Still Raining June 13, 2008
Posted by threadingwater in home, nature.Tags: weather
4 comments
So, while I keep a wary eye on the basement, the weather radar and wait for a plague of mosquitoes to hatch, you get to feast your eyes on my garden. Or, what my garden looked like before the rain beat everything to the ground.
dark peony
blue siberian iris
Last night was tense as massive storms moved across my state. I was OK, but Greatest Husband was traveling by car directly into the eye of the storm. I helped him navigate via cell phone by reading the radar maps on my laptop. After two hours in a gas station mini-mart (”stay away from the plate glass windows and be ready to duck into the restroom!”) he was finally able to continue his trip – sort of. The Interstate was closed down, but he finally reached his destination safely.
More rain predicted for this afternoon and the weekend. Looks like I’ll be knitting and dyeing up a storm.
Oompah Impeach June 12, 2008
Posted by threadingwater in accordion, politics.Tags: impeach bush
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The entire orchestra wants you to listen to Neil Young put their sentiments in musical terms.
No Tears June 11, 2008
Posted by threadingwater in 2008 election, abortion, politics.Tags: Clinton Supporters
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Ever wonder about those Clinton supporters who now say they will vote for John McCain?
NPR interviewed one of them yesterday. A woman who claims that “Obama scares me,” because he would reverse the tax cuts of the Bush years for those people making over $200,000 a year (”that’s NOT rich”) and because Obama “is a blank slate,” the make-up of the Supreme Court is already too anti-abortion rights and right-leaning to be saved, and Clinton’s centrist positions are precisely what make John McCain attractive to her as a candidate.
She also made a point of saying that she had marched in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment and had taken part in Pro-Choice political events, supposedly to bolster her lefty cred with the audience.
What I was wishing the interviewer would ask was, “At what point did you realize you had turned into a Republican?”
Because, you know making over two hundred grand a year really IS rich and obviously you fall into that category. And, if you were old enough to march for passage of the ERA, it’s fair to assume you are now old enough not to have to worry about an unplanned, unwanted or violently induced pregnancy. No need to worry about that anymore. And, “centrist” is such a feel good, non-threatening way to express your utter contempt for any class of persons who might actually raise hell in the name of equal rights and make you the least bit uncomfortable with your over 200K annual income and oh-so-enlightened and let’s-not-rock-the-boat political views, that MY GOD! your self-interested world view precisely defines you as a Republican and you have been the last person to recognize the transformation.
And guess what? You’re not unique or special at all. Just a little slow in coming to terms with your inner selfishness.
Lake Delton Lost & Found June 10, 2008
Posted by threadingwater in my uncontrollable hair, nature, weather.Tags: Lake Delton
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A lake full of childhood memories disappeared yesterday.
Long before the fancy resorts, the gazillion dollar homes (watch this one wash away) and fancy boats, there were cottages, campgrounds and canoes.
And my favorite pair of glasses.
For those of you slogging through the muck and ruin of the former Lake Delton, you are hereby notified of my claim to these exquisite white marbleized plastic cat-eye glasses which were lost in a rope swing incident in 1964 involving a dare, a jump and total victory over my brother and his weasel friend.
Silk Skies, After the Deluge June 9, 2008
Posted by threadingwater in home, my uncontrollable hair, nature, sewing.Tags: Deluge
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Yeah, I used to sing this song to my baby in 1976. No sweet lullabies from me, nosiree, which could explain a whole lot come to think of it.
Deluge – this could be it.
In real time, we have unrelenting, pounding rain that is filling our streets, our shoes, our storm drains and, most of all, making my hair curl in the most uncontrollable, hysterical way.
Since there is no real end in sight for a few days, I thought I’d post a photo of the fruits of last weekend’s labor with the indigo pot.
silk scarf with hand embroidered border
When summer skies look like that again, I’ll drag out the accordion.
Southbound June 4, 2008
Posted by threadingwater in travel.Tags: accordion
2 comments
Is it my imagination, or is the brunette getting ready to kill the accordion player?
Either way, I’m outta’ here. Just a couple or three parties to attend in a southern city on the banks of the Mississippi river. Keep the party going until I return from graduationpalooza.
Strap On & Strike Up June 3, 2008
Posted by threadingwater in 2008 election, politics.Tags: accordion
1 comment so far
BlueGal has found her way home to a blue state and the Democratic primary season wheezes to an end.
Celebrations abound across the Polka Belt of America.
Bellowing in a Fog June 2, 2008
Posted by threadingwater in 2008 election, accordion, politics.Tags: Hillary Clinton
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Get your polka on, good people of the world. It’s June, and that can mean only one thing – National Accordion Awareness Month!
In celebration of all things accordion, I have a great line-up of photos for you this year. Plus, with 2008 being an election year, there’s sure to be lots of squeezing, wheezing and hot air in the atmosphere that we can try to channel into a few rousing dance steps.
So, find your best circle skirt and crinoline, then strap on your instrument for dance number one.
The Hillary
Borrow some notes from the Book of Rove songbook and find a jazzy refrain (”I have won the majority of the popular vote in the primaries.”) Doesn’t matter if it’s preposterous, simplistic or fantastical. Play it over and over and over and, if you play it long enough and often enough, it will become a Truth humming in the background.
It’s a simple dance, but be careful. The music never ends.
And a one, two, three . . .
Post Party Blues June 1, 2008
Posted by threadingwater in crafts, fiber arts, home.Tags: indigo dyeing
1 comment so far
What a mess. I may never get all the English Monkey out of the carpet. And, what’s with the underpants I found in the ice bucket? People, you weren’t even supposed to be wearing underpants. Keffiyehs ONLY.
Nevermind.
With the weekend fast slipping away, it was time to really immerse myself in the blues. The real blues. Indigo, baby. Armed with three yards of washed, unbleached muslin and a small silk scarf, I set out to mess around with indigo dye and kakishibui , just to see what might happen.
Check it out.
Properly prepared, the indigo dye pot looks like a witch’s cauldron. The top is dark blue, bubbly and scummy where the dye meets the oxygen in the air. The water beneath, however, is a clear, limey green color.
I prepared the muslin for the dye pot while it was still damp from washing to remove any sizing in the fabric. Adopting a shibori technique, I bound Lake Superior stones into the fabric and secured them with copper wire. Then, I accordion-pleated the whole thing together, wrapped it with more wire and ended up with this bundle to dip into the indigo.
Here is the bundle after about ten minutes, being lifted out of the pot. You can see that the initial color is more green than blue. It is the exposure to the air that will turn the dye blue.
Oxidation has taken place in this picture where I am in the process of unwrapping the stones.
Here is the entire piece of fabric stretched out to dry before I retie it for a dip into a bath of kakishibui.
The kakishibui coats the fabric (it is not a dye so it doesn’t penetrate the fibers) with a pinkish-brown color that will darken over time. It also deepens the indigo hues.
I couldn’t be happier, even with underpants in my ice bucket.
