Actually, the title is a bit of a misnomer..."Songs my mother taught me" is a very sweet song by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, about learning songs (and about life) from one's mother. My mum couldn't sing. When singing while playing as a four-year-old, she had been told, "You sound like a frog--stop that!" and she was never able to get over that. (I was told that story when I was a teenager looking at becoming a musician and teacher, and it went into what I call my "mental little black book of things I will never do as a teacher/conductor/parent"--never tell anyone they CAN'T do something if they are trying, because it is humiliating and definitely unChristlike, and you will probably create the inability. Much later I read ed psych research that confirmed creating difficulties for kids.) So mum never taught me to sing, and never sang at anything louder than a whisper, even though she had a great ear and loved music. But my mum taught me how to stitch, and to crochet, and knit, and quilt (only the applique part took), and to do liturgical embroidery in real gold and silver and silks and pearls...

As many of you know, I have been very slowly clearing out my late mum's stuff. With a hundred quick stops at the storage unit, I had finally gotten down to just furniture the last week in June, so I hired some nice local movers to bring that back to my garage. (If you're in the Triangle, I'd be happy to make a recommendation.) I'd managed to take bags and bags of stuff to Goodwill and partially empty the garage, but now it's back to full.

But I keep coming across the neatest finds. I've found birth certificates and baptismal records for Mum's aunt--the one she was named for--and her paternal grandparents, plus my dad's parents and grandparents (these last ones from Germany and falling apart). Holy cards in Latin and English and German, some just 'everyday' cards, many of them ordination commemorations or anniversaries, some memorial cards of people I vaguely remember and people I never knew except in stories.

But best of all, I keep finding mum's stitching projects. I'll post the interesting ones as I get time. Here is the first one. It's a Dimensions crewel kit (not cross stitch) from 1987 done with floss of puppies, with the picture preprinted so that the stitcher can see how the stitches are supposed to create fur.



Mum only finished two of the puppies.



We're not dog people (my son and I are allergic to furry creatures), so I want to give away this project to someone who will finish it and love it. I have the cover picture from the kit, the chart which shows which color goes where, and the pre-painted linen, but no floss. (It may turn up later...)

If you would like to enter the giveaway, leave a comment by 12:01 a.m. Monday morning, and I'll have DS pick a number at random to choose.