poppies

made by heart.

Isn’t that just one of the nicest taglines you’ve ever heard?  I’d like to say I came up with it myself, but I didn’t.  I read it somewhere over the past week and have been trying to steal it  remember where ever since.  By definition, “by heart” means “by committing to memory” – as in “I can still recite by heart the first two stanzas of Paul Revere’s Ride that I learned in sixth grade” (I can). When I heard “made by heart” I thought it was such a sweet and honest depiction of a hand-crafter’s work.

For the last two days I’ve been working on lavender sachets for my Etsy shop.  They’re lovely, the lavender scent is amazing and they’re a nice hostess gift for under $10.  That’s well and good, but do you know why they’re made by heart?

The fabric is from Bella Notte, a US company where artisans craft and custom dye each fabric order using environmentally sustainable practices. When I found these embroidered linen remnants I almost passed out from excitement.  This is my favorite fabric.
 
Each little rectangle of grain sack material was chosen to best complement the color of the sachet, and there was care in placement so the lovely embroidery could best be seen.
 
The thread used for the contrast stitching came on a beautiful old wooden spool.  It was one of hundreds of spools I found in a big box at an estate sale. This dear woman left behind every color in the rainbow and I so wish I could have met her to thank her for this treasure.
 
The vintage button came out of a cigar box full of buttons my sweet friend Terrie gave me the first week I opened poppies.  They are from her late grandmother.

I hope I'm not coming across like I'm tooting my own horn - this is what all hand-crafters do.  And this is how your neighborhood shop owner thinks as well. Soon we will succumb to the whirlwind that is the Holiday season. Wouldn't it do us all good to think locally, consider the source of our gifts, and keep things more simple?