"We need much less than we think we need." - Maya Angelou
“That same night, I wrote my first short story. It took me thirty minutes. It was a dark little tale about a man who found a magic cup and learned that if he wept into the cup, his tears turned into pearls. But even though he had always been poor, he was a happy man and rarely shed a tear. So he found ways to make himself sad so that his tears could make him rich. As the pearls piled up, so did his greed grow. The story ended with the man sitting on a mountain of pearls, knife in hand, weeping helplessly into the cup with his beloved wife's slain body in his arms.” - Khaled Hosseini
Some days I am so perfectly content, and others I would cry into a magical cup.
It has been a fairly productive week! I had the third and final session of treatment for two root canals - and it was all painless. I love my endodontist - Evan Christensen, with offices in Ridgefield and Fairfield (CT), in case you're interested. He is so gentle and kind; a fun conversationalist, too. And, when he is done working on my mouth, he actually massages my Temporal Mandibular joints, ever so gently, to help assuage that horrible ache one gets after sitting with one's jaw wide open for an extended period of time! He even sent me home with a collection of tiny tools of the trade, because I was admiring them so much. I wonder what I will make with them. I have an idea, but we'll see what happens as I start playing with them.
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Sweet Baby Dreams
I am very nearly done with this latest in my Pieces of Dreams series. I really, really love it. I kind of want to save it, just in case I have a grandchild someday. Wouldn't it be just absolutely perfect, hanging on the wall in a baby's room? I have a friend who bought one of my Sweet Baby Stars at a craft show one year, saying "I'll just tuck this away for my first grandchild." I think that is such a great idea. However, my daughter insists she "lacks the gene" that finds children to be cute, so maybe I shouldn't start a Grandchild Hope Chest just yet!
Sweet Baby Stars
In a somewhat related vein, I'm not sure if I've already told you (i.e. bragged) that one of my little felted wool quilts was selected to be in a book! It is called 500 Felt Objects, published by Lark Books, and it will be coming out in the fall. More about this as we get closer to the date.
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I'm just starting on a little sewing project. It is a vintage quilt square - my favorite kind of pieced star, in beautiful blue and brown. I will be adding a thin filler layer, backing, and lots of stitching.
Vintage Pieced Star
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I've also been having a ball making wrap bracelets using leather cord and various beads. I love how they look and I am very excited to be able to feature some of my special antique buttons as clasps.
Double Wrap Bracelet with Antique Dyed Mother of Pearl and Cut Steel Button
Triple Wrap Bracelet with Brass Beads and Antique Brass Police Uniform Button
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Finally, I want to share a little video with you. It is quite strange, but I hope you'll stick with it - it is wonderful. It made me think about how I feel when I am sewing a doll. I often feel very uncomfortable about sticking the needle into the doll, especially as she becomes more and more real. The closer she gets to her finished state, the more I feel like I am injuring an actual being. Anyone else ever think about that? Or am I just too weird?
I'm trying to stay away from the computer ... working on several projects ... if I get near the computer, I end up glued to it for hours ... would rather be with my needle and thread ... so I will be posting pictures, more than words.
Do not keep the alabaster boxes of your love and tenderness sealed up until your friends are dead. Fill their lives with sweetness, speak cheering words while their ears can hear, and while their hearts can be thrilled and made happier by them. The kind things you mean to say when they are gone, say them before they go. The flowers you mean to send - use them to brighten and sweeten their homes before they leave them. If my friends have alabaster boxes laid away, full of fragrant perfumes of sympathy and affection, I would rather they would bring them out in my weary and troubled hours and open them, that I may be refreshed and cheered when I need them. Let us learn to anoint our friends beforehand. Post-mortem kindnesses do not cheer the burdened spirit. Flowers cast no fragrance backward over the weary way.
I must admit, I've not done anything with my textiles lately. I've been having too much fun making jewelry. Here is a mosaic of some of the things I've made. For your viewing pleasure. . Click on the photo titles below to see the enlarged photo.
Made from recycled textiles, this piece is part (#4) of my series I call Pieces of Dreams. I also call this particular piece Baby Dreams because I think it would look so sweet in a special baby’s room. Materials used in making this piece are: felted wool from abandoned sweaters, vintage buttons, and wool tapestry thread. Baby Dreams, which is a one-of-a-kind piece, measures approximately 6” x 6.25” and is offered for sale at:my Etsy shop.
