Pieces of Home...

Brynwood Needleworks- Heron Lamp, Leaf Plate and Gecko Bowl

When you move your household from one house to another, you carefully pack up the items that make your house a home. You know, those treasures that bring back so many sweet memories of time spent with loved ones.

When I see this lamp, I remember the evening Handsome gave it to me. One of our sons was here with us at the time. This lamp reminds me of the heron that ate his fill of fish from the pond behind our home; and equally of the herons that used to live in the marsh below our Wisconsin home.

The large leaf behind the lamp is actually a large platter. I've mostly used it as decor, although it would be just as perfect serving hors d'oeuvres to friends and family. It was a Christmas gift from that same son and his family. Another treasure.

The bowl with the little gecko peeking over the rim was a memento from a trip to Myakka State Park. We lived very close to the park when we first moved to Florida. Some of the largest alligators in the state live within the boundaries of the park. I find them fascinating and terrifying at the same time. I'd rather think about the sweet, little lizards who live in and around our home and almost everywhere else in this part of the state. This bowl does that.

Brynwood Needleworks- Collected Sharks' Teeth, Seashells and Beach Sign

I handpicked every single shark tooth out of the shell driveway in our yard (before we paved over it after I dumped my bike on it). A short walk to the mailbox always took me twenty minutes because I'd spend the walk stooped over the drive in search of the teeth. My searches were always more fruitful after a rain that would expose more of them.

While you might think I harvested the seashells from the local beaches, I actually scored those at a local Michaels. The treasures are actually the containers that hold them. The larger one held wedding flowers at each table setting when our eldest nephew married. The arrangement was given to us after the reception. The smaller one was a gift from a different occasion, and is special, too.

Brynwood Needleworks- Antique Kimono Embroidery

Hanging in the hall outside my studio is this stunning piece of needlework. This belonged to my mother-in-law, Evelyn. I've written about her many times before, but I shared her photograph HERE.

Handsome tells me that this was part of a larger piece...a kimono. It was cut into pieces and sold by the owner to raise money for his family. My sweet mother-in-law purchased this panel and had it framed.

Brynwood Needleworks- Antique Kimono Embroidery - Butterfly Detail

Silk threads were carefully stitched onto a silk ground fabric, and each stitch is impossibly tiny and precise.

Brynwood Needleworks- Antique Kimono Embroidery - Flower Detail

 

I know that this piece, too, will have a special place at the farm. It has hung here in a location where I see it every single day. It will be no different when we move.

 

I guess I'd better quit doing this, or it's going to take me forever to pack! I just couldn't resist sharing these while they're still in place here. There are a few rooms that I want to keep relatively intact until closer to our move out date. It helps maintain a little quiet place amid the chaos of stacked boxes and change on the horizon.

 

Meanwhile, the rest of our treasures are slowly being tenderly packed for the move. I'd better keep after it, too. The time will be here in nearly the blink of an eye. While we'll be donating and tossing items that won't be moving with us, I'll make sure that all the pieces of home safely make the trip to the farmhouse.