited for two reasons. First, I had never seen a live presentation, although I had listened to Mom’s record enough times that I could sing all the songs, and, second, it was in the round. I had not realized how little dialogue there was in the play. The songs really carry the story line. We had seats in the front row and at the applause at the end Professor Hill was directly in front of me. I said “Excellent !” loud enough for him to hear, and he looked directly at me and smiled even more. It felt so good as one rarely gets to let a performer know what one thinks in person.

Sunday was a beautiful day and Eric and I went to the movies. We saw the James Bond movie You Only Live Twice. He informed me that Dr No was better. Even in those days he was analyzing and evaluating movies. That night, Eric’s Father, Bob, cooked steaks on his new grill. When I was helping Gwen do the dishes afterward she told me she had taken a poll and all the boys agreed I was a “ keeper.” I was supposed to go home that night, but the family convinced me to stay through the 4th of July. So I called my folks and I did. Eric had to go to work on Monday, so I just hung around and helped Gwen and fooled around with the neighborhood kids. We played several games. I remember one that I am sure they invented called “ My Father Shot the Bears”–but I only remember the name and nothing else, except it involved lots of running. Tue was the 4th and Eric’s family had a big picnic. Eric and I ate and then left for Muncie. When we got to my house no one was home. So I started to fix a light supper and then Gene came home. We decided to go to the Reservoir to watch the fire works. I liked how they reflected off the water from our vantage point. The next morning Eric left for South Bend and I went back to summer school classes.

100 day Challenge, Aplique, Childhood Memories, College Life, Daily Practice, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Fiber Artist Stitch Club, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Sisterhood of the Scissors

February Fun

Hello,

I enjoyed Valentines day and my husband gave me this beautiful bunch of flowers.     I hope yours had some color too.

This week has been a week with lots of events.  On Friday I went to The SUNY Campus at Oswego with Sharon and Liz and we went to two art shows.  One was student work  and this sculpture was on that I found very intriguing.

 

 

 

 

I had  Three  Zoom Meeting s this week  Saturday was with the Finger Lakes Fiber Artists Group. Wednesday was the Pixie Meeting and then Thursday was the Sisterhood of the Scissors meeting.  It is good to see and talk my fellow creators.    There was one meeting in person and the was the FAD group.   Sharon shared a new work she is exploring.

 

After the meeting Sharon and I went up the hill to Onondaga Community College to look at the Scholastic Art winners.  She and I had both  been judges for this competition in early January.  It was very stimulating as the Jr High and High School students work was wonderful.

 

 

 

 

Progress Report:  Child Dancing   This work is now done and it is W3543 X 294.       It is my tribute to Paul Klee.

 

 

 

 

Lap Quilt # 6    I am now ready to layer and quilt this piece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lap Quilt #7   I have pulled the fabrics for the next lap quilt too.

 

 

 

Cowl # 23   I just keep playing with the yarn from Joyce and making these fun pieces.  I will pass them out at the retreat in the fall.

 

 

 

 

 

 Handwork  I am finished with this work now and it is stretched.   This is my work for the Textile Artists Stitch Club work were one made  sequins  by ironing the lining of a cereal box with objects trapped between the layers.  I need to complete the addition of the black fabric to the back  now.

Daily Practice   I got back to doing my daily practice this week.   This is my 12th piece of stitched fabric.

 

 

Action   I am adding the contrasting hand work to this project   every evening during the news.

 

 

I got a little confused and there are two illustrations for  this memory.

 Memories: College Life-Ending of Spring Quarter 1967

Things were going well with Eric during spring term too. We went canoeing several times and although it was a new sport for Eric he was quickly sitting in the back and controlling our movements. We both enjoyed the theater and went to several Drama Department events. We saw Playboy of the Western World, The Odd Couple and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf. We also went to The Mexican Folklore Ballet at Emens Auditorium where we came across Steve Coomer again for the first time. He just stop dead, looked us over, turned in the opposite direction, and walked away. We just exchanged smiles. Our next big event was a trip to South Bend one Sunday for lunch with his family. Larry and Fred Zamparelli, from Long Island, and one of their other house mates went along with us. I got to meet two of Eric’s three brothers, Mark and Scott, and his folks. I was nervous but it is was a very pleasant time. Eric’s dad cooked the meal and it was very good. So the fact that Eric now cooks most of our meals should be no surprise. Eric told me on the way home his Dad really liked me. “Why” I asked ? “ Dad wanted a girl when I was born and I am the oldest,” he said.

Eric helped me though my struggles with my term paper that quarter too. In the end he even typed the paper for me. He quickly learned I could not spell at all. His typing of the paper was one of the best presents I got on my nineteenth birthday. The paper was due that day. Eric took me to dinner for my Birthday, too, and then to the a movie. We made an excursion to Indianapolis one Saturday so I could meet Eric’s Grandmother Butterworth. She was a thin, beautiful, white-haired lady with lots of energy and style. I really liked her and we hit it off. She was an bookkeeper for United Van Lines and very independent.

Being nineteen is still a very emotional time and in early May I learned of the death of my friend John in Viet Nam. He was the only person I knew who had gone from high school into the Army. He was the second son and knew his older brother would inherit the farm, so he knew that serving in the armed services, was really his only option. I know he was planning on going to school when service was over. I wrote three very long emotional pages in my journal about him and his death. Even now thinking about it makes me a bit sad.

As the quarter ended, I was worried about how summer would affect my relationship with Eric. I was sad when he had to go home at the end of finals. There was a bit of good news to look forward to, however, as Grandmother Butterworth had invited both Eric and me to go to the Indianapolis 500 with her. In 1967 Memorial Day was still celebrated on May 30 and that fell on a Tuesday that year. Before I caught and I rode the bus to Indianapolis on Monday, my grades came in the mail. I got four Bs. One in Introduction to Teaching, one in Ceramics, one in Swimming, and one in Literature and Composition. I know I would not have done so well in the English class with our Eric’s help. I also got an A in Design class and I was thrilled.

Stay Safe and Keep Creating

Carol

Childhood Memories, Curvie Cuts, Enamel Beetles, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Lap Quilts, Pixies Group, Sisterhood of the Scissors

Working Away

Hello,
Fall is making its selp felt in central New York with cooler nights and sunny days. I noticed these little mushrooms on my walk this week.
It has been a very busy week for me.

Saturday I went off to the Manilas Library and helped hang the Associated Artist fall show. I put in my Granite and Silver piece.

 

 

 

Liz and I did another progressive dye. I have lots of naturals this time.

 

 

 

I had three meetings this week. FAB meant at Judy’s and I knitted the whole time. The Pixies’s and Sisterhood of the Scissors meant virtually. It is always stimulating and I come away with lots of ideas.

 

 

Progress Report: Enamel Beetles
I worked on the Enamel Beetles by adding stitched grass, stitching down the beetles and adding eyes. Each little step takes time.

Lap # 18 I just keep working on these guys. I need to assemble the parts now and do the quilt work.

 

 

 

 

Tattered Memories I put in about an hour every evening doing the beading on this piece.

 

 

 

Shoes I could not get Elizabeth’s shoes out of my mind so I painted my own this week.

 

 

Childhood Memories- Gene

My brother, Gene started his Freshman year at Storer Junior High School at the same time I started my high school career at Muncie Central. Gene played on the football team and he was very good. He took it very seriously. When  he in was in the eight grade he won the county Punt, Pass and Kick Contest.    For is his prise, he won a full  football  uniform with the Colts logo.   They also took Dad and Geen to a Colt’s football game.    I went with Dad to several games that first year and many when Gene  played at the high school. He played quarter back some times and also tight end. He almost always played the full game and he got good at kicking field goals too. By the end of his Senior year his knees were shot. He did toy with the idea of being a kicker  in college, but decided against it.   By the time he was a parent, he would not allow his son to play at all, but he is still a big fan.   Gene also got his paper route that year freshman year. He delivered the Muncie Morning Star so he had to get up between 4:30 and 5 in the morning to stuf, rap and fold papers for delivery. He delivered on is bike and was really good at hitting front doors with the papers. The morning paper was a seven day a week job and he did his collections on Saturdays. He seemed to have lots of money after that. Late one night he and one of his buddies borrowed car  and went for a joy ride. That incident might have gone unnoticed if they had not run out of gas. To solve that problem they stole some gas from a farmers machine tank. The farmers dog altered the farmer who called the sheriff. The boys got arrested as they tried to return the car. Dad had to go pick him up form the station. Mom got me up so we were in the living room when they got home. Dad made Gene tell the whole story. When ever Gene tried to justify his actions- Dad stopped him by saying-” that’s an excuse. ”     For Gene’s punishment, Dad made his give up his paper route and he was grounded for six weeks. I remember his “sleeping” a lot during that time. The relationship between the two them never really was the same either.
The Senor year was the first time I had to really think about my future. I knew I was going to college- it was just were. I took the PSAT’s in October. The SAT’s were given in the big study hall- room 200.   There were  about 100 kids,some from Burris and some from s South Side too. I came home exhausted. Margaret and I had a date to go canoeing that afternoon so we did. It was a short trip that time  as she was tired too. In March  I finally got serious about the were question. I thought about Greeley Colorado, and the University of Iowa, but decided they were too far away. Purdue and Ball State were both close enough and so I filled out applications. Dad had always been a night owl and was usually up when I got home in the evenings. I’d stop many times and talk with him. We talked about my evenings sometimes or perhaps people. He helped me dissect and understand the “Why” for folks actions and some of my own. In the spring, Margaret got a new Orange Mustang convertible for her 18 Birthday/Graduation present. It was very cool. She and I went in her new car to the open house at Purdue the next Sat. It was so much fun  and I had just about decided that I wanted to go to school there when Dad and I one of our late night talks. He started off by saying it was, “My Choice,” but he wanted to offer me a deal. He said he would pay me the money for Purdue’s room, board and tuition beyond Ball States cost to use as I wanted, if I stayed home and went to Ball State. I decided that was a good deal. I do remember Dad being a bit upset as Ball State’s price increased  that fall of 50% to $50.00 a quarter. I spent the money I saved by living at home to purchased IBM stock. That grew of course and in 1970 I sold it and used the money as a down payment on our first house.

Stay safe
Carol

 

100 day Challenge, Childhood Memories, Craow Calling, Daily Practice, Diva Meetings, Drawing, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Fallen, Hand work, Lap Quilts

Summer Travel

Hello-
I hope folks had a good Forth of July.  We sure had lots of fireworks in our area.   I enjoyed my trip to Ohio to see a lost cousin. She really showed us around her area and I enjoyed the covered bridges of her county. We saw the longest one in the country and it is also a double bridge as the long one  is on top of a gully with a smaller covered  foot bridge underneath it at tht bottom of the gully.

Liz ans I dyed on Monday. I will try to wash them out tomorrow. I also had two Zooms meetings- the QuEGs group and Pixies. In addition I had two live meetings. The Quilt Diva’s meant at Cheri’s house and we made lots of decisions about the up coming show in Sept.

The FAB group meant as well. Patti brought her little loom and she worked the whole meeting adding a few inches to her scarf. Sharon shared her new project with lots of little units that she will build to float on top of a quilt base.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Dark Side of the Moon 40″ w X 59″ l. This work in made mostly from kimono fabrics that Noel gave to me. It is a mixture of machine quilting and hand work.

 

 

 

 

 

The hand work is in the center of the metallic circles.

 

 

 

Calling Crows 36″ w X 52.5″ l. I drew all five of the bird panels. They are done with colored pencils and crayons. Again the silk is from Noel. I quilting flying crows in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fallen This work is an experiment. Sharon kindly talked me through the technique on the phone. I did not fully get it as she told me she would not have done what I did if it had been hers. But not knowing what to do never stopped me when it comes to quilting. It goes off to the washer now with the hope of lots of fraying so the cuts show up.

Smoldering  Sense California is again  experiencing wildfires, I am doing a new piece on this topic. It is the early aftermath that I am focusing on this time. This work is only about half pinned in place.

 

 

 

Butterfly-  lap quilt  I am still doing the thread painting of the Butterfly to be applied to the top when it is done.

 

 

100 Day Challenge I keep using the sports images from the news paper for my inspirations for this project. I did a few extra this week so I am showing work up to day 40 and we are only 38 days into the challenge. But I know that my week end will be a busy one and I do not like to play catch up.

 

 

Daily Practice I finished one more panel am I am ready to start a new one now.

 

 

Drawing I keep putting in time on this project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adolescence- Spring trip to Washington D C

The year I was a Jr in high school the family trip was to Washington D C. We started out early on a snowy morning and entered the Applications after a long day of driving. I was struck by how much iron was present in the mountains and how many pine trees there were. We had intended to stay in Shenandoah National Park, but found it was closed. So we drove farther east and camped on the side of the road. We got up to more snow that melted quickly as the day warmed up. Our first visit was to Mt Vernon. It was a big estate with rooms that I saw as smaller then I expected it was a very big complex  however.   No mention of a black presence in 1965. From there we went to Arlington National Cemetery were we visited the Thumb of the Unknown Solder. The guards looked smart in their matching pattern. Then we went of to check out the Eternal Flame at John Kennedy’s grave sight. The vast fields of white crosses sure brought home the costs of war to me. Everything is so close together that going to Lincoln Memorial was an easy next step. I was most impressed by the carving of Lincoln’s hands.  We then  went  along the reflecting pool up to the Washington Moment.   We climbed all 66 flights of stairs with 18 steps in each flight to get to the top. It only took Gene and I 16 min. to get to the bottom when we when down. Mom and Dad followed much more slowly. Our next stop was the Capital building. I found the Rotunda to be much bigger than I expected and both the House and Senate to be smaller. Mom remained to check out me that The Freedom Lady sculpture on the top as we walked away. We  started for the campground we got a little lost and went in circles around the building complex several times before heading home. Dad accidently ran a red light and there were four policemen on the corner. The did not stop us- Mom guessed that they saw the Indiana license plate and let it slide. We camped that night in a small camp ground called Prince Edward. I wonder if it is still there. Tuesday we got up and went back into Washington DC to do the Smithson. I enjoyed the special exhibit of “Animals in Art” a lot.   I did a drawing of  sculpture of a mother chimp cuddling her young one.    We saw lots of manufacturing equipment along with lots of old automobiles. In the Natural History Museum Mom and I spent two hours in the basement and only did about half. We did the ground level after lunch and saw a Blue Whale , the Hope Diamond,  Witch Dr Masks and a great collection of shrunken heads. By 4:30 we all had “museum feet” and pilled into the car and drove to the Air Port to watch plains take off and detox a bit. We rested  and then went to the National Archives building. The Constatation had a place of honor in the rotunda along with the other founding documents. We walked right up to them and could easily read them thought the glass. I was a surprised by how yellow the paper was and how faded the ink. One could purchase copies in a little kiosk near the door but we did not.   The day was full and we all slept well that night.

Stay safe

Carol

100 Day Challenge, Childhood Memories, Crow Calls, Curvie Cuts, Daily Practice, Drawing, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Lap Quilts, Pixies Group, Poppy Fields

Summer

Hello,
   Happy summer everyone.   This week has been a busy one. I went off to Ithaca with Liz and Cheri to pick up my Phaff from its cleaning. We did a little shopping and took a load of fabrics and notions to Sew Green too. It feels good to pass things one no longer needs or will never use to someone else who just might do something wonderful with them. Liz and I got caught in a heavy rain storm after we dropped off Cheri and had to double back due to a wire across the highway. Then on Wed.   Liz and I dyed for the first time this season. It feels good to be back doing that  again.    I did meet with the Pixies this week too.   Only three of us, but still a good meeting.

 

Progress Report: Crows Calling   This work is 36″ w X 53.5″ l.   All the rectangles that are not drawn on are old silk kimonos from my friend  Noel.       I enjoyed quilting crows in flight as a part of the background for this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

100 Days  SAQA Challenge    I am still doing this challenge and now on day 24.

 

 

Lap # 12- Butterfly     I have now started to build the thread painting  that I want to overlay on this quilt top.   It is slow work as this shot shows all the thread painting I did in two hours.  I  used a full bobin to do just this  much of the job.

Lap # 14  This top is all assembled now.   I will move on this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Green As this project progresses I realize that I need a better title as their is less and less green in the work  and no leavers are green.      I think I am nearly ready to stitch down all the cut leaves.

 

 

 

Poppy Field    I did get the french knot flowers add to the top section of the far field this week .   Not a lot of other work on this piece.   The orange flowers I made are too big to be a part of this one.

 

 


Dark side of the Moon    I have started to do reflective quilting  on this piece.  I still have some hand work to do inside some of the circular forms too.

 

Daily Practice     I have completed another of the daily practices pieces and started a new one last evening.     They are going well.

 

 

 

 

Drawing    I only completed two drawings  this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think I got a little out of alignment  and the nose it far too long.

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories- Jr Year Education

The Jorner  year   of high school was a one of challenge and change for me.   Ceicle and Mike had gone off to various collages. The gang added new kids from band and adolescence was a crazy mix of finding ones self and trying to figure out the opposite sex. I suffered with my academics a bit too. I had Mr Langdon for English and he was a very demanding teacher. I liked the massive amounts of reading we had to do as we did British and American   Literature. I recall reading Macbeth, Sartorius , Last of the Mohekens, Brave New World, The Scarlet Letter, The Good Earth and 1984.    The class discussions we informative and fun as well. We also did the poets e e cummings and Walt Whitman. For the poetry we had memorization and I can still recite “When Lilacs Last in the Door Yard Bloomed.” Dad also arranged for me to have a tutor for my spelling and she asked me to read The Bridge of San Lewis Ray. I did well with most of the other stuff and I still am glad for the exposure to the books. I ended my time with Mr Langdon with a C- the fist semester and a C the second.
Dad’s political connections allowed   me to be a Page at the Indiana state house for a day in Feb. I was excited and enjoyed the time.   The day was cold and the roads were icy and we arrived half an hour late to the CIrcle that the state house is on.  I remember running up the icy stairs and rushing into the building with no idea were I was to go.    Out of breath I asked the man in the front hall and he directed me.   In the page room after hanging my coat on a peg I took a deep breathe and started a wonderful day.  I got to put  bills out on the senators desks and run errands for them. The sessions seemed a bit disorganized to me as folks got up and talked to each other not paying any attention the speaker sometimes. I went to two committee meetings in the afternoon. One was on poverty and the second was on education. I almost missed being paged to do an errand at the education meeting as I was so engrossed in the topic.   It was a full day with lots of learning on my part.    Dad told me later that I really talked his ear off all the way home.
As to the social life it was full of teenage stress. Liking one person and not being liked in return and petty conflicts over boys. One boy, Bill Mohler, had a real crush on me and he was a sweet fellow. I went to a formal dance with him and he broth me a beautiful corsage. I even went on a date with him on a Sunday, went to church and spent the day with him and his family.   But there was not spark there.   Telling him I did not see him in the same romantic light  as she saw me was difficult.     Then after  my “friend “ Terry, stole Jim, a guy I was really attracted to,  away from me, before the romance even got started- I sort of swore off boys for a while. Bobby from last summer was still around and  I just could not figure him out either. So I work more along the line of ” friendships” with boys and nothing more for the rest of the year.

 

I will be away so there will not be a Blog next week.

Please stay safe

Carol

100 Day Challenge, Childhood Memories, Curvie Cuts, Daily Practice, Drawing, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Lap Quilts, Pixies Group

The Wild Around us

Hello,
It has been a busy week for me. The FAB group meant at Nancy Bailes home and had a good time. We got to see Nancy’s doll collection. She told us she always got one from a lady she admired when they went to Maine to visit. She also shared her beads work.

 

 

 

 

This is just one of the many bracelets that she has completed. There was a Pixie Zoom meeting too.

 

 

 

 

I also went to the Schweinfurth on Thur to see the Made in New York Show with Liz and Cheri. What a lot of wonderful inspiring work. This work is called Eclipse by my friend Julie G.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite piece from this show was Drawing II by Susan Byrnes. What a great use of automatic machine stitches. From across the room this looked like chalk on black paper.

 

 

 

We also went up stairs and enjoyed the Threads Across Time show of quilts by Sarah Bond. It was a good day.

 

 

 

 

 

But it was our walks that really provided me with the realization that Nature will find a way.    We often see deer in the wild area behind the SU student apartments.    One day we saw a hawk that was just setting on the ground with a lot of feathers all around him and that was followed by Monarchs visiting milkweed plants, and a baby rabbit that just avoided a mower.     All those creatures were in just one day.   Then last night we had racoons on our patio.     We live in the city and not the suburbs and if the creatures can make homes here they can live just about any were.

I seem to be in the middle of lots of work with out any completions at the moment.   Doing many projects at once is my way of allowing myself time to look at and think about what I want to accomplish with my work.  A way of slowing down of sorts.

Progress Report: Lap #14   I am still building quilts that I plan to pass forward.    There are lots of my hand dyed and painted fabrics in this one.

 

 

 

 

 

Lap # 12     I liked this base so much that I am going to turn it into a regular quilt by adding butterflies to the surface,  But I do not want to make them silid so I am going to try to find a way to use thread painting to do the job.  That is what the brown paper that I have pinned up is for.

 

 

Crow Callings    I have moved onto the quilting of the parts of this quilt.  This time I am doing wind lines and also including outlines of flying crows to add a little interest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Green    I worked on the leaves  I want to applique to  this quilt  this week.   I will also need to create some additional size and colors to this work.

 

 

Dark Side of the Moon      I am still doing the hand quilting on this project.  I did start to do the machine work around the few finished circles however.

100 Days Challenge    This work is getting better and better.  I did decide to turn some of my images on there sides to add a bit more interest.

 

 

Daily Practice

 

 

 

 

 

Drawings    These are my drawing for this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a double dose of Childhood this week to to the technical difficulties of last week.

Childhood Memories-Summer 1963 Family trip
> Mom and Dad arrived in Grandview with the car top carrier with the canoe on top. They did spend a few days visiting. One sunny afternoon Dad ,along with Marce, Russell, Doug and Gene took a canoe trip down the Iowa river. I remember them launching at the river’s edge in Columbus Junction and then Mom, Grandfather Howard, Kelly and I went off to the island at the edge of the farm to watch then float BY. It was a calm and quiet enjoyable time, but we never saw them pass , and decided that they must have chosen a different branch of the river to go south. We found them at the exit point and helped them unload. Everyone was excited and a bit sun burnt.
> My family then went south to Hannibal Missouri, to see Tom Sawyer’s house and visit other historic stuff. We did see the fence that supposedly was the one painted by Tom’s friends. It had just been white washed as a part of some special summer celebration so it looked real good. The house was much smaller then I expected and packed full of stuff like a museum. I remember there were lots of old spoons and such, as well as a death mask of Mr Clements in one of the glass topped cabinets. Mom had to explain to me about that as I had never seen one before. We also did the tour of the cave used as the basis of Tom and Becky’s adventure with Indian Joe from “Tom Sawyer “. I was not very impressed and only remember the narrow passageway with sandstone walls. Not any big room and no formations that I recall. From there we went to St Louis to visit Dad’s brothers family. Uncle Leonard was working for General Electric at that time. We did go to the Zoo in St Louis. I liked all the animals. I remember seeing a Elephant performing show there. I was a bit stressed by the man putting his head under the elephants foot, but Dad assured me no harm was done. We had a good picnic with Mike and baby Tom in Uncle Leonard and Aunt Alieen’s back yard. Their house was a new one and they had the cleanest basement I ever saw. Gene and Mike rode the trike around and around the basement floor.
> We continued south and went to a camp ground. We put the Mimahuni in a lake. We went swimming too. Another day we did a bit of river fun with our canoe.. One day we went for a cave tour at Crystal cave. It was privately owned and our family were the only folks on the tour. We all carried lanterns for light. It was much more interesting then Tom Sawyer’s cave with lots of different formations. The guide was a some what tired young college kid who was doing this as his summer job. He did lots of good explanations and even broke off a small stalagmite and gave it to me. I still have it. Mom was sure that was not something he should have done, but she didn’t say anything to him. We then headed home and got ready for the new school year.

 

Childhood Memories Jr Year High School.
After the start of school our family took a canoe with the Yoyhauses. We put the two  canoes in the Mississinewa River about 10 miles outside of town and worked our way down the river. At one point the river was so wide and shallow that we had to get out and walk the boats forward. While we were doing so, a farmer on the left bank shot his shot gun over out heads and said” Get off my land!” In Indiana the water is public but the land under it belongs to the owner. We hurried forward and all pilled back into the boats as fast as we could. Further down the river in the afternoon near the end of the trip we had to go over a falls. We pulled into the shore and portaged the camping gear down to the bottom. Phillis, Mom, and I watched from the shore as Dad alone in our boat went over the falls successfully. Then Gene and Frank tried. Frank was not as skillful as Dad and they tipped over at the bottom. Frank panicked and began thrashing around as he could not swim. Gene just reached out and grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him to the side of the boat and started pushing everything to the shore. When they got out, Frank could not thank Gene enough for saving his life. Gene was just embarrassed. After reloading the canoes we just went a bit farther down the river to a camp sight and had a good evening. The rest of the trip was uneventful. I went to the Mississinewa many times with various friends and put the canoe in for afternoon trips. We always went up stream first when we were fresh and floated back to the bridge to get out. It was a pleasant way to quiet time with friends.
It seemed like I got a lot more social in my Jr year of high school. The Band continued to keep me busy , but I did lots of other stuff too. I went to the movies a lot more and seemed to still have one foot in my youth as went to see the Disney animated version of “Sward in the Stone” one afternoon and then “ Lord of the Flies” that night. I recall going to see “Cleopatra” too with Elizabeth Taylor. I suer was impressed with all the gold and the big sets in that one. Gene and I went to see “20,000 Thousand Leagues under the Sea” as he was now 13. In Sept a new TV hit show was “Bewitched” and I never missed that TV show. There were lots of plays too. We had season ticketed to the Ball State Drama department and I remember seeing “Come Blow your Horn”. I think that being a Thespian made view live drama in a different way. Having worked on sets and costumes I was more aware of how importantly they were to the story. One evening, Margaret and I went to see “Oklahoma” at a county high school. We also went to see “A Mouse that Roared” that spring.
Gene had a great adventure on April fools day. He had played a trick on Dad by subatuting salt for sugar in the sugar bowl the night before. Then at Breakfast he watch Dad put sugar in his coffee and sprinkle it on his grapefruit. When Dad calmly ate the third bight of grapefruit, Gene burst out “ Dad- You don’t have any taste buds at all!” Dad replied” April Fools to you!” I discovered you trick when I had coffee last night and put thing to write.”
That year I also had my first crush. I think that Ceicle really pushed that. Bobby Cornell was a part of the gang that I did stuff with and she tried to make the romance work. She even persuaded me to purchase matching shirts for the two of us for his birthday. His was too big so I took them back. One night we were out with Ceicle and Mike, Bobby got sick and threw up in the back of Ceicle’s Mustang Convertible. We quickly drove him home. Neither Mike nor Ceicle had the stomach to clean it up so I did. Not pleasant, but baby setting had prepared me for that job. One night when Bobby brought me home I was sure he was going to kiss me. The tension had been building up to this for some time. We were saying good night on the front poach when I saw thought the living room window my little brother, Gene, wiggling across the living room floor to spy on me. I grabbed Bobby hand and shook it telling him I had a great time and went inside leaving him on the porch. I really yelled at Gene in my disappointment. The romance fizzled and I never did get a kiss from Bobby although we did remain friends until he went off to college  were I lost track of him.

Stay safe and keep creating

Carol

Childhood Memories, Curvie Cuts, Daily Practice, Dark Mystery, Drawing, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Lap Quilts, Saturday Afternoon, Sisterhood of the Scissors, Textile Artist Stitch Club

Busy Week

Hello,
This week had been exciting because I had two meetings where we meant face to face.    What a relief as we all get vaccinated and the governor  lifts the restrictions  of  Covid.    I did not realize how much one reads body language. And  in these meetings,  there was no talking over one another either. The first meeting was with the Quilt Diva’s. We meant in the Schweinfurth after picking up our work form the Members Show. We did business and then shared our work. Alice has been working with clay and these are her “obers” .

 

 

 

Barbara had a real nice piece. I brought home five works for other artists that live here in town and will distribute them all back to their owners by tomorrow. There was also a Pixies meeting on line and it was up lifting too.

 

 

 

The second meeting was with four of the FAB group here at my house. Again we all had a lot to say and enjoyed our selves. It is so nice to set out doors and enjoy each other and the garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I worked on the Textile Art Stitch Club project. This week she showed us how to add punch needle texture t our work. I also finished up my Blue Fox from the last assignment this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Saturday Afternoon This work is 36″ X 34″. I learned a lot about yarn applique doing this project. It is a skill I need to work at I think.  The project is an answer tot eht Picasso Challenge by the Sisterhood of the Scissors.

 

I used some of Grandmother Ruth’s hand made lace for part of this project.

 

 

 

 

Lap Quilt # 13 This project is made up of many of my hand altered fabrics. I made the stencils earlier this winter and printed them with acrylic paint. This is the fabric of half of the stencils I printed at that time, so there will be another similar piece in the near future.

Green Base I got an idea for another leaf project and built this curvy cut base to support that idea.

 

 

 

 

 

Dark Side of the Moon( formerly Dark Magic) I decide that the old title was not the mood I wanted to set for this work. I am hand quilting around the featured woven sections of the kimono at this point. This will be a slow project as I am not a fast hand quilter.

 

 

Daily Practice This is gong smoothly. I think I will finish this strip in the next two days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Horsetails   After showing this work to the FAB group  and thinking about it, i decided it needed more.  So I took out some of the stitch work and added the sun to this piece.  I am now in the process of assembling it.

Drawings for Pixies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories- Summer 1963
>
> Summer was always a busy time. I did attend summer school in the mornings, but the afternoons were mine. Mr Mc Daniel’s, the band teacher, also kept us busy. We did have practices and activities. It was so hot that many times we would play out on the front lawn of the school under the big oak trees. The  band  also marched in the 4th of July parade . It was a much smaller event then what I was familiar with from Grandview. We participated in the county fair and the band had a white elephant sale for that. Many of the kids manned the booth and we had fun afterward on the rides and such. There was also a Cake Walk that we ran one of the days. For that I baked a Cherry Cake- my favorite. The money we made went toward our summer field trip to Detroit. We left on a Friday morning and rode the bus to the city. We played a concert in a city park in a band shell that afternoon.    For that we did not wear our uniforms, but all dark shorts and white shirts.  I still remember being hot.   I went to dinner with a group of fellow band members and had my first commercial pizza. Someone persuaded me to try an Anchovy. That was a taste surprise. I shared a hotel room with three other gals and we talked late into the night and did not sleep much it seemed. Saturday morning we went to a rehearsal of the Detroit Sympathy. It was informative. In the afternoon we all went to see “How the West Was Won” on a wide screen movie theater. I really enjoyed the movie and purchased the record of the sound track when I got home. We then all piled into the bus and rode home. We sang a lot and it was quite late when we got back to Muncie. Grandmother and Grandfather Cocklin were visiting and we all went to church the next morning. I do not recall much else about that Sunday except we made homemade ice cream. Gene and I went off with the grandparents on Monday to Iowa for two weeks before Mon and Dad joined us. It was a great time. We got to see all three families of cousins and spent a lot of time with the Bells. Casey and Curt Dean were little boys with lots of energy and fun to play with. They only visited tow days and then went home with their mother Aunt Shirley. I did baby sit for Aunt Barbara one day out on their farm. I remember climbing the apple trees with cousins Timmy and Tom along with Gene. We also played space travel using their beds that were built into the wall under the slope of the roof. We pretended the Radiometer was our power source. That evening I went on my first date with cousin Danny. He was a year older and had a car. We added one of his friends and drove to Muscatine to the fair grounds. His buddy brought me French fries and we all rode the Ferris Wheel together. It was a good time. What I remember the most was the time spent with the Bell family. Tracy and Kelly came into Grandmothers one day and we played dress up in the play house. Then the girls stayed the night and we played with the ice skating paper dolls that grandmother had. One day out at the Bell farm we played war in the trees hoses. We loved the goldfish-carp in the house tank and we fed them oatmeal. The fish were about eight inches long. Cousin Russell got stung and I learned he was allergic. His Mom rushed him off to the Dr to get a shot I think. Another day we spent the day playing board games. I fell in love with Trade Winds- a game with little ships that had to collect barrels of rum, doubloons and gems stones. I asked for that game for Christmas, but Mom never found it. One afternoon Aunt Marce took all five of us off to Wild Cat Den State Park. We all had a great time running the trails and hiding from one another. We came home exhausted from that fun afternoon. One night the Bells took Gene and I to play miniature golf . It was a great time and Doug ended up with the best score. It was a great time with all my cousins.

Please stay safe and be Creative

Carol