I am thinking about home today. I lived in only one until I grew up and moved away. Since then, I've lived in several homes. My daughter is moving into her first home soon, and we've spent the summer finding, repurposing, refurbishing, sewing, painting, things to be used and loved. Some of the activity has been in an effort to keep costs down. But then again, some things are better if you put a bit of yourself into them.
Homes live in our memories long after we no longer live in them.
In my aunts' houses, I learned to cook and sew, to listen and tell a story. Those houses have been sold, and one of my early mentors has passed on. But, the memory of those houses, and the things I learned how to do in them, is vivid still. I learned a lot of wonderful lessons from these inspiring women. The most important of all? A rainy day can hold a lot of fun and laughter. I am going to be busy over the next few days, but I hope to post some photos of our various projects.
Until then, I hope your house is a place of peace, and sunny even when the weather is not.
Nancy

A groovy dress ended the dress envelope project. I used some tie-dyed felt and a tag from a clothing store for a little pocket. Connie Govea Stuart's work is often featured in Somerset publications -- and I am fan.

This is a portion of the envelope dresses canvas. Note the vintage trim above.

This Celtic Tree of Life took me nearly 18 months to stitch. My son made the frame in woodshop. This was a particularly sanity-saving project. It got me through some very rough times last winter. I don't remember them so much when I look at it, I just remember how much I loved working on it.
It was featured in an issue of Just Cross Stitch and it was designed by Tracy Horner. It called for a million shades of brown, but I just used DMC colour variations for the most part. It changes colour on its own -- and it much easier for the lazier stitchers among us...

During the vintage hunt process, I spot things at Value Village that need to live again as something useful. These pin cushions are pretty neat and pretty practical. They cost me $2 to make -- yep -- for both of them!

I love to use vintage trimmings and threads (as long as they aren't so fragile they don't survive the process). Sometimes, I ask them to pose for pretty pictures beforehand...

This is the clock in my den -- which I can sometimes use as a my studio. I made it from a kit and scrap book papers, using a template from my favourite artist, Connie Govea Stuart. This dress template was part of a 9 dress series I did for my daughter when she was away on Katimavik. I did a dress envelope each month, and tucked inside was a new recipe. She saved them all and when she got home, I did a canvass of all of them. More photos on that to follow.

Hands create so many lovely things.