grief

I sat with anger long enough until she told me her name was grief. -C. S. Lewis

Dearest readers, technical difficulties and the circumstances of our nation have kept me away from this space. Sadness and grief have been nipping at my heels. As I try to outrun them, I have been at a loss for words to share here. But as things have spiraled, I’ve been working on finding clarity.

The February spread in my planner seems appropriate.

We did our usual Saturday errands in Montpelier, starting with a stop at Bohemian Bakery, then on to the winter farmers’ market, Agway for birdseed and then to Hunger Mt Co-op. We were delighted to see that the Phantom had made a visit to downtown Montpelier. Read about this wonderful community project here.

Things like this will keep us going.

I have some sweet things to share with you and I hope to post more over the next few days. Bear with me as I try to keep light and hope and mutual aid front and center.

xo keep the faith.

technical problems

I’ve been having problems posting here. Cora’s tail is a placeholder for all the things I want to say. We’ll get there soon.

Hang in there.

Maybe this is the new normal.

reality

Sunset on Monday afternoon.

More sunset on Monday.

Well, dearest readers, it has taken me a while to collect myself, relax my shoulders and pop back in here at sewandsowlife. It’s been an exasperating week and a half, hasn’t it? We all have our own version of what it’s been like to make our way through the chaos…

Meanwhile, it’s been a gorgeous January up here on the hill. Cold, sometimes bitter, and snowy! Ted Kooser and his poetry have matched things quite nicely. Nearly each day we have light flurries to replenish the soft landscape. The clouds come and go, sometimes allowing a bluebird sky to distract us from whatever we are working on. Stop. Look. Smile.

Things are blooming on the windowsills, produce is still coming up from the root cellar…carrots, onions, beets. And tomato sauce (made from tomatoes grown in the hoop house) from the freezer has been used on pizza and in soups. Ordering seeds is on our “to do” list. And this is the time when you might find a jigsaw puzzle spread out on the dining room table.

Here are the next three pages of my 100 days of stitching book. I am ahead of schedule, I just won’t stop, and I think I am working out some feelings with this work.

The tiny rosey cheeks of these suns prompted me to pull in the pink primrose, and the neutral fabric had a selvedge that I loved.

Liberty of London, and a bit of reverse appliqué with a scrap of hankie seemed a perfect match for these very unique vintage buttons.

I drove up and over the ridge to my friend Ellen’s house last week for tea. She had all of her pages cut out for her 100 days of stitching project. This will be her first year of participating and I can’t wait to see her progress. She does stunning handwork. :-)

Batman left his beloved barn jacket out in the woodshed and either some mice or red squirrels had quite a time with it! They chewed the canvas jacket and the woolen lining. This jacket has undergone a bit of mending several times before, and now it’s ready to carry on, once again.

You may recall that we had a wonderful adventure in Scotland a few years ago.

Batman made these Danish and we served them to my brother and sister-in-law when they came up to visit a few weeks ago. They were a big hit! As we often do, we sat around that evening chatting. We were making up ideas for our next chapter. We decided it might be fun to put our stuff in storage and rent two narrowboats, one for us and one for them, and spend an extended time living on the canals of Britain. Doug thought it would be a good idea for our boat to have a modest commercial oven so that Batman could bake goodies and we could sell them along the canals. I would sew bits and bobs to sell. Doug would be a bird walk professional and Ra would ride horses whenever we moored near a working stable.

Friends, these are the sorts of evenings that will save us. Dinners with friends and candle light and laughter. Along with restricted news consumption, social media fasts and local organizing. Volunteer work and supporting causes we cherish. Resting along with resisting. Fresh air and creativity. Mugs of hot tea and snail mail. The list goes on and on. We will keep showing up.

Know that I am with you, dearest readers, in spirit. (And welcome to new subscribers Tina and Charlene and here’s a shout out to our college buddy Tracy, who just found sewandsowlife.)

Want what you have.

Do what you can.

Be who you are.

-Forrest Church

xo -me

the times they are a changin'

I sat down to write my very first blog post at sewandsowlife sixteen years ago today. I started out as a very awkward beginner. Over the years, sewandsowlife has become a journal, where I post photos, musings, links of interest…my blog has become sort of a friend to me. The blog followed my journey from being a part time Vermonter, to becoming a full timer and through a major home renovation. I’ve chronicled my life as a mom with a kid or two still in the house through a time where all four of them have grown into parenthood. I’ve become a grandma of five wee morsels. And I sew and I sow here on my blog, too.

I’m so very grateful to have all of you along for the ride. When I wonder if my voice is relevant, in pop a new batch of subscription requests (this time, again, thanks to my friend Anne Butera’s newsletter.) Welcome Charlotte, Mary, Irene, Tamera, An, Barb, Jennifer, Annemarie and Bonnie! Thank you so much for subscribing.

When I’m not sure of my voice, I look to others to inspire me. When I read Heather Cox Richardson this morning I thought to myself, “Yes, this is why we get up each morning and face the day with hope and courage. No matter what.”

And when I began working on my 100 day stitch book, I reached for a wonderful kids book for inspiration.

Still working on the first page…

I listened to Krista Tippet interview Joan Baez as I did my daily stitching this morning. And I’m looking forward to watching A Complete Unknown,

The juxtaposition of three events in our nation have me more aware than at any other time, that we must maintain our agency, fortitude, courage and connections to those we love.

Thank you Jimmy Carter and Martin Luther King Jr for lighting the way forward.

And thank you to the singers, the farmers, the healers, the menders, the knitters, the builders, the sewers, the weavers, the teachers and all the other helpers Mr Rogers spoke about.

Despite some dread in my heart, I will keep showing up here, friends. I will keep this a safe place for you to land when you need to rest. And I’ll keep us on our toes, too, for much will be required of those who care about the world and the people in it.

Indeed the times may be a changing’, but I like to think Pete Seeger’s golden thread will keep us all connected to one another with love.

May we all shine our own unique light in this world. xo

quietly and gently

Yesterday afternoon I spotted an owl sitting on a branch right outside my studio window. It sat for quite a while, and so did I, each of us still and observant. A healthy pause, I’d say.

The goldfinches, cardinals. chickadees, blue jays, nuthatches and finches are eating us out of house and home. It’s been a cold and snowy winter here and I wonder at how the tiny birds manage to stay alive. The deer tracks have laced themselves all over the yard and I’m glad hunting season is over. I spotted a flock of sweet snow buntings up by the meetinghouse the other day. And on the way home from a library trustee’s meeting on Wednesday night I had to pull over to watch the full moon flirt with the clouds along the ridge. Most early mornings I am comforted by the sound of the town plow, either clearing fresh snow or laying gravel on the road. There’s a reassuring hum in rural life that I find especially precious.

All of this has fit so nicely with Ted Kooser’s poetry this week.

You may recall that last weekend Batman and Lindsey embarked on a three day baking adventure via FaceTime. Here’s an “action shot” of Lindsey in her Detroit kitchen, rolling out dough. She made both croissants and morning buns, shown above. Batman had a bit of a struggle, ‘cause we think our yeast may have been too old. We now have fresh yeast and he is working on Danish pastries for the arrival of my brother Doug and his wife Ra tomorrow morning. (Batman has been using King Arthur’s Baking School as his new text book.)

The next wave of paper white bulbs have come up from the root cellar and awaiting their blooms is a practice in patience.

Today marks the first day of Ann Wood’s 100 days Stitch Book! Ann writes about staying open to what comes to you…but I most definitely have a theme for my book. Given what’s about to happen in this nation soon, I am approaching my daily sewing as a time of meditation…QUIETLY AND GENTLY.

I’m very excited that my friend Cathleen will be joining us again this year, and she has talked our friend Ellen into stitching, too. My blogging friend Sarah has said she may join us and maybe Marsha will too? Anyone else out there? Let me know!

This wee crow is my sewing companion, and she perches wherever I may pick up a needle and thread. Sometimes I find her in a different place than where I left her and that’s when I know Cora has been on the prowl.

Friends, I must tell you that you completely amazed me me all of your kind comments and “likes” on my last post. I’ve answered them in the comment section and want you to know how much your interest in sewandsowlife means to me.

I’ll be back on Monday evening to write a bit more about sewandsowlife and debrief from the day.

Until then, take care, dearest readers.

xo

here we are...2025

Hello friends. I’m so glad to be back in this space. Batman and I have been a bit under the weather and so we missed most of the New Year’s razzamatazz. Honestly, I didn’t miss all the analysis/advice/commentary that comes with the transition from one year to the next.

I’m here on the hill, just trying to balance news from the “real” world and my own sanity.

Perhaps you are working on this too?

In terms of blogging, I’ll be sticking to my own little comfort zone for now, and perhaps you will find some refuge from the news storm here at sewandsowlife.

One of the things I’ve been playing around with are amulets. Amulets are thought to confer protection and/or good luck to the person who wears it. I made this one for a friend facing big health challenges. The wee bit of balsam, a birch heart stitched onto a scrap of cotton, (hand dyed with indigo from our gardens) and a pewter token all fit into this little pouch, which can be worn close to the heart.

I have more in the works, and will share them with you soon.

Started sometime in 2008, this quilt came out of the washer and dryer today…yes, that’s seventeen years…from start to finish. I feel no shame. I stay away from the quilt police. I AM happy as heck to have this quilt finished and am already scouring my studio for the next project. PJ’s for Batman, I think, using fabric I bought when he was in graduate school!

I do love how the pieced strips reflect the mountains and snow right outside our windows. And the technique for piecing creates accurate matches at the seams. This is my third “Seminole style” quilt and I may revisit it again.

Backed with a polka dot flannel, the quilt is extra cozy.

Our book group gathered on Friday night to discuss Sandwich by Catherine Newman. We did, indeed, create a picnic for our shared supper, and a few friends brought vintage photos of their visits to the beach. Our February book is The Square of Sevens, thanks to a recommendation from blog reader Gail N.

I received The Universe in Verse from a friend and my girls and I are reading Robin Wall Kimmerer’s new book, The Serviceberry together. I also found a reprint of The Diary of an Edwardian Lady, a book that will join Dorothy Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter on my “tea book shelf”, but not until I have read it first!

I also listened to Joy for Beginners, by Erica Bauermeister on yet another trip to Massachusetts. I think my friend Anne Butera recommended it to me and I loved it. It’s a fun escape hatch when you really need one.

Batman (in Vermont) and Lindsey (in Detroit) are baking croissants in tandem this weekend. Our family did some fun cooking/baking together via FaceTime during the pandemic. After becoming fascinated with the laminator at Bohemian Bakery last time we were there, Batman decided to take this baking adventure on. A three day process, I’ll share results with you next time.

This has been quite a long blog post…

A few more things and then I’ll sign off:

• Ann Wood Handmade is gearing up for her next 100 day stitch book! She’ll begin on January 17th and you can bet I’ll be there too. My book from 2024 can be viewed here. Will any of you join us? I sure do hope so. It was a wicked fun project!

• We discovered another wonderful distraction from the real world. Canal Boat Diaries, streaming on Acorn TV follows the travels of Robbie Cumming on the waterways of England. Drone footage and videos bring the viewer through quiet byways along Britain’s canal system. It takes us back to our narrowboat adventures in Scotland in fall of 2023. :-)

• Lastly, blog reader and friend Judy asked in the comments on my last post about scrapbooking/journaling. I’m actually trying a new planner this year, and will create “mood boards” for each month. Below, is the inside cover of the planner, with images to remind me of what I’ll be working on in 2025. Curating. Nourishing. Creating/playing.

Day by day, friends. With love in our hearts. Onward into 2025!

xo

old year's night

Little Theo and his mom and dad shared five days with us last week, driving to Vermont from Ohio. He helped Batman cut down a small tree and decorated it with straw ornaments from Sweden. We baked cookies, read books, played cars, did crafts, visited King Arthur and the Montshire Museum, went antiquing and sledding, too. We wrung the days dry! And slept well at night!

I read a fascinating story on npr this morning about The Okalolies of Old Year’s Night: Celebrating tradition on the world’s most remote inhabited island. (Sometimes I wish I had majored in anthropology in college.)

And, so, I am writing to wish you a fine Old Year’s Night. May you find strength and inspiration as you turn toward the new year. In all the times of our lives, this feels like the year to create and hold fast to our aspirations and hopes.

May we remember with gratitude, two remarkable people, whose legacies I’ll invite with me into 2025. Jimmy Carter was the first person I voted for in a national election and his time with us has fanned out to cover a century of a life well lived.

And Nikki Giovanni, whose words wove into America’s widening awareness of different perspectives.

This morning, just as the sun rose over the ridge behind us, the light leapt onto the hills to the west and lit up the sky with a fleeting blast of salmon/orange. Snow is due tonight, to refresh the subdued landscape. I will be waiting for it, along with the fresh start that comes with a new year.

Batman and I listened to this piece on npr the other day, and it moved us both. I will come back to it more than once this year, I am sure of it. Amazing Grace was first performed on New Year’s Day in 1773, over 250 years ago.

So dearest friends, be safe tonight. I’ll “see” you next year. Godspeed.

xo

the light and magic of the winter solstice

View from the kitchen sink last Sunday morning.

On the three season porch.

On my way down the hill, headed to my Mumsie’s on Wednesday. (She’s got good news from her doc!)

An iconic image, that I just love.

A garland on the bridge over the Onion River in Montpelier.

Spotted at Rebel Heart Collective in Montpelier. SWOON!

Danish style sandwiches at our book group supper. Did you read Meet Me at the Museum yet? I gave it 5 stars.

Progress on the solstice quilt.

“Pumpkin patch” yarn from Junction Fiber Mill down in White River Junction. (I had a tour with my friend Sue a few weeks back)

Please be sure to share your sparkle with the world, dearest ones! May you find renewal, hope and light as we slide along with the sun into longer days. xo

cocoa and the keyboard

Hello friends. We are waiting to see what will happen here in Vermont, as we sit amidst several severe weather alerts. Mostly we are worried about heavy rain falling on a deep snowpack, and rivers clogged with ice. Just a few weeks ago we were experiencing drought conditions. We are not alone. These bizarre weather conditions haunt many places, with a variety of not-so-nice possibilities. *sigh* (Errands put off for a few days as we wait for daybreak tomorrow to see how we have fared.)

And so, I made a mug of hot chocolate and decided to sit down and have a bit of a catch up with you.

I have a treat for you! My buddy, Kim Roberts, from our days together at Earlham has been reading Ted Kooser’s book and has been illustrating the poems as she goes along. Kim has given me permission to share a few here at sewandsowlife. If you would like to see more (they are really beautiful), and you have an instagram account, she shares them at kkr.explores.art

Watching Kim’s gorgeous work unfold each day has renewed my appreciation of Kooser’s words. Thank you, Kim, so much for allowing me to share some of them here.

Now that there is snow cover (at least for now) the Fish and Wildlife folks have given the OK for bird feeders once again, hoping that the bears have found their way into hibernation. I trundled off to Agway and bought bags of seed and blocks of suet. Some of our first guests were the wild turkeys who roam in gangs up here on the hill. I often spot them scratching in the cut corn fields, as they glean their own bits of cobs. Wilma and Cora become quite animated when they hear the birds coming.

Batman has been cranking out his handmade wreaths, keeping his workshop cozy with the vintage wood stove. I decorated one for our porch with a few dried orange slices, star anise and cinnamon sticks. I noticed today that one of the cheeky red squirrels helped itself to a holiday treat. :-)

I started this quilt years and years ago and I’m determined to finish it by the solstice. Because it’s what I’m calling my solstice quilt. Cora and I have been fiddling with the layout on my design wall. When we lived in CT, we had the sweetest quilt shop just over the state border in Somers, NY. Called The Country Quilter, I took many a class there and made some wonderful friends. Owned and operated by a mother daughter team, it was a spot that inspired me whenever I stepped inside. Jane Davila and her mom moved on to other things, but their warmth and encouragement have stayed with me. Simply Seminole, written by Dorothy Hanisko provided the base for a class there. This is my third version of the method. We’ll see if I can get it all put together by next week!

I have some book updates to share with you. On our way out to Detroit, Batman and I listened to The Exchange, by John Grisham via Libro.com. Nothing like a bit of intrigue to help the miles roll under the tires! Then, on my way down to MA, solo, I listened to A Croft in the Hills, by Katherine Stewart, which renewed my dreams of living in Scotland. It’s a lovely story, read by Ruth Urquhart, whose accent was “just the ticket” as my Gram used to say.

My Mumsie did well with her procedure and I am headed back down to MA next week for her follow up appointment. Then we will exhale.

I’ve been visiting the children’s room at our local library…this time of year just makes me want to hold beautifully illustrated kid’s books in my hands. It has for years and years. The special Christmas Eve gift of a book as a kid must have stuck with me. Do you know the work of Sophie Blackall? Oh my goodness…her books are visual treasures. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but The Farmhouse is what got me started. Sophie’s website is full of goodies, so if you might enjoy a trip down the internet rabbit hole, she’s your gal. Also…if you listen to this story on npr, you’ll just have to find the book and enjoy it yourself!

As the days melt into one another as they do in December, I hope you are finding quiet moments to breathe and appreciate what is hopeful and lovely around you. It’s usually there if we pause and look for it.

Hugs, me.

a quick update

Friend speaks my mind. Feeling a bit squeezed. How about you?

Hello dearest readers. We’ve just returned from an epic road trip to Detroit and back to see all four kids, their partners, five grandkids and a dear old buddy from our Earlham days (hi Tracy and Ona.) On the way home, we re-experienced our journey from two years ago when a huge blizzard blew up around the Great Lakes, sending us on a more southern route. It was a l-o-n-g day of driving, and we got home to a snowy driveway, but all is well. It was great to get swept up into the busyness of life with little kids here there and everywhere. They are such treasures!

How about you? Have you caught your breath and steered yourself into December?

I’m headed right back out on the road this morning to help my mom navigate a medical issue. She’s pretty tough at 92, but I’ll be glad when we get this one behind us.

I’ve been feeling a lot like Wilma, above, trying to cram myself into a box of limited time, energy and space.

Ted Kooser continues to be a help. And I’ve decided to return to the habit of writing each night before I go to bed…three gratitudes and three accomplishments for the day and three aspirations for tomorrow.

I’ll be back soon friends, once I’ve settled down from all this coming and going. Hang in there. Look for the light wherever you go, better yet, BE THE LIGHT.

xo