Treasures On Thursday

I posted earlier the picture of the bloom on my lily that I took yesterday.

Surprise, it is open in all it's beauty !!

One of the definitions of "treasure" is a collection of precious things. What could be more precious to find than a collection of lilies.

"Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."

Luke 12:27

Treasures On Thursday

What is this, you ask? What kind of treasure is this?

I'll give you hints.

It's old, about 47 years old.

It's handcrafted.

It's made from the outer paper of something that many people chew.

It's a gum wrapper chain that I made in the fifth grade.

Why keep such a thing?

It's a memento of my very first crush on a boy.

All the girls made these chains to be as tall as their boyfriend.

It's fun for me to look at the gum wrappers.

Some I don't even recognize!

I see Wrigley's Spearment.

(the red and dark green on the right)

I see Juicy Fruit.

(the yellow with green letters)

Just a little trivia...a pack of gum cost five cents way back then!

There's Doublemint.

(green and white stripe)

and there's Fruit Stripe gum

that came in five fruity flavors.

(it's the orange, green, and red ones on the right)

What memories this brings back!

My crush was a secret.

Absolutely no one knew...not even my best friends.

He was oh so cute, but I'm not sure he even noticed me!

I can remember always wanting to play on the playground near where he was playing!!

He was a little bit of a bad boy.

He used to get in trouble a lot...

couldn't be still in class, didn't do his homework, missed a lot of days and got in his share of fights.

I wonder where he is today.

I haven't heard anything about him since junior high.

As I said, you made the chain your boyfriend's height.

I wondered as I began to write this if it was finished.

This is 4'9" tall, which seems about right

for a fifth grader.

I just goggled that, and the average height is 4'8",

so I guess I finished it.

I don't know why I kept it all these years.

I guess it's just a reminder of a sweet childhood memory!

Treasures on Thursday

We've looked at my Nannie's quilts and my Mom's quilts, so I guess it's time for mine. I've only completed one large bed size quilt. You can see it here. I have made twelve that hang on my door, one for each month and you are seeing those when I welcome in each month. But, I do have a few others. I've already blogged about this one here, but I'll show it again. I did hand-applique and hand-quilt this one.

This one was fun to make. I call it "behind the garden gate." It's made of 2 1/2" squares that are all from floral fabrics. It was fun looking for the floral fabrics in my stash and at the fabric stores. I spent a lot of time arranging and rearranging all the squares until I got just the look I wanted. I wanted it to look like sunlight was shining on the upper portion of the quilt. I then hand-appliqued the gate post and machine quilted it.

I saw this pattern in a book and just loved it. It was entitled "a tribute to waitresses." In the past waitresses in restaurants and diners wore white blouses with a handkerchief tucked in their pocket. I loved the idea but changed the title to "A tribute to Nanny."  The handkerchiefs belonged to my grandmother. I'm glad I have a special place to display them.

The quilt blocks in the book were made with used white shirts, but I decided to just make mine to look like shirts using different white fabrics. I decorated this pocket with a touch of lace.

 I made a the sashings between the blocks to look like a shirt placket, each with different buttons.

It doesn't look like I've done many, but remember the twelve I've made, one for each month. I'll show you the ones I've already posted, but you'll have to check back monthly to see the rest.

January - the blocks in this quilt are made similar to a crazy quilt. You start with a five-sided piece and just add to each side until you have it the size you want.

February - two different Log Cabin blocks make the hearts

I have two quilt for February. this one is a bargello pattern. I made this one in a class. So much fun!

March - what else could you have but Pinwheels for March. The buttons are some of my Grandmother's.

April - each block in my Easter quilt has a Biblical name, you can read about it here if you want.

Even though I enjoy piecing a quilt, it is not my number one interest. So I only do it occasionally. Number one right now is photography!

Treasures On Thursday

Finally I'm back to my treasured quilts. When I think of quilts I think of many things, warmth, comfort,  beauty, and colors. When I think of  a quilt made by one of my family members, I think of love. These were made with love by my Mom for me.

This first quilt is called Colonial Ladies. Mom gave it to me in 2001. The blocks are hand appliqued and embroidered.

Each ladies dress is decorated with lace and she is holding something different in her hand, like a mirror, a fan, a book, a hankie, or a purse.

 Mom love to quilt by hand. She's spends so many hours on finishing each quilt. Hand quilting is definitely a labor of love! Here's an example of her quilting on the sashing.

This is what the back looks like. It's pretty neat the way you can see the outline of the ladies.

Mom made this one for me in 1997 because she knows I love bears. It's called Teddy Bear Fashion Parade. Each bear is hand-appliqued and then embellished with buttons, lace or little bits of clothing. It's also hand-quilted.

 I love this little train button. She added this because my son has always loved trains.

 This one wears a cute little denim vest.

 She backed this one with a cute bear fabric.

This Dutch Doll quilt is a treasure for two reasons, the Dutch Doll blocks were made by my Grandmother and then my Mom put the blocks together and quilted it. Most of the fabric in these blocks would have been from the 1950's.

Mom gave me this lap quilt in 2009. She has been working hard at using up her stash of scrap fabric. She made this string quilt with nothing but scraps. I love scrap quilts, there are so many delightful fabrics.

I will treasure my quilts and each time I look at one or use one, I will be reminded of the love of my Mother!

Treasures On Thursday

The day is quickly passing and I've yet to post my treasures!! Time just seems to be something I don't have enough of lately! I seem to be so busy!! In fact, I've just decorated for Easter and Easter is Sunday!! I'll just keep my decorations up for a while and enjoy them. Decorated for Easter is always fun, I love the spring colors and Easter Eggs.

Easter eggs,

Yellow and blue,

Easter eggs,
For me and you.

 Easter eggs,

Candy sweet,

Easter eggs,

Are good to eat.

Easter eggs,

Pretty and funny,

But...

WHERE OH WHERE IS THE EASTER BUNNY?

Treasures On Thursday

This treasure does not belong to me. But, none the less it is a wonderful treasure of nature. A complete accidental finding of something special, something beautiful. A treasure of God's creation.

I was downtown trying to take a picture of a clock tower off in the distance. But, was hampered with many power lines. Behind a building I saw a metal staircase that I knew would get me above the lines. I began to climb the stairs keeping an eye on the clock tower, when I came upon the most fantastic surprise! A nest with two beautiful blue eggs in it! A Robin's nest sitting right there on the step.

 I quickly snapped a couple of pictures, not knowing where Mama Robin was. I didn't know how aggressive a Robin was and certainly didn't want to be attacked by her on a stair case. Mrs. Robin only wanted the best and prettiest nest for her babies. Look how she chose to put blue accents in the nest to match her eggs! Beautiful touch!

She chose a shady spot. This was mid-day and her little nest was well shaded. 

I climbed on up another level and took my shots of the clock tower, then turned to go back down and another wonderful surprise!! Mrs. Robin had returned to the nest. She guardedly watched me come down and didn't fly off until I was a couple of steps away. Then she and Mr. Robin royally chewed me out until I was down the stairs and several feet away! I think they were telling me to not come back!! This was their staircase!!

Looking back up the stairs you can barely see her nest. It's pretty hidden and unless you climb the stairs you wouldn't even notice it. It worries me a little that she chose such a dangerous place for a nest. The mother in me thinks her little ones could fall through the cracks and that's a long way down when they begin to fly. Oh well, as they say "mother knows best!"

I wish them well!!

 And, here is the picture I was after. It's the clock tower on a train station. I've always liked this building and it's clock. It turned out well, and I'm so glad I climbed those stairs to get it!!

All Things Bright And Beautiful Hymn

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,

Each little bird that sings,

He made their glowing colours,

He made their tiny wings.

He gave us eyes to see them,

And lips that we might tell

How great is God Almighty,

Who has made all things well.

Cecil F. Alexander, pub.1848

Treasures on Thursday no make that Friday

OK, so I forgot yesterday was Thursday! I'm not surprised, my mind is filled with so many other things I don't even know what day of the week it is! So a day late we'll have a little treasure. This will be short with several pictures as I'm leaving for a scrapbook retreat this afternoon. I haven't packed or even decided all that I'm going to work on.

Several years ago I found a kit to make a kaleidoscope. I cross stitched the quilt design on perforated plastic and then you just put the scope together. Easy! Kaleidoscopes are one of my favorite things. I love the color and the motion as you turn it. The most beautiful ones I've ever seen were made of wood. And they were gorgeous! Of course, they had a pretty high price tag on them, so I couldn't have one.

You can put anything you want in the bottom. I chose to put buttons, since it was a sewing kind of design.

 I have seen a photo where someone took a picture through their kaleidoscope. So I gave it a try. I placed the lens directly over the hole, turned the scope and shot away. You get a little darkening around the edges which I could have cropped out, but I though it added to the shot. I was fascinated by the results. Such pretty designs.

If you look close at the shot you can see the buttons.

I decided to limit the photos to my top 10. Don't even ask how many I took. I'm clicker happy!!

In the one below, the white button is upside down and you can see the shank part of the button.

I think this one below might be my favorite.

Such pretty little spring flowers appeared.

Such beauty in the simple things in life.

Slow down today, look around, and find some simple beauty. Even grab your camera and take a shot of it!