Animals, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Hand work, Machine Drawing, Pixies Group

Home from QBL 2024

Hello,

I am now home from my two weeks of  Quilting By the Lake.   This year it was held at  Hobart, Williams, Smith College in Genova, New York .      This was a last min change as Wells collage closed in May and Davana had to do seme scrambling to find us a new location.    It worked out remarkably well for such a short notice.    The housing and class rooms were scattered all over the lovely campus and that made for lots of walking, but it was so beautiful that I enjoyed it none the less.   My Cottage was across this little pond and I got to walk around it going to and from the main campus every day.

The fist week I had  Natural Dyeing class with Ellen Noble.    That class was in the art building that is surrounded by woods on three sides.  I saw a deer and a fawn one morning on my walk out to the location.

The class was very small with only eight of us, but oh so enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

Ellen really knows her stuff and she did lots of demonstrations for us.

 

I think I enjoyed learning about  Indigo the most, but the walnut and Palma granite dyes were fascinating too.

 

 

Ellen sat next to me and we shared lots of laughs.

Here she is painting a restirs on  a pre dyed of iron oxide.       There was a lot of chemistry in this class.

 

 

 

  This is a sample shot of many of the techniques that I came home with .

 

 

 

 

 

One evening there was show and tell were folks broth things from home .  This is a shot of my cottage mate, Desy with her project from last year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was class show the last even of the first week  usual and this is a shot of my friend Diane  from her class.

 

 

 

 

 

Kay was in the same class as Diane.

 

 

 

 

Week 2,  I was in Alter Ego class with  Paula Kevork as the teacher.   We started out with lots of free motion work and then she introduced three  dentinal ideas.   In doing  the free motion drawing I did scissors and  I discovered how I might add safety pins to my  play too.

On Tuesday afternoon, Paula  provided a pattern  for a mask/head and we were off and running.  She said she lost control at that point and never got it back.  As a class, we   were enjoying the challenge so much it was fun all the way to the end.

 

 

 

 

I had lots of friends in that class.  and I made some new ones.   This work is by a new gal- Holly.  She challenged herself to creating the whole think by pinching  and folding the fabrics

 

 

 

 

  Desy was seated behind me and she created a wonderful deer head  with a halo and wings.

 

 

 

Susan was behind  Desy and she did a wonderful crow  on a pastel block  background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jea was seated in front of me and she took the prize for creating the most three dimensional pieces.     She did a face , a dog, a creature   and 2 jelly fish.

 

 

 

 

Laura did this wonderful creature were she mixed in limbs from out side in her piece.

 

 

 

 

This shot shows our teacher and Liz  plus  Liz’s  Chick  .   It  is just too wild.

I loved the exploration that went on all around me in both two and three dimensions.

 

I worked on a dragon .      I used an old quilt from 1991  so I did not have to make any free motion pieces to work with.    But due to the fact that I had no pattern my head did not fit the body .   I was ready to toss the whole ting when the teacher suggested that the body only needed a face to stand alone.  So the “One Eyed flying purple people  Eater” was born.   ( right shoulder)  And due to the cut off broom stick that Liz happened to have in her car the head became a jesters assistant.       I am delighted  with both on them .    Now I still have some great back legs- so I many have to use them  along with the remaining scarps from that old quilt to create another creature…

 

This is Paula’s work .  She is having fun along with us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is one more of Holly’s very inspirational pieces made from the scraps of one of her other projects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joe Cunningham did a lecture and showed us his strong work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The week ended with  another evening of work from the classes and the teachers apron auction.    The money raised from the auction goes to the scholarship fund.   Here we have Paula with her apron and a bonus of her book in the pocket.

 

 

 

Liz broth this apron  of Joe’s.

The whole event was a good one as  usual.   I so enjoy the people and new experiences QBL has to offer.  I along with Linda were honored this year with having attend  40 years.     I can’t quite believe that.

 I had a pixie meeting this week along with a FAD meeting.    Sharon had a wonderful background built for  a pieces she is making for her sister.

 

 

  Here is the bird.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report:    Cut Short    I spent most of this week catching up with  many things, but I did get work done on this piece.   It is ready for the zigzag  application of the parts now.

 Handwork- Small    This is my small work made with scarps from Cut it Out- the big  part.

 

I am enjoying my summer and having lots of fun creating new work.

Keep Creating
Carol

Cut It Out, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Pixies Group, QBL- Quilting By the Lake, Scissors

Off to Quilting by the Lake

2 Comments

Hello,

This week has been a full one for me.   I am of course packing for my two week at Quilting by the Lake.  I will have lots of new stuff to share  on Aug 1, the next time I post.

Summer walks continue to be full of new sights as well, such as these Indian pipes.

   I did go off to the    Opening of   the Rock  Garden Show on  Friday.  It is always a divers and interesting show.    I knew four artists this time.

Terri had this wonderful bed sized work in that show.   She has been working n it for years.

 

 

 

Barbara shared some of her quilts and  her paintings too.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheri showed off her print works.

 

 

 

 

 

Denise had four of her powerful felted works  on display.   The show is in Homer at the Art Center and will be up until  the end of Aug.

I attended the  Lavender Festival in Red Creek  with my grandson on Saturday and  zoomed with the Pixies as well.     I am blessed with a full life.

 

 

Progress Report:  Cut It Out      This work is 45.5″ X 28″.     it proved to be a challenge as giving the view in x-ray vision  meant I really had to watch what I was doing.    My pile of miss cuts was a big one.

 

I zig -zagged the edges and appliqued down textured yarn at the same time.

 

 

 Big and Small    I decided to take the Big and Small challenge.  This is my 12″ square that is the start of the  Small .    Some of the miscuts are used in this piece.  Now to do some embellishment work with thread.

 

 

 

Ties   I made more square for this project and I am all done creating them now.   I plan to start assembling  blocks later today.

 

 

 

 

 

Lap #12   I am working on the hand step of binding   this work now.    I want it done before I depart on Sunday.

 

 

 

Handwork     I did a little handwork this week.  I sure made a lot of blocks for the Joyous Embroidery class- still some left to complete.

 

New Cuts      I have new ideas for a scissors themed  project.  So I  though I would try a different approach this time and make  a paper pattern that I could trace and move  around  on a background.    Here is my new pattern in a heavy paper.    I will let you know how this works in the future.

Enjoy summer and keep creating’.

Carol

 

 

Diva Meetings, Fabric Flowers, Hand work, Lap Quilts

July Days

1 Comment

Hello,

I hope you enjoyed your 4th in what ever fashion you celebrated  it.

I picked a few  wild black berry’s from the bashes we pass on our walk this week.  They are sweet even in small doses.    I had a Diva meeting this week and it was quit enjoyable.                                                                Anne shared her piece from the Iron Quilter experience on Sat.   I think this is an amazing amount of work for less than 4 hours.

 

 

 

Lori shared her shadow prints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 She also had some of her  beautiful hand work to share with us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Victoria, Liz  and went to Angela’s for a summer lunch this week too.   Angelia  dose such  beautiful felt work.   I really love the rounded container!

 

 

 

 

Then Wednesday, I went with Wendy to the Botanical Gardens in Buffalo for even more inspiration.     The plants were amazing.

 

 

 

 

Progress Report:   Dragonfly Days   This work is 46.5″ w X 44″ t.     I had a good time working on this project and I am sure I will do another similar piece.   I did it to celebrate the things I learned in class last summer.

The dragonfly wings are a cut up  ribbon and the body is beaded .

 

 

The flowers are a combination of roving and Angelina.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scissors   I am making slow progress on this work.  the overlapping is proving to be a bit more difficult than I thought it would be.      I will try it again and approach it a bit differently.

 Lap #12   I still need to layer and quilt this top.   I like it none the less.

 

 

 

 

 

Tie Blocks   I took the blocks up and tried them on my bed to see how many I would need and mixed up the order so I am not sure if these are new or not.   I need  14 more to finish this project.

 

 

Handwork.   I am still finishing up blocks from the   Joyous Embroidery class .    Three more complete.

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you are enjoying the summer and that good times are filling your days.

Keep Creating

Carol

On last blossom

Applique, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Flag Challenge, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Pixies Group, Scissors

Berry Season

Hello,

As I plucked a ripe  berry form the Mulberry Tree  on our walk, I was  reminded that when I was in Kindergarten I learned that there were 4 seasons.  So when summer came and there was Cherry season, and Strawberry season, followed by Raspberry season, I was a little confused and wondered why they were so short.   My Dad explained that the fruit seasons were just labels for what was ripe and a joy to eat at times of the year, while the four seasons represented the leant of day light and weather.   My childhood mind still though it was a bit unfair that the berry seasons were so short.   I am  now enjoying watching the  blue berry plants grow large wonderful large green berries in Rachel’s  yard,  and paying attention to the first ripening  wild  black berries  along our path.    I love berry seasons, perhaps that is due to how brief they all are.     My other big delight this week was to discover a young opossum in my hedge when I was watering my plants .    Then there were all the firefly’s  in my back yard last night .   Nature is constantly surprising me.

My only quilting events this week were  a  FAD meeting and a Pixie Zoom meeting.

Progress Report:   Lap 11   I really enjoyed this project this week.  It is so very cheerful.

 

 

 

 

 

Lap 12     I can’t let things go so I started a new one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Field of Flowers    I try to work on this every day  so I am making progress  on it.   I think I only need to add the last of the free motion,  Angela, and  roving flowers I did to start this idea .

  Tie Quilt   In my efforts to clear away and finish up things I came across a box full of ties that a friend has sent me.   I decided to tackle building some blocks for a bed quilt with them.

 

 

Scissors Quilt  Marty sent me this little image of a painting made with scissors.  The water color artist had allowed himself to have X-ray vision with the work.  Seeing that was all it took for my imagination to go flying.     So I arranged my scissors and did a drawing.  This full sized drawing is the result.   I have pin based a base  and I am ready to start cutting pieces to fuse down and stitch now.

 

 

Glove Block # 5      This is my handwork for the evenings at the moment.      I am now ready to move on to the next block.

 

 

 

 

Flag for Susan     I came across this perfect piece of handwork by my Aunt May and though of Susan’s flag project.   I will mail it this week.

 

I hope folks are enjoying the wonders of summer.     Due to the fact that next Thursday is the 4th of July ,  I will not publish until Friday next week.

Stay Safe

Carol

 

 

Hand work, Lap Quilts, Nine Play, Pixies Group, Stencels

Summer Solstice

Hello,

We are to the longest day of the year today .    It is also very hot in this part of the world.   It will be  a while before I really notice the shorting days.   I do enjoy the sunlight though. We also have the Strawberry Moon this evening. I hope it stays clear and I get to view it.

This week was a  busy one for me.   Friday,  Liz and I went to Marcia’s for a sewing day.    Joyce worked on her Bog Coat as did I.

 

They help on hemming was what I needed  and mine is finished now.

 

 

 

 

 

Deb enjoyed Zoie.

 

 

 

Marcia showed off one of her jackets.

We had a good productive time.

I had a Sisterhood Zoom meeting and the Pixies meant too.

 

 

 

 

The Naturally Inspired class got my attention as I did a group of Gelli prints for that class.

 

 

 

The teacher also suggested that one cut their stencil shapes from Yupo paper.  It really works well and  holds up nicely.    I  will use it in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report: Swoop II This work is 37″ w X 46″ l.    It is made from leftover blocks from the first Swoop piece.

 

 

I had more fun with the quilting on this one than the first.

 

 

 

 

Lavender Floor   This work is 31″ X 24″.  I was playing with the free motion work and the roving again here.    The fish and the starfish both have this technique  as a part of them.

 

The sea grass is made from nylon netting and two different ribbons that I gathered to get the ripple effect.

 

 

 

 

Lap 10   The top is all pieced together  and it is pin based now.  I will  move forward on it this week.

 

 

 

 

 

Glove Blocks I have just pinned this piece together and started to stitch the handkerchief down.    In my sorting this week I found some more of aunt Shirley’s and grandmothers handkerchiefs too.  The gloves here are from Liz.,

Floral Garden   I have stitched down all the sunflowers and most of the leaves on this project.   I am just about ready to add more blossoms.   These flowers and the one I plan to add are made with the roving and free motion  technique that I learned in the QBL class last summer.

9X9X9  I added a boarder to this work and it is pin based.    Now I need to wait for the last portrait before I can go forward.

 

 

 

Envelopes  I always save my papers from painting and turn them into envelopes.  I realized that there were quit a few of them rolled up in the corner so I pulled them out and made a new batch of envelopes.     It is my personal way of recycling.

 

 

Please stay safe and cool as you can at this time.

Carol

 

 

FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Fish, Hand work, Nine Play, Pixies Group, Plants, SAQA

Spring Closing

Hello,

We have slipped into a real summer like feel here in central NY, even though summer does not officially begin until next week.   Most of the early flowers are gone and the  spring  ones that are still around are looking a bit shabby.   The seasons move so very quickly.     We have moved our walks to early morning as it is cooler  too.   The beginning of the walk course is were the hills are and  at the middle we start down.  Then this last stretch is  about 14 blocks on mostly level ground.   I always fins it a great meditative time.

I had three events this week.  The FAD gals meant on Monday and Sharon shared her completed blossom work.    I have enjoyed watching this one grow.

 

I made it to the SAQA lecture on Wed and there was a Pixie meeting too.

 

 

Progress Report:   Stamps   I finally got going on cutting the new stamps this week.   Now to do some printing.

 

 

Lavender Level     I made lots of progress on this little sea piece.  I am using lots of the free motion and wool roving techniques from my class last  summer.

 

Flower Garden   I built some additional thread work to make more flowers.

 

 

 

 

This is picture shows the  roving before I do the thread work to hold it all together.  This will become some sun flowers- I hope.   The base is built so making the actual garden will be gin soon.

 

 

 

 

 

Dragon Fly   I continue to work on this hand project in the evenings.    It is progressing slowly.

 

 

Pillows    I was doing some more spring cleaning and found a  few unfinished pieces so I decided to complete them.  I have now made two into pillow cases.  I will  stuff them and then sew them  up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Asha”s quilt   I am all ready to quilt this project.  The heart print around the out side is polar fleece that will be a the back of this work.

 

 

 

 

Nine by Nine by Nine     This top of 81 little one inch squares in neutral colors will be the base  for some free motion portrait work I want to do.  I was inspired by the Genesee Valley Quilt show for this project.

 

I hope you  are enjoying the  pleasant days and nights.

Keep Creating

Carol

Diva Meetings, Felt Work, Pixies Group, Re Work

New Moon

Hello,

   Tonight we will have a new moon in our skies. .   When it is full in two wees or so, it will be called a strawberry moon.   I do hope that I can pick some berries at that time too.   Things change fast it seems.

I have been working out in my garden a lot this week and I feel I have made progress- even though the ground hog has eaten the tops off my Black-eyed Susann’s.      The hedge is trimmed too and now I am ready to do more of the leaf clean up around the bottom.   I  had two meetings this week- the  Pixies and The quilt Divas.

 

 

Cheri shared her new top.    I is so very whimsical and plant like I think.

 

 

 

 

 

Maureen is still stitching away on this glorious hand printed piece.   She really put a lot of effort into this piece.

 

 

 

 

Terri  showed us the last block for the quilt  that she is building for her son.   All the blocks represent his interests.    This one is of Hobbit Land.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Denise’s  felt and stitch work is very rich in color and texture.

 

 

It was a good meeting and I went away inspired.

Progress Report: Lap # 10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoyed working away at this project.   It will join the others to  be given away in the fall.

 

 

I hand printed the yellow with the plant image on it.

 

 

Lavender Shore  This is another in the altered rock works.  Meaning that the base is an old Foundations piece.  This is part of  Whipsaw  Hill in Vermont.

 

 

I used some melted Tyvek  on this project.   All the new items were applied by hand.

 

 

 Wool and Felt work   I started exploring the use of roving and free motion in my class last summer at QBL.   I am working away on creating some floral like units with it now.

 

 

Tyvek Project    I am trying more work with Tyvek altering by starting with different cutting before I melt it .      This time I only painted one side . I  did  not find  much difference in how the  material reacted to heat.     Not sure were this will lead at this point.

 

 

 

 Lap 11  I pulled fabric for the next lap quilt  yesterday/.   I like to always have lots of choices as to what to work on when I start the day.

 

 

 

 

 

  Bog Coat   I got the front panel added this week and the hem is done on the bottom edge.   Now I  need to pin and hem the bottom of the sleeves.

 

 

 

 

Take Off   I came across a bunch of UFO’s  in my search for the lost heat gun this week.  So I have resolved  to complete some of them.   This is the fist on I  tackled.     Only need to do the binding now.

I hope that the days of June are filled with joy and delights for you.

Carol

 

Collage, Flag Challenge, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Pixies Group, SAQA

Half Moon

Hello,

This evening we will see the flower half moon in our skies.  Change is such a constant  that one can forget to notice.  I did  notice the cottonwood seeds piling up along the road today on our walk.  “Summer Snow” was what Nick called it in his childhood.   I even caught one of the little white things as it drifted to earth this morning.  I guess  I am paying more attention that I thought.

The week has been a full one with a trip along with  Liz to Marcia’s for another play day.    Joyce had her newest doll  called “Holding It Together.” We all sort of feel that way now days.

 

 

 

 

 She and I also started Bog Coats at that time.   I am struggling along on it now.

 

 

 

 

 

My good friend Joyce  Holman had an opening on Saturday at the Art Rage Gallery.       I really love her work.   So much action  and great color.

 

 

 

 

 

I did the homework for my Naturally Inspired class as well.  We are [painting backgrounds at this point.

I did the SAQA on line lecture on Wed and attended the  Pixie meeting too.

Progress Report: Ethel 5   This is the last piece that is made with blocks that Ethel started.   I did have to make some to finish this, but I used her fabrics to do so. I feel a bit sad to close this door, but it’s time I guess.   Her fabrics are all integrated into my own stash at this point, but I still look of batiks and think of her.

Lap #8  I am working on getting this piece fully quilted at this point.  I am sure it will be done soon.    It is made up of blocks leftover from the 100 day BV project.

 

Lap  #9  I am to the binding step on this project.

 

 

 

 

Lap #10     Off on another  bit of play with this new lap work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Work  I am still building little nine patch works as a background.  Progress here even though my original goal has been cancelled.

Purple Washup    I was not happy with the melting of the Tyvek on Wash Up, so I used ink to color the surface this week  and started a new  piece with it.     The ink allowed for lots more distortion of the surface. 

 

 

 

 

Collages  I got busy and worked on collages on Sunday.   These are the results.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Handwork  I have been doing a little handwork on this piece.  It is a leftover form the Joyous Embroidery Class.

 

 

Flag  Susan’s assignment from a few weeks ago inspired a new flag having to do with the environment.

Enjoy the seasonal changes and keep Creating

Carol

 

100 day Challenge, Baby Quilts, FAD (Fiber Art Dames), Lap Quilts, Pixies Group, Re Work, Stretched Works

Quilt Show

Hello,

I went along with Liz and Cheri to see the Genesee Valley Quilt Fest on Saturday.     The company was wonderful and the show a good one.   I am always glad to see that quilting is thriving.   I septically enjoyed the section of the show that was SAQA work.   I got some new ideas from those works.

 

 

And Yes, I did shop and purchased some fabric.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheri and I went to Ellen Blaylock’s lecture too.I have always enjoyed her work and I loved the two Medusa quilts that she shared with us.    This quilt is  what Ellen calls Medusa’s daughter.  It was a fun and stimulating day for me.

The Pixies and  FAB also meant this week .

My big news is Sharon’s proposal for a show was accepted and we spent a day looking at the space and talking about what we want to do for that show.

Progress Report: Shore Line Washup  This work is 21″ X  24″.   It is my latest in the works from my Joyous Embroidery  class.     I read about using Tyvek  by painting on it and then applying heat to get distortions. I  got carried away with the paint and it was too thick so it did not melt too much.   I will try again and  be more careful with the application.    I added old belt buckles , wooden beads, and yarns on top of  one of my old rock pieces then stitched it down.   This work also got some glass  beads from Cheri added to the surface .   This work  is on stretcher bars.

 

 

 Lap 5    I completed this work this week and I am pleased with the results.   It is made up of leftover blocks from the 100 day challenge.

The quilting is liner in the same fashion as the blocks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lap 6     I put together this piece from   more  leftover blocks .    I need to pin basted it for quilting now.

 

 

 

 

 

Lap 7  One more lap quilt  top that I put together on Monday and Tuesday.   It is pin basted from quilting and I plan to tackle it tomorrow.

 

 

 

Lap 8   I pulled these fabrics for the next lap quilt.   The print at the top is a photo print fabric that I purchased on line last winter.  I love the look, but I am having a difficult time descending how to use it.  It is almost too busy for me.

 

 

 

New Work  I decided to make a neutral background in nine patch for a little challenge that Sharon presented.

 

 

 

 

Shibui    I did these at Angela’s two week ago.   They were in the wash last week when I wrote.   I wish they were a little bit richer, but then we were  playing with lots of unknowns.

 

 

 

 

Asha’s Quilt  I am nearing the end of the precut blocks that my friend Ethel made.   I contacted her daughter and asked if she wanted one.  She suggested I make a baby quilt for Ethel’s great great Granddaughter Asha.   That is what this top will become soon.

The garden is calling at this time of year too so I  have less to to apply to quilt work.     I enjoy both processes.

Stay playful.

Carol

 

Foundations Series, Hand work, Lap Quilts, Pixies Group, Re Work, SAQA

More changes

Hello ,

My daughter gave me flowers for Mother’s day and they are beautiful.   This could be jumping off place for  some new work too.

Nature keeps amazing me.  The red bud from last weeks photo has dropped all its blossoms now and has little green leaves instead.  Both the oaks and walnuts have bloomed and leaves are forming.   They are about three inches long at this point and so very delicate.    It is such a wonderful time of year.

I shipped off five lap quilts to my Aunt for distribution in her  nursing home.   It is good to have a goal.

This week has been quiet here with only two meetings.   The Pixie Zoom group meant yesterday.  We always talk of interesting things and catch up with one another.

We had a play day at  Angela’s this week too.    We were  doing Shbori with watered down inks.     Victoria did some wonderful work.

Angela showed us her most recently completed work too.  She dose wonderful hand work.

 

 

 

 

 

Progress Report:  SAQA Auction.    This is my   12’X 12″  entry for the SAQA Auction this year.     I do so enjoy doing them.

 

 

 

 

Lap 5   I quilted this piece this  week and I am now in the process of stitching down the binding.

 

 

 

 

Lap 6     This work also got totally assembled   this week.  The quilting is all done and it too with get the binding worked on this week.

 

 

 Lap 7  I started a new lap quilt on Monday and I only have a little of the parts to fill in now.

 

 

 

 

 

Ethel 5     I finished the binding on this work yesterday.   Now I need to do some diagonal quilting  and it will be complete.

 

 

 

Shore Line      The Tyvek  I painted last week did not melt much .  I think I used too much paint.  It is  was still fun to knot it up with additional stuff like old belt buckles and beads.   I am in the process of stitching it down and adding beads to the surface.   This work is  built on top of  one of my rock pieces  from the foundations series.

I love the season and all the changes that are happening.   Life for me is great.

Keep Creating

Carol

Creative Fiber Collage Artist Carol Boyer