december 16.

december16_2015

Today’s prompt:

Take a quiet moment.  Breathe. It is in this moment that you will find what you are looking for.

If you came into my living room right now, you would see fabric scraps, errant threads all over the floor, and half-finished projects draped over the couch and propped up on the piano.

For the past couple of days, we have been in making mode.  It happens every December.  We are a bit of a gong show during this time.  I always begin with review lessons on treating the sewing machine as another member of the family and then they’re off – they run to the fabric closet, someone yells a warning about the hot iron on the ironing board in the upstairs hallway, and everyone finds a spot on the floor to lay out their work.

As we dig into the making, we always manage to lose a dozen pairs of scissors at in less than 10 minutes.  Someone always spills the box of a gazillion safety pins or the box of bobbins.  I have at least one meltdown over someone using my fabric scissors to cut things other than fabric.  You can find me alternating between seam ripping and re-pinnng at the dining table.  I don’t stop managing the chaos once we start.  My husband laughed at me today as I kept getting up to re-heat my morning coffee.

But in this chaos, I find peace.  I can’t help but to remain present as I focus on threading needles, teaching ladder stitches, and helping baste quilts.  I sat with one of my daughters and taught her how to bind the quilt she made.  We made the binding together and attached it to the quilt.  I sat with another and helped her stitch up a hole in a stuffed giraffe.  The fabric has ripped a bit during the stuffing and I am on repair duty.

These are my favourite moments – the times when I get to sit beside my child with a simple needle and thread.  I breathe and stitch.  I tell them that there is no problem that we can’t solve together.  We can take things apart and put them back together again.  We can mend mistakes.  The stuffed mermaid with the arms that are too small is perfectly unique and beautiful.  We can use what we have, scraps and bits and pieces, the fragments and the discarded rags, and make something whole and complete.

Today there were no quiet moments but plenty of moments to breathe deep the one moment right in front of me.


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2 responses to “december 16.”

  1. Jane Avatar
    Jane

    I love this post! I just finished writing my Book of Hours (day 86!!!!!), and your blog post connected. “Imperfections are not inadequancies; they are reminders that we are all in this together.” Brene Brown.
    I am enjoying this week, planning, searching quilt stores all over the city to find interesting combinations of fabrics for each family member for my annual pillow cases. I realized that they may not be perfect, they not like it as much as I hope they will but this tradition as taken hold of me gives me such joy. The joy of planning, stitching and giving is a small token of my love. There is nothing better then sewing, creating, making things with our hands!
    I loved the visual picture you set of the chaos, busy bodies, the community of creation! These memories will last a life time for your children!
    Anne Lamott’s quote will be in my Book of Hours tomorrow, I loved it!
    Thank you for sharing your reflections and making me think as well of my process,

    1. rozanne Avatar
      rozanne

      Thanks Jane! I can’t believe you are on day 86 already!!
      There are moments when I understand why my mother never taught me to use the sewing machine…time and patience just wasn’t on her side at the time. But I love how there are times in the year that we devote to making! For days we use our hands and nothing gets put away. Ideas flow and our hands remember how to do things again even if our brain stares at a pattern and can’t figure it out! And thank you for that Brene Brown quote. Imperfections are what make life so interesting!

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