On a recent visit to my in-laws’ home, I found my mother-in-law in the backyard, standing alone, silently surveying her vegetable garden. “Plotting against the squirrels?” I asked, knowing they’d wreaked havoc on her radishes. She looked a bit sheepish and said, ”No…You know how sometimes
Above: Exploring 3-D printing at TechShop. Below: A sample from a leather-working class at Canoe.
you can’t help staring at Ruby [my 2-year-old daughter], totally overwhelmed and in awe of how wonderful she is? Well, that’s kind of how I feel about my garden.” ........
I immediately knew what she was talking about. Anyone who’s ever made something probably knows that feeling — that sense of pride and affection for this thing you’ve created with your own two hands. I remember coming home after class at the Stitch Lab on South
irst Street with my first-ever sewing pro ect
a
pillowcase. All I’d done was sew four straight lines; I think I even had to rip out and re-do one of the lines a couple times. But I brought that pillow home and laid it gingerly on the couch like it was a newborn. I stepped back to admire it for a minute, then proceeded to pat it, fluff it, run a finger along the stitches. When I finally pulled myself away, I couldn’t help but peek back around the doorframe at it one last time before leaving the room. I might have even sighed audibly. Six years and two couches later, that funny little throw pillow is still on display.
tribeza.com
| JULY 2016
71