notes from elinor

A Garden Of Plaids

Years ago I tried to talk fabric people into printing plaids but there was resistance because there was no guarantee that they would print on grain line.  Then Dan River came to Quilt Market but there were few takers so they didn't stay long.  Then the country craze got a hold of the market and Concord and some of the other manufacturers printed a few very dreary pieces in mauve and country blue.   After Country (and some of us feared that there would never be an after country), we got some remakes of the flour sack prints. They were charming but a little focused on the light side. Finally,when people tired of the thirties, we got the forties and I got my plaids. By then, I had collected some of the originals.  I had also been driven to Goodwill to recycle some lively plaids from men's shirts.  So here are the hair pieces I made for Nebraska, sporting the plaids I can not resist.  They are made from yoyos with a wool scrap in orange ( which I clipped), a tiny dot of bright yellow felt, and a red bead by a puddle of red from a fabric marking pen.  The leaves are wool felt which has been washed to give it more body.  How have you used the tacky yoyos and don't you love it?

 

If You Have A Wedding, They Will Come

Weddings are a great reason to gather as a family. I not only had seven of my kids there but 18 of my 28 grandchildren as well. Of course, the star of the show was the lovely bride, Ellie. Here she is with her beautiful sisters, Maggie and Izzy.  Take note of the shoes.  This is Ellies support team and Jon has some sisters as well so she is well loved and looked affter.

 This is my oldest granddaughter, Leigha Foster. What a smile!  Leigha now lives in Salt Lake City and she , her brother Kelly and his girl were on hand with their mother, my oldest daughter, Cindy Foster, the world travelor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This handsome young man is Isaac Meurer, my grandson from daughter Rachel.  He has a twin brother Caleb, and younger brothers Noah and Jonah plus Harper the glorious girl child.  They all showed up and then entertained me on Mother's Day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Here's Lily Gunn standing with her cousins, Elijah and Charlotte Bailey from Phoenix. Thomas Fox has his back to the camera.  I do believe that the discovery of cousins is sweet indeed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My newest grandchild, Elizabeth Marie Nielson Bailey daughter of George and Christina, my youngest son and his wife. 

A Gathering Of The Clan

Well, here's seven of them: George, Rachel, Evie, Me, Laura, Isaac, Cindy, and Maureen.  Missing and sorely missed were my three oldest boys: Greg, Alberto, and Ross.  How blessed I am.

We got together for a meal.  Rachel Sanders, our powerhouse social services gal, with her beautiful sister Evie and Evie's daughter, Ellie,( at the time the bride to be).  Notice the color.  Wow what a feast for the eyes!

 

 

 

 

 

Papa Isaac with his lovely wife, Heather, and their handsome new son, Imery.   He is in love with his parents and his Dad can't get enough of him.  What a smiler he is.  As you know Heather design's fabric for Free Spirit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christina and George with their oldest son, Joe who is Autistic.  If you have stories to share about that condition, they are most welcome.  Then there's tiny Elizabet Marie Neilson our beautiful new baby.  Will, was a blurr most of the time. That boy was always on the go.  I found it impossible to catch him. 

 

 

 

 

 

The state of Virginia was represented by the Gunn ladies: Laura and daughter, Lily.   Are they not the most beautiful pair?  Sweet companions. Lily fit right in with all her cousins and held babies like a pro.  Laura gave the bride a gorgeous painting that looked smashing at the reception.

A Likely Exchange

Well, we started with the above and now we have added some new things.

Can you find the chicken on the picture above?

 

 

 

 

 

Elaine took the face that I had drawn and page by page she turned it into a rooster or did she turn the bird into the person?  Well you go figure.  Including this wee book on our page was exceeding clver and made me smile.

 

 

 

 

I added the thigh to our lady.  A thigh with a village on it.  I have one of those.  I used fabic from my stash of Collett Fenske.  I keep every tiny treasure of her fabric.  I also used a 1950 era postcard and cut it up for patches of color.  All this was mounted on heavyweight innerfacing.

 

 

 

 

 

I also colored and worked on the crown.  I started with doodle people, four of them.  And then I had the gall to water color them.  I know, I know, I'm no Elaine Frennett.  But I had to try. 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's what it looks like now. Back to Elaine who says she'll bring it when she comes for the work shop.  Do you love the hinges on my thigh panel? I thought that was very clever indeed.  I also added to her crown, we all need to be adding to our crowns.  So I'll let you see what Elaine has to add.  What do you think of this kind of exchange?

On The Road Again

There is nothing like traveling with  Maureen and the boys. Loading up to travel to Utah was  a major event. After all, we were going to Ellie's wedding and we didn't want to forget a thing.  As usual, Muff receited her list.  Maureen has her own way of packing into huge Ikea bags.  And then there is always shopping along the way for Sam's new white shirt, the wedding gift of a lantern and a Coleman stove at Target.  Then there's the food and the case of water. Oh you know how it goes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is Sam loading up the frame I was bringing for my daughter, Laura, who had painted a picture for the bride and groom but had no way to bring the painting already framed.(Too big. Especially on a plane from D.C.)  So I got in on that task as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With two boys, you have to have a lot of stuff and I'm no slacker when it come to stuff.  But here is what I forgot.  Not my Temple reccomend, not my medication or my night gown but my wallett.  After I discovered that, there was this desperate search and calls to the hotel in Boise and finally a call to Muff. Could she see it?  No, well what to do then?   Thomas had the right idea. He and his mother said a little prayer and at home, so did Muff. Guess where she found it.? I threw the thing out with the recycled mail.  Yes mam, wrap those catelogs and junk mail arround your wallet and pitch it.  Good thing it's shocking pink.  I'll write the next blog spot from the home they're sending me to.

 If it hadn't been for the cash my sister slipped into my purse and the fact that Maureen and I share a credit card, I would have been strapped.  My Temple reccomend was in my new garment.  As for the trip, it was a delight.  We chattered and read "The Mocking Jay" and listened to music and made a little ourselves.  It was sweet. 

I ask you.....could you have two more handsome traveling companions?

When You Are Going To A Wedding, A New Outfit Is A Must

After my Granddaughter, Ellie, announced her wedding date, there was plenty to do. We collected and sewed together dozens of doilies and made a 100 lace flags and finally I set about thinking about a new outfit for the event. I started with the shirt.  I have never made a shirt although I have had some made and one was entirely worn out so I ripped it apart to make a pattern.  Then I asked my friend, Elaine Spence, for help and she took the old shirt and told me just how to alter the pattern.  And I did it!  The skirt was nothing.  Both the shirt and the skirt are made from Laura Gunn's fabric.  I was so proud to wear my daughter's paintings.  

Next came the jacket and that was a a different sort of challenge.  I had white scraps and lace from Ellie's quilt but no theme or figure to give the piece continuity.  So I came back to birds which I love.  Every once in a while you have to deal with the fact that you are in love with a fad.  I loved birds before the fad and shall love them after the fad but one doesn't like to be seen as someone subject to fads.  You want to appear to be above all that.  Well, so much for appearences.  I used the birds anyway. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since birds were the theme, I designed birds for the front and back of the jacket and created pockets of them and added knit sweater legs just to show I could be quirkie.  Big pearl buttons made great eyes on the birds at my back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here I am in the finished outfit. I added a hat and a neckless. You can't see the neckless in the picture but I will do a closeup of it later.  Aren't the black and teal socks fetching?  I finished the mini book earrings on the way to Utah.  Next blog will revael those and their inspiration.

 

Painted Faces On Stabilized Fabric, Canvas and Beer Mats

 Little exchange with the Gypsy's Gang.  Painting on Beer Matts.  Collecting him put me in places I don't ordinarily go.  Bits of fabric, tissue paper, decorative papers and and glue add texture.  The challenge is to manage coverage.  Above you see a canvas but I used whatever I had to cover the canvas.  Reaching out for what's within reach gives you a chance to achieve something surprising.

 

 Doing multiples helps produce some spontaneous looks as well.  One of my chief joys is surprising myself.

 

 

 

 

The swirly effect comes from a sculpted paper.

 

 

 

 

 

 Is that background fabric magic or what?  Can I compete with the pattern and color.  Why not?

 

 

 

 

It's the eyes that grab me.  That and hips, thighs and large breasts.  They represent control, power and the creative act.  Do I have a quiet voice?  Maybe not.  I have always been loud... though with age, I have learned that silence is another kind of loud.  I used to accuse Gary of being that kind of loud.  Within, there is a fear of being ignored.  I have a child or two like me.  I do love watching them perform.

                                                                                                                           

Flower Power

Springtime in the Northwest is so beautiful with flowers that I decided to make some out of wool because up here spring is still chilly.  Actually I had a windfall of vintage seam binding.  It looks entirely ordinary, flat and uninspired so when I got this counter intuitive idea for an end use I took the brightest colors and paired them with wool for the textureral richness and relished the wierdness.  Too fun!  Big flowers to set on a hat or headband.  Notice the cow hide cardstock under each piece? It's off to Nebraska. 

Below you can see the beginnings so you can make some yourself if you are lucky enough to find some ugly seam binding.

 

 

 

 This is clear proof that you can make something out of anything.  Keep your eyes open for unlikey materials.

 

 

 

 

A Litlle May Day Celebration

Muff and I got a lovely surprise the other evening. There was a knock at the door and we answered it to find the The Young Women' from Mutual who had dropped by with two bouquets of flowers  celebrating May Day. There was a quote by Edwin Way Teale which said " The world's favorite season is the spring. All things seem possible in May." For me, that is true. Spring is the rebirth, when things begin again. Of course, don't tell Mr Teale but spring began in March. Whatever, it is a lovely time here. The tulips are out, the azaleas and rhodadendran are flurishing, and the dogwood is a bloom, nature is in her spendor.  Thanks to the girls, we feel remembered.

Imagine A Dream--Colin Thompson

Muff and I love doing jigsaw puzzles. We always have one on the dining room table but we have become fussy in picking our puzzles. We are not really interested in scenery and I personally do not favor kittens and puppies or things too sweet to mention. We came across these puzzles done by an artist named Colin Thompson. He is an English born Australian who is an illustrator of children's books. He also writes them. His puzzles are magically full of the stuff of dreams.  I do love the clutter.  You never know what you will find in them or where. These are just some of them. Do you love the color and the wit? I think the man has the mind of an engineer gone around the corner.