Realms of the Unreal

I spent a long time sifting through the craft books at Kinokuniya yesterday. I was tempted by several titles but decided on this one. I don't know if I'll ever make anything from it but it contains projects that make me give a little gasp as my pulse quickens. There's a range of projects from tiny little patchwork pieces to elegant purses to full-sized quilts.

I also spent quite a while shopping at Uwajimaya. I always seem to forget what I want when I get there. So I took my time and walked down all the aisles looking everything over. I got very hungry doing this. Dangerously hungry. So hungry that I didn't notice that I bought the $11.50 bag of real crabmeat shu mai instead one of the cheaper ones. Also so hungry that once I paid for my groceries I walked away without putting them in my cart. I went over to the food court and grabbed some sub-par steam table Chinese food. I decided to eat out at my car and then panicked that I had exceeded my time limit for free parking so I headed home. I thought I knew how to hop right on to I-5 but I guess I was mistaken so I zig zagged all over 1st hill and finally resorted to eating soggy General Tso's chicken with my fingers as I sat in traffic. Not the way I would recommend doing it in the future.

There was spinning at Weaving Works last night and got to try out the new fast flyer I got for my Lendrum. It's fast. A little too fast for me, maybe. I did get a lot of spinning (still working on Dazzle the llama) but hit a point where the I could not get the tension set just so. I wasted a bit of fiber and felt a little frustrated but it was still a very productive night of spinning. I still have several hours of spinning and plying to go on ole Dazzle.

The Darger exhibit at the Frye was completely amazing. Henry Darger was a reclusive custodian in a Chicago apartment building. Shortly before his death in the 70s the owner of the apartment found what may be the longest manuscript ever written--over 15,000 single spaced typed pages--and enormous watercolor illustrations entitled "The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, as caused by the Child Slave Rebellion." The work is feverish and fascinating. He used popular imagery, clipped from newspaper that he would trace or use as collage of his heroines, the Vivian Girls, fighting, being enslaved, dying. The themes are violent and surreal with young, often naked, little girls in the center of the battle. I first became familiar with Darger when at worked at the Smart Museum of Art. There are two Darger pieces in the collection. Academy Award winning filmmaker, Jessica Yu, made a documentary about Darger a few years ago that is very interesting but, to me, unsatisfying, as no one really knows anything about Darger. (Also Dakota Fanning does voice over for it and I just can't stand her). The POV site has more images and information on Darger. So please check out the exhibit if you're in Seattle. The Frye Museum is free with free parking. You have no excuse!