9 red balloons (or, help me help my mama)

so -- this is a preview of an exciting little project that i was invited to be a part of. (it's not quite off the ground yet, but it's starting -- get a little taste here; it's called spoonful.) i was asked to create a work for this project weeeeeks ago, and i put it on my schedule to complete the week after chicago -- giving me one week until the deadline. i thought about it all week but of course, as it almost always goes with me, my A-HA moment didnt happen until the eleventh hour. that's when i thought - f yes, i will stitch 99 red balloons! super cool idea, but a little too ambitious for an afternoon, kj. perhaps if i were a bit more of a planner....
so -- as a compromise, or, rather, a reality, i did nine red balloons.
they were whipped up kinda quickly -- nothing fancy, just straight up embroidery stitches of hot air balloons on regular cotton fabric, framed in embroidery hoops. i like the way they look together.
here are a couple more shots:



okay --- so i photographed them a whole bunch and sent the images over to anthea (for the final shots, you're gonna have to stay tuned and check out the publication of spoonful!) and now i've got these sweet little hot air balloon pieces. and now here's the other A-HA moment that i had while i was stitching them up. i was thinking, hmmm, so what am i going to do with these pieces now? and then my mind was wandering and it went over to thinking about my family and my mother and how she is doing this two day bikeride to raise money and awareness of the effort to find a cure for MS. i am so proud of her -- she only took up biking, um, i think four years ago, and now my mom does these 150 mile bikerides! it's fantastic. she's amazing. you've got to click on over here and read her little page about it. (do it! there's even a photo of her in her biking gear! yeah mom!) so -- i was thinking about all of this and then i was thinking, dammit i wish i werent so broke and that i could put some money in her fund. she is SO close to her goal. but alas, i just dont have the cash. and then i thought, WAIT A MINUTE -- what if i put these up on my shop and do what i can to get them sold and then donate all of that money to mama's fund?! that would be rad! and so -- this is what i am doing. so --- think about it. check it out. click on over here and look at the little balloons in my shop. do you NEED one? probably not. but hey, if you buy one, you get a simple little piece of art (you could even give it away as a gift), you've donated some money to a good cause, and i've been able to further support my mama in her awesomeness. everyone wins! wow. this was a lot of writing. okay.. please think about it... please pass on the link to this post if you care to. thanks! xoxo-k