approx. 15" x 15"

Starry Night

After doing the piece for MIA's Foot in the Door I wanted to try some other things with that particular technique. I put fusible on the back of a navy/black mottled fabric and sliced it into thin strips. On the ironing board I started putting them down on white fabric. Below I'm done with that first cutting.

More strips.

And the end:

Can you see stars on a dark night?

Try squinting.

Foot in the Door 4 at Minneapolis Institute of Arts Museum

Opening Reception Night = MAD HOUSE! You can see from the photo above that it was shoulder to shoulder in the entire room. Puts a whole new spin on the postcard that says "Rub elbows with hundreds of Minnesota artists." Rub elbows, arms, shoulders, backs, butts, et al! When I took this photo I didn't know my piece was in it.

A large percentage of the 4,800 Artists showed up, plus many family and friends, the Museums "Third Thursday" event, and even Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles. It was nuts! When I got there the line to the MAEP was only as far as Ancient Art and it took about 25 minutes to reach the exhibit, but when I walked out the line was through the entire museum beginning at "China", which is the hall above the Museum Lobby! I'll go back another time when no-one is there.

In the museum lobby they played a slide show on the wall. Not only were all the Entrants pieces photographed and flickered by less than one second at a time, but also a time-lapse of the installation.

To see all the pieces, click here. I'm somewhere in the 50's.

Elephants Panty Liners...

Actually, they're baby burp cloths...about 20" long, soft knit on one side and terrycloth on the other side. Aunt Elsie had me make some for her years ago, she gives them as baby gifts. I don't remember hers looking so panty-liner-ish.

Last weekend my brother came over and he and my Dad rewired the entire 2nd floor of the old section of the house! It took them 7 hours. It all started because I have a bad outlet in my sewing room...turns out that cloth covered wiring from the 1920's doesn't last quite a century. That and they couldn't just stop after replacing only one line.

I had to clear out some shelving so they could reach this particular plug, and not that taking things off a shelf is hard, but sorting them to put them back is.

Of the many unfinished projects on the shelf, I've been keeping this soft knit since May of 2003 when Mom's best-friend, Sharon Faucette, asked me to take her daughters overly-loved baby blanket and make something memorable with it (her daughter has her own babies now). I made a pillow and had used these soft knits as part of it. I also made a little blanket to match.

In trying to get old projects done, I've listed several things I need to accomplish any given project so that I can get the items if they're on sale or whatever. For the baby burp cloths I wanted terry cloth. I got the regular stuff at JoAnns...and it shrunk an inch, but it's pretty soft compared to when it was on the bolt. So I spent quite a bit of time drawing up this shape only to figure out I'd drawn a huge pantyliner! Aunt Elsie sewed sweet little embroidery patches on them and I think I'll have to do that too....another item to add to the shopping list.

I wouldn't have made these if I'd just thrown away the soft knit years ago...but no, I had to keep it and eventually conjure up a project to make with it.

Caron Lages ~ And Still Counting

I finished up the last of the quilts I had of Carons for her And Still Counting project. Some were already started by other MCQ members when I would bring them to meetings with needles, and I finished those off. And I also did some on the machine, which I didn't enjoy as much (even tho' it was 10X faster) because each of the stars/asterisks represent a Iraqi person who died and by doing them so close together I feel it's not representing each person respectfully. I did some where I tried to move the quilt slightly after each asterisk.
When Caron was here for my Quilt Party she was starting on hanging sleeves and so I copied one she left behind. I made about 150. She only needs 1,000!

I'm looking forward to Thursday for opening night of the "Foot In The Door" exhibit at Minneapolis Institute of Art where I have a piece hanging. One out of circa 4,800!!

Title for my first cookbook...

"The Coroner's Cookbook"

I think that title would just kill the New York Times Best Seller list.
I'd have to examine all my notes and come up with a body of recipes to dissect.
It could be so stressful it would be the death of me, but it would be a crime not to.
Shall I start with liver and onions? Or some kind of kidney recipe? Swedish Blood Pudding? Something with artichoke hearts? Leg of lamb? Rib roast? Pigs feet?

Music by the World Health Organization!

In the actual listing of new music CD's acquired at the library:
"World Health Organization ~ Greatest Hits (Music CD)"
(you have to go to the 'next 50' to see the above quoted)
Yes, it actually says "World Health Organization"...not "The Who".
So...

Don't miss out on the World Health Organizations best hits! Remember these?

"W.H.O.oooooo are you? Whose W.H.O., whose W.H.O.?
W.H.O.oooooo are you? Whose W.H.O., whose W.H.O.?
I woke up in a cheap patel
where a bed bug knew my name.
He said "I'll be coming home with you
and I will never go away"

"People try to put us d-d-down, (talkin' 'bout my gonorrhea)
Just because we get around (talkin' 'bout my gonorrhea)
Things they do look awfully c-c-cold (talkin' 'bout my gonorrhea)
I hope I die before I get old (talkin' 'bout my gonorrhea)
This is my gonorrhea,
this is my gonorrhea, baby..."

And the popular Christmas hit:

"I want Human Pappilomavirus for Christmas!
And only Human Pappilomavirus will do.
No Chlamydia, no Tuburculosis, I only like Human Pappilomavirus..."

~lol~ I crack myself up!

Many of you might not remember "Enza" from the Spanish flu of 1918:

"I knew a birdie, it's name was Enza, I opened the window and in flew Enza!"

In all seriousness, the Hennepin County Library employee who made this mistake might have done it on purpose as a slam for Pete Townshends current child sex offender problem...

I haven't had chocolate since pudding.

At my impromtu Quilt Party tonight there was an abundance of chocolate and giggling...even at old jokes most appreciated by 15 year old boys!

What do you call a man with no arms and no legs, in a lake?
Bob.

What do you call a man with no arms and no legs in a pile of leaves?
Russel.

What do you call a woman with one leg and one arm?
Ilene.
(Bet she doesn't have a leg to stand on!) :-D

**update at 11:30 pm, When Eric and I told these jokes to Isaac he said "I've never heard thos before!"**

No sewing machines were buzzing, but there was rotary cutting and lots of knitting needles clicking away on socks and sweaters.

Carn, Sarah and I worked on french knots for Carns project And Still Counting.
I hope that everyone who knows her can complete some more quilts for her, so she can reach her Memorial Day deadline.

In my excitement of dreaming of her completion she pointed it out that the deadline only marks the end of Phase One. Phase Two is sewing sleeves to the back of 1,000 of the blocks so that it is suitable for hanging in any venue.

I think she really needs a happy push on this; because as any project that's so monumental and emotional, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and feel defeated about reaching completion.
And Carn needs help with publicity, getting the word out, getting hanging venues and such.

And I wish I knew someone who could professionally photograph it for free, and then another person who could print her Artist postcards for free.

In some stream of discussion I brought up that I wouldn't take a $5,000.00 Visa card in exchange for those people going through my closet, embarassing me on national television, standing in that mirrored closet of shame, and filming me privately when I'm wearing bad fashion. (Which is every minute of every day)
Carn and Sarah said they would go for it, if the show was actually about showing you how to dress for success at places like Kohls and JC Penney. Carn said that anybody could find fashion in NYC, but try finding it at Herbergers in St. Cloud Minnesota! I forgot what she said about Herbergers, something about velour sweat suits and clothing for ages 70 and up.

So that gave me the idea to write to that show, and Herbergers and Kohls and tell them they should set something up... maybe Carn and Sarah will get a phone call! ;-D

Trenton Lee Stewarts The Mysterious Benedict Society Series

I just finished listening to all three of this series and it was really a fun read...or "listen" in my case.

New Crayola colors I want...

Varicose Vein Blue and
Varicose Vein Purple
Highway Sign Green
Anemic White Person
Dirty Snow Grey
Dried Salty Roads Grey ~or~
Dirty Salty Windshield Grey (same color)
Grey Hairs Grey
Cold Cheeks Mauve
Almost Frostbite Skin Red

How do you forgive?

I know that life experience is the only thing that truly gives me understanding and empathy. Strange things tear families apart.
Every single person on this planet makes mistakes, they make stupid, irresponsible, thoughtless mistakes; and they need forgiveness.

It's hard to forgive when you think someone did something personal to you, or they disregarded the welfare of you or others, and maybe you think they did it on purpose. They did something so irresponsible that you need to cast them away.

Do you cast them away because you wish to punish them, as if their behavior means they don't deserve such a great person in their life such as yourself and you'll "show" them?
Or is it because they are a future danger to your heart, you no longer trust them, their judgement, their words or their actions?
How do you give forgiveness?
How do you ask for forgiveness?

Is it possible to forgive when you are still hurt or angry? I've never been able to. After time has healed my wounds I like to think I forgive, but it really just feels more like I've gotten over the incident and moved on. *POOF!* "You're forgiven!" But is that the same thing? I don't think so.

I remember years ago watching a news story about a traffic jam at a dead stop on a bridge somewhere. The cars were just sitting there. There was a young woman who became a victim of what we now know as 'road rage', when a big man got out of his car, somehow got her out of her car, and beat her so bad that, after a while, to get away from him she jumped over the edge of the bridge to her death.

All that time, while the woman screamed for her life, every single person in all the other cars just watched. Not one person got out to help her.

When the news journalist asked the Mother of the victim if she herself was angry at all these other people who would not get out of their cars to save her daughters life, the Mother said No...that those people were just sheep. They couldn't help it.

Right then and there I knew I was no sheep! "I'm a Shepherd!" I know I would have gotten out of my car. Maybe I would have sat there, feeling stunned for the first few moments, not believing what I was seeing. But I would have gotten out, opened my trunk to get the tire iron, and I would have started heading in that direction.

Even before hearing this story I already knew one thing about sheep...they follow! I know that if just one person had gotten out of their car, others would have followed. Obviously I would have been betting my life on that.

Over 20 years ago, in downtown Stockholm, in broad daylight, my friend Bosse, my ex and myself were standing outside of N.K. and suddenly a bag went over the head of my ex and men were pulling him away.
Mats came out of no-where, started pulling me away and said over and over to me "It's ok.", while they threw my ex in the trunk!

During this commotion some elderly woman saw what was happening and with a purse or umbrella started whacking them with it repeatedly!
We can laugh about this story, but really, what a brave woman she was; she didn't know the guys and yet she was willing to give them a pounding!

I wish I had paid more attention to her...I didn't understand then that she was a sister Shepherd!

Mats' wife, Lene, took me out to dinner and a movie while the guys did...something. I can't remember the name of the movie, but we thought it was an American movie about something japanese. Then I would be able to listen to the movie in english and Lene could read the swedish subtitles.

Turns out, it really was a japanese movie, in japanese, and the subtitles were in swedish! Much to the chagrin of the other movie-goers, Lene whispered a translation of Swedish subtitles of the entire movie into english in my ear!

I wish I knew where Lene was today.

Foot In The Door

I've been adding more. I think I need to stop and trim it down. I wish I had taken more pictures during the progression because I'm pretty sure I liked it best about 10 steps back. This time I used better lighting when I took the photo.

Foot In The Door

At the Minneapolis Institute of Arts ~any~ Minnesota Artist can enter a piece in the "Foot In The Door" exhibit. This exhibit occurs only once every ten years! Your piece must be limited to 1 square foot or 1 cubic foot. (foot in the door, ya know!)
Not complete yet, this is almost my piece. It will be 2D, not 3D. I will cut it down to 12" square.
When ever I have used fusible webbing on fabric in a project, and had left overs I always put them in a container together. I have been doing this for decadeS, literally. It's probably one of the only things I have kept organized all these years just because of the fear of not detecting there's fusible on the fabric and either ironing it to the ironing board or gunking up the iron. The container started out as a ziploc bag, and and later required a box just less than a square foot.
My imagination started out with a 14" square sheet of white fabric and cutting a variety of the fusible fabrics into little brick shapes and ironing them down. After filling about half of the sheet I didn't like how I always have to have things organized, in a row, straight...why can't I just free-flow it? So the other half of the sheet I filled with all sorts of shapes.
Now it was down-right ugly!
So what do you do when something looks out of place? ADD MORE! So I kept doing that...cutting little pieces and putting them down, over and over again.
This might be considered ennui-nessly monotonochistic tediumology but I was happily laughing while listening to the audio book: "The Sweet Potato Queens Guide to Raising Children for Fun and Profit!". Jill Conner Browne reveals the humorous side of life with her husband "The cutest boy in the world", her baby girl BoPeep, and the life of her friends who are raising little "penii"..."Look Mommy, it got big all by itself, I didn't have to touch it!"
Anyhow.
Off to finish the Foot In The Door, which by the way, has to be 'ready to hang or install'. Anybody know if MIA has any strange interpretations of that I should know about?

Minnesota Contemporary Quilters

The backs of Peg LaSota, Michelle Hill and Janet Hartje.

"What's my name?"

"Well if you don't know what are we going to do with you?"

"My name tag says "uoLaYS"

"No, you're looking at it upside-down; it says 'Sharon'."

"O. I. C."

Sharon Englund and Wanda Shelton gave us a little skit about wearing name tags to meeting.

They advise that you be sure to make the letters big enough for all the old people to see.

So Miss Sharon Englund just got her animal print quilt back from being quilted and is ready to sew on the binding.

I don't have pictures of it, but Wanda got so many tops done that I thought "What a show-off!" She just wants to make the rest of us look bad!

I'm green with envy!

After the meetings we head over to Leaning Tower of Pizza for dinner and a huge share of giggling!

We learned that Sharon Englund and her girlfriend were in Amsterdam and picked up some guys to get a tour of the Red Light District, and after they took these guys to their hotel and had to beat them off with a stick!

It was actually it was a wooden flute. And they were only 20 years old. And they didn't invite the guys to the hotel. The guys followed them. Still... Of course she could feel she needed redemption for sowing her wild oats and do something crazy like marry a Pastor or something.

Technically...

Moms sewing machine just broke. Upon inspection we found that a plastic gear supplying rotation to the bobbin gave way. So if she didn't need the bobbin to function anymore, the machine works fine.
Now here is an inventive guy, who took a sewing machine and turned it into a scroll saw! So technically Mom could turn it into a scroll saw if she didn't want to sew with it any more...it would be a great gift for Dad! You know he needs another tool.

http://www.instructables.com/id/From-Sewing-Machine-to-Scroll-Saw-a-Christmas-tal/

I really love this website, http://www.instructables.com/ it's full of interesting recycling/repurposing ideas.

The author of this post, bongodrummer, has his own website here: http://www.floweringelbow.co.uk/

He lives in the UK and seems to be into woodworking and electronics stuff. ("Stuff" being an official technical term I like to use.) It looks like he even took a bunch of "junk" (his technical term) and turned it into a lathe!

Inventive guy!