Keepin' On Keepin' On

My, how summer seems to be flying by. The RNC will be here before you know it!

We are a go for the Peace Island Picnic, and there is a possibility of a retail space in downtown St Paul for that week. (Sept 1 -6) Hopefully we can get the space donated. If we find something with great visibility, and some cost, I may come begging. You've been warned.

Here are some of the behind the scenes stuff I've been keeping busy with.

Because I can't be "all project, all the time," a preview of a new quilt pattern I'm writing.

bucket o' backs

Six inch squares of batting scraps.

These are the sleeves that get sewn onto the back of the top row of blocks in the 5 x 6 sections.
The "spaghetti straps" I came up with to link one section with another when hanging. Each section of 30 blocks hangs from a stick that loops through the sleeves sewn across the top row. The "spaghetti straps" hang from stick to stick in the back and keep the weight distributed across the sticks, and not the blocks.

Piles of completed blocks waiting to be pinned together.

Base blocks ready for knots/ beads - see the two big stacks of blue blocks in the back? THANKS ANNIE! 100 blocks and she's making more. Now you have no excuse to not participate - there are plenty of blocks already made!

I tried to make a video tutorial about french knots, but am having trouble making it load. We'll see.

Shelving Myself

1. I recently started a part time job at a branch of my local library. I am really enjoying the energy and atmosphere of the library in a whole new way.

1a. Last Saturday, I was interviewed by Katherine Bell. She is writing a book called Quilting for Peace, and will be including the And Still Counting project in her book.

1 + 1 = 2! How cool is it that next spring I will be able to shelve a book that has a bit of me and the project in it?!

At Last

Here is a photo of the portion of the project that is currently hanging at the LOFT Gallery in downtown St Cloud. This show is a group display with other artists from the Avon Area Arts. A new local group that has started up. Check it out at 819 St Germain. (That's the downtown version of St Germain- it's interesting to note that there are 4- yes, 4 different streets with the same name in St Cloud. Two of them are only a couple blocks apart from each other, and the other 2 are on the other side of town, not really near each other. I like to joke that city planning meetings are actually keggers. I don't know how else to explain 4 distinct streets with the same
name without accusing someone of being drunk.)

I hope everyone has been diligently knotting and beading and stitching. Perhaps someday we'll be caught up, and it will only take a few of us getting together once a month to record the most current deaths. Or, maybe it will all end peacefully, and I can be done with this BIG project. That's the one I'm hoping for. Thank you to everyone who is helping to complete this. Your response and dedication keep me going when I sometimes feel overwhelmed with the enormity of everything.

If you find yourself in the St Cloud area on a Sunday afternoon, Stop in at Mississippi Bean and Tea at 819 St Germain. (Yes, in the same building as the gallery) I am going to be setting up a little stitching get together from 2-4 in the afternoons. I will bring blank blocks, thread, needles, & beads. You can bring along yourself and maybe another friend to help stitch knots, or beads while we enjoy each other's company. We will do this every Sunday, unless I have something else come up. Then I will make a note here. But if we get a nice group going, you won't even need me every single Sunday. I'm excited for the progress we've made recently, and it makes me want to maintain that momentum.

Catching Up

Life got a little overwhelming for a while, but, things are almost back to manageable.

We are making progress! Remember back in January when I hung the 330 blocks that were completed then? Now there are 330 hanging in The Hjemkomst Center, 360 blocks hanging at the Loft in downtown St Cloud, and I have another 100 finished blocks courtesy of Anne, Bob and Eileen . THANKS!! Sarah sent me a note saying she has another 70 blocks ready for knots!! We are going to pass the 1000 completed block mark soon.

I would love to know how many blocks you have in progress and might be sending in soon. And if you feel the need to send in some #1 safety pins, and size E purple beads, I will do a happy dance!!

My pc and I have been arguing about posting photos this week. I'm going with the tomorrow is another day theory. Check back for images from both the Hjemkomst Center and the loft soon.

Overwhelming

You haven't heard much from me in a while. I had every intention of being of being a teriific cheerleader for this project when I started. I thought I'd be able to fake my way through those times when I have to stop listening to the news because it's just too much. I get overwhelmed and have to step back for a while. So, I stepped back until I had more positive words to send you.

The project continues to grow, and folks are helping out on it all over the place! It might be getting some local publicity. I was at an arts festival this last weekend working on a block, and one of the other participants asked me about what I was working on. I explained the project and she jumped up and got pen and paper and started taking notes, and asked, "Would it be alright if I shared this with my editor?" Well of course! So we'll see what happens there.

On another note, someone had asked earlier about when to send the completed blocks to the p.o. box. I had said save them up and send them in groups to save on postage. That's still fine with me if it's fine with you, but, I have had to rent a storage place for the project, because as it grew to about 50 pieces, I realized it was the symbolic representation of10,000 deaths. That was too much death to have at my house all the time. And possibly too much for your house too, so feel free to send them in whenever - I would love to see more of them coming in! My plan is to take them from the p.o. to the storage unit and finish putting things together there. I have a few more to pin on and will remember to take a picture for you.

Thankks again for all your help!

Caron