Tuesday, April 26, 2022

A Philosophical Moment

During the first spring of the pandemic, I found a sprouted peach pit in the compost.  I planted it in a pot and it grew!!  It survived the first winter of the pandemic and in the second spring, I moved it into a bigger pot  and set it into a sunny spot.  It grew to about 3 feet tall.  This year, as the winter began to shift into spring, I fussed about whether the sapling had survived -- the leaf buds looked so tight and brown.
Happily, the leaf buds began to open about a week ago and then yesterday to my great surprise and delight, a single sweet pink blossom opened.
This morning as I thought about that single little flower which seems a bit premature for the age of the tree, I was struck by an inspiration -- the peach tree, young as it is, is doing what it was destined to do.  
It's blooming!

It reminded me to start the day with what inspires me and off to the studio I went for a pleasant morning of catch-up piecing on my version of Katja Marek's Homage to Grandmothers Flower Garden.   I am working on "week 17" which is about a third of the way along. A couple weeks ago, I finally "organized" the background hexagons in a small tray to eliminate the messy pile I've been pulling from since the beginning.  It's made it easier to keep the randomness going as I piece and knowing when to cut more of a certain fabric.
I'm using 3/4" hexagons and estimate it will be about a 60" square piece in the end so it could be a wallhanging or laprobe when finished.  I'm enjoying the process very much!
It's sharing the design wall with a little upgrade of an old teaching sample.  The four "nosegay" blocks were made using Marti Michell's Stripper Set with her Kite Ruler tool -- it was one of my favorite workshops to teach and I have nosegay blocks in a variety of sizes.  Since it's only 30" square, I am adding the little flower blocks across the top and bottom to make it rectangular.  The next step will be to add sashing between the little blocks and around the entire piece.  There will need to be another border or two -- I'm thinking some arrangement of diamonds to repeat that shape.
Stay tuned!
I've conceded the month of April won't having any projects finished since George is sharing his table with the tuberous begonias who will soon move out onto the porches but I did eliminate a project from the piles by cancelling it so I'm down one more project -- maybe I'll eliminate another to make up for the lack of finishes this month???
Many of you garden and experience the spring/summer slow down with stitching especially in temperate areas with big seasonal weather swings.  I struggle with trying to do too many things at the same time so embracing the garden feels like neglecting the stitching.
But each of these activities nourishes and sustains one, so I need to remember that . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . growing plants and practicing my piecing skills are signs of hope for me.  I plant a seed hoping for yummy tomatoes and fresh beans and bouquets of zinnias.  I plant little tree and shrub seedlings hoping for shade and fragrance and fruit to attract nature to my garden.  I practice my piecing and quilting skills hoping to continue making lovely quilts.

The peach blossom reminds me!
Mary

 

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for reminding me that a finish is great but enjoying the journey is better

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