Tag: grandchildren

  • My fiber refuge

    My fiber refuge

    The news cycle lately isn’t very comforting to anyone, but I am feeling a particularly angst-ridden as a Veteran, because I can feel – in the depths of my being – the great terror being experienced by families across this country (USA) who are impacted by the reality of a troop deployment into a war…

  • Beginnings, endings, & on-going projects

    Beginnings, endings, & on-going projects

    Spring in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic is a welcome transition out of Winter. The sun shines, the flowers and trees bloom and the air is heavy with promise. For those of us blessed with the arrival of new babies, the bounty of this time of year is multiplied many times over. Wishing everyone a Happy Spring, days…

  • First Quilting Retreat

    First Quilting Retreat

    My sister and I sleep under quilts that were hand-stitched by our great-grandmothers (one of whom was a regular part of our lives as kids). We grew up with women who sewed, quilted, crocheted and knitted. We’ve been sewing for many years, and recently decided it was time to get serious about learning to quilt.…

  • My fiber-year in review

    My fiber-year in review

    I chose the featured photo (top of page) as it best reflects my thoughts on the past year, or at least the year since January 21st. In many ways, my sewing, knitting, and crocheting have helped me stay sane in a world that seemed to begin to fall apart around that time.

  • Summer odds & ends

    Summer odds & ends

    Change can be a challenge to navigate, and I am always grateful to the examples set by my grandmother and great-grandmothers on how to keep moving forward when life gets messy. I think it was their generations’ version of meditation, which tracks with so much of the research today around how crocheting, knitting and other…

  • Finding joy

    Finding joy

    The truest forms of joy do not come from BIG, EXPENSIVE things. It most often shows up in the faces of those we love, but it also sneaks into our lives in the form of silly little projects that capture our fancy for a moment. I call that “joy finding” – and have come to…

  • Simple gifts

    Simple gifts

    My youngest granddaughter is blessed with plenty, in many ways, which sometimes makes gift giving a challenge (for me, anyway). Therefore, I rely on hints – a “wishlist” of her latest favorites – from which I am able to choose an appropriate gift. A couple years ago, I decided to combine wishlist gifts with something…

  • More gifts of love

    More gifts of love

    Back in 2015, I wrote a blog post on my other site about my Christmas memories from childhood. In that post I shared that I remember few, if any, specific toys or gifts, but that I do remember the room full of people that loved me and my sister, and the warmth of my grandparents’…

  • Fiber fright fun

    Fiber fright fun

    Over the last few years, I’ve found a lot of joy in Halloween fiber arts! This year I not only found crochet patterns, like this Candy Corn stuffie by Okie Girl Bling ‘n Things, but I went all out and made my costume and a little bag to carry as a themed purse.  I made the…

  • Love, recycled

    Love, recycled

    When I see a handmade afghan or quilt in a thrift store or yard/garage sale, I am always curious about its history. I recently found matching twin sized blankets at the local thrift shop – one of them pictured below. The photo was taken hastily and does not reflect the neatness of the rows and…