this moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

A Round A Day-Revisited.

So, remember my crazy year of embroidery when I stitched a 3 inch embroidery every single day?

I do too.

I felt very accomplished but the pressure of EVERY DAY affected me so much, that a break from embroidery totally seemed warranted. 

I jumped into yarn projects and set my floss aside. I was too busy to feel bad about my little hoops and teensy finished pieces stacked on the shelf. They sat in chronological order, for 8 whole months.

Until a friend asked if I would show them and talk about them at the college library. I was assured it would be totally casual, with no need to be nervous.

I was nervous. But agreed. Then I got excited. And started doing some new embroidery. Then got really excited. I pulled down those piles.

Minna helped me sort. We separated them... Flowers. Animal and bugs. Blackwork. Misc.

I hooped my 40 favorites. I love how they look in their hoops. 

The kids had memories of each and every one. The days and times they were stitched came easily to me. Some so vividly, they brought tears.

I printed photos from the blog of a few to display together with their hoops. It was hard to choose just a few.

I started framing some of my new pieces. My year log project was embroidery to photo. My currant project is photo to embroidery, and feels just right.

I needed to find a way to display 365 pieces! Some were hooped. Some were sewn into buntings. Some I stitched to fabric in a big vintage quilters hoop. The rest were left in a basket to dig through and feel.

Two years worth of embroidery was all packed up and whisked into town.

I laid each one out and about 10 times more people came to see them that I had imagined. Including, the newspaper. (Wish I had brought along a stylist and a wind machine.)

I talked all about how I learned embroidery, why I decided to do the 365, and myself. 

The words came smoothly and the conversations so fun and happy. The little pieces of cloth sparked memories in everyone; of art school, grandmother's hands, stitching tortilla napkins in Mexico, hand quilting and canvas embroidery.

It was awesome and everyone was so supportive. (And made me feel a little less crazy for doing it in the first place.) 

Thanks to all, so much, for cheering me on, asking me to show them, coming, seeing and talking to me about these little pieces that created a journal of a year of my life. What an amazing place I live, that gets excited about all forms of art and has no problem putting embroidery on the front page.

Pretty darn neat.

this moment and some notes

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

We had a busy and kind of exciting week.

We were out of doors a lot. (Some feathery ones did the opposite.)

Much progress happening in the little house out back. Someday, I will compile photos of the transformative journey that thing has been through to share. I mostly can't remember what phase it is in at a given moment.

I shared some embroidery with many supportive folks on the island. More on that next week. (It was awesome.)

We had dry, sunny days that were still very chilly, but more the Spring kind of chilly. The chilly that is freezing to me, but warm to the kids. The coat/no coat battles are beginning again.

Spring must really be here. Hello.

Happy Friday!

spring break highlights

these moments

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

Happy weekend, friends!

weekending it.

this moment, plus some change.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

***

The kids counted and rolled $380 worth of coins this week for a friend. 

They got a 10% cut.

They just got paid.

They are hovering excitedly over their little rolls of dimes, nickels and pennies.

Remember when rolls of coins were so awesome?

They are awesome for me again.

Happy Friday!

Spring Break.

Our first day of spring break, 2010.

Bodega, California.

Our first day of spring break, 2013.

Kodiak, Alaska.

That's today.

Quite a different feel, eh?

Just this weekend we were dreaming about our garden that was starting to show itself. 

We could see the beds! 

I made a list of seeds I want to order. 

Rainbows in the sky! 

I was bragging about seeing the ground and that the chickens actually came out of their coop because they could feel the dirt under their little winter wrinkled feet.

Brown and soggy, we all squished in the mud.

I really do take the weather as it comes here. My biggest fear about moving to the island in 2010 was not being able to cope with the cold and wet.

I more than cope. I love.

But there are times that I miss how my hair would get warm to the touch from the sun.

And how I didn't have to worry about muddy dog prints that often.

And how we got away with so few layers all year round.

When I long for California, 

I leaf through photos from our previous Kodiak spring times.

Just to see what is in store.

I re-read my own words.

Then, I am reminded all over again, why I love.

Happy-Happy Spring Break!

This Moment.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

Happy March!