This workshop walkthrough stays in the order the work happens.
31 days… The beginning.
I still feel a little worried that this will be boring, but hopefully I can try to keep it a little interesting. Today I wanted to tell you a little bit about my family (and I mean the family I grew up in, not my own family). Okay so where I came from….
Here are my parents on their wedding day. My mom made her own dress- she is an memorable and fearless seamstress. It is fun to see this picture because I have my grandmother’s blue dress (she made for the wedding) and I wore it to a dance when I was dating my husband. I like that memory!
I have three sisters and three brothers (in that order) and I am number 7 of 7. Yes that makes me the baby, to some that means I am spoiled, and I won’t deny that I was kinda spoiled. But I don’t think I was a snotty child.
And in the youngest child’s defense, I never got away with anything. My parents knew all the tricks by the time I was born, and they didn’t let me get out of discipline. Also, I have 8 “parents” telling me what to do, how to do it and what I am doing wrong ALL. THE. TIME. Technically, only 2 that have the right to tell me what to do and 6 that think they do. I had hoped when I turned 30 that magically I could actually be considered an adult, but I am 31… so yeah, I guess it never stops. But really, I LOVE my family. I know that I am lucky to have 6 extra people who have my back.
I grew up in Northern California. My parents bought a low-cost acreage on the fringes of town and built the house all by themselves (I guess I get my “can do/ Handmade” attitude from my parents). I can honestly say that I grew up in heaven. We lived at the top of a hill with 2 creeks on either side that met in the back. We walked to school everyday – literally over the river and through the woods.
I pretty much lived outdoors for the first 11 years of my life. I pretended I was either I pioneer or a native American. I honestly believed I had been born in the wrong century, I felt like I should have grown up with Laura Ingles Wilder and that my name should have been Alice (after my grandmother). Instead, I ran around after my older brother Josh and drove him nuts. Ah… good times.
My dad was a news anchorman, for most of my sibling’s life. But by the time I was born, he had changed his career and was an artist. A really cool artist, a chainsaw wood sculptor. I am proud of that. My childhood was that much more exciting, and I’ve never been scared of chainsaw murderers at haunted houses.
Just a few carvings:
The carving I remember wanting and was so sad when he sold it was this Carousel rocking horse.
My mother stayed home with us, so I feel really lucky about that. She taught us all how to sew, cook and sing. She is a very lively singer in Sweet Adalines, and LOVES to perform.
My siblings are all very creative, fashion design, poetry, 2 chefs, a world traveler, a clock designer, and a sculptor. When I was 11 we moved to Utah to be closer to our grandparents so that we could help them out. I will tell you a little more about my teenage years tomorrow… but for today let me wrap up with our current family picture, 7 kids multiply fast! There are an additional 6 in-laws(one is missing in the picture), a foster brother and almost 25 grandchildren.
Okay see ya tomorrow for some more of the 31 days!
