K ~ Keepsake, Handmade

Keepsakes. I'd love to keep almost everything since I'm a sentimental girl, and a hell of a pack-rat. Let me tell you, the combination of those can be a major strain on your square footprint. However, I have been slowly and surely working on that...shall we say...ISSUE...for a while now. I thought I'd share with you my progress.

It all starts with, “You can't make something hand-made for everyone.  Maybe you should give away all those, 'But it would be great if I were making a...'" Maybe, someone else can make the..., and that resulting transaction blesses everyone involved.

One of my dear friends moved away from our small, Colorado town to Michigan. It's been a complete blessing to me that this latest technology of facebook has kept us in touch and close over the last many years. I was dragged to fb kicking and screaming...but now have even conscripted several others to come over to the dark side...  And I have begun to appreciate what great tools we have available to us as we seek to follow our dreams.  I want to share “Momma's Hands” newest dream with you.  

I'd never heard of Etsy, but my bloggie friend  PJ  introduced me to many wonderful artisans. (And for the record, I'm eagerly awaiting my personalized, sterling silver, stacking rings.) It was fun to see that my Michigan friend was jumping in head first, and I could at least say, “Oh, Etsy. Yup. Heard of it.”

Lori of “Momma's Hands” is a master crochet artist. She's the mother of five, a homeschooling-mama and pastor's wife all rolled into one fun package of outgoing charm. I encourage you to take the time to visit her Etsy shop. Her work is exquisite, and in my opinion, completely under-priced.  

I bought this gorgeous set for the daughter of a dear friend.   Ok.  Not this exact set...cuz I got it first! But it was this pattern, in my fave turquoise. I do think YellowBoy would approve of this version, though ;-)

This one reminds me of camo, all the rage with teens these days.  Might as well start them early ;-)

Cranberry is a great color, especially on her darling daughter

I love scarves, and this one is just so fun.  I'd never heard of the circle scarf concept before!

In today's fast-paced, disposable society, I find great comfort in the old-fashioned, hand-made, pass-on-to-the-next-generation, crafts of our great-grandmothers.  So if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to my knitting.  After all, this  baby whose blanket I'm still working on was born 2 1/2 weeks early and his blanket still needs two weeks of work.

So I encourage you to get out there and browse, check out Lori's shop and others. Handmade doesn't have to go by the wayside in today's technology age. Technology just gives us the means to connect with others who are doing the wonderful tradition of handmade. Happy shopping!

AZ Challenge for April.  Buttons and navigation in side-bar