the 30th of january

 the empty hoop house and the transplanted blueberry bushes

(protected with old snow fencing we found in the shed).

 sage in the foreground, empty raised beds and

birches in the background.

 frosty black eyed susan skeletons.

 deer hoof prints, prancing around the apple tree,

where the hungry critters balance on their back legs to nibble the 

last of the fruit, shriveled by age and cold.

 the braintree hills,

settled into the green mountains of vermont.

the ghost of a toboggan run,

leftover from our long MKL weekend with 

a houseful of friends and family.

These past few gorgeous days of sunshine somehow temper the frigid temperatures at this time of year. The sun hangs at the horizon a bit later each day, and suddenly I realize the days are getting longer. Wandering the property and checking on the state of the place has me beginning to think about ordering from our favorite seed catalog. 

For now, the Meyer lemons on the windowsill are beginning to ripen and the pea shoots are growing alongside. We have fresh, crunchy, local greens in our winter salads! And the flowering bulbs are still coming on strong.

When I'm not out and about in the world I've been mending (will share about that soon), knitting, sewing and beginning to think about Valentine's Day (a day that's less about romance and more about love around here).

In the evenings, Batman and I talk about big issues and about how to save the world (or at least our little patch of Vermont). It's important to remember that there are an awful lot of good people out there, and we're all doing our best to help make a difference.

:-)

some musings and announcing the giveaway winner

It's one of those funny days here in Vermont when the sky goes from sunny to snowy and back and forth and back and forth again. I began the morning with a book and tea in bed, my idea of bliss. Our book club is reading The 10,000 Doors of January, by Alex E. Harrow. I have only just started it, but I'm in love already. Harrow's use of language is exquisite.

We have hyacinths, paper whites and tete-a-tetes blooming on the windowsills. That huge bar of lemon yellow soap by the sink there came home with me from Tuscany. I smile every time I use it, memories stirred by scent.

I cast on a "Hatch" watch cap for Batman. The pattern is by Brooklyn Tweed, and the Arbor yarn is a color called "treehouse", which Batman picked out last time we were at Gather Here.

When Batman and I rummaged through the closets to find his legislative wardrobe, we culled some very worn out dress shirts. I recently "harvested" some and have some fun projects started/on the drawing board using the various parts. The quilts of Gee's Bend remind me of the value and beauty of using what's on hand.

But really, let's get on to the giveaway winner! I appreciated your thoughtful comments on my last post. I found 2 emails related to the giveaway and 5 comments here on sewandsowlife, and I pulled a random name from the group. The winner of the needle case and zip pouch is...Laura, who sent a lovely email. Laura, please email me your snail mail address, and I'll get your package in the mail in a jiffy.

Some of us have wandered and meandered together through 11 years here at sewandsowlife , others have joined us along the way. I continue to write as a way to document life here at our "bit of earth", and it tickles me that folks still check in once in a while. I feel like blogging is sort of the pony express of the internet world. People have moved on to so many other platforms. Blogging still feels like a slow and quiet way to share our lives, perfect for those of us who need to take a break from the fray that is modern life.

So, thank you again, dear readers for hanging around. If you have favorite blogs that you still read, would you be willing to leave the names in the comments below?

xo

sewandsowlife is 11! let's have a giveaway!

 a needle case, stitched with hand dyed shibori cotton.

 with a vintage snowflake button from my grammielowry's sewing box.

 and a carolyn friedlander print inside

with wool felt pages for your needles,

inspired by this snowy vermont winter.

and a zippered pouch,

made with fabric gifted to me 

by a generous reader from australia

(thank you vicki).

stitched while distressed by the apocalyptic fires 

on that dear continent.

there is much to keep track of in the world these days,

but sometimes i sit at my sewing machine and just shut it all out.

here are two little bits that i 

put together recently.

to celebrate the 11th anniversary of 

sewandsowlife on january 19th

i am hosting a little giveaway. 

if you would like a chance at finding these 

two tokens of my appreciation in your mailbox,

please leave a comment below or send me an email at 

sewandsowlife(at)gmail(dot)com

i'll pull a winner on sunday, january 26th and post the results in the evening.

good luck to each of you,
dearest readers.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

whew!

sunrise, on the way to montpelier on january 7, 2020

One of our state legislators resigned his seat, midway through his biennium term. Ben was an Independent, and so, his seat was not filled by the usual party caucus system. Instead, the Governor asked for applications to fill the vacancy. After much soul searching, Batman sent in a resume and cover letter, expressing his interest in filling the vacancy as an Independent. Nine other residents in our district also filed letters of interest. All ten were interviewed by the Governor’s staff, and Batman was one of two candidates called back for an interview in mid-December with the Governor himself. A week ago Friday, I answered the phone and the voice on the other end said, “Hello, this is Phil Scott, is Batman (well, not really) there?”. And so, our newest life adventure begins!

We spent time last weekend scrambling to find Batman’s suits, ties and dress shirts that had been stashed away in various closets (we thought his cape might be a bit too much for the State House). He had been doing a lot of reading and learning about the legislature in preparation for his meetings, but things got a lot more serious, as the new legislative session began on this past Tuesday! I went up to Montpelier with Batman to witness his swearing in and to watch the opening of the session. As the Speaker of the House said from the podium, Batman’s appointment came “just in the nick of time”. Three Abenaki elders offered the devotional, calling the four directions and offering a lovely blessing that was filled with urgency about the challenges of global climate change. It was an extraordinary thing to hear these women speaking truth to power. Because this is the second year of the biennium, the rest of the legislators had been seated last year. Batman is one of two “new kids on the block”, and he had to be “seated” by the Sargent at Arms, who led him into the chamber and over to his chair, while the entire Legislative body applauded. Over the noon hour, he was interviewed live on the radio by Jane Lindholm (one of Karen’s favorites) on VPR. If you would like to listen to the interview, look here, and scroll to about 28 minutes in. Or listen to whole piece! We are not much for a lot of hoopla around here, but we agreed that the morning had been quite extraordinary. Our journey from “flatlanders” to grateful citizens of the “brave little state of Vermont” has been more transformative than either of us ever dreamed!

Life has changed a bit for us. We've had to set up a Facebook page for Batman, he has signed up for Twitter (!!!) and things feel much more public. A routine visit to the transfer station on Saturday turned in to a gabfest with constituents, and it's all been a bit of a whirlwind.

So......that's why things have been quiet around here at sewandsowlife. Later this week this little spot on the internet turns 11! There will be a wee giveaway to mark the occasion, so stay tuned.

xo

the second day of january

 fronts

 backs

 zipper pull

 a hanging striped plant bucket

a modified rope bowl, to hang

I did a bunch of fun sewing as 2019 wound down! I used a free down loadable PDF pattern for zip bags by Karen Z Stevens, which you can find here. You may remember other projects I sewed with a pattern by Karen  here, here and here.

The speckled blue, the deep blue with a moon and the soft yellow are all fabrics I hand dyed...indigo and tansy. You can find the lovely ginkgo print by Anne at My Giant Strawberry here. The zipper pulls are made from scraps I got during a tour at Vermont Glove, (formerly Green Mountain Glove) which you can read about here.

I had such fun making two hanging planters to keep some of our houseplants out of the reach of Wilma and Cora, who are notorious plant nibblers. I may have used some colorful language when I was trying to remember how to make rivets. These hang in our bathroom, soaking up humidity from showers and the wet laundry that often hangs on wooden drying racks upstairs.

After a quiet start to 2020, I'm feeling a bit invigorated for the winter days ahead.

• I've got a vision statement for January, supporting bullet points and an outcome in mind that I've shared with an accountability partner.
• And I've got my nose stuck in this book.
• This wonderful new cookbook has me inspired.
• I'm delighted with a gifted milk foamer, and I hope to master all sorts of fun hot beverages. (The nearest coffee bar is miles away from our sweet spot here). Matcha latte? Cappuccino, inspired by our B&B in Florence? Chai latte, heavy on the cardamon? We shall see...
• More bulbs are coming up from the root cellar...hyacinths, wee daffodils, amaryllis and of course, more narcissus.
• The windowsill Meyer lemons are beginning to turn yellow, and the pea shoots are filling our salads with fresh nutrients. We're growing local food, even in January!
• The new year brings new projects and good work to the not-for-profit I serve, and it helps keep me hopeful and engaged with the challenges we face in Central Vermont.
• Houseguests will drop in tomorrow (folks we've never met!) and there's our annual snowshoe weekend coming up as well.
• There are one or two really big things percolating, but as yet held close to our hearts, and isn't that the fun of life? Being present and yet keeping dreams held on the horizon.

So dearest readers, if there are still some of you out there...what are you excited about as we step into 2020? I'd be ever so curious to hear.

xo

walking into 2020 quietly and gently

a bayberry candle,

starlight,

tilting up to see the top of the birch,

icicles on the birdhouse,

dried grasses on the hill,

balsam,

across the road,

cedar pods,

wilma.

xo