December 31, 2021

It is early…. 6:40 am to be exact. I am drinking the last few sips of my second cup of coffee and I am reflecting on the day… the year… the years….Today is the day to bring in the New Year and make plans for the future. New Years resolutions, diets, new planners, hanging the new calendar. Optimism and hope for a new beginning with plans to correct bad habits and live a better more productive life…..

I have thought a lot about the year 2022 and what hopes I have for this year moving forward. Most of my thoughts center around my creative process. What will I make this year? What new technique will I learn? What new craft will spark my interest? Last year I planned my entire year of knitting. I finished 3 of the projects and I have 2 sweaters half finished and a shawl almost complete (fingers crossed I finish it today!)

My plan for this year is to go on a diet… yes a physical diet.. that is a constant for me… but no.. this year I am making a conscious decision to go on a craft diet. I am making a pledge to myself not to purchase any craft or fiber arts supplies of any kind. I am leaving books out of the equation for the moment.

I have a basement and house filled with fabric, material, fiber, yarn, patterns, looms, needles, sewing machines… and the list goes on and on and on and on and on and oooooooonnnnnnnnn!

I am ready to begin a journey of cutting back and using the things I have in an attempt to be creative and explore my inner creative process. I watch podcasts and drift through magazines, pintrest and instagram feeds looking at all the creative projects. I tend to examine the supply list and run to the nearest craft store and make a carbon copy of that project bag or knitted garment. I am going to blame my lack of creativity on social media…. Of course… it could never be me… I was hog tied and forced against my will to purchase and recreate something. 

I feel as if I have lost my creative energy. It is so easy to use social media as incentive to find the latest trend and recreate it. What has happened to me is I am more thrilled with the purchase than the process. I am no longer the one being the creative inspiration. Instead, I purchase and purchase then pack it up in a box and store it in the basement. 

So this is the year of organization, declutter and use what you have at hand. I want to use my outrageous stash of creative supplies as an opportunity to become creative and live happily with the things I have around me. I am finding a real need to stop consuming. I want to use the abundance of wealth I have and look at my natural surroundings as a treasure chest of supplies that will set my creative juices flowing.

The year 2022 is a new beginning, a journey into a creative world of exploration. An opportunity to break the habit of spending for the thrill of the purchase. I want to live a more conscientious life style, one with intent, purpose and meaning. I want my passion for textiles and the fiber arts to have mystery and surprises as I focus inward and explore the unknown element of personal creativity. 

The year 2022… The year of finding my creative signature.

blessings

🐝 

September
Today is September 28th 2019. I am sitting on my front porch and I hear the evening sounds of crickets chirping as the daylight begins to fade into darkness. It is 7:33 pm and the darkness is settling in around a gray skyline.
I light a candle to see as I knit on my front porch. I hear a faint rumble... could that be a sign of rain.... we have not had rain for weeks... we need the rain so desperately...
Cool evenings early darkness all signs that fall is in the air!
The leaves are changing much earlier this year and I find myself grabbing my fuzzy robe in the morning as I drink my morning coffee on the porch.
Today I posted a photo on facebook of my front porch. The caption was “There is no place like home”. Instantly, I got a response from my daughter about the tree in the front yard that had the perfect hole for little critters to make their home. Her response related to her first pet “Samantha Buns” a gray loop warred bunny we bought her to take care of as I took care of her new baby sister.
This house... this farm has had and continues to live and breathe in our hearts!
It has been home to my beautiful daughters..... the memories... it has been home to many a wayward traveler some stay just for a short visit and others seeking a loving embrace as they need comforted in time of dire need. It has been home to at least 5 dobermans and one Senior dog... bunnies, kittens, goats , sheep, goose goose and an occasional Hobo Joe...
There have been birthday parties and sleep overs, cookouts and thanksgiving dinners... Christmas mornings and Christmas trees... I still hear the whispers of two little girls finding candy Easter baskets on Sunday morning.
We celebrated the wedding reception of  Jacqueline and Lukasz.
We learned loved and grew as a family in this house.....
The autumn leaves begin to fall around this beautiful home... just as they do year after year. The voices that echo in this home are here... forever... a part of the history of this home...
I embrace the moments and new stories will emerge.... more history ....
Blessings to all
Bee

Color of the sky

Dear......
As I sit on my porch and the evening begins to settle in there is a haze that seems to appear in the sky.... fog like.... with a soft yellow glow behind it.
I have to say that I have never seen a sky quite like it.
I took a photograph and it just doesn’t seem to capture this eerie sense of light behind a veil of soft smoke.
The evening sounds of summers end are adding to the illusion of this mystical experience.
Gabe, of course, adds his drama as he barks at bumble bees nesting in a birdhouse on the porch.
 Today is August 30 and in just a few days we will begin to enter into a new month... September!! Aweeee cool temperatures.... leaves changing and the evening sky settles in a little sooner.
The fall festivals will begin and we reach for sweaters and woolen shawls to take with us during those brisk evening walks.
Fall marks the last season of a year and symbolizes change as autumn leaves begin to fall. We see the leaves change colors .... a change that is so drastic. The color of the landscape moves from summers vibrant green to autumns spectacular oranges and reds and yellows. Then.... the season progresses and the colors change yet again into faded browns and tans....
This environmental transformation is nothing short of a miracle.
I begin to hear people say things like... "Wow it is fall already... where did the summer go?" Or "Oh the leaves changed so quickly I hardly had a chance to notice."
The end of a year.... the last of the seasons in that year....
Time of reflection..... Time for changes .....time to think and slow down..... draw into those warm blankets on a crisp evening walk....
The night sky is clear...
Reflection..... change.....pause....slow.......
Reflection....
Enjoy the moment... take time to notice the changes around you and inside of you... take time... pay attention... feel the moment...there will never be another quite like it... each season... each year will come and go... you can notice it or just comment that you barely had the time to enjoy it.... and then autumn leaves begin to fall and the landscape changes into faded browns and tans....

Earlier this week I picked up a loom and brought it to Stephens' house... finally I can weave in Bluefield. I named this loom Maggie Macomber...It was manufactured in 1940 and is a Macomber loom... What a gem... Inside a box of springs and hooks I found 3 cones of cotton.. green Burgundy and yellow.... ooooooo... my first warp on this loom....Fun...
Just as the season is changing.... I am feeling a change in me... in my weaving process.... I am learning new techniques as I watch the videos from the Jane Stafford online class.
I am learning how to be a more purposeful weaver... learning about color and cloth structure and design elements. I am more methodical in my choices of warp and weft size, color, and order.
It is the right time in my life to apply these new techniques and focus in on the fine details of weaving. The purpose of proper shuttle throwing and posture at the loom. Details... fine in-depth details that make a textile go from an okay cloth to a handcrafted textile.
I notice that paying attention as I plan my project and warp, aware of the details as I beam my warp on to  the loom and begin to weave... it really does make a difference! I am aware of how my mood changes each of these steps... my colors blend and the hand of the cloth matches the purpose of each piece... it isn't just a happy accident.
hmmmmmmm... can I apply this to my everyday life.... the choices I make as I become more aware of my actions.... and how my actions which are slow and purposeful.. thought out and planned, have a huge impact on the final outcome... and how my emotions change the course of that final outcome.
It is amazing... how we live day by day.... so deep in our thoughts that we forget to be in the present moment.... we miss the moments of summer and we barely notice the glorious colors of the Autumn leaves....
Blessings
B

Mid Summer Nights Dream

July 17, 2018
Good evening to all,

The months and days seem to blend together and suddenly I feel inspired or perhaps I have had a few quiet days..... enough time to let feelings and emotions simmer.... time to absorb and actually feel and reflect upon those swirling moments and try to fit the pieces of my jigsaw life puzzled days together... attempting to make sense of it all and mentally provide a metaphoric ground that will provide me with positivity in the days and years that are ahead of me.
Today has been a very non descriptive day. The weather was medium hot... not too hot but hot enough.... nothing earth shattering or unusual has happened and I settled into my daily routine of summer chores and fiber projects nestled amidst cycle of the day.
Gabes was out and about..... and in and out ....as the day seemed to linger until slowly ever so slowly the evening took over and darkness settled in with its quiet soft spirit. I am always comforted by the summer evenings and how they seem to ever so slowly seep into their place. There is nothing bold or over powering about a summer evening. It just slowly emerges and then there is darkness. You hardly notice its presence until it fully emerges.
I like enjoy these moments. I am grateful that I can appreciate the beauty in the closing of another day. I feel peaceful and content. I feel loved. My spirit is calmed by the rhythm of the sun and the moon.
As I gaze up and look at the stars I wonder how many other people on this planet are reflective of these mystical moments that are ever present in our daily lives?
The gift of a day and the subtle minute by minute changes that move an early morning sky into an afternoon of bright blue skies and eventually the day turns into the soft twinkle of evening dusk.
My body moves with the day and an abrupt change from this rhythm can be felt as I try to adjust and adapt. Most days ... I am so busy I do not know what that change is or why all of a sudden I feel tired or overwhelmed or anxious.
I appreciate the changes in the day and I am eager to rest and recharge so I can begin a new day... a new beginning and blessed with an understanding of what is...... truly is......
My love to all,
Good night...
B

Winter Morning Prayer

Good morning,
It is early Sunday morning... quiet and dark.... the snow covered ground creates a gray lite outside my bedroom window.
I love early mornings in the winter. Sundays are the very best of mornings .... a symbol of a new week and day set aside to reflect and give a thankful salute to the week gone by and look forward to the adventures of a new beginning.
Early morning coffee seems to last and linger and each sip is better than the last. I love to listen to the sounds of the house in the early darkness.... the furnace humming along and the sounds of my house creaking as the wind blows against the sturdy bricks and mortar. I love the sounds of those busy birds just outside my window. Making plans for spring nests and beautiful soft pink spring babies.
As the sky slowly fades from darkness to early morning light, I plan my day... my week.... I say prayers for my family and friends and I thank God for all of my beautiful blessings.
Amen

The sudden unpredictable loss of my dear sweet Jed! Rest In Peace my beautiful loving kind sweet dober person. My heart is aching.2-2-2018

❤️

Jed...If only Walt Disney could have met you, I am certain you would be member of the Mickey and Goofy gang. You were determined to break the Doberman stereotype. Anyone that came to the farm was greeted by Your Velcro like presence. You created a circus like entrance into the house by running at least 5 laps around the kitchen table! Your signature welcome into our home. You were convinced you were a lap dog. All 100 pounds of you would attempt to situate yourself in every guest lap that would tolerate you. I learned early on that you were a true free spirited dog. You needed to be untethered and loved running at full speed with all 4 of your long lanky legs and enormous paws completely off the ground flying in mid air. I embraced this unbridled spirit and loved you as Jed. Every day was an event. No walk in the woods was ever mundane. Watching tv could turn into a Jed thing. We loved each other unconditionally. You brought me so much joy! Until we meet again!!!!

Fall Back

Today is Sunday, November 5, 2017!!!
So many things have happened in my life since my last post over two years ago!
Where do I begin?
I guess I can begin with what is the same....
well... I still live on my beautiful farm.... most of the time..
I am still spinning and weaving and knitting and as usual, not nearly as much as I would like to but still find time to reconnect my thoughts and my heart and find my inner balance through the comfort of handwork.
So... what is new in my life...????
I left my position as curator of Meadowcroft Museum and took an Assistant Professor position of Communication at Bluefield West Virginia State College. It is a 4 hour drive from my farm and I travel there once a week and teach my classes then I return to the farm on Wednesdays or Thursdays....
It is quite a commute... the drive is very picturesque especially now the leaves are turning.. little late this year but truly spectacular!
I am working with a new company designing mens garments. My first design is a hoodie sweater.

Preserving Life's Journey

I am moving forward on several new/old adventures that I had to put on hold until my professional career became more grounded.
Preserving Life's Journey is a brainstormed idea of mine and I am finally ready to launch this idea into the world. My mission for this project is just what the name implies.....
I would like to provide a service that helps preserve history through preservation, documentation and education.  
Preserving Life's Journey will provide people with an opportunity to share their stories through the organization of their personal collections found in the things they have collected over the years. Photographs, clothing, uniforms, certificates, videos are all things we collect that tells "Our" story. Many of these things are lost when family members downsize into smaller homes, move into nursing homes or pass away. Their story gets lost as family members are now faced with the daunting task of selling a homestead and the contents of the home. Sons and daughters are overwhelmed and want to just "get rid" of all this stuff as quickly as possible. Later many regret the hasty decisions they made, selling priceless family heirlooms and personal treasures of their loved ones.
It is through careful planning, organization and the curatorial expertise of Preserving Life's Journey families can now thoughtfully decide how to manage family possessions.

I am also working on a textile utube and I will post my productions on this blog page...
I will share with you a few photos of my life's journey over the last few years....

This is a history lovers must read!!!!!!

Dinner with my daughter Samantha

 My first time visit to San Francisco... Of course I had to find a furry friend!! His feathers are beautiful... there is a handwoven scarf to be made using the color combos!!

New adventure... I bought kayaks... sailing away at Cross Creek!!

My sweet snuggle puppy.... Jed..

For some strange reason I have a passion for adding a little fur to my handmade garments... I wonder why.....

Who else would own an 1932 bible gum pink sewing machine.....??? This little princess has the most precious stitches... and the sound of the machine is just heavenly!!!

 My dear handsome Stephen.... the quote below says everything!!!!

Until next time.....

Blessings to all

B