Tag: Stitch Project: Peace Pin Project

Ring them bells

~ Liz A ~ 5 Comments

Bob Dylan wrote Ring them bells, covered here (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8avSGnZlnaY) by local singer/songwriter Sarah Jarosz. In my mind it’s the perfect accompaniment to these images of the Maroon Bells in Aspen, Colorado.

The story ends here …

but it begins with the second annual reunion of three teachers and their spouses …
Don, moi, Pam, Sarah, Wade, Bill
Back in the 1990s, Don, Pam and Sarah taught together at Norge Elementary School in Williamsburg, Virginia. Along the way, Pam and Sarah taught both of our daughters. The guys played sand volleyball together. And we all looked forward to annual jaunts to Jimmy Sneed’s restaurants, first Windows on Urbanna Creek and later, The Frog and the Redneck.
Last year, we held a long-hoped-for reunion at our home in Texas. This year, we all traveled to Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Knowing my aversion to heights, Pam and Wade planned a day trip that wouldn’t freak me out. After a delightful bistro lunch, we climbed on board a bus (https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/whiteriver/specialplaces/?cid=stelprd3835792) bound for the lake at the foot of the Maroon Bells …

14,000′ peaks named for their resemblance to, well, maroon bells …

Only 12 miles from Aspen, it was no surprise to find the trees for which it is named, but what truly delighted me was Pam’s direction to see the eyes in the aspen trunks …

The day was hot and the sun strong as we waited for a bus to go back down. When one finally arrived, it was clear we wouldn’t make it on … until the driver offered standing room for those who were willing. Well sure, but as we climbed aboard, a woman shooed her two daughters out of their seats, offering them to three of us in their place.
Always before I would have said “No thanks, I’m fine.” But this time I simply said, “Thank you … thank you very much,” then watched the mom and her daughters wrap their arms around each other as the bus bumped and swayed … 

That was how I came to take my next-to-last imagine peace pin from its place on my purse and pin it to one of my cards. Handing it to the mom as we got off the bus, I thanked her and her daughters one last time. She handed it in turn to the daughter whose seat I had taken … and I do so hope she will see herself here.

Feeling more like myself

~ Liz A ~ 15 Comments

I am grateful to India Flint for the insights I received during her bagstories project. And I will honor her request not to divulge the construction techniques provided in her private Facebook workshop.

That said, I do want to share part of the journey that led to the creation of this bag …

As you can see, it is somewhat larger than the bag on the right, which was constructed following India’s original instructions …

But those of you who have been reading this blog for a while will most likely recognize its roots in the Remember 2016 cloth, which utilized Jude Hill’s paperless piecing technique …

Indeed, the first patches in this new bag were trial bits from Remember 2016. Others were remains of last year’s Peace Pin Project. And some were made from cloth gifted by Kindred Spirits. Most are linen, either thrift store bought or vintage clothing and linens from my past.
There were even several abandoned slow stitch projects pulled out and finally put to good use …

Speaking of which … I recently went through my scraps, discarding many that were too small and/or too shredded to be of much use. But in going through the myriad bits and pieces, I realized that I recognized each one … where it came from and what project it was used in. The memories that were triggered astonished me. 
So it is that this bag has become a holder of memory. Point to any patch and I dare say I can spin a story (or two or three). In the days to come, I may do just that. But for now, I will rest in the satisfaction of its wholeness and in sharing that here.
Addendum:

First Golden Eye …

Agarita …

and Bitterweed …

No apologies, just "write"

~ Liz A ~ 13 Comments

So you might have noticed I’ve been gone for a while … having fun with our grandkids mostly. They range in age from 13 to 5 to 3 years old, down to Little P who has somehow managed reach 9 months already. We put way more than 2000 miles on the car in the past 3 weeks. And yes, it was all worth absolutely every minute of the beautiful racket (with credit to Mary Chapin Carpenter for the phrase, which captures the wild joy of kids at play).

Now it’s finally time to be just me again, which includes looking back on last year and looking forward to the year ahead. The first post of 2017 included a list of past resolutions and an overly optimistic new resolution (at the end of this post):

2013 – Create

2014 – Blog
2015 – Stitch
2016 – Remember 
2017 – Enjoy 
In hindsight, I would rename my resolution for 2017 “Imagine Peace” for the project that ultimately reached over 70 individuals in six countries and twenty states …

There was also the completion of two projects from the previous year: Land of Flood and Drought 2016 …

and Remember 2016 …

Followed by new grandchild projects like this pillow …
and these nursery wall hangings …
for the arrival of Sweet P in April …

I surprised myself by actually finishing a new bag made from linen shirt plackets …

while only making a start on The Land as the Crow Flies …

and the Pojagi-inspired Peace Pin Project Shawl …

Fortunately, I can also report the actual completion of the pennon for Mo’s Dream, seen here in a picture from her blog It’s Crow Time …

And in spite of the two projects-pending above, I started yet another in December to commemorate our 40th wedding anniversary (which has since passed, but the project is yet to be completed) …

Which brings me to here and now: the year 2018 and my resolve to “Write” … which will include sending “real” mail to kindred spirits in recognition of how much I appreciated the “real” mail that arrived in my mailbox last year … a continuation of the Peace Pin Project Shawl, which will most likely be renamed the Commonplace Shawl as I intend to stitch words and phrases that I wish to recall in the coming year … a book for our grandkids tentatively titled Moon Myth … and last, but far from least, continued posting here on the blog.
So belated best wishes to all for the new year ahead … may it prove memorable in all the best ways possible. However it turns out in the end, though, I am grateful for your presence along the way.