"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands........" 1 Thessalonians 4:11

Monday, August 6, 2018

There's a shelf in my kitchen holding up an assortment of things that I love................


teapots and teacups, covered in roses and flowers..........along with old platters............

and then there are the Atlas and Mason jars..................I love them.
 I love the blue and blue/green  color of the blue Mason,
and the intricate designs on the clear Atlas.


 One year at Christmas time, many years ago, when our children were very small,  my mother labored and cooked away in her tiny kitchen and brought her collection of beautiful jars
filled with homemade fudge, chocolate drops..........and cookies of every shape and flavor. Some she filled with her homemade picante sauce.............which I can never make taste like hers........no matter how many times I make it.  So many jars.......all filled with homemade goodness and love. 
 Her collection of jars were also a gift for me to keep.    

Out of all of the gifts and guests that year.............
I remember this...........and think about that time each time I look upon these jars
 that greet me each morning.


I have reflected on that time and the jars as I stitch away 
on my  latest project. I have been embroidering a set of mason 
jars, filled with an assortment of flowers.
This is a work in progress on a white blouse.
I still have more designs to put on the shirt
and many hours of embroidery ahead.
So tell me,
do you have vintage canning jars?
Do you use them for decoration.....or for filling with goodies?
I would love to hear!


17 comments:

Granny Marigold said...

I love how you've lined up the jars and china that has real meaning to you! It makes such a pretty picture.
I'm not sure if the jars I have are genuinely old or reproductions but I use them to keep things like coconut, pickling salt, etc.. in.

Nancy J said...

One vintage square jar, I found in the op shop, it went south for our daughter's wedding, a few flowers and on one of the tables.But I do have vases that were my Mum's, maybe from about 1936 or so. Real treasures. And memories, like yours. Filled with love.

Jan said...

Love these pictures-I have a platter just like the blue one except it's a soft green. It was my mom's.

Debra said...

Oh yes, I have quite a few of the blue ones. I love them too. I have battery tea lights in them. With all of the tea lights turned on in a dark room, it is a beautiful sight to behold. The glass makes it magical...(and they flicker, so it looks like real candles!)

Hill Top Post said...

The older I get the more I treasure my collection of old canning jars. Yours do look so lovely all lined up in front of the window. And, how beautiful they are done in embroidery! This work is some of your finest, for sure!

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Hi Kathleen, I enjoyed reading about the special memory behind the canning jars. I do not have any, but many years ago my mother used to can homemade tomato sauce, sadly all those jars are now gone. The embroidary project looks lovely and will also remind you of those special jars I am sure.

Prims By The Water said...

What great memories of your mom. My mom makes the best rolls and none of us girls can make them like she does. I have a collection of both blue and white jars. They are pretty in the sunshine! Janice

Connie said...

Your embroidery is beautiful! You have so much talent with your needlework, and you are so creative. I love the story behind your jars--sweet.

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

I DO have vintage canning jars. I too love the aqua colored ones and have saved them over the years. We have dusty dogs and window air conditioners that bring a lot of dust into the house. I use my jars to store things in, mostly in the bathroom closet. They keep my cotton balls, hair clips and much more. I love your stitched jars.
xx, Carol

Sally said...

Kathleen, such a beautiful post! I love your collectibles, all so lovely in their own way! That Christmas sounds like the best of the best. I know that lives in your memory as wonderful. Your mom gifted you all something that money cannot buy, and that's beauty in itself.

I remember our mother canning using the mason jars. One year, after I was grown, I made strawberry jelly, in the small jars, for my co-workers. I don't even remember when that was, but it was a "miracle" since I seldom cook. LOL

Thank you for sharing this memory!
xoxo

Henny Penny said...

I love your collection of old jars and what a sweet story to go with them. I really love too your old fashioned shelves, that gold wallpaper is beautiful!! I've just looked at your last post and so glad I did. Your pictures and words are simply beautiful.

happyone said...

Beautiful collection of the jars and nice that you display them on the beautiful shelves. Such a special jars from your mom.

Curtains in My Tree said...

I guess we all still love grandmas blue canning jars
I even bought some of the new blue jars waiting to be filled with gifts of goodies

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

What a wonderful post! I also like to encourage myself with beautiful memories, and it is such a lift to the spirit to see those precious things and remember good times. I do have a few of the vintage canning jars and I treasure them.

Lady Jane said...

I love your shelves and the memories it brings. Your embroidery is so lovely. Hugs, lj

Anonymous said...

I have just discovered your lovely blog....so cheerful.
Yes, I too love the blue tint jars. I keep dry and fresh flowers in some and gift flowers from my garden in some to family and friends.
So nice to visit you
Shirley

Laurie said...

My mind is stuck on the snake!! Thank God it missed you! I love your canning jar collection, I don't have any but now I wish I did. Love your embroidery, I need to get my needles back out before I forget how to embroider.