handstories

October

    Sometimes I have a sense of the shapes while drawing with my eyes closed each morning.  This bear felt like a surprise gift to myself.

    The tree tokens keep coming.  There was a moment of imagining one hundred of them all together.  It's not likely to happen, but who knows?

    All of the tiniest scraps have a place to land.

    I love October.  Always have.  Just waking up knowing it was here brought new energy.  Two boxes of stuff from the past were even brought up from the basement and gone through.  Most of the contents can go now.  Funny how a few years has made a big difference in what matters.  This stained glass was made in high school, I think I was 15.  I remember picking through the pieces, looking for the blues (it really has been a life long love affair), and being in excited disbelief that we were going to get to make something so real.  This I'm keeping.

blue therapy

    Because there are many things I should be thinking about and/or doing, much of last week was spent stitching blue squares for the "Story" blanket border.

    I had been holding on with stubbornness to the configuration of the center squares, even though it would mean that the whole thing would be an odd size, or require a lot more blue squares to make it fit on a bed.  I finally let go, and dismantled and rearranged some of them (a few strips were taken off of the bottom, and then sewn to a side).  The eighty plus squares from last week were more than enough to make it around its new practical shape.

    Since then, the Need-To-Do-List has had a few more items checked off of it.  I think that time in blue shook some things loose.

making waves

     A couple of days ago, I told K. that I felt like I was swimming upstream, and wearing out.  

    The funny thing is, once I said it out loud things shifted.  After two weeks of not stitching on story cloths, feeling story-less, a few squares began to take shape.

    New things were started and planned for, and some old stuff was even finished, and most amazingly, I mopped the bathroom floor!    "Just stitch some sea," I told myself, and under the soft glow of one of Jude's moons and the rainbow light of Deb's threads, the green tides flowed in and carried me to the other side.

first day of a new gig

    It's rest time after my first day back to school.  Whew!  Time to get back into a routine and build the stamina back up.

    For the last three years I've worked with two great teachers and their classes, but last spring I was feeling worn out and discouraged, and wishing for more time for stitching, painting, writing, etc.  But I have a hard time imagining change, let alone asking for it.  Driving to work near the end of the school year, there was a hard think about what I might do.

    "I want to work less."

        "That's not possible for this position"

    "I need to find the principal and have a conversation."

        "I rarely see her, she's busy, and won't be able to change anything, and besides, I don't even know what I want to say."

    Walking through the front doors, and there she stood, saying, "I've been wanting to talk to you."

    We stood there in the crossroads of the halls, surrounded by the din of children arriving.  "I'm wondering if you would be interested in working more?"  She went on to say that to keep my position I'd need to support a third classroom.

    (Now this is when I've been told that one should hold their cards close, let the other person talk, and end the conversation by saying "Let me think about it, and get back to you."  Instead, I acted like I usually do, with blurting.)

            "No.  Actually, I need to work less.  I love the school and the people I'm working with, but I'm tired, and wishing for more time for my own work."

    "How would you like to work in the art room?"

            "That might be a really good idea."

    Funding was found, and a position has been created.  I'll be in the art room 2-3 days a week supporting the art teacher (another great teacher) and students.  

    Today was a terrific mix of things- working alongside of a student who sometimes struggles (we had a delightful time with the assignment without a glimmer of frustration on his part), encouraging students about their work, time for daydreaming while cutting things out, and there will be reading books aloud, textile projects, and more. 

    I think this is going to be a really good year, but first a nap.

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.