my dad is becoming dangerous on the internet. that is to say, he is starting to do it on his own. dad -- please hit the back button.
okay! i am tempting fate by posting the finished product a whole six days before christmas morning, but here it is: the footstool that i have made for my father (with help from a few special people, as usual.) this footstool has a long and storied past, starting with the yarn: soy silk that i spun and dyed, and dog hair from our dead family dog that i also spun. it also features a photographic image of my father as a toddler, along with some of my aunts, which i transferred with the use of a large halftone negative onto a piece of fabric treated with photographic chemicals.
we bought a footstool frame, and ben stained it. brett and lisa at rosie's yarn cellar helped me figure out how to make my piece of knitting frame the photo correctly (i worked from the outside-in.) then grace was very patient helping me to put a fabric backing on the piece, and dorlynn suggested the grosgrain ribbon edging -- and helped hammer the furniture tacks into it! the whole thing went from being a very floppy and doubtful-looking project to a very solid one, over a course of weeks. believe me, i worried i'd be going to borders on christmas eve for a booby-prize gift cert! but it seems we've made it. lots of people have seen the work-in-progress and it has spawned my brief and testy
footstool FAQ
Q: wow! that's really neat! do you think your dad is going to APPRECIATE IT?
A: (pitying snarl)
Q: isn't it a little WEIRD and DEMEANING to put a picture of your FATHER on something people are going to put their FEET on?
A: (disbelieving perplexed snarl)
erm, i'm starting to feel a little holiday stress building. this came together the way i wanted it to, and i think it will have a very happy recipient. it doesn't speak to me being such a great knitter or spinner, that's for sure -- but i dare anybody to have a better dad.
dad, i said get the fuck off my page.