Sunday, January 24, 2010

A Poem Written about the Hoity Toity Houses Class-What a lovely gift on top of a wonderful week


The lovely quilt above was done by Susan who owns "Out of the Box" quilt shop in Alabama. And she was afraid she was over her head. Since she got an A+, I don't think she was. As with all Hoity Toity Houses, she will be adding things to the windows and doors and sky. A story that she will develop as she sews along. Hopefully she will send us a photo of the finished product for this blog.

The photo above is of Sam Butcher and myself. I met Sam in the diningroom and he commented that my clothes were bright. He told me he was from Maine and in the poetry class. I immediately took a liking to him because of his kind smile and the fact that all of the men in my family on both sides, were poets. Then Sam came to visit our wild workshop a couple of times and observed the color, the chattiness and laughter. Here is Sam's delightful poem. NOTE- Every poet likes to hear they have done their job well.
The first draft he had the word Extravaganza instead of Shivaree and I quite liked that because it sounded so wild. But he is the poet and I, only the reader. I loved this. If you like this poem, please comment. Sam has the link to this blog and will be checking.
Postcards from the Polyphonic
Technicolor Quilting Shivaree
Rows of piles of fabric bright,
red, fuchsia with green rings,
yellow with aqua dots, mauve.
Boxes of buttons, beads, bursts of light.

Ripples of voice careen about,
occasional words:
“Speaking of chocolate.”
“Migosh, look at that bird.”

Thrumm ahumm, tooka tooka
beedle beedle,
tooka tooka tooka
tug of thread, thrust of needle.

Colors sprouting on the wall,
stories of mothers, brothers,
boats and goats, a man with a sash,
a woman asking, “Need some of my stash?”

Sam Butcher

13 comments:

Carol said...

Hi MaryLou!
Love the poem! Makes me feel as if I was right there, too!

Oh, I wish I could have been there for your Hoity Toity Houses workshop!

Vicky F said...

Hi MaryLou,
I really like Sam's poem about your class. Brings me right back to the class you did in Mich last fall. Maybe I'll put a hoity toity house in the middle of my hoochy mama blocks I did for class!
Vicky F

Patty ♣ said...

I LOVE POEMS! I especially love the "sounds" that Sam heard and translated! How nice to have someone visit and write a cute poem!!!

Sandi said...

Hi Mary Lou,

Susan's quilt is great, can't wait to see the finished project. What a great name for a quilt shop!

Great poem, thanks for sharing it with us.

Sandi in New Westminster B.C.

beth said...

Yes, that poem brings back all the good memories of a class with MaryLou! Great job Sam!

Nancy said...

Great quilt... Susan has a Hoity Toity dog and a Hoity Toity cat... way to go! Frosting on the cake is the Hoity Toity poem. What fun. Nancy

PS- a version of your Chicken and Pumplings pattern is on my blog.

Queen Bee said...

Love the poem and ADORE Susan's house quilt. It is fabulous! Wish I had time for a Mary Lou class - maybe next year. xoxo Debi

Maddy said...

Sam Butcher is better known to me as Dad or Bub.
Congrats, Dad! Lovely poem -- makes me want to be there, with the quilters, with the designs, colors, and good karma. Thanks for the window.
Maddy Gray

Karen said...

I love the poem and "Shivaree" is definitely the right word! It leaves it so open for interpretation! The poem fits a Mary Lou Weidman class perfectly, I would think. I'm registered for the May class and my plane ticket bought. I'm starting to make what I call a "Mary Lou" pile of fabrics to bring with me. I can hardly wait!

Mary Lou Weidman said...

Now that I have "studied the word Shivaree, I agree it is a perfect word for my class. I should have known. And Maddy, if Sam IS your Dad, he is a dandy. Our whole class enjoyed anytime one or more of us got to share dinner with him. He is a gem!

WoolenSails said...

Love the quilts from the class. You really do inspire me to do my own thing and almost finished with the last projects and then, time for me to create;) I love his poem, you girls really inspired him.

Debbie

Mego said...

LOVE the poem! It SO captures 'the quilting class'...Sam, you did so WELL! I wish I could be there but I'm waving at y'all from SEATTLE!

Maree in NC :-) said...

Way to go, Sam!!! :-D Your poem is fabulous and just perfect to describe a fun class with our dear Mary Lou! :-)