The Social Porcupine

An era of my life is finished.  Last night I tied the last knot on this quilt, a project for my hope chest that's been with me since February 2018. A friend said it must feel like a child after all this time. Not really, it is more like an unanswered thesis. But it is written, and for that I am thankful.  This quilt is something I began to dream at twelve years old when I found the embroidery pattern, a bunch of baskets of flowers, at a quilting shop. When I "won" a Janome sewing machine (pretty sure the woman just liked me and drew my name and called it a "second winner". She also copied out the pattern for me, because I'd admired it for so long, and told me to someday use it.  Years passed, and then one day, a little over five years ago, I needed something to lift me out of a mindset. The s ong based on Psalm 42 by the Sing Team was my current favorite song. It felt like I was eating a lot of tears and would be for the rest of my l...

  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 ...

  I knitted my first sweater. A client told me it smelled of nautical colors. I did much reading while knitting. Also watched many films with friends. Sometimes I took it to the top of a mountain. Or I'd just sit on my couch after work.  I found a pile of thick shell buttons in an old sewing machine drawer. There were just enough.  I spent a lot of time reading Anna Karenina while knitting. A large knitting project and an epic classic really do belong together.  One of my most relaxing projects. I gave myself a hard deadline, with nearly plenty of time to finish it. Had to take out several days of work once because it came out too large. So goes knitting.  Blocking it was the hardest: The merino wool is stretchy and wanted to come out much larger than I'd knitted it. Because of that I sized the pattern down four sizes, then sewed in some hidden darts.  I inspired my coworker to knit a sw...

Mittens I knitted */*/*/*/*  Father, why did you give me hands  If you desire my life to  Be always out of my reach?  Father, why do you tell me, "Stand!  I have much for you to do."  If only to flood my beach.  Father, they say home is where the heart is. But my heart is everywhere ... or nowhere.  Father, they say this world is not my home.  But would you give Eden to a foreigner?  I don't wish to follow my heart.  Yet I do wish to find it.  Father, I yearn to find home.  If I may not control my part  Or place in life, so be it.  Take my hands, but give me Shalom.   */*/*/*/*  Some things I've learned this last month: >It's possibly to be rejoicing over one thing and grieving over another at once  >Peace can strengthen your days and stress can rule your nights, and sometimes the two can intermingle >One can be angry and grateful in the same momen...

In the last wrap-up, I told y'all I'd have some exciting things to share. Well, none of those things came through.  But other exciting things happened.  And I'm still processing it all. Mostly by not thinking. Lol, that's the only way I'm able to handle any of my hectic life. I don't think about it, just live necessary moment to necessary moment, hoping it'll all add up toward that bigger dream of mine.  Fun fact: One of my best friends informed me that kids' largest size of shoes correlated to women's US 8. So ... for fun, I bought a pair of boy's shoes. I've worn them and worn them ... and just threw them away recently. Let's start this post out with some humor. The following two images are not mine: I laughed so hard at this ;D  I feel like that last one needs to be combatted with this ...   Every Tuesday evening I teach someone to knit. I've been working on this little pocket-thingie. Most of my dresses ...