Lawrence Arts Center Souper Bowl 2015

 Here's the backstory:  Many, many years ago I was very single and very bored.  I was always trying new hobbies and adventures and once upon a time, I decided I wanted to learn to tap dance.  That's right...tap dance.
In my mind, I think it was going to be like this

When in fact it was more like this

I had found a pair of tap dance shoes on the clearance rack at WalMart.  Sadly, they were more like little girl flat tap shoes with a ribbon shoelace.

I signed up for a beginning tap class expecting the other students to be women-of-a-certain-age like me...

BUT...they were all University dance students who were "brushing" up during a school break.

I could not keep up.  At all.  So I didn't go back.  *sad face*

That was my intro to The Lawrence Arts Center.

Over the years, I've gone to several events that are held at LAC, but never the annual Souper Bowl.

This year, we made it a point to attend and we were not disappointed!

Here we are getting ready to get in line.  We got there nearly an hour before it started and there were already a ton of people in line. 

The people in front of us talked about how they have been going for years and have amassed  quite a collection of handmade bowls.

Finally, the doors opened at 11.  We had no idea what to expect.

There were about 10 or 12 tables in the gallery room with bowls  and small plates on display.  You pretty much have to grab what you like that you see and carry it around with you until you make your ultimate decision.  Some people were carrying around 10 bowls at a time and would set down their "rejects".  But trust me...none of them are actual rejects.  They're all so awesome it's really hard to decide which to choose!!  I think I went thru 7 bowls before I made my final decision.

There was quite the crowd!  This would be a great place and way to get some Christmas gifts!

I got to see a lot of people that I know  :)

This was the line to pay and they had a bunch of volunteers who wrap your bowl with great care.

Chad picked a bowl that was $15, mine was $20 and Linda got two $10 bowls.

After you buy your bowl (they range from $10-$30) and get it wrapped up, you go back out into the main area where there is a variety of soup, bread and beverages that was included with the price of your bowl.

I had Garden Vegetable and a herb roll.

The blue bowl is Chad's.  Mine is yellow, cream and a beautiful lavender.

 They had other events going all day!

Souper Bowl Info
http://lawrenceartscenter.org/

I highly recommend attending in 2016.  We loved it!

Yarn Bomb Bucket List Item Complete!

Maybe I'm just a huge nerd...ok, I know I'm a huge nerd.  I've wanted to yarn bomb for a long time.  No one I've mentioned it to ever knows what I'm talking about...confirmation of my nerdiness!

1. Yarn bombing, yarnbombing, yarn storming, guerrilla knitting, kniffiti, urban knitting or graffiti knitting is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colourful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fibre rather than paint or chalk.

I follow this guy on Instagram.  His work is amazing!   Follow him to see his incredible work.  He accepts crochet and knit donations from all over the world.  It's awesome because he post photos of donations as he gets them and goes to the extra effort of tagging the people who have donated.
Here's a great article about him and the magic of a yarn bomb.

Here are some random internet samples~

See what I mean?!?  Cool stuff, right?

Maybe you've read my other post about the Lawrence Library yarn bomb to kick off the Read Across Lawrence 2015 to honor The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

Yesterday was our installation!!

I won't post any spoilers...you've got to read the book.  But our work all ties into the motifs and symbols in The Handmaid's Tale.

This was a group from Woodlawn School in North Lawrence.  

She's starting on one of the bench projects.

There were a lot of hands there to install.

 Red is a prominent color in the book.

This piece is a spiderweb of sorts.

 This is a tree in front of the library.  There are probably 25 trees around the library that have been bombed by area yarn artists.  Trust me...they are true artists whether they know it or not!

Making sure the pieces are going to be secure from the bottom.

Another tree bombing.  This person added extra touches with buttons.

The FAITH piece is very significant. 

This is the Jezebel bench.

 Again...you've got to read the book!!!

Flower garland on a red bench.

Aren't the custom pieces with the children special?

 Flower garland on the butterfly benches

This is the clandestine scrabble board that I made to contribute.

Here's Tree #1 by me, Heather Hasler!  It's on Kentucky Street behind and between the library and the parking garage.

Backside stitching.

 By this time, Chad got there to see everything.  His support during the past few weeks while I worked on this project was meaningful to me.  

I was explaining to him that I take my yarnbombing literally!  LOL

 Tree #2.

Tree #3  is gigantic!!

Tree #5 has a basketweave stitch.

And I ran into an old friend while I was there!

Tree #14 used significant colors other than red.

How cool is this one?!

Love it!

The library staff has been truly extraordinary.  My MIL came by and mentioned how great it is to see so many people participate in all of the activities and events the library has created for the Lawrence community.

This is the sidewalk side of my Tree #1.  It is my favorite part of the book.  

I think I look like I'm having fun :)

Even the front library sign got bombed!!

The Jezebel bench again.

Have I mentioned how much work went into this art installation?  

I crocheted 45 eyes to hang from trees.  It took about 30 minutes per eye.  The scrabble board I made took about 15 hours or so.  Look at all of the scarves that were made and used.  Most were knitted.  I would estimate a scarf this long might take 15 hours.  Knitting is far more intricate that crochet.  

I hope to get to the library today to look at everything again and see just how much was used for the bombing and come up with a better time estimate, but right now, I'll guess it would come to thousands of hours.  My guess would be a cumulative 88 days of handmade work done in just a very short time!  And it is all very beautiful work.  These people have talent!

Here are some of the eyes I hung from tree branches.

Here's part of the Knit Lawrence group.  I've only been going for about a month, but I'm so glad I found them.  Such nice and friendly women!  They meet twice a month at HyVee deli seating area 3pm-5pm.  Find them on facebook and Ravelry for more info.

The  best part of the day-watching people notice the excitement and walk over to ask questions.  We all want this outdoor art installation to prompt people to read the book and participate in the library events in February and get involved all year!

And a HUGE thank you to The Yarn Barn of Kansas.  They donated SO MUCH yarn!  Wow!!

Go there...shop there...spend some money there!

Back to the book~

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

It was published in 1985 and I'm sure I first read it in the late 80s/early 90s.  I remember it having a profound effect on me and I remember identifying more with the "wife" than the handmaid.  But then I always seem to prefer the antagonist to the protagonist for some reason.

The Lawrence Library will be giving away free copies this Friday during the Final Friday at 6 pm.  Get one while you can!  I don't know how many they are giving, but get there early and take the time to see all of the yarn :)

Their site has a calendar of event for the month.  Margaret Atwood will be in Lawrence on February 2nd and I look forward to attending her speech.

Lots of other things to attend and do during the month that relate to the book.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE OUR LIBRARY?!?

Thank you library, thank you Yarn Barn, thank you Knit Lawrence and thank you Lawrence!