In the Beginning....

In the beginning was the Box, and the Box was with Material, and the Box was Material. The same was in the beginning with Material.....

This phrase very much describes my relationship with fabric. Scraps of fabric became my toys. Some of my youngest memories involved boxes of fabric, or "terials" as I called them then, and my mother sewing various things. I loved playing under the quilts she was quilting, back when quilt frames took up a whole room. She never threw anything away, "you might need it someday".  As I grew older, I learned other skills from her as well, such as knitting and crochet. I learned other craftiness from friends or on my own .

Today I was looking through old photos trying to find the picture I took of my daughter Hannah at around 3 years old, and her "web" of yarn. I had let her play in a box of yarn and she strung it all over the house. I attribute her love on knitting to being able to play with the yarn as I did with the fabric. Hannah knits 99% of the hats that are for sale in my Etsy shop and at least 50% of the scarves. I didn't find that photo, but I did find other photos of things I have made over the years.

This was my first cross-stitch effort, a poem dedicated to a mother-in-law. I didn't write the poem, but it expressed how I felt about my wonderful mother-in-law.

Me almost 18 years ago and pregnant with my third child. The quilts behind me are quilts I had made as a teenager and are on display at a church talent show.

A baby quilt that still need its binding. I don't remember who the quilt was for, it doesn't look like the quilts I made my own kids.

This quilt was pieced together by the lady in the picture. She contracted with me to do the quilting and binding. I developed the quilting design from the patterns in the fabric.

This photo is about twenty years old. This is a sweater that I made when I worked for Savage Frost, a handknit sweater company. Unfortunately, I didn't (and still don't) knit fast enough that this lasted long, but I gained a lot of confidence in my knitting abilities, and in the ability to follow a pattern. I even learned how to resize patterns!

Some plans for future posts:

1.Treasuries from Etsy which I have currated.

2. How-to demonstrations of various crafting skills.

3. General hopes and dreams.

4. Excerpts from daily life "living in the cottage".

5. Other ideas as they come.

Some of these ideas could become regular features.

If there is something that I can make and you want to know how, just ask!