Where Bloggers Create--- Welcome to my Sacred Yarn Room

Thank you for visiting me here in my little creative space...
I tried to organize and straighten up a bit since you were coming, but.... well, you know how it is in a craft room! Organization just means that "there is a path"...(sort of!)

Let me just preface this little tour by

acknowledging that I have too much stuff...

(seriously, is that even possible?)

My little "empty nest" room has become my catch all

for all things craft related...

all my yarns,

(and I have a lot!!)

and all the little bits and bobs

that I use to accent my creations..

~

If there is any truth to the rumor

that  "the person who dies with the biggest yarn stash is the winner" ...

you guys might as well not even try for that honor-

I'm gonna win hands down!!

 so, I have all this garland hanging all over my room...

it's everywhere...

~

(I'll show you what I make with all this stuff

a little further along in this post...)

Scattered all around my craft room 

are several collections

of vintage jewelry pieces

as well as buttons and

of course, my "way too large"

collection of vintage knitting needles. 

Most of my treasures are found at

some of my favorite flea markets..

I'm thinking,... that you are thinking...

that this does not look very organized...

but trust me -- it is!!

~

I swear, I can tell you where everything

is in this room...

well, except for a few things

 that I've been looking for these past few months,

and STILL have not been able

 to find! 

~

also pictured here (in the little teacup)

 is my collection of

Vera Bradley string tags...

(why??? you ask... do I collect those string tags??)

keep reading --

all will be revealed!! 

My obsession with yarn is well beyond just knitting

with beautiful yarns.  

I am fascinated by the knots and tangles

that sometimes result from my knitting projects...

I save them all.

every knot,

 every tangle,

 every scrap.

that suitcase in the photo

once belonged to my Mother...

she took that suitcase on her honeymoon

 over 60 years ago,

the luggage tag for the train is still attached 

to the handle...

~

needless to say, that suitcase is

priceless to me...

it sits open on a table and contains

some of my yarn knots 

and tangles..

a collection of trims 

and a little jar

that holds some of the tags 

that I often attach

to my creations...

~

(those little tags were created especially for me

by my sweet friend Suzie..)

...another collection of vintage jewelry pieces..

they are sitting on a glass topped table 

that I purchased at the flea market.

The table has room to hold a collection 

underneath the glass top,...

so of course, 

I filled it with some of my yarn!

my "Jamaica" straw purse is also a flea market purchase...

I have filled it with a collection of vintage scarves

that are used in my creations...

a well loved straw beach tote, 

holds yet another of my vintage knitting needle collections,

a vintage McCoy pottery planter

holds a collections of ribbon spools,...

you can see part of my ribbon roses, a collection of eggs,

and a lovely nest created for me

 by my friend Karen

doesn't every yarn room come complete with 

a yarn loving kitty cat?

my "Bitty Kitty" is one of my best

buddies here in my yarn room....

this vintage Bluebird platter

 once belonged to my Grandmother...

a glass fruit bowl (another flea market find)

holds more of my ribbon rose collections...

that little berry basket is one of my favorite 

Anthropologie finds,

I use it to hold my business cards...

you may have noticed that I have this little

obsession with birds...

these glass jars have cute little

birds on the lids...

~

(and then, there is this turtle dish that holds

some little jars of glitter...

I brought him home from one of our

trips to the islands..)

oh, it never ends...

more vintage jewelry, 

a collection of beaded trims,

and this gorgeous bird pin cushion

that was created by my amazingly talented  friend Pat...

this old bowl holds more of my yarn

tangles, knots, and pieces...

(mostly I save them all because I think they are beautiful...(I'm weird like that...)

but also, I love to incorporate them into my creations..

a close up view of my business cards...

continuing on around the room on this little tour...

my beautiful painted tea set, 

a gift from my dear and talented friend, Marsha..

(I have no painting skills whatsoever, 

my Mother was an amazing artist and painter,

several family members also inherited the talent,

but me...I can't even draw a stick figure, let along paint one..)

a collection of vintage glass canisters

that hold some of my torn fabric strips

and more of my vintage scarf collections...

a wider angle of one of the previous photos posted here..

and a little story...

~

after my parents passed away, 

I found a bag of my Mother's knitting 

in the attic at their house.

My sisters and I were cleaning out the attic

in preparations for selling the house.

Inside the bag, was a sweater that my Mother had been knitting, 

when I took it out of the bag, it was just as if she had just laid it down,

meaning to return to it later...

the row counter said "53"

I framed that sweater just as I found it on the needles,

giving it a place of honor here in my

"Sacred Yarn Room"

 

more yarns,....

and a few birds who feel at home here...

the view from the window in my craft room...

(and a little garland nest that I made on top of the lamp)

my husbands beautiful flower garden

is in the yard below...

 and a view from the same window looking toward the front

entrance to our yard...

oh mercy...

what a tangled mess ...

a collection of buttons sits

on top of my suitcase filled with yarn scraps...

a partial view of my wall of yarn

and my collection of knitting pattern books

 and magazines...

~

I hope you have enjoyed this

little tour around my special place,

my "Sacred Yarn Room".
I wish I could say that you've seen
all my "stuff" --
but, there is still
lots more! 
(we will save that for next time!!)

~

This place is

where I "work my magic", 

the place where I find my peace

and contentment...

the place where all my little

treasures are to be found...
and it is the place
~

(well, I'm actually still

looking for some of them...!)

so...

here's the story...

like most knitters, 

I began my knitting career making

 simple square things...

~

but,over time,

as my yarn obsession continued to grow 

and grow...

(I am completely in love with beautiful yarns)

~

my desire to create using my tangles and knots,

my beautiful yarns, and all my

embellishments and trims...

led to this... 

~

quite simply,

I make nests.

All kinds of nests...

lots, and lots of nests...

~

(you can read about my nests here on my blog,

you can see them on my Pintrest page,

(link on my sidebar)

and you are welcome to email me...

vboster1@windstream.net

...because we are all craft lovers here,

in one form or another...

I would like to invite you all to participate, if you wish

in my latest charitable project...

"The Kindness Quilt" project.

~

you can read about the project 

here on my blog...

~~

and lastly, 

I would like to thank dear,beautiful Karen,

for once again, 

graciously hosting this amazing

gathering for those of us who love to

create....
~
there is no one who is as helpful
to those of us who blog
 as Karen. 
She is consistently my "go to" person
when I need help with
 blogging issues. 
and...
she always throws
the very best 
parties!!

xoxo,

Vicki

 

Donna's Shabby Treasure Nest...

Another beautiful treasure nest
                   has flown away to a new home...

 This nest was created for Donna,

using her own vintage 

and treasured items...

 Donna sent me a lovely note,

explaining the story behind the pieces

that she choose for her nest...

 with her permission,

I will share this note and her beautiful

stories...

 Hi Vicki,
When I look at my treasure nest I see my 2 loves,

 the love I have for my daughter and my love for all things vintage.

 To begin I will start with the love for my daughter. 

A year ago she was married and had a beautiful vintage wedding 

at the oldest wedding venue in the country Plimoth Plantation.

 I created a vintage wedding lace journal 

that contained a lot of the elements

 I sent you to use in

 my nest. 

~

 The vintage silver filigree pieces, 

clear and silver beaded trim and my parents wedding picture

 were all used in her lace wedding journal.

 It was such a labor of love. 

 There were so many hours spent on that journal,

 it came out beautiful and I loved 

every minute of it. 

~ 

 

 The other elements used in the nest 

were from my love of vintage and vintage inspired pieces. 

To see some of the vintage inspired pieces that I made

 incorporated into the nest, 

warms my heart. 

~

 I can look at this nest in years to come 

and see some of my most favorite vintage pieces I collected,

 especially the little beaded handbag.

 I knew that this was the perfect canvas to display such a wonderful trinket.

~

 I find great joy admiring the many beautiful pieces 

I have acquired over the years and I am delighted 

to say this is one I will "treasure" forever. 

 I have this displayed on a glass cake pedestal under a glass dome. 

 A very special place for a very treasured nest! 

Thank you so much.....
Kindest regards,
Donna

 A note from me...

Have you all been as busy as me this summer.  I waited all winter for these warm summer days to be here, counted every minute until spring, and then summer...and now that it is here... its flying by!! I have not stopped.  I think that because we were gone for so much in May, we have been working overtime to catch up since we have returned back home.  Everyday, I work in my flowers.  The Gardener and I both start our days out playing in the dirt every morning -- he in the yard, me on my back deck.  In my next post I will share some of our summertime photos from our home...

xoxo

Vicki 

ps -- OF COURSE I am behind in returning your gracious and kind comments..... I'm all about that this week! 

And lastly -- please remember to check out my post on the Kindness Quilt Project.  It runs for a full year and I am hosting a lovely giveaway for that project as well.  There are ways for EVERYONE to get involved. Donations are already starting to arrive and It's exciting, even at this early point in the project. I will begin taking photos soon... Please do visit and consider being a part of this great project.

My friend Karen Valentine
is once again hosting her incredible
"Where Blogger's Create" blog party.
This is a wonderful way to make new friends
and share your own blogging and crafting talents with others.
I'll be there to share my crafty place,
my "Sacred Yarn Room"...
I hope you will consider joining me there!
It's gonna be great fun!
xoxo

Virginia's Shabby Treasure Nest...

Treasured keepsakes...
tiny fragments of our past that we keep because they are connected to precious memories...

 so often,

we tuck these keepsakes

into a special place, thinking all the while,

that one day we will

"do something" 

with that tiny treasure...

but---

more often, than not..

we forget...

 

this beautiful treasure nest 

was created for

 Virginia...

using her own personal and treasured

 keepsakes.

She has graciously allowed me to share

with you the story behind the pieces

that she chose for her 

"Shabby Treasure nest"...

~

Virginia's story..

"I have had a love affair with vintage jewelry

since I was about 14 years old.  

I  still have the first piece of vintage jewelry

that my grandfather gave to me.."

 

"Autumn is my favorite season. 

I love to see the leaves change their colors. 

I also love it in the spring when the leaves are just starting to grow.

 So I was really happy that you used the beautiful leaf brooch in the nest."

  

 "I have had a love of birds ever since

I can remember.

I was so happy to see that you were able to use

the vintage bird piece, it goes so well with the nest. 

I have bird nests, bird houses, bird baths, and feeders

throughout my whole yard.

I was so happy that you used the nest charm too..." 

 

 "I love flowers and all that goes with them.

I like to take long walks and look at people's

yards and flower gardens. 

The vintage pink flower brooch is one of my favorites...

"I love fibers and ribbons, laces and trims. 

So many different colors, textures, styles. 

And you can never have enough...

I was so happy that you used strips of my wedding dress.

 I am making a lace book with it and a few lap quilts for my children

 using pieces of my dress..."

  

 "I love anything that sparkles.

Since I was a child, one of my favorite things to do

when it snowed,

was to wait for the moon to come out

and see the snow glitter and shine in the darkness...

I could watch it forever.."  

"I didn't see the little doily you used behind the bird brooch until later.

 I swear, every time I pick up the nest I find something new that I missed.

I love doilies in every style and shape.

I love to make books and flowers out of them..."

 

 "I choose the word BEAUTY...

because I try to surround myself with beauty every day.

And I knew before you finished my nest....

that it would be a beauty..."

"I also love to collect feathers and use them in my crafts.

 I have birds thru out my home and my craft room.

To me they are so beautiful and soothing.." 

~

I am always so humbled when I have the opportunity

to make a treasure nest for someone.

To create a nest using precious keepsakes that

belong to others,

is truly a special privilege. 

~

Thank you Virginia, 

for allowing me to share the story

of the building of your nest..
~~


We are just back from travels...
the person who cruise travels
 back and forth to the Caribbean at least once
a year...
has just packed up her winter clothes 
and long johns and taken a cruise to
Iceland!

 

 We flew to England and toured the Cotswold region
and the Cornish coast before boarding our cruise ship
for Guernsey, Iceland, and Ireland.
It was incredible. 
I'm going to take you all along
on our travels -- 
you won't even have to leave your favorite chair. 
Stay tuned for photos...
lots of photos...
xoxo
Vicki

ps-- the first of the packages and donations have started to arrive for the Kindness Quilt Project.  If you would like to be involved in this amazing charitable venture -- please see my post here

xoxo

Sharing Kindness -- A Charitable Opportunity and a Giveaway

"Kindness has a beautiful way of reaching down into a weary heart and making it shine like the rising sun..."

 (my contribution to the Kindness Quilt project)

 Can you...

 sew, knit, crochet,

paint, quilt, embroidery,
stitch work?

~~

(if not, don't worry--

I have a special plan for those of you

who don't have any 
of the above skills!!)

 A little story...

One of my friends on Instagram started a project

to bring cheer to a friend who was recovering from surgery.

She created a beautiful quilt from bits and pieces 

that were donated from her friends on Instagram.

I became involved in the project 

and donated a quilt block that I knitted and embellished.

My little quilt block traveled all the way to Australia

to become a part of what my friend called 

"The Kindness Quilt Project".  

 with the exception of the first photo

(my own contribution to the project)
~~

all the photos shown here
belong to my amazingly talented friend, Deb...
who graciously allowed me to use
photos of her wonderful project
for this post.
~~
you can find Deb on Instagram..
her page is
"Raspberry Treats"
~~
to see all the photos of Deb's
amazing project
and meet all the generous ladies who contributed...
search #kindnessquilt
on Instagram 
 

Continuing my story...
...after the quilt was finished and delivered

to Deb's sweet friend...

those of us who were involved in this project

formed our own little group within the Instagram

community...

we call ourselves the 

"Kindness Quilt Group"

~~

those of you who have IG accounts

can search #kindnessquilt

to see an assortment of photos
 from our first project

 

With Deb's quilt now completed,
we have decided to begin
a new project for our group.
~~
You are all invited  
to participate

in the latest
Kindness Quilt Project...

Some details for the project..

1. you may donate a quilt block

of any size--

no larger that a 6 inch square

2.  you may knit, crochet, quilt,sew...

your square using any

yarn or fabric of your choice.

3. your square may be embellished 

in any manner that you wish...

embroidery, beaded accents,

quilted embellishments,

embroidery work,

or painted with washable paints.

4. In fact--

you may make your square

and embellish it in any manner you wish.

~

details continued below...

5. your quilt square donations

may also be totally not embellished..

they may be left plain without

anything on them...

6. you may donate as many squares

as you wish to this project...

details continued...

7.  for those of you who do not wish to make 

a quilt square...

you may donate items

of any sort that can be used

to embellish the squares

that are left plain.

8. you may donate buttons,

floral embellishments,

crochet flowers, granny squares, hearts,

lace, .....

you may donate any item that can be added

to the squares to 

further embellish the quilt.

9.  these donated items

may be purchased or handmade--

this is totally your choice..

details continued...

10. Your generously donated squares

will be sewn onto a backing fabric by me 

and I'll use your donated items

to embellish the squares as needed...

11.  this project will run for

a full year--

until April 1, 2017.

~

you will have ample time

to make generous donations 

to this amazing project.

12.  this project is open 

to anyone and everyone..

wherever you live,
~~

If your heart is generous...

you are invited to share your talents

or to share a bit of embellishment...

~~

 You may mail your donations

as often as you wish...

the donations may be mailed to..

~

The Kindness Quilt Project 

150 Pine Ridge Drive,

Grayson, Ky

41143

Updates will be shared regularly

here on my blog..

I will share your donated squares,

and any embellishments that are also donated.

If your name is included

with your donation,

I will list the names of everyone who

donates to this project...

~~

Photos of the quilt in progress

will also be shared from time to time...

~~

Those of you who have Instagram accounts

may follow me there for updates as well. 

All photos of donated items

will be shared regularly on my IG page

"2BagsFull"

You may search the photos

using the hashtag

#KindnessQuilt

Once the quilt is completed...

the ladies in my 

"Kindness Quilt" group will prayerfully

choose someone who is needful

of a little love and kindness...

~

someone who needs to be surrounded

by the loving arms

of those who so generously donated

to this project...
~
the quilt will be gifted
to someone
in need...

And of course...

I have gifts to share with you!

~

...because I already know

that you are going to be amazing

and will pour your hearts into

this wonderful project...

three beautiful, sparkly,

Vera Bradley totebags will be given away

next April 1, 2017.  

~~

everyone who sends in a donation

will be entered to win 

one of these tote bags.

(the flowers aren't included...)

~~

every quilt square that is donated,

is an entry...

(If you send in 3 quilt squares,

you will be entered 3 times.)  

~~

A small assortment of embellishments

will also count as an entry.

If you send in a large assortment,

you will be entered 

in several times.

~~

(you will just have to trust me to make it fair)

I promise that I will!

I'm thinking that the quilts will be lap size..

about 50x50 inches...

~~

should there be enough donations

to make more than one quilt...

I will reach out to you all

and ask for your suggestions

as to the recipient of the second quilt...

~~

I hope that you will set about this prayerfully,

knowing that your efforts

will bring comfort and joy to

someone who is desperately

in need...

If you have any questions about

this project,

you may email me at any time...

Vboster1@windstream.net 

~~

So many of you have written

to me asking about a future

charitable project...

~

my prayers are that this opportunity will

touch your hearts

and that each of you will want

to give a little bit of yourself so that

someone... a stranger in need...

 can be touched by 

kindness....

Love,love,love,

Vicki 

ps--

I'm going to take a little blog break -- I will be back in early to mid June.  I wanted to use this time to leave this post up so that it will have a chance to be seen by more of you.  While I am always available by email, there may be some lag time the first 3 weeks in May regarding my availability to return your emails.  So please be patient if I have not responded in my usual manner-- it may take a few days or so...xoxo

A Welcome to April...

April...
 that blustery month that brings beautiful days, whispery warm breezes, sunshine and SNOW, gale force winds that blow the tops out of trees, beautiful blooms, and busy bees...

 Already in the few short

days that April has been upon us,

we have had every kind of

weather imaginable...

one day

 I am out in the sunshine

picking flowers from our yard,

and the next day 

I am watching the tree tops

blow across the field in front of our house...

our yard and gardens

are filled with the most beautiful

daffodils,

some bloom early, while others bloom late...

with over a dozen varieties,

they are always in a state

of blooming... 

 

 I've been posting 

some of my photos on my

2 BagsFull

Instagram page...

this is one of my

 favorites,

taken a few days ago at the

historic Lexington Arboretum and Cemetery

 the Lexington Cemetery

is a spectacular showcase of

blooms in early Spring...

this is one of my favorite places

to visit in the Spring,

I could spend hours driving and walking

around taking photos of the trees

there...

the blooms from the 

Weeping Cherry trees

fall all the way to the water's edge

at the ponds there...

the beautiful colors

only last a few days though,

so I rush to get there right after the trees

begin to bloom..

this photo,

(also posted on my Instagram page,)

was taken last week at the 

Museum of Appalachia

in Clinton, TN

we love this beautiful place...

while traveling south 

a few days ago,

we stopped here for lunch

and I snapped a few photos...

Isn't this just the most perfect

little "fixer upper" ever!!

my newest friend

at the Museum of Appalachia...

(also edited and posted on my Instagram account)

(If you have an IG account-- I would love

for you to join me there...)

 

 

 and of course...

the most sure sign of Spring--

 

 there is already lots of nest building

going on outside in our yard... 

(and inside my craft room too!)

 

Notes from me...

I was so in hopes that Spring was finally here!  Have organized my shoes making my cutesy little sandals front and center, put away my winter coats,and then.... this morning I drove to work in an ALL out snowstorm!! My 30 minute commute took over an hour. Then-- about 3 hours later, the sun came out and melted off all of the snow. Geez!! I'm telling myself that this was the last little bit of winter blowing it's way out!

 

I'm taking a few weeks to create my next blog post -- I will be back then with a wonderful charitable opportunity for you all and... of course a giveaway to coincide with this amazing new way for you to share your love...

xoxo,

Vicki