Wednesday, May 30, 2012

pressing on...

i want to
share
a new tip...

a while back
a friend made this flat ironing surface
for us to press fat quarters
in the store
it lays perfectly on top of
the cutting counter
one day i discovered
if i use the edge as a guide
when i press open a seam
i have just stitched


it is likely to be pressed
  more square
which will help
when i go to line up
 the next block

Sunday, May 27, 2012

the tattered roof...

i've been asked
often
over the years...
.

...to repair things
broken zippers
skirts needing shortened
waistbands that are too tight
pants that are torn
when this call first came in
i declined
time is not on my side
these days
the new friend
 arrived with it in a large bag
just the same
a queen size quilt
entirely pieced with houses
my mind rushed back in time
to my first days
of quilting
a teenager with keen new interest
yet hands of mature experience
i was once told


as i looked
 at the disintegrating fabric
and i listened to eileen
tell the story of how
she had been asked
to make this repair
for a nice gentleman
yet her aging arthritic hands
could just not hold the needle
or make the tiny stitches
anymore
i somehow realized this
was coming to me
for a reason


as i carefully removed the
salmon colored tattered roof
i recalled the night
so many years before
when i sat inside a tiny office
at the domestic violence shelter
holding the hands
of a woman
who just fled a dangerous man
with her children
sleeping on a couch
 in the next room
i shared a quilt block
 i had been stitching


it was the same pattern
 as the one i am now fixing
i remember telling her
not to be afraid for
she had a roof over her head
and a place where her kids
would now be safe
a few days later
she joined a quilt circle
i was teaching
 i had them make a house block
as a symbol of a
new beginning


all week as i worked on this quilt
customers were amazed
they oohed
and they ahhed
marveling that i would take on
such an endeavor
i shared with a few that
i'm just a social worker
at heart
paying it forward
with hands that were blessed
for needle and thread


the owner of the quilt
phoned yesterday
i could tell by his voice
he was pleased it was done
when a grandfatherly man
 walked into the shop today
i knew it was him
his physical physique matched
the tender voice on the phone
as i opened the quilt
his eyes filled with tears
the old tattered roof
was once again whole
he asked what he owed me
i had instantly determined
his smile was enough
to which he replied
how about if i make a donation
to that place eileen
volunteers
where is that i asked
the battered women's shelter
he replied
the tears had now
transferred
 from his eyes to mine
as i was just reminded
how beautifully life circles
miracles indeed

Thursday, May 24, 2012

the good news...

just keeps coming
i am overjoyed
and humbled...
.

...to arrive at the store today
and see the signs
installed
it has been a lengthy
process
yet in the end to see
JEllen's
larger than I've ever seen it
in print
a name i've used
 in my creative world
since i was nine or so
followed
by my daughter's name
a miracle of a child
truly brought tears to my eyes
and how fitting to
be supported
on the bottom
by my husband
sarah's father
our human rock and anchor
it's publicly now
a family affair

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

here's looking at you...

who me
yes you
no really...
.

i knew the camera
was coming
to interview sarah
and then
i found myself
looking directly into the
big round lense
with a microphone on my lapel
ugh
i'm not one to stand
in front of the camera
i prefer to be on the other side
yet the story is so
important
i feel like i've prepared
 for a lifetime
to be able to share it
of course i did not know that
was the direction
 it was headed
as i sewed night and day
for several decades
it just fell into place
so very grateful it did
and so happy to share in the
friendships we've made
a huge thank you
 to anchor woman kristi capel
camera man darsi ayres
and the editing team at fox 8 cleveland
click here to watch the segment

Monday, May 21, 2012

houseboat...

the next
hand stitched
project...
.

...has begun
this one named
houseboat
by carrie nelson
of
i am in love with these
schnibbles
i've chosen reunion
as the fabric collection

Saturday, May 19, 2012

x-rated fini...

i've been showing
snippets
here and there...
.

of the x-rated schnibble
by carrie nelson
that i've been
stitching by hand
it's finished
just in time for
of hello luscious
by basicgrey for moda
i'm pretty pleased
with how it turn out
gave me the impetus to
start the next one...

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

a happy mom...

there comes a
time in life
when the kiddos...
.
...are no longer making
mother's day gifts
with construction paper
and markers
lead by a thoughtful teacher
instead
 they bring you
 lavendar roses neatly arranged in
a glass vase
thank you tj and julie...


 a large chocolate chip cookie
with purple writing
and a "credit card" to panera
for coffee
so well articulated
by a sweet daughter
 who at one time we were
not sure would ever talk
thank you sarah...


...and a pot of flowers
adorned with a
purple butterfly
with an
 i love mom
picture frame
thank you matt & jessica...
i feel like the luckiest
mom in the world

Sunday, May 13, 2012

a new role as mother...

today as we
celebrate
mother's day...
.

...i am so very blessed
to be given the opportunity
to begin a new journey
i will soon be
 a mother-in-law
i do not take this role
lightly
i am aware that my actions
 as such
can strengthen
or destroy
the relationship i have
with my son


i hope to be
positive and encouraging
kind and supportive
helpful and fair
i hope i can be
available
when they need me
putting their
needs above my own


i hope my actions
will speak louder
than my words
and my heart will shine
with pride for both of them
at all times


yet
 if in my
 humanly ways
i fail at these requests
i hope
 to have the ability
to admit my own faults
and apologize
for the mistakes i make


for my greatest gift
as a mother
is watching the love
i have shared with my boy
now be shared
with the love of his life


as they begin
their new journey together
i pray as a mother
for all those around
both near and far
to put aside
whatever differences
 might exist
to come to a place
of forgiveness


for these two
need your support
and they deserve your
unconditional love
all photos taken on 3.31.12
the day of tj + julie's engagement

Monday, May 7, 2012

fact or fiction

from the time
i was
a little girl...

i've always found
enjoyment in reading
during the summer
my mother and i
would drive to the local library
twice a week
once home
i'd search for unique spots
to open the newest book
it could be on the roof
in a tree
on top of a large culvert pipe
by the pool
hiding in a corn field
it didn't matter
i just loved to pretend
 i was whatever
character i most enjoyed
the fantasy, the dreaming
most intrigued me
today
 i had the privelege of dining
with a new york times best selling author
marie bostwick
she writes fiction
yet as we chatted
 throughout our meal
i learned that
fiction is not always make believe
in fact
it is often just that
facts
 intertwined with dreams
as she described her newest book
i was mesmerized
it so follows segments
of my life
it is almost scary
 the funny thing about fiction
to you
 it will be
more like make believe
and maybe i
can pretend
the happy outcome
is my ever after

Saturday, May 5, 2012

from the back...

i had a teacher
who once told
me the sign...
.

...of a good quilter
was the look from
the back
straight rows
 even stitches
snipped tails
i better get to work on
the snipping part
the rows and stitches
i'm rather pleased