PLEASE NOTE: Tonight is the night when Madleine finds out who her new mommy will be and what state she gets to move to! My auction is ending on Ebay and you can check it out by clicking on her picture at the right side bar or by clicking HERE.
How did “I” make a Gallery Wall in my sewing room? Well, first I texted Cindy, my sister. I bugged her all afternoon with how to make one… Deb would have been fine too, but she was busy giving piano lessons today! Cindy helped me come up with something that I LOVE now.
I’m slowly getting things in order around here but taking my time, as I’m sure you have guessed.
Here are a few ways my “wall” has been decorated in the 14 years I’ve been in my sewing room.
I just wanted to show you how it’s been…and how it seems to “always evolve!” Well, I’m hoping I like my new wall, because it was too much work to just change in a few weeks.
This is about the time I texted Cindy for help…
I couldn’t envision how I wanted it, but knew “this” clearly wasn’t the direction I wanted to go. I thought I wanted to use the wooden scissors, but Cindy sort of hinted, “maybe it’s time to let them go…”
Cindy told me I should gather up all my counted cross stitch things I’ve made, not worrying about what room they were made to be showcased in. Some were ones I had given my mom, one was for my mother in law, and a few were for me…
I decided to take some yarn and tape it on my floor using the exact measurements of my wall area… and then I could lay things down and look at them and decide how I wanted them… it worked pretty well…
So in the end, look what I ended up with…
These are the pictures I had made for my mom… the apple pie, the peaches and the bread one. I made the I love you for my hubby 2 years after we were married. The “To His Mother” one was for my Mother in Law in 1983, two years after we were married. The Little House So Small picture was one I made for Deb and she gave it back to me when they moved.
Sorry, but some of my pictures seem to have decided to “crop” themselves…
My beautiful wreath is made from vintage sheets of music and was made by my talented sister, Cindy… and she also chalk painted the “Joy” picture on a slab of wood.
My Aunt Bonnie game my mom this picture of one of our relatives, “Molly,” who was working on this stitching. My mom had it and I was the one who wanted it.
It was dark when I totally finished so my pictures look a little lighter as I had to use my flash for things to show up.
All in all, I LOVE the way it turned out and now I’m spurred on to finish things in here…
Okay.. just one more look…
Thanks everyone,
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
I love your gallery wall, Jeanne–all those lovely counted cross-stitch pieces you made, particularly! How nice to have gotten some of them “back”, so you can enjoy them again.
The Mother-in-law poem…..well, that one is very special to me, for two reasons. First, of course, I had a dear mother-in-law, we got along very well and were good friends before Ron and I were ever married. She was so excited when we announced our engagement, she went right out and bought pattern and fabric for the dress to wear to our wedding, without giving my own mom a chance to even Look yet!! (And of course in 1974, the bride’s mother was supposed to choose first, but my mom was very gracious about it.)
Second, I read a variation of that poem (found in an old Kitchen Klatter–Programs and Ideas for Mother’s Day and Mother-Daughter Banquets that my mom had) as a surprise for my mother-in-law at a mother-daughter lunch at my mom’s church a year or two after I was married. My version had only two verses (so nice to see the middle one, which isn’t in my book), with some slight variations. Here is my version, which the booklet says is called “To His Mother” by Minnie Price:
“Mother-in-law” they say, and yet….Somehow I simply can’t forgetr
‘Twas you who watched his baby ways, Who taught him his first hymn of praise.
Who smiled on him with loving pride When he first toddled by your side.
And as I think of this today, I think that I’d much rather say….
Just, Mother.
“Mother-in-law” they say, and yet….Somehow I never shall forget
How very much I owe To you who taught him how to grow.
You trained your son to look above, You made of him the man I love.
And so I think of that today, And then with thankful heart I say….
Dear Mother.
Jeanne the picture you have is Ethel (Boucher) Johnson Born June 8, 1897
mother’s (Ruby) mother this was taken 1910 she was 12 yrs old
.
Her father was John- he was 40 at the time, her mother was Mollie she was 30 at the time (mother grandmother & grandfather). Ethel”s brothers & sisters were Alma-age 11,
Almira-age 8, Raymond -age 6 and John age 3
Thanks Bonnie,
I didn’t know all that… just to let you know, Molly wasn’t interested in the picture…it didn’t matter to her, so I decided to keep it in a special place… I hope you like where I put it.
Thanks so much,
Love you, Jeanne
This looks perfect, Jeanne,
Well done!!
Jeanne. I love what you have done with your wall. The cross stitch memories are priceless.
I especially love the picture and cross-stitch from Molly that Aunt Bonnie gave your Mom; such a great idea and keepsake.
Laureen
The wall looks very nice. It will be visible from the living room and look very nice with the family mementos taking pride of place. How about a couple of pieces on the top of the bookcase. Perhaps the wonderful sewing machine treadle with the W and the scissors can go on the wall over the cutting table to represent your passion for sewing. Love that treadle! So you have another wall to put together.
I’ll have to show you my “sewing room.” “Area” would be a better description as it’s the dining room table, on and off! The small ironing board and sleeve board go on a kitchen counter when I’m sewing. The coffee table in the living room is the assembly space. The “cutting table” is a piece of thick plastic placed next to me on the sofa. Improvisational sewing!
How delightful to see your decorating evolve. I like the idea of displaying the cross stitch pieces in one location. However, I’m pretty partial to that “W” and the wooden scissors like Susette. I also love that photo and needlework by your relative as well as the lovely music page wreath and the ” Joy” tree slab. The window/mirror with shutters from a before photo is so cute too. Deciding what to display must have been quite a challenge. I was very happy to see that glass door cabinet with the doll furniture inside had been spared from the rearranging. I love how that cabinet looks.
A neighbor, just a few days ago, called me over to see what she had made. It was a similar wreath made from old book pages and was a lovely reminder of your sister’s. It is a huge one that hangs over an entry table. I should get a photo of it. She said it was quite time intensive to make. Her house has an absence of any color except white/cream and dark wood. I love the look, but would probably miss color. Her outside patio is also spectacular. Wooden fence with only green hanging plants. No other colors. Quite stunning.
Thanks for sharing the new arrangement. Fun to refresh once in awhile. This place definitely needs some refreshing including me 🙂
What a lovely wall! And so full of memories too. The mother-in-law poem is so beautiful. Charlotte’s version is very nice too. My mother-in-law has been gone now for almost 20 years. Hard to believe. She was amazing. She had meningitis when she was a teenager and it left her with severe scoliosis. They didn’t have ways to help that back then and it got worse as she aged. But it didn’t slow her down. She was a language arts teacher and also a drama coach, which suited her immensely. David said when he was out shopping with her he could easily find her because she was always conversing with someone and knew how to project her voice. She married the star of the college track team. She never could have children but they adopted David and his biological sister when he was four and she was about 5 1/2. She lived to nearly ninety and was at the top of her game until the very end.
Susette, sounds like you’re an immensely resourceful person, with nothing stopping you from sewing. It’s only since my children left that I actually have a dedicated sewing room. For years it was a corner of the kitchen or a shared room with the kids and their craft projects. My hubby was into stained glass once and mentioned we could share a room. I had to tell him no because doing glass cutting in a room full of fabric was not a good idea. He needed to make a room in his shop for that. When I was growing up the kitchen table was the sewing area and had to be cleared for meals. Having a “sewing studio” is like a dream come true. Now if it were only bigger. My daughter-in-law once sent me a picture she found of a crafters dream home. Small bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and the rest of the house was all craft room. I told her it still wouldn’t be large enough.
I was surprised yesterday when I tuned in to the 6 o’clock news to find that we had a tropical storm in our area, Imelda. It was downgraded by the time of the 10 o’clock news. It was expected we would be getting about 8″ of rain, then it was 5″ and now it’s down to point something or other for our area. It seems like the rain event is staying largely to the east side of Houston. Two years since Harvey and some of the same areas are being hit again with a possible 25″ expected in some areas. Thankfully this will be over before we leave on our trip Friday morning. We were in Colorado when Harvey hit two years ago. It was a surprise and I don’t like surprises. We weren’t sure what we would be coming home to.
Jeanne, I like your wooden scissors. Hope you can find some place for them. You have a wonderful sewing room.
Jeanne, something happened to your blog this morning while I was reading, it disappeared from view, and I simply could not find it again! I had an appointment this morning , so I figured I would get back to it later, so here I am, but I had to look for the blog through the old ones. No idea what happened there!
I love how clean and crisp looking your new gallery wall looks now. Best of all , it is composed of things that have meaning for you. I too, love the mother-in-law poem, since I also had a wonderful mother-in-law that I was very close to. She never had a daughter, so I guess I filled that void for her. Beautiful poem!
That wreath is a work of art, just a wonderful piece that gives the wall a touch of curves, to play against the straight lines of the frames, and give it interest. You did a wonderful job, Jeanne!
Dear Jeanne, your room is so lovely!
I like the theme you have chosen, well Cindy has chosen to accent the walls. Is Cindy the sister who lives in Gettysburg? If so, she is only about 35 minutes from me. Does she make house calls as my doll room can use some help (chuckle)?
I think I mentioned that I am going to a Downton Abbey tea on Saturday at my favorite tea place. My Robert Tonner My Imagination doll, whom I have named Jill, will be going along. I will be sure to send you a photo.
I am looking forward to seeing the Downton Abbey movie which comes out this month. I have not seen any of the TV episodes on PBS.
I’m just head over heels about your gallery wall!!!
Have always liked a wall with groupings and this one is spectacular. Love the way you put it all together with meaningful items…and ones you have made. It just couldn’t be more perfect. Got a little tears reading the Mother -in-law poem…so sweet.
I’m wondering now if I could actually make my basement sewing, doll repair, eBay items, laundry room into something that would be nice to look at instead of shelves and shelves of supplies.
I do have a nicely framed needlepoint I made my Mother that maybe I’ll pull out from behind the door in the guest room and bring it into the daylight. Thanks for the motivating pictures!
Hi everyone,
I’m going to do a group answer as my day was booked with meetings and appointments from 9:30 this morning until just a little while ago.
Thank you so much for all your kind comments about my Gallery Wall. I am still loving it and I showed Rebecca late last night!!! Even she approved and said it looked very nice! YAY! YAY!
Dorothy, I can’t believe you are only 35 minutes from Cindy! I’ve only been to her house once, but if I ever get there again, we will certainly meet!!😁
I’ll see you tomorrow!
Blessings, Jeanne