Happy New Year 2013!

Happy New Year 2013! Here's hoping that your new year is even better than the last!

Friday Photography - Make a Fleece Tie Blanket

Much like how it had been ages since my last Haiku News post, I haven't had a Friday Photography post for a while. Truthfully, I have about 15 photography projects I can share, but I've lacked inspiration for the written word. Maybe expressing my creativity through other outlets will inspire me to write soon.

One thing I made recently was a fleece tie blanket for my sister-in-law's Christmas present. I hadn't realized how easy these are to make - no sewing and all you need is a scissors! Now I understand why I see them everywhere.

1. The first step is to get two pieces of fleece that are the same size. The pieces I had were both 62 inches wide and 72 inches long. My sister-in-law is going into the air force, so I used the pattern below for the top and blue fleece for the back.

United States Air Force Fleece Pattern

2. Take the two pieces of fleece and put the "wrong" sides together, with the "right" sides of the fabric visible. It might not always matter, but for my piece, I had to be careful that right side was facing out for the front, or all the text would have been backwards. For the blue backing, I put the softer side of the fleece on the outside.

3. Arrange the two pieces of fleece, one lined up over the other, on a flat surface. Mine was large enough, the only place I could do this was on the floor. This resulted in some unexpected assistance with making sure the fleece was flat.

Helper Dog

4. Cut a square out of all four corners. This is to prevent bunching in the future. In this image, you can just barely see the blue fleece underneath the USAF fleece.

Cutting Corners

5. Cut 1-inch-wide fringes along the edge of one side of the blanket. How long you make the fringes depends on what you'd like the final product to look like, but they should be three inches long at minimum. Then, beginning at one end, tie the first top fringe to the fringe below it. Please see the image below as an example - the cut fringes are on the right, and the ties are on the left.

Ties & Cuts

6. Repeat the process on all four sides of the fleece, being careful not to wrinkle the fleece. This took a while for me, which resulted in more unexpected help with keeping the fleece flat.

Helper Kitty

A lot of unexpected help.

2 Helper Kitties

3 Helper Kitties

7. Start back on the edge you began with and re-tighten the knots. If the fabric starts bunching, stretching the knotted edge should smooth the blanket out.

Finished Fleece Tied Blanket

Finally I was finished! And I realize that I didn't take that great of a photo of the finished product, but hopefully, you can still see the tied edge. Even so, now you know how to make a fleece tied blanket!

Happy Friday!

Friday Photography ~ Downtown Saint Cloud Icons

St. Cloud is relatively close to me, but I don't end up visiting very often. My mom lives near there, though, so I do get there once in a while. I was there in July and snapped these two photos of Saint Cloud icons.

Val's Hamburgers

Paramount Theater

Friday Photography ~ Harvey

This caught my attention in St. Paul today and liked it so much I snapped a photo. Love the film version of "Harvey," but I've never seen the play. And I'm a sucker for just about anything theatrical.

Have You Seen Harvey?

April 20, 2011, Missing rabbit friend. Answers to the name of "Harvey". Exactly 6.5 feet tall. White with pointed ears. Last seen wearing a bowtie and tweed coat. Frequents Charlie's Place on 12th and Main. Missed dearly by pal Elwood P. Dowd. Wanted for questioning by the esteemed Dr. Chumley of Chumley's Rest Sanitarium on an unspecified matter. If you've seen him or have any ideas as to Mr. Harvey's whereabouts, please contact Mr. Dowd or his sister Veta Louis at their home, 343 Temple Drive.

Find Harvey!
April 28th, 29th and 30th, 2011
HPSH Auditorium 7:30 PM
$5 Students, $7 Adults
1015 S. Snelling Avenue

Check it out, support high school theater. It gives teens public speaking skills that will come in handy later.

Friday Photography - New Background Wallpaper

This is my blog. There are many like it, but this one is mine. Recently, I revamped it with a new look and the nifty bookshelf photo below was the wallpaper. That is, until I realized just how many other blogs True to Words resembled after the change.

Image by luoman.

So, inspired by the "template," I made my own background wallpaper. I went to my favorite place, the historical Ames Florida Stork House Museum and took some photos in the home's upstairs library. Below, you can see the full result.

Of course, I like my version better. :) The shelves may be warped and crooked and the worn bindings are not as "neat" as the generic books of the first photo. But these books actually mean something to me. Not only do I contribute towards their care by volunteering my time at the house, but my friends William Shakespeare, Washington Irving, Mark Twain, Homer and Aesop are on those shelves.

This was also my Thursday photo for my 365 project.

Sara Duane-Gladden is a freelance writer and photographer in the Twin Cities area of the great state of Minnesota.  

Friday Photography - Have a Happy New Year

Have a happy New Year!

Stay safe, drink responsibly, and designate a driver so you can actually enjoy 2011! :)

Friday Photography - Vegas Vacation, Part II

I have finished uploading my Las Vegas vacation photos, with the exception of those taken at my wedding ceremony. Not counting those, I've pretty much caught up on my photo sorting and uploading! I thought highlighting the Fabulous Las Vegas sign would be the perfect way to commemorate having newfound space on my harddrive - so I can fill it up again!

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada

Ever since I knew we were going to Las Vegas, I knew I wanted to snap a photo of this sign at night. It's so iconic, it just had to be done. This sign is one of the only things that always stays the same in Las Vegas. Except for when people are throwing paint on it.

Drive Carefully - Come Back Soon

I have to say, though I try to always drive carefully, it will be a long time before I go back to Las Vegas. Maybe like my husband said we could go back for a 5 year anniversary thing, but not next freaking fall like some of my casino-lucky friends probably will. :)

Las Vegas Vacation, Part I
Las Vegas Vacation Photo Album

Sara Duane-Gladden is a freelance writer and photographer in the Twin Cities area of the great state of Minnesota.

Friday Photography - Vegas Vacation, Part I

As promised, photos from my trip to Las Vegas in September. One of my favorite places to snap pics was at Fremont Street, one of the more family-friendly areas of Las Vegas. No, really! There were kids everywhere! It was like a street-party that happens every day and night, with music and vendors and entertainment. Visiting Fremont Street was one of my favorite Las Vegas experiences. Ha! I made a funny.

Fremont Street Experience

Fremont Street has a screen that arches across it on which a variety of media, in particular musical medlies by popular classic rock bands with psychedelic video accompaniment. It is called the "Fremont Street Experience." Basically, they're the newest generation of laser light shows. I think this particular "performance" was the Beatles, but I'm not sure.

Smoking Cowboy

Las Vegas' infamous 50-foot Smoking Cowboy neon sign can be found under the video canopy on Fremont Street.

Glitter Gulch

Okay, Fremont Street is family friendly as long as you don't go inside the casinos and gentlemen’s' clubs. Stay in the pedestrian-only street where all the non-gambling fun is and you'll be just fine. But I love these neon signs.

Maybe I'll post actual photos of my wedding next week, though those won't be by me, I was busy getting married! :) In the meantime, you can view the rest of my Las Vegas Vacation / Wedding photos at Flickr - at least the ones I've uploaded so far. I also posted a few photos from the drive to Vegas at Sam Can Shoot.

Friday Photography - Last Flowers of Summer

I am finally reaching the end of the photos I needed to sort through from the summer. I came across these flowers and remembered the fun and warmth in the sun. It's winter now, though, so my photo subjects are going to be changing soon. There are new fun times to be had, they're just likely going to be snow-filled! Next week: Las Vegas photos!

Bright Pink Flower

Pale Pink Flowers

White Flower

If anyone knows the names of any of these flowers, I would be most grateful if you could share them with me!

Friday Photography - Volunteer Sunflower

Summer is done. Fall is here. The flowers and greenery have gone.

Sunflower

This was the last flower still blooming in my container garden before they all died about two weeks ago. This wasn't even technically in my potted garden, either, it actually grew under my bird feeder. It died and I've harvested the seeds to sew on purpose next year.

Friday Photography - Forgotten Roses

Pink roses on the parlor table wilt,

unquenched despite her steady flow of tears.

Though the contents of her heart has been spilt,

she knows a new love will quiet her fears.

Forgotten Roses

Friday Photography - Project Dog & Calvin

Still finishing sorting through my photos, but I'm almost done, really. In the meantime, here is a photo of our Siberian Husky, Calvin, which I submitted to Project Dog this summer.

Calvin - Siberian Husky

Isn't he handsome? I assure you, he isn't always this well-behaved, but he is always this pretty. And he knows it.

Also, a little bit about Project Dog:

Project DOG is a new grassroots movement aimed at bringing together the worlds of purebred and rescue dogs through a creative, modern dog photography project. The quest is simple. To find and photograph all 150+ AKC recognized dog breeds and their rescue dog counterparts. What exactly does this mean? …For every AKC breed photographed, a rescue dog of the same breed will be given the same royal photographic treatment. The result?  An awesome book and new dog social networking/resource website.

 Project Dog is created by Kira Stackhouse.

Friday Photography - Newly Wed

I've been away for a long time. A nearly two month hiatus! But I was working hard and preparing for a Las Vegas vacation and a wedding ceremony! My husband and I married on Monday, September 27, 2010 at 11:00 AM!

Newly Wed

Now that that stress, beautiful ceremony, and four day party in Vegas is past me, I can once again start partaking in hobbies like blogging and photography! I would do it again in a heartbeat and it was fun as hell, but I'm glad for my life to be somewhat back to normal now! Let the regular routine resume! :)

Friday Photography - The Flash

I saw this adorable Baby Chun Li at Nerd Salad and was immediately inspired by it for Friday Photography. This cute li'l "mini-human" version of The Flash made a recent appearance at a Fourth of July celebration.

The Flash

"I'm sure that he would stop and pose for you if you asked!"

That's okay, look at him go! The Flash needs to run, it's best to just let him do what he does best. :)

Friday Photography - 1928 Willys-Knight

This beautiful 1928 Willys-Knight pulled into the parking lot of the Ames Florida Stork House in June during their Blacksmith Demonstration Day. Needless to say, it upstaged the blacksmith for a short time. Though its not often people get to see a blacksmith at work, it is also not often that people get to see a unique vehicle like this.

1928 Willys-Knight

Hood Ornament

Steering Wheel

Gearshift Knob

Tail Light

Check out more photos of the 1928 Willys-Knight.

Friday Photography - Duncan Fine O Meter

Spotted this on my recent trip to Ohio. It was outside a grocery store in Oak Harbor, OH. From what I can tell it is a drop-box for paying parking ticket fines - except it doesn't lock anymore. It didn't look like it had been used in years.

Duncan Fine O Meter

Now that I'm home and looking up information on it, it seems I'm not the first to find the Duncan brand Fine O Meter to be photographically intriguing. I particularly like this yellow one.

Friday Photography - I-80 Traffic Jam

I was recently on vacation in Ohio. Yes, a vacation not someplace with a beach and fruity drinks. Anyways, while I was there an accident happened on I-80 in Ohio, causing a giant traffic jam. Everyone got out of their cars to hang out in the shoulder? Weirdness. We were sitting in the same spot for 30 minutes, so I got out and snapped some pictures. It was a little surreal.

I-80 Traffic Jam

I-80 Traffic Jam

Friday Photography - March & The Mushroom

It has been raining an awful lot lately. So much so, there are little mushrooms popping up all over the place.

Bell Shape Mushroom

Don't eat them! They are poisonous. If your child or pet ingests either of these mushroom types, call Minnesota poison control at 1-800-222-1222.

Flat Top Mushroom

Don't eat these either. Unless you know what types of mushrooms are edible, it is a good idea just to leave them alone.

March on the Mushroom

Except for March. After all, he is named after an Alice Through the Looking Glass character. He just had to strike his pose on a mushroom.

Friday Photography - Holding Hands

I have so many photos to sort through and nothing important to do until Saturday, so my Friday is dedicated to sorting through as many photos as I can. Specifically, the photos that I took of a friend's wedding last week. This one is a favorite already, and it is one in the first section of photos I was looking through.

Holding Hands - Black & White

Sure it looks good in color, but there is just something about black and white. It adds mood, in this case I think its a little romantic.

There are a lot of photos here, though. This sorting project is going to take a while and will need to be broken up into pieces. Tonight I sorted through June 5th wedding photos up to midnight and uploaded a "handful" of the best ones (and the ones with the most people I know in them!). Who knows what I'll fine in the photos taken after midnight? Look through the set in order to see a pictorial story of how the day went.

Friday Photography - Flowering Bush

There is a bush next to the front door of the town house I live in. I rent, so it is technically not mine, but I have sort-of adopted it because we've lived in the same place for so long. When we first moved in, the bush was pretty sorry. Then two falls ago, the building manager hacked away at it almost down to the ground. I was horrified, thinking they had pruned it too early and too extensively. Once again last year it was sorry. This year it is doing something I've never seen it do before.

Flowering Bush

I didn't know this bush was supposed to flower! Even now, only the bottom branches are flowering, but the bush is thriving. It has filled out considerably, especially compared to how little was left of it at the end of 2008. They are pretty little flowers. Simple little things like blooming shrubs makes me happy.