I’ve had the sweaters for this blanket matched up for some time, just waiting. Even before they were a blanket, I thought they were comforting together — like being indoors — cozy, warm, and contented — on a rainy day.
Just about the time I put the blanket together, my daughters put together a book they had worked on through this semester for my younger daughter’s watercolor class. The assignment: to paint a series of paintings as illustrations. Daughter #2, the painter, asked Daughter #1, the writer, if she would contribute poems to this project. Their collaboration took its final form as this book.*
They created a painting/poem pair that fits so well with the spirit of a rainy day that I asked the daughters if I could share their work with you.
They said yes :)
Here is “Early Spring,” a painting by Hope Olson, and “If Only,” a poem by Grace Claus.
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(Painting reprinted with permission of Hope Olson)
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(Reprinted with permission of Grace Claus)
On a day like today,
inspiration is nowhere
to be found. It has stolen
like a fox into the woods
and has curled up beneath
a silent bush, damp but
asleep while the rain slaps
the leaves, weaves between
branches, slips down
trunks, shoots, roots,
and seeps into the soil.
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If only I were a fox
and could leave this stale,
drowsy house, sheltered
from the rain, and let
one immaculate drop
startle my shoulder,
bead against my fur,
and disturb my sleep.
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Proud momma? I s’pose you could say that :)
I could’ve tied this all together better if I had had a cloudy and dreary day to shoot these pics. How did I miss all those cloudy, dreary days?? Even the turtles at the local park came out to sit in the sun.
Anyway, to me, the cream-colored squares in the blanket are like two windows, letting in wan but welcome light. Up close, you can see scrabbling vines “outside.”
The gray wool with the diamond pattern is sprinkled with a handful of clear sequins, looking like little raindrops balancing atop the wool.
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This blanket is very cozy, cushy, and a nice throw size. In person, the colors are absolutely gorgeous together. (It’s difficult to capture that aspect in these photos.)
“Rainy Day” (58″ x 74″)
This blanket has already gone to a good home.
*
(“On a Day Like Today” by Grace Claus; illustrated by Hope Olson)