Wishing You

Image credit: Alexas Fotos

Chicken Minus Shrimp

Last night I made this Chicken and Shrimp Fettuccine recipe for the first time. I left out the shrimp because I couldn't find any for sale at the market this week that looked decent (I refuse to buy old-looking or pre-cooked shrimp.) As it includes heavy whipping cream, grated cheese and bacon I can't call this dish is healthy, but I wanted to try it and see how it tasted, and then tweak it to reduce the fat.

Even without the shrimp I thought it was pretty good, and fairly easy to throw together. My guy ate three plates of it (he doesn't get much in the way of unhealthy meals around here, so he was probably in heaven.)

Story Friday

To read my Halloween short story Burning for You, which is based in part on a real life experience of mine, click here.

Image Credit: Peter H from Pixabay.

Ready to Finish

Last night I finished the embroidery on my slow-stitched beach bag, and added a few shells and vintage buttons as embellishments.

This really has been a get-some-breathing-room project for me. I didn't rush, didn't fret over it, and just had fun.

Today I'll sew it together, line it and then show you the final bag.

The Change Effect

For the past few weeks I've been making some changes to how and when I work, what I work on and even what I'm doing when I'm not working. This is because when I'm feeling depressed I often go on auto-pilot and just function doing the same things over and over, which doesn't help improve my mood.

My short story project has been the most positive change; it's fun to write a new story every week. It also helps me feel more creative when I'm writing on a project for work.

I'm breaking up my writing sessions into two; one first thing in the morning and one after dinner, and I'm not doing any editing except for spelling and grammar checks. It means I'll have to do a big edit at the end of the project, but I've hit my wordcount goals every day, so it's a good trade-off.

I'm working on my sewing and quilting in the middle of the day. My hands feel better in the afternoon versus at night, and I'm not as tired.

Cooking has been getting really boring for me because of the repetition, so I'm trying at least one new recipe every week. My guy fell in love with that sausage pasta skillet I tried, and he's willing to be more adventurous to help, so I think this is good for both of us.

Changes aren't always good, but you don't know if you can make something better until you try changing how you do it. Example: since the puppies came to live with us I've let the housework slide, which doesn't make me happy. I want to have a clean house and not feel embarrassed if anyone comes in unexpectedly. It's almost impossible to follow my old schedule of doing one room a day, however. So this week I'm going to forget about following any schedule and just do what I can each day to tidy up where it's most needed.

Have you made any changes lately? Do you want to? Let me know in comments.

My Laundry Helpers

The boys quickly attacked, subdued and terminated this gigantic fuzzy creature for me. I didn't have the heart to tell them it was just a blanket.

Mushrooms Everywhere

This year we've seen more mushrooms in the yard than any time now. It's very damp and hot here, which they seem to love. A large mushroom farm operates only a couple miles from our house. The extra month of rain we've been having for the last two summers is contributing to the population as well, I think.

They also like spots where trees once grew. These two clusters sprang up where one of our old camphors stood right outside our front door.

I'm not a big fan of mushrooms. I have to watch for them now because I don't know which are safe or poisonous, and at this age the puppies will put anything in their mouths. But sometimes they are weirdly beautiful.

Fear

Old age is eaten up with moments of fear, I think. How long do I have left? is one of the scarier questions we ask ourselves, because it usually can't be answered. I've been wondering about that, as I'm seeing too many people younger than me die of disease these days. Then there's the pandemic, which makes me feel like I'm walking through a plague ward every time I leave the house. I could be one of the vaccinated who still gets sick and dies from Delta, or another variant.

I like to look at this picture when I feel afraid. I was terrified of making this quilt. I was scared the entire time I worked on it, from cutting the fabric all the way to stitching on the binding. It was the scariest quilting experience of my life.

Now seeing it reminds me not to be afraid. Even if I screw up, I'll be okay. Even if I don't end up with what I want, I'll learn something. Even if I'm going to be in pain, I can live with it. And if I'm going to die, I won't go whimpering and weeping. I'm not afraid.

Off to Bloom

I'm taking a day off from the internet today to walk the path of roses and think about some stuff. See you tomorrow.

Story Friday

Yep, it's that time again -- to read my new short story Bloodwork, click here.

It's Official

Since the puppies have had zero accidents for the last two weeks, I'm calling it: they're officially house-trained.

Halfway There (Almost)

Making slow but steady progress embroidering the beach bag. I should have this side finished today.

My stitched circles are improving a little.

I'm also getting some feather stitching done.

Not having a plan doesn't worry me anymore. I'm learning to trust the process, I guess.

Kat in Snow

My kid sent me this selfie of her experiencing her first snowfall up in the Pacific Northwest. She loves it and says it's fluffy, but we'll see how she feels after a month or two of dealing with all that fluffiness. :)

The Fun Part

Now working on the embroidery for my slow-stitched beach bag. I have nothing planned, I'm just working spontaneously and improvising as I go along.

I haven't embroidered (or sewn anything, for that matter) in a while, so my running circle stitches are a bit wobbly. Don't care.

It's very soothing, relaxing work, which is all that matters to me.

A Matter of Resilience

Last weekend I read Claire Wellesley-Smith's new book Resilient Stitch ~ Wellbeing and Connection in Textile Art, in which the author added a postscript that almost apologized for the poor timing. Writing a book about making connections and becoming part of a community through sharing and love of textile art is a noble endeavor. Publishing it in the midst of a global pandemic is also brave, in my opinion -- it speaks to a possible future that we all hope we'll survive to enjoy.

This is not a project-based book, although there are a few workshop-style exercises you can try to better understand what Claire does with her own textile art. This is more a memoir of sorts, and an unbiased look at other textile artists, a little of what they're doing with their work, and why they pursue this particular craft. I like how Claire pointed out that sewing and quilting have always been considered low or minor arts, and yet despite the lack of validation through recognition makers have continued practicing and innovating and taking them in all sorts of interesting directions.

Reading this book is like sitting down with the author, having a cup of tea and talking about what makes us create. There's a running theme of resilience throughout the chapters, but this isn't the battlecry of the textile protestors or a demand for the reader to go on enduring the unbearable for the sake of their art. Rather it's a series of observations (Claire has a sharp eye, too) on the resilience of textiles themselves, a gentle prod toward more sustainability for the sake of the planet, and what all that means to those who stitch.

I've always struggled with making connections with others and joining groups, and there was one woman Claire interviewed who seemed a lot like me. What she said about her experience with a textile art group made me feel a lot better about my own shortcomings. I think it's sad that due to the pandemic we can't gather and sew together, even informally, but we can still reach out through social media, talk about textile art and show our work.

I highly recommend Claire Wellesley-Smith's new book as a comfort read and a thought-provoking look at how textile art is evolving and bringing us together (hopefully someday soon.)

Slow Stitch History

While I was reading Claire Wellesley-Smith's new book Resilient Stitch ~ Wellbeing and Connection in Textile Art I took a look around my home office at my little collection of slow-stitched art pieces that she inspired me to make. This one is the very first I made; I embroidered a piece of hand-dyed recycled silk on muslin to depict a setting from one of my stories. Scared the crap out of me to make it, too.

This piece I made from memory; it shows a life-changing moment I had atop a mountain in Tennessee. It's pretty close to what I actually saw that day.

I made this piece from a piece of old, pilled flannel that reminded me of my grandmother's favorite robe. The tree is one that grows in my backyard. Trees are often a theme in my work, I guess because of one of my favorite e.e. cummings's lines: time is a tree (this life one leaf).

My word embroidery isn't that great, but I wanted to express how I feel about fall -- the apprehension over the impending holidays, the depression from watching things turn brown, and how much I wish I could skip October, November and December and just go right to January.

I followed up the fall piece with one about something I do like during winter: the colder temperatures, and the occasional frosts we have here.

A piece I cobbled together while feeling particularly isolated, and trying to express that through my stitching.

One of my stronger pieces; I was feeling very determined and focused after making some very difficult decisions.

My two largest art quilts, each made during a summer of my life when I gave myself permission to play (something that's still hard for me) instead of make useful things to give to other people (my creative default.)

I'm working on a slow-stitched project now, so I continue to be inspired by Claire. It may be the only form of quilting I'm entirely comfortable with now, or maybe it just gives me permission to be myself. Either way, I doubt I'll give it up anytime soon.

Story Project Friday

I've decided for my short story project that I'll post them every Friday. To read my new story, Recognition, click here.

Image Credit: Tú Anh from Pixabay

Progress

My guy is back home safe, sound and exhausted. I think he just realized he's over seventy now. :) I didn't finish a sewing project while he was gone, but I did make some progress on the beach bag.

I've tacked down all the fabric elements on top of the old backing fabric I quilted.

Time to break out the embroidery thread box and have some fun.

Eight Hours Later

It took me a full day of stitching (interspersed by puppy care, walking, attention, and meals, stretching, trips to the loo etc.) to sew the hidden quilt backing fabric to my canvas bag foundation. Since this is a slow stitch project that's fine -- I wasn't in any particular hurry.

For the quilting I followed the original maker's stitch lines, but the part that took the longest to sew was the fragile ragged edge side. That was pretty delicate work.

I managed to get the little original boro patchwork right in the center of one side, so that looks cool. I know, I'm weird. But wait for it, because it's turning out even better than it was in my head and I think the finished bag going to be very neat.

Garden Update

I haven't had much time to get outside other than to walk to pups, but this morning my boys graciously allowed me to take some pics of our gardens. My guy put a piece of lattice in the re-christened strawberry garden to hold the cucumbers, which are growing like crazy. This morning I counted three flowers on the somewhat wilted, brown strawberry plants, so they're still hanging in.

I was surprised to see the cucumbers were already flowering, too.

I intended to get out there this week and cut some herbs for drying, but the road to Hell being littered with the best intentions . . . I will trim some chives today, at least, to cook with for my dinner.

I've been picking and eating radishes all week and yesterday gave some to our neighbors to try. This second bunch are again super crisp but not too hot.

The pole beans have topped the string frame and are looking very healthy.

They're flowering, too, so our odds of having home grown green beans at Thanksgiving are looking good.

Time to Breathe

Yesterday I started my slow stitch bag project by arranging the layout of both sides of the bag.

I might use some freshwater pearls and a bit of holographic thread here and there for some sparkle, but I mostly want to stick to neutral threads and natural embellishments, like this fragment of driftwood.

These are the threads I'll be using for the project.

For the foundation I'm recycling the backing I took off the hidden quilt, as the fragmented edges and mellow color make me think of old sails. Stitching it down is going to take a while, but I'm not in a hurry.

Next

Today I'm going to start working on a gift bag using this slow stitch bundle.

The theme is by the sea, one of my favorites. I also love the colors.

For this project I might incorporate a piece of the newer backing fabric from the hidden quilt. It's pretty fragile, though, so I'm still thinking about it.

I soaked and washed it yesterday by hand in mild detergent, mostly to get out the smell and any dirt, and hung it to dry in the bathroom. Given the age of the fabric I'm a little leery of even hanging it in the sunlight.

Despite its age it held together with no new fraying or shattering, so it's strong enough to stitch.

A before (left) and after (right) washing comparison. Soaking and washing it in the lukewarm water didn't really lighten the fabric much; with very old cotton I think the discoloration comes from fiber deterioration. But it looks a little better, and it smells much, much nicer.