"Bright Star"

Today I have the house to myself. I exercised, showered and then headed to my newly-cleaned and organized studio, coffee in hand.

I picked up some handwork and then scanned Netflix for something that looked good to watch while stitching and my eyes fell on "Bright Star."

From moment one I was mesmerized. The opening credits roll past while a needle moves in and out of rough linen, pulling thread behind it.

But that was just the beginning. The movie is about poet, John Keats, and the love of his life, Fanny, who would be the muse behind his masterful romantic poetry.

It's about how they met, tried not to fall in love but did anyway. Fanny is an artist in her own right, creating breathtakingly beautiful gowns with only her needle, thread and her deft fingers. John is an artist, too, of course, a poet who teaches Fanny to love not just his words but life, as well.


This movie was a sensory treat, seemingly engaging every sense, a work of art in itself. Wind blowing linen curtains while late afternoon sunshine pours in,

luxe caramel-colored fabric fashioned into sumptous ruffles,


melon-hued taffeta skirts,




















fields of vivid flowers,














stunning orchards of blossoming trees, white cotton frocks and stiff bonnets, a room full of butterflies....just a few of the exquisitely-lovely experiences the viewer is treated to.

Here's the trailer:


And one of my favorite scenes:


What a treat this movie was. I don't know if a movie has ever inspired me to sew until now, but this one has. Simply beautiful.

A Garden Party

"Hello!"



"Yes, it's me, Cheryl! I was wondering if you would like to come sit in my garden with me?"



"You would? Oh, good! O.k. I'll be standing at the road looking for you..."

"This way...."


"...and through this gate..."

"Sit here!"

"Or here..."

"I found this vintage dress and was so excited to wear it today!"

You can find this dress HERE....

"I prepared a little lunch just for the two of us...come sit down!"
"Would you like some tea?"

"You're ready to go? Well, thank you so much for coming today. It was wonderful spending the afternoon with you. Would you take these flowers with you? Come again soon!"

Ode 314

Those who don't feel this Love

pulling them like a river,

those who don't drink dawn

like a cup of spring water

or take in sunset like supper,

those who don't want to change,

let them sleep.

This Love is beyond the study of theology,

that old trickery and hypocrisy.

If you want to improve your mind that way,
sleep on.

I've given up on my brain.

I've torn the cloth to shreds

and thrown it away.

If you're not completely naked,

wrap your beautiful robe of words

around you,

and sleep.

-Rumi

Denim & Lace

Two more new pieces you can find in my etsy shoppe.

A Summer Romance

New 2-piece set in my etsy shoppe HERE.

"Remembering What I Ache For"

Just read a new post by one of my favorite bloggers and then read the one before it. The whole blog is beautiful, but this post in particular speaks to me in a way that makes me weep.

Here's just a blurb from the post:

"I woke up this morning, my face wet with tears, hearing the opening lines of “The Invitation” echoing from my dreams: 'It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for.' I pressed my hand to the ache in my chest."

And another:

"And I remembered why I have read and written all of my life. I remembered how much I ache to write. At one point Azar said, 'We write to retrieve what is lost,' and I wanted to weep. When we write or paint or compose or dance (or do any other kind of creative work) we retrieve parts of ourselves we did not even know were lost- the stories and characters that have peopled our lives, the meaning that was waiting to be uncovered and co-created, meaning that sustains us and can sustain our people (and who are not our people?) Receiving others’ creative expressions we expand our own vision, stir our own imagination and open ourselves to a broader, deeper wisdom."

Beautiful.

Simply Life

I was emailing with a friend today and some things kind of "gelled" for me as I wrote to her. This happens a lot to me; I think I "process" as I write.

We were talking about books we enjoy and those we don't and I said that I am no longer interested in reading books written by authors who have "gotten it" and who now want to impart this great knowledge they've "gotten" to me. I just don't have any use for that.

I no longer view truth as "out there," something I have to go out and find, uncover, attain to or earn the right to hear/understand by taking the right posture or some shit. For me, truth is IN me....in you...in my 3-year-old. I want to interact with the truth inside of me and inside of others. But I'm not trying to find it, capture it and then post it on the front of my house or tattoo it on my forehead. I'm not trying to "get" truth and hang on to it for dear life. I'm not trying to be sure my truth lines up with any specific belief system or meets with the approval of others.

The point is, at 33, I am at a point where I'm ready to just live. Just LIVE. No more religion. No more bodies of belief to try to believe all of. No more I'm right and you're wrong. No more pushing down my own desires or personality to be more....fill in the blank. I'm me. I'm alive. I don't know for how long. So I'm going to live, damn it.

Here's what that means for me:

Basically: I want to engage lovingly with those in my life, enjoy life and as much as possible help to makeothers' lives more enjoyable. Pretty simple.

For me right now that includes:

-understanding myself better...the truth of me...why I do what I do...why I've done what I've done...what I truly want

-moving toward the healing of brokenness inside of me that keeps me from experiencing life to the fullest/harms or hurts others

-finding ways to make my own and my family's life more fun, enjoyable, positive and nurturing

-doing the things that make me feel alive and nurture me as much as possible (my art stuff, sewing, writing, reading, keeping in good shape, time with friends, eating good food, having new exciting experiences, making my home/surroundings beautiful and warm)

-learn more about/understand the people I love, so as to love them in the ways they are most helped/fed by

-as much as it depends on me, striving for a connection with those I love in which they feel I want to understand amd truly know the real them and in which they feel unconditionally loved/accepted.

-guarding my own boundaries with a firm hand and not letting people in who will use me, with whom I can't have a healthy relationship or with whom relationship involves adjusting my boundaries for their sake or violating my own personal integrity.

And that's it. Today anyway.

I'm curious what life boils down to for you. What does being the most alive as you can mean for you? What do you most want? What is most meaningful to you?