Dyeing Wood

A question was asked on QuiltArt about dyeing wood. I dug out the wooden stars I dyed about 4 years ago.

This is a fairly vague description of what I did. (It has been a while & I was experimenting.) I used a plastic cup. Fill cup about half full of soda ash, put in wooden stars. Set aside to soak for about 30 minutes. Poured off most of the soda ash solution. Added dye to enough water to fill the cup about half way - covering the stars, poured it into the cup, making sure stars were covered. Covered the cup with plastic wrap. Left sitting until the next day.

They took color well. Where one star was lying on top of another, the dye was partially blocked, which you can see in the picture. The white flecks are bits of fluff from sitting around for all this time! If I were to do it again, I would make sure to have a single layer of wood objects.

Another Day at the Ballpark

We got to Rosenblatt Stadium about 4:45 pm for a 6 pm game, to find the earlier game was still in progress. The game between Cal State Fullerton & UC Irvine went 13 innings (5+ hrs) setting a record for the longest CWS game ever. And I had GIVEN my tickets to the nephew of a friend who left in the 5th inning. Who does that? Even Dodger fans stay until the 7th!

Since we had time to kill, we wandered around the Fan Fest area, shopped (I bought another ASU t-shirt) and went over to Zesto's to eat. The two lines were each about 30 people long when we got there. By the time we got our food (GREAT burgers & fries!), they were twice that long. Which meant that standing in line to get ice cream was out of the question.

And finally, a baseball game. ASU's loss to Oregon State was ugly and painful. The final score was 12-6, but it wasn't anywhere near that close. I quit keeping score around the 4th inning, when I got tired of coloring in little boxes on the OSU side of the score sheet. The high point of the game was the blow-up doll that fell into the field from the right field bleachers. Pathetic, but the Sun Devils gave us very little to cheer about tonight. The security guys who confiscated her set her up on the bench beside them. They usually get booed for taking the beach balls, but the crowd gave them a round of applause this time. And by the time we left Rosenblatt around 11 pm, I wasn't too unhappy that I missed that LONG first game!

The Greatest Show On Dirt

What a slogan! What a day at Rosenblatt! What made it such a good day? Since I like to make lists.....

1.On a HOT HOT day, we watched the Arizona State Sun Devils beat the UC Irvine Anteaters by a single run.

2. The frozen lemonade was incredibly and wonderfully cold. (Did I mention it was HOT?)
3. Eavesdropping on the conversation in the row behind me, I met a quilter who had come from Grand Island for the game. She & her husband were rooting for ASU because their son lives in Scottsdale, AZ. As the innings passed. I gave her directions to two local quilt shops, we talked about sewing machines, I invited her to Quilt Nebraska, and I showed her my quilting tattoo. We talked about the differences in humidity between Omaha and Grand Island, and the dry heat of Phoenix.
4. During the 7th inning stretch, we sang Take Me Out To The Ballgame. Then we got to watch a young man get down on one knee, offer a diamond ring to his girlfriend, and cheer excitedly when she said yes.
5. I bought a new ASU shirt to wear on Monday, when the Sun Devils play again.
6. Since ASU was designated the home team for this game, my seats were right in the middle of a huge crowd of ASU fans from all over. It was lots of fun to share the thrill of victory!
7. My favorite vendor visited our section. He talks non-stop, offering to shut up & go away for just $3. AND, he throws in a free cherry sno-cone! Lots of takers - did I mention it was HOT?
8. The wave went around the stadium 4 times before falling victim to action on the field.

The View From Third Base

Baseball! Almost like Opening Day, without the stress of wanting my team to win! We saw the NC Tarheels come from behind to beat the Mississippi Bulldogs. I cheered for both teams, leaving the NC fan sitting beside me scratching his head.

I love my seat location. My seat looks straight down the basepath from 3rd base to 2nd. The sun is always behind us. I don't like the new seats in Rosenblatt. The seat portion is not as deep, making them less comfortable. The new lack of depth is supposed to make up for the seat portion not folding up, but what is does is make the "may I get past you dance" even more awkward.

I'm leaving for Rosenblatt Stadium in a little while to see Arizona State (go Sun Devils!) play UC. I've got my Sparky tattoo on my cheek and am still sporting my "Born to Quilt" tattoo on my forearm. Not exactly Biker Babe stuff, but they work for me!