Author Archives: Colleen Kole

Transition

I guess if you wonder where I am. Physically I am now home in Michigan. But , emotionally, I think I am just in transition. In between that lazy and relaxed vacation mode but dumped back into schedules and a list of things to do. Not really wanting summer to end and yet needing some kind of structure. Definitely, in between.

I sure crammed quite a bit into the last week of summer. I managed to take the kids to a quick trip to the Shelburne Museum just outside of Burlington. There were three exhibits I had wanted to see:

-Ansel Adams and Edward Burtinsky-a great photography exhibit
-Alzheimer’s:Forgetting Piece By Piece-another exhibit of quilts organized by Ami Simms, a tear jerker
-A Vermont ceramic artists exhibit

Each were very unique and I could have spent lots of time there. These exhibits made it a worthwhile trip. If you are in the area, take some time to stop and enjoy.

How would you like to use an iron like this?

I also spent some time working on using acrylic paints in a thin wash on some cottons I had dyed. Then I moved on to dye and print paste. Didn’t really know what I was doing but had fun.

Also, attended our last dairy show at the Addison County Field Days. Out of the four shows we attended, I always like this one best. Just lots to see and a great selection of fun foods…

I love the ceilings of the barns.

The craft barn at Addison County Field Days

The winning cow and Hope struggled a bit but pulled out a second place.

The last two days are a blur of packing and last minute things to do. But I clicked my little ruby red felted slippers(yeah squeezed that in too!)

and was back home in Michigan in 15 hours.

Whew-no wonder I am tired! It was a great week.

Camera has been brought to the shop so we will see the diagnosis tomorrow. Hope to start producing again this week. It was nice to unpack my studio today.

Enjoy the last few weeks of summer, my friends!

Just Having Fun

The last five days have been beautiful-in the 70’s and for the most part sunny. We did a few projects around the house and then decided to go to Burlington on Friday. It was really windy on Lake Champlain. Also visited art galleries, took in a baseball game and just people watched on the mall in the city. Great times.

I am just about to pack the rest of my sewing supplies up but wanted to give you a peek at what I have been doing. I owe you a few that were promised last week.

I had just small strips of this fabric and chose to do long strip pieces-really pretty Australian fabric pack that I bought at the Vermont Quilt Festival.

Then I decided to make one of my previous tops bigger. Don’t know if I like it or it needs to be even larger.

And then this one which is in the process of being pieced. I am FINALLY processing the idea of a moitf from my last Crow class. Ok that took long enough.

I am 20 minutes away from my house right now-so I apologize for this picture-can’t re-take it here at the coffee shop. I really like the feel of this and imagine it to be about 5×6 when it is done. So that’s what I have been working on. Very scattered and unrelated. Just felt like working along with the summer instead of being scheduled and pre-planned.

I can only imagine maybe one more post from here. We have another dairy show which takes up two days and then the big packing up and driving home. Oh and maybe we can squeeze in a trip to Shelburne Farms where there is a quilt exhibit….I am never bored. Have you noticed?

Hope you are having fun this summer.

Happy Summer,my friends!

The Softness of Silk

My husband, Marc, came back yesterday to spend the next five days with us. He came early enough in the day that we were able to take a day trip and enjoy some of the pretty countryside here.I love choosing new places to check out here. The weather has been especially nice and I took some great pictures which I hope to show you tomorrow. So nice to have him here …

I finished a little silk piece on Tuesday. I had picked up a package of silk scraps at the Vermont Quilt Show in June at this booth and could have spent hours in there searching through her bags of treasures.It is called Delectable Mountain and is located in Brattleboro, VT. If I take a trip that far south, I will definitely check the store out. She had lots of merchandise. This is what I have left over-

I loved working with the silk pieces and I did it entirely piece by piece without thinking of design on a design wall. Just laying it out on my table next to me and choosing another piece to add. No agonizing over what would come next. and I was done with it in an afternoon. And I love it. It’s nothing fancy as far as design is concerned and I could critique for you. But I am just going to enjoy it. I love it.

I will hand stitch this piece and it seems like a good project for the ride home next week. The edges fray like crazy so I need to sandwich it as soon as possible. I will use silk thread and hand dyed embroidery floss for the hand stitching. Any suggestions for me for those of you who have used silk before?

Off to help out with a kids golf tournament. Having trouble with this…so hope it publishes.

Happy Summer, my friends!

Summer Colors

I never do know what color is my favorite but I do like the yellow, greens and blues. Maybe because it reminds me of summer.

When you are in the Green Mountains, it is hard to know where the sky and the mountains divide…they all seem to blend together on a sunny day. Working on my third little top to show you this week. Finished number 2 last night, but too wet out to bring my silk piece outside.

I love how fabric dyeing makes you feel very productive. 25 more meters this weekend. The stack on the right is a pile of over dyes and I love how rich the color is.

I started out needing to make red. I guess I got distracted. Also working on doing some surface design with freezer paper. It’s a multistep process that I need to take my time with.

Speaking of time, I only have about 8 more days left here in Vermont. I am already thinking of how to get all this stuff home. And still have room for the two big dogs and two kids!

Should have done some reds. Maybe later. Fabric dyeing here is done with for this year as I have used all 150 meters up!

Happy summer,my friends!

Yes, I am Sewing…

The question was asked by Betsy-so are you doing any sewing this summer? Well, I admit I have been a stuck. Not really having any focus and distracted by the craziness of my life lately. I know it’s summer and I do have less time to sew but just stuck —But just stuck. I start things and don’t push through that one spot you get in when it doesn’t make sense and I just stop.

So I decided to work backwards and see if I could make sense of anything. I just created more chaos as I now have about 5 different things started. So I sat down last night and told myself I would not go to bed until I just finished something. Just a top -machine or hand quilting will have to wait until fall.

I committed to myself to finish the other four in the works by next Friday. Less than one a day and they aren’t big. This one-no name yet-is about 17×26. Just to keep moving forward in some way. I had lots of goals for this summer. Maybe I can reclaim them.

It started pouring as I was trying to take a picture.

Lots of inspiration. Time to move on. No more excuses. I only have two more weeks here. I know I can enjoy my time here and still have time to sew. No more excuses.

Happy Summer, my friends!

Vermont Days

It was so nice to have my whole family here this past weekend. Also, some old friends came to enjoy the weekend with us. They are marathon runners and they loved the hills..(my fat butt just likes to walk.) Anyway, we took some time to go blueberry picking after we dropped Marc at the airport.

(She looks great despite her near death car accident!) 20 lbs of blueberries later and stuffed with blueberry cobbler and ice cream-what is a girl to do?

I wanted to see what happens if I dyed my fabric with blueberry juice. I found 3 great old enamel pots to try some natural dyeing. I forgot my book though so if anyone has any info for me, let me know what my mordant should be-salt,vinegar,alum? Crazy most days, I know.

Off to enjoy a great day of sunshine- the beach and finding old barns today. Don’t want to waste the day inside.

Happy Summer, my friends!

Time to Relax Now

I finally feel like I can relax a little bit. Erin, my 19 year old, had her MRI done today of her neck and amazingly enough, everything looks good. She can return to normal activity gradually and can return to driving. Does she have to? I don’t want her to. Good luck with that right? She will be coming to Vermont this weekend and I can’t wait to see her. I have been blessed!

We keep busy here getting ready for another 4H show. This week I cheered my 14 year old on as she completed her crafts for the show. She has never used double pointed needles before nor has she ever done an increase or decrease. Look at her cute sock monkey!

She also took the picture of the flower above for one of her entries. Now to get a needle and thread into her hands this summer…. I joined in on the knitting to finish a pair of felted slippers. I now need to stick them in the washing machine for the felting process. My knitting basket is empty which is great.

My son helped me make a design board. Just took scrap wood from the hardware store which is heavier than plywood and backed it with a few pieces of wood so it wouldn’t warp. I added grey felt from Joanne’s and am ready to go. It’s 4×4 which should should be a good size to work in here. I had been hanging a piece of flannel over the door but my pieces keep blowing away.

I like the grey background as opposed to white to work on. Forgot the glue though. I have three pieces right now in process. Having lots of fun with them.

Better go. I need to vacuum next . I plan on enjoying time with my family for the next week. I am hoping calm is the word of the week . I have reached my quota of stress for the summer. (Did I tell you about my dog who got her choke collar stuck in a radiator causing a bit of a flood? Or the fugitive who dumped his motorcycle in the field above us and ran for the woods?)

Happy Summer,my friends!

She Is Safe

I keep saying those works over and over again…My husband called me at about 7:30 am on Thursday morning to let me know that my 19 year old daughter Erin had been in a car accident. He had seen her at the scene after a call from an unnamed good samaritan. He let me know right away that she was awake, alert and talking to him. She was on her way to work on the interstate , felt a swerve and rolled the Volvo station wagon 3 times. I was ok until he said the car flipped three times. Then the physical therapist in me kicked in and was asking all kinds of questions to make sure her spine and head were intact-which they are.

She is at home with Marc and resting with a hard collar on until she goes to the orthopedic doctor on Tues. The car was totaled but the box which held the driver was intact. A definite miracle. It has always been one of my fears -not being there when one of my kids got hurt. But my husband has handled this very calmly(he’s shopping for another car-it was his….) and has taken good care of her.

I desperately want to go home but she wants to come here as scheduled next week. And I knew after the comments-“Mom you will just sit here and make me crazy looking at me and asking me if I am ok.” I knew then that she was ok for now with dad until we have more information. And snapping at me like that was understandable-even brought a smile to my face because I knew if she needed me she wouldn’t hesitate to ask me to come home.

I don’t know if she will be ok to travel. Then I will go home. But for now I just keep saying over and over in my head-thank you God for keeping her safe and with us. I can’t wait to hold her in my arms and let her know how much I love her!

Everything looks a little brighter today. Even these fabrics that I dyed this past week. They aren’t ironed yet but that really doesn’t matter, does it?

Sewing is keeping me sane at night so hope to have some tops done soon. And if not, that doesn’t really matter either. She is safe.

Happy summer and if you pray, please keep us in your prayers.

New Treats

Every once in awhile, you need a treat. And the ones I really enjoy are the treats that people have made. The art that they have made is even better. I ordered two things for my little table here in VT. I am always losing my four most important tools on my table- I am messy but once I get started I don’t want to stop to look for things. So I ordered this recycled pipe vase from my new friend Paula. I have never personally met Paula-but she has been a great help to me.

I love it. It is smoothly polished yet it retains all of it’s chips and worn spots to give it lots of character. In the past 48 hours of marathon sewing at night, it is trustworthy for containing my mess. Love it.

My other absolute treasure is this little clock. It has a temporary home in my barn while I work on dyeing and surface design. It keeps me on track when I get carried away at night. But most importantly, it just makes me smile. I am the proud owner of a Paula clock. I had my eye on this one for awhile and finally did it. Smiling, I am and it’s perfect.

Not a great picture but I wanted to tell you about it as Paula is auctioning off a few of her clocks on e-bay. Just a few so go find out about her art. It all began with friend of her’s who handed me a card.

Thanks Paula for the inspiration. And the great new art I have purchased.

Happy Summer, my friends!

Vermont Days

I am in absolute perfectly content state of happiness right now. It’s a rainy day and I am using the wi-fi at the local library.It’s the small things in life that really make me happy:)

We are all settling in to the lazy days of summer. Just snippets from the past week of my favorite things to do here in Vermont. I love to watch the farmer hay our meadow and look at the rows left in the field before he tethers it and rolls it into bales.

I love to watch the kids show their cows at the 4-H shows. The show this past weekend was in Highgate, VT which is almost to the Canadian border. The kids work incredibly hard to get their animals ready and to show.