I have a WIP that I've been working on a little bit, but really haven't been in the stitching mood. Actually I have several WIPS going, but this is the one I've been working on lately. It's called "It's Berry Time" and it's by Blackbird Designs. The color in this picture is horrible, but hopefully you can get the idea.
I'm still working on organizing and purging around here. I honestly have too much stuff. TOO. MUCH. STUFF. I have clothes I haven't worn in years, shoes I don't even like, I never change purses, and have a ton of them, etc....not counting all the other things. I need a professional organizer to come here and help me. Actually I'm a pretty organized person. It's just that I have this MAJOR sentimental side of me that has a very hard time getting rid of things that mean something to me. I have so many of my grandmother's and mother's things. I feel "guilty" if I don't keep them. I truly do. How does one handle that kind of situation? I have my mom's complete collection of Jim Shore figurines. I love Jim Shore and had a few pieces myself before she passed away. She left ALL of hers to me. Don't get me wrong - I love them. But I had to buy a curio cabinet to be able to display them all. I don't WANT them all (there must be 100). I can't believe I said that. *sigh*
Now, all the vintage hankies, dishes, teacups, gorgeous hat pins, vintage linens and lace (LOVE THESE) things like that? You couldn't pry those out of my hands. I love them all. BUT, they are just in boxes. I need a vision. I need to find a way to show them off or incorporate them into my home. I LOVE those kinds of things. I just don't know how to show them off and use them in my decor.
Pictures.....old black and white pictures of people. I have TONS of them....an entire big rubbermaid container full, and I have no clue who they are. There is nobody left to ask, so they just sit here. I feel guilty just throwing them away. I mean, they are way cool, because I love things like that. But .....
Oh well, I could go on and on about the things I have here that I need to do something with. Anyone want to come live with me for awhile and help me? I'll trade stuff for your ideas and help! LOL (I'm serious!) This does NOT include my fabric, though. Sowwy. That's mine all mine! ;) (Well I might be able to be talked into giving you SOME of it. LOL)
I truly would love to hear your thoughts, ideas and comments about these things before I go bats worrying about it. C'mon....help me out, k? Speak! (or type!) :)
Love and hugs from Texas,
26 comments:
Love your BBD piece!!
As for your other things. How about only displaying those pieces that you love the most - or swapping them out every now and again.
With the other things, you could create little scenes here and there - a teacup sitting on a piece of antique lace with some hatpins laying nearby - perhaps a photo propped up behind the teacup. The ladies of BBD design fame always create little scenes for their blog and patterns - perhaps check out some old blog posts/patterns for ideas!
Good luck - can't wait to see what you come up with!
With the vintage hankies you could sew them into a table cover or the like :)
Oh I wish I was close enough to come over and help. I have been looking for a retired Jim Shore teacher for my daughter. If you have one and want to trade or sell let me know.
Teresa's Heartfelt Stitches
Your WIP is lovely. I can relate to your dilemma about parting with sentimental things. If in doubt, I always hold on to them as I can always part with them later should I change my mind but I can't get them back if they're all ready gone!
Your Blackbird piece is looking lovely, Carolyn!
With your treasured heirlooms, you could create vignettes and change them out monthly or seasonly (is that a word?).
Robin in Virginia
Thellie, what about shadow boxes? Maybe make one up for your Mother, Grandmother and others. You can then post the remaining items up and still have things around you that belonged to them. I am the same way, as you know, about getting rid of sentimental items that belonged to my parents or grandmother. I don't think I have as much as you, but it would be a close race. LOL My oldest brother made up a photo album about our parents after their passing for each of us kids and it's one of my most treasured things. It makes you think about what you would grab first if you had to leave your home very quickly. To me it's the photos.
Good luck hon,
Louie
wish I was closer and I would help..just for the fun of it lol
I had an older cousin who did something very creative with old family snapshots ... she got a whole mess of small frames of all different kinds and framed the snapshots and then hung them in what she called her "album" wall [about a foot down from the ceiling and about three feet up from the floor] covering nearly the entire wall of her half-bathroom. No shower steam or bath moisture to ruin the photos. The only problem was you couldn't pry people out of the room ... they got so engrossed in looking at all the photos. I suppose this could be done in a family room as well.
Sounds like it's time for a yard sale! LOL Seriously though, I wouldn't have a clue how to even begin organizing all of your treasures. I have a storage unit full of my lifetime memories at the moment (mainly because I have no room in the teeny tiny trailer I live in with my dad), but still, some things are just too important to let go of.
Beautiful finish!!
take a hankie, fold it, set it in a tea cup with a hat pin stuck in and do so with a lot of them and put them in your curio mixed inbetween your favorite Jim shore figurines.
Take the photos and try to group them of like people together and put a note at the beginning stating who they came from and that they are family but you don't know who they are since all info resourses have gone on......another reason to make sure all your photos are labeled with photo safe pen/pencil for future generations.
Pick your favorite things from each person who left you things and pass along the rest to have others in the family enjoy....also Lots of Jim Shore collectors....advertise(on boards) selling some(least favorites to you) and I bet you could give someone else the joy of that figurine.
Make a quilt with some of the hankies. I took pictures of one as an idea (with permission, of course). The shop didn't have a pattern, just the quilt her mother had made. She told me to snap away for all the ideas I wanted. Sew nice of her. Now I just have to get started on it.
Very pretty BBD project Carolyn!
Good Luck with the "stuff".
I'm currently in the process of a big purge. I'm afraid I have no advice for you but I'm with you in spirit. If I could I would be there to help.
Me, ME, ME!!!! I want to come visit and help you organize!!!
I love all that vintagey stuff too, as you know. I have to admit that I started buying hankies a couple of years ago. I'll have to tell this story on my blog but I saw an elderly (like in her 80's) wiping away tears with a beautiful hankie. I thought she looked so elegant and pretty that I've used them for just that purpose ever since. Love em!
I have (don't gasp) drilled holes in teacups and saucers and mounted them on metal rods to use as mini bird feeders.
That's it. That's all I've got excpet to say that I love your redwork stitching. VERY pretty!
Okay, so when shall I arrive?
Hugs, GF!
Love your BBD piece.
But I'm feeling your pain on the decision to part with those things. You could make pincushions out of the teacups if you were included to do that. I know I have quite a few from my grandmother and bought a flower cart, like she had to display some of them. Doesn't fit in with my decor, but yet looks really pretty.
Have a lot of vintage hankies too and I can't seem to part with them. My grandmother used them all the time.
I hear you Carolyn, I've got some baby stuff that I can't part with.
I hate throwing stuff away, it seems so wasteful. So instead, I put aside all the stuff that needs to find a new home. I *know* what needs to go. I *know* which pieces have special memories. Then I try to find a new home for it, by either selling or giving it away. I'd much rather give it away to someone who can use it although there have been things I've sold. If I can't find a new home, then I put it near the back door. It stays there until I'm ready to throw it out. First it goes out onto the side of the road (we have lots of traffic going past) and usually it gets taken and I also put a note on it. On the odd ocassion that it doesn't go, I'm ready to part with it and it can go into the bin.
As for your photos of the unknown, scan them onto your computer. If you feel really guilty about them, buy a digital photo frame and display them that way too. But, by scanning them (and perhaps also saving them to disk as wella as your hard drive), you still have the pic, just in a different format. They're probably not going to last much longer anyway, due to their acidity, so really, you're preserving for future generations to access them by doing this.
Good luck with this, it is hard to manage things that have been given to you, as well as those that have been bought by you.
However, when I need a gentle push, I watch Hoarders! (Yay, it's finally on over here!)
Ok, now remember I am a realist and while I can be sentimental, I tend to not attach sentiments to things.
You have memories. If something you have has a DIRECT memory to it, then keep it. If not, then put it on Ebay. Someone is looking for it for a good reason.
Such as if you were with your Mom when she bought one of the pieces and you remember how much fun you had picking it out. Then keep THAT piece. Bring it out, show it off.
Pictures, well if you don't know who they are, then discard them. Or ask your son if he wants them to look up ancestors. But honestly, pictures are just pieces of paper if you don't know who is in the picture. And you wouldn't keep scrap pieces of paper around would you?
Now the teacups, hatpins and lace hankies? USE THEM. Pull the teacups out and have your morning coffee in them. If one gets broke I am sure you would be upset, but that is better than just having them lay around. Hatpins look GREAT on purses, esp. solid color ones. And I can think of nothing more elegant than pulling a nice lace hankie out of your bag the next time you have the urge to sneeze. It will make for a great conversation with someone I am sure.
Hugs!
Ok, read your blog.....
the only thing that comes to mind at the moment to help you,is there any family left on your moms side?
they might know who is in the pictures,remember that hankie in her purse that she would use to dry an eye,wipe dirt from a childs face----(yours),
the purses----- change your purse out every 2 months or so, see who notices and what their taste is.
the figurines-- well dust them off and change them out every so often too. see who notices the change and their taste.
find a favorite of your moms----know this will be hard----but pass them on to family that she was close to, might bring on a memory w/ them, or a best friend of hers, so they have something to remember her by. that is what I had to do...pictues...display and ask questions.
thats all I can think of..hope you can take it from here and be creative with it.
Rhonda P.
Carolyn
Try flylady.net to assist with the removal of STUFF (Stuff that undermines family fun). I have belonged for eight years and I still have to get rid of stuff. she gives you a whole new perspective on stuff. try ebay for the excess stuff as well.
diane, New Zealand
I'll come help ya - wanna come pick me up?
Carolyn, I'm sorry to say it, but I'm the same way. I can't bear to throw things out, so I keep everything. It drives my mom crazy cause she wants me to throw it all out, but it has sentimental value, ya know? I would look for ways to display things. I had a shelf (well, there were several shelves actually) that hung on the wall. They weren't real deep, but big enough for teacups. I'm sure you could find something similar. You could find a cross stitch border and put it around the hat pins, then frame it. IDK where you would find a border. Shoot, you could just do a simple herringbone stitch. Hope you find a solution!! BTW, I love the color you're using for your berries WIP.
Hi. Love your BBD piece, it is coming along great.
I know what you mean about your Mom's stuff left behind. I too, have some of that to deal with.
Good luck.
Your redwork is lovely! I love all that vintage stuff and have a hard time parting with it too!
How about displaying the tea cups sitting on some of the lace with the hat pin sitting on the saucers or inside the tea cup? You could also use a pincushion to show off the hat pins. Drape the laces or hankies over a chair or table that is seldom used. You might want to try framing some of the hankies. Just play around with them till you find something you like.
As for the pictures, have you thought of the free trial over at Ancestry.com? Alot of people have pictures on the Family trees and you may be able to find out who some of the people are. Old pictures just have an elegance of their own and I love to show them off whether in albums or on walls.
I hope you get some good ideas for your treasures!
Very pretty. I love Blackbird Designs.
If you get that vision would you please share it with those of us who share your addiction? :) blessings, marlene
Your BBD piece is gorgeous!
Getting rid of stuff--yikes. Maybe take photos of some of it? I did that with the kids' school artwork. It's hard though--I have an attic full of stuff that I just can't get rid of!
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