Tuesday Tell All - Made By Hand

I've seen a ton of people doing the "Tuesday Tell All" and I've thought about doing it, but when I saw what this week's topic was, I just had to do it. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to make things. I think the saying goes, "A Jack of all trades, but a master of none." That is me. I love to make all kinds of things, but I'm certainly not a master of any of my hobbies. They are all flawed, but I think that makes them unique, at least that's what I tell myself. I love being surrounded by homemade things. I had a hard time narrowing it down, but here are some of my favorites.

The two blankets on the top were made by my mom, and the one on the bottom was made by Karl's mom. They are very worn, but very loved. Karl always shows me the different fabrics used in his mother's quilt and says, "I had pants made of this," or "my mom had a shirt made of that," or "my sister had a dress made of this," and it goes on and on. I love that.

The kid's Oma Christa, in Germany, made these. She knits and crochets all kinds of things, and she is incredibly talented at it. The little clown was Mara's first doll. The socks and slippers have German names that I can't say, so in our house they are just called socks and slippers. This is just a sampling, the kids have quite a few, but they love them and wear them all (I had to fight them away from Mara to take a picture). Karl and I each have a pair as well, but we have really worn them out. She also made me a beautiful neckerchief.

This bookcase was a joint effort by Karl and I. It is one of my favorite things in the house.

This is a shelf Karl made. I love how old and rustic it is. He used old scrap wood and you can see the screws and nails he used. I love things that are old. Sorry, the picture is fuzzy.

I like to make wreaths. This one is my favorite.

I love to sew. These are a few of the things I have made. I wish I had more time to make cute clothes for my kids.

I really enjoy quilting and crocheting. I also knit, but I'm not very good at it. Here are a few quilts and an afghan I made.

I love to scrapbook and do all sorts of paper crafts.

I had to include something from Mara's room. There is not much in her room that isn't either homemade or refinished.

Finally, I had to include my latest project. As you can tell it is unfinished. I haven't done stitchery in years, and I had forgotten how much I enjoy it. So, Natalie, thank you for getting me stiching again.

There is one other thing that is a homemade treasure to us that I couldn't get a picture of because it it packed away right now. It is two beautifully embroidered pillowcases made by Karl's grandmother. They are packed away because the kids are so little and things get messed up pretty easily with them around. In another year or two I plan to get them out. They are so beautiful they should defintely be seen, and not packed away.