What is your favorite thing about Australia? Here is what readers have mentioned so far: kangaroos, koalas, wombats, Hugh Jackman, 80's band INXS, the Coral reef barrier and the beautiful sea life (add yours to the list here for a chance to win a copy of Australian Homespun Magazine--giveaway ends tonight).
Of course my favorite thing about Australia right now is the May issue of Homespun Magazine and Australian Cat Lady Megan Fisher, who is responsible for my one of my cat lady designs being published as a how-to applique wall hanging project in this month's issue.
Here are some insights into Megan's love for cats, her creative quilting, and her role as Technical Editor at a major needlecraft magazine :
"My
husband and I are both cat people from way back. Our preference in
recent years has been tuxies. Unfortunately, our once-in-a-lifetime
absolutely-the-most-wonderful-pusscat-ever cat died at the age of only
2½ some years ago, and my husband can simply not bear the thought of
getting another one, so we’ve been catless for a few years now.
"My
husband and I are both introverts, but this cat – formal name Mozart,
nickname, Mr Pooh (as in Winnie-the …) – was the most extroverted cat
I’ve ever met. All over everyone like a rash. in your face, on your lap,
cuddles, hugs, purrs, kisses on and on and on. Getting out of bed every
morning was a real drama, because the 'Welcome back from the Land of
Nod' from Mr Pooh took at least 15 minutes – as though you’d been gone
for months, not hours. We still miss him.
 |
"...He was definitely one of life’s little rays of sunshine and
optimism, and when you have a face like his, that can be important." -Cat Lady Megan
|
"I’ve
been making quilts for a bit over 20 years. Prior to that I did a bit
of cross-stitch, and I still do some from time to time.
"I
prefer making scrappy patchwork quilts, with postage-stamp quilts being
a particular joy... One of the things that I
like about quiltmaking is that I can make gorgeous work without having a
strong artistic bent. It’s just about choosing colours and working with
value and patterns – I don’t have to be able to draw!
"I’ve been working as a Technical Editor for Australian Homespun for
about 10 years. The primary purpose of this role is to ensure that the
instructions for the projects published in the magazine are accurate and
provide sufficient information for readers to make a project just like
the one we show in our photographs. Many designers are highly creative
and do absolutely sensational projects for the magazine, but they don’t
enjoy what, for them, is the tedium of writing the instructions down in
gory detail. So, it’s important that someone who is more analytical,
perhaps more detail-orientated, perhaps more of a ‘words person’ than a
visual person, reviews the instructions.
"In
addition to checking the project instructions, I also write some of the
short articles that introduce the projects, the book reviews (what a
fabulous job that is!) and the occasional feature article. I enjoy being
playful with language and feel that part of my contribution to the
magazine has been to inject some light humour and fun.
"Crafting
is an important part of the lives of many of our readers and I feel
very fortunate to be able to play a part in bringing such wonderful
projects to them in the magazine every month. It can feel somewhat
relentless – the team is always working on different aspects of four or
five different issues at any one time, and, of course, the cycle never
ends, so there’s little opportunity to stop, draw breath and relax.
Nevertheless, I always make sure that I have time to tackle some
quiltmaking of my own. Even though I’ve had a number of projects
published, it still gives me a thrill to see my work in print."
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Cat Lady Teri is another crafty cat lady whose crafty passion is knitting. Her custom portrait was one of my paintings that inspired Megan's adaptation for "Knit One, Purr Two".
Teri started a knitting group on Ravelry.com
called the Amazing Flying Squirrel Karma Team. Projects have included
an afghan for a grandmother's 100th birthday, making gators (kind of a
cowl for men) for the soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, making an
afghan to be raffled to raise money for RAINN,
and making lapghans and afghans for residents of LANDAHAM State
Psychiatric Hospital. "I am very proud of this group and the work we are
doing!! Members of Ravelry.com are welcome and encouraged to stop by (http://www.ravelry.com/groups/amazing-flying-squirrel-karma-team) and help with a project or offer moral support. "
She also knows how to sew and "did quite a bit when my kids
were small. I have never done any piecework or quilting though." [note: she and I prefer the idea of having Megan make a 'Knit One, Purr Two" wall hanging for us. LOL]. Teri has another talent, which was evident in the recent "You're a Poet and You Know It Giveaway."
Here are her two lovely entries. As it turned out, she was one of two lucky entrants whose name was drawn at random to win a mug.
opening tuna can
tuna juice for my kitty cats
sandwiches for me
ZuZu and LeeLou
napping on the back porch
spring sunshine for all
-------------------------------------------------------
GIVEAWAY ENDS TONIGHT, Friday May 11 at 8 p.m. Pacific Daylight Saving Time, I
will draw one name at random to receive the copy of the magazine (a
$9.95 value in Australian Dollars!)
i
Just
follow the simple instructions in the mini booklet included with the
stone, and allow yourself to be whisked away to a magical place of
relaxation and beauty, if only for just a moment or two. When not being
used for a mini meditation, this glass paperweight will serve to
brighten your desk and batten down any wayward memos.
