Lovelies

I come from a line of very talented ladies who were/are very proficient in their needlework. My mother is a seamstress, as were two of her sisters (they were five altogether), and all of the women on my mother's side of the family were taught just about all forms of needlework -- either by my grandmother or in some sort of school. Just about all of their work is just beautiful.

When I got married 8 1/2 years ago, my Aunt Kiriaki, one of my mother's older sisters who lives in Greece, sent me a gorgeous set of knitted doilies which she made herself -- in size 10 thread no less! Actually, they are knitted for the most part, with some rows of crochet, and all have crochet edgings. There are two round and one oval and they have been safely stored away until now. :) This past Christmas season, I decided to break them out...well at least two of them...the round ones. (I still need to find a place for the oval one.)

Here is the large round one on my dining room table. I'll have to block it properly so that it doesn't ripple.



Two pictures of the detail:



This is the smaller doily.


And here is the smaller doily in its "place":


This last picture shows the smaller doily on top of the larger one. From this perspective, I'm just amazed by the work my aunt put into them, as the larger one is so much bigger!


I have so much more to take out, made by either my mom, my aunts or my grandmother. I can't wait when I start having more furniture to display all these lovelies with pride.

And so today, I attribute my hands, my own efforts and talents to the talented ladies on my mother's side of the family. May they, or their spirits, live on!

Organization, on it's way!

Well, it's already a great start to the New Year! This was on sale at Canadian Tire, and hubby graciously picked it up for me. It's the Project Organizer by Sauder. Yes, an organizer. Finally...


And here's a close-up of what it will look like after we assemble it (the next step, of course). A crafter's dream!


And where will this baby go? Right here, in my corner of the spare room in the basement.


Originally, this room was to be for me and my stuff. My own craft room. Ah, I had dreams for it. But this was not to be. We changed our minds and decided to make my dream room a playroom...in which I could have a wall and a corner for my stuff. The stuff is in the picture (don't worry, there is more... around 5 more photocopy boxes full of things, all in the next room and two garbage bags full of yarns in the closet -- the big bins in the corner are full of yarns too.) Anyhoo, in addition to the vintage night table (the one with the orange bottom), the filing cabinet, and a small bookcase (unless the kids take that over too), this project organizer should help me a lot. And help me feel like I have some real space of my own in that room too! :)

So, my more realistic dream of organizing all my stash may soon be a reality. It's enough to make a girl just....well, enough said. ;)