gifts from my mama

In the spirit of storytelling with cloth, mending and patchwork and slow stitching, my mom recently brought me a box of things that she found in various drawers in numerous hutches and chests in her home.  Linens edged by hand, flour sack towels, embroidered bits of this and that, some needing mending and other pieces stained during times when she made strawberry rhubarb jam or some other sweet treat.

Tomorrow we leave for Fargo, North Dakota and NDSU for my son't college orientation. Well, he'll be orientating. We will be shopping! I've already mapped the thrift shops. Hopefully I will bring home some goodies. I need something to distract me from the fact that in a few short weeks my darling boy will be leaving my home for his own adventures. 

morning tasks

I had several things I needed to do this morning in preparation for Mom's birthday party.  The celebration is at my sister's house, and I was given the task of baked beans, veggie tray and balloons. The beans were finished yesterday and put in the crockpot. I chopped up the veggies and after reading this interesting slow living article just a day or so ago, I got to thinking about how to use up the scraps of veggies that normally would have just been thrown out.

I can't compost where I live, unfortunately, or I would be!  So, I opted to do something else. Salvaging the bits that were not quite pretty enough for the plate, they were all placed in a pot with a handful of fresh herbs, and set to simmer.

I cooked it all down, then ladled it into the blender with some milk and made a puree. There is enough to make a big pot of soup later on, and I kept a couple smaller containers back for my work lunch this week. It tastes amazing!  There is nothing but veggies and herbs, a pinch of salt, in this.  In an effort to get back to real and whole foods, I was quite proud of myself. I know that this is not a new concept and there are probably a ton of folk out there doing this already, but it was new for me, and as I am working very hard to be conscious of using everything to its fullest potential, it was satisfying.  I wish I had done it sooner!

Started on bit #3 of my slow cloth window pane. (Thank you to Shan for suggesting it!) And finally...

I found this on a sidewalk at the school and snapped a picture. It made me smile.

The White Tree

It started as one of those 'wake up at 3am, grab your sketchbook' kind of designs, 

and today I finally sewed on the last button "leaf".

It is a fairly simple design, using only one color that can be easily swapped out depending on the stitcher's preference.  I used DMC Color Variations 4090 to give the tree some very subtle definition.  

The piece is stitched over two threads on Wichelt Import's 28ct. Chocolate Raspberry 100% linen. 

I have been collecting buttons for a very long time, and wanted to do something with all the white ones I have. The patterns will include about three dozen buttons, varying in size and material, but this pattern is simple enough that it could be adapted to any colors and any buttons, beads or whatever embellishments the artist might want to experiment with. 

The last craft show of my season was over the weekend, and afterward I found myself with this a deeper need to clean out  and slow down.  It is an itch I've had for awhile now.  I have long been drawn to the idea of slow living, to get away from commercial, mass produced clothing, to cook instead of drive by  fast food and an even faster life. In an attempt to put myself a little firmer on that path, I did a few things this weekend that I felt very good about, and now I want to keep moving on this new path I've put myself upon.

 I completely gutted my closet. What is left is what I wear. A handful of favorites that bring me comfort and are 'me'.  The things I thought to get rid of were looked at, and a few set to a pile of things that I want to redesign. Rip apart, put back together. The rest were bagged up and taken to the Salvation Army along with all the hats I had left from the shows.  I know that someone will benefit from wearing them instead of me having them back in a dark corner of a closet. That bright flowered shirt that is not authentic to me will find who it really should belong to and the black coat with the shoulder pads will fit into someone's wardrobe! 

I have left myself with five shirts, three sweaters, a couple of pair of jeans and a funky jacket that I forgot I even had as it was buried beneath all the things that I never should have bought in the first place!  I kept a couple scarves that I have crocheted for myself, something I rarely if ever do.  

It was very cathartic. I open my closet now and I see me. 

Up next on the Q Snaps? Another Snowballz addition...

Now I am off to teach ten eager artists how to draw a Nutcracker!