a mid-february digest

-HEARTS

After my last post, about Ecological Grief and Anxiety, I thought a more light hearted post might be appreciated. :-)

On Valentine’s Day Batman baked sugar cookies and we decorated them together. It’s been a tradition in our family for years and years. Some went out the door to neighbors, some stayed in the cookie tin here at our “bit of earth.”

I do spend a bit of time over at the American Heart Association’s website these days. (Knowledge is power, don’tcha know). A wonderful story was posted over there on February 1, 2024. I thought I’d share it here with you.

-BOOK TALK

Our book group has chosen our next few books for 2024, maybe you’d like to follow along. We had a lively discussion of The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store last Friday night. (I was really thinking I’d love it, then I sort of slogged through it, but once our group had discussed it, I liked it better. Thank you, friends.)

March Gather, by Kenneth M Cadow, a very local author. He was a National Book Award Finalist for 2023. I can’t wait to read this!

April This is Happiness, by Niall Williams, set in rural County Clare in Ireland.

May I Never Thought of it That Way, How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times, by Mónica Guzmán. Need I say more?

June Mercury Pictures Presents: A Novel, by Anthony Marra.

I just purchased a copy of The Comfort of Crows, A Backyard Year, written by Margaret Renkl and illustrated by her son. I had picked this book up several times in the past few months before I actually bought it at Bear Pond Books up in Montpelier. Composed of 52 chapters, one for each week of the year, I thought I would read it that way…a chapter a week. (My friend Anne also recommended it to me).

-STITCHING

I’m still loving my 100 days of stitching project, hand stitching for at least 15 minutes each day. I have revisited some of my favorite themes for this page…embroidered balsams, raw selvedge scraps and constellations. The piece on the right was my first take on the scene. I didn’t like it at all. I altered one of my original guidelines for the project and I did decide to take some stitches out. #autonomy I like the one on the left much better!

Orion, my favorite constellation, wanders through the night sky at this time of year. Robert Frost wrote a beautiful poem called The Star-Splitters.

"You know Orion always comes up sideways.

Throwing a leg up over our fence of mountains,

And rising on his hands, he looks in on me

Busy outdoors by lantern-light with something

I should have done by daylight, and indeed,

After the ground is frozen, I should have done

Before it froze, and a gust flings a handful

Of waste leaves at my smoky lantern chimney

To make fun of my way of doing things,

Or else fun of Orion's having caught me….(cont.)

Here is an ode I stitched to Orion years ago.

I’ve been meaning to get a STUDIO TUNIC for Gretta underway for ages. Once again, my blogging buddy Anne had the right words at the right time. Even my somewhat little project benefitted from Anne’s strategy to get going on something, to hatch a plan, to begin!

Gretta purchased the teal and citrine fabrics, but there wasn’t quite enough to make the whole tunic. I had some gorgeous bug fabric in my stash and when I pulled it out I gasped. Now I have enough fabric, I just need to figure out how best to juggle the pattern pieces.

-BREATHING

A few days ago I took a walk on the road to stretch my legs and clear my head. It was cold and windy. My eyes were watering and my breath was visible. I went to say hello to the cattle who were sheltered in their shed, out of the wind. They took no notice of me as they chewed on some hay and buddied up to stay warm. On the way home I stopped again and again to watch the changeable sky, darkening as the afternoon faded into evening. How lucky am I to have this pocket of peace right outside my door?

4:49 PM on Valentine’s Day

I send you light and love and hope…always hope…from my home to yours, dearest readers. xo

taking my cues from flora

My son-in-law took this photo of our granddaughter Flora, who is closing in on four years old. She had stayed up a bit late the night before, and took an extra long nap the next afternoon. When she woke up, she was out of sorts and eventually sprawled out on the landing on the stairs, completely surrendering to her funk.

Something about this photo just grabbed at my heart and made me laugh and cry at the same time. Here is a girl who honors her own heart. A girl who has no guile, who is fully in touch with her feelings and who will not let anyone get in the way of feeling them.

In the midst of my laughing/crying at this photo, I turned around and recognized the beast that has been hunting me for ages. I’ve been pushing it away and at the same time I’ve been reading about it, talking about it with friends and meditating with it. This week I named it. And I’m feeling it, Flora style.

Photo from Our Kindred Home, by Alyson Morgan.

It’s real and it’s scary and it’s overwhelming sometimes. Maybe you feel it, too?

Here are some words that I have copied into one of my notebooks. An assortment of wisdom. Words to consider. Words to chew on. Words of comfort, words to challenge. Maybe they will resonate with you too?

Soul and soil are not separate. Neither are wind and spirit, nor water and tears. We are eroding and evolving, at once, like the red rock landscape before me. Our grief is our love. Our love will be our undoing as we quietly disengage from the collective madness of the patriarchal mind that that says aggression is the way forward. -Terry Tempest Williams

In order to survive these times and stay human, we will have to walk with one hand holding the grief of watching the dying world and another hand holding the light so that we can find our way towards the new world which is being born. -Laura Matsue

Our grief is not the weapon. Our grief is the wound and our grief is the needle which sews the wound and our grief is the silk which threads the needle which sews the wound and our grief is the hand which holds the silk which threads the needle which sews the wound. -Althea Black

In our time of disturbance and radical change, we are crossing a threshold, a portal, or an unseen bridge from one world to another. It could be said that the bridge is either collapsing beneath us, or being made as we walk together, in the long twilight hours when one civilization gives way to another. -Geneen Marie Haugen

I never have been in despair about the world. Enraged. I’ve been enraged by the world, but never despair. I cannot afford despair…you can’t tell the children that there is no hope. -James Baldwin

I have a kind of courage you do not understand. I am far from blind, far from indifferent, but I will not indulge in impotent, passive despair. I will not add to the despair of the world. I am working on counterpoisons, I create space in which people can breathe, restore their faith and strength to live. -Anaïas Nin

I keep All We Can Save, Truth, Courage and Solutions for the Climate Crisis close at hand. A book of essays edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katherine K. Wilkinson, it’s a great one to pick up for a quick read. Check out their website.

So, I thank Flora for reminding me to feel all the feelings. I thank fine thinkers and writers for their insights and words. And I know that for me, when things feel overwhelming, I have the sanctuary of the present moment to duck into. A place to breathe and recenter myself.

Here’s an update on the 100 days of stitching project…a few more pages for the book. My 15 minutes of centered needlework. Thread the needle, stitch, breathe. Stitch, breathe.

Six hand dyed fabrics, made with tansy, indigo, marigolds, onion skins, and Hopi Black dye sunflowers and two scraps of William Morris fabrics.

A napkin from my Grammie Lowry’s collection, embellished.

The piece on the left is in process.

So that’s it for today, friends. Let me know if you can relate to Flora’s situation. :-) oxoxoxoxox

stitching and sledding under the blue, blue sky

look at the sparkles!

I cannot remember the last time I made a snow angel.

into the woods…squirrels, deer, bunnies…

cerulean blue.

Doug and Ra, hiking back up the hill after a toboggan run.

I had not been on a sled in 20 years. I don’t know what possessed me. But I whooped and shrieked until I bailed out halfway down because I was flying! What crazy fun.

More 100 days of stitching…near the beginning of a new page…

Finished.

Another nighttime, this one snowy. (And it needs a lint roller, ha!)

Beginning a log cabin.

6:55 AM on Sunday, before Batman made waffles.

Wilma and Corazón.

My brother, his wife, our cousin and his wife filled the house with fun this past weekend (Sat, Sun and Mon) The weather was perfect for the annual burning of the brush pile (with the Fire Warden’s permission), some brew pub crawling, mountains of good food… handmade tortillas anyone? And, sledding and tobogganing, at our age? Heck yes! In the evenings we watched The Commitments, and one of our old favorites, Dave. And there was a lot of laughing as we wallowed in nostalgia when we recalled our childhoods.

The news continues to swirl, and I try to consume it in tiny bites. I do have some thoughts about how I may try to navigate the next bit of time. I’m trying to figure out how to share them here. It’s not an easy thing. But since National Heart Month and Valentine’s Day happen in February, I think it may be time to chat about matters of the heart. Stay tuned.

All living is

storm chasing.

Every good heart

has lost its hood.

-Andrea Gibson

Extending my hand to each of you, dearest readers, across the miles. xo

quiet stitching

I found the crow in my holiday stocking and he sits with me each time I work on my stitch book. I brew tea, too, and rotate favorite mugs.

Here’s the first spread of pages, made with homegrown, and hand dyed fabrics, some ikat scraps and a feather. The appliqué bird is a scrap from a blouse my Mumsie made for me to take to college a billion years ago.

I so often think of James Taylor’s “and the Berkshire’s looked dreamlike on account of that frosting” …

Background fabric dyed with acorns from our bit of earth. “Buttons” made of birchbark.

Look at that raven!

I took Miss Perfectionism and Mr. Sewing Police outside and closed the door on them. I needed to get them out of the house so that I could have plenty of freedom to play in my studio without self-judgement. I’m not taking stitches out or making corrections, I’m just letting the threads take me on a slow journey to see where I end up.

Setting aside time every day to work on my stitch book has become an anchor in my days. I often spend more than the allotted 15 minutes a day and that’s OK with me.

TQOE*, my friend Cathleen, is working on a book in Connecticut and her theme is “conversations”. I love the idea of naming a theme for a book.

As January slides into February this week, I wonder what you have been up to, dearest friends. Drop a comment below or send me an email. Let me know how you are.

Sending hope and light from the Green Mountain State. xo

*The Queen of Everything

bright spots

Lots of the bulbs have come up from the root cellar to help us chase away the grey days.

These tête-à-têtes are leaning into the light!

Little baby Nora was delivered safely into the world in late December. Her mama is a good friend of our Lindsey and she lives about an hour north of us. Since I am a fan of intergenerational friendships, I signed up to deliver a meal to the newly reconfigured family via MealTrain. I think older siblings need to be celebrated just as enthusiastically as new arrivals, and so I made a gift for each sister. I found inspiration for the goofy bunny and the chick by scrolling through images of stuffed critters online. Then I took out a bunch of fabric and felt scraps and winged it. I made a rope bowl (which I haven’t done in ages) for the new mama and papa to catch keys and whatnot by the back door. I masked up before I went into their kitchen to put dinner in the fridge and I was invited in to meet wee Nora (her big sis was not home). Oh, friends, doesn’t it just take your breath away when you see a newborn? They are so very tiny and precious! Gosh, what a treat!

I thought you might like to see day one of the 100 days of stitching book project. I’m delighted that some of you have joined/are thinking about joining!

Our book group is reading The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store for our February gathering. Have any of you read it?

I started writing this blog in January of 2009. I’ve been so grateful for the friendships I’ve forged and the inspiration I’ve enjoyed by getting to know folks from near and far. And it’s been a fun way to stay connected with friends and reconnect with others.

Thank you, as always, for stopping by. And for your book recommendations, sweet comments and for sharing your stories.

xoxoxoxo

"only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars" MLK JR

Heather Cox Richardson has a wonderful piece over on Substack today.

Gosh, these times seem dark enough to go in search of stars. I have been sitting with a question/query today. “What actions am I taking to honor the life of Martin Luther King Jr?”

I send special love and light to some of my readers here who lived and learned together in the autumn of 1974 at Earham College. The conversations we had, the field trips we took, the books we read…all of it pushing us to think honestly about institutional racism and the day to day interactions we had…it was hard work. But those days we spent together continue to inform my life all these years later.

Be the light. xo

January days on the hill

A bit before the holidays, Batman and I spent a few days in Portland, ME with my brother Doug, his wife Ra, and my cousin Nate and his wife Mary. We rambled around the city, ate great food and saw some live music. We also did a bit of shopping in independent stores, looking for items from local artisans. On our way out of town, Batman and I ducked into Taproot Magazine and Market. The magazine is edited by Amanda Soule, and she curates the shop as well. They’ve hit some bumps in the road recently, so we wanted to support their effort to spotlight makers, doers and dreamers. Batman and I fell in love with this print by Addie Best, and knew it would play nicely with our EXTEND poster by Nicki McClure. The text also rang true as another mantra for 2024!

This heirloom cactus has a lovely story behind it….

January 5 7:33 AM

New Year’s Day, 3:15 PM

another view, that same day.

January has been a mix of weird weather around here so far. This week saw lots of snow and high winds. Now it’s raining on top of 12” of snow. Yuck. (The snowplow is grinding along the road as I type). But look at all this beautiful light on the hills across the way. When I’m shoveling the deck, I lean on the handle of the shovel and take some deep breaths and soak in the beauty. When I do my morning meditation, I get up and look out the window before I brew my tea. When I go down to town to do errands, I pull over at the meetinghouse to check out the view from a different perspective. One of the ways I’m girding myself for 2024 is by noticing light and smiles and generosity and all the other things that push back against the darkness. I’m reminding myself that finding happiness and joy in life are an important part of resilience.

There’s nothing like a snow day to pull me into the kitchen. Batman and I made a meal to take over to some neighbors who need a lot of support right now. As I prepped to bake a batch of cornbread, I loved the quiet light that filtered through the curtain. Right outside the window, birds were flocking at the feeders and life just felt so cozy. Where does lovely light puddle in your home?

Our book group met last night to discuss The Marriage Portrait, and, wow, did we have a discussion! Let me know if you read it and what you thought about it. As is our custom, we gathered around the table afterwards to enjoy a pot luck meal inspired by the book. Set in Italy, the book reminded me of a goal we had when we visited Tuscany, pre-Covid. Our dearest friend Dolo, who we were traveling with, wanted to eat gelato every day. So we did! Of course, I took gelato to book group, and I baked some polenta cookies too. You can find the recipe here. Next time I will skip the vanilla, and substitute instead one of our favorite ingredients, Fiori di Sicilia, from King Arthur Baking. It is pricey, but a little goes a long way. I used certified organic cornmeal (for both the cornbread and the cookies) that I bought last time I was at Eastern Market in Detroit. I was chatting with the vendor from Hampshire Farms and he told me the grain had been ground the day before! I popped it into the freezer when I got home to Vermont ‘cause those whole grains need TLC to keep from going rancid.

The other book I’ve been reading is Aging as a Spiritual Practice: A Contemplative Guide to Growing Older and Wiser, by Lewis Richmond. It’s not knocking my socks off, but, gosh, it does offer some food for thought.

And to wrap things up here, I’ll share a little project I’m getting myself ready for. Ann Wood has organized the 2024 100 day stitch book challenge. It is free, although she invites folks to join her stitch club with a membership. And being one to tweak language that bothers me, I am looking at this project as more of an invitation rather than a “challenge”. Ann will be stitching for 15 minutes each day, from January 19th -April 27th, and invites us to join her. That seems like a doable practice to me. What intrigues me is how the book will be put together at the end of the challenge. I’ve made fabric books before, but this technique is new to me. Can’t wait to get underway!

I’ve started to pull fabrics (above) and plan out some initial ideas for page spreads.

Are any of you stitchers intrigued?

Dearest readers I’m so glad you’re here, reading along as I write. I love knowing you are out in the wider world, shining your light, doing good things, and holding love and hope close to your hearts. xo

devotion to little things:: stamps and some thoughts on 2024

I stitched this pillow for our oldest grandchild for Christmas this year. You may recall that Maggie is a snail mail devotee. You can read about other snail mail related gifts I’ve sewn for her here

It was such fun to pull scraps from my fabric stash…can you find Lowly Worm, a wheelbarrowing gnome, and envelope fabric from the original snail pouch made in September 2020?

And now for some thoughts on 2024. I have a hunch that this upcoming year may ask a lot of us. I’m guessing if we are a thoughtful, reasonable people it may be a rough ride. I’m going to try to show up here at sewandsowlife with all the faith and hope and light and calm that I can muster to help us cope with whatever comes our way.

One of the things I am going to do this week is head down to my local post office and buy some postcard stamps. Those small, sticky things will have some heavy lifting to do…they are going to carry my voice to congress folks, senators, local reps and the millionaires and billionaires who are messing with democracy. I invite you to join me. Dearest readers, let’s cause a ruckus in 2024!

the in-between days

Ra, Doug and Batman, walking on the beach near Green Harbor, MA. It was foggy on Boxing Day.

One of my very favorite places.

Anna Brones recently wrote about the Swedish word mellandagarna, the in-between days, describing the days between the winter solstice through the new year. Her piece on Substack, The Midwinter Season of Creativity is just lovely. Many thoughtful people have written about taking a break from the rush at this time of year…even pausing the urge to step enthusiastically into the new year.

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

-Ferris Bueller

Dearest friends, I hope the next few days offer you time to pause, to relax and to breathe into the present moment. It’s the best place to be. xo