A Corner Was Brightened

This clunky door 

stood all broken down and sad

quite uncomely and dejected

against a weary fence

as I drove by one day 

a long while back.

Pass it by

I could not

for hidden beauty was seen

by this silly girl.

Married Man loves 

that his girl,

 with side-of-the-road treasures in hand

arrives home

as happy as if she had been treated

to the greatest of shopping sprees.

Loading this rather weighty find so lovely

into the car by myself

was quite a feat,

But maneuver it into the car, 

this girl did.

Since that day long ago,

it has been waiting in the corner,

or rather glaring at me,

demanding some inspiration

other than the random draping of this thing or that.

A few days back

this girl decided to make something

and of course, make it now

when preparing dinner for delightful friends

was the more appropriate use of this girl's time.

Being in such a hurry,

the room,

no, the house, 

was quite strewn 

with scraps of all possible goodnesses.

of yarn, fabrics, laces and more...

A few hours and a big mess later,

voila!

a curtain-ish lovely brightens the corner.

But a meal for dear friends

must be made.

The table set.

Our hearts prepared.

So set aside this curtainly creation I did.

Being the imperfectionist that I am,

tape and thumbtacks hide behind said door

where none can see.

So, indeed, someday I will return,

new lovely.

This girl will in time add

a goodly amount of stitches and adornment

to our newly brightened corner.

These are my days...

Down the street:

In my kitchen:

 

In process for my Dear One:

 

In the snow:

Simeon's Quilt - Loved

This boy and his momma made a quilt:

He made all the different shaped doggy squares.

You can see this boy was a tiny bit younger when this project he began:

I put them together:

****

I always take another quilt of the desired size and lay it on my bed. Then I arrange the squares on top. It's my small-house version of a design board. Simeon had a big say in the design process here. After arranging them, I cut and pieced in the brown negative space, or sashing. A lot of up and down from my machine to the ironing board, then to my bedroom, and back....

You can read more about our process here.

****

The back of the quilt is simple.

  A dog house on two of the corners,

One for Beau and one for Maddie, 

was sweetly insisted upon by this boy 

who misses his doggies so:

 for once upon a time, 

buddies they were:

 

 

An Adventure Was Had

I love my boys. 

I love my days with my boys.

Not too long ago

this boy and I went on an adventure.

Adventures are great.

Adventures are wonderful.
Adventures are memories that last forever.

This adventury day was especially delightful

because it was an adventure had together.

Just the two of us
heading to the big city
with all it's charms
and the best charm of all
his sister and new brother
so greatly missed.

After leaving behind
our car filled with sleeping-over goods

not too far from this boy's sister's homey home,

I pulled out a well-worn piece of paper from my bouquet bag.
Reading these detailed directions

written especially for moi,

by my dear one,

who knows me oh so well.

She knows I am

her silly momma who really

practically hardly ever knows
how to get from this place to that.

This boy and his silly mama 

read each street name. 

We stood at this corner...looked to the right...turned left...

passed streets...then right...

to wait for the bus here:

After reading more signs and landmarks from my listy list,
getting off at the right stop....

walking up stairs...turning left....past a little pastry shop...

we arrived at the steps of the illustrious De Pietro Todd:

 

Being her model on this adventure filled day

getting a fresh hair cut was a long awaited pleasure.

 

A few shared moments with my daughter.

Just being there.

Seeing her face.

Feeling her touch.

Hearing her voice again.

A peek into her artsy talented world

of accomplished instructors 

and kindly fellow stylists.

Sneaking in a little mother-daughterly-ness while chair ensconced.

But, not too much.

Shared moments for brother and sister

while brother spins in his fancy chair

along side this momma and her Dear One catching up.

Alas. Our time, to an end, finally comes.

This boy and his momma's adventure

goes on through Chinatown:

with its many odd sites:

 

attacking birds:

and beauties:

 

We spied a shop for the serious fisherman,

later finding out this is where many hair stylists get their supplies

of pink feathers and such 

for the artful up-do:

We ate some rather ordinary snacks:

Then met up with my Dear One's Love

at Union Square:

Journeying back

we picked up my Dear One

when her long day was done:

Then being the kind of momma that I am

and always will be,

upon arrival to their homey home

put away my camera,

and with my adventured boy's help,

cooked up a tasty dish of lasagna goodness

so my Dear One and her Love

can come home to good food

the remaining days of their week,

for being so far away

I can no longer bring

cookies

and pies

and other such lovelies

whenever this heart desires.

So this will have to do.

For a while.

Till adventures to the city continue

with the next boy

who already can hardly wait

for his sister and newly brother to see.

Tuesday's Thrift

Quite a stack of vintagy fabric goodness.

I gave the dress on top of the stack to my Dear One.

A totally 60's dress. 

I can't wait to see how this creative girl uses it in her wardrobe.

Second from the top is a sheet. 

I'm pretty sure I had one just like it when I was a kid. 

Pass it up, I could not.

What will I make?

I have no idea.

Yet.

The mint polka dot sheet was spoken for at first sight by my young friend. 

This new and excited sewist

wants me to help her in the making of this:

Crepe by Collette Patterns

And the previously loved chenille baby blanket at the bottom of the stack?

Well, of course I'm saving that one,

for someday...

when there are grandbabies

needing this grandmama to sew them

all things good. 

Simeon's Quilt

Remember this boy and his quilt?

Recently finishing all the not-so-very-square squares

quite by his happy little self, 

and arranging them like so,

the precious pieces were entrusted to his mama.

Being the imperfectionist that I continue to be,

I left his free form square-ish squares quite alone

only pressing them a very tiny little bit:

 The brown in betweeny stuff,

the negative space,

is pieced,

which was no easy task, this mama might add.

Modern quilts,

or those made without the use of perfectly detailed patterns,
with measurements and rules,

can be a tad trickedy,

but is still most definitely preferred by this silly girl.

A little quilty sandwich making,

and a lot of squiggly free motion quilting:

 

all while this boy excitedly waits

and waits

and waits some more....