the potato patch is ready to plant (but not quite yet), with greens popping up in the hoop house and the blueberry bushes are waiting for warmer days out by the snow fence.
Once again, it’s been a bit since I last checked in here at sewandsowlife." “Where does the time go?” as my grandmother used to ask.
Batman took the snowplow off the tractor, our vehicles have had their tires swapped out, and the grader has made its passes along the road. We’ve put a bunch of the screens in and it’s lovely to have a window or two open at night, just a crack. Today, many of the windows are wide open, letting in gentle, fresh air that feels like such a treat after this weird, closed up winter. We had our first maple creemees of the season on Wednesday and dang…were they good! So, indeed, spring has sprung up here on the hill.
rope bowls, dyed with homegrown marigolds from last summer’s gardens, finished off with scraps of leather from local manufacturer, Vermont Glove.
a stack of balsam sachets hand dyed with indigo, birch catkins, avocado skins, onion skins and tansy flowers.
My Beloved Bernina is off to the spa for her annual treatments, so this week I’ve been working a bit more on the nuts and bolts of my shop-in-progress. I ordered a “sewandsowlife” rubber stamp, mailers and a few other supplies. There’s so much more work than simply making things. Taking photos, uploading them, writing descriptions, figuring out shipping costs…
Slow and steady suits me right now, I don’t aspire to have a booming e-commerce site or anything. I’m just someone making things to offer to others. I’ve got deadlines in other parts of my life, so this little project seems like a good place to let things evolve as they will.
There are still days when Batman and I have zoom meetings at the same time and have to negotiate who gets to use which space, but the work we each do as volunteers often intersects and we have terrific conversations over lunch. Affordable housing, environmental justice, economic development, food insecurity…sometimes the need feels so overwhelming, and yet each time we chat, we realize how many people with good hearts are working on these things together in this “brave little state of Vermont”. For us, keeping things local is the most hopeful way to go. And goodness knows, hope is what it’s all about these days.
I wonder how you are faring, dearest ones. Are you vaccinated? We are half way there! Are you feeling a lifting of some of the weight that has been draped over our shoulders these many months? Where are you finding joy and wonder?
xo