“where did she go?”
♥
i haven’t had the opportunity to bake of late..
i’ve been dabbling in a few other projects
♥
first off, i set my hands to a wee bit of
embroidery
i’m working on a set of 4
this Strawberry tea towel is the first in the series
♥
and i’ve gotten back into
sewing
this is a vintage apron pattern..
everyone had gone out for the evening and
{ it was heaven }
i had lovely, yielding verdant fabric.. a blank canvas shaping under my hands,
the Goldberg Variations humming in the background
and a genial breeze stirring linen curtains
it was a sweet escape
♥
the rev of the motor and the sound of the needle plunging while flying down fabric seams
brought back so many memories
every summer we’d drive to Lethbridge to visit my Gran
in order to keep me occupied
my mom took me to a Fabric shop, to select a pattern
and a bolt of bright yellow fabric for my first sewing project..
it was just a simple dress, but i felt so accomplished!
♥
i don’t have many regrets, but
i do wish that i’d done this with my daughter
♥
but parenting and times have changed and we have given up these creative pursuits
and replaced them with teams, schedules and competition…
and daily fitness routines that don’t leave room for much more but rushing home to do homework
♥
i cherish my memories of these simpler times..
sewing, needlework and reading
we didn’t have to “accomplish” anything or set any records
♥
thank goodness for summer..
it’s the time i get to catch up on
“stuff “
{ insert: friends and family }
and that means i can’t be here or there…
or anywhere for any length of time…
so if i haven’t read your blog for a few days,
i promise i will be there and when i do i’ll be sure to stay a while
until then…
saisir le jour!!
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by Barbara Bamber | justasmidgen
Nice work – my grandmother spent half her life doing embroidery – she loved it!
Very pretty. I’d hate to get a pretty apron like that dirty though!
Wonderful work here … love the apron – so beautiful. Beautiful photos like always …
Sounds like you’re having a lovely, gentle time. Enjoy! x
Your embroidery is stunning my friend – and time rushes past sometimes mais c’est la vie non?
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Carpe diem, indeed….
ENJOY!
That’s a lovely post Smidge. Your words dance! Yes, I know what you mean about the simpler times where I was taught to knit by my grandmother and we could sit for hours and there was no rushing and no where I had to be. Precious times. I love your tea-towels but they do look too impressive to use. Enjoy your time just being you and being creative xx
I work as a nurse in a hospital where everything is computerized. Today the computers went down (transformer hit by lightening). It was such a hardship. It led us to the conclusions that, if all technology failed, most people would be lost and wouldn’t even know how to find/grow food. I think the simpler times you mention are so much better than today. I am proud that ppl call me old fashioned. You look like you are doing a good job of it too!
Wonderful post, Barbara!
)
I loved your projects (gorgeous backstitch!) and memories. I guess we all wish we’d done this kind of things with our daughters (I do), but time nowadays is spent with so many futile endeavours…
But I’m sure you still can make other things with your daughter and when the time comes, with your granddaughters (Grans always have time for that
Love it and your projects. I am in a car traveling cross country! When I get back home, I will copy the words, “Saisir le jour” and pin it over my desk!
OMG that apron is adorable..sew me oneee pleasee!! I will pay you!! I love that tea towel too..so much detail!
Oh dear. Sweet Smidge, don’t think of stopping what you’re doing! This is a summer in a Life and you are Just where you should be, doing Just what you should be, and not a Smidge more or less!! We want nothing more of you than that! Xxoo!
Such pretty flowers!
My Mom was a wonderful mother but I didn’t learn crafts, or baking or sewing from her. Oh she had to do a lot of those things raising 10 kids like she did…but I don’t think she had time to do anything but the necessary…When I see the beautiful things you make I do feel the ‘not supposed to feel’ …envious…Diane
Loved this post – lovely photos ~ Simple pleasures are the best ~
Some weekends I do go back to those simpler times with my kids. Obviously like you said there are schedules and teams to keep up with, but every now and then a day of simplicity does wonders. I used to sew with my mom and grandma too. I should teach my kids a bit of that. I love your apron and towel! So pretty.
Am smiling! Je sais le jour indeed: in my case first staying up most of the night with Tour de France, finding the French countryside idyllic even on film, and now sitting in bed with a big mug of green tea barracking the night away for the Green and Gold at the Olympics: not so gentle as your pursuits but as much a sidestep from my usual world . . .
Beautiful photos!
I long for the “simpler times” when I just lounged at my Grandma’s house on her porch. The sound of fans blowing all over her house. If we could only go back just one more time to all of the simpler times in our lives! Can you imagine?
Your embroidery and apron projects are absolutely beautiful! I wish I had the patience for sewing. My mother is an amazing seamstress. She’s made all of her curtains, bed coverings, quilts, upholstered her dining room chairs, even made her own shower curtains!!
So happy you are able to take a little time for YOU! Enjoy it ~ April
What a beautiful and gentle post Smidge. Enjoy every single minute of your creative time! Your tea towel and apron are just too beautiful and special to be used.
Mandy
Hi Smidge. Fabulous post. Gorgeous embroidery. Love your vintage apron.
Regards Florence x
I went for embroidery classes one summer, in this tiny, woodsy little tailoring shop which was down the road from my grandma’s….I had almost forgotten about that till this post. Lovely little strawberries, by the way!
I nearly flunked machine sewing due to a machine with a foot pedal and my native dexterity deficits. I did slightly better with my Mom’s machine with the knee pedal, but not enough to keep at it. I can hand-sew though, but except for hems, buttons and a bit of darning sewing belongs in my past, along with the ironing board. Enjoy your summer days.
Yes, thank goodness for summer …
Sewing, cross stitch, embroidery, gardening, cooking, these practical, purposeful endeavors that keep our hands occupied with something useful so our minds and hearts can wander and wonder, free to create without the pressure to perform.
Heavenly.
That’s so cool.. I really enjoyed making this one. xx
I know!! I was thinking the same thing.. Oh well:D
I guess that’s what Gran’s are for. I guess I’ll be able to do this some day!!
You’re right.. I’ll be the Gran one day!
I wouldn’t even know what to charge you:D
I’ve found keeping up is tough, as you know… So I think if I post less often.. I have more time to read.. And get out of the house, lol!! xx
I think your mom was an incredible woman. After I had two I remember making the conscious decision to stop because I didn’t think I had it in me to keep going. Your mom raised 10?! That’s just incredible and I think you must be so proud of her. You will have special memories of those days.. They just be different, but no less special nonetheless! xx
We try to do more of this in the summer.. But now with kids working there is less and less time. I remember the first thing I sewed after a long career spent working, was a blanket for my daughter and my mom helped me make it. So there is still time for me I think!! xx
Wow.. That is a “seizing the day” I would love to be doing right now!! Lucky you!!
Oh, I can sooo imagine it! You know, I’ve decided my next house has to look more like the one your Gran must have had with the wooden front porch:D She sounds so talented.. I’m afraid to make more than an apron these days!
Thanks, Mandy! xxx
Thanks Florence!!
Ahhh.. That must have been just the best.. I’m picturing the tailoring shop in my mind:) xxx
Ahhh.. My gran had the foot pedal and I believe my school’s machines had the knee one for a while.. That’s enough to stop anyone from ever sewing again! New ones are $100 which is astounding!!
So well said, Judy! It is heavenly!!
Beautiful Floral Pics and love your tea towels, but I am a sucker for a pretty tea towel:) Happy Sunday!
That apron is gorgeous!
I LOVE your strawberry tea towel it’s so very pretty. Gosh this post brings backs memories of the simpler times of own childhood when I learnt to sew and knit. Enjoy your catch up time thanks for the reminder about ‘saisir le jour’.
Your sewing projects look wonderful. I’m so glad you’ve gotten back into those pursuits since they obviously bring you so much pleasure and stir such happy memories. Enjoy!
Absolutely dear Smidge! Been missing you. Barbara and no baking?
Enjoying life- what fitness schedule? Running around in circles is more me.
Adore that photo with the gentle pink flowers, over “I don’t have many regrets”.
Good for you. Take care xx
Those who like to artistically create are best when that is what they are doing. Enjoy your time, relax and let the mind float once in a while, it does wonders to the soul. XOX
the strawberry tea towel is adorable!! wish I could sew like you!
The embroidery is so beautiful, Smidge! I love to do handwork, and haven’t done much in a while. I like to knit, and have some unfinished projects staring at me from a lonely corner. And I have also been thinking of quilting again! I have so much fabric that it’s a shame not to prioritize some sewing…you have me thinking!
Debra
These are beautiful! Like you I used to sew and studied fashion design when I left school. An area I worked in for many years. I sew sometimes with my boys and we have many crazy soft toys to prove it!! I love the summer too but since the boys have been on school holidays we haven’t been home for a full week!! Lots of traveling around the country which has been great fun but no time for blogging
Sigh. Lovely post. Go out there and be – we’ll do the same. That’s what summer is for…
xox
What a gorgeous apron, Smidge. I love to sew and haven’t in such a long long time. I have some fabric and a pattern for a skirt I had intended to make for Morocco, but never got around to it. Sigh.
Beautiful projects Barb!
I love embroidery, sewing, crocheting, knitting…. Wish I had more time…
Have a lovely week!
Gorgeous tea towels and lovely apron. The maker wants them to be used and show off but the recipient is afraid to get them soiled because they are so beautiful, what a delightful dilemma!!!!!
You are so talented! I have never tried embroidery, but I have a feeling nothing of mine would turn out as pretty as yours!
Barb, so beautiful…your creativeness and writing. I just found my mother’s embroidered pillowcases, napkins and tablecloths during the move. I remember sewing along with her and just as you said really didn’t do it much with my daughter – never having the time. So wonderful that you found the time, peacefully quiet to indulge yourself. I think you just inspired me
Thank you so much
I sure will! xx
*sigh* it really does race along.. next thing you know I’ll be 75, lol, wishing I’d done things at this age!!
I hope you are having a wonderful day yourself, Sally:)
I agree, being told one is “old fashioned” is one of the finest compliments one could receive. There is a younger generation who are beginning to embrace this. Perhaps technology has been there for their entire lives.. and they’re tired of it! On the other hand.. how would I blog and meet you:) xx Smidge
When I think of you, I always imagine you off on an adventure of some sort or another:D I’m happy to read you’re traveling.. cross country no less! I can’t wait to sit down and read a few of your stories! xx
Sometimes my garden can be so beautiful.. others.. well, let’s just say some little microscopic worms have been nibbling on my rose’s leaves.. argh!!
A beautiful post and really beautiful needlework. Is there anything you can’t do well, Barb?
A lovely post Smidge, full of prettiness, alongside lovely thoughts. Wishing you a wonderful summer!
My mum taught me how to do cross stitiching and embroidry and I do cherich those memories..I wonder if I will be able to share the same experience with my daughter who is more into tablets and androids lol
Good point!
I think we should just be sure to not be too involved/caught up in it.
Thanks! I am sitting in my parent’s 100-year-old house while an Amish man who was fixing their porch, meets with my brother and husband. He did a reeeeally lousy job!
Wow, Barb! How beautiful are your tea towels and apron! And how very different our kitchens must be. I’ve managed to stain or burn — yes, set afire — every tea towel, oven mitt, and pot holder that’s had the misfortune of finding its way into my kitchen. Thank goodness I don’t wear an apron because I’d probably have gone up in smoke ages ago.
This post brought back memories of my grandmother. I made a little embroidered piece which was framed and she kept in her hall to see each day. She had so many lovely aprons that she made and either embroidered or crocheted to make them prettier. You must enjoy your quiet time with your sewing.
No problem. Life over blogging, every time.
Wonderful tea towels and apron! You are a very talented woman.
Your poetic musings bring back sweet memories. Watching my mother sew and playing with the tools that were stored in a special compartment beneath the sewing machine, like a treasure. Fascination, for a tomboy. But now I wonder why she did not teach me. Perhaps to allow my own path. Yet I love to sew by hand and have made whimsical dolls and pouches and such. Your embroidery is delightful and the vintage apron as pleasing to the eye as a gentle poem. Glad you are enjoying your summer and looking forward to seeing you at the Parlour, when you feel like a visit. À la prochaine, chère amie!
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what a lovely blog you have:-) I totally agree about “creative pursuits” being replaced by “teams, schedules and competition.” I hope my daughters grow up knowing that they “don’t have to “accomplish” anything or set any records.” You phrase things well. And your food looks so yummy! Thanks for stopping by foodforfun’s trifle post so I could find you.
Summer time is indeed the time to catch up with everything – and to replenish. Seems like you have been busy with all kinds of things. Love your work and your photographs. Enjoy the rest of the summer!
Amen to all of that! Lovely dishtowels and love the vintage apron. I have a few true vintage aprons that belonged to my gama…I plan to photograph and blog about them one day soon.
Sweet embroidery… I feel inspired to have a go at that myself. And the apron too for that matter. Glad I caught this post.