Embroidery Journal Project - September

For September's project for the Embroidery Journal Project, I created an embroidered quilt square that represents some highlights that happened during the month.

The shape this month is the outline of Minnesota. Early in the month, Sophia, Olivia, and I drove up to Itasca State Park in northwestern Minnesota to see where the Mississippi River begins. The girls were able to cross the Mississippi River headwaters...one of the highlights of the trip.

At the end of the month, we visited United Noodles in Minneapolis. It is an Asian grocery store that has a wide variety of items imported from many Asian countries. Since Sophia is studying the Eastern Hemisphere this year as part of the Sonlight curriculum, it was an interesting field trip. Both girls want to go back to United Noodles.

While we there, we saw a display of Lucky Cat statues in various sizes. According to Wikipedia, the Maneki-neko (literally "Beckoning Cat"; also is known as Welcoming Cat, Lucky Cat, Money Cat, or Fortune Cat) "is a common Japanese figurine (lucky charm, talisman), usually made of ceramic, which is believed to bring good luck to the owner.

"The figurine depicts a cat (traditionally a calico Japanese Bobtail) beckoning with an upright paw, and is usually displayed—many times at the entrance—in shops, restaurants, pachinko parlors, and other businesses."

During the middle of the month, we went to a local dairy farm that hosts a gathering each year for children. The girls were able to do some therapeutic horseback riding, go on a horse-drawn cart, visit the calves, see cows grazing in the pasture, and enjoy lunch. It was a nice afternoon.

The leaves have been changing throughout the month, and now are in brilliant shades of orange, red, and yellow. My favorite trees in fall are maples - especially the ones that have leaves in rich, orange shades.

This is the ninth quilt square that I have made this year...three more to go until I can begin making a quilt. The embroidered squares will be combined with plain or patterned fabric squares to make it a full-size quilt.

This, by far, is one of the longer-running projects I've undertaken. By the time I the quilt it is completed, it will be reflection of a year filled with many transitions. Seeing the images in the quilt will provide comfort and trigger good memories, despite the grief and loss that occurred at the beginning of the year with the loss of my Dad.