A few scraps here and there...

My grandmother was a gatherer

of fabrics, trimmings, and buttons

When visiting her she would put her hands on her hips

and say, "Rob, let me show you what I bought...."

Then she would make her way into the other room

where she would pull lengths of fabrics

from dresser drawers and cedar chests
showing me patterns and buttons and trims

Her stream of small talk never stopping

not even for a breath it seemed

Like my grandmother, I, too, am a gatherer

of papers, trimmings, and buttons

When my sisters visit I put my hands on my hips

and say, "Let me show you what I bought...."

Then I make my way into my studio

and flip through portfolios of papers
ephemera, and other embellishments

I had gathered throughout the year

My stream of small talk rarely stopping

except for a breath now and then

Thinking about her, I realize that we are a lot alike
my grandmother and I
talkers, gatherers, planners

I was named for Queenie Anne

(although I only got to keep the "an" in her name)

and we were born just one day a part

both lovers of justice and balance and beauty.


Queenie Anne at her surprise birthday party....

and with my mom.
I love the expression on my granny's face.



Luckily, I became the keeper of my grandmother's buttons.





(I fell in love with the two fabrics shown above.)

And just like that, I was thinking about my grandmother.