Back to School
August 30th, 2007At this time of year I always feel energized, like I am walking on air. I associate the sounds, the colours, the smells and the shortening summer days with new beginnings. I know it stems from my school days. Unlike my own children and husband, I always looked forward to the start of school. I still take time to walk through the aisles of school supplies and can’t resist buying a new notebook or set of colouring pencils for myself.
With so much energy an annual ritual on Labour Day weekend is the clean the house—windows, floors, cupboards organized, even the basement gets some attention. The garden, looking neglected from the summer heat, gets weeded and potted mums find a place on the porch.
I work my way through the closets sorting the summer clothes from the winter clothes, airing out the fall jackets and pants to be ready for the first cool day. I start dressing in layers—you never know what the season will bring—cold and frosty in the morning and then sleeveless weather by noon.
And so it is with quilting. . . I organize my fabric and thread by colour, and sort my scraps for all the scrap quilts I have planned. I make a list of the projects I want to finish over the winter. I plan each one in a journal, sometimes with sketches and swatches, and still others, the idea just starting to form, with notes in point form. I clean up my workspace and remove distracting works in progress and paper from summer activities. I make a list of what I will need to buy for each of my planned projects. When all this is done I start sewing.
The whole process of preparing for “school” , the return to a routine of making lunches and getting my youngest on the bus , walking the dog at the same time each morning, putting on a pot of soup for dinner, and then sewing all day to me is magical–like walking on air. So If you happen to see me floating by, give my sleeve a tug, bring me back to earth and say hello.