Thread Goddess' Gather Round

Something truly amazing is happening with grrl+dog

... and WE can be a part of it ...

"If you knit, crochet or shake your poms poms, you can contribute to an installation at the National Gallery of Australia ... Be audacious and have your art alongside such names as Magda Sayeg of Knitta Please. Think of that on your resume! There are six poles to cover and each is 10 meters high, that's over thirty feet."

Click on the image below for the whole scoop!



I currently have a crocheted piece that is a little over 4"x44".
Looks like I may actually have something done and on
its way WELL before the deadline ... how's that for a first?

... and for something more on the ordinary side of life ...

I had a play date with the spouse tonight ... it was good being with just he and me (critter got a date with worlds-coolest-grandma) ... while we were out, I took a couple of quick pictures.

First:



Second:



Do you know what it is? It's pretty obvious to me, but then again, I was there.


And to think ... we went to the beach ... did I take any photo's there?

Nope.

I did find some pretty cool rocks and a small handful of sharks teeth.

Cheeky (Chicken) Monkey plays Guerilla!

(Click above image for a complete list of Global Guerilla Knit Up Participants)

Thanks to the gentle prodding of both my Getaway Driver (UberSpouse) and Lookout (Critter Child), my contribution to the Global Guerilla Knit Up went up! Yes, I waited till it was dark and was fairly certain that the number of human encounters would be limited ... but, it is officially on display.

After much deliberation (and the realization that it would only fit around a standard handrail sized item ... measuring makes A LOT of sense), I chose this most wonderful centrally located young tree in Gilchrist Park. It only took about 20 minutes to stitch it in place.

Here's the quick snap from last night:

Gilchrist Park is located right on the Peace River (appropriate, don't you think?) and is just walking minutes from downtown Punta Gorda (think more small town and not metropolis). The park gets tons of traffic throughout any given day as there's a terrific playground, tennis courts, covered pavillions, picnic tables with small grills, a dock, flower beds, live oaks, a monument of Ponce De Leon and meandering sidewalks.

Oh! and now it boasts this:

I have to admit that I think this is the best dressed tree in the park.

Check out the pole behind and to the right of the tree - the one with the duck at the top.

Here's a close up:

This pole is actually a utility outlet (note the small bulge near the top left of the pole). How cool is that? There are a number of places throughout the park that have outlets available (though this one really is the coolest by far) for the public to use. They come in handy during town sponsored events and on most Thursday nights when musicians gather to play. It's pretty neat as there are usually a few main gatherings where anyone is welcome to come sit in, plus scatterings of small drum circles and the like.

Here's a detail of the knit up:

Look to the left of the tree (between it and the palm tree) and you'll see the Ponce De Leon monument. (Items in the picture are much closer than they appear.) Check this out ... if people visiting the park pay attention, they'll see that Ponce is pointing right at the little tree:

OK, that's not really true - he actually points a bit east of the little tree, but for sake of this post, I chose to express a little artistic license (I just liked this shot of Ponce with the Gull on his head).

And one last shot of the tree:

This shot was taken near ground level pointing up towards the top ... doesn't it look HUGE?!?

The image really expresses how monumental this whole experience has been for me. It was wonderful taking part in an international festival of guerilla fiber art. I recycled left over bits, crocheted, knotted and pushed myself outside of my comfort zone to participate with many inspirational and creative artists from all walks of life. I like this feeling of being part of something bigger than myself and at the same time recognize how small the world really is. It has been such an honor taking part in the Global Guerilla Knit up (not to mention TONS of fun). I humbly and most sincerely express my gratitude to Grrl for throwing down the gauntlet and challenging us to do it ... and for holding our hands along the way.

It is my hope that people all around the world may look upon these offerings and be inspired ... or ... simply smile.

(2/28 - update ... it's gone ... hmmm)

4 Days ... SERIOUSLY?!?

Yup ... Seriously.

The day of unveiling is a mere 4 days from now. Wow. Time flies!

I actually finished my knit up last night.

... and here's one half close up

... and the other half

OK, so it's not knit up, but is made up of homeless crocheted squares.

The blue squares were extra's from THIS huge project; the larger yellow squares are crocheted from the softest Bamboo yarn - ever; the two smaller yellow squares (side by side in the center) are leftovers from a baby blanket & the "connector" threads are various bits of random yarns from my big basket of yarn options (not quite as varied as I was hoping) that include: white and tan varieated cotton, super poofy hot pink softy (but in an acrylic way) yarn, tri-colored purple yarn (of the Walmart variety) and wicked cool autumn colored ribbon (the odd little tuft at the center of the yellow square at one end [or top up the knit up] and the connector of the yellow square to the blue square as the other end [or the bottom]) ... too much information?

You'd think the hard part was done, right? WRONG. There's the figuring out of what pole/object it should adorn ... though today at work I spotted the place I want it to go, so I think that one's a done deal ... as long as I can work up the COURAGE (a.k.a. the hard part) to actually DO IT! EEK! Yep, guess I have to admit that as much as it fills me with excitement to think about doing the deed and seeing my knit up banner wave, I am also filled with serious fears about getting caught in the act. This town is not known for it's mellow cops and their good senses of humor ...

*insert nervous twittering giggles here*

It's all good ... somehow I WILL overcome my twitchies and the knit up WILL go up. Do me a favor and think really positive can-do thoughts for me ...

... and if you find yourself wanting to be part of the fun (and I have a feeling many of you do), go HERE for the scoop, HERE for making sure you've got everything you need in your guerilla knit up kit, HERE for some ideas/reassurances on getting away with it (will be reading and rereading this post a few hundred times) and HERE just to get to know grrl a little better.

... In other cool news, I just found out that I am

one of seven finalists in the Art/Illustration Sub-Category of:

To see the list of other finalists (listed with their links) go HERE

.

The winners will be announced tomorrow.

HERE's where you can find the first round of winners. You can also vote for the People's Choice award from this first round. I've already voted.

With thanks & an update

I'll start with the update. As you might remember, I added washi papers to one side of the heart and all I have done since was coat that side in gloss varnish and paint the flip side white:

and here are a couple closer shots:

Feel free to click on any of the above images to see an even larger view. Next step? Not sure, but I think it includes seed beads ... when will I actually have a few hours to spend on these?!?

also,

I truly appreciate all of the wonderful & generous support

& kind words you have showered on me. It has made a world of difference.

thank you

I'm going to be extremely busy during this job transition ... I'm not the only one moving and have offered (been hired) to help the others with the transistion, too. If I seem to have vanished, it's only an illusion ... I'll be back ... have to be back on the 12th if I want to enter something in this:

... and there's still time if you are interested in submitting something to the contest, too.

Just click on the button above to get the whole scoop.

Plus, in my non-copious spare time, I still need to finish up my mock-knit-up for:

... at least this one is already in the works ...

and again, there's still time to join!

Finally ... thought it was time for another

Cigar Box tease ....

ready?

are you sure?!?

cool ...

on the left is a small notebook with the ring on top (handy for lefties like me)

the moleskin notebook on the right is really small, but soooo ready to be marked up.

Be well & dream BIG!

Always, ~M~

OWOH Sneak Peaks 1 & 2 ... plus a reminder

I'll start with the reminder:

If you aren't familiar with the gLOBAL gUERILLA (K)NIT UP,

click the image above to be wowed ... who knows, you might want to play, too!

be sure to check out some of her more recent posts as grrl has made some

super terrific suggestions in regards to alternate materials & being prepared.

Next up ... here are the first two sneak peaks at what you will find in the cigar box that I am offering up for One World One Heart 2009
:

Pictured Above: 6 champagne corks & one tile (imported from Italy)

AND:

Pictured above: 12 shiny little shells & 6 cranes

more about the cranes: all were folded from 1 1/4" inch squares then dipped in a setting agent that has made them more substantial - but not beyond crushable - painted with acrylic paint & coated with gloss varnish.

(click HERE to see where some of them ended up)

At last check, the number of participants had jumped to an unbelievable 737!

WHOA!

You'd Think I'd Learn, Eh?

Please note: there was a half giggle trying to escape as I typed that ...

... just in case you haven't heard yet, hop on over to grrl & dog, check out &:

Did I commit myself to this? What do you think? lol ... guess you'll just have to wait and see. Who knows, you just might get inspired (click on the above image for more information).

In other news ... it's nearly 1:00am and I thought I would be a bit further along with these (though a smart cookie would have just focused on one ... never claimed to be that cookie & besides, both nagged me into creation). Look at the previous post to see where I left off ... might not look like I've made much headway ... here's an update, just the same.

as neither are currently titled, here's the light box:

And here's the dark one:

... what the heck are all those little black and white thingies on the wax paper?!?

I told uber-spouse that I'd finish at least one before I hit the pillows ... and bets on which one it will be?!?

Question ... do you dream in technicolor?