Just in Case You Wanted to Know Some Things About Me

I  went walking with my camera today and the following pictures are just a few that I snapped today.  Some of them show things I worked on today and other some of that heritage I was blessed to be around.

I did get some things finished and I'm pretty proud of this skirt.

 I got started on the blouse to go with the skirt, but my design took a few turns before I finally  cut the material.

 I hope to have the binding done on this table runner finished today and up on my Etsy shop this week.

 I washed the quilts that Sally brought me and hung them on the line.  Yes..my clothes line stretches across my back porch.  I did it for convenience one day after we moved in and it's been there ever since.  The only bad thing, my son's dog will sometimes pull the items on the bottom line off just for fun.

 I then went to my parent's house to take care of some things for my dad.  This where I lived all my childhood.  We moved in when I was 6 months old (they did a lot of remodeling, the house was much smaller and about 50 years old when we moved in). It's kind of sad to me that those trees were planted after I moved away and they have gotten so big.  Guess I've been gone long enough for trees to grow.

 But I didn't go far.  See that little red roof behind the red barn?  That's my house.  I consider myself right across the street from my parent's home...or across the field.

 I went into my parent's house to tidy up for my dad and snapped a few shots.  This is the wall in the main bedroom.  All those pictures started with the three black and white baby pictures in the center  (I'm the cutest one!).  All those other pictures are our kids through the years.  My mom spent her last few months in this room looking at this wall.  I think it brought her comfort and joy.

 This is the bed on the opposite side of the picture wall, covered with one of Mom's prettiest quilts.  All stars...she loved stars.

 My grandmother made this quilt from all my mother's baby clothes.

 Then on other walls in the bedroom and throughout the house is the art.  My mom was an artist.

 Lots of her paintings are of mountains and roads.

 She tried her hand at just about everything.  She made this porcelain doll and the ceramic pieces are some of my favorite.

 The Victorian lady probably started my love of all things Victorian.  She's a jewelry box and the other lady is a vase...there's a hole in her hat.

 Not artwork, so to speak, but the way my mom arranged things was artful.  Some of the family gave her this orchid for her birthday last year.  1 year later and it's still blooming.  Daddy is doing a great job taking care of it..

Lots of Mom's little projects turned into covers to go on the back of the chairs.  I really like this one.

Of course Daddy has some of his things hanging around too.

This is my favorite of all Mom's paintings.  I feel like I'm walking right down that road.  I need a jacket on because the fall air in the Colorado is chilly.

I guess I just figured everyone grew up with art all around them.  Don't you think it's so boring to just hang one picture on a wall....cover those walls!

This was Mom's last painting.  She did it as a challenge with our pastor.  They each took a picture from the Smokey Mountains and did their interpretation.  I think her's turned out pretty good and not to hurt his feelings...but the best.

In the midst of her paintings is this one.  I was home alone and wanted to prove to her that I did in fact know how to paint, that I was paying attention to her lessons.  I had this hanging on the wall when she got home.  Not to be for a young girl.

But I did learn from the best.

She had so much talent no matter what medium she used.

This little wall is full of lots of "my firsts".  Mom seemed to think that every time I learned to do something new, she got the first project.  The cross stitchings, Indian woman drawing, and quilling are all my firsts.  Some of the others are from other family members.

I love when my son stops by to see what I'm doing.

I had such a wonderful childhood growing up here.  I was encouraged to try everything.

My house now.

I love that the back view is so completely different than the front.

Much like the backs of my quilts....always a little different.

I hope that I've taught my kids to try anything that seems to capture their attention.  To look at things a little differently and think "Outside the Box" (the name of the quilt).

So...now I just need a blouse so I can wear my new skirt.