Countdown to Christmas 21

Countdown to Christmas 21 - Throw a Cake!

On the second Saturday in January, Manitou Springs in Colorado, USA, hosts the Great Fruitcake Toss. This competition is based on the idea that fruitcakes are very dense, weighty hard cakes - unwanted Christmas gifts which can be readily sacrificed and in fact, thrown away. By that date, I know that our Christmas cakes would definitely be consumed so I am not sure if it is a sporting event our family could qualify for. However, Manitou Springs, a small town of approximately 5000 people, has organised the tournament since 1995. During the competition, fruitcakes are thrown, hurled, catapulted and cannoned into the air using a range of inventive devices.

The high-powered equipment used in recent years has sent fruitcakes souring to distances "beyond measurement." Lewis said in 2013, one official distance was recorded as "destination unknown." The record hand toss with a 2 lb cake (1 kg cake ) is 415 feet (126.5 metres ), also set in 2013.
From http://gazette.com/

Those braving this event would be wise to remember to look up occasionally – a frozen fruitcake in the face is a formidable force when fired from an exercise-bike-powered cannon or a catapault.

The rule is that each participant must provide his/her own fruitcake which is inspected by the “Fruitcake Toss Tech Inspectors” to ensure that no inedible substances are included in the cake. This is done to protect the competitors and the audience in case anyone gets hit in the head with a flying fruitcake. https://www.daysoftheyear.com I
f any participants do not have at their disposal their own fruit cakes, it is quite acceptable to rent a fruitcake from the organising committee!

Other competitions in the Fruit Cake Toss tournament include :

- Catch the Fruitcake which is played in groups of three team members who are required to catch 1lb /500 g fruitcakes tossed by their own devices. . The team that catches the most fruitcakes wins.

- Accuracy with Targets is another great way to take part in the competition but not get as messy. Targets are placed out in the park at distances of 75 feet, 125 feet and 175 feet at varying angles. The goal is for each team to land in or as close to as many targets as possible.

And if you happen not to be the sporty type, there is also a fruit cake bake off connected with the Fruitcake Toss, and your cake should be safe if you bake well!

Tomorrow, let's sing the praises of Christmas cake!

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks .... The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or my husband or from off cuts gifted to us from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks. Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as w...

#SeptTextileLove Day 12

#SeptTextileLove #STL26Day12 ‘Friendship’ … This is a story of friendship based on the love of textiles and fibre art . Gallerist and artist, Anne Kempton and I have been friends for 15 years , meeting when we had both retired from ‘ top’ jobs in a government department and a high school respectively. Neither of us were the retiring types - Anne was establishing the first commercial textile art gallery in Australia and I was looking for a creative direction. We discovered we were both driven by a sense of social justice and community and shared similar artistic aspirations . Since then, we have co- curated exhibitions, collaborated on many projects. supported community art and women’s causes, and grown in our individual artistic expression - Anne includes more stitching in her work and she has had a more painterly influence on mine . Moreover, this friendship is multifaceted, deep and personal and one I value and treasure . Thank you, Anne.

#SeptTextileLove26- Day 2

#STL26Day2 ‘Hand or Machine’ … Why not both? Two small stitched works in my stitched garden series, (left - free motion machine stitch ; right- hand stitch). Which do you prefer ? #SeptTextileLove

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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