My Weblog

Freestyle Embroidery

A work in progress....

Still stitching away on my freestyle sampler from an online class I'm taking from this person. Still not too late to take the class! You can join at any time since it's a work at your own pace sort of event.

Since the weather FINALLY feels like Spring may be coming after all, I'll quit with the words and let the photos do the rest of the talking so I can run outside with my canine friend and soak in some more sunshine...

 
  

...hoping the sun is shining in your world today as well....

this, and many more blessings wished for you all...xo, sue 

Pink Saturday!

 

First, I'd like to wish Beverly a speedy recovery on her recent surgery! 

A listing of all this week's participants can be found on her blog, HOW SWEET THE SOUND. I haven't heard that there isn't a list, and knowing Beverly, if humanly possible, it is there waiting. If not, it wasn't humanly possible!

One thing I enjoy doing is making my own cards. If only the other demands of life didn't get in the way, I could have made many more than what I ended up making. But I'll share some photos I snapped along the way.

  Mother's always like to receive a little love note at Valentine's, don't they? 

  

This particular roll of vintage wallpaper was more fragile. In order to give it more stability, I first lined it with muslin. I've found the most economical [but very effective] method of adhering the fabric to the paper is using a glue stick. I buy them in bulk at Sam's Club as I go through a lot of them! 

 
I'm still having problems with Typepad freezing up on me and losing my work. Scream loud. So I'm going to stop while I'm ahead! I'll look forward to hopping around to see as many of you as I can. Due to a winter wonderland hitting the Atlanta area [a very rare event in these parts] a few things on our calendar were cancelled. More JAMMIE TIME...yeah! 

Wishing all you sweet pinkies a very special Valentine's day! 

Take the time...

A spot in my old hometown....

For the past week I was up in the Midwest. Back to the place where I was born and raised, but haven't lived for over thirty years. Every time I go back all I notice is change. Buildings that I loved are gone. People whom I loved are gone. The house that my great grandfather built, where my mother grew up, and eventually became one of my childhood  homes, now belongs to someone else.

The majority of my time was spent transitioning my 86 year old mother from her assisted living apartment to a nursing home. The good news is that it was her choice to move to the nursing home. Yet, when the time came to part with many of her belongings, this was a tough emotional hurdle. Thankfully, she has a private room and was able to comfortably keep two chairs and her sofa. But beyond that, storage space was very limited. What was interesting (heartwarming actually), are the things she chose to keep.

One of those things she chose to hang on her extremely limited wall space was this picture I created back when I was probably 11 or 12 years old. For as long as I can remember, its original spot was in her bedroom hanging above the light switch {and it didn't match ANYTHING in the decor of the room!} Like many of you who remember that innate need to create that has lived inside you forever, I too share similar memories.

Granted, this is not a masterpiece, not even by the wildest stretch of imagination. But  after seeing that my mother also reserved a spot in her precious little drawer space to house the handmade cards I've made for her through the years, as well as a spot for the photo album my sister and I put together for my parents 50th wedding anniversary which took place over 10 years ago, it was apparent that handmade items by someone she loved, were highly treasured by her. These were the items she chose to keep {along with photographs} in her now confined living space.

Seeing this firsthand, spoke to my heart. The things I make for others are important despite the fact that some might argue, the time could be "better" spent completing more practical tasks. It is in the knowing of the importance of what a homemade card might mean to someone that spurred me on to make these two cards in the recent days "just because"....

 

 

In a perfect world, I would have liked to have had more time to work with my creations as well as having access to all my supplies still sitting in packed boxes. But in the end, I know, it isn't about the perfectness of a given item, it is about the fact that someone showed they cared by taking the time...

 
  
 Taking the time for the important things in life has become a subject I've given much thought to lately. So much to choose from...and I want to choose wisely.