lightening up

The snow tires have been swapped out, the screens are in the windows again, Batman has been busy puttering in the yard and the snow on the hills across the valley is finally gone. Our garlic, planted last fall, have stretched their sweet sprouts up to the sunshine. 

It seems that Vermont has greened up overnight, and folks all over town are grinning. We compare notes on which roads have the worst frost heaves and mud ruts. We talk about how the sunshine and warm temperatures these last few days has felt a bit intoxicating. Sweet baby lambs are coming on strong. Lots of trees have set their catkins floating in the breezes, the sugar maples are showing their haze of soft red buds. The pussy willows have popped and turned a cheery yellow with their pollen. This morning a bluebird flew over the meadow. We are hoping our bluebird boxes are welcoming enough to keep them close.

As nature freshens up, life seems lighter too. I worked myself into three days of the 100 day project and then honored my gut and let it go. It just wasn't resonating and it felt like an unnecessary burden. Poof. No guilt. Gone.

My sewing studio is tidied up. Spring projects have been prioritized and organized. The sweet little eyelet collar (above) is leftover from the days when I was sewing for my own kids. It had yellowed with age, and so today I soaked it and now it is fresh and ready for a new incarnation. This afternoon I cut out a Geranium Dress from some very pretty fabric I've been hoarding. I finally have a (mostly) free day tomorrow and I can't wait to sit at my dear Bernina to get sewing!

For so very many reasons, this past winter felt heavy and oppressive and challenging. What a relief it is to feel the weight of it lifting. And to feel hope and possibility once again.

How are things at your place, friends? What are you looking forward to?

the yard is greening up

"practice resurrection"

-Wendell Berry

waiting...

At night make me one with the darkness.

In the morning make me one with the light.

-Wendell Berry

small talk

 Snow melt+heavy rains=trouble on our road!

 Swapping between snow flurries and balmy temperatures

is par for the course in Vermont in April.

Wilma and Corazón enjoy the sunshine and birdsong.

My version of our VTMQG block of the month,

"under the Eiffel Tower",

pattern by Freshly Pieced.

I'm doing my best to embrace National Poetry Month and
National Card and Letter Writing Month.

And working on my word for 2019...PRODUCTIVITY.

Batman retired a month and a half ago...

...and tomorrow we are going on a very special mission to
mark the occasion....

holy smokes!

Very early on Saturday morning I medicated the heck out of my head cold and headed to the airport in Manchester, NH. I hopped onto a flight to Detroit. 

Hannah met me at the airport and we went straight to Sister Pie! We split a spring salad (potatoes, cabbage, black beans and daikon radish with turmeric dressing) We ate sweet potato, black bean and feta hand pies. For dessert I had a buckwheat chocolate chip cookie.  The shop was crazy busy, but Lisa gave me a hug. :-) Sister Pie is just a magical little spot, filled with big hearted people and good grub. They are changing the world with cookies and pies and wide smiles.

Today, Sister Pie made a very exciting announcement...you can see it here. 

Saturday night Lindsey and Scott hosted a fun supper party with friends and we had a salted maple pie from Sister Pie for dessert. 

On Sunday, Lindsey, Hannah and I found some time to shop at The Rust Belt Market, where I found kindred creative spirit Katie, whose ceramic work (above) reminded me of my own indigo work. You can see more of her work at her website, here. I may have tucked a few of her gems into my suitcase...

I do love spending time with our grown children in their own spaces. And catching up with some of their friends who have become my friends as well. And meeting new ones. Both girls are busy with end of semester deadlines...Lindsey finishing her first year in a Masters of Social Work program and Hannah deep into her role as a College Counselor with high school kids. I am grateful we grabbed a few days together. 

When I got home yesterday, I found the newest issue of the posh magazine Quiltfolk in our mailbox. The latest issue is all about our brave little state of Vermont. What a delight to see so many of the things I love about Vermont reflected in these thoughtful stories. From Laura McDowell Hopper's stunning crop circle quilts displayed at Billings Farm, to Emma Cutler's work shown at Dog Mountain, to the smiling faces of my VTMQG buddies and everything in between! My heart skipped a beat when I got to page 80 and I saw a photo of "Up on Braintree Hill"! Stitched for our guild's first gallery show, it was included in the story about our guild, written by the spunky Jenni Grover. Filled with gratitude for our guild...kindred spirits who both support and challenge one another on our creative journeys.

That's where I've been! What have you been up to lately, friends?

"what could you do with 100 days of making?"

Hi.

Today is the first day of #The100DayProject. You can read about it here. I'd thought about participating in it each year the annual challenge popped up on my radar. This year a few our our kids will be participating and Hannah said, "OK Marmie, time to move from thought to action!!! Can be so small and simple."

I still have not decided what to do for 100 days. Here are some of my ideas...

• Collect 100 quotes, write them on small squares of paper and mount them on paper, so that I'll have a poster at the end.
• Create a stitched mandala, spending a minimum of 10 minutes a day on it. Open ended results...what will it look like if I just create as I go?
• Make 100 little collages, choosing medium as I go. Paper, found objects, recycling bits and bobs?
• Meditate. Clearly not a "making" project, but the discipline of every day is appealing.

Whatever I chose will need to be portable, as there will be days when I will be away from our bit of earth. I think having something cohesive at the end would be rewarding, so that's something to consider, too.

Two questions for you, dear readers:

1. Are you thinking of participating this year? What might you try to create?
2. Do you have any ideas  or challenges for me? I am open to suggestions.

I have decided not to post publicly with the hashtag on Instagram every day. Instead, I'll probably create a "mosaic" of photos, and post them every once in a while.

Once we all get organized, I'll let you know what my kids are up to with this project. It will be such fun to cheer one another along! 

Are you in?