Tuesday 31 July 2012

A Piece Of Love, A Burst Of Colour

Many years ago....
My lovely Mum stopped off at a yard sale. The house belonged to an elderly lady who was selling up and moving into a nursing home.  She had all of her treasured possessions on tables all spread out hoping to make some extra money. I cannot begin to imagine how heart wrenching this task was for her. Not only was she giving up her life as she knew it but she was giving up all of the possessions that held so many of her life's memories. She had antique furniture, linens and plenty of bric-a-brac.

I remember my Mum calling me and being very excited about what treasures she had found. She bought quite a few pieces from this sweet old lady. My mind leaves me for a moment for what they were, but I do remember the elderly lady being quite sad at having to part with her life's treasures.  She had been through wars, depressions and recessions and had worked hard for what she had.
I remember her comment to my Mum that she was so pleased that my Mum was buying some of her things because she knew that they would be treasured and looked after.

One of these treasures I was lucky enough to have been given.  On that fine day, my Mum had purchased two of the most beautiful 'yo-yo quilts'.  They had been lovingly made by the elderly lady herself during the war. Scraps of any pretty fabrics lying around would be hand worked into tiny little pin wheels of love and become a 'yo-yo'.  Then when all of the yo-yo's were complete they were hand stitched together to form a quilt cover for a bed or a sweet little cushion.
One of these quilts that my Mum purchased is now a treasure of mine.

To be quite honest I had forgotten all about it until a couple of days ago.
My friend Andrea from A Cottage Market and some of her friends are having a linky party and tomorrow they have invited other bloggers to share a beautiful burst of colour and creativity. It was at that invitation that I remembered my beautiful 'yo-yo' quilt and I knew that it would be perfect.  I am now sharing it's beauty with you.
This little treasure found me  standing on a chair to get it down from a storage trunk on top of a cupboard. It had been locked away for quite some time.  Now that it has been unearthed I plan to give her a gentle hand wash, make a couple of small repairs and then pop it onto my daughters bed in time for Spring.

I just love the stories that go along with crafts of days gone by. Possessions were made with such love and care and anything that was torn or ageing wasn't cast off to the bin, instead it was simply repaired and it was good to go again.  Possessions were treasured and not just taken for granted.  I love that this elderly lady treasured this old quilt so much that it has lasted the tests of time. It is not faded, stained or torn. It simply needs just a few stitches to rejoin a couple of the yo-yo's.  I think it is well worth the repair and as I take to it with my needle and thread I will think of the lady who has probably long since left the earth and I will give thanks that she took the time to sew with her heart and her soul and the result was simply beautiful.


A rainbow of colours to warm the heart.
Little pinwheels of colour, lovingly cut and stitched by hand.
A labour of love
and made of scraps.

and all together it equals nothing short of spectacular !
I love the BURST OF COLOUR !


.....and as I dodged raindrops which sprang from the sky, a burst of sunshine came out.......
just for a minute.......

I like to think that the elderly lady was looking down on me and her beloved quilt and smiling.  She beamed her wide smile and rainbows of colours appeared.
Not from the sky this time.........but from her work of love.

Pop on over to A COTTAGE MARKET and you will see that the rainbow continued across the world. The world is shining brightly with creativity and the love of imagination.

See you all tomorrow

Melanie
x



14 comments:

  1. Your beautiful quilt looks so lovely draped over the pink wicker chair. You have it displayed perfectly, and what a treasure it is. What a great way to link the generations even though not in the same family.
    I'm delighted to find you and become a new follower. Hope you'll stop by,
    Mary Alice

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  2. I do think that wonderful lady is smiling down on you! Obviously it went to someone who appreciates it and cherishes it as much as she did. It's fabulous - glad to see you taking her out of storage and putting her on display where she belongs!
    So glad to joined our All About Color party!
    Kelly

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  3. What a beautiful quilt, I know you will treasure it for years!

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  4. This post made me cry.

    How utterly sweet, oh my word - I can't say what it means to read things like this, Melanie - how precious in every way.

    There is good kharma and Feng Shui in those loving pieces, glad you "feel" it too - takes a special person to feel the love in hand crafted works of art.

    Huge hugs.

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  5. I just love that burst of color ... and that story is so sad. It gave me chills. I hate to think of that idea of having to sell your treasures and uproot your life ...

    Thanks for sharing at our Crazy for Color link party!

    :)

    Linda
    www.itallstartedwithpaint.com

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  6. I am pretty positive she saw her gorgeous old yo yo quilt and she is smiling big time because someone as nice as you has it now! ~ Lynn@thevintagnest

    Beautiful blog you have!

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  7. Now that is an AWESOME BURST of COLOR...VINTAGE COLOR...just doesn't get better than that!!!!! Your post brought tears to my eyes...I know that she is looking over you and her rainbow smile! : ) sending you tons of hugs and millions of rainbows!!!

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  8. What a wonderful history your treasure has!! Penny

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  9. I absolutely LOVE this. A labor of love is right!! Thank you so much for partying with us. :)

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  10. I have wanted a yo-yo quilt for about 20 yrs. You have inspired me to add the making of my very own to my bucket list!

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  11. It IS spectacular! I've purchased so many items with the same type of story and love, love, love my treasures.

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  12. blinking back the tears here! ♥

    What a lovley story, Melanie! Thanks for sharing it and so many pics of the yo-yos! A friend made a yo-yo table runner for me recently and they just make me so happy! ♥

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