It's the first day of spring! I had the windows open for a while...not because it was all that warm out...but because I burned my homemade crackers. But the fresh cool air coming into the condo made my heart sing! And it's kind of ironic that Jay and Janice are coming for dinner and cards. Jay is the Assistant Fire Chief in Falmouth so he's familiar with house smoke!
My neighbor's crocus are popping though! Hallelujah!
I have a good start on Debbie C's joy journal. She was one of the people who requested a blue and white journal....but she also sent me some of her own papers. They were sitting on the dining room table for more than a week as I pondered where her materials would take me.
I'm off and running now.
On this first day of spring...I'm celebrating this very spring-like serendipitous hers and mine pairing.
This is HER little tatted card....and MY little leaf snippet I had sent to her in her
Ounce of Joy packet. The leaves match perfectly....so they will hook up in the journal
I know Debbie from Hancock Church in Lexington. She's an artist herself...but more as a knitter and embroidery artist. She is requesting more of a finished book with places to tuck more precious things she finds rather than blank pages here and there. I can do that!
Debbie's things are mostly on the left. They're pretty things....delicate things...feminine things. And on the right are all the things I sent her in the Ounce of Joy give-away several years ago. As a knitter...she didn't quite know what to do with them....so they've found their way back to me. That made me chuckle and got me thinking....how many other people had no idea what to do with their Ounce of Joy?
My first thought was to trade some of the bold snippets for softer...more delicate ones. I will certainly add a few soft things from my stash....but to honor the challenge I'm going to incorporate at least a little bit of ALL of these snippets. That will be my creative challenge this time...too pull together
hers and mine.
A warm welcome to a couple of new blog readers via Cherie! Cherie wrote a lovely post about her joy journal on her own blog....and I was so touched. You can check it out here on her quilting blog....but then keep scrolling to see her beautiful quilts.
I just learned that Lily has been following Cherie's quilting blog for a little while. Lily was another joy journal recipient. Lily lives in Alaska...Cherie in Pennsylvania and I live in Maine. You just gotta' love all the creative connecting!!! Pure joy!
And Susan in Scotland just received her joy journal today! My heart is full...and I have an evening of friends in front of me!
MaryAnn, instead of being in March Madness, I find myself in Maker Madness—soooo much creative energy spreading in every direction in the contents of this post. Thanks for the link to see Cherie's captivating post about her Joy Journal and to then read several posts at her blog (had to stop myself from never stopping!!!)
ReplyDeletefrom the Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg:
And fabric!
Big square wicker baskets
lined up on deep wall shelves
and full of solid or printed
cottons, silks, batiks,
woolens, blends—you name it,
I had some.
Ha ha...March Madness! Yes! I love that passage from The Art of Mending! Full baskets and bins of paper and fabric are sacred for us makers! You name it...we have it.
DeleteOh, I have some tatted cards and recognized hers immediately! How cool your leaves match perfectly. How fun your ounce of joy has bounced back to you :-)
ReplyDeleteFun! My husbands grandmother was a tatter and taught me. I'm not that great at it...but I can do basic single row lace.I think I even made a snowflake once. I think I was the only relative who showed an interest...it was a great way for us to connect. I may need to find my tatting shuttle and see if I can still do it.
DeleteThis joyful community you are building is wonderful. MaryAnn! From Cherie's blog I found more quilters to follow besides Cherie. I don't quilt very often, but love quilts and stitched things. This new journal promises to be lovely - it's amazing how much beauty you are spreading! I was telling my stitch group about my journals from you (some had seen them on Instagram) and they asked me to bring them to our group next week. More sharing of joy and beauty!! ❤️
ReplyDeleteThanks Judy....I couldn't agree more. How fun that you are finding other quilters to follow! I'm tickled that your stitch group wants to see your journals. My heart is full!
DeleteI am working on the journal you sent me - I'm finding the bold patterning on some of your papers to be a good foil for the limited blue and white color palette (I am usually a rainbow gal:). I am loving what I have done so far - am about halfway through. Haven't posted anything on my blog as life is a bit busy right now (my son, who lives with us, has been sick and had surgery for gall bladder-ectomy yesterday:).
ReplyDelete:) Linda
Well that makes me happy! I'm kind of a rainbow gal too...but there's nothing like a pretty blue sky to support a rainbow! I would love to see a glimpse at what your doing! So sorry about your son...hope he heals quickly.
Delete