More fish blanket news!

Howdy, friends and neighbors! Lots of exciting stuff to share with you today.

It's extra special to get a card created by the artist herself. Lia Schapendonk from The Netherlands sent me this one.

Don't you love it? Lisa has a website where you can see more of her work.

Here's another card from The Netherlands. This one shows Pim and Pom, two famous cats who are much loved by Dutch children. There is a short YouTube episode of their adventures, so you can see them in action.

From Yoshiko in Osaka, Japan, here is "Inner Scene of Kabuki Theatre" by Kunisada Ichiyosai (1785-1864). It looks like quite a lively night at the theatre.

OK, I know you're all anxious to hear the latest fish blanket news. Thanks to Dany in Germany, I now have some work-in-progress photos so you see how one itty-bitty fish can turn into a beautiful blanket.

First of all, knit hundreds of these little fish.

When you have enough of them, start joining them together in strips. 

Keep doing this for years and years and years, and eventually you will end up with a beautiful blanket like this.

This last photo comes from the "Eat, Knit, Love...." blog where someone has actually finished one of these blankets. You can read more about it and see other photos. (That's a lot easier than trying to make one of these yourself.) Dany is still working on her blanket, so I hope to post a picture of her finished project some day.......

Today's Words of Wisdom

Don't worry about avoiding temptation. As you grow older it will avoid you.

--- Winston Churchill

Fish blankets

What's been delivered to my mailbox lately? Let's have a peek!

From Germany I received this nice Vincent Van Gogh card. I'm a little confused by the woman's left hand. It looks like a giant bird claw. The sender mentioned that she has been working on a fish blanket for five years. I stopped right there and tried, unsuccessfully, to figure out why fish would need a blanket. Then I continued to read, as I should have done in the first place, and found that she is creating a blanket made up of hundreds of little knitted fish. Poor woman. I mean the woman with the giant bird claw, not the knitter, although she has my sympathy too.

Here's another head-scratcher. What is this cat holding, an upside down plucked chicken? Whatever it is, it looks like it could truly use a fish blanket. This is a scene from an animated Latvian film. I can't think of one more word to say about this.

 

Ahh, January in Finland. I hear that most of Europe is pretty much frozen at present. Here in Oregon, we are continuing with our usual wet-and-mild winter. Our squirrels aren't quite this large, but they are quite a bit warmer.

Don't despair! Soon it will be spring and all the insects will be smiling.

This artwork on the sides of an apartment building in Holland is all composed of recycled material such as glass, car parts, tiles and bottles. It was made by students and took 9 years to complete.  I hear that knitting will be involved in the next long-term class project. Just a rumor....

This is how moose say "Goodbye. See ya later".

Dreaming of the sun

I got two postcards in the mail yesterday that go together very well. Plus they had some great stamps on them.

From The Ukraine, this card depicts a young girl deep in her daydreams and I think I know what she is dreaming about. SUNSHINE!!

How about a visit to the Azores? That ought to do it.  And I love the cat stamp!

If you can't make it to a sunny spot like the Azores, stay warm by bundling up in your favorite sweater and cap.

You could always have a family meeting to decide whether or not to go to the Azores.

Last night I dreamed that I was planning a vacation for a group of people. It was going to be a complete surprise. Part of the surprise was that we were going to take three pregnant cats along with us. I wasn't quite sure how that was going to go over.  But I figured that with everything else that was going to be crammed in the car, the cats probably wouldn't even be noticeable.  The camping gear was going to take up most of the space. I woke up before finding out if my trip was a success.