Helping out my mother.

"If you have a mother, there is nowhere you are likely

to go where a prayer has not already been."

Robert Brault

I am very fortunate to have the kind of mother that was always there for you.  I grew up in a very normal, average American household. My father worked, my mother stayed home. She was the girl scout leader, the PTA  mom, the dressmaker, and everything in between. She sewed a lot and did some knitting. We had a few homemade crewel embroidery pictures she made (don't know why they were always avocado green, rust and gold) along with the many homemade holiday items. Her knitting was mostly afghans. She made my dad a sweater and it was so big he couldn't wear it. The sweater she made for me in grammar school finally fit in middle school. When I married my husband who is 6'5" my mom pulled out the sweater and gave it to him. He thought the sweater could have been custom made for him.  Thirty years later it is still his favorite sweater.  One thing my mom never did was cross stitch. She has done many projects with plastic canvas. If you are not familiar it like cross stitching on a number 5 count linen. Only it is plastic and you use yarn and only do a half stitch. 

When I went to mom's house awhile back she for some unknown reason had decided to take up cross stitch. She had ordered two patterns, one was a kit for a pin cushion done on 14 count Aida and the other was a Sweetheart Tree fob, you know the kind done on 32 count linen. She had started the pin cushion and boy was it a disaster. First the pattern had tons of half cross stitches and her hands and eyes are not what they use to be. She gave me the piece and said see what you can do with it. I took it home where it has been sitting for awhile until last weekend when it make it to the top of the to do list. Here is my mom's finished pin cushion.

It was a nice kit (except for the Aida). It came with the wooden holder and threads (oh did I tell you for some reason my mom tied the ends of the thread together). She was very happy last night when I took it to her. It really is the least I could do for all she had done for me. I will try and get the fob done soon.

"Mother, the ribbons of your love

are woven around my heart."

Arthur Unknown.

Always keep love in your stitches,

Teresa