Posted in hand embroidery, quilting

Re-entry

Last Wednesday, the husband and I returned from a very long journey. Over 13 days we drove over 3,000 miles, traveling through nine states. The climax of the trip was three days spent in Ohio, assisting my five siblings in sorting the parents’ household good in preparation for distribution and sale. It’s hard to describe the physical and emotional energy exhausted during that effort, so I won’t try. I wish I could show you a lot of great photographs from the trip, but I didn’t manage to get any worth sharing.

Back here in Oklahoma, it took me a few days to settle back into my normal life. The last few were spent working on hand embroidery of the Shell Lake quilt blocks. It was a good choice for my re-entry, because I could do it slowly while listening to podcasts and drinking lots of coffee. I think that I am done, but not sure. To give me some perspective on my work, I have photographed and posted each block. Let me know if you think the woven sections have enough stitches.

CENTER BLOCK

FOREST BLOCK

FIRE BLOCK

LAKE BLOCK

SKY BLOCK

On another topic, I have brought home a few UFO projects from my mother’s stash that I promised various people that I would finish. My plan is to post about each one as I work through them. If you’re not a fan of sewing and quilting, don’t jump ship yet. I will be continuing to explore watercolor painting, drawing and knitting in the coming months.

Posted in drawing

On being a Grandmother

Anyone who is one knows that there are joyful opportunities and sacred privileges in being a grandparent. Over the years I have experienced more than a few of these special moments. Sometimes they is exist only in a shared photograph. That’s how I felt when I first saw this photograph of my grandson almost ten years ago.

Now as I begin to train myself in drawing and painting, I experience the profound pleasure of reproducing this moment in media.

My first sketch of Henry and Cat:

It warmed my heart to make this image. Thanks to my daughter and son-in-law for capturing the moment and sharing it.