Tree Pendants

My de-cluttering project is yielding some interesting treasures. I’m finding all kinds of things I’d forgotten about over the years. These tree pendants were an experiment in abstract art that never made it to a vending table.

So, I asked a friend who is attending an event in August if he could try to sell them for me. They need to find a good home and not be hidden away in a drawer, forgotten and lost. I hope they bring joy to their new owners.

I wonder what other treasures I will find along the way? The quest continues...

Knitting Needles Galore

Imagine, if you are able, the most avid knitter you can picture in your mind. She would be someone whose life revolves around knitting every single day. Her social life and relationships are only intrusions into her knitting time. Do you have that image in your mind?

Would even such a dedicated knitter require the number of knitting needles that I found in my house today? It took me over an hour to sort and match these things, carefully holding each set together with dental elastics at both ends.

And this is not all of them! I have sixteen singles without mates, several sets of double pointed needles (different sizes) and three circular needles. And I have not done any knitting for years. I seriously need to downsize a lot of them. It’s a bit ridiculous to hang onto so many, right?

EDIT: I forgot to mention the half dozen crochet hooks I found. And I cannot even crochet!

Forgotten Souls

Have you ever come across old photos in family albums, or in antique stores, and wondered who they are? The photo below was found in a box of old photos from my grandmother.

On the front, it is dated August 1959 (that is when it was printed) but on the back in pencil it says ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith, May 1942’. I have no idea who they are or how they fit into our family story. And the only person left that I thought might know does not. I wish there was a way to find out. It is sad that they are forgotten souls who may have played a pivotal part in my family history. But I may never uncover their identities or stories.

The next photo, I found in the most unlikely place; in a book purchased at a thrift store. It appears to be a picture of a grandfather, father and two sons. My guess it is from the 1940s. Perhaps that is a photo taken before those young men went off to war. It makes me wonder if they ever came back or if they were casualties of a horrific conflict.

And this photo which may have been the only one they had is lost to the family forever, as I have no way to identify or trace them. But let's take a moment to look at their faces and remember there is a story behind them. Even if we don't know their names, they were important.

Tablet Weaving

For many years, I attended events across southern and south-western Ontario with a medieval re-enactment group. I met a lot of wonderful people and learned a lot along the way. One of those skills was tablet weaving. I purchased an inkle loom, eventually a second smaller one also, and started making braided trim. I even sold some on Etsy and at events where my SO at the time was a vendor.

I’m no longer physically able to attend events like that and my craft interests have moved to other areas. I have not picked up the looms for many, many years now. It is time to find someone to pass them on to, along with the massive stash of crochet cotton I purchased to use with them.

Sometimes de-cluttering is easier than at other times. This is a tough one for me as I really enjoyed tablet weaving. Realistically though, I cannot see myself picking up the craft again, so there is no longer a reason to hold onto the inkle looms. I will find them a good home.

Attachments and More

My new/old vintage sewing machine came with several attachments. The largest one I knew was a ruffler (used to create perfectly spaced pleats and gathers) as my mother had one just like it for her machine. The other ones we had to do some research on. The attachment with the long arms is for doing pin tucks (narrow, stitched folds of fabric primarily used as a decorative detail to add texture, structure, or subtle volume to clothing). Two are for doing different types of hems, and for the life of me I cannot remember what the other one is for. To be honest, I’ll likely not use any of them, but it is nice to have them.

See a photo below of the machine the first time I opened the wooden carrier. On the left front side, you can see that one of the supports holding the machine level needed to be glued back in. That was easy enough to do as it was free floating in the bottom of the case. There was a piece of fabric wrapped around the neck with pins in it (mostly rusty). Apparently, this was a common practice back then to do that. The small, locked box on the right side of the carrier is where the attachments were found.

The wooden carrier is in rough shape with lots of dents and scratches. It might be nice to get it sanded and refinished at some point but that’s not a priority right now. There will be some re-wiring required down the road also. One of the cords has some electrical tape wrapped around it but is safe to operate at this time. I will have to find a permanent place to set it up though as it is a VERY heavy all metal machine, not something I want to be moving around a lot.

Singer 15-91

A friend recently called me to ask if I was interested in having his mother’s old sewing machine. Him and his wife are downsizing/de-cluttering just like me. I hesitated for a moment (I already have three sewing machines in my house, one an antique) but finally told him that I wanted it.

Am I ever glad that I did. I took it with me when I visited another friend in Ajax this past long weekend because she has several vintage machines herself and I knew she could help me assess and refurbish it. It is a Singer machine, model 15-91. It took a bit of online research to figure that out because we could not find the model number anywhere on the machine. By the serial number we could date it to 1948 which makes it 78 years old!

It was manufactured at the Singer St. John's factory, located in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada, a plant that operated from 1906 to 1986. The factory produced millions of renowned sewing machines (including iconic models like the Featherweight) and employed up to 3,000 workers at its peak.

We were able to find a pdf copy of the original manual online which is a bonus. After we cleaned the machine up a bit (it was very dusty) and oiled all the moving parts, we plugged it in to test it out. It sews like a dream even after laying dormant in storage for many years! I am very happy and can see myself using it a lot.

A Bit of Self-Examination

I thought I’d examine something I mentioned in yesterday’s blog post after a friend brought to my attention that I had never verbalized it before…depression. She asked if I should speak with my doctor about it. I figured it was worth taking a closer look at.

I looked up the definition of clinical depression, and I have highlighted symptoms that may apply to me.

Emotional Symptoms  Feeling sad, empty, hopeless, or numb  Restlessness, irritability, or anxiety  Difficulty concentrating or making decisions  Less interest or participation in activities normally enjoyed  Feelings of guilt or worthlessness  Repeated thoughts of death or suicide

Physical Symptoms  Low energy and feeling tired all the time  Changes in appetite or weight (eating more / less)  Change in sleep pattern (sleeping more / less)  Increased use of drugs or alcohol  Self destructive behavior, loss of control, or uncontrolled rage  May include headaches, aches, pains, digestive problems, dizziness

Depression can often be triggered by very stressful life situations such as:  A move  Divorce  Social isolation  Relationship conflict  The death of a loved one  Financial difficulties / Job loss  Demanding work / Stressful workplace  Health issues, especially a chronic health problem

Most of the highlighted issues stem from chronic health problems…pain, lack of mobility, etc. It has forced social isolation since I’m unable to get out as I used to. It is the reason for the low energy and feeling tired all the time too. I don’t have less interest in activities I used to enjoy but definitely have been participating less at times. So yes, it does make me a little sad but it does not dominate my life. For now, I think medical intervention is not needed but I will keep monitoring myself moving forward. And I'm sure my friend will too.

Things I Should Have Done

There are a lot of things I 'should' have done this month.

• Spend more time at my craft table. • Moved my de-clutter project ahead more. • Wrote some blog posts. • Spend less time watching mindless videos on YouTube. But I did not. Why not, you ask?

I can give you a whole litany of excuses (real or imagined). I could blame the weather, pain levels, lack of time, no motivation, procrastination, depression, etc. And while all that is true to a degree, I feel like I should have tried harder. But I honestly had no desire to 'push' myself on those difficult days and there have been many of those this month. I will have to make more of an effort next month. I know I've said that before and failed. Here's hoping next month is different.

What Did I Find?

Wow, it’s worse than I thought. Turns out there was more than just craft supplies in that box under my coffee table. Actually, there was hardly any craft supplies in that box at all.

Here’s what I found. • A receipt for work done on my car in 2021 • A paystub from the same time period • EMPTY envelopes that I’d received something in years ago • A CAA magazine from 2020 • A binder of Halloween ATCs that I’d been looking for • Scrap papers only good for recycling or shredding • Some Halloween ephemera and stickers • A couple of recipes that I cannot imagine ever making • Instructions for beaded and chainmail necklaces I will never make • A few greeting cards • Old junk mail • Two small stationary sets with pretty papers and matching envelopes • Covid vaccine certificates

It looks like I was trying to 'hide things under the rug'. A pile of stuff on my coffee table that I didn't want to deal with at the time. I must have swept it all into a box and hid it under the table. I HAVE to deal with it now.

There are just a few items from the box that I still have to decide their fate. A lot of the paper went into the recycling bin. The paper with personal information on was shredded. A bunch of stuff went straight to the trash can. The Halloween ephemera, stickers and ATCs were put in the appropriate places. It goes to show me that I should not put off until tomorrow what should be done today or it will come back to haunt me years later.

One Box at a Time

I know that I’ve been talking about my de-cluttering project for quite a while now, but it’s time to get serious about it here. There are boxes everywhere in my house, in the storage room, in closets, under beds, and honestly I don’t remember what is even in most of them.

I’m going to begin with a box under my coffee table. I can’t recall how long it has been there, and would likely be embarrassed to admit how long if I knew. It’s covered in a thick layer of dust so it’s probably safe to say it has been there for some time.

There are craft supplies of some kind in it but no idea specifically what they are. I know that I’m going to have to make some hard choices with what I find. If I haven’t used it up until now, and can’t foresee using it in the near future, it has to go. Period. No matter how pretty it is or who sent it to me, it needs to leave my house.

I wonder what I will find? Maybe some hidden treasure I've forgotten about or maybe just stuff that I could not bear to part with at the time. NOW may be the time. I’ll let you know.

The First Day of Spring?

According to my wall calendar and the people on the radio, today is the first day of spring. You sure could have fooled me!

The temperature was below freezing this morning and I encountered a combination of snow, ice pellets AND freezing rain on my way to work today. Seriously, this is ridiculous!

I’m convinced that MOTHER Nature went on vacation to a warm tropical climate and left FATHER Nature in charge. And he has let the kids run wild while she is away. It’s the most logical explanation I can come up with.

Weekend Binge-Watching

Not a lot was accomplished this past weekend beyond the obligatory familial chores that come every weekend…driving people to work, picking them up from work, taking them grocery shopping in shifts, etc. I felt totally worn out, with absolutely no energy for anything else.

So, I decided to binge-watch the Netflix show called ‘Wednesday’. I’d loved the Addams Family show that was aired on television from 1964-1966. And I recently watched a YouTube series created between 2013-2015 called ‘Adult Wednesday’ that I really enjoyed. The short three to four minute episodes are well done but unfortunately, the creator was shut down due to copyright issues. You can still find them here though.

It actually inspired me to make myself a Wednesday junk journal with photos from the original series, the Neflix series and the YouTube episodes. Also included are a selection of Wednesday quotes and images created by various artists. It was a fun little project just for me.

I really needed that kind of a laid back weekend. In spite of it being fairly 'unproductive' I feel much more energized as I begin this new week. Sometimes you have to listen to your inner self and the clues your body is giving and take some time for yourself.

What I've Learned Along the Way

It’s true, the older you get the wiser you are. Time and experience has taught you lessons that cannot be learned in any school, college or university. The ‘school of hard knocks’ is the best teacher around. Let me share a few things that I’ve learned.

Friends are important. It’s not the quantity of friends you have but the quality of those that stay with you no matter what. Through thick and thin, they are always there, praising you when you do good and chastising you when you are being stupid but supporting you through it all. It is important to nurture and cherish those relationships. The connections with them are what truly matters. The same principles apply with the family members that surround you too.

We should all slow down and enjoy the present moment before it is gone. There is nothing more important than what is happening around you right now. Appreciate the wonders in front of you. Approach life with a positive attitude and look forward to the future. Don’t worry so much and trust that things will work out as they should. Accept that you cannot control everything, and accept what you cannot change.

At the end of the day, physical possessions are not important. Having the best car, the most clothes, the flashiest jewelry and the most money doesn’t make you a better person. Those things become more of a burden as you get older, weighing you down and draining your energy. Live simply, love completely and embrace joy each and every day.

Mother Nature and Other Things

I think that Mother Nature is playing a trick on us. It has been unseasonably warm the last few days. You could see steam rising off the snow piles on Saturday and a lot of it melted over the weekend. But after the harsh January and February we had, I don’t think that winter has finished with us yet. It would be nice but I’m not counting my chickens before they hatch.

I found a great new strategy to help with my ongoing de-cluttering project. What do you think? I think it is a brilliant idea. LOL

I'm not sure what was going on with me on this day but a couple of my new birthday cards are SO crooked, it’s not funny. And naturally, I did not realize it until AFTER the panels were glued onto the card bases. I’m tempted to send them out anyway and hope the recipients don’t mind. As long as they don’t look too close, I’ll be good. It’s the thought that counts anyway, right?

My New Sock Aid

If you are like me, struggling to get your socks on every morning this is the device for you. This sock helper for seniors has been a game changer for me. It is fast and easy to use. You put your sock on the end of the device, put your foot into it and pull the long straps, and your sock is on!

With my limited mobility, this has made getting dressed in the morning so much easier. I highly recommend it if you are having challenges with putting your socks on too.

One Sheet Wonder Template

I am using a one sheet wonder template for 12” X 12” scrapbook paper to create a bunch of new birthday cards. There is an associated video that shows you how to use all the pieces you cut and turn them into quite a few greeting cards.

Here is the basic template…

And here is a link to the video if you are interested…(click here). I’ve only started putting some cards together but I am pleased with how quick and easy they are coming along. Sometimes simple is best.

February is Almost Over!

Wow, this month is almost over and I have not posted to the blog once. It has been a challenging month with the crazy weather playing havoc with my body. The massive snowfalls and humidity have made it more difficult than normal to get around. Is spring coming soon?

I have worked on some crafty things as I was able. Lots of birthday cards to send out for March. And I have been working on my Halloween Howl ATCs too. Hopefully, March will be kinder to me and I will get more accomplished. Cross your fingers for me. In the meantime, I’m still here and will try to do better next month.