handstories

the symmetry of time

    Working on the last strip for "Iowa".  

    It was over twenty-five years ago when Janie introduced me to the friend that "Iowa" is for.  I was in my late twenties, my friend was around fifty.  She was the director/founder of the school that Janie worked at, and where I would work for the next 23 years.  I found her to be smart, intimidating, and too authoritative, but I liked her.  She thought I was smart, down to earth, and had problems with authority, but she liked me.  We're both Irish, we both liked that.  Over the years we had our ups and downs, me saying no to her, her saying I was stirring things up and maybe I should go, but there was always mutual respect.  After Janie died, we found a new piece in our relationship, friendship.  It has grown over the many seasons, especially after she stepped down from heading the school.

    Yesterday we talked about old times, as we often do.  She reminisced about my being down to earth, smart, and how great it was when I would stand up to authority.  I shared my admiration for her brilliance, and appreciation for how she always took charge of situations and remained in control of things.

    It's swell how time balances things out.

some spinnings going on

    Sylvia Spider's been busy.

    Me, too.  The bobbin here is full of a single ply, ready to be chain-plied.  Still no sign of the Lazy Kate.  Still happy with the Industrious Shoe Box.

    Speaking of making-do, this is the Niddy-Noddy the guys made out of PVC pipe.

    Plied and full of sky thoughts.

full spectrum weekend.

    These old prints are so dang cheerful.  Even my usual blue-gray self is enjoying this trip along a vintage rainbow.

    This last weekend the guys were gone for 27 hours!  There was lots of time for stitching, reading, evening with a friend, a walk in the bright cold, spotting an eagle perched atop a tree, and even a little cleaning (when you can see the dust on the mantel from across the room, it's time).  

    There was an unusual amount of slowing and noticing of the pretty prints, and even the pins in sunshine.

same thing, different backgrounds

    Thinking of turning "Iowa" into a pillow.  

    Thinking that a simple patchwork might be a nice balance to the busyness of the other side.

    Thinking with a friend, about the kids at school.  

    Thinking that it might be easier if I knew which kids had tough stories, that knowing might help me to be more patient sometimes. 

    She thought it would be easier if I just went into it thinking that they all have a story, because they do. We all do.

 

    Thinking that I love having a brilliant thoughtful friend.

hat check . . . 10, 11, 12, & 13

    The hat count is slowing down, but still going.  

    There is a rumor of snow for next week.  I don't believe it.

dots and lines

    "Draw the lines, Woman!   You gotta connect the dots!"

     (Overheard during math, from an exasperated fourth grade boy to a confused fourth grade girl.)

    Continuing to make connections between the old fabrics of "Iowa".  I can see that the possibilities are endless, and that I will have to make myself stop, or make it a belated birthday gift.  (I'm known for that.)

    A big thank you to all who have come by recently.  Your thoughts and sharings lightened the weight of it all, as did seeing that boy's smiling face this morning, while he worked at his math again.  I love the ways we can all hold each other.  It's very swell.

    P.S.  I used the word "swell" with a group today.  They didn't know what it meant.  "It's like 'terrific'."  Still, they had no idea what I was talking about.  "It's like 'great'."  

    "Oh!  Swell is like 'dope'!"  

    I just looked it up.  It means cool or awesome, who knew?  We are all finding our way through this dot-to-dot life together.

all there is today

    The other night, out of sorts, too tired to make, but wanting to hold something . . . I wrapped and unwrapped this old felted rock with a scrap of cloth, over and over.

    Things at school are hard.  There is struggling, for teachers and students.  It is a tough group, for all kinds of reasons, some unknown.  No one has answers.  I am trying to learn new skills, to be better, but did think about calling in sick yesterday.  I went.  First thing, there was success in math, especially for one boy, who often doesn't try, because he doesn't think he can, he got it.  He beamed, we high-fived, I even cried a little from happiness.  Three hours later, leaving, I saw him sitting in the office.  He was mad.  He was in big trouble, again.  I sat with him until the principal came, saying, "So sorry this happened…you had such a great morning, I know you can turn things around . . . blah, blah, blah."  Wanting to say, of course you're mad, I'm so sorry for how your life has gone so far, I wish you had enough . . . of everything.  I cried most of the way home, because some things seem too big to fix.

    The cloth was stitched on, without glasses.

    This morning thread beads were added to touch.  It's not pretty, it's not really anything, and is not any of the things I should have been doing today.  It's been named "tears".

thread beads to the rescue

    Q:  How long can one spend stitching on the same two inches?

    A:  What feels like forever.

    I wanted to do something to the white space on this corner of "Iowa,"  to secure it to the base cloth, add some texture, and to balance the heaviness of the two crocheted pieces that are appliquéd onto other areas.  

    First I tried a running stitch outline.  You can faintly see the uneven lines on the right-side above, emphasis on the "faintly".  

    Next came an experiment in satin stitch, as seen on the left.  More texture?  Definitely.  Balance?  The weight of the stitch teetered the totter to the other side.  (Aside from the fact that I'm not very good at it.)

    It took almost as long to take out the stitches, as it did to put them in. 

    Thread beads seem to be doing the trick.  The background is filling in lickety-split, in a fraction of the time the other fussier stitches took.  Taught by Jude, they are one of my very favorite stitches, for ease and whimsy (among many other things).  Just a couple of days ago, she shared the magic of them again, here.  

    They look right at home in this field of flowers.

 

 

weathering

    Things seemed quite gray this weekend . . . sky & mood.

    A short walk through the Tilth gardens was a nice moment of rainbow.

ageless

    A little bit of connecting and continuing work on "Iowa"  today.   Trying to keep the vintage charm of these old fabrics while adding a new voice with stitch. 

    The friend this piece is for is turning eighty next month, and there is hope for finishing it in time.  We're having dinner together tonight, along with two other good friends.  The four of us get together every few months.  I love that we span almost forty years (42, 52, 65, and 79), and feel the same in so many ways.

   ("Iowa" began here, for more of the story click on the category "iowa" at the bottom of this post)