Verna Mae, the original pursemaker...

So, it 's been a crazy week. My husbands grandmother passed away. She was 94 years young and had been sick for awhile. She was fiercely independent and lived alone until just a few months ago. After the funeral, we were at her house, looking at photos and crafts she had made. She was a prolific sewer. One of the photos showed Verna standing next to a bed covered in purses she had made. Back in the 50's, 60's and 70's, Verna made purses, took orders and sold them. It cracked me up because heck...it looked like me surrounded by all those purses!

She made quilts by the boat load. She would use old clothing and the like and make quilts with them. She knitted. Made beaded everything. Embroidered. Made clothing. The house was full of her hand made crafts. It was actually quite fun to look at all the stuff she had made - a lifetimes worth of taking care of her family and providing for them with her own two hands.

That's what I love about sewing. It's one of those skills that women pass down through generations to one another - and we make things to show our love, affection and to take care of others. Sewing to me is so personal. Something handcrafted - it feels like a warm blanket on you on a cold winters night with a cup of hot cocoa in your hands and the fire crackling in the fireplace...super comforting and peaceful.

I asked if I could have these old spools of thread from his grandmothers things. I'm going to put them into two mason jars and tag them with my girls names on them and put them on the shelf in my studio. I started to give my girls sewing lessons on Fridays and as they grow up, they'll remember that this jar of thread from their great grandmothers house sat on the shelf in my sewing room with their name on it. I'll give it to them when they get married.

I also asked for some of her old table cloths that nobody else wanted. I'm going to cut them up and make aprons out of them to give to the girls in the family as a keepsake - Mamaw was a wonderful cook and wore an apron when in the kitchen. I thought that would be a cool thing to put in the kitchen to remember her by - don't we all have a recipe from our family we make that everyone loves? Passing it down through the family - creating and making traditions, I love all of those things.

What kinds of traditions or family memories do you have? Post a comment and commenter #15 will "win" a little square pin cushion I've made. :>)