Happy World Quilting Day!
Actually, I am between quilts right now. My latest one is in a quilt show. Here is a photo.
My quilt from last year’s show, titled, “I Dream of Cranes,” is shown below.
There is a nice overview of quilt traditions in different cultures in Wikipedia, here.
Quilting: the occupation where one spends a lot of money buying perfectly good fabric, then spends a lot of time cutting it up, only to sew it back together again.
Today in 537 the first Siege of Rome and the start of the First Gothic War. Actually, Rome had been sacked by the Goths in 410.
No, not these Goths . . .
I’m talking about these Goths . . .
General Belisarius was appointed by Justinian I to take back Rome. He entered Italy from the east and rapidly took Sicily.
Map credit Cplakidas
Europe was a pretty disorganized place in those days after the fall of the Roman Empire. Here is a clever graphic depicting the changes in power.
It would not be Tuesday without a tattoo. Here’s a Gothic one . . .
These amazing optical illusions are body paintings by artist, Natalie Fletcher.
Photoshop was not involved.
The tattoos below are optical illusions as body art of a more permanent nature.
In addition to all of the other wonderful things that we celebrate in February, it is also National Cherry Month.
Why February, when cherry season is months away? I don’t know.
Cherries are stone fruit – like apricots, peaches, and plums. They are members of the genus Prunus.
The English word cherry, French cerise, Spanish cereza, and Turkish kiraz all derive from the classical Greek (κέρασος) through the Latin cerasum, which referred to the ancient Greek place name Cerasus, today the city of Giresun in northern Turkey in the ancient Pontus region, from which the cherry was first exported to Europe. The ancient Greek word κερασός “cherry” itself is thought to be derived from a pre-Greek Anatolian language. – Wikipedia
The top five cherry producing nations are Turkey, United States, Iran, Italy and Spain.
This is also a good time to trot out my Chocolate, chocolate, cherry, oatmeal, cookie recipe. Also known as the Best Cookies You Have Ever Eaten. See the recipe at this link.
Here is a tattoo . . .
This is a pair of socks I made using a double strand (Madelinetosh and Koigu yarns), 36 stitches on #4 needles. The cuff was knit on #2 needles. The furry part was knit on #4 needles. I had the furry yarn on hand. I cannot remember the manufacturer. I thought these socks would be nice and warm to wear around the house – or the office instead of wearing my boots all day!
I bought the sock yarn at Bo-Peep Fine Yarns in Ligonier, PA. This is a wonderful yarn shop!
Because it is Tuesday, here are some tattoos. You have heard of tattoo sleeves. It turns out there are tattoo socks, too. These designs, however, take the name literally.
Shades of Star Trek First Contact, an Omaha man is fiddling around in his garage working on warp fields. This story from Dave Reneke.
David Pares is maybe not how you’d imagine a scientist trying to prove the existence of warp fields (and then harness them), but he is the one who seems to be trying the hardest. Its science fiction finally coming true.
Armed with all the money and free time he possesses, Pares has been tirelessly exploring what some people have dismissed as a pointless endeavor. But a lack of funding or scientific support won’t stop him. While NASA’s Harold “Sonny” White is exploring warp bubbles in a more theoretical way, Pares is taking a more hands-on approach.
Dave Pares and his workshop/laboratory
He’s toiling over a Faraday cage and constructing a V-shaped device made up of three panels with fractal arrays that he believes can compress the very fabric of space. Pares does so at the headquarters for Space Warp Dynamics, aka his garage.
Pares contends that warp bubbles occur naturally all of the time right here on earth. Through his work he is attempted to test that theory.
That’s how the Wright Brothers did it.
And the tattoo, because it is Tuesday.
Well, hardly, but was time for a post on knitting.
I do admire the way the designer is pushing the limits of the technique. Also cool is the way the model’s hair mimics the stitches.
This is the glow from my kiln when it is being fired . . .
The opening: the view inside after it has cooled (a little) . . .
Moustache mugs bisque fired and waiting to be glazed . . .
The finished product . . .
And, of course, some ‘stache tattoos:
The days are getting shorter and colder, but with the change of the seasons and the end of daylight savings time, I sometimes see wonderful sunsets such as these when I am on my way home from work.
I thought the colors were amazing.
And the tattoo depicts a sunset in a different kind of location:
This is the Everingham Rotating House near Taree, NSW, Australia. This interesting concept works well on the spacious lot where it is situated. I am trying to picture it in my neighborhood of 1/6 acre lots.
This graphic from the National Post explains more about the mechanics of the structure.
And this YouTube video takes you inside the house:
The house is now available for holiday rentals; click here to learn more.
See also:
Firearms, fibers, any news or behaviors that make me say, "hmm, let me take another look at this."
I still miss my man, but my aim is getting better.
Gunsmoke and Knitting 