While looking through a new magazine, Suitcase Magazine from England, I turned its lovely pages displaying beautifully new lands to travel ~ many I had no idea of their names or where in the world they were located. There was one particular photograph that caught me eye.
Showcasing a village woman who was a doer, crafter, & maker. All the women in this tiny village were extraordinary independent women having perfected everyday life skills, working together to make their homes & village life successful as their husbands were absent many days at a time making their living from the sea.
One of these ladies made bright colorful handcrafted purses & bags. And in the photo she holds one of her purses to show her favorite.
My eyes went immediately to the set of safety pins clipped to the outside of her bag ~ one pin holding all the other safety pins.
And in that moment, a big smile, as I remembered my mom, Maude (as we all called her) did the same exact thing while working on her quilt-making. Maude would take a set of safety pins and clip them all together near where she had stopped her quilting for ease of guiding where to restart the next time she picked it back up.
Then I wondered was this the case here or were the safety pins left on the bag as an embellishment?
I would love to share my stories with this dear village lady who lives miles & miles from here and who brought me back to a forgotten childhood moment!
As we write, we need to stay open to new experiences, explore, walk, immerse yourself into different environments & being aware at new moments to a different perspective ~ even something from our past which might then give us the inspiration to write!
Shadowleaves on Lake Ann 