Quilters Convention: Inspiration!

Jacket quilting envy

Over the weekend there was a Quilt Odyssey 2018 at the Hershey Lodge and  Convention Center.  I didn't even know that quilting conventions existed until the family communication chain kicked in.  (Communication chain of my mother in law heard it on the radio and told my father in law, who then relayed it to my husband while at the gym and by some strange miracle he remembered and told me when he got home.) After a little bit of waffling I decided to attend. Fate would have it that my dear friend GAT was free, so she joined me in the land of quilts.

I love the lyrics!

I honestly had no idea what to expect at the convention, and it blew my mind.  There are some seriously talent individuals out there that have far more patience then I will ever achieve. One quilt that particularly made me smile was the Mosura no Uta quilt by Amy Peterson.

Mosura No Uta

Not only was it a beautiful and well detailed quilt, it was also a tribute to  Mothra, who is well known in the Godzilla folklore. The quilter actually had the song embroidered on to the quilt along with detailed moths.  To me it was a beautiful blend of skill combined with a sense of humor.  It spoke to me and made me feel better about some of the ideas I have with quilting. 

Another quilt that was inspiring, was one called Mike's Heart by Miyuki Humphries.  The little bio talked about how this was a therapy quilt for a husband that had pass away. It was beautiful and made me tear up a little bit.  I can completely relate to quilting being therapy. I have sat for several hours at a sewing machine sewing squares together as I sort through things that trouble me.  The amount of detail on the project was astounding.

Mike's Heart

Not only where there beautiful quilts on display and several raffles that a person could enter. (I am totally going to win at least one of the quilts I put tickets in for. I can feel it.) They also had a wonderful merchants corner, where it was fun to sort through fabric, look at kits and machines.  Despite the fact that GAT doesn't sew (she is a cross stitcher at heart), she had fun sorting through fabric with me and keeping an eye out for unusual fabric patterns or unique items that worked with my style.  By the end of the convention, we were both thrilled with the purchases that we made and looked forward to upcoming projects. 

I think that any convention that inspires a person, is worth while to attend. I have marked my calendar for next years convention and have already started on a couple of projects that I had been putting off.  Inspiration is wonderful, what ever the source!

Yon & Mu

I wanted to write a back story about how I received a book in the mail from some friends.  It was going to be epic, but then I realized I would take too long and I really wanted to write about the book I just read. So, I am going to do that in stead and save the story of Dave and Crista for another time, when I can put it into a proper iambic pentameter it deserves. 

I just finished reading Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu and now I need to go hug my cats.  It is an incredibly sweet story from a well known horror manga artist.  The art style is exactly what you would think a horror artist should look like, and it completely adds to the charm of story in a weird way.

After my husband finished the book, vet appointments were required for both of our cats and mandatory cuddling. (The vet appointments were to verify that both of the boys are in good health and will live a good long time, and not because there is anything wrong with them.  This is a prime example on how books influence life.) 

IF you love cats, I would highly recommend this manga.  It is balm to a cat lovers soul and in some ways it  really illustrates what it is like to share living space with furry divas. The art is creepy but that is part of its charm, and it immortalizes the relationship between cat and human and how ownership works.  In some ways I felt like I was reading out the adventures of my own two fur beasts.  

I don’t think a blog post about a manga about the adventures of becoming a cat owner would be complete with out me sharing a couple of pictures of Dib and Iggins.  

Hot Avocado

I suddenly understand how the people feel after a conversation with me when I have had too much tea.  This sudden understanding was brought to me by an conversation I just had with my father.

Dad:  I just got a dozen avocados from a friend, the heat wave had them drop. They are tasty.

Me: I like avocados, but I don’t like them warm.

Dad: Why would you do that to an avocado? 

Me: I don’t, but they make avocado egg rolls and they are terrible.

Dad: I think Del Taco puts it in their burrito.  

Me: That is not quite the same thing.  

Dad: It is a warm avocado.  Besides you are only eating it for the hot sauce.

Me: We don’t have Del Taco out here.

Dad: You are missing out on the taco sauce.  They give you like, eight packets at a time and you might only use four or five.  I think it would only take a month to save up the extra packets and I can send you a box.

Me: Please don’t.  That is crazy old man talk.

Dad: But it is good sauce, and you might like it if you try it.  Don’t you like hot sauce?

Me: ....Yes, I like hot sauce, but don’t collect Del Taco hot sauce packets and send them to me.

Dad: .....but....it won’t  take that long....

The Turtle Moves

There was an escaped turtle in my backyard.

This turtle might be a ninja or at the very least a reincarnation of Houdini.  Maybe he has been reading too much Terry Pratchet. The turtle (whom I have name Mr. Turtle) lives three fenced in yards down from mine in a pond.  I have no idea how he is making it into my yard. This isn’t the first time this has happened.  The other week Mr. Turtle was found under my car.  I suspect he was trying to hot wire it.

The mystery of how he is getting in my yard is puzzling at best, but the trick of getting him back to his yard is task and a half.  The first round where Mr. Turtle was caught before he could steal my car, it was easy to get him back to his home.  All the neighbors were chilling outside and the clamor of finding a rather larger turtle drew their attention over the fences.  This time after establishing that none of the neighbors are home and that turtles can move rather quickly when they want to,  developed a friendship with Mr. Turtle.  After much one sided discussion and eyeing up my neighbors back yard  and discussing the virtues of staying in their own yard, wandered into my neighbors vibrant foliage and returned Mr. Turtle to his home.

This adventure with Mr. Turtle just makes me think about Terry Pratchett’s book Small Gods.  The more I think about it, I could have had a god in my backyard.

You can't trample infidels when you're a tortoise. I mean, all you could do is give them a meaningful look. - Terry Pratchett

Sibling Communication

Actual text conversation with my brother. 

The best relationships might be built on dinosaurs.

Consumed: A Review

Hello,

Welcome to a book review. It has been a long time since I actually sat down and wrote about something I read. Let us take an adventure and see I can remember how to talk about books!

Recently I finished the book, Consumed by Aaron Mahnke.  I received this book as part of a gift exchange at my job.  The coworker that gifted the book to me is a big fan of the the podcast, Lore that the author hosts.  I am one of those few people that have not listened to the podcast, which means I have no idea what this authors usual style is, or if this book is comparative to it.

Consumed is a novel that is little over 300 pages, but feels like a much shorter novel.  The main character is researching information based for a novel they want to write and stumble upon more than one body that has been partially consumed.  (See how I worked the title of the story into what actually happens in the story?  High five to me!)  The rest of the story is solving what is eating people.

The story is enjoyable, and moves along pretty well. The ending isn't wrapped up in brown paper and tied with a string.  The conclusion is a little open ended, but not in a way that would allow for a sequel. I would recommend the book based off the fact that it is an easy read that doesn't require you to be attached to multiple characters, and that the folklore that is being utilized is not something that is typically done.   It seems like most folklore gets turned into fantasy of werewolves or vampires and sometime the occasional mermaid, but this is none of those. 

If you have read the book, what did you think?

Lizard Men tried to Sell Me a Car

Lizard men tried to sell me a car. 

That isn’t the complete truth.  I have no verifiable proof they were Sleestaks in disguise, but I am one of those people that trusts their instincts.  

A month ago, I was on the verge of buying a vehicle from a lizard man.  In the beginning, I didn’t know he was a lizard man, he seemed human.  He did all the right things, took his time explaining the features of the vehicle to me, while letting me behind the wheel.  Some things I really liked about the vehicle.  My husband was practically bouncing in his seat, because I was warming up to the idea that a car can be utilitarian and luxury. 

Then it happened.  It was kind of like that episode of Land of the Lost, where they think they are home, and then the phone rings, and a voice from beyond the grave ruins the illusion.  The voice beyond the headrest completely ruined the interest I had in purchasing a vehicle. High pressure salesmen combined with over enthusiastically helpfulness to the point of talking down hits all of the buttons of disinterest in me. 

I think with a little bit of liquor, the inner monologue could have been an out monologue.  Sadly I am responsible and boozing up to test drive vehicles, isn’t exactly recommended, even if it would numb the pain of social awkwardness. 

I mean Seriously Dude! I am sure that lane assist is a useful feature, but frankly it isn’t a selling point for me. I would like to think I can stay in my own lane without the vehicle silently judging and correcting me.  Also only a creep would purposely try to distract the driver on a highway to show them features on the steering wheel in the dark.  Total Sleestak move.  Humans just don’t have that sort of night vision and need to pay attention to things such as speed limits and curves in the road.  I can’t be touching the steering wheel to change the dashboards screen while I am going sixty on a highway I have never been on.  It is just asking me to be a stereotype email driver. Not interested in being a stereotype. 

Needless to say, I didn’t buy the vehicle.  Especially after the callings, emailing and texts I received a the following week.  It was like a bad date, where the guy suddenly thinks you are soul mates, because you politely laughed at one dumb joke that wasn’t even funny.   Total Sleestak move.   

Eventually I did purchase a vehicle. It was from a totally different dealership that was super chill.   But chill in a good way, like some one you means dude as a compliment and drinks fancy coffee. Sometimes it is hard to remember you don’t have to commit to Sleestaks.  Just because the lizard man is there does not mean you have to be  romantically involved with them and you certainly don’t have to buy vehicles from them.   

My advice: Be chill and finds something at that makes you feel comfortable and then go one step further if at all possible.  You will thank you for being good to yourself. 

( Land of the Lost  episode is  called Dream Maker. 1992)