The Social Porcupine

Do you ever feel you have dozens of dreams begging you to bring them all to life? And you would, if only they might co-operate and become one vision . This is what the Living Room Academy was for me: a culmination of a lifetime of thoughts and ideals. It started out as a flippant invitation that a woman I worked for said, "But why wouldn't you do this?"  Besides seeming initially impossible to undertake, I didn't want to commit to such a project as opening my home up to other young women for a summer... I love my summers and couldn't imagine forsaking all the things I would normally do to teach summer classes to strangers.   I won't go into why I decided to do this as I've already written on this in depth, but I do want to reiterate that I'm glad I didn't choose the convenient, lackluster path of complacency.  I hosted two courses this summer 2023. Six girls came to live with me, although only four of them were able to stay for the endurance of th...

  Young women, What do you wish your grandmother taught you?  I know many of you were raised with traditional values and have the desire to run a pleasant, blessed home. . . but have no idea how to begin. Perhaps cleaning your room is overwhelming enough, let alone envisioning yourself ever sewing, mending, cooking, embroidering. You want to be a capable, diligent woman, someone who makes others feel comfortable.  You know you are meant to repair that emergency tear with thread, herb, or handkerchief.  And you are right.  This is why I'm opening my home up in Montana this summer as The Living Room Academy .  You have the extraordinary opportunity of learning how to keep a home cozy and wholesome. For two weeks you will be living with me in my Montana home and following me throughout my everyday activities. We will cook and clean and sew and knit and embroider. In the afternoons we will take walks in the mountains, and before bed we will gather to read ...

It was Halloween night and I was around a campfire with friends, tatting my lace. A friend leans toward me and whispers, "Were you homeschooled?"  I giggled, holding up my tatting. "Is it obvious?"  He laughs, "Yes."  How many stitches are in this quilt? Probably as many miles I've traveled. And yes, this quilt is marked with the memory of many places seen.  I've reached that five-year deadline, and it's not quite done yet. I'd just finished getting the quilt mostly together last year.  I worked on a lot of other projects throughout spring and summer but began working on tatting some lace mid-June.  End of August I decided to go on a five-month road trip. My quilt was still not finished, and I didn't want to bring all of it with me. I labored every spare quiet moment and finished quilting it by end of September using a large embroidery hoop, thimble, and thread. I often had to wear bandages on other fingers . . . my callouse...