SPRING HAS SPRUNG SALE!

In hopes that spring is really on its way (we are having our doubts in the north east) our Etsy shop is having a sale!  Enter the coupon code EASTER at checkout to save 10% on anything in my shop!

Little House Home Arts Etsy Shop

Spring is Here, at least on the inside!

It is the first day of spring and  I looked outside and said, "Really?"

When it doesn't look like spring, and "cabin fever" is setting in, it is important to create spring yourself and so I am....

I hope to have some of my new creations posted early next week at the latest. I also believe that when trying something new it is best to create not one, but at least a few.  That way I "have more skin in the game" and work harder to create what I envision.  We'll see how I d
Do come visit my Etsy shop for I am planning many new items for Easter and then for Mother's Day.  I am also off and running on "Operation-Cut-And-Quilt".  If I can produce fleece socks or pincushions "a plenty", why not challenge myself to create quilts "a plenty" too.

A plenty is what my Great Grandmother Kiechel would reply if anyone asked her if she would like a second helping at dinner.  She would always reply, "I have had a plenty, thank you".

When it comes to creating quilts, I have decided that although I am overwhelmed when I think of completing the seven I have already started, and have in some state of near completion, if I cut out several more, it will make seven seem less rather than more overwhelming?!  This should increase my chances of enjoying the process guilt free and change my attitude about quilts being impossible to finish.  Perhaps I will then complete them and more!

I have been inspired by Teresa Rawson's blog, Fabric Therapy. She creates a plenty of  beautiful hand-appliqued quilts.  I will not challenge myself to do the hand-detailed quilts that she is doing YET. My quilts will be simpler for now as I warm up to greater challenges, like finishing my mother's heirloom candlewicking/lace/heart quilt that I featured in my blog around Valentine's Day.

......and yes, my family is questioning my sanity (and so am I), though in truth I am having a great time planning and cutting fabric.  I am resolved to leave a detailed plan with each quilt I have in process, just in case my children inherit them in an as-is state, though I am resolved to live as long as needed to complete all I start. I may have a bit of magical thinking here, thinking I can extend my life by committing to more, not less in my future days. My plans will let another know just where to pick up where I left off should my days run short and I need not experience any guilt for cutting my fabric, as whatever is cut and planned can be sold as kits in my final estate sale.

Nothing is gained if nothing ventured and so I am stepping up my sewing plans to create more exciting sewing adventures in the days and years ahead! Don't worry, I also have many a pincushion and needle book cut out and ready to stitch as well...and when perhaps I have completed many fleece socks, wool pincushions and assorted other fun projects and quilts perhaps my great grandmother (and God) will look down from heaven, smile and comment that I have certainly done a plenty!

When it Rains, it Pours...or Here Comes Lent!

Fashion Lenten Footwear (booties for surgery)

Have you ever noticed that "when it rains, it pours"...... and I am not speaking of "April Showers"!

It has figuratively "poured" this last week.  I was just getting ready to dive into sewing when I got the sort of phone call that we all dread to get. It was my husband.  "I'm on my way to the hospital by ambulance", he said and his short pause here felt like an eternity before he went on, "I fell at work and broke my wrist pretty badly. Can you come?"

Is there an option? To come or not to come? I was having a pajama-day and enthusiastically ready to sew my Easter items and really on top of my game! Then the air just went out of my tires and I rolled to a complete stop! My schedule just changed.  It would be a day at our local hospital emergency room.  I took care of my mother in her final years, along with raising a family and trips to the ER had become my nemesis. Sitting on a hard chair and being in the way, no matter where I planted myself.

I called my daughter as perhaps she could get there faster than me.  "Hi Hannah, I just got a call from your dad and he is on his way to the ER. I wondered if you could meet him there? I will be there as soon as I can." I went on to fill in the details.

Her response was anything but what I expected as she is also well-seasoned to such calls.  "I think I am going to throw up!", she replied. "What time is it?" she asked, and then calculating, she replied, "Actually I can't as I am due to pick up the kids (that she nannies)." The weight of the situation just grew heavier in an instant, as it became a solo event for me!

Racing to dress wasn't something that I was used to doing these days. I started throwing some hand-sewing in a plastic bag, planning the day in a flash! Some nuts would stave off hunger. I would skip carrying a purse and I threw everything in a large carry bag. I anticipated that there would be other things of my husband's to care for as well. Now to dress and scoot out the door as my mind whirred. Would I be bringing him home tonight or not? How bad was his break?  Would he need surgery? This wasn't my plan for the day, much less the week...Expletive, expletive!! I envied the luxury of my daughter taking a moment to feel sick!  I didn't have time for that, besides which moms and wives have to be the strong ones in the middle of crisis, though we pay for it later to be sure!

I set my car on automatic and drove right to the Emergency Room, like I had a zillion times before, with just enough gas to get there without stopping!

"I am really sorry" he moaned as I walked into his room.  "It is a bad break--both bones...and I was trying to be really careful!"  It was our worst fear come true.  It seems that that is a pattern with us too; just think the worst and it happens and we can't seem to have things in place like we used to!  My husband is without health insurance for the first time in his life.  He is lying there broken and I instantly think of  our "broken bank account" instead!  Like so many others in today's world, his insurance had been dropped suddenly. We have never been in this position before and are usually over-insured and underpaid, but with his lay-off a year ago all that changed. We instantly signed up for alternative insurances, though some were not replaceable due to pre-existing conditions, and/or not passing the medical tests that were breezed through years earlier. We are simply doing the best we can, a seeming story of our lives!

He read my face and replied, "I was told not to worry.  It will all be covered under Workman's Comp." Hard to believe as he had just started this new job only weeks prior! I breathed a sigh of relief as they gave him more pain medication.

I wanted to yell and scream at him and instead I found the right words, "Accidents happen in a split second," though in my heart I couldn't help thinking that this accident was waiting to happen.  I had just told him that morning that we both really needed a vacation from the on-going stress following his lay-off just over a year now.

Trying to get gainful employment at age 64 had turned his/our life upside down and it felt like it was just taking a turn for the better and would settle-out soon, but even good changes demand energy that is lacking: new jobs to replace the one where the promised salary never materialized, loss of still another doctor after just getting re-established,  newly obtained insurances being suddenly dropped were all adding to longer do-lists, greater costs, higher deductibles, less coverage, our income still way below the one lost, and now a sick dog in the middle of this crisis!

Gratitude has been our response to our ability to absorb one loss after another, but seems to be wearing thin. My husband's pain has been high, and I truly wondered if they could medicate him to a comfort level, for he is indeed having pain  on many levels all surfacing and leaking out his broken wrist! Still all I could think of was that this emergency likely staved off a breakdown of greater magnitude. He had literally needed "a break" and had literally just gotten it.  The orthopedic doctor indicated that he would be at home for seven to ten days minimally! Despite a lack of income, I was relieved. Our savings would be stretched to cover yet another expense, but this one was for a much needed reprieve that would perhaps prevent an even more catastrophic event!

Once again God had saved us.... my husband from stress that was adding up exponentially as well as refocusing me as to what is really important. My sewing would wait a few days! We have no choice but to stop, my husband to get some pain relief, rest and heal! Another dip in our finances was the least of our worries!  We are both exhausted and needed to clear our heads to proceed with the next faze of  "Mission- Rebuild". New jobs ahead for my husband, some new directions with my treatment and sewing and new hope for making it the next fifteen months before my husband reaches full retirement age.

They say that "misery loves company" and I am comforting myself to know that we are not alone in our struggle in this economy. I remain the eternal optimist, likely a sort of denial that is permanently etched in my brain.  When the going gets tough, I seem to look for the benefits. My friend and fellow artist, Maria Wulf wrote that she thinks my thoughts about all this are Zen-like, as she said they were like "the man who broke both legs and thought how lucky he was to be spared from having to go to war" though I couldn't help but wonder if my thinking had been reduced to being totally concrete ..."a break for a break"! My husband finding comfort in my Vacation Chair was more than ironic however, it was providential!

Today he goes for surgery.  It  seems that screws and plates are what is needed to get his bones properly aligned for healing.  He has the best hand surgeon in town, and she was on-call the day of his accident. His arm is to be stronger than ever after he heals and I am wondering if I would benefit from some screws and plates in some of my joints or better yet in my head, as all sorts of screws seem to be loose there! His new job is anxious for him to return and couldn't be more supportive. We have been much blessed and my optimism is rising once again. Well wishes and prayers from family and friends along with a bit of sic humor and we are weathering this wrinkle. The dog is feeling better already, for although my daughter's nausea was only momentary, the dog's wasn't! This was likely an omen of my husband's healing to come, I hope!

Lent has started and sacrificing some time to my husband's healing along with my side of the bed for a few days and my Vacation Chair for a few weeks is likely fitting for this Lenten season and my husband's injury, a reminder that we are mere mortals on this bumpy road of life.  Healing will come and likely his arm will be lots better by Easter!  How can I miss the meaning of this Lent/ Easter season!? Some difficult healing days are ahead and then we will hopefully soon be up and running full speed ahead, thanks be to God!

This Month's Common Thread Give-Away Winner is...

Joan from Wisconsin is the winner of this month's Common Thread Give- Away!  Thank you all for your interest and participation.  There will be another Give-Away the beginning of April!

Rachel's hope that Spring will be here by April is optimistic and I hope she is right! With warmer days we are beginning to see sugar buckets here!  This is definite progress towards spring, though here in Vermont we have a 5th season called Mud Season, when the ground begins to thaw, and the "frost heaves" in the roads level out and it all gets squishy!! It is also a welcome sign that spring is around the corner.  So far our ground is still covered in snow here, though our plow piles seem to be getting a bit shorter!

Thank you all again for participating in our Give-Away.  We appreciate your interest in our work!
Sincerely, jane

The Common Thread Artist for March is...

Rachel Barlow is the Common Thread Artist for March. She is giving away a print of her Ice Pond Barn.  It is beautiful and would be lovely hanging on your wall!

Rachel Barlow is a busy wife and mother of two boys, and  lives on what she calls a homestead instead of a farm in Vermont.  She is "a transplant" to Vermont, though it doesn't take long to know that anyone who lives here has common bonds: a love for maple trees and syrup and some practical knowledge about rural living. Rachel's stories about raising her Thing 1 and Thing 2 bring back the memories of raising our two girls here in Vermont. It is a great place to raise kids. Do check out her writings and art work on her blog, Picking My Battles. Being in Vermont is to be rooted in family and stories.  Rural living is a grounded way of life and you will enjoy Rachel's writings that speak to values of love of family and the beautiful countryside that surrounds us.

I just visited her sight and was intrigued by the picture of her husband's great grandmother, Alice Little Fox a native Vermonter and native American Mohawk Indian.  I was fascinated by the picture and Rachel's story about her! Family stories are precious and like she said, two headstones with names tell so little about the bridges that brought them together.

I too am interested in those that went before me.  I am finding that some of my ancestor's traits have somehow reached me. It is in my gene pool, no doubt, though I always believed that we were more products of our environment.  That is questionable after seeing a grandchild who doesn't like peanuts in his chocolate, just like his grandfather, or a granddaughter who loves sewing just like her grandmother and great grandmother!  There is more than the shape of a nose that gets passed down.

Rachel's writing about Alice Little Fox is so appropriately  entitled, The Way we Are.  How much of who we are is really written in the stories of our ancestors! Read more of Rachel's stories on her blog and to register to win her free give-away drawing by just going to her website and leaving her a message any time from Tuesday through Thursday.  A winner will be selected on Friday and all Common Thread Artists will post the lucky winner at the end of the week.

Changes in my Studio Spaces

February is gone and with it days of cutting out new creations for Easter to be listed in my Etsy shop in time for Easter Shopping.  I have also stuffed my sewing baskets full of projects all ready to be stitched for spring. I love to cut and my days aren't long enough to sew all I want to do!

I have also been busy re-organizing my studio spaces.  It seems to have a domino effect; one change brings another and then another.  It all started with planning for a friend to come and needing to make my studio double as a guest room.

Wool bins in storage area.

My bins of wool fabrics got moved into my closed storage area to eliminate any remaining moth ball odor, though mostly gone now that all my wools are sealed in bags. My other fabrics have been re-organized, consolidated and stored in my finished studio/guest room space. This had been an daunting task, though I find that the more organized I get, the more such switches are not as difficult as I thought.

Being a serious sewer, I am finding that I cannot be too organized. My materials are all sorted as to type, color, and special collections. My notions all have bins of their own and are easily accessible.  It has been a work in progress! Even my UFO's (unfinished objects) have their storage spots as well.

Basement studio: Sorted materials.

As I rearrange my sewing collection, my brain whirs with new ideas. Even my sewing books and patterns needed to be a bit better organized to more quickly find what I need and as with any sewer, my collections seem to grow.  I can't help checking out Yahoo's Sew It's For Sale group each day scouting for good deals and am pleased when they find me!

Upstairs sewing room: pattern boxes and books by subject.

I am sometimes overwhelmed by it all! Who in their right mind and at my age up-sizes instead of down-sizes, but as I have said before, I am planning for my family to celebrate my death with a grand estate sale and invite all sewers, quilters and crafts people!  I have learned from other estate sales, that if my materials are planned and cut, I need to include the pattern and notes regarding each project with them, so others can make sense and finish what I have started or at least know what they would be purchasing. I have decided after reading Theresa Rawson's articles on her blog, FabricTherapy that putting my pattern and plan together in a plastic sleeve will be helpful.  I am also going to add my notes so I can better remember where I left off, which will facilitate picking up the project and knowing where to begin again. I am not going to waste my time feeling guilty about the way that I work, hopping from one project to another. Sewing is what is important and I have it on good authority that people who stay engaged in creative activities live longer than others that don't have such plans! I am aiming to live to the ripe old age of 104, which means that I should have 38 more years to stitch away and if not, it will be a sewer's delight to come to my final estate sale!
(Click here for Theresa Rawson's Stash Organization articles)

Pattern, and notes are all kept in a plastic sleeve. Thank you Theresa!

I thought my ideas crazy until this last week, when I found Theresa's special blog mentioned above.  She creates the most beautiful quilts and always works on multiple BIG projects.  She credits her productivity to her organization of her materials.  Her studios are set up in such a way that nothing is wasted-- materials, time or energy!  I am learning much from her and am thrilled to know just how possible it is to finish quilts like I have learned to do with my smaller craft projects! It was self-affirming to learn that others work on many projects at a time and start new projects before finishing old ones.  My trip to Country Treasures Quilt Store also connected me with other like-minded individuals who can't stop sewing and have as many or more UFO's than me!

I am learning to cut using plastic stencils and a rotary cutter!

Some blocks after pressing!

Torn strips ready for pressing, per my quilt instruction before rotary cutters.  

A bin for scraps of odd sizes to be recycled.  I am learning!

Everyday is filled with possibilities and it is such fun to get up every morning to create and sew, in between those other tasks that I am not so thrilled about doing (laundry, cleaning, and cooking). How exciting to have baskets filled with projects ahead, some for hand-sewing and some for machine! Though I am clearly not done yet!

Zombie Artist Plans Funky Day

Maria Wulf posted her Zombie Hen Potholders (see above), and although they are all sold out, they are not to be missed! How fun and silly they look. Interestingly she has posted them on a morning when I seemed to have snapped too! I have been cutting out multiple projects, usually one of my most favorite activities. I treat it like a yoga exercise and enjoy sitting in front of the TV as I do it and "getting into the zone" playing with colors and textures of fabrics.

Today I am out of the zone completely and seriously considering my girlfriend's offer to escape to sunny California. Oh, I forgot, I am still in a treatment that doesn't allow for soaking up Vitamin D from the sunshine. My daughter imitates Madame Mim from The Sword in the Stone, as she giggles and repeats her favorite line to remind me of my plight, "I haaaaate sunshine!" She does it for me to make me laugh at myself when I get Zombie-like from the lack of it!

I have just been to the quilt store and pulled out all sorts of fabric and thought I was inspired enough to make it through the rest of this season's snow storms! I even made my "Sunshine Soup" yesterday, one of my favorite soups, full of veggies, and here I am today, a Zombie Artist....without a speck of creativity and fabric is the last thing I want to see, though it is everywhere! Fortunately this doesn't happen too often, and it might be due to the fact that I have coupled my cutting activities with cleaning out the basement, even though I have planned it to be a twenty-three day project, spreading out this dreaded task into tolerable mini doses!

Time to reference my Cabin Fever Buster list:
1) Nap?...I just got up after a full night's sleep, so onto the next suggestion..
2) a sewing or cutting bee or in front of a good TV program?....Yeuk!
3) Moodle to get new ideas?.... Done yesterday!
4) Pick up house and have a visitor?...house just done, except for the dreaded basement, and a visitor--Not today!
5) A beauty bath? likely a good choice...what is that I am smelling? Yes, it is definitely time to add bathing to my list for the day, but all day?
6) Exercise? Another need and I just read that too much sitting will lead to disability! Too little knowledge, too late and too cold and nasty out to get to the pool, leaving exercise to an in-house cleaning activity--NOT fun, but definitely needed! OK, a minimal amount of time in the basement added to my list.
7) Clean pantry shelves to make a creative dinner? I still have some Sunshine Soup as I cleaned out the refrigerator yesterday! Too much of the same for today, no way! I think a ham popped in the oven will smell nice. I will add that to the list.
8) Learn something new today? There IS much I want to learn about the quilting I want to do soon and so that will be added to the list too!

9) Pray? Definitely needed to elevate this funk!
10) Do a random act of kindness? Would it be kind to call someone today with the mood I am in? Very questionable, though I do have a friend who is a young mother, trapped in her house with five kids. Perhaps she would consider it kind of me to call and ask about her issues and listen to her, besides which I will feel better in knowing that I am NOT trapped in my house with five kids! I will add that to my list.

So there is my day all planned out: several stints of going up and down steps for exercise, likely to and from the basement's twenty-three day on-going cleaning project, a beauty bath as I smell ham roasting in the oven, learn something new about quilting, pray for my mood to be elevated, and call my young housebound-mother-friend and listen to her issues, a given with her load. Then feeling better about my circumstances, perhaps I can then plung into the more mundane projects of cutting and pressing materials for sewing and quilting to prep for a day that I feel more creative! I will even treat myself to a bowl of my left- over Sunshine Soup for lunch, perchance to dream of sunshine to melt all our snow!

My Sunshine Soup Recipe (for those that are also challenged in culinary arts)
Throw into a pot: browned hamburger, sauteed onions, fresh vegetables (clean out your refrigerator--carrots, cabbage, celery--it doesn't even have to be crisp!) and then clean out your freezer--mixed frozen veggies or whatever sort you have left), peeled and diced potatoes, canned crushed or diced tomatoes, beef broth, and then add spices: salt, pepper, red pepper,a bit of curry, parsley, garlic and Italian seasonings (marjoram, oregano, rosemary, thyme, savory, sage and basil) and let simmer in the oven until fresh carrots, and potatoes are cooked. Serve with a slice of bread slathered with butter for a soul-warming cold winter's day meal!