This is one of my all-time favorite photographs. It is a picture of my Great Grandma Aimee when she was young and I’ve been enamored by this photo since the first time I saw it. She just looks so beautiful and confident and so happy.

I never really got to know my Grandma because I was young and, of course, not really interested in old people at the time.  She and my Great Grandpa Gordon lived in California and I think I only saw them a couple of times.

She always seemed so interesting. She met my grandpa and wanted to seem more exotic so she changed the spelling of her name from Amy to Aimee and never told a soul until after my grandpa died as an old man. She said she was so relieved to have that secret off her chest!  And my Aunt Aimee was named after her and her name spelled the same way but that wasn’t even her real spelling!

Anyway, she wanted to be an artist and go to art school but she had a hard life. Then she met my grandpa and got married and went to work. However, that didn’t stop her from being a maker and artisan, which she was in every sense. I wish I had photos of all the beautiful things she made. When I was little, I had handmade Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. One year, she knit everyone afghans. She dabbled in mosaics and a large mosaic hung in my Nana and Pappy’s house as long as I can remember. She was also a quilter and made two cathedral windows quilts, one of which my sister is going to send to me to repair.

I wish I could sit down with her now and hear her stories and learn from her. If you’ve got someone in your life like that, enjoy it and soak it in! Most of us only get that perspective as we get older and it’s too late.

The photo of her makes me think of the idea of following your bliss. We each have gifts and talents and when we get over our fears and follow the things that we were made to do and share that with others, I think it creates such connection.  That’s what I am trying to do, just living my life and following my bliss, my passion for creating, and I hope that by sharing that with you, I can inspire and encourage you to do the same.

The photo of my grandma reminds me, too, of the Maxfield Parrish painting, Ecstasy, that I learned of through my sister, Kendra, who is a big Maxfield Parrish fan .

Anyway, I’d better run this morning. I’m going to Giuseppe Ribaudo (AKA Giucy Giuce) Tiny Piecing class today! More on that later this week!

Have a great day!