Category Archives: Pixies Group

Daily Practice, Diva Meetings, Drawing, Hand work, Pixies Group, Pondering

Quiet Summer Days

Hello,

I hope everyone is enjoying the after the holiday quiet.   Things did slow down a bit for me and I spent some time looking at the sky and enjoying all the greens.    I join a great Diva meeting in Trumansburg, NY. this week.   Our next group show is there and we went to see the space and get things limned up for Aug when we will hang the show.  Donna had some great new rust pieces to share with us.  She is getting really good at that I think.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maureen showed off her latest work too.

There was a Pixie meeting and a Show Stitch Group Zoom meeting as well.  It is the season of lots of family and  out door activity for everyone  so I did not do much work.

Progress Report: Against the Wind     It is   54″ X 54″ .     I am all done with this work now.  I have learned a lot about free piecing and it remains a real challenge for me.  I will try it again, but not any time soon.   The quilting did not smooth it out enough for me to be real happy with it.

 

 

 

 

 

Stitched Top   I have done stitch in the ditch work on this piece.  Now I will do some hand work as it needs more quilting to be complete.

 

 

 

 

Goldfish   I started this work based on an old sketch and I am using  some of my hand dyed fabrics.

 

 

 

 

 

Pondering    This is the second in the complimentary color challenge from Jane.  I am still working through the Irene Roderick’s  book,  “Improv Quilting ” with its exercise and the units are based of her suggestions.   The black will disappear from the final top.

 

 

 

Handwork  This is the newest hand work piece using add-ons.  They are painted and heat treated Tyveck shapes.  I will continue the embellishment with beads.

 

 

 

 

Drawing   For Valerie  Goodwin’s class “Light and Lacy ” I drew up these birds to use as my first print.   I am looking forward to QBL in two weeks and seeing how we use them.

Enjoy the season and keep creating

Carol

College Life, Consider, Creative Strength Training, Explorations, Hand work, Pixies Group, Textile Artist Stitch Club

Summer Season

Hello,

I hope everyone is enjoying the season.  I am just home from my daily walk and I enjoyed the sun, sky and the green world.   Our  block party was on the week end and it was great to reconnect with the folks who live around me.  Several folks know us by seeing us walking by.  This week was the end of the month and there were fewer meetings.  I did meet with the Pixies and Textile Artists Stitch club had a new assignment so I was still busy.    I did work on  both of the pieces that I started using the hand as the beginning.

This work,  Reaching Up  is       2535443543o  X 23432439u .  I need to finish stitching on the sleeve but that is all that remains for completion here.

The second one,  Reaching Out, is all stitched together and now needs a boarder and the rest of the finish work. 

I have enjoyed using wool as the primary element in these two works.

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Against the Wind

I have now layered and pin basted this work.  I hope to begin the “wind” quilting later today.

 

 Handwork Top     I have now assembled all the parts for this work and added boarders.  I need to do the pin basing and quilting on this one as well.

 

Consider  I started this work last week in response to Jane Dunnewold’s  challenge to do a work using complementary color combinations.  I mixed this idea with the exploration of the some of  suggested  piecing processes in Irene Roderick’s book “Improv Quilting. ”   I had fun and plan to to the other two complementary color combos and explore more of the suggested techniques.

New Daily Practice   I decided to challenge myself to do some hand work were I add unusual objects to the surface of some of the stained old family fabrics I have an abundance of .   This is painted and melted Tyveck with part of an old hat vail.

 

This is the last of my childhood series.  I think changing my name from Carol McElhinney, my birth name to Carol Boyer is a good marker for the end of childhood.  Susan challenged us to do this project in April of 2019 and all the other participants have long dropped away, but I am glad I did it.  There have been 162  entries.  It has been a good journey and I look forward to a new project that will engage me as much as this one has.

College Life – Wedding Day

June 7, 1969, finally arrived. I was more scared than excited. I was full of doubt, but Eric came up stairs and talked with me about my fears. I will admit I was ready to run away from the whole event, but he assured me that we would be fine and it would all work out. Then it was off to Brook Drive and my old home. The house was full of family all excitedly preparing for the church. The Dean boys seemed to be every where, helping with everything. It was my last time in my old bedroom as Carol McElhinney. That was my thought as I put on my gown. Carrying the veil, I got in the car with Mom, Dad, and Gene and we drove to the church. Kelly looked so cute in her white dress, with her new pixie hair cut and the little basket of flowers. Tracy, wearing a dress with a matching coat, was tending the wedding book at the door to the chapel. She was laughing as usual. I went into the prep room and Mom helped me with the veil and someone handed me the beautiful yellow flowers. Margaret and Ellie filed into the sanctuary followed by Kelly and Scott. Then I heard Larry’s beautiful voice singing “What is a Youth?” He was followed by the recorded entry music, Purcell’s Trumpet Voluntary, which Larry had selected. Dad took my arm and told me I looked beautiful as we walked down the aisle toward Eric, Dean, and Gene. I only had eyes for Eric and the beautiful green of the woods behind him.

It got quiet as Reverend O’Kelly started the service. Folks told me later that I was so quiet in my responses to his questions that they could not hear a thing. Eric did and that was the only thing that was important to me. It was time for the rings and Scott passed them to us. I jammed the ring on Eric’s finger when he presented it to me. “I pronounce you Husband and Wife.” We kissed each other, turned, the wedding march started, and we hurried down the isle out into the lobby. Eric dropped my hand and ran to the bathroom. I turned a little panicked to see Mom and Dad coming out and seeing me standing alone both had expressions of inquiry on their faces. That uncertainly did not last long as Eric re appeared. It seems he had stuck out his right hand and I had forced the ring onto the correct finger of the wrong. A little soap and things were fixed. “I hope its still official!” Eric said.

The rest of the reception, in the education hall of the church, was a blur of happy faces, hugs, and words of congratulation. Punch was served along with wedding cake, of course. Eric and I then opened some gifts. I don’t remember most of them, but I do recall being a little embarrassed by Eric’s joke about a cut silver waste basket and matching tissue box from Aunt Margaret. There were also red pots and pans that lasted years. Eric and I went off to the chapel for pictures and then we both changed for our trip north. Folks threw rice as we went to the car and drove away, heading to Holland, Michigan, for our weekend Honeymoon. I was excited, but I don’t recall too much except we went swimming in the hotel pool after dark one night. At one of the little shops in town, I did purchase a little pair of wooden shoes that I still have. Sunday and it was time to start for home. We took some back roads and had to make a stop just after crossing back into Indiana. There was a turtle crossing the road. We picked him up and took him to the side before continuing our journey home. Monday was the start of summer school for both of us, and the start of our life together. Reverend O’Kelly had told us to check with the court house to make sure the marriage licence got filed properly. We never did. “It’s our escape clause,” Eric said. The event must have been a good take, since fifty-three years, one child, two dogs, a bunch of cats, four moves, and several college degrees later, we’re still together.

I hope everyone continues to enjoy the season.

Keep playing

Carol

 

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

College Life, Creative Strength Training, Drawing, Fiber Artist Stitch Club, Lap Quilts, Pixies Group, Sisterhood of the Scissors

Winter/Spring

Hello,

This week has been a wild one with lots of weather changes. We had snow  and it was beautiful now it is shirt sleeve weather and the spring flowers are up.   The temperature changes sure keep one on ones toes.

I had lots meetings this week as seems to be my usual pattern of late.   I zoomed to Sisterhood of the Scissors, Pixies and  Fiber Artist Stitch Club.   I watched the  Stitch lecture and new assignment , but  because I am still not finished with the last assignment I decided I will not do this one.  One does need to say “No Thanks” every now and then.    My cross stitch of Nick is coming along slowly.  The hoop is distorting it a bit – but I think I can iron it back into shape when I am done.

The Creative Strength Training ( CST)  is still overwhelming me a bit, but I am trying to keep up.  I did two of the drawing assignments this week and  read lots of old posts as well as making it to the weekly meeting.

 

 

I will catch up I am sure and it is a challenge – something that I need and will provide me with new growth. 

 

The emphasis this month is line and for this one I just played.

 

 

 

For this one I started a line from the top of the page and squared it of and then exited from right.  After each line I turned the paper 90 degrees.  I used all 10 of the green markers that I had in my stash.

I did go to the Schweinfurth  on Monday and help dismantle the Both Ends of the Rainbow show.  I also picked up my work and the work of two of my friends .

Progress Report: Lap # 8   I stared a new lap quilt and I like how it is building.  The one I was working on is to the quilting stage and I discovered that one of the blacks is rotten so I am dismantling part of it to do the repair.

 

 

 

Action   I continue to add stitches to this work and I am feeling good about how it looks.

 

 

Cowl # 26   I try to knit a row or two every evening so I make progress on these works.

 

 

 

 

 

 

College Life- Fall Quarter 1967

The fall quarter started with five new classes and lots of activities. I had two Art class and I enjoyed them both. One was Design II with Dr Griner, who later became the head of the art department. The second was Weaving. I loved that class with the exception of loading the loom. I quickly learned to do the warp for several projects at once. This meant that I had to be very careful with my measuring and the actual threading process, but it also meant that I could cut off the first project and go directly to work on the second. My physical ed. class was Tennis and Eric and I played several times that fall, so I got some extra practice in. Practical Science was my science elective that term and it again was a 8:00 class. I enjoyed it as it was designed for non-science majors. The teacher kept it light and some what entertaining. My final class was English. It was a bit of a challenge and the fact that Eric was in the class also added to that feeling. Eric says he got a B, and I just managed a C in that class.

At this point I stopped working for Food Services and went to work for the Art Department in the tool cage of the Shop. The hours were regular and I really liked working with Red, the man who ran it. I checked in and out tools for student projects and showed folks how to use some of them. Helping Dad with the building of all those houses as I grew up really paid off. I could also work on my own projects when I was not too busy. I learned who among my peers were the ones who put things off until the last minute.

Eric and Larry did not live at Barney’s that year, but found digs a bit farther from campus in a wonderful old ornate concrete block house with a sort of turret, so we called it “The Castle.” It had three porches, one on the front, with the turret, one just out side Larry and Eric’s room, and one on the rear of the house. There were two floors; the boys lived down stairs, and a young married couple lived up stairs. Fred and Denny occupied the front room. Eric and Larry’s room was just behind the entry way, and down the hall was the kitchen. I think there was another room on the back corner but I am fuzzy about that. I hung out in that house  a lot that year and had a few adventures.

Football was a big part of my life that fall, too. Eric and I went along with Dad to Anderson one Friday evening to watch my brother Gene play. He was so versatile that he was on offence and defense. Muncie Central won the game. Eric and I attended the college games too. The first one in the fall was on the old field south of the physical plant on campus. It was fun and I yelled my head off as usual. The second game we went to was homecoming. There had been a parade, of course, which we watched from the front porch of “The Castle,” and the Central Band marched in it, but I did not recognize many of the kids any more. The game was played in the new Stadium west and north of the main campus. It was very impressive, with a half of a bowl set up in cast concrete. The visitors sat on wooden bleacher across from the home team. (The bleachers were replaced two years later to be like the west side.) It was a glorious fall afternoon, and Ball State won- 56 to 7.

100 day Challenge, Daily Practice, Diva Meetings, Drawing, Fiber Artist Stitch Club, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Lost Habitat, Pixies Group, Quilt Exploration Group (QuEGs), Textile Artist Stitch Club

March

Hello,

With the beginning of March life seems to be opening up a bit.  I have had lots of meetings on Zoom and the Diva’s even meant in person.    The QuEGs  and Pixies had their usual zoom events and I had a new Fiber Artist Stitch Club meeting.  Sharon Peoples  was our new instructor for that class and we are working on stitching photos graphic images.   I am not very far along on this project- but I am started.   One was to trace an image on tissue paper  and then stitch around it. That creates the outline of were there are color changes in the image.

I’m doing the little cross stitches to fill in the areas now.

I also started Creative Strength Training  with Jane Dunnwald  this week.   For that I did  a lesson with black and white  in response to a song.  The limited color really makes for a strong graphic.

There is lots of reading to do for this class too. So I am a busy camper with mental growth.

 

 

 

I did take time out one afternoon this week to do three little 6″ X6″ pieces for the Rochester Gallery for their annual fund raiser.   I could not believe it had been a year sense I did my last bunch .

Progress Report: Lap #7      This work has lots of my altered fabrics in it.  There  is  some  shobori  that   did  Liz two summers ago  as well as lots of printed and painted fabric.  It was a trip down memory lane to work on this one.

 

 

Lap #8    This project is a real out growth of  # 7  as these were the fabrics I did not use as central units in the first quilt.  I had so much fabric cut and stitched together for the surrounds that it seemed silly to just put them in the scrap basket.

 

 

Lost Habitat  This work is 44″ w X 33″t.     I am quite pleased with how this one finally come to completion.     It is my response  to the fires in Colorado last fall when 500+ homes were destroyed by wild fire.   Some folks  had so little time to evacuate that they did not even get there photos or computer backups.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed this working on this piece even though the topic is stressing.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Drawing This is a second Neo drawing  that  I did after watching a video on the subject.

 

 

 

Daily Practice This is the work I am doing during the news every nigh.  The colors do not look like Ukraine- but that is the main topic on the news.

 

 

 

Action  I keep stitching away on this project.   I will soon be close to the edges were  I can stitch with purples.

 

 

 

 

 

Beading  I did spend a little time in the bead box this week.   I am still using beads I got from Joyce in the fall,  but some of my own have slipped in too.

 

 

 

 

College Life:  Summer School 1967

Summer school at Ball State in 1967 was two five week sessions. I took Painting 1 and World Literature the first session. Both of my classes were in the morning and I rode my bicycle to campus so I had the freedom to come and go when I wanted. I can’t say that I remember much about the literature class except it was lots of reading as we did a book about every two days. The painting class was with Dr. Nickels, the head of the department. I enjoyed going to Christy Woods every day and finding a quiet place to paint plants and flowers in water color. I got B’s in both of my classes that quarter.

I did not have much social life as Margaret stayed away at school that summer too. I continued my work at the student center dinning service, so I did have spending money, but not much to spend it on. I think that my being a part of the Sailing Club and being a Captain kept me sane. I had lots of afternoon dates with my brother Gene to sail. We went about twice a week that summer. All that sailing led to a great connection with Dr. Kunkel for Gene. The two of them got to be real buddies and Dr. Kunkel often took Gene off to crew for him in races for that summer and several others summers too. There were several weekends where I went off and dove with the Scuba Club that summer. Now the fresh water lakes in Indiana are nice for swimming, and I enjoyed the water skiing as well–but visibility below the surface is four feet at best and not very exciting. I enjoyed the process but was not thrilled enough to purchase more equipment than a mask and flippers. Both items were lost at an outing at the end of the summer.

There was a wonderful summer program at Ball State called “Shoe String Theater” and the family took advantage of it. Dad and I went to all six production, but Mom and Gene were spotty. I saw Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Vagabond King to mention just a couple. I still love live theater and go often.

Summer school for the second session was Philosophy and an education major requirement, called Human Growth ad Development. I did well in Philosophy and got a B, but in Human Growth I was not so strong and got a C. Along with all of that, there were lots of cards and letters from Eric and a few from Larry.

I hope spring is on your door step,

Keep Creating

Carol

100 day Challenge, Collage, College Life, Creative Strength Training, Daily Practice, Drawing, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Pixies Group, Stretch Works

Winter Continues

Hello,

This has been a crazy week as far as weather is concerned.  Snow and cold, then quite warm and back to snow again.   Old Man Winter does not want to let with out a fight.

I had one two meetings this week.  The Retired Art Teachers  Zoomed as did the Pixies.  The Creative Strength Training Class does not officially begin until the first of March, but she still has done lots of pre work with us.    We had a lesson on altering a shape based on a tool.  I selected a tape dispenser and this is my solution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Being the practical person that I am I used the cut-aways  from the project plus a leftover bit of blue to create a second composition.

 

 

 

 

There was also a drawing lesson on contour drawing from Creative Strength Training  this week.  It was a slow  5 min contour drawing.   This is my solution.

 

 

 

 

My friend Joyce sent me a book “Inspired to Design” by Elizabeth Barton  and I have been working through the exercises in it too.   Of the five I have done this simplification assignment was the one I enjoyed the most.

Progress Report:   Lap 7  I enjoyed piecing together this top this week.   I will move forward on the next steps as the new week goes forward.

 

 

 

 

Lap 8  As usual I have pulled the fabric for the next lap quilt too.

 

 

 

Lost Habitat  I was disturbed by the loss of over 500 homes in Colorado due to fire in the fall.   I finally got going on my tribute to them.    The parts are just pinned in place at this point.

Action  I keep working every evening on this project.  My goal now it to have it complete by the first of April.

 

Daily Practice    This is the piece I am working on during the news  every night.

 

 

Stencil work  I ordered some commercial stencils from Stencil Girl in Dec and this week I finally got around to using them.    This is a computation of three stencils that I though played together well.

 

 

 

Bits and Pieces    I finished off and stretched this work this week.

 

 

 

 

College Life- The Indianapolis 500

I was delighted and pleased to see Eric when he picked me up from the bus station in Indianapolis. We went to Grandmother Butter’s apartment and she was her gracious, cheerful self. That also provided me with my first contact with Eric’s brother Dean. I got to meet one of Grandmother Butter’s sisters, Aunt Gretna, plus her two children, Carol and Dick, at dinner that evening, too. Everyone called Aunt Gretna Aunt Deckie, so I did, as well. It was a pleasant evening. Everyone but Carol was excited about going to the race the next day.

In those days the race was always on the 30 of May so it was a Tuesday that year.  It was gray  at 6:30 when we got up to go to the race. We all piled in the car– Grandmother, Aunt Deckie, Dick, Dean, Eric and I–and went off to the race track. It was cold when we joined the line of cars waiting to get into the track. At 8;30 we all tracked up the stairs of the main grandstand to row J in the section at the end of turn four and sat in our seats. Then the famous words came over the loud speaker, “Gentleman start your engines!” The cars growled to life and the crowd stood and cheered. The flag was dropped and the race was off. There was a new entry for the first time in 1967–a turbine car, and it immediately pulled to the front of the pack. When the turbine car passed our stands the sound was more of a swish than the roar like the other cars. Then a cold rain began to fall. The race was stopped after 18 laps and we, like most other folks, retreated to the car and waited for the restart of the race. It rained on and soon it was noon, so we ate cold chicken and deviled eggs and drank pop. We too finally deserted the track as we had watched many folks do through out the afternoon. Eric’s brother, Dean had finals to take on Wednesday we had to send him home, I called home and told my folks that I was going to stay for another day to see the race.

Eric and I went to Larry’s house and palled around with him and his current girl friend Connie for the evening. We went to White Castle for dinner. I had never had little square hamburgers before and we all had a good time. In the morning it was still gray and misting, so Grandmother decided to go into work at Wheaton Van Lines. Eric and I horsed around and talked until the phone rang. It was Aunt Deckie. She told us to look out the window and get hustling, as she was going to pick us up for the race. We hurried across town to Speedway. We were in the parking lot when we heard, “Gentlemen, restart your engines!” I think we missed seeing about two laps, before we got back in our seats. Again it was cold in the stands, but is was exciting. On the day before we had drawn the drivers names from a hat and we all had five folks we were following. Our seats were in a perfect spot to witness several wild crashes and I know I lost two of my drivers in the first one the first day. The turbine car led most of the way but broke down on the last lap of the race, and Mario Andretti won. Upon returning to Grandmothers we ate some lunch and called Larry and told him we would be picking up Connie soon. The three of us drove back to Muncie together where Eric dropped Connie off at her dorm. The Eric and I went to supper. After that we talked a bit more before he started for South Bend. I was very sad to see him go and felt that summer would be a long time, even with Summer school to keep me busy.

I am looking forward to spring and some warmer weather.

Stay safe and Create with joy!

Carol

 

100 Day Challenge, Action, Child Dancer, Childhood Memories, College Life, Drawing, Lap Quilts, People, Pixies Group, Textile Artist Stitch Club

Winter work

1 Comment

Hello,

We are starting to thaw after the big snow storm we had last weekend.   Only the  meeting was the Pixies, so I got a lot done.

One of the things I did was  a Neurotrophic Drawing.  It is a style with a series of steps that allows one to relax.  I did enjoy it and will do it again some time.

There was an additional assignment from the Textile  Artist Stitch Club from Monique Day.   She instructed us on how to make a plastic sandwich and how to cut more sequins from our sheets.

This in my stitchery with one new sequin pinned on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Overwhelmed  This piece is 32″ w X 40″ l.   I cut up scraps, bits of trim, ribbon and yarn and scattered them across the base .  Then I layered nylon netting on top and stitched the sandwich together.  Last I added the figure that I cut from wool I had washed several times.

 

 

 

Lap Quilt #5  I used lots of fabrics that I had altered in this lap quilt.   I am enjoying the play making these projects  offer me.

 

 

 

 

Action  I am doing the hand work on the figures now. The progress is very slow, but very calming.

 

 

 

Child Dancer  This idea came from a Paul Klee painting that caught my eye as I was flipping through an Art History book looking for a Monet image.   I then had a dream about is so I though I would try to capture that feeling.    I zig-zagged over yarn to create the out lines.

 

 

I am still playing catch up with my Memories so there will be two this week as well.

College Life- Start of Spring Quarter 1967

Over the break between winter and spring quarter, I did a little connecting with my old high school world. I went to see Musical Moods, an event that I had participated in all three years in high school. After the performance I talked with Don Jones and friend Sara Loe. She had been my band partner and played next to me, and she was looking for a friend to double date with her. I agreed to go on a blind date to spend a day spelunking in central Indiana. I did have a good time and, since it was a rainy day, spending it under ground was a good choice. We were the only four folks in that cave that day and we just explored. There were places where we had to crawl on our stomachs and some very narrow ones where we went forward in a vertical position. We all were quite muddy when we emerged, and I was glad it was not my car that we were driving home. I also spent a day scuba diving during that vacation. I enjoyed getting together with those folks, and I even helped Mike and Phil teach several scuba lessons at the YMCA that spring.
My classes for spring quarter really focused on Art. I had realized in the middle of the winter term that I really was not a strong enough artist to make a living doing art, so I had accepted the idea that I would go into teaching. I had Ceramics, Design , and Introduction to Art Teaching that quarter. The other two classes I had were English and Swimming. They did keep me busy.
On Wednesday of the first week back, I went to the Artist Series on campus at Emens to see Generations with Hans Conried. My seat was 101 in row L, and I was very happy with my view. I had taken care of my own wishes and gotten my seat the first day they were available. Friday of that first week Eric and I had our first real date. We went along with Larry and Nancy, a girl he “kidnaped” by asking her at the last minute when she could not say “No,” to see A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. We all laughed a lot and enjoyed it. That is still one of my favorite movies. On Sunday of that same weekend Eric and I went to see the Ingmar Bergman film Virgin Spring at the Foreign Film weekly presentation. For me that film raised lots of questions as I identified closely with the main character. I was both excited and scared at how much I liked Eric, yet I was concerned at how quickly we had become exclusive.
We had lots of dates over the next few weeks. One Saturday we decided to go for a picnic at Dixon Mounds. Eric, Larry and I walked the trials and looked at the mounds and then tried to fly a kite that I had put in the trunk at the last minute. That was not very successful, but we did have a silly time. We also had my parents badminton set, and that was the start of an activity that we played for years. Larry started the fire and we all enjoyed his hotdogs, too. We had lots of “Coke dates” and talked a lot. On another Saturday I took Eric canoeing on the Mississinewa River. The water was high, and we worked really hard on our trip up river. We did not reach our goal, but the trip back down was fun. I remember coming home exhausted. Larry, Eric, and I took off on the Thursday just before Spring Break and drove to Indianapolis to check out the 500 time trials that afternoon.
Back in Muncie, Larry and Eric opted to stay at Barney’s and not go home for the spring break. Instead, they went to work for Manpower, a company that sent people out on hourly jobs. I know one of the days that week, they spent throwing rocks into the reservoir to rebuild the jetty near the harbor where the sailing club had its boats. I on the other hand went with my family on a trip south and east.

College Life- Spring Break Plus

The spring quarter break that year we went south to Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. Gene had a new pup tent that we tried out the first night we arrived. Sleeping on the ground in March was quite cold! We took the full day cave tour the next day. It sure was a different experience from the explorative spelunking I had done earlier that spring. The guide was very informative. There were beautifully lit wonderful flowing formations as well as lots of dry areas in the cave. We went for a ride on an underground river and had lunch in a huge open area where we sat at picnic tables and ate bag lunches. The guide asked us to all be quiet and he turned off the lights. It was so dark! I have never “seen” so much darkness. One felt like the only person in a colorless nothing until he turned the lights up slowly again.

That night I slept back in the car top carrier and was much more comfortable. We spent the next day hiking and enjoying the park. I liked the spring flowers and had my first real experience with Rhododendrons. I still love that plant. The next day we drive mostly east and ended up at Myrtle Beach. That was great fun as we had a section of the beach all to ourselves. Gene and I spent the day canoe surfing. We would paddle out and then turn the boat back toward the shore and wait for a big wave. Then we tried to ride the wave into the shore. We got dumped out many times but still had a fun day. I remember the full moon rising over the Atlantic ocean that night and how it looked behind the palm trees. It was glorious to fall asleep to the sound of those leaves clattering against one another and the sound of the water crashing against the shore. I remember seeing a sign for a Black Beach on our way to our camp ground and pressed Dad to go there the next day. When I told him I wanted to see the black sand, he sadly told me the beach was a part of segregation and it was for Black people. I was so very naive.

Then it was back to school and back to classes. One of my classes was Ceramics 1. It was all hand work and an introduction to mixing and making one’s own glazes. One thing we had to get going on at the beginning of the quarter was finding and working on a natural clay project. As it turned out, the college was building a new Science building just to the west of the art building where there was lots of exposed raw earth. So that is where I got my clay. It had been drying out during the break, and I came back to class to break it down, sift it, remoisten the powder, kneed it and began building work with that clay. Mine was a wonderful yellow clay and I built three coil pots with it. One pot blew up in the first firing , but the other two did not. Mom had the finished works around for years.

On Tuesday of the first week back from spring break the Sailing Club had a picnic and boat launch. I asked Eric to go along with me and he did. We all had fun putting the boats back in the water for the new season and many of us got wet feet. We ate hot dogs that we all roasted over the open fire and generally enjoyed ourselves. Then we played flag football. It was mostly a game of chase, but fun. I unexpectedly intercepted the football and got a bit terrorized when everyone suddenly turned in my direction to pull my flags. I had a new respect for actual football players after that event.

Stay safe and enjoy Valentines Day

Carol

100 day Challenge, Childhood Memories, College Life, Grandmother Ruth's Wedding dress, Lap Quilts, Pixies Group

Fresh Start

1 Comment

Hello,

It feels good to return to an old pattern.   I will try to up date you on a few things.  The collapse of the old computer sure set me up for a lot of new learning.   All the transfer of info is still not complete, but every week things are better.  My biggest hurdle has been the photo program.  An up dated program is now installed and I am getting the hang of it.

The holidays were good to me and I enjoyed my family.  As most of the events I attend have become Zoom meetings  I do not have any other folks work to share.   On Tuesday this week I enjoyed three Zoom meetings and an hour Zoom presentation.   That day was a bit much so I hope to smooth things out so that does not occur again.

The Pixies have been a nice constant through out this time.  Last week Susan challenged us to do a Valentine Dance Card.   This is my solution.

 

 

 

 

I did manage to keep up with my Fabric Artists Stitch Club work. This work is stitching on paper that has been collaged in the workshop from Monique Day- Wild.  I also added candy wrapper foil, an idea from another work shop.

 

 

 

A second workshop by Jessica Grady was about adding  sequins that were made from different materials on to the surface.     I really enjoyed this one.  I used  paper,  foil lined caps, fabric,  part of a pie pan, some Christmas paper, and plastic for  my sequins.           

 

She suggested other shapes and materials so I still have areas to explore here.

 

 

 

 

At the Sisterhood Retreat Joyce kindly passed forward  lots of yarn.  It was mostly sox yarn so I mix two or three strands for this project.   I have been making cowls out of it.  These are the two most recent ones.

 

 

 

  Progress Report:  Grandmother’s Wedding Dress  This work is 39″ w X 52″ l.  The dress is from my Mothers side of the family and it was a gift from my cousin this summer.

The table cloth behind the dress was all done by hand  and the pearls were Grandmothers.

 

 

I hand embroidered  the story and dates of the dresses use on the skirt.

 

 

 

 

Scattered    This work is 32″ w X 17″ t.  I have done lots of hand work  and this  challenge  is part of the Sisterhood  of the Scissors group.   It represents the way my thoughts and actions seem to be during this Covid area.

Lap Quilt 1   I continue to make these simple lap quilts to pass on to the local nursing homes.  I delivered 25 in early December.  I am starting a new batch for this year.

 

 

 

 

Lap Quilt 2    I am using these projects to use many of the fabrics that I have printed and altered over the years.  It is fun play for me

 

 

 

 

Lap Quilt 3   For this I used many silk kimono fabrics that I had been given by Noel.

 

 

 

 

 

Lap Quilt 4

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lap Quilt 5   I am starting a new work here

 

 

 

 

 

 

100 Day Challenge   I have now assembled and done the free motion quilting on my 100 Day Challenge project and I am calling it Action.  I used six panels that are not in the project to do a little trial work to see what colors I want to use for  the embroidery work.   The yellow is too pale and I like both the red and purple so I am ready to start doing the hand work in both of those colors.

 

 

I have moved on to my college years with the Memories series and I have been doing them every week so I will post two until we are up to date.

College Memories-Trip to NYC

In the fall quarter at Ball State I joined Kallista, the art club. The meetings were held in the West lounge of the Art gallery where all the designer furniture was kept. It was great to get to sit in the Eams Chairs and Catalonia lounger. I liked the Jacobson Egg Chair, too. The club was going to New York City over the Thanksgiving break. I jumped at the chance and volunteered to sell candy at football games and saved my pennies for the trip. After my last test, for The World in the Twenty Century, I got myself ready for the trip.

I got on the train with nineteen other students and three chaperons and headed east at 6:00 am on Monday morning. We stayed in the Hotel Piccadilly at west 45th street and Broadway. I shared a room with three other girls. I was the only freshman on the trip. But I became friends with a gal named Pat, who was a senior, and she sort of looked out for me. We had so many choices of things see and places to visit that it was almost overwhelming. Our first outing was the Museum of Modern Art. I was delighted to see so many paintings that I had only viewed in books, in six- or eight-inch illustrations, or as slide projections that were huge. I recall being struck at how small Starry Night was. The sculpture garden was open to the sky in those days and we walked around the work and posed for photos with the Henry Moores.

The Guggenheim was a real mind blower for me. The pictures I had seen of it did not prepare me for the size. It was so much bigger. I recall looking over the balcony on the top floor after exiting the elevator and loving Frank Lloyd Wright’s spiral design. As we strolled down we stopped and posed for photos in front of the paintings there, too. It seemed to be over with all to soon.

The only other required museum was the Metropolitan. Fortunately, Pat knew what she wanted to see–I was just amazed at the choices. We did the Egyptian exhibit and studied some of the jewelry very closely since jewelry was her major. We also looked at lots of paintings– including Vermeers and Rembrandts. I remember being amazed at how big “Washington Crossing the Delaware” was. I was fascinated by the paint work of the ice in that one. After that, we e explored a little of Central Park outside the museum. Later pat and I joined two boys and went to Rockefeller Center. I love the golden Atlas and the statue over the ice skating rink. We did rent skates and had a good time on the ice. We bought dinner that night from street venders, and I recall having Chestnuts, too. One of the boys, Greg, and I decided to stand in line for tickets to see Johnny Carson that evening. I don’t recall the guests, but I sure remember laughing a lot and getting back to the hotel quite late.

On Thanksgiving day we got our acts together and went to the Macy’s Parade. It was cold standing on the pavement, but I did enjoy the balloons. I remember Snoopy, the Sinclair Dinosaur, and a rather faded Superman. Pat and I did a little shopping that day, but I don’t think I purchased anything. That evening four of us–Pat and I, Greg, and another guy whose name escapes me–went to a Chinese Restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner. There were very few folks in the space, but we did have a good time, laughing about our unusual holiday fare. My fortune cookie message said “Be especially careful tonight.”One of the group trips was to the United Nations. It was not in session, but the building sure was impressive. I purchase a gift for Mom in one of the nearby shops and the saleswoman offered to wrap it. I said sure. I happily took the wrapped gift away with me. Later that day I opened the package to show off the gift and found the box to be empty! I was quite disappointed and felt like a gullible fool. The group also took in the Empire State building. No lines to speak of and great views. I recall the Chrysler Building sparkling in the sunshine. We went south from there on the subway, which I found to be a great place to people watch. There was one gal, obviously a model, who was beautiful with long legs and a great coat in the car with us. It made me realize that everyone used that mode of transport. We got out in Greenwich Village and did some gallery hopping there. I was not too impressed at the cutting edge stuff and I think now that was mostly because I just did not know what to look for.

The whole group spent a day in the American Museum of Natural history, too. The dinosaurs were impressive and I thought that was what they are know for. But I remember the display on the Northwest Natives the most. Perhaps that was because Dad was going to Alaska and working with the Tlingit people at the time.

Theater did not get neglected either and I remember we went to several plays. I had been spoiled by the top of the line stuff at Emens at Ball State and can’t say that I remember the name of a single play.

I did enjoy the trip and think it made my Art History class have a bit more meaning even if slides and books pale by comparison to the real things. But that is true of most of art.

College Memories–Pledging and More

After Christmas I went back to campus to face some new challenges. To begin with, I had a new hairdo. I had always wanted to be a brunette and for Christmas got a wig of that hue. I was thrilled that it had so much body, and I could curl it over night without having to sleep on the curlers. The first big event upon returning to school was Sorority Rush. There were eight different sororities at that time, and Rush Teas were spread out over Saturday and Sunday afternoons of the first weekend back to school. I met and talked with so many folks I could not really keep them straight, but I was only asked to pledge Alpha Sigma Tau.

My sorority Mother was a upperclassman named Carolyn. I really like her, although she was the only person I really got to know. I was not particularly happy with the bright yellow beanie, but that was part of the game, so I wore it. Pledging was fun most of the time, with lots of silliness. I did not share classes with any of the other pledges or members. Pledging sure put a new structure in my life. From 6:30 to 9 every Monday to Thursday evening, I was in the sorority suite, a set of rooms in a dormitory. There was a short meeting some evenings, but most of the time was dedicated to silent study. There were lots of social events, and we were expected to be a part of the chapter choral group. I remember a sorority-fraternity Roaring Twenties party that was lots of fun. For it, I made a simple dress of apple green with little white printed daises. I added three rows of four-inch fringe trim to the skirt. I loved that dress so much that after the dance, I removed the trim and wore it to threads. I also made a second dress for the group. We were all to wear matching yellow wool dresses for the big spring Sorority Concert. I did not like the chosen pattern at all.

Another thing that started soon after I went back to school was dating Steve Coomer, the fellow from Larry’s Christmas party who spent the evening blowing his bubble gum. I was flattered that a senior wanted to date me. We went to musical events mostly, but it was not a real healthy relationship. He hated the brown wig and told me so from the start, Somehow that made me want to hang onto it all the more. He also told me that pledging a sorority was a foolish idea. He was jealous of the Twenties dance because it was closed to folks who were not in Greek Life. But we did go to the Valentine’s Dance and I made a special dress for that, too. It was blue velvet. Yes, the song was popular at that time and they did play it at the dance. Things really came to head a bit later when we went to see Porgy and Bess at Emens Auditorium. I was looking forward to the performance because I knew the songs from listening to Mom’s records, but I did not know the story. Students could get free tickets to events by presenting their ID cards at the box office ahead of the performance. Since I was accustomed to second- row seats, because that’s what my folks had for Emens events, I always got tickets early. So I gave Steve my ID on Monday, when he assured me he would take care of getting the tickets. He returned my ID on Sunday afternoon– almost a week later–when he picked me up for the 2:30 performance. When I discovered we were seated on the far left of the upper balcony, I was a little upset. Steve admitted that he had not gotten the tickets until Saturday afternoon, even though he had promised to get them right away. I was really disappointed and upset as the opera went on. I could see only a few details of the sets and costumes, and none of the facial expressions at all.

Enjoy

Carol

 

Childhood Memories, Diva Meetings, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Pixies Group

Bright Ideas

Hello,
The trees are really showing off now that we have experienced a few cold nights.   I love the way the leaves are drifting off  the trees now too.

A little challenge from the Pixies this week was to think about “Bright Ideas”. Many of us have challenges from the outside world or self imposed. Just where do the bright ideas come from? I find them to be very elusive. At times I as stumped by quilt challenges and feel they just do not apply to my process. I do draw and doodle and some times that process produces an idea for the project. At other times when I want to start a new project I have a firm direction because of a logical leap. But for the tough ones my experience most successful solution is just letting a goal go to the side. Often times, when the problem as been sidelined for a while, the solution with suddenly appear – the bright idea comes into my mind a bit like magic and I am off and running again with a celare direction to solve a problem.

I dyed for what I think will be the last time this season. We had to run the heater to be able to work this week. I did have fun and look forward to using these along with the others this winter.

The Quilt Diva’s also meant this week. Donna is working away on a new set of sculptures. Her work with fimo and found objects is amazing I think.

 

 

 

 

Bev did a few more of her little square pieces. The colors are so ver bright.

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Day Dreaming This work is 29″w X 31″l. The dress is one of my Mothers and so I added a Felix the Cat doll to the person as that was one of her childhood favorites. The flowers are made from wool with free motion drawing on top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elements- Line     I have stared adding sew in lines on this project.

 

 

 

Handwork  I just keep stitching away on this project.  I’d say the end is in sight.

 

 

 


Grandmother’s wedding dress      My cousin Casey gave me Grandmother Ruth’s wedding dress when we visited.   I am going to stitch it down to the blue and embroider the  information about her  and Grandfather Howard on the quilt.

 

 Lap # 22     I just have fun making these quilts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Childhood Memories- Beginning College

Summer ended and September began as did my freshman year at Ball State. I carried the usual load of six classes and filled my time with lots of extra events too. Dad took me to school every morning and we headed for home every evening after 5. My first class, World History was four days a week at 7:00 a.m. in the theater with 350 other freshmen. I sat in the front row with an old high school friend who was also a commuter, Marila Miller. We agreed that being that close to the teacher, we certainly could not fall asleep. Neither of us had a place to hang out until our next class. Mine was not until 11. We tried the lobby in the music building, next door to the theater. It was cold, uncomfortable and full of traffic.

We quickly discovered the Music Listening Library. Another of my classes was Music Appreciation, so I could do my listening assignments there as well. The space was much quieter and more comfortable with couches and personal listening cubicles. A vocal music student opened the space at 8:00 just as we got out of class. His name was Larry Tackett and we became friends, since it was just the three of us many mornings for several hours. Sometimes I used the head phones and did listen to required music, but just as often Larry would .pick out something for all of us to enjoy while we talked and worked. Larry became a life long friend who sang at my wedding. Later, after we moved to Syracuse, he even lived with us while he taught middle school for the city and worked on a Masters Degree.

The first week end at Ball State the big event was the Watermelon Feed, which I attended with Margaret. It was held in a big field at the west end of campus.We had fun, ate watermelon, of course, and talked to lots of folks, but did not make any solid connections. The Freshman Convocation was the next event. I had been to Emens Auditorium many times with my folks to see plays and musicals, but it felt very different to sit in the middle of a crowd of nosey freshmen. I sat between Susy and Margaret. The only thing I really remember was the president telling us to look to our right and then our left. “Of the three of you only one will be here at graduation.” We all swore to one another that would not be the case with us, but four years later I was the only one with a Ball State diploma.

The Theater became an active place and Drama Majors did performances. I remember going to see “ Half a Sixpence “ and “Mary, Mary”. Because I did most of my studying in the music library I meant and went out with lots of music majors. Recitals and small group assembles most of the time. But I also got to attend and hear Count Basie when he did a performance in Emens for Homecoming weekend. It was wonderful! I also went the “All School Convection” with Pearl Buck that took place that fall. I’d read The Good Earth in high school and I was excited. It was a good lecture, but I mostly recall how passionately she spook on the plight of the many mix blood children that the war had created. There was also a big band day in conjunction with one of the fall football games. I got to see some of my friends from Muncie Central at that even. It was a busy and fun fall.

I will be off at a small quilt retreat next week so there will not be a post.

Enjoy Halloween

Carol

Childhood Memories, Daily Practice, Finger Lakes Fiber Artist Group, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Pixies Group, Scrap Happy Quilts

Starting Fall Color

Hello,
We are starting to see fall color here in central New York. I sure enjoy walking through fallen leaves. The sound of  the   shifting  and crushing of  leaves as one passes through them is one of my favorite sounds of fall.

 

 

 

 

It has been a busy week for me with two days spent dying with Liz. I have lots of fabric to was out today.

 

 

 

 

Liz is doing clean up  in this shot.

 

 

 

I had a Finger Lakes Fiber Artist meeting this week.   It is always so good to talk and share with my fellow artists.     Noel had a great piece to share with us.   There is lots of movement here.

 

 

 

 

 

Joan shared too.   She hand dyed all the fabrics in this piece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bev also shared her work with us.

There was also a Pixies zoom meeting that I enjoyed.

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Tattered This work is 26″ X 40″. It is made up of cut aways from Granite and Silver with lots of hand beading added for interest.

 

 

 

 

 

Lap # 19 This work was formerly know as Circling Thoughts, but I do not think it is strong enough to be and art quilt. It was a good exercise none the less.

 

 

 

 

Lap # 20 I just had fun putting this piece together. I really like using   my alerted fabrics together.

 

 

 

Day Dreaming I am in the process of building up the face and arm for this project. I will start the assembly this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scrap work I am putting in about an hour a day assembling scraps together so I can make 2.5″ strips to add to the centers for my Roman Strip squares.   they will be used in my next  bed quilt. This step always takes a long time, but I sure like the review of fabric projects that it offers me. Sue Ellen also gave me a box full of strips and unused blocks.    I am mixing  then  into this project so there is lots of variety here.

Handwork I started this project on our trip to visit family. I am building in  more color now.

 

 

Daily Process This project sort of got pushed to the side so I could finish up bindings and such this week. It is good to get back into the habit.

 

Childhood Memories- Summer 1966

Summer after graduation was a busy one. There were lots of water related activities, including scuba diving, canoeing, and swimming. Dad teased me by saying I needed gills to assure my safety. The gang did lots of things together, but like everything else this too was changing. Cecile and Mike still did things with Margaret, Jim and me. But Susy spent most of her time with her family, and Bobby had flunked out of college so he went off to work. We played lots of Putt-Putt, with the winner seeming to change with every game. One day I went regular golfing with Jim Freshwater. That was one sport that did not work at all for me. My swing was way off and I kept sending divots into the air. My score was very high and by the end of the third hole Jim had become disgusted with me. He said I could walk the rest of the course with him if I promised to never golf again. And I never have.

In late July I went to orientation at Ball State. It was three days of tests and meetings with other freshmen and a councilors. The group I was in was full of folks who were all living off campus so there was lots of talk about parking and public transportation. There was a big jump in population on campus and I was glad I was not living in the dorms as there were three and four folks in rooms designed for two. The tour of the campus was not to new to me but that too turned out to be informative. We had our photos take for our student ID’s that we picked up in the fall when we returned to campus. The special mixers in the evenings were fun and I felt excited bout the new adventure a head. I did meet a lot of people but I did not make any connections with folks that I even remember seeing again on campus.

The next big summer event was the Band Trip to Detroit. We went to Greenfield Village, where Margaret and I had fun exploring together and got peppermint sticks at the general store.   There was also a cigar store Indian out front that we both liked. In the afternoon the band group went to the Ford museum. That turned out to be a bit of a rush as we had to hurry to get ready for the concert in the evening. We again went to a practice session with the Detroit Orchestia on Sat morning. In the afternoon the band went to see “Dr Zhivago” in a special movie theater with a big curved movie screen. The sound was great and I enjoyed the movie a lot. On the bus ride home I felt a little sad knowing this was my last adventure with a group that had given me friends and real identity throughout high school.

Be safe

Carol