Tuesday, May 31, 2011

SUMMER AT LAST!

And the Muse celebrated with a delightful trip around New England with her daughter, hitting some literal high spots: Mount Washington in New Hampshire and Cadillac Mountain in Maine, and finishing at the beach in Rye, New Hampshire. Oh yes -- there were also a few quilt shops along the way ... Very nearly my

DREAM TRIP

I'd like to go a-travelling
This country up and down,
Checking out the quilt shops
In each and every town.
I'd vist those away up North,
Then East and South and West.
It would be such fun to make a search
For the one I'd like the best.
Will it be in a little country town
Or on a busy city street?
Will it be huge or very small?
Is it near a place to eat?
Could I take a class if I so choose?
Are there finished quilts to see?
What a wonderful adventure
A trip like this would be!
And best of all would be the chance
With so many quilters to meet
And share our love of quilts and quilting --
Wouldn't that be a treat?

And what is your dream trip?


Friday, May 13, 2011

WELCOME TO MY TIME MACHINE!

Hop into my virtual time machine and travel back with me to 1951, well before
The Muse became The Muse. In those days she had a penchant for free verse as can be seen in this group of

FINGER EXERCISES

A capricious young spring rain,
Intent on showering me
With a multitude of soft wet kisses
Met me at the doorway.

The lake,
Face wrinkled
With ripples of running
And rings of rain,
Greenly grimaced it way
To the grey gorge.

The landscape of dull colors:
Dull grey,
Dull green,
Dull dullness,
Sat mutely,
Ignoring all.

The wind played desultorily
With the grey branched trees
And idly stirred the lake
With a breath.

The sky stayed gloomily aloof,
A monochrome
Of no particular hue:
Still, silent and far.




Sunday, May 08, 2011

SPRING AT LAST!

I wasn't sure it was ever gong to be spring but as is usual in New England it arrived practically overnight. I am making garden plans in spite of the fact that the seedlings I started stubbornly refuse to grow beyond their initial two leaves. I know where to buy plants ... There are, however, a number of things that I can plant directly in the garden -- spinach, arugula, chard, onion sets, peas, pole beans, lettuces -- and I have my fingers crossed that these will prosper. Planting seeds is after all an act of faith!

A QUILTER'S GARDEN

I've been planting seeds in my garden,
A delightfully muddy affair,
While sniffing the freshness of springtime
That swirls in the soft vernal air.
Soon the shoots will be showing soft greenly
And then the battle begins
Against slugs, cats and weather --
Who knows if I will win ?
If I do I shall harvest grandly
Treasures for table and eye:
Shapes, colors and tastes for my pleasure,
Satisfaction that one cannot buy.
My plants are not garden show winners,
But that's not why they came to be:
My garden is just for my pleasure
And to see what will grow for me.
I like to make quilts in this spirit,
Enjoying each step as I go:
Choosing and cutting fabrics,
Then watching the new quilt grow.
My quilts don't bring me ribbons,
But that's not important to me.
They have grown and bloomed 'neath my fingers
And that makes a sweet memory.



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Monday, May 02, 2011

A NEW BEGINNING?

Well, not exactly -- just a plan to blog more often. I may not have any news but that doesn't mean I shouldn't post something here, right? A lot of bloggers post photos in cases like that but I'm not always good about photographing. So what can I use to fill up as little space here? Over the past 15 years I have written and posted in various places nearly 200 verses, mostly related to quilting and quilters so I thought I would sort of revisit some of them.

I think this is the first one that I posted to the long defunct QuiltBee:

ON NEATNESS

I made my sewing room tidy one day
And put all my fabrics and tools away --
A crate of blues and one of reds,
Several boxes for different threads,
My backing fabrics all on one shelf,
All of the batting in a box by itself,
Scissors and rulers all hanging up,
Pencils and markers joined in one cup,
The stencils collected and neatly in place,
Pins in their holders, bags for the lace,
Buttons and beads in boxes with labels,
I even saw the tops of some tables!
I admired the neatness. I wanted to sing --
But I couldn't find a doggone thing!


And it's still true! Every time I tidy up things hide on me ...

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