lasso bride tarpaulin

Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people only once a year.Victor Borge

Before I get going here, my friend Laurie snapped this installation in the Philly airport the other day.  

Actually she took a little movie of it as she moved along, and I went crazy trying to find the artist and information.  Well finally, I slowed down the iPhone movie and there was her name on the window protecting the installation, but obscured by passers-by!  Here is the information I found on it once I knew who did it:

Philadelphia artist Kay Healy is known for her hand-drawn, hand -sewn, stuffed fabric cutouts of life size home furnishings.  She depicts furniture and domestic objects by screen printing line drawings onto fabric.  She cuts out the printed image along with a backing material and adds stuffing to create a subtle dimensionality. In Coming Home, Healy reinterprets 4 rooms - a kitchen, bathroom, dining room, and living room-side-by-side, aligned one after the other.  The rooms are highly detailed with more than 50 common household items that include a refrigerator, oven, step ladder, and broom; a bathroom sink, towel rack, and claw foot bathtub; a dining room table and piano; and a chair, cabinet, and antique radio - all realistically arranged atop hand -printed fabrics that allude to patterned wallpaper or a tiled wall.In this particular installation, Healy based the contents of the rooms on the recollection of 4 Philadelphians as they describe the furniture and decor of their childhood homes.  The 4 individuals - Leroy, Peggy, Kim and Frank all grew up in various decades and in different sections of the city.  Through their conversations with Healy, she has meticulously sewn each room in order to capture each individual's nostalgic look back at the objects and furnishings that defined their former homes.  Although each room represents a specific person, the rooms are common to all of us.  Coming Home is an endearing, often whimsical remembrance of objects, lifestyles, and eras past. 

Additionally I found an extensive list of the archived installations and art that the airport has exhibited.  This should keep your little bunny tails twitching for a LONGGGG time!  I have barely gotten started!

Next I found some work by Marc Dombowski.  This one is called 'Anything Helps (Black and Green)' and is hand embroidery on found cardboard.  Look at a larger version and the stitching becomes apparent.

I finally got the photos of a little tote bag I made to carry my knitting to and fro.  The outside is a vintage piece of crochet made for a small table.  It was given to me by an Armenian friend originally from Turkey who knew I would appreciate it and use it well.  The middle layer is another hunk of my black drop cloth.  I tried the crochet against several fabrics and the black really showed it best.  And finally the lining and pockets are a quilt top I made with outtakes from several other quilts.  The handles had been in my drawer for years-  liked these better than the black ones.  And now I'm all set for a big knitting project!

Issac Report:  Yeah, I'm IN it!  Today the pool overflowed into the courtyard and was pretty much covering the pavers, but when the rain stopped it got absorbed pretty quickly-  the pool however will take a day or so to drain off.  And the big kick is that one of my Bird of Paradise plants (it was planted here when the house was built 20 years ago) has taken a dive into the pool too.  Fell over sometime over night but I didn't notice because the wind was so strong all night and I had a radio on to drown out the sounds.

The good part is that when I was over yanking at the Dead Bird, I found that my orchids have gone a bit crazy blooming.  I hadn't noticed because within a few days of getting back and getting acclimated, the whole Issac thing happened.  The spider orchid has a whole new stalk and another little yellow variety in the same pot is in full bloom.  I can't imagine how they've survived in this wind and rain!

The 6' coleus has toppled on top of it but somehow avoideing squashing it-  I have to call a guy to come fix all this tomorrow.

 And now, as I promised yesterday, the Accessories-from-Hell!   And because I ended yesterday with MEAT, that's where I will start today:

Cheese and Meat purses

Suede skirt and Messenger Bag all-in-one. 

 Don't know what would work under it as you leap on your bike.

No need to wear socks with your Birkenstocks ever again, these are both all rolled into one.  

Sandal-Socks, never out of style, re they?

Apparently for the flat chested gal who doesn't want anybody looking in her eyes!