two projects: a sew and a sow

 THE SEW PROJECT
I "met" Karen Stevens on Instagram and fell in love with her slow stitching aesthetic. I bought one of her fun indigo moon zipper pouches from her Easy shop and I do love it. Imagine my delight when she asked me to be a tester for her Modern Japanese Rice Pouch pdf pattern! I pulled out an actual fabric rice bag (basmati, not sushi) from my fabric stash and some of my homegrown, hand dyed indigo and special bits and pieces and stitched up this version of her bag. The bag is easy to follow and Karen has a special 15% off through Thursday.

Here's the other side of my bag. You can follow Karen on Instagram here and check out her website where you'll find a link to her Etsy shop. Check it out!

THE SOW PROJECT

My brother and sister-in-law are moving and cannot take the two funky little hoop houses that they built with them. In mid-September, Batman and I drove down to Massachusetts to rescue one of them. It was a snug fit, but we got the most important parts of the hoop house loaded into the pick up, tied it all down very carefully and hauled it back up to Vermont.

We started working on construction right away. We built a base with new lumber. We thought Batman might run into the typical ledge that follows the spine of the Braintree Hills, but he was able to dig a nice, deep central ditch.

The hoops went up, compost was hauled and added and we were excited about our progress. Then the rains began, the temperature dropped and our scheduled weekend work was postponed...

Finally, this past weekend the sun came out, we bundled up and headed out to finish things up.

Lifting this heavy window unit up onto the base was tricky business, but we did it! (Doug and Ra had used salvaged vinyl windows to create the ends, complete with screens!)

The second end was not as heavy and felt so much easier! We have decided to wait until the late winter to put the plastic sheeting up and over the hoops.

Here's Batman, (who is 6' 5" tall) standing in the house, without bumping his head, thanks to that nice deep ditch he dug.

We are curious to see how much this hoop house will increase our growing season. Imagine fresh greens while there's still spring snow on the ground...fingers crossed! And every time we step into the hoop house we'll take a bit of gratitude with us...for Doug and Ra's generosity. xo

Is there anything as hopeful as sowing seeds in the dirt? All winter long, we'll be able to look out the window and see this hoop house, filled with possibility!

old friends and new friends in november

These gloomy days just won't quit this autumn! But how I do love this time of year, when our beloveds who have left us feel so close that they are nearly with us. The veil is truly thin. I do so love to take time to remember them...My dad’s way of seeing color and form in the natural world, my grandmother’s aura where I always felt welcomed, Abi Tim’s wide circle of love, Abi Joan’s zest for life, Erin’s youthful Light, Great Aunt Margretta’s twinkling personality, Caleb’s exuberance, beloved pets...the list grows longer every year, and for that I am sad. But to have known them and to have loved them...that is where the magic is. Who are you remembering today?

And at the very same time we are missing people, new folks come into our lives. Yesterday I drove down to King Arthur Flour (maybe you all think I live there?) to meet Vicki G who is taking a few classes there this weekend. She is a sewandsowlife reader who lives in Illinois. She got in touch with me earlier this fall to let me know she'd be in Vermont in November. We spent about 45 minutes chatting over our mugs of coffee. We talked about our mutual love of Vermont, quilting (she's a quilter!), baking and the state of the world. By the time she had to head off to her gathering at 5, I felt certain I had made a new and dear friend. 

These are the things we need to remember, friends...

• as we lose people, new folks come along to form new bonds.
• as we feel challenged by our times, we can be reminded that we may find kindred and like minded spirits if we simply reach out (with a phone call, and email, a bit of snail mail...)
• even as these gloomy days plod on, there is comfort to be found, sitting in the circle of light from a lamp...stitching, reading, listening, chatting, writing...

If the sun comes out tomorrow (finally) as forecast, Batman and I will be able to finish a really sweet project. And there's been so much sewing going on that I haven't been able to share with you...I will, SOON!

Happy Saturday, dearest readers.

the veil thins

“...the night of Samhain,
when the barrier between the worlds is whisper-thin and when magic,
old magic, sings its heady and sweet song to anyone who cares to hear it.”
― Carolyn MacCullough, Once a Witch

I'll be listening for the voices from beyond the veil.
The long gone and the newly gone.
Missing them all,
but knowing that their essence is here for me
whenever I care to remember them.

Blessed be.

levity

thought you might appreciate this
 bit of sass.

ordered from marcydavy.

(a version of wearing one's
heart on one's sleeve).

advice from wilma and corazón

one box.

two cats.

when the news out in the world is just too much,

grab a friend and settle in for a little down time.

extending comfort, dear readers, on a rough day

"And I think it’s served me really well, because this moment has felt like darkness for years now, as a woman, as a person of color, as a patriot, as someone who loves this country. It’s felt like darkness. And my now-dear friend, Valerie Kaur, gave this beautiful speech on New Year’s Eve, after the election in 2016. And she said something like, “What if this is not the darkness of the tomb, but the darkness of the womb, and America is a country waiting to be birthed, and we are being called to breathe and to push?” And it changed the whole context of the darkness I was feeling, and I thought, I can do this. I know how to do this. I know how to grope in the dark without a road map. And so that’s the element that is with me right now, in this time."
 -America Farrara, from a conversation with Krista Tippet and John Paul Lederach via an On Being podcast titled How Change Happens, In Generational Time.  To listen to the entire piece, click here.

Another world is not only possible, she is on her way.
On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.
-Arundhati Roy

Please be sure that you are registered to vote, and then go to the polls and roar!

#persist
#resist

road trip!

We have had a whirlwind of houseguests this October. It's been such a pleasure to offer hospitality to friends and family, both. I had a very short visit this week with a dear friend from our days in Connecticut. On Wednesday afternoon we went up and over the snowy Middlebury Gap to Ferrisburgh and the Rokeby Museum. The museum sits on the homestead of the Robinson family, who were Quaker abolitionists. It is a National Historic Landmark designated for its Underground Railroad history.

The museum is hosting an exhibit curated by Harlem Needle Arts called The Fabric of Emancipation.

These gorgeous garments are the creation of artist Sara Bunn, titled "We Wore More Than Shackles:A Day In The Life of Seneca Village". From the exhibit's brochure...this piece "seeks to fill the void of positive images of Black professionals living during America's antebellum period, and to offset the negative images of down trodden people of color within our historical archives."

In the gallery space surrounding these figures, the work of other textile artists hung on the walls. There were quilts, wall hangings, a series of manipulated tee shirts and stitched poetry. Some of the work was very thought provoking, some was disturbing. How I do love it when fabric speaks truth to power!

This link may take you to more photos of the exhibit. Go check them out!