When the Pumpkin Hatched There was a Bird Inside

One very old Old Navy Halloween Shirt complete with pumpkin.
A very comfy shirt to wear one or two days a year.



So the Pumpkin hatched and there was this bird inside...reverse applique for the body, applique for the wing.




When I wasn't looking another bird landed on the back...appliqued of course



The Bird on the back of the shirt is flying around to meet



The bird on the front.



The birds flew out of a bin of fabric and other supplies passed on to me by my friend Kim....so they could make some space in her basement. There may soon be a flock of these guys in my closet.

File this one under fun, easy, and as close to instant gratification as hand stitching can get.

Backstage Mom that's me......

Years ago - before kids, I used to work in a field that I loved (still love in fact). I used to lighting designer and stage manager for several local dance companies, I spent a couple of years as a stage electrician and production assistant at a theatre, worked for a university dance department and well, you get the picture. I walked away from it all when my son was born and have never regretted it. It took me a long time to find some way to make use of my love of the performing arts. I have helped design sets for my kids elementary school plays, co-directed the school's talent show for a number of years with my best friend, and most recently helped backstage at my daughter's first dance recital.




It took me a few years to let go of some of my expectations and relax a bit.
It has been worth the effort...kids are almost always a delight, occasionally a challenge, but never a waste of time or energy...




Few things are more rewarding than watching a shy child learn to sing out loud, or dance, or just be on stage. Nothing beats watching kids grow into confident performers over the years.

Equally rewarding is watching the rare few discover how much they enjoy being behind the scenes, discovering all the small details that make a show look seamless to the audience.




I got my start in dance recitals so much like my daughter's I could close my eyes and picture all the girls I grew up with fussing over their make-up and looking for tights and toe shoes, trying to walk quietly in tap shoes, while reining in the excitement of being just about to walk onstage. The same coloring books to occupy the downtime during rehearsal, the wide eyed looks at the big girls in toe shoes and costumes that are the epitome of every ballerina dream. Once I stage managed for Merce Cunningham (just one time but what a time) Yesterday I helped little girls negotiate quick changes and sweaty tights and uncooperative head pieces, passed out crayons and shhhs in equal measure and watched my little girl take the stage. Sometimes I second guess the choices that have landed where I am today, yesterday was not one of those times...

Bravo girls!

Father's Day

This is my dad spending a Saturday afternoon his favorite way, picnic lunch in the cooler, fresh batteries in the video camera, watching trains. I think this picture was taken in Palmer, Massachusetts, about 14 or 15 years ago. If he were alive today he would spend Saturday nights posting videos on youtube while chatting online with his train buddies.




I miss him on Father's Day, for myself, and my brothers and sisters, and more for my children who never really knew him. But he is here in our hearts and in the stories I tell them. He is somewhere standing beside my sister Stephanie and my brother Marc, somewhere beyond the world, somewhere where I am sure he has a really great view of a really enormous train yard. I am just as sure that he spent this Saturday like all Saturdays, watching trains, joined by a good number of his buddies, reminiscing about all of the other Saturdays that came before.

Happy Father's Day, Dad! I miss you, but I'm smiling.

Roses are Tattered

I needed something a bit nicer than my normal super casual normal wear.
Went and did some shopping and came with nothing...or at least nothing affordable.
So I went through my closet and my scraps



and came up with this bracelet made out of a bit of old sweater, some linen and yarn,
and some really beautiful antique shell buttons that a friend had given to me.



Out of my closet came a denim shirt with big buttons that I hardly ever wear, but love. I covered the buttons with rosettes made from linen and yarn twisted together.



A couple of hours later and I had this...



Not so much a re-fashion as a re-boot. But I love it and I think I'll be wearing this shirt a lot more often.

My Borrowed Small Town Life

I have always wanted to live in a small town, instead I've always lived in large towns and small cities....so I borrow other peoples small towns.
Especially on holidays



What's more small town than Jr Grange?



or Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?



Antique Cars



Hot Happy Kids



and Kentish Guards



a really large horse pulling a cart



ICE CREAM



and musket fire.



After a chilly damp spring today felt like summer - Eighty degrees and humid,
lots of ants, bare feet, and the Memorial Day Parade. Love days like these.

Inspired by.....

In the middle of everything going on I hadn't made anything in weeks...hadn't even thought about it. I had no interest and not a single idea or bit of inspiration...so I made myself dig get out the scrap bag and sat around my room looking for something to inspire me...and there it was, same place it's always been. The bookshelf where I keep all of my favorite books...I've been sewing ever since. Little projects to be sure but they are making me a bit happier and a lot less stressed out.

William Shakespeare
"Tatiana"





Miss Jane Austen
"Emma"





Thomas Merton..
Seven Stories





Put together will a little bit of this and that from the grab bag of scraps.
And some happy memories of some favorite books...

Spring and other Things

No matter how bad things seem, or are, Spring always makes me feel like the eternal optimist. Things have been bad, or at least unsettled. But the flowers have been beautiful.



Some strange alchemy of cold and rain left all of the flowering trees extra full, the cherry blossoms only lasted a week but what a week. Same for the apple trees, hopefully we'll have an extra large bounty of apples in September.




My bike and my "go slow" lawn mower are hanging out waiting to get used..



And the wrens have put in their annual appearance in the hanging pot outside my door.



We may need to move, a reality that breaks my heart a bit. I've spent a lot of time lately looking at this house and yard that I love so well, knowing I may have to leave it, reminding myself that change is scary but is also good. Aware that at being ruled by fear of the new is a good way to start dying, the real curse of middle age I think. A grasping desire to keep things just as they are, a desire that would have shamed me when I was young. So I keep looking at all of my options with a sense of adventure and gratitude. Beauty can be found almost everywhere. Maybe I'll be fortunate enough to find it here for a long time, maybe it will be somewhere new. It will most certainly be in the smiles and warmth of my friends. Lucky, no matter how I look at it.

Cloudy with a chance of Kittens

Oops! that's all I could say when a took my kitty to the vet just a little too late.
Here is the proud momma with her three babies...I know it shouldn't have happened but I'm glad it did. It's been a tough time around here with no end in sight, but this puts a smile on my face and a look of absolute wonder on my kids faces.





And we have homes waiting, so all around a real blessing by surprise!

Indigo Girl

My first ever indigo experience.
I bought the indigo in a dye kit from JoAnn Crafts
it was on clearence so why not?




I'm incapable of dying clothes without dying my arms and hands. There are no gloves that seem to cover enough. I'm glad to say that while indigo smells a lot worse than Rit dye, it washes off with soap and water.



A couple of bandannas and a sweatshirt in need of a new life.



and a shirt/fabric remnant re-do that I've been working on...




my new blue top, I love the way the dye re-acted with the different fabrics.



with my "new" sweatshirt



Nellie and I are already wearing the bandannas....
Love love love indigo, was very easy to use, even easier to clean up,
and the dye vat will last for several days...
Not to mention how much the kids loved the rather magical way the fabric
changed from and awful yellow-green to a beautiful blue as they hit the air.

Always Time for a Celebration

I am fortunate in my friends, in my family, and even in the kindness of strangers.
Easter could have been difficult this year, instead it was particularly joyous. The weather was absolutely beautiful, warm enough to eat outside, wet enough to need rainboots in the backyard during the egg hunt, and green.



The flowers for our table are the odds and ends of bouquets sent to us last week. So Stephanie was there with us with some spring cheer. (and our other sisters Amanda and Danielle)



Pot roast, salad, and a couple of cakes later here we all are (except my camera shy 12 year old) enjoying the day.



The egg hunt is always a big success.

Thank You to everyone for the outpouring of love and support. I hope your Easter and spring are happy and full of green growing things and family.