snow

how I love it.  Always have, always will.  My daughter calls from south Florida and tells me that it’s so cold the manatees are huddling together for warmth.  I think to myself – this then, would be the time to visit!

At 3:00am Tula woke me.  Stomach issues.  Outdoors we stumbled, into the half light of a cold dawn, when I realized that the finest snowflakes were circling round and round, dusting everything in sight including my little pug’s long eyelashes.  December, I love you.    Please do not by shy and hold back your white offerings.  You can keep the ice.

going to ground

It was a long hot and productive summer for me.  Even though I ‘went to ground’ in a social sense, I did manage to churn out lots of projects – especially in the charity quilt category.  There was to be no gardening, no Nantucket, no trips at all.  But I made do.  This has been a year of awakenings, both good and not so good.  Can-Do Guy may not be able to work much longer. . . we may not be able to sustain our life here at Cloudwalk.  I have put down long roots and the idea of change is alarming.  Must work on the fear.

Meanwhile, finishing projects holds special appeal to me.  As the Yarn Harlot recently said, “socks are just falling off of me” – which applies here as well.  I have enough yarn to make it through the winter and I have wisely decided NOT to attend Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool this year.  Still planning on quilt retreat in November – so don’t feel sorry for me!

I’m back.  Now to find a way to produce images to post.

 

 

 

a soggy spring

Lots of rain to report in the northeast.  Great for holing up in the sewing studio, not so great for the vegetable garden.  And we will not discuss the weeds.

It feels like bag season to me – bags for gifting, bags for teaching, bags for collecting!  Whenever my quilt WIP’s overwhelm me I head for a small project.

march

I’m still unable to post new images to my blog.  I’ve used this space as a place to journal my work and it’s been especially hard not to record all of the finished pieces since November.  I may have to crack down and buy a new computer.  UGH.

Many things have occurred since Thanksgiving – both good and not so good.  The Can-Do-Guy will be a grandfather for the first time in May.  He has been diagnosed with systemic vasculitis and is having a rough time of it.  He has had two infusions, but is not responding as well as we would like.

Feral cats keep turning up.  Injured, hungry and wretched – they break my heart.  I am not a cat person.  But I cannot abide animal suffering and will do whatever is possible to soften their pain.  I leave the porch door ajar so that they can get to the food.  The other night I had a baby ‘possum come by for a bite!  And the birds are singing again.  This beautiful life.  The wonder of living in the country – the gift.  Pussy willows have appeared without warning. This morning I watched while the turkeys made their way down from the tree limbs, where they nest at night.  While outdoors I can dismiss the political climate that swirls around this nation.  It’s my way of burying my head in the sand.

 

 

 

thankful

Just a few reasons to be thankful … and there are so many more.

quietly

Autumn tiptoed in on kitten paws, but the quiet was abruptly shattered, seemingly overnight.    The garden has exploded with wild abandon – resurrection in the arugula patch!  The plum tomatoes hanging like Christmas stockings, the Cinderella pumpkins aching to be released from withered vines . . . and all around the apple trees dropping their colored petticoats, apples raining to the ground.  This is my season.  No images, just words.

The last few months have been challenging.  Family members have become ill, lost or saddened beyond comfort.

Yesterday afternoon found me at my child’s home – lately the scene of quiet despair and heartache, emptiness gathering in the corners like cobwebs.  I have a mission, a duty, to exercise and feed the dogs, and while I derive great pleasure from these chores, the profound scent of loneliness (that smacks me in the face when entering) can turn me on my heels.  I persevere because bulldog and boxer grins await me.

I’m writing this because something has changed …a slight tilt of the universe parked right before my eyes – the smallest pair of slippers.  Slippers that are keeping my child’s size 13 mules company.  And  just like that – the afternoon sunshine floods the kitchen and warms this old mother’s heart.

As many others have done, so have I spent much of this week feeling afraid.  Prayer helps. A new quilt has been inspired – one of words alone.  GRACE was first, the rest will be stitched in quiet reflection and hope.

‘Let this be our prayer, when we lose our way

Lead us to a place, guide us with Your grace

To a place where we’ll  be safe’.

Ours is a country divided.  But we are not alone – there is a world view – ALL people will be impacted by the election results.  I think back of 911 and the days that followed.  People came forward, showed kindness, lent a hand.  Maybe we could start with this spirit, maybe we can heal.

 

 

let me tell you about Nell

She came from a West Virginia rescue – our local SPCA helping to empty a shelter due to flooding.  No one seems to know much about her background – there was some talk of an owner surrender due to hospice.  What I can tell is that someone showed this little girl love.  And she found a way to hold on and trust in people until another someone showed up to offer her a forever home.

She’s been with us for 24 hours.  During that time she has shown sweetness and smiles and a formidable appetite!  As I type, she is lying under my feet so quietly that I did not know she had joined me.  She met Dr. Wonderful today and was very receptive to his charms, allowing him to probe and shine lights and all of that scary stuff without a complaint.  Unfortunately, she may have a UTI, and she needs to return tomorrow.

She has a beard.  The vet assistant says that she sees only Brussell Griffon, but I’m seeing a lot of pug in that funny face and stance.  She and Tula are equally matched in stature and weight.  When they get going, there are some real shenanigans, racing, running, hopping and growling.  They slept last night, next to one another, both snoring mightily.

She is VERY animated!  Unfortunately, she will have to undergo surgery on Tuesday.  Apparently she has an infected uterine stump and it has to be managed.  I feel like a traitor taking her back for another procedure since she was spayed in early August.  Hopefully it will be uneventful and she’ll be home and mending quickly.  She likes her sister very much and is able to share and endure some ear licking.  Pugs. Must. Lick.  It’s a rule.

I still have computer/photo issues.  These images are coming from my iPhone, thus the blurriness.

This quilt was started last year (I think) and needs to be completed.  I fell hard for the Art Gallery SWEET AS HONEY line when it came out and it does not disappoint, even after being tucked away all of these months.The little patch of aqua makes me happy.  There is a lot of piecework involved in the making of this quilt, but doesn’t time pass quickly when you are enjoying yourself?  Since the piecing is both methodical and intuitive, it gives me time to clear the cobwebs out of my brain and even consult my muse for future makings …

Milano by Carol Sunday.  I wish that you could reach in and pat this fiber.  Dreaminess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

playing it safe

Sometimes I think that I should just stick to sock knitting.  It’s easy, fast and predictable. But no, I want to take on the giant projects that spill out and over the months and years and make me slightly crazy!  (It’s nutty since the smaller projects give such instant gratification).  I have been working on two large projects which demand concentration and solitary knitting.  I have made terrible mistakes.

I put my knitting down this morning and drove over to let my son’s dogs out for a run.  On the way I spotted a young man hunkered down on the medium, knapsack, dreadlocks, and most significantly, two dogs – panting in the merciless sun.

He had me at the dogs.  Turns out, I had given him a lift exactly one year ago when he came to this area.  During that time he had found a job, a place to live and began to make a life for himself.  But he has gypsy feet – he is a wanderer.  He remembered my past kindness on that scorching hot day and greeted me as if an old friend.  I drove him 20 miles out of my way and listened to him speak about his time on the road.  I wished him well, pressed a twenty into his hand and reminded him about the hot pavement and the dog’s sensitive pads – the importance of hydrating.  I said a small prayer.

My loved ones would not like the idea of their old mother picking up strangers.  But I’ve never felt that there is danger in paying it forward.  Helping the gypsy boy and his dogs was the most important thing that I’ve done all week – and it’s only Tuesday!

But back to the manageable knitting.  I guess that the lesson here is – there is no real growth in knitting socks exclusively.  The giant projects ask bigger and finer things from a knitter and they always deliver growth.  So when I rip out 444 stitches tonight, I might smile.  Just as the thought of driving the extra 20 miles makes my heart glad.  I’m staying out of the safe zone.

 

 

gifts

This is a changing mat that I made for a dear friend who has become an auntie!  Giraffes were part of the nursery theme, so it was easy to get on board!  Who doesn’t love a giraffe?

The backing is pale yellow terry cloth.  This little piece is on its way to a Las Vegas baby named Harper (LOVE that name!)  Congratulations to you all!

Meanwhile, we have been chugging along on the latest charity quilt for my guild – Hudson Valley Modern Quilt Guild.  This is a sneak peak – my friend Elaine has been the guiding force behind this piece and I don’t want to spoil the end result.  

Inspired by Wanda’s butterflies (Exhuberant Color blog), I dug deeply into my Kaffe stash and have been happily piecing butterflies.  This quilt is for one of Scott’s relatives.  More on it as it develops!  I am waiting for one last piece of gold and then I can decide whether or not to lattice it.  The pattern is called Butterfly Town and it’s by Gail Abeloe.  Simple and to the point, the blocks go together very quickly.  You may have noticed that I used the same background print in this piece as I did for my giraffe.  I’m a little obsessed with it and have reordered twice!  It’s called Boardwalk by Art Gallery Fabrics.

We’ve lost two huge trees this week, one day apart.  Doesn’t that seem curious?  No storms, no wind, no logical reason for these events.  We’ve lived here for 15 years and it is so sad to witness the slow but steady demise of the apple trees.  My heart has not been in the gardening this season and the telltale signs are everywhere … wild raspberry canes springing up in the day lily border, milkweed in the mint garden, oxalis and red basil crowding the herbs and roses.  I keep telling myself that I must get out there and tidy the gardens, but I don’t.  Instead, I retreat to the sewing room where color abounds and gifts are created and hours pass happily, fully.  The gardens will have to wait.

and then, it’s august

July was a scorcher.  All the better to stay indoors and MAKE.   Three new babies will be arriving so gifts were in order.  But I decided to make a few totes for myself before getting onto the business of baby items.

The POOLSIDE TOTE by Noodlehead – everything Anna does is perfection.  Her instructions are really spot on and I never have to ‘tweak’ anything that she puts out there.  For this, I used up my precious Hello Kitty linen along with a few other favorites.  I’ve stopped denying my love of pink, coral, salmon.  These ARE my colors!

“It All Adds Up” was completed and delivered to wonderful Kristin for machine quilting.  This will be one of our charity event (Friends Helping Friends) fund raisers and I hope that many will purchase raffles.  It is one of my all time favorite pieces and when it returns for binding I will feature it again.  I used an incredible Tula Pink backing in sateen … too juicy for words, just wait, you’ll see!

Kaffe butterflies for a special relative.  Thank you Wanda, for the inspiration.

What’s a post without the Wee One?  She continues to enchant each person that she meets.  So far, her favorite is cousin Oscar, the bulldog.  She is enamored of him and wants him to move in.  He’s a lot of dog!  So we’ll settle for visits.

These images were all taken with my iPhone as my computer is still giving me the willies.  But I missed you all and thought that fuzzy pics might be better than no pics!  Lots more fuzzies to follow ….