Apparently, our winters don’t vary much. At least according to my blog from 4 years ago. After writing a blog for years, I began to dislike the format, and my Facebook posts kind of took over. But sometimes I like to go back a read them. http://chasinglightningbugsstudio.blogspot.ca/2014/02/trudging-across-yard-tonight-snow-was.html?m=1

As I was folding laundry today, I decided to do some mending. I’m embarrassed to say, that despite being comfortable with needle and thread, I don’t do much mending. I buy a few pair of cheap leggings at a time and when the seams start to wear through on the inner thighs, I throw them out. Lately, I have not felt good about that. So today, as I was folding and discovered a couple pairs of leggings I was going to toss, I decided to sew them up instead. And it gave me such a sweet feeling of accomplishment. Just sewing up a couple of seams, avoiding waste in my own little way. I will have a little basket of mending now, because just off the top of my head I can think of several things I couldn’t quite bring myself to throw out, but they need a little sewing up. I recommend it if throw away fashion and the thought of adding to landfills haunts you at all. And yes, little miss Stella played a supporting role.

There are two new quilts in the studio today. They share the same fabrics.... linen/cotton blend and organic cotton. The palette is a beachy/snowy one.....soft grays and blues and white. I had such a nice time in the falling snow taking photos of them, with Maybelle playing in the snow. The striped one is the larger of the two, but not by a lot. They are both $200.

Miss Maybelle, the triangle quilt and a lot of snow. The snow makes my yard a gallery just as the green leaves do. But this starkness is so lovely today. And Maybelle, well she came leaping through the snow at me, shooting her face through the snow and leaping high in the air. And as soon as I started to video, she stayed completely still. But I love this little vignette nevertheless.

I have some new quilts to show you tomorrow....I can’t wait. But for now, I wish you all a goodnight

Dora Maar was my first beautiful Great Dane. And she and I found each other 30 years ago this month. I was 21 and had grown accidentally obsessed with the breed (my father had misidentified a dog on the street as a Great Dane and that was it, I was obsessed). She came to me through a classified ad in an Indiana newspaper offering a 1 year old Great Dane for $100. It was one of those decisions that shaped my entire life. As I was thinking about her this morning, I realized that she’s the only one of my dogs that figured in my paintings. I painted her several times. But I think this is the only one I still have. I did this painting the month after she died in 1996. It hangs in our bedroom, so she’s always close. It really doesn’t feel so long ago that she and I would frolic through the daisy fields at my parents. And because of her, I can’t imagine my life without a big giant Dane dog beside me.

I’ve had a bit of a hard time navigating through January this year. And I guess February too. I love my work. I love the pace of my work. I love the process and I love the final product. But it’s been a struggle to find that zone lately. Nothing is happening with the ease I’m used to. Even writing has been keeping me at arms length. But the last few days I’ve felt it trickling back. And then today it threw open the door, ran in and grabbed me up in a hug. Every now and then, I fall into a delicious rabbit hole of triangles. The balance soothes me. I’m drawn into the repetition and they feel like they’re tumbling all around me. Considering that I prefer my work to be completely random, it’s strange that I love triangles so, but I do. There is never precision to my triangles, just a lovely bit of balance and movement. And today, I had the bright idea to get one of my favourite books on audible to listen to as I work. East of Eden. For many years, I would read it every summer. I remember lounging on the porch swing for hours, losing myself for days reading Steinbeck’s impeccable words. But I don’t think I’ve read it in a decade. So when those words started to wash over me with the winter sun filling the room and piles of linen triangles building like an odd Mensa puzzle, I went a little bit limp with the joy of it all. It was kind of a perfect afternoon.

1961. My parents had only been married a few months and had just moved across the country to California. They were young and poor, living on love and one small income. My mother was a secretary while my father was in his first year of medical school. And in the midst of meeting new people, they were invited to a pool party. He, from a PEI potato farm, and she from the mountains of Virginia, they were more than a bit out of their element. And like any 21 year old, she was stressed about having nothing to wear to this party. And no money to buy anything. However, she came home from work the afternoon of the party, to discover a little pair of shorts with a matching little green top. My father had stitched together this surprise outfit for her, entirely by hand. It fit her perfectly....and she loved it. I've often heard this story over the years, not knowing she still had them, tucked away in a trunk. They stumbled upon them this morning....only the top and the pattern remain. And here she is modelling the famous little top like a champ, almost 57 years later.

Tonight is the second night that I've stretched a sheet across the sofa and slept with Stella and my favourite MacAusland's wool blanket. Ezzie is snoring beside me and Maybelle has gone upstairs to be with Tom. He's sick with the flu, and although I've been taking him tea and gingerale and saltines and broth, I'm sleeping downstairs to avoid the germs as much as I can. I've been craving citrus, so maybe that's my body stocking up on vitamin c to fight it off. I didn't get to the studio today, so I could be here if he needed me. I hope tomorrow he's feeling better and I'm back at work.

The beachy snowstorm quilt. Again. I haven't washed it yet, so it's not all puckery, but I was testing it out on the bed and it looked so soft and fresh and pretty, I had to share. It's still blowing pretty good out there. And the snow is getting deeper. It's sure a good night for the fire.

On this snowy day, as I'm finishing what I thought was a beachy linen quilt, I realize that the blizzardy palette out the window right now is pretty close to the beachy one. I just hung this up to have a look at it and thought I'd share it with you. I played around with triangles and I quite like it. It's unlike anything I've ever made before..... I didn't expect the triangles to be quite so small. But I love it. I think I'll jump right back in and make one with bigger triangles. Enjoy the snowy day ❄️

A new little ritual has taken over my mornings. My parents gave us a SAD light, or sunlamp, for Christmas. Lately I've been having wonderful mornings, sorting and playing with my endless jars of beach glass as I sit under the glow of the lamp. I make piles of my favourite bits of glass. It's rather meditative and, combined with the light therapy, gives my day a nice beginning. And I love reconnecting with this glass I've been collecting for decades. This is how I'm planning to get through this winter.