Halloween Tea
Yup, another swap. This one is supposed to be 2 tea bags...nice, something other than Earl Gray (which is my fav), and then a flat extra.
I have a lot of Halloween fabric squares that I plan to use for a quilt back. This piece was an extra that was cut too small to work on the quilt back, but makes a perfect, and very simple mug rug. I just started doing the concentric lines that make a labyrinth image. It seems, even to me, that I have become obsessed with these swaps. Maybe more truth, if truth be told, I love the Halloween holiday. I've signed up for several with this theme.
I worked much harder and longer at the stocking/shoes than one would think for such a small item. Once they get turned right side out, they are small. And cutting those curves is a huge challenge, but if they are not cut, its way too much bulk. I keep thinking the more I make of them, the better at it I should be. I am not sure that is happening. Along the way in my life, and in quilting, I have learned that sometimes its the pattern that isn't right.
As I was clipping curves, Hulu was showing the movie, "Ghandi" with Ben Kingsley. It was fascinating to watch him spin. He believed that spinning was an authentic religious experience, serving as a cure-all for the practitioner. The review is on the following: http://createweb1.com/cypress_college/midterm_project/gandhi.htm
The name for the wheel is charka in Hindi, and I only learned that today. Years ago, when I was still teaching, my computer would do one of those auto-correct on the word "chakra" and switch that R. For the life of me I could never figure out why it did that, and often I ended up giving a handout to participants with what I thought was a mis-spelling.
Ghandi said that the ever-moving wheel was the medium of spiritual up-liftment, of self-help, dignity, and helped him visualize non-violence in the abstract. The yarn that is spun is capable of mending the broken warp and woof of our lives.
It goes to show that the metaphors are not just imaginings but are real threads from our work into our souls as well as going out into our world. Sometimes I think I go too overboard with all the spiritual comparisons even though that is the reason for my blog. I don't think that any more.
