February Already

Am I the only one who can't believe how quickly January flew by?!  Or who has daffodils coming up, way far up, and trees budding out?  Are you like me in that you can't comment on other people's blog posts...what's up with that?!  Yesterday, I was able to comment on only one other blog, the rest of the posts I tried to comment on I apparently wasn't up to snuff according to Blogger, so it rejected me. :(  I hope that resolves itself quickly.

Yesterday, I was treated to lunch by a friend, and it was so nice to get away from buzzing phones and work stuff for a few hours.  It was a working lunch, but the kind of working lunch where you talk about how to grow your business as well as getting caught up on house and family stuff.  Plus it never hurts to have lunch with someone you like and admire for all of her success through hard work, and her great sense of style, so it was a fun afternoon...Thanks M for the nice lunch!

Today it is back to the grindstone with more phone calls to be made and more emails to be sent and answered.  It's a new month, and my hope is that it will be a productive month, but one that won't be gone in the blink of an eye.

So what's been happening in your world?  Oh, and I LOVED reading your comments about sewing on one of my recent posts.  It was so fun to see who was adept at the art of sewing and those who were like me and couldn't sew a lick!

Perspective

Tonight, while doing my usual blog trolling I came upon a post by A-M which led me to a blog that put life into perspective all too clearly.

I ask that you take a moment to visit Lisa's blog and read her story of loss, unimaginable loss, and that you will find it in your heart to donate to her and her family.  I don't often send people to other blogs when it involves money, but once you read what has happened to her family in the last 4 months I hope that you will put aside your need for that new pillow or decorative item and send that money to her instead.  You don't have to say who you are and you don't have to give much, but anything will be greatly appreciated.  I can't think of a better use for social media like blogs than this my friends.

And before you go to bed tonight, tell those you cherish how very much you love them!

Click HERE to visit Lisa's Blog and HERE to Donate.  Thank you A-M for letting us know so that we can help in some little way!

All Spooled Up

Here are some more vintage lovelies from Linda at Itsy Bits and Pieces.  She included these sweet wooden spools as a gift to me, and I love the way they look...thank you Linda!

I've never been much of a seamstress, but I do love old spools!

One time, back when I was in the 7th grade, and schools still taught home economics and shop...can you say 1970s?...I had to make a sundress.

My poor sundress was looking so wonky that my home ec teacher took pity on me and let me take it home so that I could fix it.  I think she knew that if I did take it home that my mother would likely take over and try and fix it.  She was a rather harsh teacher but based on how bad it was looking she was ok with a little parental intervention!

Though, with a little...ok a LOT of help from my mother, I was able to salvage it and I actually wore that dress for many years to come.  But that dress was the beginning and end of my sewing career for anything that required more than sewing a straight line.

I did lose my mind once when my children were little and I bought a sewing machine.  My thought process was that I could somehow channel my grandmother who could sew quite well and made many of our outfits when we were little.  I still remember the Alice in Wonderland shift dresses and matching triangle head scarves that my grandmother made for my older sister and me.  I loved that dress, but alas, I was never able to sew like she could.

So my love of old spools comes not from my own sewing memories, but from watching my mother and grandmother sew.  Pinning patterns onto pretty fabrics, cutting along the dotted lines, hunting for the perfect color thread to match, and then sewing pretty things for us to wear.

I wonder if anyone out there really still makes the majority of their clothing?  Somewhere along the line it became cheaper to buy clothes than to make them, or maybe it just became unfashionable to make them?!  Either way, sewing is a skill I admire and respect.  It takes a great deal of patience, an exacting nature, and a good deal of artistry.

What was the last thing you sewed?!  I truly can't even recall anything beyond reattaching a button...

Photographs and Memories

(Daguerreotype of my Great Grandmother taken by my Great Grandfather)

I hope that each of you goes out this weekend...

to create a few photographs and memories of your own, so that some day, someone will treasure the things you capture through your lens!

Happy Weekend Everyone, I'm off to take a few pictures.