Bohus Knitting & Excellence

"One critic aptly reported that 'Emma Jacobsson's special mark is the finicky way she chooses colors. She is acutely sensitive to colors and this is what has given Bohus Stickning its special artistic value...
"Emma's attention to flawlessness was ingrained in her personality....
"Ultimately, it was Emma's unrelenting purusuit of quality that enabled Bohus Stickning to achieve the high praise it received. She demanded and expected an enormous amount of dedication from her workers, designers, and knitters. But in return, she gave them respect, empathy, and a sense of pride. Because Emma was highly respected, she was able to make suggestions and changes in the designers' patterns without alienating them. She stimulated their creativty and encouraged them to experiment with colors, yarns, and patterns. Above all, Emma was an inspiration and friend to her colleagues." (from Poems of Color p. 26)

It is challenging to read of a personality which was strong enough to stand against mediocrity and compromise no matter what the cost may have been to her personally. She could not give in to mediocrity. She could not. She would not! In the process, even though she may have been difficult to work with at times, in her inate fairness, she also impelled those who worked with her to higher levels of excellence.

As I posted some days ago, I have been pursuing the concept of "excellence" and "quality" for some time. What are its hallmarks? What are its earmarks? How is it that we can separate out from the crowd those things which are excellent and of great quality?

I remember watching a T.V. show many years ago now. I did not know anything about ballet and this PBS special was about some ballet thing. I sat down to catch a few minutes of it and I saw a group of dancers come out onto the stage and begin to twirl and pirouette in the beauty of the dance. Suddenly, a dancer exploded out of the group and began to leap with such power that I was drawn in to his persona immediately. I felt goosebumps rise on my arms and I whispered to myself, "Just WHO is that man?!" It turned out that "that man" was Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Even though there are other great YouTubes of Baryshnikov dancing, I selected this one because I liked the contrast between him and Gregory Hines (who is also a very good dancer). Yet, even though Hines is very good, I love the restraint and control that is apparent with Baryshnikov. There is a tightness, an intensity, an almost imprisoned sense of power that is only released in momentary couplets which add to the movement's enormity and which entraps the viewer and draws him into a unity with Baryshnikov as he dances. Even though I am not dancing when I see Baryshnikov dance. I am dancing when I watch Baryshnikov dance, for he pulls me into himself and I no longer an impartial viewer; I am dancing with Baryshnikov.

While looking at Mikhail Baryshnikov YouTube clips, I found this one with Alice Waters. The things which she said encapsulated the concepts that I so appreciate and long to do: to impel others to excellence and quality in their own way.

So, just what is it which is the hallmark of "excellence"; the earmark of "quality"? The word "excellence" contains within it a timbre unlike any quality that surrounds it. Perhaps, ipso facto, it is the bearing which comes from the commitment to the process itself. If the process is seen as a job, it loses an aspect of its life. If it loses its life, it loses its excellence.

Whipped Ocean

Yesterday I got an email from a friend with pictures of an event in Yamba in New South Wales, north of Sydney, Australia, where foam waves washed upon an entire beach and extended 30 miles out into the ocean. This event had not been seen at the beach for more than 30 years.

"Scientists explain that the foam is created by impurities in the ocean, such as salts, chemicals, dead plants, decomposed fish and excretions from seaweed. All are churned up together by powerful currents which cause the water to form bubbles. These bubbles stick to each other as they are carried below the surface of the current toward the shore. As a wave starts to form on the surface, the motion of the water causes the bubbles to swirl upwards and, massed together, they become foam. The foam 'surfs' towards shore until the wave 'crashes', tossing the foam into the air."

A 12 year old surfer said this: "Me and my mates just spent the afternoon leaping about in that stuff." he said. "It was quite cool to touch, it was really weird. It was like clouds of air, you could hardly feel it." (quoted from the email received)

I have been doing a little Bible study on the book of Jude. Actually I have been spending weeks reading, rereading, and pondering the verses in Jude while also reading a couple of commentaries on Jude. The entire book of Jude is warning of apostates which would infiltrate the church in the last days. Jude warns us very explicity and graphically describes what these apostates are like. I couldn't help but think of these verses in Jude when I saw the pictures:

These are men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever. Jude 12,13

What a graphic depiction of apostates these pictures gave me! The composition of the foam and the words of the young boy as he describes the delight he had "playing" in the foam and what it felt like were serious words of warning to me.

How easy it is to not think about what is happening around us and to just "play" with something that is different, a unique event, or an incredible phenomena which could actually be very unhealthy for us. Something that is such fun can, in actuality, be that which is hollow and empty and be "clouds of air". If we "hardly feel" it, we will not be alert to its dangers. Apostasy, or false doctrine, is formed in much the same way as this cappuccino ocean was formed: impurities that are tossed together, impurities, which when churned together, stick together.

Such an incredible word picture of what we are to be forewarned, and thus forearmed about.

Thoughts on Children and Excellence

I've been thinking lately about whether young children have an almost instinctive ability to recognize excellence. One of our granddaughters has just turned 4. I grant you that she is an "old soul" who has a tidy as well as a pensive personality. She loves her books and gathers an alpine mountain to take with her when she is called upon to nap or prepare for a night's sleep. This child went to a friend's house and when she came home she said to her Mother, "Mama, ____ doesn't have any good books. Mimi (that's ME!) has good books."

What kind of books do I have for her when she visits? I have the classics with great pictures and rollicking stories. I am determined to spark a desire in all my Grandchildren to continue to pursue excellence in their lives and to be alert to those things which are commonplace or ordinary so that they will always desire to reach for the best that they can afford.

This has been a quest of my own for many years. What constitutes excellence? What is it about an object that denotes "quality"? I found a book many years ago entitled Art In Everyday Life by Harriet and Vetta Goldstein. Granted, it was an ancient book. The book's photographs went back to World War I. Yet, many of the concepts within this book were timeless. The Goldstein gals believed that those things which surround us in the dailiness of our lives influence how we think. If we pursue artful beauty, even in the smallest detail, we will become enlarged in our conceptual thinking. They also maintained that the lack of money does not militate against surrounding yourself with things which are beautiful. I really appreciated the comparison photographs they used which juxtapose good design against bad design, even though the photos were ancient. It still helped.

Because I have been largely self-taught and find that I have to be alert in order to stumble across helpful information; this book has been a help to me. I'm sure there is a book which is more contemporary that deals with the same topics and is filled with even more helpful information, but I'll have to inadvertantly amble over it! My husband's homily expression: "Even a blind sows finds an acorn every now and then.", conveys my own not-very-scientific process!

Find The Teapot Game Day 3

The party at Miss Pixie Swallowtail's house was a tremendous success. The fairies didn't go home until dawn! Leaving Miss Swallowtail's party, Mr. & Mrs. Luminescent Panellus waved good-bye to all the fairies and walked to the edge of the forest where their home was set under a lovely oak tree. Entering their house, they immediately fell into bed totally exhausted and dreamed sweet dreams until noon. A sunbeam poked through the leaves and Luminescent Panellus awoke with a start. Oh my! The party would be at his house tonight and he had a lot to do to get ready!

Mr. P. jumped up and raced to the front door. There, waiting for him, stood the teapot. Little Miss Swallowtail had already brought it over and placed it in readiness for the evening's festivities. His friend, the fawn, was resting quietly in front of his house and was wondering why there was a teapot just sitting on the forest floor doing nothing. Her mother had left her at the stump by Mr. Panellus' house and told her to remain very still until she returned. Even though Fawn was laying quietly, that didn't stop her from thinking busy thoughts, and she was full of questions when Mr. P. came to the door.

"I can't answer your questions now, Fawn." said Luminescent as he rung his hands in nervousness. "I have lots to do to get ready for tonight. I am hosting the fairies party tonight and they are all planning on a a good old-fashioned Ring Dance. I must find a Caller to tell the dancers where to go in each round. It's very important to find an experienced Caller. In the merriment of the moment, we fairies sometimes forget where we are to go unless we have someone directing traffic."

"I'm sorry that I can't help you, Mr. Panellus." Fawn softly replied. "We deer don't do much dancing. We do lots of excellent leaping, but I've not heard that my family is too interested in dancing. Perhaps the honey bees could help you. They are always very busy, they dip and bob which looks like dancing, and they get around a lot. They may know of a good caller."

"An excellent idea, Fawn!" breathed stout Mr. Panellus. You may be young, but you have a sharp mind. I will run off right now and see if I can find a helpful bee. Ta ta."

Mr. Panellus rolled along the forest floor, in his round plumpness, and came upon a bee who was humming from the Dutchman's Breeches that grew all about. Mr. Panellus cleared his throat and with a harrumph said, "Excuse me, Mr. Bee, but do you know anything about dancing and can you tell me where I could find a good Caller for the fairy celebration which is to be held at my house tonight?"

The bee paused momentarily in his flight, and said, "Iffff you are looking ffffor someone ffffor tonight, you cerrrrtainly waited until the laaaast moment. We bees think ahead and plaaaan for the ffffuture."

"I know." Mr. Panellus wheezed. It is truly negligent of me to wait until today, but there hasn't been an opportunity to find a Caller until now."

"Well," the bee buzzed, "I guessss I can understand that. Try the seeeecond beeeech tree on your right. I think that there is a Fairy who hassss Called at some dancessss in the past. Her name is Parasol Lepiota. Sssshe is not exactly a fairy, I would call her a mushroom, but I think she is very agreeable and may be able to help you."

"Thank you so much for your help, Mr. Bee. I, myself, am more mushroom than fairy, so perhaps she will be more willing to come help us out tonight." Luminescent Panellus turned toward the second beech tree and the bee waved his wing in farewell.

Can you find the teapot in this picture, Franny and Ellie? Do you think that Parasol Lepiota will help the fairies out tonight at the party? Come back later and hear the rest of the story.
Luv,
Mimi

Back to Ernst Haeckel

I have always thought that Haeckel's detailed, colorful, and almost surreal images would make great embroidery designs. Some time ago I got a Dover book with his art (Art Forms In Nature) and a book printed by Prestel Press Art Forms From the Ocean
I have yet to do an embroidery design based on his images, but I must say that I believe that my entry into "art journaling" can be somewhat attributed to him. I started art journaling because of my fascination with diatoms. I did research on them and drew them in my journal while my fascination expanded. I was impressed with the realization that God created each one of these minute plankton-like creatures which are so small and seemingly irrelevant in the grand spectrum of things. Yet, the Lord created each one, and He knows where each one fell and died. The amount of the silica shells left behind from the diatoms is so enormous that there are massive lodes of them which can run miles deep. Bulldozers now tap into these lodes and scoop up uncountable diatoms to sell as "diatomaceous earth". I think it is ironic that silica shells, which lived and died in the ocean, now help keep slugs at bay in our garden. These absolutely beautiful shells which are too small for us to see with our naked eye, are so perfectly formed that scientists use them to calibrate their microscopes.

All this makes me realize again that size is not important....

Love of Birds

THESE THINGS ARE OURS....
...for God creates within our soul a mystic sense of wonder....
that we may hear allegro tunes
among tall swaying cattails....

"These Things Are Ours" Gwen Frostic

I finally jumped in the car and went to town yesterday. The desire had been rumbling around in my mind all week, but with the gas prices, I was unwilling to travel without a list in my hand that exceeded the length of the car.

Yesterday was the suitable day to hit the road. Besides, I was hungry for a Fuji Apple Chicken salad and broccoli soup from Panerra, and it was almost lunchtime by the time that I left.

My first stop was the office section at Sam's Club to lay in a new supply of page protectors. While browsing through the books at the next aisle over, I found an interesting little volume called "The Backyard Birdsong Guide" which comes with its own little playing device so that you can see the picture of the bird and hear it's song when you scroll to the appropriate number. Hmmmm! I thought. That looks perfect. We have so many lovely birdsounds floating around our yard and I never know who's calling to whom. I wanted the book. I bought the book. I love the book. And I hope to learn about all my musical neighbors as I study it.

I also picked up two new journals at B&N put out by "Working Class Studio". On my book shelf I have a number of Gwen Frostic's beautifully rendered print press books of block prints and poetry that I savor. The journals from Working Class Studio remind me of her artwork. I can hardly wait to dip into the journals and start messing up the pages! For the past year I've had a "thing" for dandelions, which is why the large volume caught my eye. The cover design contains several conceptions of a stylized dandelion which, to me, are reminiscent of artwork by Ernst Haeckel.... Makes me want to do something with dandelion heads!

The cabbage bowl in this picture is one that I made years ago when I was experimenting with papier mache. The bowl is made with layered strips of newspaper, and is what I think of as being the traditional method of papier mache. However, I also played around with Celluclay. The article about Celluclay in this link tells how to dye the Celluclay, which would probably make it much more interesting to work with. I found it hard to use because no matter how hard I tried, it came out bumpy and required a lot of sanding if I wanted a smooth surface. I've wanted to get back into working with papier mache because I really like its inherent qualities of lightness while being quite tough. It worked well when I had a lot of mache projects started so that they were staggered in their steps to completion.

Find The Teapot Game Day 2

After spending an enjoyable evening at Mr. & Mrs. Wren's house, the fairies decided that they wanted to meet again the next evening. Fairies are noted for being very social and therefore will never turn down a group event! Because Mr. Wren hosted the previous party, he was in charge of taking the Queen's teapot to the next house. But where was that to be?

There was much debate over whether it was little Miss Pixie Swallowtail's turn or if the honors were to go to Luminescent Panellus, who lived in the mushroom patch at the edge of the forest. Little Miss Pixie had not hosted a party since last September, and her neighbors were beginning to wonder if she was getting too old to prepare for such a group because she really didn't fly around much at night anymore.

All the fairies loved Miss Pixie, especially the small fairies, because she had a special cupboard where she always kept a ready supply of crystal honey drops which were kept fresh on rose petals. Everyone under the age of 1486 years love crystal honey drops. When a guest arrives at Miss Pixie's, she will softly say, "Please, feel free to skip over to my pantry and break off a honey drop from the yellow rose which grows there. If you pop it into your mouth quickly, it will dissolve slowly and give you the most delicious satisfaction in your tummy." And she is always right!

Mr. Wren asked Miss Pixie if she would like to host tonight's tea party. She politely bowed her head a little and turned to Luminescent to see if he would prefer to have the party himself. Luminescent Panellus was a rotund little fairy, prone to paleness, and also quite mild in temperament. He thanked Miss Pixie for her concern but assured her that if she wanted to host tonight's party, that he would not interfere. He would simply pencil into his calendar that he would have everyone over tomorrow night! Luminescent was most agreeable and the location was set!

In the picture above, you will find the teapot waiting for Miss P. to retrieve it. Miss Pixie, because she is quite shy, has tucked her house beneath a large calladium leaf. She is also very fastidious about her manners so that all the fairies who come to her house must knock three times in fairy fashion in order to enter. What do you suppose the fairy knock is like? Find the teapot and then, Frances and Eleanor, you must decide how the fairies are to knock in that special way in order to go to Miss Pixie Swallowtail's party.

Goodbye until tomorrow!
Luv,
Mimi

New Bookplates!

I ordered bookplates from The Black Apple at Etsy and they arrived today! Everything about them was fun; it was like receiving a mid-summer gift. Inside a cardboard mailing envelope with a cute red address label (addressed to ME) was a glassine envelope containing 15 very cute book perusing-girl-riding-a-swan bookplates. The business card is also adorable.

I will enjoy using these little gems!

Find The Teapot Game

Frances and Eleanor, I have a game for you!

The fairies have been busy lately as they have been entertaining at one another's homes. They have a special teapot that was given to them by the "Queen of the Fairies" many many years ago. Her name was Queen Hermione, and she was very beautiful. All fairies are beautiful, but it was universally accepted that Queen Hermione was especially exquisite. She had sparkling coal black hair that caught the moonbeams as she skipped through the trees and it would cause the whole forest to glisten.

Queen Hermione gave to the fairies her special teapot when it was time for her to go to the Enchanted Lands. The teapot has been used since that time for special events and long-awaited celebrations. You can see the teapot in the picture up above. It is not a very good picture of the teapot itself, but that is because you are to notice its shape and not its design.

But now back to our story....

Since it is now high-summer, the teapot has been in constant demand because the fairies love their evening tea parties. On this evening, Mr. & Mrs. Wren invited the Oak Hills fairies to come to their house for tea. Mrs. Wren had just finished redecorating her new home and she was very proud of it. The Wrens were noted for being a little too pleased with themselves, but it was agreed that Mrs. Wren had done a fabulous job selecting colors, carpeting and window treatments for her new home. The children were growing quickly and it was time for them to have an open house before the eldest flew from the nest.

Excalibur Oak had been the last fairy to host an event so he brought the teapot to the Wren's house. As the evening darkened, and the fireflies began to dance through the trees, all the Oak Hills fairies gathered at the Wren's for a relaxing evening of mint tea and acorn scones.
Can you find the teapot in this picture?
Tomorrow I will post another picture of the teapot as it travels to another fairy party. It may be harder to find the teapot and that is why I want you to learn the shape because you can usually spot a shape quicker than you can a design.
Luv,
Mimi

Rest in Him

Eleanor's hand is comfortably seated in Papa's hand. She was tired and as she laid her head on my chest and snuggled, she placed her entire hand and arm in Papa's hand.

This is a child at peace and in security. This is where I aim to go today!

Word from the Lord

"This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!" Mark 9:7b

This morning as I was asking the Lord for help to recenter in Him, this verse popped into my mind.

Siren voices surround me which clamor for attention, and a bewildering array of conflicting emotions accompany those voices. The voices are like waves crashing against the shore of my heart, eroding its groundwork.

We got back last night from our trip to Waverly where we celebrated Jim and Jacqie's 40th anniversary. While there, we visited a short time with my Dad and we stayed with Stan and Diann for the night. We went over to Justin and Malissa's to see the progress of their flood repair work. We met Dad, Lois, Amanda and Michael and girls for brunch and then headed for home. I am always thrown out of whack when we return to Iowa and need to regain my equilibrium when coming back home.

When we met for brunch, I was captivated by the tenderness of Frances' and Eleanor's hands in comparison to the size of their Papa's hand. Papa's little finger, alone, is about half the size of Eleanor's entire hand. This picture is of Franny's hand laid in Papa's. It is a hand that is not quite so restful although she obligingly put her hand in Papa's for Mimi to take the picture!

When the words, "This is my beloved Son, listen to Him!" popped into my mind, I immediately thought of these pictures and knew that I needed to combine them with the encouragement the Lord gave me this morning. My place of stability and help will come from Him as I rest my hand in His and trust in Him to lead me in the way that I am to go.

The "Great Wall" Project from the North

This photo pictures the Great Wall looking south. This is also taken before the last 2 layers of stone were positioned. We are so blessed to live in this house and to have this beautiful piece of property to work with.

The "Great Wall" Project

For the past 5 years, approximately, Bernie has been working on his piles - his rock piles. In order to avert more erosion into the ravine, we have had tons and tons of concrete pieces hauled and dumped into our backyard. It has been a great solution to the erosion, and also provided needed materials to make an enormous retaining wall. The only cost was Bernie's commitment to intensive hours of backbreaking sweat labor, and the cost of hauling in the cement waste. The end product? A fabulous 10' tall and 50' long undulating retaining wall. It truly looks like something made by the W.P.A. in the 1930s and it is beautiful.
Tonight he finished the last of the rock laying.
This picture shows the wall just before he laid in the final tile line and the 2 last layers of rock. Now all we have to do is transfer topsoil to the area so that we can plant shrubs and perennial grasses along the lawn-side edge of the rocks.

Excited About Compost! Who Woulda Thunk It!

Now I am terrified at the Earth, it is that calm and patient,
It grows such sweet things out of such corruptions,
(Walt Whitman)
The compost pile needed revamping. I've been nagging Bernie off and on for several years about establishing a verifiable compost pile - which is not just an untidy ash heap! I would toss egg shells onto my valuable pile only to chase after them as they rolled down the hill into the ravine.
Tonight, while brainstorming about where we would store the leftover sand from The Great Wall project, we decided to put it in the spot where I'd been tossing potato peelings and other great compost makings. We would then move the compost collection a little further to the side so that we would have all of our soil making supplies in one area.
We came up with a creative solution to make the compost framework, which for some mysterious reason had eluded us until this magical moment. Bernie spotted 2 great stones in the ravine and rolled them up to the yard (a labor intensive operation). The stone pictured on the right is the most perfect headstone ever! It is rounded on top, weighs a ton and stands as upright as a soldier on duty, just waiting to guard the next deposit of vegetable scrapings. We made a "backsplash" from 4 old fence posts that were currently purposeless.
After manhandling these pieces into place, we stood back and proudly admired our new serious compost heap. It looks like a grave - which it is - a grave for unused vegetable parts which will be recycled into gorgeous fruits, flowers or plants. But it also looks very "Mother Earth"y or like something that would be at the Living History Farms. We're very pleased.

This picture captures the girls so well. Frances, with her droll sense of humor. Ellie and her optimistic love of the moment. These girls are sensational.

The Girls and Their Umbrellas

In June Amanda and the girls came for a visit. When I went to Branson with Amy, I spotted umbrellas at Silver Dollar City which could be personalized! This was just the ticket! I skipped around like a kid at Christmas - so excited I could hardly contain myself. An umbrella is just what Frances wanted for her birthday. I ended up getting umbrellas for both girls. Franny got a glittery white one with pink ruffles on the edge. Her name and "Little One" (her self-designated nickname) was also applied to the surface of the umbrella. For Eleanor, I picked her favorite color, which is yellow and her name was also put on her umbrella. The girls loved them and used them almost every day while they were here for their visit. Frances held her umbrella upright, but Eleanor's would get rather heavy for her and she had a tendency to drag it on the ground.

My Husband the Amateur Arborist

We've been doing a lot of yard work this year. After cutting down an oak which was dying, Bernie was able to use the same tree men with their boom truck to reach 50' into the top of another of our oak trees. This tree had been struck by lightning a number of years ago and is in fragile condition. For several years Bernie has been planning how he can brace the branches of this tree by chaining them together. It took him a long time to do his calculations, gather the materials and then accomplish the long awaited task! The tree men would not do the work because of liability issues, so Bernie did it himself. He is in the gray sweatshirt leaning over the edge of the basket. At this point he is putting the nuts onto the bolt which has been drilled through the entire huge branch. He ended up with a tri-brace chain situation that was totally amazing to the tree guys and to myself as I watched him accomplish this task. He had to brace three branches with the drilling and bolting process. I was terrified as I watched him leaning so far over the basket while so far off the ground. But I also know how careful he is. We both had a sense of tremendous satisfaction after it was over.