I am a wife and mother of three who always has some kind of handmade creation going at any given time. I am a country girl at heart, always striving to keep things as simple as possible. Just give me a quiet day at home where I can have the windows open all day, listen to the birds and wind in the trees and look out at my flowers while working on a project. That to me is perfect.
I have lived in Idaho for 28 years. Even though the South had a profound impact on who I am, Idaho is where my heart belongs. The slower pace of life and the natural beauty all around the state grabbed hold to me years ago and hasn’t let go since.
I have always been drawn to creating things ever since I was small. My biggest influences have always been my Mom and my Mema. They were always cooking, baking, sewing and making things. They taught me that handmade things were always more special, more important than store bought things. I would always look forward to staying over at Mema’s just so I could cuddle under one of the many quilts she would always tuck us in with at night and eat whatever goodies she had made. And watching my Mom and Mema in the kitchen at any time of the year was pure magic to me.
I took Home-Ec in high school. My three most favorites things, cooking, baking and making, all wrapped up in one class. Heaven! When I was expecting my first child, I really got into handmade things. I was really drawn to cross stitch then. I taught myself by reading every book I could find and had to make whatever I could for the little person I was having. When I was expecting my second child, I taught myself how to crochet. With my third child, I taught myself how to knit. Sewing had been a constant with all three kids because they all wanted some kind of special outfit, from animal shorts for my son and all kinds of dresses for my girls. It wasn’t until 2010 I started to look into quilting. I can’t remember what sparked my interest but looking at all the scrap fabric from previous sewing projects spurred me on. Plus all the memories of quilts during my childhood had a huge effect on me. I checked out as many books as the library had on quilting and finally took the plunge and became a self-taught quilter. I decided on a simple patchwork quilt using up as much of the scrap fabric from all those outfits made for my children. My children even helped with the layout of this quilt, and it is still my most favorite quilt of all time. To this day, scrappy designed quilts are my favorite, hands down.
I love handmade things because they are personal and precious. They are things that can be passed down, things that show your creativity, things that show you care. Handmade things are all about the creator of these items, the people they are made for, and the love that is put into each and every creation, especially when the whole family is involved. If I can pass on the love of creating handmade things and living a simple life to my children, then my life will be a success.
