Looks like some of you racked up on the gifts. My future daughter-in-law gave me a box of antique lace that she had purchased at an estate sale. In the box was a fine lace bertha in perfect condition, very delicate lace collar, and some collars and cuffs that are tacked to tissue paper. We are trying to figure out why they are attached to the tissue paper in a manner of a personal display. I wonder if it is like the embroidery portfolios at the Valentine Museum. Future brides would present their future MIL with a portfolio of embroidery stitches to prove that the bride was worthy of the groom.
The best gift was to and from my 9 y.o. granddaughter. I always wanted a daughter to teach her to sew. No such luck with my daughter Katie. Last summer on vacation I was embroidering and my granddaughter wanted to learn how to do it. So I taught her some basics and she fell in love with embroidery. She also fell in love my DMC floss notebook that holds the floss. She asked for Christmas would I give her one. I gave her for Christmas an embroidery pattern book, the DMC notebook, about 30 skeins of floss, a hoop, and needles. She was so excited that she wanted to go home immediately and start embroidering. She is very gifted in all the needle skills. She also crochets and knits. Lastly my mother gave me a book on how to create the Colonial Williamsburg all natural Christmas decorations. It is called Colonial Williamsburg Decorates for Christmas by Libbey Hodges Oliver. The book really inspired me to finish my wreath of the 10-point star. This is my variation of one of the 2009 CW wreaths at www.costumegallery.com/wreath.jpg The photo is extra large so that you can see it closely. The wreath is 36" across and took one night to make. The gumballs and holly came from my yard. The star's white area is small dried flowers and the cranberries are fresh. The outline of the star is cinnamon sticks. I am in the process of putting my photos of making the wreath on my FaceBook page. Do a search for The Costume Gallery Websites to find the directions. By tonight all the direction will be on FB. Penny Ladnier, owner The Costume Gallery Websites www.costumegallery.com 14 websites of fashion, costume, and textile history _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list h-costume@mail.indra.com http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
