Advent, my favorite liturgical season, suggests mystery and anticipation. What's happening? and When? I never cared for magic as a child, but I did love the present making and wrapping and the cookie baking that filled time in December. I even bought into cleaning because that preceded the decorating and then company and festivities! My … Continue reading Mystery, not Magic
Author: norma17
June Morning
Today my hands rinse strawberries in a bowl with holes. I know the farmer who raised the berries. I know the potter who fashioned the berry bowl. This is the community I have been seeking. I pop a berry in my mouth. I recall William Morris's Strawberry Thief. I value the decorative arts, creative expressions … Continue reading June Morning
How Do You Like Your Eggs?
Fresh. Daily. From the Coop. One of my first jobs growing up was to gather eggs. Since that opportunity to become appreciative of the role of the egg on the farm, the egg has evolved into a personal metaphor for creativity. Today I live in a small house that was a chicken coop in … Continue reading How Do You Like Your Eggs?
Evaluation and Commissioned Work
I began accepting commissioned work over 40 years ago; it remains an important part of my textile time. Two weeks ago I found myself praying for the courage of my gifts. I was in the middle of a custom table runner in which I was combining favorite techniques, new tools, and an unfamiliar size. The delivery date … Continue reading Evaluation and Commissioned Work
Game Day
Monday was my personal Game Day. I didn't know that was what I was having until I was 2 hours into it. It started out as the day to sort and rearrange the four file drawers in my work space. I planned to transform the drawer space from storage into work enhancement. As I emptied drawers, … Continue reading Game Day
Changing Color
I am reinventing this fabric and lace by overdying it. This project is an intentional focus on two of this year's words: prepare and practice. The fabric is being prepared for summer projects. I am practicing with a new to me product: i Dye for Natural Fabrics.
Three Words 2013: prepare, practice, evaluate
"What three words will help you in 2013?" That was the last sentence of the last post of 2012. I planned to write this post a month ago. I had my three words. But I also had doubt, the kind of doubt that sabotages movement. "I believe in the power of words. Each year I choose three … Continue reading Three Words 2013: prepare, practice, evaluate
Three words 2012
I believe in the power of words. Each year I choose three words to shape and focus my time, space, and energy. They usually arrive in my brain sometime between Thanksgiving and the New Year. I am grateful when they appear early, because I can roll them around and get comfortable with them. Last year … Continue reading Three words 2012
Enough: canned tomatoes and darned sweaters
My first-born son and I have had pleasant conversations about "enough" for quite a few months. But yesterday I shot all the verbal ammo a farm girl raised in the fifties could muster against the idea of home canning. I have distinct sensory memories of hot summer days in a kitchen made hotter by processing tomatoes: arms … Continue reading Enough: canned tomatoes and darned sweaters
A Short Distance Correctly
I collect quotations. They are tucked into books, into drawers, into baskets. Some are neatly assembled in a small notebook. And some roll around in my head, waiting to be recalled. On certain days those head rollers push into my routine and demand attention. Today two quotations have pushed their way into fabric calculations and food preparation. The first … Continue reading A Short Distance Correctly