tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49862939349015691302024-02-20T17:46:35.360+00:00BuscraftUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger190125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-61550350059919581482024-02-20T17:46:00.000+00:002024-02-20T17:46:03.131+00:00Utopia v Shangri-la<p> I think it was in one of Korean Literature Now's Inkstone articles that I came across a reference to Peach Blossom Spring as a phrase meaning 'utopia' in Chinese (though I'm also in the middle of reading a translation of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, so it could have been mentioned there). The "Spring" is spring as in source of a river, not the season. The phrase originates in a story <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tao_Yuanming">Tao Yuanming </a>wrote, sometime before 427 BCE. I'm not sure if it was a tale he recorded, or one he invented.</p><p>This <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2090/pg2090-images.html">translation</a> by Rick Davis and David Steelman titles the piece "Peach Tree Shangri-la". I'm not familiar with the book that Shangri-la was created for, or the publications that were inspirations for it. I did find it interesting that the place described in Peach Blossom Spring doesn't seem like a utopia to me, perhaps because it is described as founded by people who isolated themselves to "avoid the chaos of war during the Qin Dynasty" but seem to have kept the customs of that time. I can't believe that the customs of the Qin Dynasty would be a basis for a utopian existence (though I'm not an expert on Qin customs). </p><p>It has the theme of being backward looking, like Eden. But I feel like the isolation is also an argument against it being a utopia; that is a theme I would like to investigate further. Also the contrast between utopia, hidden societies (Shangri-la) and secret societies (like the Illuminati idea, but perhaps there are other secret society models to compare to utopias). </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-84220355656484356422023-05-05T14:23:00.000+01:002023-05-05T14:23:08.188+01:00Learning game<p> Yesterday I went to the event by <a href="https://asia-art-activism.net/">Asia-Art-Activism</a> at the <a href="https://www.eseacontemporary.org/">esea contemporary</a>, a game called Docks and Seamen. The game is based on their archival research and interviews of the Chinese community in Pitt Street in Liverpool. I'm interested in the topic anyway, but having the game experience was much more emotionally engaging than I expected. The game presented factual information, much like a book, but our reactions were more than reading a book would produce. Was it the group interaction, or a quality of game play?</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-41588404304497892842022-11-14T20:51:00.001+00:002022-11-19T14:55:32.821+00:00Utopia v Eden, just some jottings<p>Utopia: an organized area; made by people; dream for the future</p><p>Eden: natural, but a garden, not a wilderness; divine and pre-dating people; ultimate past</p><p>Places as expression of a concept, not a location. But still somewhere it would be possible to go?</p><p>Edit: Three days after I jotted these thoughts down, the Band on the Wall emailed an ad for Sarathy Korwar's gig, so I ended up watching the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbJ6n5pvSOI">Utopia Is A Colonial Project</a> music video. Again just some unfinished thoughts here: Is Utopia something imposed? Eden something taken away?</p><p>However, I want to investigate Utopia; I'm not sure a comparison to Eden, or Paradise, would be helpful, useful, or enlightening.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-91177024946024071242022-11-09T18:53:00.001+00:002022-11-09T18:53:46.969+00:00Bit on trash<p> I use trash in my crafting projects- it isn't a way of cleaning the environment, more like it's the material my environment provides (rather than rafia, or pine needles, for example). My thoughts have never been clear on this.</p><p><a href="https://tokion.jp/en/2022/11/01/riverside-story-xiangyu-x-yoshiki-hanzawa/">Riverside Story by xiangyu and Yoshiki Hanzawa: Making Clothes from Trash Found in the River</a> in the almost painfully hip Tokion, touches on some of my thoughts on using trash. But their work seems to be a bit more documentary; something I tend to try to avoid, though I did do a 'vacation in Japan' piece a few years ago. It's hanging in the hall.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-52622130386792384602022-09-15T22:27:00.000+01:002022-09-15T22:27:44.973+01:00Just the headings from “A Few Rules For Predicting The Future” By Octavia Butler <p> When Octavia Butler was finally getting well deserved recognition for her science fiction writing, I had the nice experience of realising that I had already read one of her books years before; and it was one I remembered and thought about on occasion.</p><p>Thanks to <a href="https://thenapministry.wordpress.com/2020/04/13/the-future-is-now-why-octavia-butler-is-our-muse/">this post </a>by the Nap Ministry, I have been delighted by her essay giving writing advice to others interested in setting a story in the future. It is a bit of a disservice to collect only the heading here, but those alone are so thought provoking, or perhaps inspiring is a better term, that I want particularly to record them:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Learn From the Past</li><li>Respect the Law of Consequences</li><li>Be Aware of Your Perspective</li><li>Count On the Surprises</li></ul><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-81439937019353117042022-09-09T22:13:00.000+01:002022-09-09T22:13:21.288+01:00story trail<p> "But housekeeping, the art of the infinite, is no game for amateurs." Sur, 1982, by Ursula K. Le Guin</p><p>I am not good at housekeeping, and feel bad about it. After reading that Those Who Stay and Fight was a reaction to one of Le Guin's short stories, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, (also referenced in a BTS music video), I wanted to read that story as well. It is in The Unreal and the Real volume 2 Outer Space, Inner Lands, which I checked out at the library. Well worth reading. And another quote, from the end of the preface written in 2012:</p><p>"I don't know anything about reality, but I know what I like."</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-16420086609540848572022-07-28T18:33:00.000+01:002022-07-28T18:33:16.475+01:00Another Utopia: Um-Helat<p> The city in N. K. Jemisin's <a href="https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/the-ones-who-stay-and-fight/">The Ones Who Stay and Fight</a>, a story that made me cry, Um-Helat is definitely worth considering as a utopia. I find it a motivational story. Or, maybe it will motivate me to keep on caring, to try to care a bit more. Hmmm</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-62202615626050995832022-06-21T21:18:00.000+01:002022-06-21T21:18:16.425+01:00Utopias, to start<p>心象風景: perhaps, a landscape that can only be imagined</p><p> From Lafcadio Hearn's Japan: an attempt at interpretation (published 1904, the year he died), pages 504 to 505-</p><p><span> No: the charm is made by the fact that this vision of the past represents to us much more than past or present,-- that it foreshadows the possibilities of some higher future, in a world of perfect sympathy. After many a thousand years there may be developed a humanity able to achieve, with never a shadow of illusion, those ethical conditions prefigured by the ideals of Old Japan: instinctive unselfishness, a common desire to find the joy of life in making happiness for others, a universal sense of moral beauty. And whenever men shall have so far gained upon the present as to need no other code than the teaching of their own hearts, then indeed the ancient ideal of Shinto will find its supreme realization.</span><br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-90335512637981828922022-04-24T17:58:00.000+01:002022-04-24T17:58:50.791+01:00More about flowers, this time, Korean<p> Years ago, I tried to find information about Korean flower arrangement traditions, wondering if it would be like Japanese and Chinese traditions; but I couldn't find anything on the internet. Now I've come across loads, via Korean Literature Now's article on <a href="http://kln.or.kr/strings/inkstoneView.do?bbsIdx=607">Korean Garden Culture</a>.</p><p>Searching for 'Hwaam surok' brought up two very interesting theses (I have no idea if theses are usually published on line these days)</p><p>Keumhee Oh's <a href="https://espace.curtin.edu.au/bitstream/handle/20.500.11937/2154/192113_Oh2013.pdf">Exilic Experiences and Creative Practice: Insights from the lives and art of Scholar-Artists Exiled on Cheju Island during the Choson Dynasty (1392-1910)</a> is fascinating. Not really about flowers at all, but it is interesting how flower symbology is used in the art.</p><p>Sang-jun Yoon's <a href="https://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/21821/2/505346_vol2.pdf">History and Conservation of Gardens in Korea Vol. II</a> is the appendices for their thesis which I haven't read. It has lists linking Latin names for plants with the Korean and Chinese terms.</p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-334544411072211082021-11-02T11:06:00.001+00:002021-11-02T11:06:18.242+00:00Not yet a poem<p> Going to the shops on Friday, I noticed how the wet twigs and leaves made the pavement slippery, not dangerously so, but noticeable. I failed to make a haiku from this, but later it occurred to me that 'slippery surface' may be a poetic description of the screens we read on.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-1140650223817090462021-10-27T11:12:00.000+01:002021-10-27T11:12:01.043+01:00Media and poetry<p> The <a href="https://twitter.com/poemgranates?lang=en">Poemgranate</a> twitter feed shared this poem:</p><p><span style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.03); color: #0f1419; font-family: TwitterChirp, -apple-system, system-ui, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Stationery" by Agha Shahid Ali
The moon did not become the sun.
It just fell on the desert
in great sheets, reams
of silver handmade by you.
The night is your cottage industry now,
the day is your brisk emporium.
The world is full of paper.
Write to me.</span></p><p>The poem is beautiful, and the linking of moonlight and letters from loved ones is literally poetic. But it didn't make me want to receive a letter; it made me want an email or text from a friend. Communication, knowing someone thought of me, is more important to me than the media it comes by. But I can't think of a poetic way to describe an email.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-38881261139685543142021-09-12T16:00:00.000+01:002021-09-12T16:00:04.606+01:00Sundries<p> Let's start this with '<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Sankofa&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB896GB896&oq=san&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i57j46i131i199i291i433j0i131i433j46j69i60l3.4166j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8">sankofa</a>'. It seems like a simple idea, but I'm not sure I will ever completely understand it. I came across it reading about <a href="https://www.biennial.com/2021/exhibition/artists/larry-achiampong">Larry Achiapong's flags at the Liverpool Biennial</a>. I didn't physically go to Liverpool, but really enjoyed the on-line offering. I'm grateful.</p><p>There's a lot of examination of colonialism and its legacy in stuff I've come across recently, exhibits and talks. A site examining <a href="https://www.flintshireandtheslavetrade.org/sugar.html">sugar industry, slave trade, and industrialisation in Flintshire</a> came up in one of the discussions. To my shame, I am descended from someone who owned slaves.</p><p>Two things from Bulgaria's past: a <a href="https://www.lostbulgaria.com/index.php?page_id=3905">photo collection</a> and an article on e<a href="https://blogs.bl.uk/asian-and-african/2021/08/motherhood.html">arly Turkish feminists</a>. I know almost nothing about Bulgaria, but still I have come across these two things.</p><p>This morning I listened to the conference by the <a href="https://www.ikebana.link/">International Society of Ikebana Research</a>, which was very interesting and has given me a lot to think about. Not sure yet if I will find it inspiring</p><p>And, it's a common word that I know I would use, but it was only this week that I read the definition of 'sundries'. It is only a bit different than I thought.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-45035867810382990032021-04-03T11:42:00.000+01:002021-04-03T11:42:00.459+01:00floating paper stars<p> </p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmAjZ1TTIzE4dXvD59SA-KmrZeFSspfnqJRILjh_iqqJfWZGdV3GxbJiJnoe1lXJjrekdC0T0USWmcLwGZDJifK7kHUQk2UX8Afg_kBu7ZjZaiwhN1w61Hf2VPoVITyF99jfR4a9GWzyY/s1500/IMG_4547+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="floating paper star and petals" border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmAjZ1TTIzE4dXvD59SA-KmrZeFSspfnqJRILjh_iqqJfWZGdV3GxbJiJnoe1lXJjrekdC0T0USWmcLwGZDJifK7kHUQk2UX8Afg_kBu7ZjZaiwhN1w61Hf2VPoVITyF99jfR4a9GWzyY/w320-h240/IMG_4547+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The paper stars I made years ago float very well in the canal. Now I will be thinking about making more to float this way, but for th moment, just thinking.<p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-72209490808295554812021-03-09T19:00:00.000+00:002021-03-09T19:00:29.025+00:00what colour is a season<p> Looking for haiku information, I came across the translation of the Zokuhen (Sequel) of the Eiga monogatari by <a href="http://twatanabe.faculty.wesleyan.edu/">Professor Takeshi Watanabe</a>. It's not an easy read, especially with my very limited knowledge of Japanese history. But it is interesting anyway.</p><p>In the first 'chapter' on the site, which is Book 31, I think because it is a continuation of the work, there is a mention of ladies writing poems on "<span style="background-color: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">thin paper of the color of autumn leaves</span>". Reading this, I though of brown paper, maybe the colour of a paper bag or the cheaper sort of envelopes; when I was trying to find the passage again I searched for 'brown' - that's how strong the connection was in my mind. Re-reading it, I think the paper was actually red, as in momiji/crimson leaves. In my defence, the first poem finishes with "<span style="background-color: white; color: #3a3a3a; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">autumnal wind among the pines</span>" which puts the image of pine trees in my mind, dark green unchanging through the seasons.</p><p>I enjoy changing my wardrobe between spring/summer and fall/winter. Some people would see it as silly, and I don't really have a system for classifying garments, but still, I'm forward to pulling out the clothes I see as spring-like.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-67767732263698580572021-02-25T18:34:00.001+00:002021-02-25T18:35:17.454+00:00Things disappear<p> Nearly 3 weeks ago, we went to see <a href="http://cfcca.org.uk/event/omid-asadi-hansel-and-gretel-2021/">Omid Asadi's Hansel and Gretel (2021)</a>. It had been exposed to the elements for a while, and the paint reminded me of blotted lipstick, or crushed petals.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1bn28RFfFlkd8kMpqLkUo2oFIiSaf7sMQGWLC3EZT3jQH1ecrhhygKDnV_jnIb-ocvYgbHmC_5AxjgAZYWxOZPXoqeb1hrNevzjzLLroQaLFSjvn4emSSEv6mdD1xQy5oep8UxEM0Yjg/s1000/IMG_20210207_121358384.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZjO28oyMikcxbsxVwWdokcV9wnCMNK76TbmTj6-HorfmmHZ9QlWVclzXi8tltA72B530ajCturb9CM9HIhqam9PDhHCLD-iCF1deB_2GVtY6yQ-WodLoPncufRdlFar4tVigX05Av2Pw/s1000/IMG_20210207_121140121.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZjO28oyMikcxbsxVwWdokcV9wnCMNK76TbmTj6-HorfmmHZ9QlWVclzXi8tltA72B530ajCturb9CM9HIhqam9PDhHCLD-iCF1deB_2GVtY6yQ-WodLoPncufRdlFar4tVigX05Av2Pw/w225-h400/IMG_20210207_121140121.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1bn28RFfFlkd8kMpqLkUo2oFIiSaf7sMQGWLC3EZT3jQH1ecrhhygKDnV_jnIb-ocvYgbHmC_5AxjgAZYWxOZPXoqeb1hrNevzjzLLroQaLFSjvn4emSSEv6mdD1xQy5oep8UxEM0Yjg/s1000/IMG_20210207_121358384.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1000" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1bn28RFfFlkd8kMpqLkUo2oFIiSaf7sMQGWLC3EZT3jQH1ecrhhygKDnV_jnIb-ocvYgbHmC_5AxjgAZYWxOZPXoqeb1hrNevzjzLLroQaLFSjvn4emSSEv6mdD1xQy5oep8UxEM0Yjg/w400-h225/IMG_20210207_121358384.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div>Its disappearance is part of itself; it is very linked to this time, this place, though the wider cultural references make it connected to other times and places as well.<p></p><p>I started writing this blog again, realising that things on the internet disappear, and the things I think about are forgotten, the thoughts disappear. </p><p>The <a href="https://www.asymptotejournal.com/">Asymptote</a> site led me to <a href="https://www.thewillowherbreview.com/">The Willowherb Review</a>, something I hope stays around for a while yet.<br /><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-53626305084491361422021-02-06T12:02:00.001+00:002021-02-06T12:02:52.410+00:00Ideas about flowers<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Reading the article<span style="-webkit-text-stroke: 1px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #252525;"> ‘<a href="http://www.scipress.org/journals/forma/pdf/1404/14040355.pdf">A Comparison between Asymmetric Japanese Ikebana and Symmetric Western Flower Arrangement</a>.’ by </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke: 1px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #252525;">Marie </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke: 1px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #252525;">Moriyama & </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke: 1px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #252525;">Megumi </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke: 1px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); background-color: white; color: #252525;">Moriyama, (in the journal Forma, 1999) made me wonder again about ideas about flowers in western art. That article was linked to by <a href="http://roadsideikebana.blogspot.com/">Christopher James</a>, in his piece <a href="https://www.ikebana.link/essays/teaching-ikebana-in-australia?c=ikebana-essays">Teaching Ikebana in Australia</a>.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">When I think of flowers in art, I think of still life paintings. Reading the wikipedia page on still lifes led me to Gerard de Lairesse's Groot schilderboek (1712), and specifically the 12th book of that work, <a href="https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/lair001groo01_01/lair001groo01_01_0020.php">the treatise on flowers</a>. <span style="background-color: #f3f4f5;">I feel very lucky that such things are available on the internet (thank you bibliotheck voor de Nederlandse lettern). However, it is a bit intimidating as a text, and I feel like it will only be a starting point for understanding more about the subject.</span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-24449784531950854892021-01-20T18:47:00.000+00:002021-01-20T18:47:35.459+00:00Make more love<p> It's nice that even when galleries haven't been allowed to open, they are still able to encourage artists.</p><p>Just checking out what the CFCCA have been up to led me to Frances Yeung's <a href="https://findingfemininity.art/finding-femininity-in-archives">Finding Feminity in the Archive</a>. I was especially touched by her Love is Chores. It reminded me of a talk I went to at the Whitworth Art Gallery, <a href="https://events.manchester.ac.uk/event/event:hlg-jqs0xs6y-a19kja/noorah-al-gailani-uzbek-suzani-embroideries">"Uzbek Suzani embroideries" by Noorah al Gailani,</a> which the internet tells me was back in the summer of 2019. It was very well attended- I arrived late and the staff were putting out extra chairs.</p><p>The embroideries concerned are large wall hangings made as dowry pieces. They were shown to display skill, wealth, increase good fortune, and so on. Ms al-Gailani mentioned that these embroideries were an expression of love, the families' love for the daughters that were leaving them to live with their husbands' families. The time, work and expense, to express love. It struck me as the same reason women (and I suppose some men as well) make embroidered samplers to celebrate family events.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-68461655383452518312021-01-13T18:27:00.000+00:002021-01-13T18:27:41.542+00:00Is it internationalism<p> Actually, I feel like I am just not clever enough to understand the concept of internationalism as a political principle/doctrine/belief system; but I have been thinking about it.</p><p>Stone Flowers put out a new song, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hagS0SmSdA4">Change the World</a>, just recently, and I have also just recently come across the <a href="https://www.asymptotejournal.com/">Asymptote</a> site, dedicated to showcasing international literature translated into English. Though created by people very different from me, with very different life experiences than me, both express ideas that I agree with, that I want to share.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-64712267041766171282021-01-05T08:42:00.002+00:002021-01-05T08:42:50.086+00:00<p> Karen Arthur's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnKuKAXfNN0&feature=youtu.be">Wear Your Happy video</a> for 64 Million Artists' January Challenge reminded me of the lovely sustainable fashion workshop at Stitched Up Co-op that was developed and put on by <a href="https://www.mienbymisse.co.uk/">Mien by Miss E</a> and <a href="https://www.wardrobewellbeing.com/">Wardrobe Wellbeing</a>. (However, I am still wearing my usually scruffy clothes.)</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-74989533686724916192020-12-31T18:31:00.000+00:002020-12-31T18:31:43.096+00:00chigiri-e<p> I'm interested in ちぎり絵 (chigiri-e), the Japanese form of making pictures (e) from torn (chigiri) paper. Really taken by the made from newspaper stuff that <a href="https://norikoart.com/chigiri-e/">NorikoArt</a> has done.</p><p>Not sure if I understand the differences between decoupage, chigiri-e and collage; I'm not one to care about differences.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-67416872643489887162015-08-16T21:25:00.000+01:002015-08-16T21:25:20.321+01:00One Block<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdDBfqonrIYiMwQrb3ObjILDgHC9vg88nOCp7S5A_kfct_Cfj-ixEyQIS9KuKIdL-ye7UUlUTiH0na9L9x0Fyul75OUwywI5hTQsvXB8VsBziArxA3ghxXmUq4Ww38PMwB9mdsORX8iSE/s1600/One+Block.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdDBfqonrIYiMwQrb3ObjILDgHC9vg88nOCp7S5A_kfct_Cfj-ixEyQIS9KuKIdL-ye7UUlUTiH0na9L9x0Fyul75OUwywI5hTQsvXB8VsBziArxA3ghxXmUq4Ww38PMwB9mdsORX8iSE/s320/One+Block.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />The piecing was done at home, and the stitching both on the bus, on lunch breaks, and at home. Years ago, I took an on-line class from <a href="http://pintangle.com/">Sharon B of Pintangle</a> fame; this is so long ago that she's not even doing the class anymore. It was too much for me back then and I didn't get further than reading the handouts, but as my new year's resolution, I decided to start a crazy quilt this July. I skimmed through those handouts and started sewing.<br /><br />The good: I like how it looks.<br /><br />The bad: Lots of anxiety around choosing how to put it together, though none of it was difficult.<br /><br />The ugly: It's not as fancy as I had in mind; it feels done, but I feel like I kept deciding not to add stuff.<br /><br />Now, time to start the second block.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-22225484021614519052014-06-07T18:48:00.000+01:002014-06-07T18:48:21.894+01:00Making a rainy day more bear-able<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/36397453@N00/14364325491" title="brolly bears by artethgray, on Flickr"><img alt="brolly bears" height="375" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5118/14364325491_70eb90da50.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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This idea came from the Real Clothes comic by Makimura Satoru. One of the characters had a super cute little ghost tied onto his umbrella; it made me want one so bad! I'm not really an umbrella user, because I fear causing mayhem and injury, but when I realized I could use the wool ball bears I had made back in March 2009, I handed over £6 for the second-finest Superdrug would sell and set to work.</div>
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The good: It was raining today, and it was honestly fun to walk around town with the bears dangling and bouncing. Yes, it was silly, but in a good way. Another good point is that they don't interfere with folding down the umbrella. The string is just long enough that they are outside the folded fabric. (That was by chance rather than plan.)</div>
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The bad: I think I only hit P once, though I may have splashed a stranger as I was folding it to go into a shop.</div>
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The ugly: Not exactly ugly, but the cute little bells rattle more than ring. That said, you'd never hear it over the sound of traffic on the street.</div>
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I'll have to watch how well the bears stand up to their new role; it's much more active than gathering dust on the bookshelf, so they will probably need a bit of repair work in the future. Lots of other ideas for dangling rainy day mascots have been popping into my head, so I may give them a vacation when I'm ready for something different. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-13581311246585341472013-09-15T15:36:00.000+01:002013-09-15T15:36:06.807+01:00Reading challengeLured by the chance of book tokens and goodie bags, I've joined the <a href="http://readingagency.org.uk/">Six Book Challenge</a> that Stockport's library service is promoting. It isn't really pitched at people of my reading level, but it's nice that it is inclusive enough to encourage people like me to participate.<br />
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Considering that I have four books on the go at the moment, I shouldn't find it hard to read 6 by the end of November, but I also want to get a lot of other stuff done. It gets hard to find the time to enjoy a book, but as I'm between crafting projects, spending my commute reading sounds like a good plan.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-50373671232400072722013-09-12T19:54:00.000+01:002013-09-12T19:54:41.424+01:00Finished project: embroidered rock pool postcardI was finishing the backing on my way to the guild meeting last Saturday, but I did get it done on time:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36397453@N00/9730592085/" title="embroidered rockpool postcard by artethgray, on Flickr"><img alt="embroidered rockpool postcard" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3804/9730592085_823a617cf4.jpg" height="500" width="375" /></a>
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The good: I liked using the plastic confetti and sequins, which isn't something I would usually think to do, but the request was for bright pieces of work, and they did make it positively sparkly. The satin fabric was fun, too, and I do like the way it folds. The folds are just scrunched and held in place with either two small stitches or a bead. I might try the technique with different fabric someday, maybe on something machine washable.<br />
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The bad: My good intension of using several different stitches quickly turned into lines of mainly running stitch. It would have more interesting to look at and demonstrate embroidery with if I had used more stitches, but I'm not skilled enough to stitch without concentrating. So, "done is better than best" and using running stitch means it got done!<br />
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The ugly: Because it's now in the guild's keeping, I can't show you how bad the back and edges are. I should have used a larger margin around the edge of the displayed part of the work, to give more to work with when turning and lacing the back. The folds could have done with filling that wider margin as well. It did all come together, but it really was a bodge job.<br />
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So, now that the postcard is finished, what am I up to? Well, I've put my sketchbook back in my bag and I am occasionally doing a bit of drawing. My dream of making a comic book refuses to die, even though I don't do much but dream.<br />
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At the moment, I'm sort of put off crafting by the state of my craft table. How many times have I whined about what a mess it is, and how I can't do anything when it is so piled with stuff? Enough times that my manager seriously suggested I need a clear desk policy for my craft table.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4986293934901569130.post-70810187583157998992013-08-20T17:05:00.000+01:002013-08-20T17:05:54.695+01:00My report on the Festival of Quilts<div class="p1">
Need to start with a big thank you to all the people who made quilts, organised the show, or just attended the Festival of Quilts. I know it's a commercial event, but I still feel I should thank everyone involved.<br />
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It's been four years, but I finally got to go to the Festival of Quilts again. It was really nice, lots of great quilts and a really good atmosphere. I went on Saturday, and it was Tuesday before I felt recovered from the event, and it took until Friday for me to upload all my photos. So a big event for me. I'm just putting a few notes here, to act as reminders rather than give a full coverage of the event. I don't think I could write enough to do a full coverage!</div>
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I was surprised at how much I liked the quilts in the Pictorial Quilt category. Generally, I tend to think quilts should be quilts, and when a quilt is too representational, it tends to annoy me. But not at this show; I really liked a lot of them, not just for the technical skill in making them.</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36397453@N00/9487674834/" title="view of Luke Hayes' (the American Context 68) Double Elvis by artethgray, on Flickr"><img alt="view of Luke Hayes' (the American Context 68) Double Elvis" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7289/9487674834_112e0bff3e_t.jpg" height="100" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36397453@N00/9484866913/" title="view of Dian Smith's Blodeuwedd by artethgray, on Flickr"><img alt="view of Dian Smith's Blodeuwedd" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7436/9484866913_3d1c5f4ac7_t.jpg" height="100" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36397453@N00/9485240625/" title="view of Hilde van Schaardenburg's Hommage a Monet by artethgray, on Flickr"><img alt="view of Hilde van Schaardenburg's Hommage a Monet" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2853/9485240625_1bd3cd0138_t.jpg" height="100" width="75" /></a></div>
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The way quilters used prints also really caught my eye this year, especially how prints were cut up and re-combined:</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36397453@N00/9488393330/" title="view of Neil MacGillivray's Forth Again by artethgray, on Flickr"><img alt="view of Neil MacGillivray's Forth Again" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3669/9488393330_d609fa8784_t.jpg" height="75" width="100" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36397453@N00/9522157769/" title="detail of Janet Boult's Out of Africa by artethgray, on Flickr"><img alt="detail of Janet Boult's Out of Africa" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5345/9522157769_df2c085b2a_t.jpg" height="75" width="100" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36397453@N00/9487983400/" title="detail 2 of Ans Schipper-Vermeiren's Rozen (Roses) by artethgray, on Flickr"><img alt="detail 2 of Ans Schipper-Vermeiren's Rozen (Roses)" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3744/9487983400_c8b9e23d24_t.jpg" height="100" width="75" /></a>
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I also liked seeing how the back of patchwork was used, either as a second side or as a design element in its own right:<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36397453@N00/9485658701/" title="detail of Danielle Coolbear Jenkins' Peonie by artethgray, on Flickr"><img alt="detail of Danielle Coolbear Jenkins' Peonie" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3684/9485658701_77229b355e_t.jpg" height="100" width="75" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36397453@N00/9497959400/" title="back detail of Sara Edwards and Mandy Parks' Ivy's Quilt by artethgray, on Flickr"><img alt="back detail of Sara Edwards and Mandy Parks' Ivy's Quilt" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7433/9497959400_6a1bcd6ef7_t.jpg" height="75" width="100" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36397453@N00/9526489820/" title="detail of Mandy Pattulo's Detaching Hexagons by artethgray, on Flickr"><img alt="detail of Mandy Pattulo's Detaching Hexagons" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3830/9526489820_2a78a5711b_t.jpg" height="75" width="100" /></a>
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Something I didn't see a lot of was frayed fabric. I suppose quilting has its fads, but the absence of fluffy strips reminded me of how much I like that technique.<br />
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I took loads of pictures, maybe too many. At one point I felt like I was looking at my camera more than at the quilts.<br />
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The nicest thing happened on my way home: I was sitting in an aisle seat on the train, working on my embroidered postcard (despite having forgotten to take my scissors- I think I've already blogged about my reluctance to have different bags because of my dread of forgetting to put all the things into the current bag? Well, I was limited to using threads I had already cut because I switched bags to go to the show and left my cutting tools at home.) A troop of people who had been to the show (I could tell from their bags) were getting off at an earlier station, and one of them nodded to my work and told me "That's beautiful" as she passed by to leave the train! How sweet!<br />
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Here's how it is looking now:</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/36397453@N00/9556775138/" title="postcard in progress shot by artethgray, on Flickr"><img alt="postcard in progress shot" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5330/9556775138_d89ae90efd.jpg" height="500" width="375" /></a></div>
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