stones on the go

Stitched, packed, and on their new adventures.

Thanks to everyone who gave one a home.

a plotting plodder

I've been immersed in work projects as of late, and burning the midnight oil on a project of my own, which has left me little time to do much of anything else. Add on top of that connectivity problems and a head cold. I feel like I'm plodding along.

Something I have managed to do is do a little stitching each day. I have plans, you see.

I may be plodding, but I'm also plotting.

I'm a plotting plodder.

If I owe you an email, I apologize. It looks like I'll be back in email today and will sneak a little time tonight to get to them.

Have a great day, everyone.

Altar - How I Pray

A sneaky peek at a piece I made for the 'Hank of Hair, Piece of Bone' exhibit, opening this Friday at The Crossing Arts Gallery.

This piece is called 'Altar - How I Pray' and is made entirely of wool.

Some of the elements have been wet-felted but then needle-felted into the scene. A stitched stone lays at the base of the form as an offering.

I have two other pieces in this show. If you're local, stop out and see us Friday night and enjoy a glass of wine and chat.

You can find details about the show HERE, and I'll try to post more photos of my pieces after the show opens.

a shop update and a giveaway, as promised

10 days of stitching all lined up.

10 stones will go in my shop Friday morning at 9am central time.

The proceeds from which, if they should sell, will go right back into my wool supply. :)

Now, how about a little giveaway?

During my challenge there were two days that I was able to make extra stones. I'll give them away, one here and one on my facebook page, so you have two chances to win.

How to enter: This giveaway is now closed

Leave me a comment here on this blog post (and/or on my facebook post) telling me what you would do if you had the time.

My kids will pick a winner, randomly, from both my blog and my facebook page on Saturday morning. That's it! The winner here will win the stitched stone pictured below. I will ship worldwide.

Good luck!

Days 9 and 10... I did it!

Day 9's stone came together last night after dinner and Day 10 this morning before breakfast.

Hooray! Go me!

While my 10-day challenge is now over, I don't expect to put down the needle and thread for quite so long going forward. The exercise forced me to be honest with myself about how I was spending some of my time. Yes, my work life is very busy. Yes, my home life is very busy. But there are times, especially when life gets overwhelming, that I veg in front of a screen. That's okay, and probably necessary, sometimes but other times I know I'll be happier stitching than surfing.

It will be a conscious choice.

Thanks to everyone who cheered me on and who understood how this little act can make a big impact.

I'll have info on the shop update and giveaway tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Art Hounds on MPR

There's a feature on Minnesota Public Radio called Art Hounds that highlights what's going on in our local art scene.  You can share events and exhibits that are going on around you, and this week I shared with the MPR listeners a short film fest being held here in Brainerd called EgoFest.   I did a brief phone interview and you can hear my awkward self right here (I'm the second speaker):

I was so nervous, even though the interviewer was extremely nice (and patient),  that my cheeks were red for about an hour after the interview.  Egads.

If you're in the area, do stop by and enjoy some film.  Hubby and I have a date night to check out Friday's events, and since we average one date night a year so yeah, I'm doubly excited.  I think it will be really interesting to see the films and be able to then hear from the filmmakers themselves, hang with my husband, and meet some of the amazing folks behind the movies.

Learn more about EgoFest here:

Weathery Wednesday

Look what mother nature delivered us yesterday.  We were in the epicenter of a bomb cyclogenisis, or what they're calling a land hurricane yesterday.  It amounted to a lot of wind, rain, and as you can see, snow.

This is my driveway.  Guess I'm not going anywhere today.  There are 5 pines down, 4 of which were torn up by their root balls.

Today's view from the mailbox.

Today will be spent hauling and cutting trees, stoking the wood stove, and preparing for the possible flood in my basement from the past few days of precipitation.  Good times.  Good times.

I had planned to do a little shop update this week but I think it may have to be pushed back a bit.  More on that later.

I hope you all have a warm and cozy Wednesday.

Move Over Buttons, It's Movie Monday Today

That's Brainerd there in the middle!

Sorry folks, no Button Monday today.  Instead I'd like to introduce you to a project that is planned for my town, Brainerd Minnesota. 

I bumped into fellow Brainerd resident Phil Holbrook and his movie-to-be, Tilt, on Twitter.  What started as a nightmare is now being made into cinema by Phil, filmmakers/screenwriters Julie Keck and Jessica King and Cinematographer Jeremy Doyle .  

How exciting!  A movie in my town that isn't related to Fargo!

Here's a little about the film, from the Tilt website:

THE STORY: Paul hasn't connected with his daughter for over 10 years, but when their world is turned upside down by an unthinkable act, he has to decide what's more important: doing the right thing or setting things right? TILT is about revenge & forgiveness, betrayal & redemption, and second chances...small town style.

Cool, right?  Well, what I also found cool was that this group is raising the funding for the film themselves.  With help from backers, as of this morning they are only $4000. short of their goal.  They have a deadline of August 6th to meet their goal.  I hope they make it.

Want to help them out?

Become a backer - if you become a backer of the film, you're pledging a dollar amount through Kickstarter.  If  you have an Amazon account, your sign up is super simple so check it out here: 

 Tilt

Help spread the word - follow Tilt the movie on Twitter here:  Tilt on Twitter 

and visit the blog here:  Tilt on Wordpress 

Tell your friends!  Be sure to check out some of the moviettes on the site too, they're great.

And wish these artists luck while you're at it.

Happy Monday!

Brainerd icon - the scariest animatronic Paul Bunyan ever, terrorizing small children for generations. 

The scariest animatronic guy ever

Have you ever been to Brainerd, Minnesota? If so, chances are good you've heard of "Paul Bunyan Land". It was once located in the heart of Brainerd, which happens to be the gateway to a gazillion lakes and therefore a big tourist area. A few years ago, the land upon which PBLand sat was purchased to house a Kohl's department store. Poor Paul Bunyan was evicted. The story goes that the entire park and all the rickety rides and entertainment were free as long as the new owners moved everything and operated the park as a non-profit. So everything was packed up and moved outside of town and reassembled.

The giant Paul sits right inside the entrance of the park. While the parents are paying, they write down their childrens names so that once inside, Paul booms out (through a loudspeaker) HELLLOOOOO, RILEY! (or whatever your kids' names might be). There is generally a log jam of crying kids who refuse to budge past the door. Paul's big arm raises noisly in a mechanical wave and his eyes blink, further terrorizing the kiddies. All the parents laugh and laugh....until the therapy bills start rolling in.

As you can see from the photo, Paul's a pretty big guy so to a little one, he must seem impossibly huge. My son has just now gotten past his fear of Paul, three years after our first visit. My husband tells tales of being terrorized by Paul when he was wee and now he gets to share the night terrors with his own clan. The kids managed to shake it off though and we headed towards the more benign tic-tac-toe playing chickens, wooden "mine shaft", and bumper cars.

That's fun in central Minnesota, and it comes with a side of cheese curds.