You can run, but you can’t hide from me when I’m carrying the Flip. This latest ambush is with my aunt Jan. For Christmas she made some very fancy embroidered pillow cases for my parents. I can’t imagine sweating and drooling on these masterpieces so I’m guessing they’re ornamental.
I dropped the ball and forgot to get photos while I was there, but I think you can see clearly enough from the video that pillow cases have a lot of detail. Gifts like this really are special, and not just because of the significant amount of time it takes to make something like this. In this (pillow) case it was about 20 hours for the pair.
One year I tried to make every gift I gave, and it just about killed me. Props to everyone makin’ stuff.
I left the video camera running while we did this. The whole shoot took about 30 minutes. I think Paris had the idea for snowflakes. Originally, I wanted to recruit a ton of people, dozens at least, to make one giant snowflake somewhere in downtown Asheville, and shoot it from a building. But the ladies were thumbs down on that. I still may do it one year. That’s a lot of white clothes!
We hope you like it. If you haven’t gotten yours yet and you know you’re on the list email me. We still have a small batch that hasn’t been mailed. If you want one, no matter who you are, just let me know. We have a small number left.
The hits keep coming. Mary made a set of potholders from some funky 1970s style fabric for her funky (in a good way) older sister. She used some fabric meant for covering ironing boards in the middle because it’s heat resistant. Beyond that, she freely admits that she doesn’t know what she’s doing, and didn’t have directions. Freestyle sewing!
This Monster Backpack for our nephew is another Christmas creation by Mary. Handmade all the way. Even the bag it’s wrapped in is handmade. She Googled “cute cartoon monsters” to find different ideas and used them as inspiration for her own thing. To make the applique possible she had to simplify the final design. Mary has advanced sewing skillz, credentials even, but she makes it sound simple.
And, she was wrapping gifts in our freezing cold house. Lots of snow this weekend. Not much electricity. Sorry to whoever was calling during the video. We stop for no one.
The crafty lady is on a roll. This project is a tote bag made from some salvaged wool that she felted. Details include a fancy-pants interior pocket, and a functional/decorative patch. Curse you moths! No pattern was used. Freestyle sewing!
Went to a great show with my son last weekend: Mad Tea Party and Southern Culture on the Skids at the Grey Eagle in Asheville. More pics, videos and yapping after the jump. Check it out.
I saw this last year, Christmas 2008, when visiting my in-laws. My mother-in-law Cathy Earle did this fantasy cityscape oil painting in the early 1970s. I believe it was an assignment in an art class she was taking. She had redecorated her office and brought this piece out of the archives. The colors are fantastic, no pun intended. They are an Army family and at first I thought this was real skyline from some place they had been stationed in Europe.
For a closer look see a larger version of this oil painting.
We interrupt Tracy’s regularly scheduled broadcast of Beastie Boys and KISS to bring you something for the ladies — the single ladies, to be more precise. I really dig this cover of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” even though I’m not the biggest fan of the original. The singer Nataly has a great voice and Jack is amusingly manic. The part that really does it for me is that it’s got a very nice DIY feel. They characterize their productions as VideoSongs because their are no hidden sounds. They show you every sound that makes it into the mix whether it’s a splash cymbal, a kiddie xylophone, or a puppet on a bass drum. Speaking of which, the puppet gets some good screen time on this cover of “September” originally done by Earth, Wind, and Fire.
Want to know what it's like to have brain surgery? Well here's the long version of my experience. Complete with pictures and videos! Read all about the Brain Surgery Experience.
