First, on Saturday my mom and I attended a Hmong needlework project class offered through the library. As part of the four week class, Hmong women teach community members (half Hmong women and half white women) the principles and techniques of traditional Hmong cross-stitch. Each member of the class will complete two cross stitch blocks, one of which will be sewn onto a pillow for the person to take home, and the other will be sewn into a quilt that will be hung in the library. Incredibly awesome, right?
The women leading and participating are, of course, all so kind and sweet and fun. I completely loved every minute of sitting there, learning about Hmong culture and also how to cross-stitch, chatting with the other ladies, being part of something that is truly bridging culture and creating community. It's like a dream. And it makes me want to be part of something like this ongoing. I could even see myself leading a community embroidery/quilting group like this some day -- to create public art made by the community. Needless to say, I am so inspired and have been working diligently on my first square!
The second big project of the weekend was our raised bed. We decided on a 5' x 3' garden and used 12" x 2" cedar planks to construct it. The weather was gorgeous, the cedar smelled amazing and overall, thanks to the help of my father-in-law, it only took a few hours to get the supplies, build it, and fill it with soil. In a few months it will (hopefully) contain tomatoes, lettuce, arugula, spinach, scallions and herbs.
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