Quilled Beauty

One of my "Pig Ladies" (and I use that term lovingly) sent me this beautiful quilled bluebird card for Flying Pig Day.  Though not a flying pig, it does go along with that beautiful quote from Emily Dickinson's poem  HOPE

Hope is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

That sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

Quilling is a beautiful art form that I've long admired.  I've only ever tried it once (click here) though I must admit that I have several kits in my stash that I've accumulated over the years.   Something I planned on doing in my retirement (the list is long).

I've always loved quilling as can be evidenced by the placecards that my sister helped create for our wedding back in the late 70's.  She quilled all the flowers and I did the calligraphy.  This is the actual placecard for the new Mr. & Mrs. T. Mastalski - as you can see it's a little stained and time-worn but it's one of my cherished pieces of art. I don't know if anyone else kept theirs but I couldn't part with this.  I have a set of quilled owls somewhere that my sister made for us also which I will have to keep an eye out for.  

It's been a little bit of a nostalgic start to this month.  Both of my sisters are gone now - this month being the second anniversary of the youngest.  Though we didn't have a best friends type of relationship we did share a common upbringing and a lot of common likes and dislikes.  I find myself wanting to confirm memories at times with them when I'm doing things that go back to our childhood, then I remember that I can't and have to rely on my memories alone.  My brothers were a little younger than us and of course, their interests were a bit different.  

I have a box of sewing supplies from my other sister that's been here since her passing 20 years ago now.  I've recently gone through it to pull out some things that I think that I can use - something I should have done a long time ago.  She was a gatherer - my definition of that is someone who is like a hoarder but gathers things with an intention to use them. I guess I would fit into that category myself.  Anyway, I think that with my supply of collected fabric and her supply of zippers, I should be able to get some pouches going when I pull out the sewing machine.  

Well, that was a long tangent, but let me say thanks to Dorrie for the beautiful bluebird and the pin.  I will treasure them also.