A Catalog and A Corset

My best friend, Louise, is the youngest of a large family-nine children- five of them daughters. I am the oldest of fourteen! So, the two of us compare our lives as oldest and youngest. We laugh at how 'careful' our mothers were with the older ones and how as the years passed and our mothers energies faded away, the younger children's upbringing was so much more....lax. Ha!Ha!

I know Louise's mother- a woman in her eighties, Delores. Recently, Louise shared with me how Delores would talk to her daughters on their wedding days. The wedding dress would lay on the bed and Delores would want to have a talk about being a wife. As Louise told me the story, I could hear Delores sweet, endearing voice in my mind and see her twinkling eyes. It was like I was right there. She would say to the bride-to-be, "A lady is to be pure and gentle always."

This is what this design  represents to me- to me, creating brings out my 'inner-girl'- that girl that once was busy with her crayons ans scissors, coloring sheets and stencils is busy once more with her hook....and this time, lace and buttons. Little girls are, by nature, pure of heart and gentle! that, in my opinion, is what keeps our child like wonder and spirit alive.

I am busy at my computer piecing together a catalog. I want it to be so much more than a catalog- I want it to be something fun and looked at leisurely. This little dress will be found in the catalog along with pictures and instructions on how to make your own- what I mean to say is- the pattern is part of the catalog itself- for you to enjoy from me! Be watching my web-site and Etsy store for it to be available! I think you like it. 

~Yvonne

Character, Mind and Spirit!

"So her needlework expresses what she is, more clearly than her handwriting does. It expresses everything that makes her an individual unlike any other person- her character, her mind and her spirit, her experience in living. It expresses, too, her country's history and culture, the traditions, the philosophy, the way of living that she takes for granted."

~Rose Wilder Lane

This past weekend my family traveled to Seattle, Washington for my son's wedding. As long as we were that close, we decided to stay a couple days on the Oregon Coast. It was marvelous. The highlight of the trip (for me) was being buried knee high in sand by my three teenage girls as they raced against the racing waves. Soon a wave enveloped me as we laughed so hard and I loved every minute of it as I hoped to be creating a memory for my darling girls someday.

The photo above is of a rug I picked up at a thrift store along the sea. It measures nine feet long and three feet wide- a runner. It is completely handmade- probably punched and it is beautiful and mine for $5! I cannot imagine the hours that were spent on this rug- I imagine years really.

Whatever the case, I appreciate that this beauty was made with the fingers and the heart of a lovely lady and expresses who she is or was 'more than even her handwriting' as Rose Wilder Lane wrote.

I also want to share a picture that came through my Facebook feed this week. It is my 'Joseph' design being hooked by Doris of Ohio. I cannot express in words how this touches my heart. When I make something I always hope that it will bless someone, bring a smile to a worn heart or a pattern would give some hours of leisure and contentment to someone I will probably never meet. When I see this-it's like I get a smile back and my heart is so....oh...gratified. So, thank you, Doris! Thank you!