It's blurry, sorry Mom, but I hate to use the flash...

After getting the acrylic drilled and finding our brocade source tucked away in an industrial park (I had never been there myself), I then began to think about how to get the brocade ready for the Long Life Stupa, and how to get the gau mounting system transitioned. I knew a place where I might get advice on both fronts...Mom and Dad! : ) My mother sews, and Dad has a garage full of tools.

Mom was willing to sew the brocade, but found my sketch and measurements inadequate (I'm no seamstress). She said it would be best in this situation to actually take the cloth, or a sheet, to the Stupa and place it up there and cut it there. The reason being the interior is curved all over, no straight edges to follow, so she said it would be difficult to get the material to fall right without many more measurements than I took. Easier just to go out and cut it there. She said she'd lend her sewing machine as well, though I'm not sure I have any idea how to thread it (tougher than you'd think!). But, first steps first...she recommended using some sort of "liquid thread" to hold the velcro onto the brocade, and gave me another bottle of stuff that should keep the cut edges from fraying. I'm thinking I'll need to have at least one seam though...but we'll see...