Mishmash Monday

1. My mind is a-wonder with the strength of the internet. The powerful work of Debra Spincic who has collected materials from all over the world to make 20 quilts for homeless teens and now she's making 25 baby quilts for teenage mothers -- all with donations from all of you.

2. There is also a quilt initiative to make quilts for the Australian Bushfire victims that Paula Hewitt sited on her blog. The pattern they picked is a maverick star (image from Quiltville tutorial)... which even me, a nonquilter, is going to attempt to try since if mine end up kind of wonky -- you may not notice as much; there's a Flickr site here. Today is Galileo's birthday and he once said: "I've loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night" which I think fits this project very nicely.

There's also an Etsy site to purchase items where all the money goes to the bushfire relief efforts so you could either donate an item to sell or purchase an item knowing it benefits someone else. The site has raised $8,000 so far.

3. Someone asked me where my November BJP was. The answer is that the November BJP is in the "encrustation phase" where I'm experimenting with many types of leaves -- some are beaded -- which is taking me a long time to pull together. Rather than be behind all year, I'm staying current and working on my November piece when I get the time.

I found this book very helpful and inspiring in making my leaves --


I also used it to make this rose on the lapel of my January birthday dress though I used size 15 beads and made it much smaller. There are many other wonderful patterns such as a marguerite, pansies and a thistle (which is my fave).


4. We watched a romance movie for movie night-- my selection of course -- Jack walked around all day be-moaning the fact to anyone who would listen that his mother had picked a RO-MANCE of all things to watch for movie night. It's a Chinese movie called The Road Home with English subtitles.

It was W-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l -- Beautiful cinematography and a story of a woman's 40-year love for a man and how she demonstrates that through her love of weaving and cooking. I could SO relate to the weaving part just not the cooking... you may need a kleenex or two if you're touched by such things and it's only 1.5 hours long...

5. Jude Hill of Spirit Cloth just finished her Love is a Gamble quilt and the slideshow she put together is a treat for the senses -- I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of her techniques -- very thought-provoking...

6. My birthday horoscope told me to finish up my commitments before I start anything new. Slowly since January, I've been trying to get caught up on things I owe people and tasks that are long overdue. I have given myself an arbitrary deadline of the end of February. That leaves me six purses to make in two weeks -- often I'm asked to donate a handmade purse to silent auctions as a fundraiser. So, if you see purses in the future, that's why.

7. Today's a national holiday so Jack has off from school. We're going to bike into town and grab some brunch.

8. I'm reading Black Dahlia for the 1% Well-Read Challenge and hating it.... but I'm reading it anyway...

Here's to making mash from mish on Monday!