......just a little girl making her dreams come true.
In many samplers, this phrase stands out quite a bit
When This you see Remember Me
and I love each and every sampler with this phrase. Well, actually I can't really remember any sampler that I didn't love at all!!! The one in the picture above was stitched by me last year from her Valentine Booklet and stitched on 32 ct green linen and framed by Me and Thee with an old frame from a thrift store.
I've always believed and understood that behind every woman is just a little girl. If you think of life in that way, it's easier to cope with the journey we take as sometimes we forget it. The statement is not meant that we haven't grown up, but to remind us that our hearts have similar wishes, dreams and aspirations just like we did as a little girl.
Our hearts are always growing and stretching, sometimes painfully, and sometimes with ease.
Do you remember the hope chests? Just the word alone, hope, explains the concept.
I have a hope chest that I got when I was 16 years old and still today have it packed with pictures and things that bring hope. I started out with my Hope Chest, filling it even at 17 and 18 years old, with cross stitched items that I stashed away for my one-day, first home.
I stitched up and framed several Williamsburg houses, pillows and kitchen items. At that time, I dreamed of my first kitchen to be filled with everything Strawberry Red and Strawberry designs! I even had the huge strawberry cookie jar. ;)
As time went along, I released the Strawberry kitchen things and changed up quite a bit but there are certain items that have been in our house from my Hope Chest at 16. Being sentimental as I am, I love them and they remind me of where my heart was at an early age and where it is now ......still, creative spirit in the home.
I still have the Williamsburg houses, each individually stitched and hanging in a guest bedroom. I have the pillows with my initials, the over 1 stitched tiny hangings of Strawberry, Blueberry, Raspberry, and Huckleberry, still hanging in a small spot in the kitchen on a peg board.
As I filled my home with the things from my Hope Chest, I filled it with new things for memories, including many pictures, all my babies special things, blankets and things I hold dear to my heart.
And as an adult, I sometimes go back and open it, hold them close to my heart and look at the joyful pictures I saved, baby books, ribbons, cards, and special clothes I saved.
Some folks say that's living in the past and it may well be. For me, it's reminding me of the good parts of my journey and while they remain in my Hope Chest, they also remain in my heart for always.
Lord, Guide my Heart that I may do Thy Will;
And fill my Heart with such Convenient Skill.
As Will Conduce of Virtue Void of Shame;
And I will Give the Glory to Thy Name.
~~~verse in the first sampler worked in America by Loara Standish 1623-1656
Just think, where would we be if we didn't look back and hold these and many verses that resonate throughout the generations to treasure and stitch them in our hearts?
Today I'm thankful for the generations of women who stitched verses to give us hope. Whether we stash them in our "hope chest" or display or even donate one day to the next generation, the meaning came............
from a little girl's heart.
This is the old picture that came out of that frame. Isn't he handsome? I bet some heart loved this man!
When This you See Remember Me
design from the Valentine Booklet, The Sampler Girl
stitched in Crescent Colors silks
in 2010, Valentines
Enjoy your day today and fill it with good memories and hope!
My little girls things given to me from my mothers' hope chest 4 years ago.
