Pieces of My Life ~ The Broken Dish

Welcome back to a new session of the Pieces of My Life Sew Along!  This installment will be lacking the emailed newsletter since we are on the road.  This session focuses on a block I call The Broken Dish.  The questions have progressed from our childhood and teens, to being adults, making adult decisions regarding marriage, and family.  We'll continue with questions about your family.

I've become more aware in my more mature adult life of the need for self-care.  As a young mom I was all about keeping the children alive and healthy and if I was lucky, happy.  Some days were better than others and there were certainly days that I was only successful in getting myself showered and the girls fed.

We required that the girls help with household chores, including washing dishes.  Before getting our dishwasher, this meant that sometimes there were broken dishes.  I tried to stay calm and not get too upset.  Sadly, I admit that somedays I was not nearly as successful as others.  

I have talked with our daughters and offered apologies for the times that I was not a "good Mom" and simply lost it.  Our youngest assures me that she does not remember me always yelling at them... This is good!  Broken dishes are one thing, but a broken spirit is completely different.  I am relieved that I didn't do that.

I embarrassingly admit that I was delusional when they were in HS in believing that when they went off to college and beyond that my worries and concerns would be less.  Silly me!

When the girls were very young, I enjoyed doing cross-stitch projects in the evenings.  I made framed pieces of all sizes.  I even stitched on t-shirts and sweatshirts.  These Mr. & Mrs. Claus shirts have been around for nearly 35 years. 

Over the years I went through phases of knitting and crocheting in the evenings.  I made large scrappy afghans to snuggle under as we watched television laying on the floor and enjoying the warmth of the fireplace.  When we moved and no longer had a fireplace they were not used nearly as often.  Though we were very glad to have them to use when needed... like if the power would be out for an extended time due to a blizzard or a car accident taking out a power pole.

Since taking up quilting as my "career" I have given up evening hand work of any sort.  It was a difficult transition to go from keeping my hands busy to just relaxing and watching the programs or movies... I have since adjusted. :)

Also, when the girls were young, I made certain that they would have "play dates" with friends.  Sometimes it meant that they would go to a friend's house, or a friend would be at our house for a few hours.  I used this strategy when we were planning/packing to go on a trip.  It would clear up a few hours for me by keeping them occupied and I could get a good portion of chores done without them being underfoot.  But sometimes the "play date" included a social time for us moms to visit and share conversation about life and how to handle different or difficult situations.  We would make this a weekly event when school was not in session.  A support group of sorts.

One summer there was a group of moms and children that traveled to and from all of the same the various activities around town... swim lessons, free lunches at a local school, art classes at the art museum and then gymnastics class.

We would sometimes take turns carpooling from the various activities.  It takes a village!  Over their junior and senior high school years, the girls participated in volleyball, cheerleading camps, soccer, student council, band, art and photography classes and knowledge bowl.  Thankfully, these were spread out though the year.  They kept us hopping though!  

It is now time to grab your Broken Dish pattern and memory book pages that accompany your quilt in my Payhip store.  Don't forget to return with your completed block to share in the block parade. :)

stained glass, broken polish pottery
(love that SPOON at the bottom!!!), bottle tops,
marbles, and broken shower door

I'll leave you with one last thought about broken dishes...

Recently I wrote about transforming a vintage tablecloth into a quilted tablecloth.  It has some stains and holes, but imagine the time spent together with friends and family making memories around that table.  A high school friend of mine has lived around the world since her husband was in the US Air Force.  She said...

"I collect dishes, but our home is not a museum, so we use them as much as possible. As you can imagine many of them have been broken over the years. I saved all of the broken dishes and this beautiful work of art was made from them by my friend Angela Wilson Stevenson at Big Orange House Designs as a graduation and housewarming gift for our daughter.  

When you look at this work of art remember where you come from and trust God to make something beautiful out of anything that you consider to be less than perfect in your life."

The “Mimosa Tree” commission
from broken Portmerion Pottery. 

Here is a second piece she commissioned and the inspiration for the design.

"This was Alicia's Christmas present five years ago. I still don’t regret that we used the good dishes when the kids were little, and a few were broken. 

Beautiful things can come from brokenness too. 

My talented friend, Angela Wilson Stevenson, at Big Orange House Designs used a box of my broken dishes to create this work of art. The inspiration for the piece was the Mimosa tree growing in my grandparents' garden when I was a girl. Thirty years ago, my Dad dug up a shoot from that tree and planted it in their yard and last August my husband dug up a shoot from that tree and planted it in our garden. 

Remember where you come from baby girl. We love you with all our hearts.

What special pieces!  And the phrase "beautiful things can come from brokenness too" resonates in my heart and the repurposing of vintage pieces... 

Keep Piecing,

Melva

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