I still craft in the barn shop even though it's under construction... For the last few years I have made Christmas gifts for the grandkids and my youngest son. I have in the past made altered jean jackets for everyone and 32 page paper lunch sack albums depicting their young lives since birth, ( I love to take pictures).  I made everyone sock monkeys last year and this year they will be getting treasure boxes with a special gift inside.  They seem to enjoy the made gift rather than the bought gift, so, until they get tired of the made gifts I will search hi and low for ideas to create memories for them. Here are some pictures of the boxes.

I've been working on my shop, I occupy the top part of the barn and in the summer it was a sauna and in the winter it was an ice box.  My darling husband has helped me add insulation and ply wood to start the process.  I lined the walls in pages of my fathers paper back books. I lost my father a little over a year ago in a single car accident and his passing was devastating to me. It's hard to loose a parent who has always been there for me. A parent that no matter what never seemed disappointed in me. 

 Bare Walls

 Insulated

 Covered with Memories

He loved to read and when he passed away I wanted his books for projects...and then I decided by lining the walls I could always walk in a feel close to him.  Here are some pictures of the process and I will post new pictures as I get close to the finish project.

Crafting Memories

The crafting room, studio, shop, or whatever name it has...should be a place where we can sit and create.  Whatever our craft is, it is a part of who we are.  Crafting is good for the soul and we leave lots of memories with our crafts. Things we buy come and go but things we make tend to stay...it can be placed in a closet and later brought out and the memories come flooding back. That's the way I remember it when my grandmother used to quilt.  She lost her legs to diabetes but it did not stop her from thinking of others or contributing to the household income.  I remember her living room being small and she could not manuver around a quilting rack so my grandfather hung her quilting rack from the ceiling and she worked on her quilts from underneath.  I would sit and watch her make her stitches, arms up in the air for hours at a time.  My head and hers tilted back...I could hardly move my neck when she was done for the day.  However, my grandmother loved her craft and made the most amazing quilts.  She would forget all her worries and smile when she quilted. She is long gone but her quilts remain in the family. She touched my heart and left crafting memories with me.