According to Ann Wood, we are at the halfway point of our 100 days of stitching book project. And I have kept up the pace, just finishing my 10th page (of 20) yesterday. I pledged to myself to stitch quietly and gently on this project, and I have tried to stay true to that resolution.
The fabric for the background here was dyed with marigolds my cousin Kristen grew in her gardens in N.M. She sent along a bunch of dried blossoms and I’m still using them. I found a little package of gold seed beads at our local art supply store, as I thought they would add a bit of sparkle to the golden thread theme. If you’re sewing a book too, I invite you to let us know how your journey is going in the comments below.
I made a few new notecards from images I clipped from old magazines. Sometimes those British magazines just nail their gardening ideas so beautifully. Raise your hand if you love the gate made with pitch forks! And when I asked Batman if he could make me a very simple letter holder from scraps in his workshop, he made me this birch bark beauty that now sits on the top of my desk. He’s a keeper. :-)
I got this sweet book via interlibrary loan and fell in love with it. I don’t want to be without it, so I bought my own copy of this anthology at Bear Pond Books up in Montpelier. Once we are finished up with Ted Kooser, I’ll be reading from this most mornings. Perhaps you’d like to too? And I thank my friend Anne for suggesting that I read Tasha Tudor’s Garden after I finished the book about Tasha’s handcrafts. Coming into my hands as Mother Nature launches Vermont into our infamous mud season, it will be a wonderful beacon of hope. As the roads fluctuate from frozen ruts to deep, muddy “rails” day after day, the pickups start rambling the roads gathering buckets of sap from the maples. We’ve made an appointment to have our winter/regular tires swapped in late April, (and even then we are taking a bet on the snow situation.) Rural life comes down to pretty simple rhythms, and it’s fun to see another season begin to turn, ever so slowly.
We attended our annual Town Meeting on Tuesday morning, and it was so encouraging to have standing room only. People are fired up and are showing up for local gatherings. Make no mistake, our level-headed moderator had to manage things a few times, but we got the business of the day done with civic good will. I know we could show the folks in Washington a thing or two.
Last night we went back down to Chandler to see a local production of Our Town, by Thornton Wilder. The staging was minimal, but the performance was inspired. And it was such fun to spot friends in the cast. Songs by Vermonter Noah Kahan were sung by the chorus, adding a Green Mountain twist to the show. And once again, it felt good to sit together in community. Dearest readers, are you seeking out ways to connect with people, to share experiences? Drop a comment if you’d like to offer some gems from your neck of the woods.
This afternoon we were back down in town to view Join or Die, the film I mentioned last week. I think it may be available on Netflix. Batman wanted to go bowling when we came out of the theatre (but we didn’t.)
I’ll share one last bit of stitching, because it was on my “want to try” list for ages and I finally got around to it. This is described as a pin cushion in Svetlana Sotak’s book That Handmade Touch, but I stuffed it with catnip and batting to see if Cora and Wilma might be interested. I think it’s too bit too big for their interest and I’m guessing the catnip was old. I’ve seen tutorials for this shape and in different sizes in lots of places, so may try a smaller version and get some fresher catnip.
I finally got around to answering your comments on the last few posts, and I apologize for my tardiness. I think maybe I was still in the throes of technical problems with some of those posts.
As the observation of Ramadan is in full swing, I love knowing that it is a month of not just fasting, but also of reflection, prayer and community for Muslims around the world. There are so many ways that we are connected, dearest ones, let us speak up against those who try to divide us.
Ramadan Mubarak!