The Social Porcupine

silk tatted lace edging for my wedding dress If you asked me as a young girl what I wanted to do when I grew up, I wouldn't have had some answer that suggested I wanted to labor away for some corporation eight hours every weekday. I had no visions of being a Redcross nurse and patching up soldiers (unless it was for the other side), or of being some schoolteacher (I'd have encouraged all the students to play hooky), or of being the secretary to the President of the United States (nor of being the president).    No, I'd have told you that I would much prefer to make leather shoes and spin yarn for sweaters for my babies... and tat lace. Even now, I can't imagine a better aspiration than to sit in a rocker of luxurious wood on embroidered cushions and tat yards of silk lace with my silver shuttle. We all have a grandmother, or a friend who has a grandmother, who made lace. Depending on their heritage and background, they may have done tape lace, bobbin lace, ...

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...

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...