Chicken Tractors

My friend has an acre of land in South Florida where she seriously grows and grows veggies, herbs, roots and fruits. When I was visiting over the holidays, she was employing a "chicken tractor" to till the land. Essentially, chickens were kept in a portable coop that moves on two wheels, like a wheel barrel, and all day, the chickens do what they do, pecking the ground and making it more fertile for crops.

You can see pictures of her chicken adventures and all of the crazy enviable components of her lifestyle in her blog here.

When I was little, my sisters and I had a pair of chickens we loved very much. Both chickens came to sad demises, but I've always been fond of this normally very average-seeming bird, beyond the typical fondness I have for birds as a species.

We were drinking the other night, and I remembered this silly song from my childhood. It's really hard not to think the things we retain from when we're young hold some exorbitant importance. This is not one of those things.

The chickens had a party in the coop last night
Farmer went out to turn off the light
What he saw was givin' him a terrible fright
There were chickens on the left and chickens on the right
Doin' a crazy little do-si-do
Flappin' their wings and goin' to and fro
Singin' the one and only song the know
And it goes...
Bocki-ticky Bocki-ticky Bock Bock Bock
Bocki-ticky Bocki-ticky Bock Bock Bock
Bocki-ticky Bocki-ticky Bock Bock Bock Bock Bock...

Welcome for the Tourist!

My friend sent me a collection of things from his travels in Southeast Asia.

Below, are two embroidered books called, Welcome for the Tourist! I suppose they are an introduction to things native to the Hmong people. Some of them seem familiar, but certainly not exactly. They still make me feel quite at home. These are some of the least contrived most beautiful versions of life I've ever encountered. And I am grateful to the creation and creators of them, not to mention to the person who knows me well enough to share these things with me, sensing my appreciation in their existence:

Acrocobile; A Deer, Tiger

Leopard, A Dragon; Crested Dinosaurs

Welcome to Luangprabang; My father is picking pineapple,

Going toFitar water, My sisters are sewing; They are working with the cornstone machine

And then there is this guy, and he is beautifully rendered.

For Will's Pub Ladies' Night: Quilting Fractals

What Will Happen:

We will meet at 8pm at Will's Pub to learn a few traditional stitches that lend themselves to the concept of fractals. It's most exciting to see the way fractals are interpreted, in thread, by new minds. Even if you've never threaded a needle, it will be a fun time. A few of the stitches we will concentrate on are: (a)Russian Chain Stitch, (b) Closed Buttonhole Stitch, and (c) Arrowhead Stitch

a.

b.

c.

What You Need:

Thread, Needle (or 2), Scrap Fabric

What You Might Also Want:

Embroidery Scissors, Embroidery Hoop

MATERIALS SUGGESTIONS:

• You might want to consider bringing an embroidery hoop, so that your fabric is taut while you are stitching, and you can stitch more evenly. (These are between $2-$5 at JoAnns or Michaels)
  
• It's best if the color of your thread contrasts with your fabric, so if you have a dark fabric, choose a light thread color and vice versa.
• Try to stay away from decorative threads for your first time. They're usually not as strong, and you don't want the thread snapping on you while you're learning!

Eventually:

If enough ladies are interested, I hope that we will stick together and create a quilt based on the concept of a fractal as a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts. "The satellites are approximations of the entire set, but not exact copies"

QUESTIONS?:

chyatt320@gmail.com