Last Sunday, I picked up my son, newly back from a deployment in Syria, and off we drove to Maryland for the day. It is about a 3 1/2-hour trip, and I was thrilled to have the company. He is such an interesting person to converse with, his knowledge of history, what led to what, and where we are now, is fascinating. Great conversation, perspective, and knowledge.
We got to my mom’s to deliver the quilt, and deliver it we did. First, she inspected the label I had made and attached to the back.
Then the unveiling… Of course she cried. I cried.
My son helped me hang it…
I got a great picture of my mom and my son. Mom will be 94 in May, each day is a gift.
She was so appreciative, but I think I was more appreciative for the gift of a project that kept me going, marking time through a difficult year. We talked this morning and she tells me that it is the first thing she sees when she wakes up, and she stares at it all day finding something new she hadn’t seen before.
Meanwhile, there was that flood thing… No progress on the restoration because…
I got this great idea… I have these spectacular perennial native plant gardens, newly planted last spring, and I can’t see them well from any area in my house. Long story… I woke up in the middle of the night last week to a voice in my head yelling at me to just change the window…
So this is the den currently. I am getting rid of the TV and credenza, and will move the piano in there, the cello, my recorders, and turn it into a music room. And I want to be able to look outside and see my gardens.
I have contracted Pella to replace the east wall pair of double hungs with a window wall with two casements. But the window won’t be ready for installation for 8 weeks. Sigh…
I moved my bar table and stool in there to have my breakfast and look out the current window.
Of course I’m trying to eat my breakfast and enjoy the view, and Mulder decides that he wants to see too. So much for my view…
It will all be lovely, and just in time for spring. Right now there is about 6 inches of snow on the ground, so I’m looking forward to seeing what that looks like tomorrow morning.
This is January. This is my month for dyeing. Once I got my rhythm, I can wind about 14-15 ounces of mixed cellulose skeins, scour them, move them into an overnight soda ash soak, rinse the dyed skeins from the previous day and hang to dry, and move the skeins from the soda ash from the previous day into a new dyebath, all in less than two hours. It is my morning routine. I’ve probably done 8-10 dyebaths. MX Fiber Reactive dyes from ProChemical. They had new colors for 2025, what could I do but try them…
This one is called Swamp…
And of course, I finished the twill sampler I had moved to my floor loom, and grabbed the next Structo. This one is a four-shaft overshot sampler, from Robyn Spady.
I pulled the warp forward, and transferred it onto my small floor loom.
I love this. I adore pattern samplers, I can sit down and in about a half hour, run through the draft, all five design areas, switch my tie-up from Rose fashion to Star fashion, and do it all again. This one should be on the loom for awhile, as I think there was about 6 yards of 20/2 cotton on those Structo spools…
As we head into the great unknown politically, and as so many have lost their homes to natural disasters, the world is looking a bit bleak right now. I try to stay focused on what is in my control, mourning the loss of giants in the textile world, Claire Shaeffer, and Jannie Taylor, and closer to home, the moms of two of my close friends, and one of my own, one of my oldest friends, we raised our kids together. She is gone, at peace I hope, and life will be a little dimmer without all of them. All I can do is put one foot in front of the other, wake up each morning and find gratitude in the day ahead. Yes, I’ll have to do a lot of shoveling tomorrow morning, but snow is pretty and healing, and I have northern dogs who think this is just the best! I want to be like them, roll around in the snow with abandon, and eat large gulps of fresh clean snow. Rest easy Judy, I will miss you terribly…
Great post. Life goes on and we do our best. Your Mom really loves the quilt, it must bring both of you a great deal of joy. Hope your new music room turns out. It’s worth the wait to get what you want as long as the opportunity exists. What’s the rush, it will be lovely in the spring.
Your last paragraph says it all. That is also what I am aiming to do, with one extra thing, which is to be there for others who need me – friend, neighbor, stranger. Community is key to our strength and mental well-being. Lovely quilt and what a great photo of your mom and son!
How happy I was to see your quilt in the hands of your mother! And I think the pictures are all wonderful, too. Will you have crocuses and snowbells (not sure that is correct name) peaking out first? How exciting. You are right about needing a window to enjoy your back yard!
Love the swamp and teal colors! Something old and something new!
So sad to hear about Jannie Taylor. She lives in upper Michigan at Gaylord and I have cousins there as I am from the UP. I was planning on taking her double weave workshop even though I have it as a how to video from Long Thread Media. She now with the angels as she was truly a lovely angel.
So well said and expressed. Inspires me to remember to take each day with a smile.
Fabulous idea to change the windows and make it a music room. Congratulations!!! Can’t wait to see it when it’s done!
Your piece for your mom made me cry too. What a wonderful gift to you both.
So glad you were able to get the cat quilt finished and give your Mom lots of love and time to enjoy it every day! And, love the idea of the new window in your new ‘music studio’ — great place for you to practice!
Thank you so much for sharing the quilt presentation to your Mom. Wonderful to see you sparking joy with the gift that also gave you such comfort during the last year, and to see three generations of family sharing that joy! Happy tears here, too! Yes, each day is a gift. I know you make the most of them, always.
I have a couple of older friends who have lost family members and loved ones in the past few years. Life has been tough for them and it makes me realise how courageous one has to be to face old age. But carry on we must. My friends are alone, in the way that they are the last of the siblings left. I feel fortunate to be their friend and support them during the hard times. It also make me realise how precious time is with loved ones and how we need to treasure every moment we have with them.
The best ideas come to mind in the middle of the night.