Mom growing up

I just wanted to share a few more pictures of Mom growing up...she's about 15 and 16 years old in these pictures. Isn't she a cutie? I love you mom.

Finished

I finished my copy of Grandma Briggs' pot holder...I think it turned out pretty good considering I had to make up the pattern. Anyone know where to find vintage patterns for free (like this style of pot holder) on the internet?

Crochet project

Grandma Briggs crocheted this hot pad for me many, many years ago. I tried to find a pattern for it on line but couldn't so I am trying to copy it. Here's my progress so far. I had a pattern for the flower in the center, but I am improvising the rest of it LOL! I think it looks pretty good so far.

Mom growing up

Here's Mom a little older...I think 15 years old. Mom's on the right and that was her good friend Kitty. Mom had moved to Washington DC to live with her Aunt and two cousins during the war years. She helped baby sit the two young cousins while her Aunt worked. Now I don't usually write a lot on my blog, but I will tell this story. I love to hear Mom tell her stories of her early life and I remember a lot of details. Mom kept in contact with her friend Kitty, even after they moved from Washington and each got married and had children they wrote a few letters back and forth. Then Mom lost contact with Kitty and she didn't know what happened to her. Fast forward to the end of 2005. I may have mentioned that I love to do genealogy research and I visit a lot of websites and library websites for research. I was reading a research library's guestbook one day and noticed a lady had left a comment praising the library genealogy department and that she had found info on a relative, and she gave the lady's name. I recognized the name as Kitty's mother. I couldn't believe it, and she gave her email address. I contacted her and she was Kitty's daughter! I was sad to find out Kitty had passed away in her early 40's and I really hated to tell Mom. But, Mom was able to talk to Kitty's daughter on the phone and tell her lots of things from those years in Washington DC and we exchanged pictures by email. She was thrilled to hear Mom's stories about her mother because she was just a teen when her mother passed away. Now, the odds of me reading that particular library's guestbook, and remembering that name from my Mom's past...well, it was all pretty amazing.

Tatted butterfly

I don't know how to tat, but I ran across this pretty pattern in an old Workbasket Magazine of Mom's. It is from August 1990. I thought some of you might like to see it. I guess it's OK to show a copy like this on a blog, I'm not selling it or anything. Anyway, I just thought the colors and the pearls were so pretty!