Enough Said....

Investments:

Some investments are sometimes not intentional or even planned.  But when they happen, when the dividends start showing up, you are glad, yes, you're so very glad, that you did what ever it was that you did, to reap the benefits that you so prize today..

..

Take for instance, looking at this big disorganized pile of scraps, a less global thinking person might be thinking: 'Good Grief!  Clean it up!  Throw it out! Get rid of the mess!'  Then there are the 

Forward Thinkers

that would say,'What a lovely mess of opportunity!'

I suppose you know by now which camp I am firmly entrenched upon.

When my hands sift through the pile of remnants of past projects, I think about all the stories behind each little scrap.  I smile at a well finished project memory and wince at the ill timed inflated image of my talent.  But whatever the response, I am always glad that I have pieces left of each project to stir the memory bank and to busy my hands.  There are always sermon illustrations in most sewing endeavors, just like there is in gardening, parenting and just about everything else.  One could wax poetic about old things made new.  One could take on how we look at the surface but God looks at the heart.  Oh my, yes, we could go on forever about the analogies from this wonderful/crazy pile of memories/fabric.

I'll keep it simple:

Take Your Discards in Life and Make It a New Thing.

Theologically and philosophically sound and a sewist mantra.

In the process of using up my scraps, a most lovely quilt is being made for Pretend Granddaughter Sara and I cannot tell you how much I am enjoying the process.

She will get to be warmed by her 'adopted' family's bits and pieces of their stories created in fabric.  Thinking of her cuddling under the quilt, maybe at a faraway college dorm room or in the bedroom of her future child's room, telling her the stories behind their favorite block, fills me with such a deep satisfaction......

What old/discarded thing in your life can you make new today?

Happy Birthday, Eldest/Admin!!

This little cutie was all gussied up and ready for her 2nd Birthday to begin!  There had been a heavy snowfall that day and her Daddy was outside shoveling snow for all her party guests.  Every now and then, Daddy would throw snow at the window, causing the little Party Girl to giggle loudly.  She watched in awe as her Daddy 'played' in the snow and included her in the play from the comfort and warmth of the Party House.  It was adorable then and now as I remember it.  All those years ago.

Since then, my Little E/A has put us through many adorable moments, both historically and recently.  Only now, I get the joy and adding to all her stories about her baby: 'Just like you'......Double the joy...

This Little Girl has taught me plenty in her Thirty....something years and I thank God every day for her wisdom, her broad thinking and her ability to read me like a book(saves a lot of time!)

In her years on this earth, she has helped me through those 'You Are My Firstborn; There Are Expectations That Reflect Deeply Upon Me' crazies.  She has forgiven me all my First Time Mom Errors.
She has taught me to endure pain, frustration and disappointment rationally.
She has taught me to love deeply.
She is fearless on many levels and helps me through my scary times and places.
She sees things and people with a special lens that ferrets out problems.
She is my early warning system.
And she is full of emotion that is spontaneous, easily vocalized and very comforting.
She cares for me carefully and protectively.  I would always want her on my side, she is that kind of person...

And on the sixth of January, on a snowy, cold, Saturday night in 1979, she quietly entered my life, my world and  every part of my being.  It was an incredible entrance to an indelible life...

Thank you God for Rhiannon......
I love you, Boo!
Happy Birthday to You.....

Bundlin' Up

The winter here in Southern Indiana has been a bit out of the ordinary.

We had been limited by icy conditions for over a week, keeping pedestrian activities on hold.

We had brittle cold much earlier in the season than usual.

And we had snow stick around a bit longer than we normally do.

In short, we've had a normal winter.

We are spoiled, those of us south of  I-70.

So it is with this excuse of expecting warmer situations that I am just now making Miss Vivien's Winter Coat.

I bought the material in November.

I cut it out in early December.

And here it is, on the Eve of Eldest/Admin's birthday, that I am just now completing it.

To my credit, it has been a whirl of December in our household.

But never no mind, Viv's little coat, once the proper size of zipper is purchased, shall be on it's way to warm her sweet little bod.

There is something rather primal and satisfying about making a child's coat.  You know that you can purchase one at Target for less than it cost to make it, but I believe completely that, like a baby quilt, the warmth of the love that goes into it, makes the item more precious, more valuable and well, warmer.

Do you have a winter project stalling out on your To Do list?

Do not fret.  Do not feel the failure for not producing before now.

We still have much brrrry weather to struggle through before the daffodils peak through.

The important thing is that the people you love and care about receive something from your hands, from your planning and time and THAT is what they receive and carry always, even when the item is but a memory....

The work of our hands, a very valuable gift......

Knew Knitting Knews:

 It has been nigh onto forty years since I last held knitting needles.


The math of it just confounded me.  I was young and impatient with the process.  I probably was also discouraged with my mother's constant laughter at her own joke each time she called me Madame Defarge and screamed out, 'Guillotine!"(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/madame_defarge) as my endless scarf progressed. 
Whatever the reason, I parked my needles and used them throughout the years to turn collars and other sewing needs these past four decades.

Then the Knitting Kneeds began again.  After spending nearly a month with Eldest/Admin and her Amazing Needles, I rethought the reasons why knitting was my only crafting holdout.
The deal was sealed after E/A and I spent several hours in the most pleasant knitting shop ever.inayarnbasket.com  E/A has several knitting projects going on and I was along for the ride.  I found myself mesmerized by the selection, the feel, the colors of the myriads of yarn skeins available for about any pattern known to man.  Books of all types. Accessories to all yarn crafts.  And the nicest staff ever.  While E/A processed and selected and perused, I got caught up in the friendly ambiance of the place.  And did I mention how busy this tiny place was?  A grand yarn sale was going on and it appeared that the whole of Bloomington Indiana was privy to it. A grand cross section of the population appeared to all be able to knit except me.


About the time I was feeling a bit left out from all this yarn fun, two things happened:

1. I found Elizabeth Zimmermann's book soulemama.com/soulemama/2010/02/the-zimmermann-year-baby-surprise-jacket.html and was captivated.  Elizabeth subscribes to the Deb Cory School of Creating.  Very loose, very casual very non daunting.  Though her book is not a how to, per se, it gives excellent impetus to go forth boldly with the process.  Thank you Elizabeth.
2. I found these needles.  Yes.  Wood.  Shiny.  Well shaped.  Feel grand in the hand.  Had to have them.

Thus begins my new adventure in knitting.

Traveling with Miss Viv the other day, she kept watching Mimi as she produced yet another granny square whilst entertaining her in the back seat.  She closed her book and asked, politely, if she could have my yarn and hook.  Being an amiable Grammy, I acquiesced.  She immediately started imitating my movements and acted quite professional for a not nearly two year old.  I was mesmerized by her confident movements and the fun that she had just playing with yarn and hook.  And that is exactly the attitude I shall adopt in my new knitting adventure.  I shall follow Elizabeth's guidance and Vivien's attitude.  I shall overcome Knitting Fear and go forth.  

With a little help from my friends.....

Catch Up Time

 While I was packing up at the hotel after our premiere visit with Lil Lady, I couldn't help but notice the plethora a mama's collection bags surrounding us in the room.  Five totaled, with another one on the arm of Eldest/Admin at the hospital and two more with Baby Girl.  Whew!  Market/craft bags, Amy Butler Diaper bag, purses and Anna Maria Horner Here We Go Bag......And I gotta admit it; I love it!  I love seeing my bags in action.  I love seeing them be used and carted around with their owners. Last summer, during the mama's collection First Annual Gathering of Friends Retreat sonowiknow.blogspot.com/2010/07/sigh.html, all of us attendees went to the Farmer's Market armed with a bag made just for the event and I distinctly remember the glee I felt at watching a dozen or more of my bags flittering through the market on the very reliable shoulders of those that came from near and far to attend the retreat.  So I really do get emotionally attached to my creations and love seeing them by lovingly used.

 Despite a very distracted December, I sought comfort from the busyness of my thoughts by creating more bags for several friends.

 The 'Vera' bag was interestingly difficult and made me understand why Vera Bradley's bags are so........pricey.....This bag had a total of ten pockets in/on it and an official zipper closure and I designed it myself just by observing a multitude of VB's bags.  The only one I ever owned was back in the nineties and I got it from a thrift store.  The bag challenged me but it was fun.  Hubby helped with that analytical mind of his.  Thank Goodness.

 Lil Lady needed some extra little 'cosmetic' bags for her Diaper Bag.sonowiknow.blogspot.com/2010/11/sewing-sidetracks.html  These sweet little binkie/comb/nail bags should serve her well maybe up to college?  The material is vintage flour sacks so they have survived a lot already....

Speaking of Lil Lady.....Did I tell you how precious she is??

Oh dear!
How is Mimi ever going to concentrate in her sewing room.....?

Starting Fresh

With a New Year beginning, one's thoughts always drift to what to do with a second chance.  How would we redo, start over, or fix what we didn't like when met with a new opportunity?


This year, I get the opportunity to take my cues from Lil Lady, my newest grandbaby.  Lil Lady had an in with her Creator in regard to His Ways vs. The World's Ways.  We took time off and prepared and made plans but He had others.  Far Superior, it turns out, as it always is.


While holding her in her Grammy made quilt on her 20th hour on earth, I had a chance to peruse how I would live differently this year because of her.

• Always bow to God's timing; just makes sense and your life is less stressful
• Languish in the moment
• Sleep peacefully when you know that those in charge know what they're doing
• Trust your Caretaker
• Fuss when you're hungry if only to get your message across
• Roll with it (whatever 'it' is; nothing is so bad for a while)
• Get comfy in your environment but know when to leave
• Get comfortable in your own skin
• Understand that generations before you were tiny babies once
• Take in all the good vibes from the world then sleep through the rest

On the cusp of this new year and being enraptured with my new role as a prolific grammy, I believe my lessons in living on this earth are just beginning.  This year I had the privilege of watching Baby Girl nurture Lil Lady in utero and out utero.  I got to rejoice at the heartbeat of another grandbabe due this summer.  I got to walk with another as she grieved the loss of her baby at an early start.  Life's lessons always seem to surround the acknowledgement of the beginnings of new life and the mystical viewpoint that it brings to the table each and every day.


Watch children.  All children, not just your own.  Observe their intuitiveness.  Mimic their freshness. Converse with a child daily to keep grounded.  And above all, respect life.


Have a Well Lived New Year.