Happy Holidays

No matter which holiday you celebrate:

Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or the Solstice,

have a happy and safe one.

An Early Christmas Present

Hey Blog Buddies,
Earlier this week I went to Indiana to see a talented woodworker named Rick.  He makes wooden quilt hangers, and they are quite nice.  I 've used one of his hangers for a couple of years for the wallhangings displayed in the dining room.  Now I have another one for smaller pieces on the wall upstairs in the computer/sewing room.

The piece shown here

was actually offered as a class

about five years ago

by my embroidery guild!

It was what got me started on quilting.

Prior to doing this,

I didn't even have a sewing machine!

I know you're thinking that

this wasn't a beginner's project.

I didn't let that stop me, though.

Here's a glimpse of how the hanger works:

it's two pieces of wood

fastened together by several screws.

Loosen the screws,

slide the quilted piece in,

tighten them back up,

and it's ready to hang.

That's all I've got for ya today.

Have a groovy weekend.

And thanks for visiting!

My Very First Ornament

Hey Blog Buddies,

I admire those bloggers who post their vintage stuff complete with name of design and designer, type of linen and floss and even start and finish dates!  I must admit that I was very bad about keeping track of what I made and when I made it before I started this here blog.  I never took photos back then, either.  I do, however, have an educated guess about what was the very first Christmas ornament that I made.

This was made not too long

after we got our first dog--

Maxine, a basset--

on July 30, 1976.

That date I do remember!

I don't remember

ever making any ornaments

prior to that.

I can tell you that it's

crewel embroidery on felt

(the long and short stitch with

French knots for the hat fur).

Crewel was BIG in the 70's

for those of you

too young to remember.

What was the first ornament you made?

Thanks for visiting!

Happy Thanksgiving...

to all my friends in the United States.

To my friends in other parts of the world,

Happy Thursday!