handstories

First gifts

    The season is off to a beautiful start... 

    On Thursday, we traveled up to Bellingham for Moon's acapella concert.  First, there was dinner with Deb!  She brought the most beautiful gathering of her wonderful creations- pigments, dots, star, boat, and more!  A perfect first gift of the season, and it was (as always) a lovely and too short of a time together.

    Deb's colors with a bit of hot pink thrown in.

    Saturday was spent with a friend at a fundraiser dinner for Islandwood, the outdoor school I went to some years ago (I wrote about it here.)  It was fun to visit this amazing place again as an adult with no responsibilities!  We toured, wined and dined, and met such interesting people.  

    I was especially happy to see the cedar baskets gifted to the school by Vi Hilbert again.  She was a tribal elder of the Upper Skagit.  The figure above is "Grandmother Vi".  She welcomes everyone into the Great Hall.

    On Sunday, there was dinner out the neighbors across the street.  Time with these guys is always easy and comfortable.  We are really lucky to have good neighbors all around us.  There was also a little stitching- a new square for the moon cabin quilt.  This one is kind of a weird combination of prints, but that's ok!

    Marti sent a sweet photo of her tree that she described in the comments of the last post.  I thought we should all enjoy it!

    She wrote, "The tree is decorated very simply as I am not a glitz and sparkle kind of gal. A long red and cream striped ribbon, from many years ago, dances around the tree. Tiny pine cones are affixed to the branches by red yarn. Many dried orange slices cover the tree, to signify the coming of the light of Winter Solstice. A couple pieces of worded ribbon are also on the tree, the word JOY printed on the ribbon. At the top of the tree, 2 red cardinals and a colorful patchwork tree ornament, a gift from a dear friend."

    Thank you for sharing, Marti!

    So far, I've done next to nothing on the to-do list, and it's been swell.  Maybe tomorrow...

pink skies and silver rain

    Out our window, a week ago at sunset.

    At the same time, across town, K. saw a double rainbow.

    It was a very nice Christmas day.  One of our (my) traditions, is that I go into the living room first, and take a photo of Blue and Moon as they come into the room and see the tree with the filled stockings and gifts below.  Not to be undone by distance, with Blue zooming on the computer, Moon carried Blue on screen in, and I got my photo.  For the next hour, he "sat" next to the tree and we opened gifts, made jokes, and took a group selfie with one of us holding the computer facing the camera.  Technology was the very best gift this year.

    These are the Wise Guys, my favorite childhood ornaments (except for the beautiful glittery glass balls that my brother has).  If you look closely, there is a single silvery strand draped above and over the top right guy.  I took it off of Mom's tree one year.  She called it "rain" and our childhood trees were dripping with it.

    You see what I mean.  My brother and me, 1967. 

    K. was quite concerned when he first saw my family's tree style.  Lucky for him, this single strand of tinsel is enough for me.

    Mom doesn't do a tree anymore, and passed the angel topper on to me.  I remember shopping for it with Mom and Aunt J.  Mom pointed it out on the top shelf, Aunt J., being taller, reached for it and I held it in front of me as I sat in the shopping cart, asking if I thought it was pretty?  I did.  Mom doesn't believe I remember this, because I was only two, but I do.

    This is Christmas Night, after the photo above.  I'm four.  I remember what led to this, too. 

    I had brought my new doll, dollhouse and their boxes into my bedroom.  Crawling into bed with the new doll and the old one (so that she wouldn't feel replaced), I looked at the dollhouse on the floor...  (Here's where I'm going to tell you one of the strange things about me... I have always personified things.  I don't know what this means or says about me, but there it is.)  So, on that night, looking at the dollhouse on the floor, I worried that I was hurting its feelings by not bringing it to bed with me, too.  So, I got up and brought it into the bed, and then returned for the boxes, because how sad for them to be empty and alone on the floor...

making, etc.

    There's been making, and seeing this photo blown up, I guess there needs to be some trimming, too.

    And baking.

    Some knitting.

    K. has made two trips to the post office so far for Blue.  I pack the boxes, hiding gifts inside of other gifts to make it all fit into as little space as possible, so that the postage will hopefully not exceed the cost of the contents.

    I found this flannel in the stash, and have made a pillowcase for each of the boys.  Silly, but mamas can get away with that, right?  Actually, it might be scary to Blue.  His grandma gave him a sock monkey when he was a baby.  Just the sight of it would send him into sobs.  I wonder if he'll have flashbacks?

    Still need to make the Spritz cookies, but the tree is up much earlier than usual.  We scurried out to get one early because there's been a shortage here in Seattle for the last two years.  Is that true for anyone else?  It's almost decorated.  The coffee table is covered with unpacked ornaments.  Whenever Moon walks through the room, I call out for him to put another one on the tree.  Maybe it will be finished by Christmas?  

 

Wintering with memories

    Moon's ornament with his favorite blanket scrap. 

    Baby Moon.     K's.  The starry sky cloth was a Christmas gift from him in the middle pregnancy with Blue.  The green was purchased on the day Moon was born.  A friend wanted help making a quilt, so we met at the fabric store.  Contractions were happening, but they had been going on for weeks, so I ignored them...stopping every now and then to clutch the fabric bolts to steady myself until they passed.  Weeks before, I had asked this friend if she would come to the birth, to be with Blue?  Absolutely not was her answer.  She had no interest in seeing a birth.  Ever.  She grew more and more nervous with each contraction, afraid she would be trapped into witnessing Moon's entry into the world.

    "Shouldn't you be somewhere else?"  "Shouldn't you call someone?"  "Shouldn't you..."

    Fortunately for her, the quilt fabric was purchased, I bought a yard of this green cloth, and we went our separate ways.  I'm sure she heaved a big sigh of relief in her car!

What I can do...

        Yesterday, after waking up at 4am from fretful nightmares about Blue, I tossed and turned until 5:30 trying to decide whether he should come home for the holidays or not.  There have been so many discussions and debates between the four of us about it.  I finally realized that if it was an ok thing to be doing, it wouldn't be this hard to decide.  What was I thinking?  I am a rule follower.  I should have known that the nagging in the back of my head was not going to go away.  Delirious, I fell back asleep until K. woke up.  We talked it over, and it was decided.  He called Blue, and I cried as I drove myself to the dentist.  (There were several other weepy moments.  Moon was at a bit of a loss during one of the spiraling down episodes.  I heard K. say to him, "Get used to it, this is how it's going to be for a couple of weeks.")

    Last night a friend sympathetically texted, "It sucks to be smart."  It does.

    So, Christmas needs to be mailed to Michigan.  I always make an ornament for each of the guys, and today Blue's was stitched.  The  rosy ground is leftover flannel from his baby blanket.

    It was the very first thing I ever made for a maybe-someday baby, about five years before Blue came along.  Really, I didn't know if I wanted kids, but I did want to practice the recently learned crocheted edging.  When I showed the finished blanket to K. that evening, he worriedly wondered if I was trying to tell him something?  

    "Well, if I am, you'd better start looking a whole lot happier!"

    To his credit, he was ready to have a baby before I was, and beside himself with happiness with each pregnancy.

    We last saw Blue when he was home for the holidays a year ago.  There may be a road trip this spring.  I don't want to miss seeing him be 22. 

    In the meantime, Christmas needs to go in a box.  There are cookies to bake...

too many things

    The afghan is almost done, just the crocheted border to do...or not (those yarn ends you see dangling have been woven in).

    And this stuffed pillow-ish thing is begun for Moon.  Because he likes the critters I've stitched/painted.  And if a teenage boy likes something his mother makes, you better believe she's going to milk it for all it's worth!

Saint Woman, 2015 by Amy Sherald 

    And, because there is all the time in the world, a friend and I went to the Seattle Art Museum yesterday.  I can't tell you how happy I was to see a work by Amy Sherald in real life.  Apologies for my poor photography, I wish you could see how this blue really glows...

        While visiting the museum, a storm was brewing in Seattle.  Later, out on the street, the wind blew the bandana right off of my head!  Luckily, a man in the street saw it coming and stomped on it for me.  Power was out all over the area, our house included.

    Luckily, there was take-out by candlelight and Moon had a band concert in the evening.  We enjoyed the concert (and the heated, lit auditorium), and then went home to sleep under plenty of extra blankets until the electricity was back up at midnight.  

    Now back to stitching...tick-tock!

tick-tock

    These squares have been ten years in the making.  (This pattern)

    Made from left-overs after knitting socks, or impulse "It's so pretty, I'll just buy one skein." shopping.  

    The plan had been to make an afghan big enough to cover our bed. 

    But that might take another ten years.  The idea of a lap blanket for a Christmas gift seems just fine. 

 

    There's one week left...plenty of time!

mid festivities

    Thank you one and all for the wonderful birthday wishes!  They added much cheer to my day.

    It was just the quiet day that was wished for.  And yes, Marti, there was a start on a new cloth for myself.  So far it holds five of Jude's moons and a lot of blue.  Weirdly, by evening, the head-cold I've been nursing turned to fever, and I was in bed by 8:00 without cake or our traditional celebrations.  Oh well, a postponed party is something to look forward to... 

    The fever is gone, there's the whole day to doze on the couch, and to add stitches to the new cloth.  I'm really looking forward to sprinkling pink thread beads in this spot.  Maybe there will be more cake for lunch?  (This cake may be gone before it ever has a candle put in it!)

snow scenes, reminiscing & a few stitches

    On Christmas Eve it began to snow!

    And snow!

    The next morning was so pretty.  It's been a long time since we've had a white Christmas.  It's melted some now, but there is still enough left to brighten the spirit.   

    Yesterday was quiet, a nice day with the guys, full of unexpected remembering of long ago things... Childhood gatherings with the relatives on Christmas Eve (with so much food & drink), trying to organize the cousins into a "show" for the grown-ups dressed in our new pjs from Grandma)... The always very welcomed arrival of Great Aunt Peggy on the Day, ping-pong... And times with a good friend (we would go to each other's house to see each other's gifts, and then walk the four blocks between our houses, back and forth, until one of the parents called out that it was time to be done.

   There was enough light and time to stitch again.  It's been a while...

   Hoping you're all keeping cozy out there...ox

where I've been

    All right, I've done all I'm going to do.  Aside from the usual cooking, taxiing, holiday preparing, cleaning, etc... I've been Knitting with a capital K.  First up were these ornaments for the guys (pattern from this library book).  They were quick and easy.

    But then I thought I could whip up some small gifts for the guys...  This is when the foolish black hole of knitting began.  

    Moon had asked for that recycle can blue hat, and I thought matching fingerless mitts would be a good idea.  After knitting up one (not shown), I began to wondered if he would wear them?  (He often refuses to put on a coat, even when the car windows are covered in ice, and there was a snow day last year when the threat of losing his phone was the only thing that forced him to put pants on over his shorts.)

    So, I decided to start some for Blue, too.  When I asked Moon if he thought Blue would like them, he said, "Maybe.  Someone my age wouldn't, but a college guy might like them."  Oh, well.  The blue mitts were abandoned.

    Ok, just Blue then.  Blue's were being made from a black yarn (his favorite color) that was left-over from a past project.  One was finished, and it was clear that there wasn't enough yarn to make a second.  Ripped back, yarn weighed and measured, divided in half, notes made, and a blue band added.  

    Meanwhile, K. chimed in that he'd like a pair.  Fine, I'd finish up the blue ones for him.  The next night, while ripping out and reknitting Blue's again (because knitting black yarn in the dark evenings does not equal success), K. added that he'd really like a pair... in dark gray.  He's lucky he wasn't stabbed with one of those knitting needles.

    On Wednesday morning there was only one mitt for Blue.  It had taken two and a half days.  I figured the second one could be finished, and K. would get his gray yarn, still in a skein, with a promise.

    But then some Christmas magic happened.  

    The other three just fell off of the needles and were done this morning.  

    I am now drinking hot chocolate and eating my favorite holiday cookies- Spritz.  There will be no knitting tonight.