weaving summer into autumn

Outdoor loom

A while back, I shared with you, a list of things I might want to try this summer. Making an outdoor loom was on the list. Gretta helped me set up the frame between two trees when she was up here one afternoon. A few weeks later, I set up the warp string. I used old daylily stems, birch bark shed naturally from a tree, black-eyed Susans, cedar fronds and Baptisia leaves for the weft. I’ve long been fascinated with the work of British artist Andy Goldsworthy, whose art is often left out for nature to alter it. I’m curious to see how the wind and snow up here will change my little loom.

Flax in Vermont

There’s a wonderful group of folks in East Barnard, who are “committed to stewarding the land and building community through the process of growing flax for fiber”. You can read about them at Green Mountain Linen. This weekend they held the East Barnard Linen Fair and I wandered along dirt roads to join the fun. I reconnected with an old friend, who owns the field where the flax is being grown, and now I’m even more intrigued about the process. The website is filled with gorgeous photos and lots of info about the work they are undertaking. Much of their work is an effort to “weave the world together” with partnerships with folks in other countries where flax is grown, harvested, processed and woven. :-)

Baskets at the Portland Museum of Art (Maine)

Plain on the outside, brilliant on the inside!

This image was created with porcupine quills on birch bark.

“Relief print and embossment printed on Charbonelle Silver ink with chine-collē on indigo Gampi paper with handwoven Wabanaki basket by the artist on gray Rives RFK paper.”

I’d been wanting to see this exhibit all summer. This weekend, Batman and I met up with my brother Doug and sister-in-law Ra in Portland ME. We spent Sunday afternoon looking, in amazement, at the baskets of Jeremy Frey.

Read about this remarkable artist here.

Whether we’re weaving fiber or stories or lives…let us be reminded that strength can be found in the ways we go under and over, back and forth, tugging to close in the empty spaces. We are bound, all of us, by the communities we weave together.

Do you feel woven into the world, dearest reader? Where? How? Or not?

xo

Vermont quilters at billings farm

Back in early August, I had promised you photos from the annual quilt exhibit at Billings Farm and Museum in Woodstock VT. Until recently, the exhibit showcased quilters from Windsor County. This year, the show was opened up to quilters anywhere in Vermont. The variety of work was dazzling! These are some of my faves…

I’m including the notes with the quilts, because I think they illustrate just beautifully how our hearts are stitching right along with our hands when we sit down to create a quilt.

This one, above, was stitched by one of my buddies from the modern quilt guild I belonged to for ages up in Burlington.

Of course, the quilt, above, appealed to me in a big way…

Billings Farm and Museum did a wonderful job of spreading the theme of quilts all over their property. I showed you some of the barn quilts here. A scavenger hunt was put together to help kids become engaged with the quilts. Both Maggie and Flora (on two separate trips) were tickled to get their blue ribbons upon completion of the hunt.

Out on the lawn, there were corn hole games, painted with a variety of quilt squares.

Honoring a long history of mixing politics with hand crafts I’ve just registered for a free, livestream event on September 15th, 2024. I read about it in the latest newsletter from Gather Here. Find out more here. Michelle’s “DO SOMETHING” has been ringing in my ears! Maybe I’ll “see you” there?

I finished the little book I was making for my Mumsie. Here’s a teaser, above. Mashing up her favorite colors of aqua and turquoise with a long hoarded fortune cookie, this is the cover.

These next few months promise to be a bit of a wild ride. Fasten your seat belts and come along with me for some fun distractions. I hope you’ll join me and add your own two cents in the comments along the way!

xo

hello again

On Wednesday morning, this magical rainbow arched across our view. It seemed to be a manifestation of the seeds of hope that have been planted for those of us who are craving it.

And on Sunday afternoon, I wandered down to the meetinghouse, for the summer’s last “Braintree Bluegrass Brunch”, where I caught up with neighbors, listened to great music and did some hand quilting in the shade. Kids, oldsters, locals, out-of-towners, bikers, networkers, friends, families…the hum of civility and fun was palpable.

I was down at King Arthur Baking earlier this week, and when I went into a restroom stall I was delighted to see a post-it note stuck to the back of the door that said “you are beautiful” with a smiley face drawn on it. Random act of sweetness.

Last week, a few of my book club buddies met on Susan’s screened-in porch to write postcards to registered voters in swing states, asking them to be sure they have a plan for how to vote in November. No electioneering, just a gentle reminder of one of the responsibilities of a living in democratic society.

On August 6th, I attended the 5th Vermont Community Leadership Summit, where over 500 folks gathered in community to learn together and forge stronger civic bonds. Did you know that in Vermont nearly 18% of the state’s workers are employed by 501c3s? As of May 2018, there were 6,004 not for profits in the state. Tiny Vermont is 16th in the nation for our volunteer rate! (Info found here )

I cannot express how energizing it felt to be in the midst of so many good people at the summit. I felt like I was gulping energy from an oasis of hope and relief. For so many reasons, life feels like it’s filled with possibility again.

When Lindsey and her family were here, we went to the Granite Museum in Barre. (If your son-in-law is a geologist, this is a “must see”.) I was struck over and over again as I wandered the huge old manufacturing shed, of the immigrants and craftspeople who flooded to central Vermont to shape the rocks that came out of the quarries here. I love to look for working hands wherever I go, and these two images made me catch my breath.

Rainbows, community gatherings, summits, postcards, working hands, post it notes…

I’m reminded of Tolkien’s great wizard Gandalf,…

“Some believe that it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I’ve found. I found it is the small things, every day deeds by ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay.

Let’s all keep shining our lights, friends. Bright, sparkling, beacons of hope and joy.

xo

savoring the days

Batman and Maggie, fishing at the Floating Bridge in Brookfield, VT.

“oh, Great Spirit of Light and Love…”

supper from the garden

In the breezeway.

The monarch kite. Matilda (with one boot on and one boot off), Batman and Flora.

Picking our pears before the raccoons do.

A gift from a garden in Indiana, blooming here in Vermont.

Matilda, wearing a dress I made for Maggie in 2019, that Flora wore too. :-)

Now I am washing linens, collecting toys and books from here and there. Taking some deep breathes. Resetting.

I’ll be back before the end of the month. Until then, know that you are with me in spirit, dearest ones.

xo

stepping away for a spell

Maggie, Gretta and I went to Billings Farm and Museum to check out the annual quilt exhibit. I’ll share photos of some of the fabric quilts later this August, but I thought you might enjoy seeing these barn quilt beauties!

We continue to thank our lucky stars that we are perched on high ground, and avoided the third wave of flooding that devastated parts of Vermont last week. Some towns in the Northeast Kingdom got 8” of rain overnight, in places that have already seen record flooding this summer. It’s been a very humid and warm summer…my least favorite kind! It’s all quite sobering.

August has turned into a very busy time, and in order to take a few things off my plate, I am going to give sewandsowlife a rest for a few weeks. You can be sure I’ll be back with more photos and musings. In the meantime, be who you are and keep on shining your light, dearest ones. xo

practicing hope

THANK YOU, FRIENDS, FOR ALL OF YOUR LOVELY COMMENTS on my last post. What fun it was to read your thoughts and ideas. I see you. I value you. I celebrate you. xo

When things felt especially heavy these last few months, I would self-soothe by thinking, “A lot can happen between now and November”. Goodness gracious, so much has happened in the last few weeks! This morning I woke up, pulled a sweatshirt on over my nightgown, brewed a mug of tea and set out into the morning fog.

I inhaled deeply and exhaled with long sighs. I sipped the Darjeeling and felt its comfort slide down my throat. I noticed, appreciated, delighted in the little bits of beauty all around me.

I felt myself easing into the day, rather than bracing myself for it.

I’m so grateful for a world renewed by possibility.

Before an appointment I had down in Bethel this morning, I dropped Batman at one of his favorite fishing spots. I joined him on the riverside after my appointment. You know I love to see what beauty pebbles and water can accomplish together…Summertime, not my fave, but I find ways to navigate it. :-)

Last week, Gretta and a friend joined me at the Middlebury College Museum of Art to see the Bread and Puppet exhibit.It was a delight to wander through. We also stopped by Sparrow Art Supply, owned and operated by one of Gretta’s high school buddies. I may have gotten into a bit of “trouble” there…

Gretta came up yesterday and we spent time in my studio, working side bye side on projects, and chatting about this and that. I’m so lucky to have these bits of time with my grown kids. One of the projects I worked on was mending what we call the “squishy chair” purchased years ago when we lived in Chicagoland. It has been loved and used to the point of ugliness. But yesterday I rejuvinated it with a scrap of fabric from my stash, circa the late 1990’s? The chair is still faded and tired looking, but it now it has a freshness about it. It sits in the corner of my studio, hosting a bit of hand sewing or a friend who wants to visit and chat.

My springtime flowers were lovely blues and lavenders and whites…the summertime blooms are wild and firey and hot.

This fuschia in my hanging basket, reminded me of the wild fuchsia bushes we saw in Scotland last September. (below)

To see more beauty from the British Isles, check out photos from Hannah Nunn’s wedding here. Golly, what a gorgeous occasion!

The garden and hoop house are filled with possibility, with crops coming on strong. The garlic needs to be dug once the ground dries out a bit, the blueberries are under netting, as they ripen and tease the birds. We’re tweaking the playhouse, in preparation for Flora and Matilda’s arrival in August. We can feel the days tumbling one into the next. As we age, Batman and I remind ourselves to savor these days. And we try to remember that being happy, creative and loving is productive. In fact, it’s part of the resistance! So glad to have you here, friends, alongside, gathered from many parts of the world. Both hoping for and working towards a better world. I send you gratitude. xo

I feel like the "low fuel" icon is flashing on the dashboard of my spirit.

Hello friends.

Does anyone else feel like even their reserves are depleted? Are you on the struggle bus? Has July felt like one long, hot slog? Seems like we’ve all been on bad news overload! And here in Vermont, the one year anniversary of dreadful flooding was overshadowed by more flooding. Our neck of the woods escaped damage, but folks north of us are slogging through another round of recovery. I don’t know how they do it, honestly.

Do we need to know everything that’s happening in the big wide world all the time? NO, no, a thousand times NO!

Perhaps you have dropped by here at sewandsowlife to get a peek at what will never make the headlines? Domestic, simple, uncomplicated bits of ordinary life? Hoping some of this will take your mind off things, gentle friends…

Freya and her mama and papa have been with us here in Vermont, they left this morning to head back to Detroit.

We celebrated Freya’s second birthday with a lovely gathering. Gretta, Ben and Maggie are living just an hour south of us for the summer, and so they joined us for the celebrations. You can see Freya’s sweet little fingers (above) cleaning up the last bits of her confetti cupcake. Her fingers are appropriately colored with markers (because all great celebrations are marked with color around here).

We’ve gone to story hour at the library, played in the kiddie pool, rambled around the local playground, eaten multiple creemees and read books, played with Duplos and drawn pictures. We’ve also made terrific use of a swing on the front porch. Time just folds into itself when you hang out with a two year old.

Hannah mentioned that a library tote might be a fun present for Freya, so I poked around the internet and found a cute image of a big eared kitty and tweaked it. There’s a little pocket stitched inside, so that when Freya gets her own library card, she’ll have a safe place to keep it. (Of course, I filled the tote with books, among them Harold and the Purple Crayon and a Richard Scary board book.)

Other things that offer sanctuary from the realities of the world:

• the gardens and farmers market and their increasing bounty.

• dead-heading the day lilies early in the morning and thanking each one for their fleeting beauty.

• grabbing fresh herbs to cook with.

• the birds, who sing and fly with abandon.

• laughing out loud until we need to gasp for air.

• reading. BTW, North Woods delighted me and exasperated me at the same time. Lyrical and very choppy at other times, I just don’t know what to make of it.

Good words from inspired people

• from gather here’s July 3rd newsletter, “When I’m Worried I Make Things”. Sign up for the newsletter here.

• also via gather here, npr’s Goat’s and Soda’s How do you stay optimistic in spite of it all? 6 hopeful souls share their secrets.

• via heather cox richardson, “As Maine writer E. B. White famously wrote to a man who said he had lost faith in humanity: “Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.”

Remember to breathe, hope, notice, invite, love, create, wonder and celebrate.

Let’s celebrate the little things, drop a comment below to let us know what has brought you comfort, joy, delight this week! Let’s refill out tanks. xo

manifesto

Well friends, I don’t know what to say. I actually feel a bit sick this afternoon. I’ve tried walking, meditating, reading, sewing, chatting, texting…I cannot shake the gloom. The ghosts of the sons and daughters of liberty must be shaking their heads wherever their spirits ended up.

So I’ll share with you, again, bits of my very favorite poem. Wendell Berry’s Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front. The entire poem is a gem, but these phrases often serve as true north for me.

Denounce the government and embrace the flag. Hope to live in that free republic for which it stands.

Expect the end of the world. Laugh. Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful though you have considered all the facts.

Be like the fox who makes more tracks than necessary, some in the wrong direction. Practice resurrection.

Practice resurrection.

sending you light, love and hope, friends. i’d love to hear how you have navigated the day…

special edition

Good morning friends. I don’t often show my face here, but I felt called to come to this spot today, to be fully present, to check in.

Sometimes I wonder who I actually write for here at sewandsowlife…you or me! Since today feels so very unsettled, I think I am writing for all of us.

After breakfast, I decided to take a wander around our place here. I spent a bit of time just noticing. Paying attention. Appreciating. Wander with me?

When I feel this unsettled, I remind myself to do what I can in my own life, to make positive change in my own sphere of influence. And so, I rededicate myself to my volunteer work.

But the older I get, I also have respect for self-care. So, I’m not waiting til July to share my list of things I hope to do in the coming weeks and months. I’m not sure it’s a bucket list, maybe it’s more of a listing of what I want to be devoted to. Trying new things, making progress on current projects, and appreciating spaciousness in my days. So here goes…

• work on the book for my Mumsie

• visit the Middlebury College Museum of Art to see this exhibit and this is a wonderful short film you may want to watch.

• pop in to Sparrow Art Supply while in Middlebury.

• I was gifted a bit of raw flax, grown by a neighbor. I’m curious about making a wee basket with it. Inspiration found here.

• I’ve got a packet of “Chinese knotting cord” and would like to try making a friendship bracelet, using this tutorial.

• maybe try making a fabric scrap paper mâché bowl. I’m not a fan of balloons and modge podge, because they are not great for the planet…

• we made a very special visit to an automata museum in Scotland. I’d like to try making a gizmo or two and then share the story with you.

• we’ve got a lot of sage in the garden, and I have three ways I want to play with it.

• keep on hand quilting Nelson’s quilt.

• create an outdoor loom, where found objects can be woven into a summer tapestry.

• make something fun for Freya’s second birthday.

• reading on the three season porch

• riding my new e-bike!

In the kitchen

• try a recipe for garlic scape soup

• stew up some rhubarb

• try making some mocktails

• roast some strawberries (!)

At my desk

• write more snail mail (maybe one a day?)

• organize some files (not fun, but I’ll feel better when it’s done)

gorgeous new USPS Shaker stamps and a sweet card from Lori at Little Truths Studio.

With family

• revel in multiple visits with grandkids

• play games

• splash in the wading pool

• go adventuring

• etc etc etc

I invite each of you, dearest ones, to spend some time thinking about ways you and your very own special talents are changing your little part of the world. And then think about how you might find shelter and sanctuary from that very same world.

It’s a balancing act. I know that, for sure.

But none of us is alone. And each of us has a shining light.

Shine, friends.

Share your light with the world. And hold that light up to find your own way, too.

xo

time keeps on slippin' slippin' slippin'...

A group of friends gathered down the road for a solstice celebration. This gorgeous cheese was made from goat’s milk gathered and cellared on property.

We made “living wreaths”, using metal frames provided by our hosts. Each of us brought our own plants. I found mine on sale at a local greenhouse. What fun it was to chat and plant and snack and chat some more with the sweetest of people! And who can believe that summer is here and July is just around the corner?

Summer is my least favorite season (I know, odd, isn’t it?) but I am determined to make the best of it. I’m working on a July “bucket list” which I’ll share next week. Maybe you’d like to create your own bucket list?

Each person’s wreath was unique as its maker. I did not crowd my plants, hoping they will fill in as the summer unfolds.

Most folks made their wreaths to hang. I like using mine as a centerpiece out on the deck for now.

The “heat dome” did not spare Vermont, and last week was scorching here. In the mid nineties for temperatures and full-on humidity, the weather finally broke with wild winds and pounding rain on Thursday night. The relief was wonderful, with plummeting temperatures and better sleeping weather.

I took advantage of the cooling and fired up my oven one morning to bake rhubarb muffins, with rhubarb cut from our gardens. You can find the healthy-ish recipe here. They have cardamom in them and lemon, too, so they are lip smacking good.

We celebrated Wilma’s “gotcha day” last week, and remembered when we first brought her home eight years ago. We love her so.

Ben and Maggie and Gretta are living in Vermont this summer, about an hour south of us, so we will get to see them more often. This past weekend, Gretta, Maggie and I went to visit family in MA. We stayed overnight with the ever-generous Doug and Ra and Maggie got to put her toes in the ocean. The next day we went to visit my Mumsie in her assisted living community and took a four-generation selfie. It cracks me up whenever Maggie talks of visiting with her “ancestors”.

Doug and Ra’s house abuts a salt marsh, and osprey keep an eye on the neighborhood. This guy spent a good bit of time flying overhead and screeching at us until we stepped away.

In the reading department, our book group gave an unusual “thumbs down” to Mercury Pictures Presents, by Anthony Marra. Our group will continue to meet over the summer, but we’ll be cooking together, using Vermont cookbooks as our inspiration. For my own summer reading, I picked up a book at our library that looks promising, Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life, by Eric Kinenberg. I’ve also got my nose in Johnny Tremain, a Newbery Award winner by Esther Forbes. I’ve read and listened to this book multiple times with my kids when they were little, and since I do love a coming-of-age story, it’s got a bookmark in it once again.

I’ve run out of energy here, dear friends. Sending fresh Vermont breezes your way, and best wishes to you as June winds down and we get ourselves ready for whatever July has to throw at us. Whatever that might be, you can find me taking deep, relaxing breaths, looking for the light in everything. Each and every one of you is part of that light. I remain grateful for your presence here. xo