Surprise!

What would six months of no posts be without a baby at the end of them?
Welcome Baby M2.

A Start is Made

Over the weekend I was able to reveal the project that I have been hinting at here!

I have been reading about the way people used to get together and share the work that had to be done. Things like barn raisings and quilting bees brought people together, and the work that resulted had the imprint of each pair of hands. I wanted to start a project like that, but I wanted something that wouldn't be intimidating to a generation (or two, or three) who haven't necessarily spent their time honing hand craft skills. I settled on a family/community tapestry. Embroidery is easy to explain, and one's involvement only extends to the end of one's thread. I gathered the supplies; a cotton blanket for the base, the thread, the hoops and needles, I added some vaguely tree shaped Sharpy marks as guides, and then I just waited until what felt like the right time to introduce the idea. Except for one important person, Grandma;



who lent her hand to the task earlier in the week, no one knew of the project until after our family bar-b-que dinner on Sunday.

I was so nervous! I had visions of everyone declining; it's intimidating to be asked to do something you may have never done before! I could just see everyone saying "no thank you", and I would be left there with my giant Sharpy tree blanket.

I told everybody that I had a project that I needed their help with. I explained that I wanted to make a family tapestry, and I needed everyone do do some sewing!

I was so(!) pleased, surprised, and flattered when everyone, EVERYONE! agreed to participate. And I was amazed: the least experienced were the most eager to get started!

I had threaded the needles ahead of time, and decided that we would just start on the trunk and branches of the tree (nice straightish lines). I told the story of the flying fish who swims backward to give those who needed it a little lesson in back stitch, and they were off!

Hover your cursor to see who is under the blanket!


We have a looong way to go, but I was anticipating that this project would take us years. Benjamin really wanted to be part of the project, and I am glad that, probably, someday he will be.

I am a amazed and pleased by how these few lines of stitching mean so much to me!

Traveling North. . .

I am so sorry to have been away from this space. I have missed being here. We were packing and driving up north to visit family! I tend to pack a lot when traveling. I think I like to have a bit of home with me wherever I go. I had to be careful this time though, because I have two travelers joining me for the ride home. I had a great six bag (Reusable grocery bags! Not suite cases!) system in order to limit what I brought, and make repacking on the way home easier. My system turned into an eight bag system, but it seemed to work well. Each bag has its own category of items that go in it; Clothes, Diapers, Technology (computer, camera, phone cord, etc), Food (for the car trip), Toys and Bedding, and of course, Projects. I can never proceed to packing practical things, like toothbrush, and shoes (both of which ended up in the in the other two "misc" bags), until I have packed the projects that I will be working on while away.

We headed out early in the morning in order to meet up with my brother who happened to be attending a wedding taking place along our route. We took several breaks along the way because it is really hard to be strapped in a car seat all day long.

B got to meet a lot of new folks, again.

And once we got to Babci and Dziadzi's house, B got to play with some of Daddy's old toys.

I am so pleased to be settling in here in "North". The trees are green, the woods are cool, the bar-b-que is out and the company is in love with B.

50's Dream House

Yesterday, I walked through my house and realized that all the machines were going. The washer and dryer were washing and drying my clothes. The dish washer was washing my dishes. The crock pot was cooking my dinner. I thought to myself "this is the home of the future". Ads from the 1950's promised "more time for better living" through the use of appliances like cooking ranges, refrigerators and vacuum cleaners. When I spoke with my grandma about using cloth diapers I asked her whether she had hung her diapers to dry. She told me that when she was newly married, she had accepted a research job in order to make a bit of money. She used that money to buy herself an electric dryer. Later, in a letter, she said she is sure that the prospect of washing diapers specifically led her to spend that money on the dryer. "Wasn't I lucky?" she wrote. And yes, I think she was.

While we were talking, I mentioned that some ladies these days like to hang their diapers (and even their clothes) on the line to dry even though they do have dryers. Then it occurred to me that perhaps I, and others like me, like to do things like hang our clothes on the line and hand knead our bread because we have appliances to do the rest. We can take joy in the manual aspect of certain tasks because it isn't mandatory. What a meditation it would be to take joy in a task we have to do the hard way, day in and day out! And not just that one task! But every task, done by hand, and with joy.

I've always felt that tasks done by hand, or objects made by hand, seem to have more meaning to them. They are more precious, one of a kind. We've put some of ourselves into them. They are more our size in a way. We have measured them with our own hands, and with our own time. I think it is healthy to see things done on this human sized scale. Things made by hand connect us to the one who made them. We can see their finger prints in the clay, their chisel mark in the wood, and their tension or relaxation in the way they pulled the yarn.

Similarly, there is an element of community in doing chores by hand the way they have always been done. Our work can connect us to those who came before. Those people who sometimes made a point of making chores part of the community. I am thinking of the old quilting bees, barn raising, and corn shuckings. Sometimes these old timey work gatherings can seem quaint, but to the ones who organized them, they were absolutely necessary. Because along with the human hand print left on anything hand made, there is a whole lot of time and effort invested. And for someone who needs a barn, or house(!), before the snow falls, it is vital that they have community around them to help. There is a trade off. Hand work of any kind is beautiful and can be very fulfilling and meaningful. But it takes a whole lot of our time. Mechanized production feels disconnected and superficial, but it allows us to feel more secure about having the bare necessities.

I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to have both. I enjoy doing chores by hand because I feel like I am actively caring for my family. I enjoy making things by hand because they mean more to me, and hopefully to the ones who receive and make use of them. I enjoy throwing my clothes in the washer because I have more time to play, and bake, and sew. I enjoy using vehicles to visit friends who live far away. I am grateful to be able to spend my time slowly creating something by hand because I have machines of the future to do the rest.

On a rainy day in June . . .

 There was chunky crayon making,

 knitting,

 building,

a rainy walk,

and a new recipe for banana bread. 

Not bad for a gray day!

Visiting

We had a lovely visit this weekend. Dziadzi and Babci (Grandpa and Grandma to B) came down from New England, and the weather was beautifully obliging after a heavy rain on Friday. We spent some time in Annapolis (and I forgot to bring my camera!), some of us visited the farmers market, some went for a walk in the "woods", but we also spent a lot of time just visiting; talking, catching up, and playing.

On our walk back home, B insisted on either walking by himself or pushing the stroller. We are pretty sure he actually walked half a mile.