A Mother’s Moment

During the recent Baltimore riots a mother became an internet sensation when she recognized her son and pulled him out of the violence.

 

A dear friend of ours, (white), posted the much seen photo on her facebook news feed with a leading message to her own sons stating she would do the same.  What followed in the comments thread was a shocking eye opener.   

 

Now I believe that mother did what all mother’s would do.  She was saving her son.  And I believe she acted out of fear.

 

In America, when injustices needed to be changed they have been changed in the streets. Protests, and protests that have turned into riots, and riots that have even turned into war, have led the way to change.

 

I also believe that it’s human nature, black or white, that angry youths (especially males) don’t always contain their anger.  In life anger often erupts into violence. 

 

Right now we all have a reason to be angry.  Black men are dying at the hands of law enforcement.  And the only way to change it is to bring it to the streets.  And if you were watching Baltimore yesterday, you saw older adult black men out in force to teach the younger adults and teenagers a better way to be heard.

 

I’ve taken a long time to get to the point but there’s much I wanted to say.

 

My childhood years were lived during the 1960’s and 70’s in a mostly white town fifteen minutes from East St. Louis Illinois, in a family where the adults used the “n” word often.  Even as a young child I knew the word was wrong. I knew it was hurtful, ugly.  But changes were fought for and made and the nation evolved.  We became better. There came a time when the adults stopped using that word.

 

The opening commenter on that facebook thread wrote that the mother should, “kick that “n” ass for being a “n”.  And what came after was a slew of comments defending the man’s statement.  I was horrified.  I still am.  How can these people, who I imagine are the same demographic as me, still feel this way all of these years later?

 

I would bet that each of these people consider themselves to be Christians.  Where is their compassion, their empathy? Where is their tolerance?  Why do they feel superior?  I would also bet they have had very little experience or none at all, being the target of discrimination.  I would also bet they’ve forgotten the feeling of being young, passionate and angry.  Maybe they are very lucky they were born white in America.  Yes, now that is a blessing to be thankful for in their church.

 

This kind of ignorance is unforgivable.  How can we hope to live in a tolerant and peaceful world if we can’t even live in tolerance and peace in our own nation and our own homes?

Teacher's Library Skirt

I originally made this skirt, found on Living With Punks Blog, for Olivia a year ago to start kindergarten in. 

 

When my daughter, (an elementary special education teacher in the inner city), saw it she asked me to make her one to teach in.

 

 

 

 

The adult version turned out just as cute as the child size.  But then the teacher is pretty cute too.

 

 

Apologies for the poor quality photos.  I sewed up to the last minute before giving it to her as a birthday gift.  Photos were taken with my phone at the party.

Quick Knit!

I was looking for a pattern to knit for the spring; something to layer for cooler temps.  I came across just what I was looking for in the aptly named Mud Season, that season between winter and spring.

 

This sweater is the quickest I've ever knitted, finishing in just under two weeks.  And that's with all of the Easter projects I was working on!

 



 I made it a size larger and I couldn't have been more pleased with it.  I'm not really fond of snug fitting sweaters. 

 

 

You can find the pattern here.  Happy knitting!

Flint Hills Rail Trail

I am lucky to live along a rail trail where we ride our bikes every morning.

 

 

This rail trail runs along the Marais des Cygnes River.

 

So far this season I have picked wild hops, sand plums and persimmons along our trail; and witnessed so much wild life.

Last week I discovered that on the seven mile section I ride every morning there is a hidden treasure box......Geocaching!

 

 

It made a gorgeous fall morning ride even more fun!

 

 

 

I had already planned to gather some foliage for a special pumpkin I wanted to carve for our granddaughters.

 

 

A fall fairy house!



Shower Gifts

Our youngest is getting married Thanksgiving weekend!  Needless to say, I've been stitching up a storm.  I wanted to share the shower gifts I made for them.....

 

They are having a book theme at their wedding.  The quilt has fabric strips stacked to look like books.  This is my third quilt that I've embroidered an Emily Dickinson poem on.

 

 

I've made many embroidered portraits.  This is the first I have made into a pillow.  I used the photo below.....

 

 

Recent Projects

Recently finished......

embroidered portrait:

and a self portrait:

 

 

 



   

 

 

 

Back To School Sewing

Our oldest grandchild started first grade this week.  I can't even begin to fathom how we got here so fast.  So to mark this special event I wanted to sew her a little something to start off her school year.

The fabric is Sara Jane's "Wee Wander" Summer Ride and Out to Sea Sailor's ABC purchased from aspenfabrics on Etsy.  I love the whole collection and have made other outfits with this designer fabric from this shop.  I used "Wee Wander" Tree Lights for her birthday dress, (pictured right) a few months ago. 






I live in a rural area, 25 minutes from a fabric store unless you consider Walmart, so I love on-line tutorials and pdf patterns.  For the skirt I used Melly Sews free drawstring skirt tutorial found here.  Very straight forward and easy to follow.

But the dress I had some difficulties with.  The above photo is actually the second dress I made using the Poppy Dress Pattern found on Etsy.  After reading the finished measurements the pattern gave I decided to make a size 6. 

I've been sewing for 32 years, and as I was making it I knew something had to be off with the pattern. Well, it's a good thing Olivia has a little sister, because it ended up being a very cute, tea length dress for Lily, age 3. 







But luckily I had more than enough fabric to sew it up again, this time making it in a size 8.

And as you can see, it fits perfectly....... 

Comfortable enough for soccer and bug hunting.