My Favorite Things

Last week I was tagged by wonderful Suzie over at Itch to Stitch http://itch2stitchdotcom.blogspot.com/ to make a list of 10 of my favorite things. Here are the things I've chosen:


My daughter Amy is without a doubt one of my favorites, and something that represents how much I love being with her is that I still read to her almost every day. Currently we are enjoying “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott.

I love Hawaii, and I’ve loved every single visit I’ve been blessed to take there. For me it truly is a special place, and each time I come home I feel like I leave another piece of my heart behind. One of the things that captivates me most are the palm trees-I could watch them sway all day long. There are also some really nice people in Hawaii too and I am touched by the spirit of Aloha they have shown.

No list of mine could be complete without chocolate. As far as I’m concerned it should be one of the basic food groups, and to paraphrase Will Rogers, “I never met a piece of chocolate I didn’t like.”

Be it ever so humble, there is no place like my sewing room, and it is one of my favorite things as well as one of my favorite places to be. It is still a work in progress, and I still hate the wall paper, but it is my little haven.

Another favorite of mine is my garden. I love working in it and I’m very proud of how it is coming along. When we bought this house, the back yard was a mess—it had been used as a parking lot by the former inhabitants, and all that survived was an old apple tree and a few blades of grass. Putting the garden in has been a labor of love and I fuss over my plants as though they were my babies.

I love a good second hand store. I always have, and I probably always will. When I’m asked what I’m looking for I reply “I don’t know yet, but I will when I see it!”
I get some of my best barkcloth at second hand stores, which leads me to the next favorite thing on my list…

Barkcloth! I could paraphrase Will Rogers once again, and substitute the word barkcloth instead. I pretty much do love it all and I’m especially in awe the of the barkcloth designers of the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s—they were masters in their combinations of colors and they came up with some pretty amazing designs too. I only hope I can keep finding this wonderful fabric while I can still afford it!

Since I do a lot of sewing, I love a good sewing machine, and my favorites are vintage models. I currently own three beauties-Singers from the years 1946, 1950, and 1961. They sew wonderfully, they are a pleasure to use, and they are practically indestructible. Still on my wish list to add to my favorites is a machine from before WWII.


I love our dog Willow and I love to pet her ears. They are so soft! The longer we have her the more precious she becomes. She wasn’t an easy dog to have when we first got her and I must admit I often regretted taking her in. But 13 or so years later she is the best dog I know and wouldn’t trade her for any other.

And my 10th favorite thing? So many choices could go here… a good cup of coffee, watching old movies, snowflakes…but for now I think I will leave it blank, and just be thankful for the favorite things I have. I also dedicate this spot to the people of Haiti, in hopes that they too can have their own list of favorite things again someday… things I have and try not to take for granted, like knowing where my loved ones are, and a roof over my head…everything else is just icing on the cake (#11, perhaps?)