The Good Ole Days

I think Spring has finally sprung in these parts.  Hoping that the three hours of snow yesterday were a last gasp of winter.  I spent the day finishing up this little quilty mat.  It will rest on the table next to sofa and hold the remote and my glasses.  I love these two Victorian ladies, probably spreading gossip as they meet on the street, dressed so elegantly.   They are a nice take on silhouettes.. just enough color to be interesting. Only four shades of DMC.  One of my better binding efforts, but still with my characteristic wonkiness!

 

The design actually put me in mind of one of my great aunts.  Here name was Annie also, but I was not named after her.  She was born in 1882 in Russia and came to the U.S. in 1898 at the age of 16.  Her outfit could definitely compete with the cross-stitched ladies' finery.

When I was a kid and my older brother discarded some toy or trinket he no longer wanted, I always scooped it up and added it to my collection of treasures.  One such item was still in my jewlery box.  It was a tie tack from AZA, the young boys club that was part of B'nai B'rith.  I decided it was high time I returned it to its rightful owner.  It was so tiny that I was afraid if I put it in an envelope, my brother might drop it, the tie tack would roll under some furniture, and he would never find it. So I invented a keepsake pouch for it.  Kind of looks like a needlebook.  The 6-pointed star I crocheted was not exactly a Star of David, but close enough.  Click here for the pattern.

I added the little tab so that the tie-tack would be removable rather that just sewn into the lining.  I doubt that he will remove it, but just in case!

My brother has received it now (after a bit of scare with weird post office tracking statuses!).  The tie tack is so tiny that although he could see that it is a menorah, he couldn't see the lettering, Aleph-Zadik-Aleph which is AZA in Hebrew.  He didn't recognize it at all as being something he once owned so I had to tell him what it was.  I took this enlarged photo and lightened it up so the letters are a touch more visible.  He certainly appreciated the effort though!