I cannot count my day complete
'Til needle, thread and fabric meet.
~Author Unknown

Sharing a common thread with those who love the art of hand embroidery

Monday, October 12, 2009

A Basket Of Memories

In my "creative space" there is a vintage wire basket that was retrieved from a weathered falling down farm house, long forgotten and left by the ones who used to live there. It is filled with strips and scraps of the fabric that has passed through my life. Every time, I glance in it's direction, I am not only inspired to create something from it's contents, but I am reminded of the people I love and have known over the years. Some still with me...others who have gone on. There are pieces from a dear uncle's shirt, who celebrated our holidays with us. He had just celebrated my youngest child's 4th birthday, and we were planning on enjoying his visit again for Thanksgiving, just a few days away.......he unexpectedly passed away......
Then there is a pink gingham dress, that my sweet aunt loved to wear..... I remember her well, dressed in it while sitting out on the front porch quilting her blocks.....and I still cannot bring myself to cut it up for quilt scraps......
there are pieces of fabric with dinosaurs, cowboys and Indians, from making my kindergarten son shirts for school......which he cut with his scissors up and down the front, so he would not have to wear them again, because the kids at school laughed at him......a lesson for me to learn.
All of the pretty floral print fabric pieces are also there......from the dress I made for my daughter.....with matching bows.........one dress had 22 buttons down the front. Some of these pieces have already been cut and marked, waiting to be stitched into a double wedding ring quilt that I have always wanted to make. So I love this old basket sitting in my space. It gives me inspiration, and a sense of "home" and "family" .
Now......do you have scraps of material saved from the past? Grandmas favorite dress? Baby's first Easter dress perhaps? I would love to hear!

4 comments:

KathyB. said...

I do have special collections of fabric, but not a collection with such dear memories. Lovely post Kathleen, and as usual, the pictures of your beautiful embroidery throughout are inspirational.

Brenda Kay Ledford said...

Kathleen,
Your basket filled with the fabrics of dresses, and clothes, brings back so many memories of my mother's quilt scraps. When my sister and I outgrew our dresses, Mama tore them up and put them into her scrap bag. This is a wonderful posting that brings back so many childhood memories. Have a blessed week.

Anonymous said...

loved hearing the stories behind the fabric.

and i love the photo.

peggy said...

I love your basket with the scraps, I have some things like that, buttons, crochet bits, and in time they will speak, as do yours to you. I so enjoy looking at your work, it is so peaceful and beautiful.