A Little Sewing

Aaaahhhh! My computer seems to have recovered. When it began giving problems, I tried everything (clean, compress, delete, etc.) and nothing seemed to help. Now, on its own, it seems to have decided to get well.

I've made a little bubble suit for Bryce, have almost finished with a dress for Mila out of the same material, and finished the yoga bag for Robin last week.

Love this material! Bright and cheerful.
Detail of front tucks.Back with snaps.
This little devil took me longer than I care to admit. The pattern seemed to have steps missing (or my comprehension has huge gaps), and eventually, I just tried to put it together in a way that made sense to me. Which required some unsewing, but which at least allowed me to complete the darn thing.

This inspiring article is about the way in which classical music is helping lift children out of poverty in Venezuela. Here is a little video clip of the children in concert. Very uplifting.

I've made another bib and am working on some quilting for a new bag. In fact, I've several new projects on the agenda that I'll be working on this week. When I clicked to enlarge the pictures, I noticed a stray white thread on the bib that I wish I had plucked off.

Acey, can you see your pin cushion? (Correction: Sorry, Rissa. I got confused. No, I actually stay confused. You sent the pincushion, about two years ago, I think.)One of our favorite care givers for Laddie is going to be leaving to take care of her grandchildren. We have really been blessed with these women, and I will miss Gloria, but certainly understand the situation.

Some sunny garden pictures:

Family, Flowers, & Books

Had a nice time in Baton Rouge. Max was better when I got there and had no obvious symptoms of anything, but was lethargic and running fever. No fever at all on Wednesday and pretty much back to his normal energetic self. I think it may have been allergies (since everyone else in our family is suffering from them). At any rate, I had a nice visit with Erin and the kids.

Have been trying to catch up on stuff around here and thankfully mowed the yard yesterday because today looks as if the bottom could drop out any minute. Love the effect of the garden on a cool, overcast morning.

See the blurry part in the foreground of the above picture? Hundreds of tiny pink rosebuds just waiting to thrill my heart.
And, of course, my fascination with the garlic never goes away. I liked this picture of the almost finished clematis flower and buds.
One of my very favorite "weeds" - Queen Anne's Lace is nearing performance time.

Finished a book that I thoroughly enjoyed: The Girl with No Shadow by Joanne Harris. It is a sequel to Chocolat, and I like it much better. I read Chocolat nearly 10 years ago and in one of those unusual situations, I liked the movie better than the book.

I put aside all the other books when I opened The Girl with No Shadow; there was simply no room for anything else while I indulged in the lives of Vianne and Anouk. Started and finished it yesterday in between visiting Laddie, mowing the yard, running errands, and exercising.

Did a little hand quilting last night while watching the first new Moonlight in a while. Now that the strike is over, I'm pleased to be able to watch new episodes of shows like Lost and Ugly Betty again.

Best Bib and Tucker

No, I don't really know what that means.

Amelia let me know that Bryce Eleanor needed some bibs. So I've made a few. These are fun.
Max is sick, so I'll be heading to Baton Rouge for a few days. Wish I had a laptop to carry with me, but maybe I'll be able to use Erin's computer.

In that strange world of synchronicity, I found this article today. It comes after spending the last three days thinking about birthdays and their implications. While I have no intention of walking around the world, I'm inspired (and in such a timely manner) by this man's dream.

This year will be the big 60 for me, and I've been making plans for my birthday. I've never wanted birthday parties - birthdays were not very important to me, and although I enjoy having my girls (and now grandchildren) home for a celebratory dinner with us, a party was never my thing.

This year, however, I'm going to have one because this next decade seems a huge adventure. When I turned 50, I made big changes in my life and have reaped great benefits from those changes. My life has been so rewarding since I retired (one of the decisions I made was early retirement). While there have been great griefs, challenges, and changes during this decade, I've loved it-- felt freer, younger, happier.

While I made some significant decisions when I turned 50, the date itself held nothing special for me, was not really noted. This year will be different. Turning 60 will entail further challenges and rewards, and moving into this next decade seems quite exciting to me -- and seems of more consequence, more import than any previous decade. No doubt, the experience I've gained along the way and the increased awareness of time flying, influence my feelings that this birthday deserves a celebration and a sense of commitment.

So...I'm doing some evaluation, some planning and listing, some goal-setting. Planning and goal-setting for the date itself and for the decade to follow. I have 6 months to think about it.

Masquerade's Knitted Graffitti

This is so much fun. Masquerade has knitted across Europe.

Baptised

Time really does fly. Last weekend was a joy as we gathered for Bryce Eleanor's baptism. It was a beautiful sunny morning, the perfect setting. From the moment we arrived at the chapel, the number of babies present lifted the spirits...and all so good!

Amelia, Chris, and Bryce with godparents Rachel and Kyle. When Megan was little, I always thought she looked like a Botticelli angel. She still does. Max loved the attention.A serious moment for parents.
Bryce didn't much care for this part.
This day was almost as important for Amelia as Bryce's birth. Father Peter indicated that it was even more important and that we should all celebrate our own Baptisms.
I liked this picture of Olivia and Robin.
Max likes to jump. Ta Da! Every jump elicits the same "Ta Da!"More here.

Celebration

Comfrey is not the showiest plant--the leaves and stems are hairy, the blooms are small and bell-like. But it is one of my all-time favorites, not only for its herbal history, but for its very name. Comfrey comes from the Latin word for "grow together" and was used for healing wounds and broken bones, but it also sounds like "comfort" and has always had that effect on me. It is a comforting plant that has a healing history and kinesthetic appeal for the texture of its leaves. Click on the image and the hairy texture is clear.
Dandelions that escaped my early efforts at getting rid of them. Whether or not that was deliberate, I'm not sure because I also harbor a distinct fondness for this stage of wanton, wispy reproductive effort.
Wandering Jew and Creeping Jenny and wild strawberry and Verbena Bonarensis all tangled here - more weeding to be done, including that Verbena B. that has spread all over the darn place. Unlike the Homestead Purple verbena, Bonarensis is upright and tall. Both verbenas are invasive and must be kept in check, but I have a tendency to love invasive plants.
Today is Bryce Eleanor's day. And a lovely beginning to this day of her baptism. Erin and Max are her, still asleep. Soon everyone will be up and preparing for the baptism and the reception afterwards.

Freaky Friday

Today has already begun in a hectic manner, but "All shall be well" as Julian of Norwich believed.

I've slowed my breathing by walking through the garden and thinking about how lucky I am in my daughters and my grandchildren. It is a lovely day.

First clematis bloom.
My fascination with garlic continues.


I made this ironing board cover the other day. I pinned the old and dreadfully stained cover onto this fabric and cut it out.
Then I sewed all around it with an overlock stitch.Then ran a tapestry needle and pearl cotton through it.Then positioned it on the ironing board and pulled the pearl cotton cord tight. Easy and much better looking ironing board cover.

Now, I guess I'd better get back to some of my chores, etc. Erin and our Max will be here later today. Mila isn't coming, and I'm so disappointed. I have such cute little dresses waiting for her and hoped to get pictures of her wearing them. However, Max will be here and his chubby, good-natured self should help.

A Few Steps at a Time

The garden is beginning to look lovely again. Strange how it looks so barren one week, and the next, all is well. I love watching the garlic open up. And the bell-like blooms on the comfrey. I took these pictures early yesterday morning while it was still cool and fresh, by the afternoon it was in the 80's, but still almost perfect weather for enjoying spring.This garlic bud is opening. Looks almost like an alien, doesn't it?
Busy, busy week. Meeting down town this morning, then several errands that had to be run, including a trip to the grocery store, the post office, and the library. I was trying to get everything done before the threatening bad weather actually let lose, but now it seems to have blown over. After the last couple of days of "just right" weather, I wasn't looking forward to the new storms.

Bryce Eleanor's Christening will be Saturday. Chris' family will be coming in on Thursday. Erin and Mila and Max will be here on Friday. Several events and family functions in the works for the weekend.

I did make a new cover for my ironing board, but still haven't had a chance to really sit down and decide whether to finish some WIP's or to start something new; since things will be pretty hectic soon, maybe I'll just put off messing up newly cleaned sewing room.


I love my Notes from the Universe that I receive every morning. Here's today's message:

"Don't be afraid. You needn't slay the beast nor scale the entire mountain. That's not how it's done. You only need to move through today, Jen. Think of the distance you've already covered. Focus on your strengths. Let each new step remind you of your freedom. Let every breath you take remind you of your power. Seek out friends and guides; they're anxious to help. You're not alone. You're understood. This road has been walked before. Dance life's dance, just a few steps at a time, and in the wink of an eye you will wonder to yourself, "What beast, what mountain? Was I having a dream?"

Love you,
The Universe"

Improvement

I'm calling the cleaning and organizing done. There are a few things left that I'd like to do, but they are relatively small in comparison. Everything is back in the room that I want back in the room. Some things went into the trash. I'm a compulsive collector, but I'm working on that.

Need to label these little drawers.My Fringe Festival posters. I so love them.Cleared off some of the junk that was cluttering the design wall.Labels should help me locate things, right?Desk area needs some work.Had yoga again tonight. I'm slowly improving. Slowly. But improving. I'm really enjoying the classes and the two different teachers. I can do more than mountain and corpse poses now, you'll be glad to know. I balanced in crow for about 30 seconds tonight and didn't fall on my head even once.

Current reading - The Mindful Woman: gentle practices for restoring calm, finding balance, & opening your heart by Sue Patton Thoele. Love the title. I'm reading it slowly and trying to keep precepts in mind. I love this quote at the beginning of the book:

"I'm alternately appalled and amused by just how elusive mindfulness can be, how incredibly easy it is for me to be seduced away from simplicity and focused awareness into multi-multitasking and rampant mind-mucking."

"Multi-multitasking and rampant mind-mucking"! Boy, do I know those feelings!

Monday Musings

I was the weekend babysitter for Bryce Eleanor. Well, from Saturday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. She was a joy as usual.


More stuff from the room organization:

Brooches I started and didn't finish over two years ago
The winter class piece that didn't get finished. The first part of Julian of Norwich's prayer:

All shall be well,

and all shall be well,

and all manner of things shall be well.

I was going to do the rest of the quote in embroidery, but now I really don't know how I'm going to handle it. Maybe it will be finished by next Christmas.

Lost and Found

Cleaning and organizing is turning up all kinds of things that I couldn't find and/or had completely forgotten about.

Found:

fabric beads I made a couple of years ago

wonky pieces that were going to be a border, but which I got tired of long before finishing
Buttons and beads for a forgotten projectoh, yeah, this was going to a Japanese style piece that just didn't seem to come together

Some Works in Progress

Whew! Still working on organization. My room will never look like those lovely studios that I see on other blogs, but if I keep this up at least I will be able to work for a while in a cleaner, more organized atmosphere.

Here are some of the WIP's that have surfaced as I clear the room. Some have been on my design board for a year or more, and in the mess that has accumulated become invisible to me. Funny, how you cease to see what is right in front of you.

I know what I want to do with this forest, but I'm not sure how I want to do it...so it just stays where it is, and then I forget about it altogether.And , oh yeah, there was this little applique that I was going to do before getting busy on some other project.This quilt has been in progress for quite a while. At some point, I folded it up and put it away, but I'm working on the hand quilting again. The interior is all quilted, but the borders aren't done yet. I'm quilting circles and fans in the border. Hard to see the quilting because it is black on black, but if you click on the picture below, you can see the circles and the echo quilting.

Room In Progress ..

just realized that is RIP - a scary thought.

I've been re-vamping and organizing, cleaning and trashing here in the chaos of my sewing room. This had been an AmaZingly time-consuming process. In spite of the fact that I knew it would be, the time it is taking continues to surprise me because there are so many decisions, and my poor brain gets overloaded.I have things scattered all through the house now, as I try to put like with like, decide what to keep and what to trash, and determine where to put things for the easiest access. I'm not showing the floor with its piles of stuff to go through - fabric, tools, freezer paper and stabilizers, etc. That is too much chaos for me to contemplate right now.
I have no choice now but to continue. In the meantime, I can't use my machine, although I can still do some hand work which calms me down in the evening.

These design boards have become just another place to store stuff and have pretty much lost their practical applications. So they, too, are on the list of things to clear.

And WIP's -- I am realizing how many things have been started and left unfinished. I guess that will be another post because now, I'm going to tackle this mess again.