Up the Main Stream Without a Paddle

I'm home sick again. I can't seem to shake what I have. My husband says that if I don't rest, he's going to restrain me. I'm glad he's at work himself and can't see me blogging. I really do feel pretty terrible, and when I'm done I'm going to lay down. 

I mentioned Cloth Paper Scissors an Sew Somerset yesterday. I love these magazines, yet they annoy me. I did not buy Somerset this time, because it is $15. Why is it so expensive?  Just because we will pay it?  Or do they have a small readership and the advertising dollars are not much?  I don't know. I did buy Cloth Paper Scissors. In this issue, someone pointed out, in a letter, something that has bothered me for a while. Tiffany Harris writes, "I must be honest, I'm a bit over seeing whimsical mixed media creations of tea/coffee cups, and birds with text... same with cute houses!" You and me both sister!  I think there are worse things in these mags. I ask you, what the hell would some of these artists do if they suddenly could not use any old photographs of their grandmother, aunt or other sepia-toned female portrait? How about if they were not allowed to put wings or a party hat or crown on anything???  But the thing I loathe the most, the way artists are always putting the word ART on their creations. Like, they need to let you know, in case you might think it is just paint spilled on a photo of your grandma in a party hat. To her credit, Tiffany concedes that it must be hard to come up with fresh content every month. But I suspect what is really going on is that the editors are just giving the people what they want.  In my previous post, "Who the Hell is Amy Butler?" someone commented that while she agreed with me, she could not help but notice that when she used Amy Butler fabric for her Etsy items, and mentioned it in the title, she had 4 times the hits she would normally get. It just makes good business sense.

I feel like I am constantly out of the main stream loop. I don't like most things that are very popular. Life would be a lot easier if I could just like what everyone else likes. Just as an example, the less I watch TV, the more I can't stand it. People at work will say, "Did you see American Idol? Did you see Survivor? Did you watch Heros last night?" No, I have not seen any of them. Ever.  I have had the urge to be entertained while I have been sick. The only thing I could stand to watch was Turner classic movies. The other day they were showing some string of movies set during WWII. They were not really that great, but it is always interesting to notice their clothes, hair, interior decorating, and their expressions. I'll say to people at work, "Have you ever seen the movie Grapes of Wrath? It Happened One Night? Cold Comfort Farm?" They have not.

But I digress. I do end up buying these magazines to get ideas of how to construct things, ideas for surface treatments. It is helpful to me to see people do crazy work, with wild stitching and thread hanging all over the place. I still am influenced by years as a traditional quilter. Sometimes I will find myself saying, I'm going to make something like that!" (Whatever it is) but I never actually get a round to making something like that. 

I have to lie down for a while, or I'm going to be blogging from the hospital with pneumonia.