Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Another Name Blanket


I reverted to my slothful ways today and hung about inside the house and worked on August's blanket and listened to a book and it was most pleasant. The day has been warmish but so very, very gloomy. No sight of the sun at all, not even a quick peek between clouds, just a blanket of dark gray as if the sky was one great bruise. It's just started raining, a slow drizzle of heavy drops. According to my weather widget we're going to be getting rain on and off for the next day or so and then of course it will get chillier again. 

I like August's blanket. It's quite different from the other name blankets I've made. Well, the basic design (if that word can even be used for a few rectangles) is the same but August's love of pink and of rainbows and of unicorns inspired an interesting combination of flannels. The unicorn print was leftover from a nightgown that I made Magnolia two Christmases ago and I ordered the rainbow flannel from online last November. The backing is that way-too-soft-to-be-natural fabric that is sort of weird but it's just so very, very cozy and so I used it. Now I'll do embroidering around the letters, probably just some blanket stitches and then see where that leads. I love that part of the project, the choosing of colors and stitches, the hand work that is slow but so enjoyable. 

Speaking of Magnolia, Lily sent this picture to the group today.


There's Maggie herself, observing her ant friends. That's what she calls them- her ant friends. Bear in mind that if they took a mind to, they could swarm that little girl and sting her to pieces. They're not called "fire ants" for nothing. Lily reported that she said, "I'm going to name this one Jimmy. Actually, I'm going to name them all Jimmy."
As Hank responded, "That seems efficient."
It's funny- I know that if Magnolia were in school, she would love it. She would love the social part of it so much, making friends and playing but I can't really feel too sorry that she's spending this time at home with her mother and her brothers and at her dad's, playing outside in the yard, observing the bugs and the animals, making up pretend games with her dolls and toys. Those things too are important. I noticed a long time ago that a strangely large percentage of very creative people had periods of their childhood where, because of illness or injury, they spent vast amounts of time in bed with nothing to entertain them but books and drawing and their imaginations. Not that I would wish that on any child and not that I would wish this pandemic and the isolation it's enforced on any of us, particularly children, but if there is a positive side, it may be that learning to be entertained by nature and the small things is not a bad thing at all. 
Another picture that Lily sent was of a huge feather that Maggie found and gave to her because she knows her mama collects feathers.  


She's a sweet girl, that one. She's a love. When she's not demanding to spend the night in the chicken house. And even that is pretty charming.

I've been feeling quite lucky today in so many regards. It's always a mystery to me why some days are such existentially angsty slogs and some days, when absolutely nothing has changed, I can feel such deep gratitude and contentment. Even what I would call a quiet and simple joy. 
I suppose it's best not to over-ponder but to simply appreciate those days when they come and enjoy them without reservation. 

Love...Ms. Moon






33 comments:

  1. Great job! I am familiar with the way too soft fabric of mysterious origin, I have a small quilt of it, and it in SOOO cosy. I wrap it around me and instantly feel loved. Good choice!
    Maggie will benefit so much from time alone or with ant friends. It is good. Until it isn't and the ants regard her as a threat or even just as a "not- one -of- us -object" that must be discouraged, tends to spoil friendships, we can not let that happen!!

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    1. Maggie knows to be careful. All the kids around here learn very quickly about ants. And every species we have bites. I saw a big pile by a rock that August was playing on the other day and told him to watch out for it. "I saw it already," he said.
      But Lord, sometimes it's just so tempting to poke at them.

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  2. Beautiful quilt. August will love it, and Maggie will certainly benefit from time in nature and playing on her own. I'm glad you had a good day.

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    1. I think that she will gain a lot that she could get no other way. Not to say that school isn't going to be a good experience for her. I think it will be.

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  3. An ant colony is a great place for a child with a thousand stories.

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  4. Time to teach Maggie the Bob Dylan classic "The ants are my friends, they're blowin' in the wind..."

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    1. I agree with Mr. P.! And quite frankly, when I first read the comment, I figured it was from him!

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    2. Not really clever on my part, I can't take credit-- it's a genuine documented mondegreen (look that up!)-- but still really funny, and perfectly suited to Maggie's ant-positivity!

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    3. I'd never heard that word although I am quite aware of the phenomenon. I love it! Thank you, Anonymous!

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  5. I love August's blanket! It's going to be fun for him to snuggle under.

    Do kids still make ant farms in clear containers? I'll bet Maggie would like a Jimmy farm! And fire ants are best strictly avoided.

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    1. I think maybe they had a Jimmy Farm at one point. I'll have to check and see.

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  6. You're so wise. Simply appreciate and enjoy those days.
    I think that enforced solitude as a child allows the creative spirit to develop. I know that years of being bedridden as a child enabled me to make my own decisions about making art, improvising with whatever was available, despite suffering severe asthma and bronchitis most of my life. Couldn't run about, play often outside, so my mind traveled constantly. As you say, wouldn't wish that endless illness on any little child, but it did bring a life of great satisfaction and the ability to rise above any amount of issues.

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    1. Exactly what I'm talking about, Boud! I'm sorry you had to go through that but also glad that you came out of the experience appreciating what you did gain from it. Humans are resilient, especially the young ones.

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  7. And it would certainly have been nice to remember to admire that lovely quilt. Such a lovely touch, great design. Lucky boy.

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    1. Thank you! Hank still has the one I made him as a child. All the kids have theirs.

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  8. It is indeed strange how differently we can feel about the days we are living in. Sometimes life has a lovely lightness about it and on other days it can seem like an unbearable weight.

    I hope that August is not a strapping six foot fifteen year old when he finally receives his blanket from Mer.

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    1. You're right- heaviness one day, lightness the next.
      And I'll try to get August's blanket done before he's that tall. I promise!

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  9. August's quilt will be a memory hug. Every time he wraps it around himself, he'll feel Mer's love. Well done!

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  10. love the name quilts you make for your grands. an idea that never occurred to me. I wonder if when he's grown August will still love pink and rainbows and unicorns or if he will be embarrassed by them. simple joys are the best I think.

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    1. I wonder that too. About him being embarrassed later on. I hope not. If he is, it won't be because anyone in his family teased him! We're big on rainbows around here.

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  11. I remember going to an exhibit years ago here in Los Angeles that covered the filmmaker Tim Burton's wild career. We got to see photos of where he grew up in the San Fernando valley, in a boring ranch house with literally nothing but a grass backyard, some dirt, totally suburban and nothing, apparently, to spark an imagination. Yet, he drew this vast world and of course grew up to create incredibly imaginative worlds. And I couldn't help but wonder if that world would have been created had he been surrounded by stuff and "stimulation" and all the things that make life normal and comfortable. Anyway, Magnolia looks rapt!

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    1. I wonder too, Elizabeth. There's such a huge demand (and supply) now for educational toys and games that stimulate and teach our kids and I wonder if all of that isn't going to end up hindering their creative minds. Would be pretty ironic, wouldn't it?

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  12. Great job on the blanket! I laughed at Hank's comment about naming all the ants Jimmy. Wonder what kind of bird that huge feather came from?!

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    1. Hank always makes me laugh.
      I think the feather came from a vulture. Which is a very interesting and vastly important bird.

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  13. That looks like a cozy blanket! August will love it! I think I might get started on some quilts for my younger grandchildren. Sounds like a fun project. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  14. I think you might be right about people who have had some kind of confinement forced on them being more creative or imaginative. I guess they had to learn to amuse themselves right! And I love August's blanket - so sweet, you put me to shame as I haven't done a darn thing in ages as far as sewing is concerned!

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    1. Well lady, you need to make something for your coming grandchild!
      Or not.
      Whatever makes you happy is what you should do.

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  15. Just reading about the tornado in Tallahassee. Hoping you and family were not impacted.

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    1. We're all fine although May reports that she was ready to shut herself into the staff bathroom at work.

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