Different Times

Ages ago, many years ago, I made this Christmas angel for my grandmother. Felt with sequins and beads and lots of handwork. When my grandmother died the angel came back to me.

I used to love those Bucilla kits with felt, sequins, beads, and trims and made Christmas stockings for each of my daughters. I have kits, somewhere, to make stockings for my grandchildren, but that's never happened. Why is it that I don't have time to do these labor-intensive things any more?


I guess there are two possibilities. One would be that I don't have that much disposable time, and that's certainly a possibility, although I can't quite buy it. I live by myself, don't do cooking and chores for a family, don't go to high school basketball games. I should have lots of time.


So, on to possibility two - there are so many things I want to do. If all I want to do is made an angel, I can spend a month making an angel in my spare time. But if I want to sew and quilt and dye fabric and have many projects lined out, the angel might fall from grace, so to speak. I think that's it.


Here's another example of a project from times past. I think I made this little butterfly for my mother, and once again it came back to me. Tiny stitches around cording, lace sewn on by hand, the kind of thing I wouldn't even attempt now.



I miss that fussy little hand work, although I know that I won't be doing it any time soon. My heart hurts a little at the lack of it, but in the morning I have a Christmas gift to make and I have an hour to spend on it. It will be a lovely gift, probably much enjoyed, but it won't be an heirloom. The recipient won't care about that, but I will, just a little.