Confused

My third and final blind date with a book was with The Goddesses by Swan Huntley, which I finished. I'm not sure if I'm regretting yet or not. I'm mostly confused.

What I liked about this blind date: technically speaking the writing is actually very good, very readable, which is what confuses me. This author is very talented.

What I didn't like about this blind date: If you write well I'll forgive a lot, but this book seemed very misogynistic, which also confuses me, because the author is obviously educated and intelligent. I didn't find the characters or the dialogue realistic, and they seemed crafted to be offensive to women who choose to marry and have families (aka housewives), and women of lower economic classes as well. The male characters also seemed distorted and poorly presented. The plot had no point that I could fathom other than a overlong show of contempt. The author mentioned Costco and Red Vines so often it looked like product placement. The twisted friendship between the female characters was also definitely not my cup of tea. There's a truly vile confession right before the ending that upset me a lot due to it involving a personal trigger, and that destroyed what little sympathy I had for the main character.

My mother used to say no one bashes women quite as viciously or thoroughly as other women, and in this case I think she was right. In the end that's what I felt the author did. Skilled writing doesn't redeem contempt to the point of alienating the reader, so my advice is to give this one a pass.

Make It Yourself

As we head into December, here are ten ideas for easy handmade gifts:

Cookie Exchange: If you live close to your friends invite them over for a cookie exchange. Basically everyone bakes a set amount of their favorite cookies, and these are exchanged at the gathering by lottery, sharing a little from each batch with everyone, or however you want to do it. You can also exchange recipes, too. My neighbor did this once and it was wonderful.

Favorite Recipe Cookbook: For my favorite person I found a copy of my favorite cookbook from a vintage bookseller (yes, I am that old) and went through it making notes on all the recipes I used, how I tweaked them, etc.

Ornament: There are probably a million free tutorials on how to make your own holiday ornaments, so do some research online. I like to make hanging pomanders, which smell heavenly and are biodegradable after the holidays.

Mug Rugs: If you sew, making up a set of mug rugs is simple and easy; I add these every year to my food gift baskets. If you'd like to do something fancy, here are 22 free patterns.

Placemats: A bit bigger than mug rugs, placemats are a welcome gift for anyone with a wood dining table. Here are 60+ free patterns.

Stocking: You can buy an inexpensive Christmas stocking at a dollar store, or make one yourself, and fill it with candy, cookies, fruit, or whatever you can fit inside.

Tablecloth: You'll need to discreetly measure your recipient's dining table, but making a table cloth is pretty simple: hem all four sides of a durable fabric a few inches larger on all sides than the table top, and you're done. I used curtain fabric remnants for mine.

Themed Basket: If you have some leftover baskets, or can find some at your craft or dollar store, make your own themed gift basket. Some ideas: Movie Night (popcorn, a DVD, some sodas and a box of movie theater candy); Cozy Afternoon (a good book, pretty mug, hot chocolate mix, marshmallows and a small package of cookies); and Dear Diary (a blank journal, pretty pen, decorative tape, stickers, mixed media supplies.)

Tree Skirt: If you have time, make a skirt for someone's Christmas tree. There are plenty of tutorials online, even a few that are no-sew. It's also something people rarely give to others, so it will probably be a nice surprise.

Wreath: There are so many ways to make wreaths I won't even try to list them, but they're a fairly easy craft project. Here are 70+ ideas to inspire you.

Banner image credit: Harshahars from Pixabay

Small but Mighty

In 16 episodes the romantic superhero k-drama Strong Woman Do Bong-Soon runs the gamut from silly/goofy comedy to serious thriller, all with an unlikely romance between the main characters that slowly builds into a surprisingly and quite wrenching love triangle, so I never knew what to expect -- and I enjoyed that aspect a lot.

Thanks to a secret family legacy, aspiring game developer Do Bong-Soon (Park Bo Young) is blessed from birth with Hulk-like superhuman strength. She's so strong she can basically swat a truck out of her way with one hand, but her gift is also a curse. She has trouble controlling it, and tries to hide it so she can seem more attractive to her schoolgirl crush, police detective In Guk-Doo (Ji Soo). Through a series of mishaps she's hired as a personal bodyguard by Ahn Min-Hyuk (Park Hyung-sik), the extremely attractive yet slightly crazy CEO of a successful gaming company, who has been receiving threats from an unknown assailant. Meanwhile, a masked man begins attacking and kidnapping young women at night in Bong-Soon's neighborhood.

There are a lot of subplots in this series, including what seems to be the prerequisite destiny aspect to the romance. I didn't mind; I like busy stories. As ridiculous as the comedy can be -- much of it is the Korean version of slapstick, just over-the-top -- the kidnapping case and the unlikely romance between Bong-Soon and Min-Hyuk are what kept me on the edge of my seat. Guk-Doo also becomes a much bigger part of the storyline when he forms a love triangle with them, and Bong-Soon is forced to choose between her unrequited and newfound loves. All the while the psycho kidnapper keeps escalating and becoming more and more menacing.

There was a lot to adore about this k-drama. Park Bo Young first wowed me in Doom at Your Service, and she did not disappoint at all in this earlier work. She also had even better chemistry with Park Hyung-sik, who plays his part flawlessly. I'll warn you upfront, you never get tired of looking at Park Hyung-sik; he's absolutely gorgeous. Ji Soo provided an intense alternative hero figure as the cop and Bong-Soon's crush, and without even trying he stole a lot of the scenes he was in, too. I'm going to watch it again soon because it was so much fun. It's no longer available on Netflix, but you can catch it over at Viki.com.

2021

I'm probably not going to finish another project before the end of December, so I thought I'd take a look back at my year in sewing and quilting. In contrast to years past I made only a few projects in 2021, and did a lot more slow stitching.

I kicked off my year by making this strip-pieced top that I sewed together on Election Night 2020 into a quilt.

Finishing this tote helped me get through losing my mom back in April.

My summer art quilt helped me cope when my favorite person left in May to work in the Pacific Northwest.

I rescued and recycled this beautiful vintage patchwork, and made my first successful lettering stencil for the embroidery.

Recycling was constantly on my mind. Making this art quilt piece into a sunglass case was fun and practical.

I tried an experiment with bargello piecing, which gave me more confidence to test my ideas.

This slow-stitched tote project let me rescue and reuse some sacking material from an old cutter quilt piece, which also gave me more ideas on how I might incorporate the old with the new.

Since I had the pandemic, loss of a parent and sending someone I love off into the unknown to deal with this year, I am very grateful that I had these projects to keep me positive. I'm also grateful for all of the encouragement and support of my artisan friends. That's a wrap for 2021.

Not for Me

Things I Would Rather Not Have for Christmas

Appliances: This was my guy's default gift for me, so now I own them all, especially in the kitchen. No, really, I do.

Clothes: Dressing up is not something I do; I almost always wear t-shirts and leggings, and I have plenty. Also, my mother would buy me clothes every year, always two sizes too small for me because she thought I was still sixteen.

E-Books: I prefer reading print copies of books. I think it's because I have to read from a screen all day for work.

Gadgets: Not a gadget or technology person. I've had a smart phone for six months and I still need help making a phone call on it.

DIY Stuff in a Jar: Thanks, but I already have enough to do.

Jewelry: Only very small earrings fit me (my ears are kid-size) and I don't bother with them very often, or wear any other jewelry.

Make-up: With this super sensitive skin of mine I can't wear it. Even the hypoallergenic brands make me break out in a rash.

Perfume: See make-up.

Soap: See perfume and make-up.

Socks: Another default gift from holidays and birthdays past, so I own like nine thousand pairs already.

So what do you get as a gift for a hard-to-buy-for person like me? I always recommend getting together to share tea, a meal or a long walk. Those are the things I treasure most.

Image Credit: Couleur at Pixabay

Thankful

I have a lot to be grateful for this year, but I think making some lovely new friends has been the best part of 2021. Happy Thanksgiving.

Image Credit: Jill Wellington on Pixabay

The Other Experiment

Last week I mentioned that for my Jane Eyre slow stitch project I need to figure out a way to transfer an image onto cloth without using chalk, pencils or any sort marking. My solution was to laser print the image onto gift tissue paper and sew through it. To see if it would work, I made a trial run of the idea using scrap muslin and some silk thread.

It worked. The paper was thin enough to stitch through easily, and following the lines of the image worked well, too. I used a variety of stitches to get a feel for what would happen to them when I tore away the tissue at the end. To my surprise the bigger stitches stayed in place, while the smaller did get yanked up a bit (I was able to tug them back into place by carefully prodding the thread from the back.)

This will save me a lot of time that I'd usually spend tracing, and give me a crisper, more accurate image transfer.

The Experiment

I joined Twitter back in February this year because I wanted to (very tentatively) dip my little toe into social media without making a big change. I have no desire to step into any spotlight; I just wanted a quiet little corner where I could talk about things that interest me and see what other like-minded people are doing.

The writing community on Twitter is definitely huge and active, but for many reasons (including my job) it didn't feel like a good fit for me. The artisan community, on the other hand, drew me almost immediately. I admired their art and almost from the beginning felt comfortable showing mine (and since I'm very shy about that part of my creative life that's kind of amazing to me.) There's a lot of good discussion and positive encouragement, and of course so much beautiful work out there. I'm energized by this community daily, which is what I needed.

I resolved to post on Twitter for a full year before I decided if I wanted to keep going with it, and as of right now I really don't want to give up my account, so that's the good news. The only negative for me is the time factor. With a full-time job and puppies and looking after my guy and our home I don't have a lot of time to spend on Twitter.

Also, when it comes to following different accounts I feel like I'm at my max now. I actually do go and check all 25 accounts that I follow each morning. It's probably not the way to do it, but I want to keep up with these people and see what's happening with them. If I followed more Twitter accounts I'd probably gain more followers of my own, but I'm not interested in that, either. This isn't my business; this is strictly for fun and inspiration.

In February next year I'll do a longer write-up on my year on Twitter, but right now it looks like I'm staying with it.

Crackers

I decided to try making homemade crackers the other day, mostly to stop a waste problem (any box of crackers I buy goes stale or expires before I can eat them all.) I didn't think it would be that difficult, either. I'm pretty good with a rolling pin.

I tried this vegan recipe with just pepper and salt as a trial run. They came out okay; a little like pie crust chips. I need to roll the dough out much thinner and add some rosemary next time.

Looking Back Again

Although one of my favorite guild quilt shows was held last week, with the Delta variant still raging and people not masking or social distancing I decided not to go. Instead I started looking through the many years of pics I've taken at the same show in the past.

I remember how blown away I was by this paper-pieced swan. So many tiny bits of fabric.

The box lunches they sold in the little outdoor cafe were wonderful, too. Several times I went to the show with my favorite person, and we always had lunch there.

I've always been impressed by what the guild members could do with fabric and thread.

This was the quilt that made me determined to learn how to do bargello piecing -- and I taught myself from books, too.

Mostly I just miss being able to walk around an enormous room filled with so much creativity. Ah, well. Maybe next year.

My Latest Addiction

I have very odd tastes in shows I like to watch, I'll be the first to admit that. At present I'm hooked on the apocalyptic thriller Happiness, which depicts a post-Covid Korea in which an experimental pneumonia treatment drug turns people into crazy blood-drinking killer zombies.

It's currently airing in real time in Korea, so I can only watch it every couple of days on Viki.com when they upload the latest episode, but holy cow, it's really good. At the end of the last episode the two cop lead characters are now quarantined in a massive apartment complex in which most of the rich residents have been taking the illegal drug, and most of the poor residents have no way to protect themselves.

Transfer with a Twist

Before I start my Jane Eyre slow stitch project I need to figure out a way to transfer this image onto cloth without using chalk, pencils or any sort marking.

The technique I've used in the past (creating a stencil) doesn't work with highly detailed images. I decided to trace the image onto this gift tissue paper, which is the thinnest paper I have on hand, and then pin it to the fabric and stitch through it. Then I got an idea.

Instead of tracing I taped a piece of tissue paper to some card stock and printed the image on it with my laser jet printer.

Once I cut the tissue paper off the card stock (removing the tape tears the tissue paper) I had the perfect image transfer.

I'm going to test this on muslin first to see how it will look, embroidery-wise, but I think it's going to work.

Gift Testing

Every year during the holidays I make food gifts for our neighbors. Usually I do pie, cake, cookies, or some kind of pastry that I think they'll enjoy. I always try to make something different, too, and include the recipe so our neighbors can make it in the future if they enjoy mine.

I haven't decided what to make for this year, but I'm currently testing some new possibilities, like this gingerbread coffee cake recipe. I liked it, especially as the cake wasn't too sweet as promised in the recipe notes. My only reservations are that the icing was far too sweet, and the chopped crystalized ginger too spicy. I might try making it again with a few tweaks to tone down the toppings; it might be better with a very thing, light lemon-flavored icing drizzle. In the meantime, I'm still looking.

Today

May you be the butterfly and the flowers.

Image Credit: Larisa K

2019

One of my traditions at the end of every year is to make a photo collage of what I've sewn and quilted over the past twelve months. This collage was 2019, probably my most productive year to date as a textile artist. I do make a lot of bags and other, non-traditional quilted items (like my own set of oven gloves) and I'm slowly gravitating toward making more small art pieces these days. But it's fun to look back and see what I accomplished in the past, too.

Bigger Quilts

I don't make many bigger quilts these days, mainly because I hand-quilt everything, so they take a lot more time to finish. I really need to learn to machine quilt one of these days. Anyway, here are some that I hand-quilted, like this boomerang quilt I made for a new baby boy in the family.

In the past I made most of my bigger quilts for my mom every year for her birthday, which is probably why I've been thinking about them. This one was a birthday quilt for her I made back in 2019.

The only lap-size art quilt I've made is one I kept for myself. I still wrap up with it on cold days when I take a nap.

Improvement

My second blind date with a book went much better than my first; I read all of Paula Hawkins' novel The Girl on the Train in one day.

What I liked about this blind date: the writing, which was spare, elegant and cleverly executed; the pace of the story, which slowly snowballed, the three points of view presented with dates, which helped me keep the convoluted timeline straight, and the mystery itself, which aside from one barely noticeable reveal was quite deft.

What I didn't like about this blind date: unreliable narrators, alcoholics and endless self-pity parties don't resonate with me personally. I guessed who the killer was going to be almost from the beginning because of that reveal (but no spoilers here.) Most of the characters seemed artificially flawed to excess. The time-skip references to sex (where a writer presents a sex scene but leap-frogs over any description of the act to present the aftermath) in the story were virtually identical, probably inadvertant, but after the fourth time of reading the same bit it did make me wince. If you don't want to write about sex, skip it altogether and focus on something else.

It's a cleverly-done story, and I see why they made it into a movie (although I am not tempted to watch the film version.) Emotionally I felt distanced, as there were no characters I could connect with, but that prompted me to focus on the architecture of the puzzle. Most readers would likely enjoy the mystery, and perhaps the chance to get inside the minds of the three POV characters. I didn't feel as if I'd wasted the reading time, so I'll recommend it with a note of caution on all the negative points I mentioned -- if these are major triggers for you, give this one a pass.

Seeing Clearly

The Korean drama series Twenty-Twenty might seem like a typical college romance story, but it surprised me in a lot of ways. While the romance is understated and elegantly slow, it is woven through with weighty issues like bullying, Tiger moms and familial disintegration, and how that affects those who experience it as they cross the threshold into adulthood.

New college freshman Chae Da Hee (Han Sung Min) has a very strained relationship with her mother (Bae Hae Sun), whose strict rules and demanding expectations have made her perpetually miserable since middle school. Mom, who is unmarried, doesn't allow Da Hee to date, socialize or even think for herself. While she exhausts herself trying to please her mother, by the time she begins college Da Hee is on the brink of emotional collapse. She tries to fit in with the other twenty-year-olds, but Mom won't even allow that and barges in trying to control everything.

Da Hee also has two other problems: Jung Ha Joon (Park Sang Nam), a popular guy at school who shadows her all the time and in his own way is as over-protective and controlling as her mother, and Lee Hyun Jin (Kim Woo Suk), a very quiet boy she knew in middle school who accidentally witnesses an ugly scene with her mother. It's obvious both boys like Da Hee, but only Hyun Jin seems to understand and respect her (we find out why during flashbacks of their middle school days.) Things get even more interesting when Da Hee begins to finally rebel against her Tiger Mom and think for herself.

I thought Han Sung Min was superb as a confused and miserable girl trying to find her place as a new adult despite huge obstacles. Kim Woo Suk really surprised me with his performance as the son of indifferent career-obsessed parents, too. His acting seems almost too low-key at first, but is really beautifully subtle. Park Sang Nam is actually a little scary in his part; he does a great job showing a huge range of personality without being obvious. My only complaints are that I thought some of the bullying backstory could have been explained a little more clearly, and Ha Joon's motivation for aggressively shepherding Da Hee justified a little better.

There are twenty episodes of this drama (no surprise there), all under 25 minutes in length, so it's easy to watch. The story-telling is nicely done, and the very chaste but heartfelt romance between Da Hee and Hyun Jin charmed me. All of the actors all do a great job with their roles, too. Available to watch on Viki.com.

DNF

I couldn't finish my first blind date with a book, although I did read about nine chapters of Erica Ferencik's Into the Jungle. I wanted to give my date a fair chance, although I probably should have called it quits after the first few pages.

This was not a story for which I should write up a review, primarily because I didn't finish the book. I also have expectations of any story I read to engage me on some level, which this did not. I feel as if I'm not the right reader for it.

I think if you enjoy very literary stories with surrealism and lots of artful writing, and you don't feel a need to sympathize with the characters, this would be a good date for you. It just wasn't for me.

The Year of Violet

Seeing as I can't shed my fascination with all shades of purple this year, I'm finally caving in. I'll call November 2020 to November 2021 my violet period. :)

Jane

I haven't yet started on my Jane Eyre-themed slow stitch project; I've been looking through images online to gather some final inspiration. The computer-generated sketch shows actress Charlotte Gainsbourg in the role; of all the movies and shows I've watched I liked her depiction of Jane Eyre best. She also looks like Jane did in my teenage imagination after reading the book.

I never thought of Jane as being a physically beautiful woman (in the book she's definitely not) but she remains one of the most courageous characters of any story I've read. Being so valiant gave her spiritual beauty for me -- the sort that never fades with age. Now my task is to translate how I feel about her into fabric and embroidery.

Fasten Your Seatbelt

Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds is an epic, dazzling film that hurls you into the Korean version of the afterlife while showcasing some of the most impressive special effects I've ever seen in any movie.

The story begins with the death of firefighter Kim Ja-Hong (Cha Tae-hyun) who jumps out of a burning building with a child in his arms. The kid lives, but he dies at the scene. Two strangers inform him that he has passed away right on schedule, and toss him into a vortex that takes him to the world of the afterlife, where he meets his three guardians: Gang-rim (Ha Jung-woo), Haewonmak (Ju Ji-hoon) and Lee Deok-choon (Kim Hyang-gi).

At the gates of the afterlife Ja-Hong learns that he is considered a paragon (an exemplary person who lived a noble and self-sacrificing life) and is eligible to be reincarnated -- but there's a catch. First he has 49 days to make it through seven hells in which he will be judged on his sins. His three guardians will help and defend him along the way (and they have their own reasons for wanting to do that), but surviving each hell requires that he be honest and have a valid reason for what he did wrong in his life. The Gods of these hells are all very tough, demanding overseers who have absolute power over the souls that come to them, and most easily take offense.

This movie and Ja-hong's journey through the hells of the Korean afterlife makes Homer's Odyssey look like an elementary school field trip. The special effects might have overwhelmed the story, but brilliant performances by all the actors keep everything grounded in the mythology and make it very human. Although the ending is something you might expect, have some tissues on hand. You're going to cry. I did. Available to watch on Viki.com.

NFS

Writing is something I'll always feel grateful to have as a profession. The best part about the job I have at present is that I've been able to simply write; I'm not required to do anything else. Being able to work remotely is a privilege; I'm very fortunate to be able to do all my work at home. I also know how lucky I am to be able to make a living as a writer. To get by most of my peers have to work a day job doing something else.

I don't mind selling my writing, either. What I create is art, but also something I intend to be sold to and enjoyed by others. Knowing that allows me to avoid becoming too emotionally attached to my work. While just like any form of art my writing requires a lot of thought and creativity, in the end it becomes a product.

I've been a textile artist almost as long as I've been a writer, but I don't create textile art as a product for a couple of reasons. I'm not skilled or fast enough to produce the number of marketable pieces I'd need to make a living. I might try to improve and speed up my process, but I don't want to sell what I sew, embroider or quilt. I do this for me, and I have an intensely emotional attachment to my art.

The dichotomy between my work art and my personal art may not make sense, but as a creative person I need both to balance out my life. I would love to spend every day doing what I want and not worrying about selling it, but then someone else would have to financially support me. I don't judge anyone who works that way, but I'd never be comfortable with that. I also know I couldn't create all day every day making nothing but products to be sold. I need something for myself, something that allows me to express things that aren't always marketable or even appealing to anyone but me.

For me it works, and that's what matters in a creative life: finding what does.

Happy Birthday, Mom

There are a half-dozen grapefruit on your memorial tree right now, Mom. We'll probably have them for New Year's Eve. I think of you every time I look at the new trees.

It's been seven months since you died, and it still doesn't feel quite real to me. I keep thinking of things I want to make for you: a pair of crocheted slippers to keep your feet warm, a pretty lap quilt, a wall hanging full of flowers that will never die. I have things here that I did make for you, unaware that I would finish them too late to send them. I don't know what to do with them now. The other day I was at the store and saw an outfit in your favorite color and thought, "Mom would love that" before I remembered you aren't here to wear the clothes I buy for you any more.

It's not denial, exactly, it's more like I keep forgetting that you are beyond me, in a place I don't know or understand. You will always be my mom, just as I'll be your daughter, but there is no more us here. There's just me.

Today I will be happy. It's the day you were born, and the grapefruits are growing, and my life has settled down again into comfortable rhythms of work and play, focus and dreams, sadness and joy. I am your daughter still, here and well. If you can, be happy with me.

Fickle Finger of Fungi

Twice now I've seen what looks like a finger sticking out of the ground in the yard near our woodpile. It's almost always got flies on it

Turns out it's a mushroom, probably some variety of mutinus elegans, aka the elegant stinkhorn (it looks just like them minus the icky top.)

Although it's not poisonous, it creeps me out.

Boxing

I don't often buy shoes, but when I do I save the boxes. This one is from a pair of slip-ons I just purchased.

They make great slow stitch project boxes. Everything I need for my Jane Eyre piece fits nicely inside. Once I start stitching the piece, I'll be able to roll it up and store it in the shoe box, too. It makes me very happy, as I seriously love the color orange. The fact that I'm reusing the shoe box to store recycled materials for my slow stitch project is a good thing, too.

I'll also have a chance to gloat a little more on how little I paid for my new shoes. They were regularly $23.99, marked down to $8.97 in the clearance section. Aside from the fact they fit my duck feet perfectly, I saved $15.02. :)