Category Archives: Thread Painting

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

On the Go

February 6, 2020 admin 1 Comment

Hello,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I did lots of little collages too,

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

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

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

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

Keep Creating

Carol

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

Thread Painting

January 16, 2020 admin

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

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

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

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

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

Progress Report: Snow Dye

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Drawing –

I was trying to work with reflection this week.

Childhood Memories- Junction Bed Room

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

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

Keep Creating

Carol

3X3, Diva Meetings, Forest Flock, Label Cards, Quilt Exploration Group (QuEGs), Sandpipers

Upcycle

February 7, 2019 admin

Hello,

It seems like this time of year one tends to do a bit of clean out and reevaluation. I found lots of my friends using what they had to make new work this month.

I spent my Saturday last week working as a part of the Bed for Kids project here in town. Sadly there are many children in our community who do not have beds. So this group is working on bedding as a part of the goal to meet this need. I started this quilt and the top is almost complete now. It is made of a project that was passed to me. Many other women worked on creating pillow cases. Girl Scouts and a girls basketball team also showed up and created polar fleece no sew blankets. It was a lively and fun project to be a part of. I also contributed 13 quilts to this worthy project.

Both of the groups that I belong to meant on Tues. At QuEG’s , Sue Ellen showed up this top that she created as she tries to work down her stash. Dori is doing hand work on this witches hat to use up some of her trims. Victoria is also using up available materials. She is cutting up all her angora sweaters that have small wholes and making a throw with them. Susan is going through her scrap bag and building units with raw edge applique and embroidery. She has also set the limit of using red and turquoise as her main colors for this pursute. I think limiting like that can make one be very creative with other tools. Liz continues to happily quilt away on her school days piece. And Sally is making cards with one of her new sewing machine patterns. She is also experimenting with water soluble colored pencils that she had on hand. I like the directions she is exploring.

At Diva’s, Alice shared her new series. She is experimenting with India ink painting on fabric. To good effect I would say. Regina in her wonderful way completed this indigo piece this month. She really challenges herself I think. Both meetings were full of inspiring talk and interesting works. I came home all fired up again.

Progress Report: Forest Flock This quilt is 39” w X 35”l. I have been enjoying doing the thread painting of birds for a while and this time I tried doing them for a quilt. It is a bit different type of approach for me but I like to mix my techniques. The more I play with this process the more I seem to enjoy it. I keep learning little things with each attempt too. With these birds, I explored not only using the the two layers of wash away but a layer of nylon netting in the middle. I had noticed that the shapes I had created before could easily be distorted in the pinning and drying stage. The nylon net seemed to make the work more solid and helps to avoid that distortion problem. Now there may be a time when that is undesirable desirable but now the nylon netting really helps maintain the shapes that I am building.

Sandpipers The birds are attached to the shore now and I am doing some intense looking as I am not really happy with the appearance of this composition. It seems to need something in addition. I will study it over the course of the next few weeks and hope that I can find a solution that I am happy with.

3X3 This is blao B-3. The third block in row b. I finished it for the most part and placed block C-3 next to it so I could make connections. Pressing and a little more work should do the trick. The I went ahead and worked on block C-3.I have been putting in about an hour every day on this project.

Label Cards: Tied Up This week I realized how I get myself in worry knots about nonsense. Being away from the studio and such helped me get a better perspective. I hope I can continue to recognize the unimportant things and let them go.

Color Wonder In this gray time of year I am always surprised by a sudden splash of color. I could not get the pink nose of my a friends dog’s nose out of my mind so I made this card to remind myself to look with care at the world around me.

3X3, Label Cards, Sandpipers

Oaxaca Adventure

January 31, 2019 admin

Hello,

I had a wonderful time in Oaxaca Mexico. Susan was a great guide and the city was a visual feast. Every where one looked there was art. This pony sculpture was at the airport and shows a modern twist on the Alibris’s we usually connect with this area. I did visit a family workshop where they did that beautiful work. As one can see here the painted detail is amazing.

Susan, Carolyn and I went to many museums. We did the Print Museum and the Fiber Arts Museum the first day. There was a great display of Indigo stilt walker costumes there. The museum also had a display of hand stitchery on shirts from the areas in the state of Oaxaca. Each area had a unique style of clothing with unique stitching patterns. I found that specially interesting after my slow stitch class last fall. Each language group has a unique style. Susan and I went to the market and it too was a visual bombardment. Susan’s land lady brought her fresh flowers every day and after this visit I can see why. We had lunch at a Chocolate bar that day. The shake was delightful, tasty and very filling along with a chicken burrito .This shot shows how big the drink was.

I took a day trip to the ruins at Monte Alban and enjoyed the wonderful carved images and buildings. The guide explained a lot of history and was very knowledgeable. I was epically taken by this little god image in the museum and think he may be a jumping off place for some new work. ( this shot is life sized) The tour took us to a village that makes Black Pottery. Many villages in this valley specialize in one type of craftor another. This woman who is in her late 80’s has a sure hand and a good eye. She stated doing this type of work nearly 68 years ago so the fact that she does it all by eye and does not use a prepared pattern is understandable.

Susan and had a play day. I cut some of the organza we got at the market and made stencils.

Susan worked on her long Lincoln and Washington projects. The garden in their compound was beautiful. I had never seen Poinsettia that were 10 feet high before.

I drew almost every day on this trip and this is a banana plant Susan’s garden.

We visited the Stamp Museum one day and there was a good display of work using a big stamp as a base for artist interpations. I liked the idea of using stamps as units for a collage too. There was also a large collection of stamps from all over the world for ones viewing. It was a great museum. w

We went on a field trip to the Print Studio/ Museum too. It was an old weaving factory, that has now been converted for artists studios. The display space was huge and there where over 100 huge prints there. Many were woodcuts that were done on 4’X6’ sheets of plywood. Big windows and reflective glass made taking photos very hard. I did like how their definition of prints included stenciled graffiti. These were done on the walls of the gallery and were pristine. There was also a wonderful video show in the gallery upstairs from a South African artist. Wood cut 1 This woodcut block was also a part of the show.

Susan and I went to the Museum of Modern Art and saw a wonderful show of collaborations. An artist was paired with a craft person and they filled a room of the gallery with their collaborations. A weaver and embroider were paired for the text exhibit. The results were wonderful. This second paring was of women appliques and a poet. I went in search of the stitchers works and purchased one of my own to bring home.

We took another fiend trip to a village that specialized in woven rugs. This shot shows hand dyed yarns drying on a balcony. The men did most of the weaving and were very pleasant. His loom was huge and as the photo shows he did it all standing. There were rugs everywhere even in this village – even in restaurant where we ate lunch. We spent time in their local church too. It had just be restored and in the process it was discovered that may stones from the native temple that was destroyed for the church construction were reused in the building of the church. I love the mix and the fact that the restoration left the underling stones exposed.

I went on a tour of the Botanical Garden in Oaxaca on my last full day. It was very informative and beautiful. Epically when we learned that it was only 35 years old. I really like this Elephant Tree and

this tree they call the Rock Crusher. The roots are amazing. The guide said it was going to be cut soon as it was destroying the old abbey wall that surrounded the garden. I took tons of photos here and enjoyed myself. Later that day Susan and I visited the Museum of Oaxaca and had a good history lesson. It was a wonderful trip and so very colorful. I am very glad I went- especially when I got back to cold central NY.

Progress Report: 3X3 This is block 2C of the 3X# challenge. I am currently doing my daily practice on this block. I took this one and block 2B with me to Oaxaca to work on while I was away.

This is a shot of the whole background with all nine parts.

This is block 2B, the center of the 3X3 set and it is more or less complete. As I build other squares there may be overlap that needs to be added.

Forest Flock I am to the point where I am stitching down the birds with the sewing machine and making that the quilting step of the project. The trees are also part of the quilting.

Lily I painted this lily on pillion with Susan on one of our play days. It was one of the flowers that her landlady had brought to her.

Sweet Peas I painted these with Susan too. I added the background color yesterday.

Sandpipers I finished the thread painting of the three birds yesterday and they are washed out and drying now. I go inspired to work hard on them after receiving payment in the mail for the sale of Black Capped Chickadees at the Associated Artist sale.

This is the shore background for the birds. It is a felted background.

Jeanne’s QuiltAll the rows are now built for this project. I will move on to the next step now.

Label Cards Joy One day while I was away Susan and made cards. I used one of the many colorful magazines I had picked up to create these three cards.

Shoot They represent what was on my mind at the time.

Land It was a great experience and I am so glad I went.

Keep Creating

Carol

3X3, Collections, Finger Lakes Fiber Artists, Forest Flock, Linnen Jacket, Quilt Exploration Group (QuEGs)

Winter white

January 10, 2019 admin

Hello,

We are in the middle of a beautiful snow storm here. I shot this image through one of the garage windows. I love the ice crystal patterns and how they break up the view.

There was a Flinger Lakes Fiber Artist meeting this week. This work by Pat was one of the wonderful works we looked at and talked about.Pricilla brought all these silk squares that she intends to use in a new jacket.

Liz shared this work that she machine quilted her self. She and I dyed printed the fabric in one of our grange dates last summer.

Lori showed us this work of hers that was in the members show at the Schweinfurth. The gold and black fabric background was a piece of fabric that she purchased from Pat last summer.

Noel took Pat’s Two by Two class and this is the result of that. I like how Noel uses diagonals in her work.

I find this work by Regina just fascinating. I just keep looking and seeing new areas of interest with each study.

Joyce is working on book forms now and this is just one that she shared.

Marcia is playing with movement in her work at the moment. I think it is just great how much variety is going on in this group of talented women and I am so happy to be a small part of it.

The QuEG’s also meant this week. Liz showed off another of her works. She is in the process of quilting this piece too.

Sue Ellen spent a little time playing this season and created this table runner. Lots of bright color here.

Progress Report: Collection V I keep working away on this project and I think I am nearing the end of itI am doing the line stitching now, usually a sign of the completion of the task.

Forest Flock I worked on the second set of birds this week and they are a little beyond half way done. They need about three more shades of thread in blues and grays to be complete I think.

3X3 I have now laid out all the panels for this project. I want to add some circles in transparent fabrics on top and then I will be ready to begin hand stitching on them.

Jacket I keep stitching away on this project but it is slow as it is the bottom of the stack and there is no time line for it.

There are no cards this week because I can not find the ones I did. There were curling as they dried so I put them under something and cannot find them. They will turn up and then be a bonus.

This is also the last entry for a few weeks as I am off to Oaxaca Mexico to visit with Susan. The next post will be full of news of that trip I am sure.

Keep Creating

Carol

Aplique, Cockle Burs- Noogoora, Collections, Label Cards, Meadowlark, Sky, Totem Fox, Waterfall

End of year

December 27, 2018 admin

Hello,

I had to add this photo of my grandson’s creation for his mother for Christmas. I am so very proud of his creative welded work.

We are reaching the end of 2018 and reflection on all that has transpired over the course of the year seems to be apart of that ending. I have had a wonderful year with lots of shows and lots of creative work. I continue to be healthy and the ideas keep flowing out of my brain while the fingers do the work. My New Years wish for you is that you too will find new beginnings and joy at every turn.

Progress Report: Gathering Storm This work is part of the elements series from Corrine’s online class book. I have done all the palmary work and I am now doing the finishing up of the four works as the instructor suggests. I have learned a lot as I have follow the instructions. It has revived my interest in Angelina too.

Cockleburs/Noogooras I thought that this work was done last week, but upon further reflection I realized that it was not quilted enough with just stitch in the ditch work. So I added more steams in machine drawing. They add the quilting to make itavoid sagging and a quiet interest. Do that however meant I had to re-square the work so it has become a bit smaller as well. I am happier with it now.

Meadowlark This work is 12” X 12” and it too has a felted base with machine drawing on top. I really like this process and can see more works in this style down the road. There is a bit of recycling in this piece too. The fence post is made from some of the leftovers of the rock piece that became Rain Puddle. I added brown nylon netting on top to quiet it down a little too. I made the barb wire from yarn as it frayed like the little spikes on the wire does.

Waterfall After adding batting and backing I am now stitching down the parts and quilting at the same time. I’ll finish this like Gathering Storm as it too is from the Elements class.

Forest Flock I built this quiet background this week. I am making thread painted birds to add in on the top. I will create felted trees to add yet another layer of depth to the work. This will be the biggest work that I have done using the thread drawing as a part of the process.

These are some of the birds. There are two shades of gray and red threads on them. They need black beaks, eyes and feet to be complete. That will be my next action.

Sandpipers I also did the research and some palimony drawings for the next machine drawing bird piece this week. After doing all the solo birds I want to do groups for a piece or two

Jeanne’s quilt This work got about an hour’s worth of work every day that I went to the studio this week. Some rows even got connected to the ones next to them as they got completed.

Totem Fox I am done with the quilting and I am adding the facings to this work now. I think I will have it finished by tomorrow. I have enjoyed this project.

Collections V This piece did not get much attention this week. I am still collecting things that I think go together here. But now that Totem Fox is done I will need some hand work.

Label Cards: Rework The new beginnings of the season even became a part of this challenge this week. At the same time I do not think one can leave the past behind so using some parts of an old project to build upon was a natural way to move forward for me.

The Thing The future is like opening a door when you do not know what you will find. What is” the thing “that is in your future that will change everything that follows. We can only move forward doing the best with what lies a head.

Another Thing At the same time I can not think that good things are out there too.

Enjoy the holidays and ay your heart be full of joy.

Keep Creating

Carol

Aplique, Collections, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Label Cards, Meadowlark, Noogora/Cockelburs, Plants, Shows, Totem Fox, Waterfall, Wildfire

Everson Show

December 20, 2018 admin

Hello,

The big event in my life this week was the opening of the Everson show: (Re)Generate. It is a show of women’s work from gals all over 60 years old. I was invited to participate and this is my Wildfire piece that is there. The show is up until Jan 15. I am very happy to be a part of this show along with so many friends. The other event this week was a FAB meeting. We went to Nancy’s new home. It is wonderful with great views and splendid rooms. In the basement there is a wonderful old pool table and some very old billiard balls.I could not resist this colorful shot.

Progress Report: Noogoora/Cockleburs All the parts are attached now and I have even done additional quilting in the form of more branches to fill in. I will add the facing and finish it this week I hope.

Totem Fox I continue to do the quilting on this piece. I am just about half way done with that step now.

Waterfall I added the painted dryer sheet for the water fall yesterday and a bit of silk paper. I will now free motions quilt it all down.

Meadowlark All the base machine drawing is done now and I am ready to wash out the stabilizer. Then on to the felted base.

Jeanne’s Project I keep building away on this project. It is slow because, I audition a piece of fabric, look and then decide if it should be stitched on. The if it works I stitch and move on to the next row. I think she will be happy when it is complete.

Collection VI I started a new work in this series this week. There is not a lot on the surface yet but the building is part of the fun of these projects.

Cards: Inspire Be aware and open to the world around you.

We never Know One never knows what will spark a new direction or work.

I hope the holidays bring you joy and delight.

Keep Crating

Carol

Birds, Daily Practice, Deep Jellies, FOX, Label Cards, Scrap Happy Quilts, Sisterhood of the Scissors, Southern Crows, Word Forms

Fall Retreat 2018

November 16, 2018 admin

Hello,

The Schweinfurth Fall Retreat was last week end. I had a good time and got a bit of work done along with lots of old friends. Janice, a friend I made at the fall retreat two years ago, made and appearance and worked on this baby quilts. Her child is due in April. Sally finished up this top. One of her children gave it to her.

Victoria returned to work on this piece that has some hand dyed stuff in it that she created in the wet studio last fall.

Susan made three Christmas stockings( yes, that is an opossum on the one above her head ) and quilted on a piece that she started at QBL two summers ago.

Sally F worked on this wonderful soft colored piece that is a jump off from a Kay Facet design.

Randy quilted with the quilting machine in the front of the class room and made progress on this quilt.

Janet worked on creating these diamonds in Cherry wood strips and she got all the blocks done this weekend.

Liz worked away on this piece using some of her hand dyed fabric.

I started playing with some trapped cut yarns just to see what would happen. Then I also started to assemble a top using the crows I printed at Susan’s in Florida in March. Everyone had fun and made progress. There was so much going on it was rather exciting.

Sisterhood of the Scissors meant at the Schweinfurth today and looked at the the Q=A=Q show. We decided to use this nine patch quilt as the basis for our next challenge. The wild piecing and applique work appealed to us. Not sure about he rules- but I think it will push folks to some unique work.

After checking out the Q=A=Q show the group went upstairs to view the Members Show. This is my piece, Deep Jellies that is in the show.

Lots of my friends are in this one too. There is work by Victoria . I know she dyed this in a workshop with Pat Pauly.

Lori’s piece from Danalia was displayed.

Angela’s felt work was shown too. I regret to say that my shot of The Crows Of Auburn, by Regina , is too fuzzy to post- but it was there as well. NOel had a ceramic piece too. It is a strong show with lots of variety and very enjoyable.

Progress Report: Purple Study I enjoyed building this little 11” X 11” piece. The hand work class is still resonating with me.

JacketAs further proof of that the handwork classes influence, I started altering this linen jacket this week. I took out the shoulder pads and added a few patches of color. I have even done a little hand stitching here as well. I can see this is a long term project.

Black Capped Chickadee I did some tread painting of Chickadees this week as I want to keep building the free motion skills.

Earth – Waterfall I have not touched this piece in awhile but I got back to it this week. I am building in the trees at this point. The water over the rocks will come later.

Scrap Happy I am assembling the rows through the backing and batting in a sew and flip fashion. I will quilt over all of it later to add strength.

Rework FOX I thought I was finished with this work a few weeks ago. When I took it to the QuEGs meeting folks like the colors and the layout- but said it needed more quilting. This is a case where in my rush to finish I did not really look at the work to see it’s flaws. It is easy to repair this one- I merely took off the sleeve and labels and pealed back the facings so I could add more machine quilting. I am building up the new quilting in a diagonal pattern.

Daily Practice The hand work continuers to fill in on this work. I need to finish that step and then live with it a while to see if it needs any additional embellishment. I am trying to allow for the looking stage.

Southern Crows The top I stared at the the retreat is all assembled now. Pressing and basting need to come next so I can begin to quilt it.

Shredded Color This is a close up of the other piece that I started at the retreat. I have plastic bags of shredded yarn in color groups that I capture between the felted background and various colors of nylon net with free motions stitching. It is an experiment and I am leaning lots. I may or may not keep the piece as a whole unit. Got to do the careful looking and living with it – but first I need to finish the work.

Label Card: Beyond In this crazy fast pasted world, it is difficult to look beyond our next step or the next day. I fear we are losing lots of joy and wisdom by not looking a little bit beyond the immediate events. So this card is to remind me to slow down and think about the future as well as the past.

Next Thursday is Thanksgiving so there will not be a post next week. Enjoy your blessings.

Keep Creating,

Carol

Carrol Iowa, Dad's Barn, Daily Practice, Diva Meetings, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), IV, Modern, Perception, Persuasion, Quilt Exploration Group (QuEGs), Ravens, Self Knowledge, Word Forms

Taking stock

June 8, 2018 admin

Hello,

We are beginning to enjoy the wonders of summer. These poppies are in Susan’s garden and look wonderful. This was the first full week of June and I had three meetings. QuEG’s meant on Tuesday morning. It was a small group but folks had lots to share.Linda C is working on a baby quilt for her niece. Elephants are the nursery theme. Liz is working on her transparency piece and it is looking good. Sue Ellen is playing with her collection on non cotton fabrics. And there is a row by row project in the works too.

I went from the meeting to Moravia and spent a wonderful afternoon working with Susan. We then went off to the Diva meeting where more things were cooking. Donna has a new batch of mirrors that she has completed. She sure knows how to use Fimo effectively. Lori is creating portraits with her needle now. Noel is doing portraits too- but with quilt a different bent. Her fabric faces are stretch and very whimsical.

Yesterday I went off to the FAB meeting. Judy and Patti are knitting like crazy and Sharon has finished her Relative quilt now.

Because of all these meetings I spent a lot of time in the car alone. This plus sorting through work looking for a specific piece brought up some issues. Susan wisely said of reworking pieces one is “playing with your younger self.” What a grand way to look at the process of redoing works that do not quite make the grade. Time away from work allows one to look with new eyes at the pieces and I often see things I wish I had done differently. I can spot the problems in some cases too. In my sorting and musing I have decided I will return to some works in the hope of making them stronger.

Progress Report: Perception Daily This work is 30” w X 46” l. It is a part of the text series . One of the challenges that Liz and I made for our selves this year was to use some of the fabric that we hand dyed. All the material except the dark turquoise fabric in the background is something that I altered. I did reflective quilting around all the words after I had raw edge appliqued down the words.

Daily Practice I I finally stretched all the finished Daily Practice work this week. This piece is 18″ w X 24″ l. The base of this one is a piece of fabric that was a wipe up cloth at one of my print sessions last summer. The lace is from grandmothers collection and I hand dyed it last summer as well.

Daily Practice II This piece is 16″ w X 18″ l. The base for this work is several trimmed tans that looked good together. This piece has lots of buttons on it for textural contrast.

Daily Practice III This work is 18″ w X 24″ l. The purple background is a commercial fabric and all the other material added on top is some I have altered. They are also scraps left over from other projects. I have always been fascinated by negative space and in using those negatives this way they become positive spaces. Stitches and pompoms are the textural elements of this piece.

Daily Practice IV

The orange part base of the background isone of the shibori projects Liz and I tried last summer. The metal flowers are from Carol.

Rocky Shore I worked forward on Water – the class assignments this week. The hand painted sky and water have been stitched down and the three different types of foam have also been applied. One foam is made from Angelina, a second is florist plastic that was painted with opalescent paint and the third was a textured plastic ribbon that I ironed. I will move on to the next element next week and finish all the elements at the end of the class.

Mulberry Memories This work has become a problem for me. I tried to put too much into the top for the size of the piece. It has become impossible for the viewer to “read”. Therefore I have decided to scarp this particular work and start again using the same ideas plus a few others and create two or perhaps a three units to represent this time and geography of my life. We lived in this location for 5 years and there are lots of memories.

Ravens I thought that this work was finished last week and I presented it as such. But a second study this week as convinced me that it needs more quilting. The gals at QuEGs pushed this idea too. So I am taking the time to make these additions.

Persuasion I have been busy doing pebble quilting on this text piece. I am ready to start reflective quilting on it now.

Dad’s Barn I came across the orange and yellow base in one of my boxes from Ethel. I pinned it to the pin wall and it hung there for several weeks. In thumbing through a sketchbook I came across of the old barn on Dad’s Farm and though I would like to do a work about that. The two came together. I also wanted to do some more thread painting so I drew our some swallows on wash away and started them. After the backs were done I added the chest and beaks. I have learned that I do not need to do the legs as they are so slender that they do not hold up well after washing and they seldom are in the position I want so I add them when I put the work together. The birds are washed and dried and ready for mounting on the image. I need to decide how I am going to add one of them to the work now.

New Work I am trying to pay attention to shape and contrast with this work. It is made up of mostly the cut-away’s of several older pieces. Again my love of the negative spaces.

Label Cards Modern I became weary of the word Modern when I was about 10. I was helping Mom and Aunt Marci clean grandfather’s cabin. We were taking The books off the shelf sorting and dusting them. I came a pone one called “ Modern Science” and I flipped it open. It revealed a drawing of all of the parts of atom with the Neutrons, Protons and Electrons labeled. Knowing there were more I decided to always be wary of things labeled as “Modern”.

Self Knowledge One develops an understanding that they are unique entities separate from others at a young age. But the real development of self acceptance takes years and for some never occurs.

Keep Crating Friends

Carol

Birds, Birds, Carrol Iowa, Collections II Grandmother Mc, Daily Practice, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Memory Map Quilts, Perception, Persuasion, Ravens, Spring Spin, Summer Family - Cardinals, Thread Painting

Great Weather

May 24, 2018 admin

Hello,

After several days of spring rains, we are enjoying wonderful weather. I now need to do some yard jobs. But any excuse to be out doors will due. It is so wonderful with pleasant temperatures and almost daily changes in the environment. There was only one meeting this week and it was of the FAB group. I forgot my camera so there are no new images.

Progress Report: Ravens This work is 38”w X 49” l. It really came together with ease. I made a drawing and then added a Raven’s head to the big white areas.

I enjoyed working with the limited palet.

Summer Family- Cardinals Texture is one of my main interests, and this work has a lot of them. This mother Cardinal has the most variation in thread colors of the three. Her position is more animated then the males.

I do seem to be in a bird phase at the moment.

Persuasion I was all ready to add the words on top of this work and then I realized that the value of the text was too close to the background. So I took them off and made some darker words( navy blue ) and brighter greens.

I am raw edge appliqueing them down with silver and pale blue metallic threads. There are two threads in one needle of the sewing machine.

Perception I could not bring myself to toss the pale purple words so I made a new background for them. The fuchsia and pink really high lights the words that were lost on the first work.. Then I added some of the leftover navy words too. I think that they add interest.

New Collection II Grandmother Mc This work is moving along. I am enjoying going through the old button collections and adding them to the surface.

Daily Practice This work just keeps building.

New I seem to be fascinated by the purple and apple green colors of late. This is a new combination for me and I guess I am not done exploring it.

Mulberry Memories- Carroll This work is moving slowly. I am adding the images I painted last week on the surface. As a child, I lived in this house five years and there are so many memories that I am having a hard time deciding what to use.

Card- Spin Spring seems bring on a dramatic change in the outside world and those changes push me in a new directions. I find that my mind is full of a wide variety of ideas.

Keep Creating

Carol

Cre-8

Category Archives: Thread Painting

On the Go

Thread Painting

Upcycle

Oaxaca Adventure

Winter white

End of year

Everson Show

Fall Retreat 2018

Taking stock

Great Weather

Creative Fiber Collage Artist Carol Boyer