saying goodbye...

We never know what is around the next bend in the road. I have spent the day on vigil at OHSU - my old and dear friend Ian Cnulle suffered a catastrophic stroke last night. I got the call early this morning from his partner Karen, after they took him off the respirator. His prognosis is dire, he may have hours or days left, but is not expected to awaken.

When I left the hospital tonight Karen and other friends were with him. He looks like he is sleeping, and we have been told that he is not in pain. Karen asks that we pray for peace...

I pray for a peaceful transition for him, and for eventual peace for her heart as well, in some future time when the pain of his unexpected leavetaking is not all her world, and the memory of their joyful years together can lighten her grief.

I ask as well, that we all remember to tell our Dear Ones how very much they mean to us, and how very much we love them, because, sometimes, tomorrow does not come...

≈ : ♥ : ≈
May the long time sun shine upon you
All love surround you
And the pure light within you
Guide you all the way on.

autumnal adventuring

Today Emily and I thoroughly enjoyed a trip up to the Portland Japanese Garden. I'd had my heart set on seeing the "Mottainai: The Fabric of Life - Lessons in Frugality from Traditional Japan" exhibit. It did not disappoint; there is a world of difference between pictures on the electronic screen, and standing inches away from real artifacts.
The word “mottainai”, which means "waste nothing!" does not preclude beauty. This gauze textile (used as mosquito screening) is patched and repatched, and has an incredible functional beauty. There is much to appreciate in seeing and aesthetic of cherishing every bit of the available resource, rather than discarding what needs repair...there were so many beautiful textile artifacts, the product of japanese folk culture, in the exhibit ... I found the simple patchwork of these bags very appealing
the neckline of a jacket? with disc-shaped frogs, fastening with various loops and hooks. The worn place just to the right of the upper frog, is where the metal hook has left its mark...

.

Graceful curves on a small metal hook, that fastens a jacket neckline, and a closer view of a simple round frog, braided from indigo cordage.

≈ : : : ≈

We did not spend our entire visit inside the exhibit hall, for the garden was far too autumnal and vivid to resist...
Just outside the hall, somehow, the deep and abiding green only intensifies the red of the maple leaves. There is something lovely to see with every step along the pathways. There was a pergola carrying venerable wisteria, and looking up the trunk, all moss bedecked, seemed like another kind of path...as I so often notice, there is beauty to be found right at your feet... after looking up at the wisteria, I looked down to find this oh so japanese vignette. Wouldn't this make a beautiful design on a length of fabric for a kimono?in the big pond in the garden, koi of various colors drift above the fallen leaves...while in the formal garden, the raked ripples are also graced with fallen leaves
the soft November light glows through the laceleaf maple, while mushrooms large and small dapple the ground...Thank you Emily, for sharing the adventure, and for showing me the Thistle Elementals that live just a bit further down the hill from the garden...

.

≈ : : : ≈

/^-.-^\___}}
dog is on watch,
patiently waiting for relief

Tuesday thoughts

in which our plucky heroine indulges in anticipation, allowing the fantasy that all will be well, in the hope that it may come to pass...

For the next few weeks, a dual focus; we (my crafty pals and I) are having a holiday gift sale here at Acorn Cottage on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, and I am having diagnostic surgery earlier that same week. A lot to prepare for, and not a lot of time! The good news is that I did not need to battle OHP for months to get this appointment, as was the case with my hand. Once medical-fu is behind me, (hopefully without further problems) the focus will be on cloisonne studio work, before the winter holiday season. It will be a treat to get back to enameling again...

And then, once the winter holiday season and 12th Night work is done, I intend to spend time sewing me some new clothes. SWAP is an acronym: "Sewing With A Plan", and is an annual occurrence currently being hosted on the Stitchers Guild Message Board. Each year there are somewhat different parameters, but always the idea is to end the challenge with an assortment of clothing that works for you. The last time I successfully completed a SWAP was in 2005, most of those clothes have long since worn out, with the exception of the Hawaiian shirt and the denim jacket. It was so great, that year, to have a closet that all the clothing worked together as friends; made getting dressed so very easy that I have ever afterward chosen my clothing to all work together in color and style.

This year there are no "quirky" requirements, and there is quite a bit of latitude in what to choose. The rules are: choose seven garments, and then from that seven, choose four to make two of, for a total of eleven. My intention is to make a blouse, two t-shirts, a vest, two tunic/overshirts, two dresses, two pairs of pants, and a skirt... This is not as insane as it seems. I have TNT* patterns for all of these garments except the pants and the vest.

It will be fun, I hope to not just do the planning (which always is my favorite part) but to actually have some new clothes to wear. I am particularly looking forward to coming up with some pants I am willing to wear, since this past year has showed me that there are times when my beloved pinafore dresses are not quite the appropriate garb. That trip to the ocean, for one, and wandering around in the woods up at Emerald Keep, for another...

* Tried-N-True

/^-.-^\___}}
dog is on watch,
there is danger at the door