Remembering Margaret Leonard

Hello, everyone.

I wrote yesterday about Mrs. Beckley. Her beautiful eggs certainly led me to want to make elaborately decorated eggs like hers. (My sweetie finally gave up trying to get all the egg white out of his Dremel and gave me one of my own for Christmas. Thank you, Sweetie!)

Another influence on my crafting was my mother in law, Margaret Leonard. She was always very particular about her work, and because she was meticulous, it was beautiful.

I thought I had some good pictures of her bead-woven ornaments, but this is the best one I found. And the camera apparently decided that it liked the tree branches better than the ornament! But even in this picture, you can see that her tension was very even and the colors harmonious.

She was not only a meticulous artisan, she was also very generous with her knowledge. She gave me the instruction sheets for this and many other lovely Christmas ornaments--and one of these days I'll figure out which of my beads are the right size to make more like them.

I miss her dearly, especially at this time of the year when I am cooking the recipes she gave me and hanging the ornaments she made on our tree.