Mile-o'-handwork 2 -- how to display it

When Debby and I first talked about the mile-o'-handwork we thought it would be a nifty idea to stretch our strips out across the Big Four Bridge, a pedestrian bridge across the Ohio River that we are fond of walking on.  The length of the bridge walk is one mile, so that would make a perfect installation.  This idea lasted for a while until I realized that I liked the look of my rolled-up cakes more than I liked the look of the crochet extended.  And besides, if I stretched the work out on the bridge it would get dirty.

So my thinking was that I would like to display the work -- if that ever became a possibility -- mostly rolled up, with just enough of the strips unrolled so people could see what the cakes were made of.  This thought process was academic, as I had no possible venues for display, and besides, I would like this hypothetical installation to be much bigger.  So I kept crocheting.

Meanwhile Debby was knitting, and one day she had an inspiration, which was to use her long strips to make writing on the ground.  When we were at our art retreat this spring she wrote out her favorite catchphrase from the Wizard of Oz on the back lawn.

Two very different ideas for what to do with the project, which showed no signs of ever getting finished.

But then the proposition!

Our local fiber and textile art group was having a juried show in a small gallery.  Because of the size of the gallery, there was a size limit: 24 inches wide.  Perhaps because of the size limit, or some other twist of the rules, we didn't get a whole lot of entries, and of course the entries that were selected were pretty small.

The show committee went from worrying that we would overflow the gallery to worrying that we wouldn't be able to fill it adequately.  And somebody had an idea: why not have a small display of the mile-o'-handwork!  Everybody in the group knew about our project, because both Debby and I had been working on it during meetings for years.

So I delivered one box of cakes to the gallery early this month with the directions "do whatever you think is best."  And finally this week I got out to see the installation (not a moment too soon, because the show closes tomorrow).  I'll show it to you tomorrow.