handstories

In the studio and skies

    "Starlight Shimmer in a Blackberry Sky Held Her"  (with a Threadcrumb moon)

    I've been working on a lot of glittery skies.  Looking for ways to make light and sparkle.

 

    (I was told it's ok to use the names of the artists at the studio.)  Someone had brought in a few marionettes recently, and Matt is quite taken by them.  He's been working on this piece that features one of them for a couple of weeks.  I love the happy land that he is creating for her.

    Look what Pixie is working on now!  (They painted the mountain scene in my last post.)  I was so happy and honored that we were able to have a short communication about it (with the help of their iPad).   Another good moment was during a snack of celery, I told them about the "ants on a log" snack, and they laughed and laughed.  My heart is filled with every connection with these artists.

    Most of my time is spent with Brette, who has a lot of creative ideas, but not as much focus.  Fortunately/unfortunately for her, keeping people on task is a leftover teaching skill of mine!  We've started sewing a nine-patch pillow together.  So far, so good!

    "In Layers of Sky, She Found Her Story"

    I've also noticed that some of my titles are getting quite long.  It may be a wish to work on writing again...

Coming around to

    A while ago, a dearest friend said that she wanted to make a quilt.

    Things have been very busy, so I sighed inside.

    This friend is very good at starting projects that I end up finishing for her... the knitted scarf for her dad, the baby blanket for a friend's daughter, a hooked pillow for an old boyfriend, the list goes on.

    "I don't have time to make a quilt right now," I said, discouraging her plans.

    But for her birthday a couple of months ago, I filled a box with squares of fabric, stitching template, soap sliver for marking, needle, thread, and a note agreeing to our next project.  

    A few weeks later, she and her man invited us to their sailboat christening.  I was happily surprised to see she'd been stitching pairs together and putting them to use already.

    (A silly aside, the bottle of bubbles we brought.  Relabeled with a photo of Moon.)

 

    Last weekend we spent a couple of lovely hours stitching together.  I shared stories of some of the cloths, we discussed favorites, reminiscing projects with students when we taught together, etc.  And the straight running stitched lines were so satisfying to make.  She commented on my two finished seams for each of hers.  I reminded her that I do practice with a needle now and then.

    I'm looking forward to the quilting to come, and very glad that I came around.

A joke with a small side of weary

Pine Needle

    (Get it?  Please laugh.)

    Finished shirt.  It's ok.  Deb has given me some good tips for the next one...

    I'm sensing a theme in the recent paintings.  Noticing that a lot of my "self portraits" are screaming.  I suppose you could imagine they're singing, but I know the truth.

    A strange moon in the works...

Jumping all over the place

    Yesterday's wish for a boat...  Actually, it was a wish to be in a boat, in the middle of the sea...alone.

    There are seventy days until Moon goes to college.  Being a summer birthday, we waited a year to put him into kindergarten.  It seemed like a good idea at the time.  He'll be nineteen in a couple of weeks, and is more than ready to move on to the next phase of his life, as he constantly reminds us... sigh.  While we're going to miss him (and I think he'll miss us too, even if he doesn't know it!), we are all ready to love each other from some distance! 

    This parting is going to be so much easier than Blue's (some of you may remember my mama drama- part one and part two).  Being second, and going to school only an hour and a half away should make for a much less dramatic transition.  Finger's crossed.

    Jump!  (I have a cousin who writes "Jump!" whenever changing topics without a segue.)

    Inspired by Deb's lovely dress, I pulled out my copy of  The Act of Sewing, consulted Deb (many thanks!), and have almost finished a version of the shirt.

    Weirdly, I love making bias tape (first photo), but really dislike hemming.

    Jump!

    There will be new pieces in the shop tomorrow morning.  A few longer moon cloths, two tokens, a tree and one peaceful boat (without me in it). 

Snow, Sister & Stitch

    A surprise for Seattle this morning!  We woke to ten inches, and it's still falling...

 

    It's also my sister's birthday today, and her gift arrived on time!

    Often I bring along mending supplies when I visit her in Rhode Island, stitching up a jacket elbow, shirt sleeve, whatever...

    Not knowing when I might be able to tend her mending again, I made this little mending kit for her based on a sweet pattern by Ann Wood (find it here).

    Stocked with possible patches and thread in her colors, pins, needles, etc.

    She doesn't enjoy mending like I do, but at least she'll be able to... or there will be supplies ready for my next visit.

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?  

 

Dawdling

    Five years ago, I started knitting these hats and scarves to donate.  It was a way to use up some of my early yarn spinnings and hopefully do a little good in the world.  Well, I didn't get very far, and there was no good done until this week. 

    In an effort to clean up a little (and to avoid doing the things I should've been doing), I came across the bag buried in the corner that they've been living in.  I had got it into my head that ALL of the yarn needed to be knitted up before donating them.  Also, two different friends had made two different suggestions as to where to donate them, meaning I would have to choose between them, or knit more hats, so that there were enough for everybody... Meanwhile, the project went by the wayside, and nobody got wool things.

    But, they were found again, and K. knew of a woman who works at the YWCA, so they were promptly gathered and left on her doorstep.  Sometimes I make myself crazy with trying to do everything, often resulting in doing nothing.  It's good to know they'll finally be useful.  There's still plenty of yarn to knit up, and a new hat has been started.  I wonder how many years it will take to go anywhere?

    There is a growing to-do list.

    There is a lot of procrastinating.  Sometimes it takes the shape of trees.

    Sometimes everything seems doable. 

    Other days, like the one when I got out the sewing machine, are a battle.

    There are gifts to sew.  The first one went along ok.  I even managed to figure out a new fake-serger-ish stitch to use.  The second project, and third...not so good.  Things may have been thrown across the room.  The machine and I are both on a timeout right now.  It glares at me from across the room, I squint my eyes at it and scowl back.

    I keep rearranging the things on my table.  Trying to get a grip on the chaos.  Trying to keep things from toppling over.  Trying to carry on with my procrastinating...

    Moons and stars help.  Especially in Deb's beautiful sky cloth.

    I'm not sure if this is about floating or sinking?!

wonderings

    How small could they be and still look like trees?

    What if stars really were this big?

    Why did it take so long to spend only one evening stitching a strip of fabric to the bottom of a too-short sheet, so that it can stay tucked in all night?

    What kind of seam is this?  (I thought it was a sloppy french seam, but after quick research, it seems (ha) not.)

    Why are buttercups so delightful?

    How it's possible to get lost in a small moon for hours?

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!

blues & trees

    On a very gray day, in a blue chair, they are done...two extra long, not so pretty, but very practical blankets for Blue and Moon.  Pieced out of cloth from the tubs under the bed, dipped in fading indigo, left-over flannel for batting, and stitched with threads from that messy basket full (shrinking the tangle of it quite a bit, thankfully).

    The weather is dark these days, and wet.  Between that and the holidays, it can be hard on the students (and the teachers).  

    While working in the back of the room today, a boy was sent to sit by me.  In a bit of a mood myself, I sighed inside, because it meant making room for him, physically and mentally.  I shoved things over, and asked him, "So, other than right now, how's your day going?"

    "Bad."

        "How come?"

    "Everything's boring."

       "Lucky for you, you're in art class now."

    He rolled his eyes.  

    Working side-by-side, he we relaxed into Ms. T.'s drawing assignment of mountains and evergreens (one of those well thought out ones with simple steps to follow that lead everyone to success).  We experimented with ways to make the trees.  He admired and laughed at the scribbly ones that my 7th grade art teacher taught me, and decided he like his very straight lined sweet ones (I loved that).  The class ended with him letting us lean into each other, shoulder to shoulder, and my telling him, "I know this isn't where you wanted to be today, back here with me, but I'm sure glad you came."  

    He gave me a big smile, reminding me that I was lucky to be in art class, too.

    Back to the blankets, while they're nothing to write home about, I'm pleased that they are done, warm, and made completely from what I already had, including fabrics that hold fond memories of maps, castles and cows jumping over moons during the boys' younger years.