Where to begin about the day that was today?

It started very early, with all of us attending Ely’s Suzuki violin concert.  There were about 10 children who played individual pieces on the violin or cello.  Since Ely has only played for 3 weeks now, he didn’t play but bowed and showed the audience how he could hold his violin on his shoulder with his jaw and chin.  He did so well, and was so excited about being in the concert.  All the children were great, and they all seemed happy and excited to perform their pieces.   I’m still learning about the Suzuki method, but what a great idea to have performance be an early and constant part of musical study.  The benefits were evident in the small concert hall.

Afterwards, I went to Natalie Chanin’s workshop.   It was great.  Really great.  Wonderful actually. Twenty women attended, braving the severe rainstorms and coming from as far away as Atlanta and South Alabama.  We all got kits that were especially designed for this specific workshop – a cream t-shirt with Angie’s fall stencil running along one side.  Natalie taught us about cotton and physics, stitches and design options, and kept us entertained all morning with stories from her life.  I didn’t get a lot of stitching done, and I was too preoccupied to take photos.  My favorite part of the workshop was seeing how twenty women could turn the same t-shirt into twenty completely different pieces.  I decided to use mine as a sampler to try new-to-me techniques like relief applique and backstitching.  Natalie said many memorable things, but what stuck with me the most was when she said it is better to needle your thread, than thread your needle.  And she is right – when I tried it, the eye of the needle slipped easily over the thread.

Other memorable workshop moments:  getting a free cloth bag (in Amy Butler fabrics) from Green Bag Lady, admiring Alexia’s (aka Anna Maria’s newest assistant) gorgeous appliqued tank dress, chatting and stitching with one of my son’s Montessori teachers, talking sewing/children/pregnancy with a friend of a friend, watching Natalie stitch on a panel for a facets skirt (maybe my next skirt?), hearing about book #3 (and the last) coming out in 2012, admiring Sara’s cool poetry/text skirt that I couldn’t believe was eight years old (no planned obsolescence in Alabama Chanin clothing), and getting an unexpected store credit which I used by picking out new Oliver + S and Anna Maria patterns. A very full morning indeed.

The afternoon was full too, but full of rain and a couple of tornados.  I’m not sure how much rain fell but guesses are 8-10 inches, and it still hasn’t stopped.  Flooding is everywhere – all three interstates are closed, and the city is under a civil emergency.  No one is supposed to drive anywhere.  The photos and video footage are unbelievable and one person drowned when their car filled with water on the interstate. I’m kind of afraid of tomorrow. I don’t know how it could get worse, but I’ve never experienced a 100 year flood before.

I feel very lucky tonight.  Lucky that I had a very special morning, and that I am safe and warm in a mostly dry house (several roof leaks occurred today).  I hope everyone I experienced today with got home safely, and really just everyone period.