Early Style Make-Do Pincushions

~* Make-Do Pincushions *~
Pincushions and emeries were (and still are) a mainstay of the women who sewed clothing and linens for their homes. A pincushion kept the needles close at hand, while the smaller emery kept the needles sharp. The pincushion known as the make-do, most prevalent in the 18th & 19th centuries, came about as women made do with what they had. If an item broke such as a goblet, a candlestick holder, an oil lamp, or a lid to a teapot, a pincushion was made to go atop the salvaged base.

A large make-do pincushion was sometimes used as a wig stand. The lady would pin the hairpiece to the pincushion to hold it in place while she styled it by braiding or curling the hair. She also would have used a make-do pincushion while arranging ribbons and flowers for hats or bonnets.
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These are the two make-dos which were judged for the directory mentioned in the previous post. I love making the large ones and have several in my home. In a few days I'll share some antique make-dos that I have acquired.

Exciting News!!!

National Magazine Honors Area Craftsperson

2007 — Lana Manis of Robbins, Tennessee ranks as one of the top traditional artisans in America, according to a panel of experts convened by Early American Life magazine. The experts—curators from such prestigious institutions as the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, American Folk Art Museum, Charleston Museum, Hancock Shaker Village, Heritage Center of Lancaster County, Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, Old Sturbridge Village, and Strawbery Banke Museum as well as antiques dealers, independent scholars, and professional instructors—selected the top craftspeople working with traditional tools and techniques for the magazine’s 22nd annual Directory of Traditional American Crafts. Manis’s handcrafted 18th century and 19th century style make-do pincushions showed mastery of the art form, heritage techniques, and workmanship, according to the judges. The Directory of Traditional American Crafts is a special listing that appears in the August 2007 issue of Early American Life, a national magazine focusing on architecture, decorative arts, period style, and social history from colonial times through the mid-19th Century. The Directory has been used for the past two decades by curators at living history museums, owners of traditional homes, and motion picture producers for finding artisans to make period-appropriate furnishings and accessories for displays, collections, and use. “The judges look for authentic design and workmanship, whether the piece is a faithful reproduction or the artisan’s interpretation of period style,” said Tess Rosch, publisher of Early American Life. “Scholarship, as well as use of period tools and techniques, is particularly valued in this competition.”

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Thursday I will add a few more close up photos of the two make-do pincushions that were judged for this directory. This is such an honor to be listed among so many wonderful artists.

I've Been Tagged!

I was tagged by Raised in Cotton & The Feathered Nest ~ thank you ladies!
I have to list 7 things about myself and then tag seven others and leave a note on their blogs so they know they've been tagged. Hope I don't bore you...

1. From birth till I was 11 years old, my family had lived in 9 different places. Most were in the same county, and those 11 places don't include all the places my family lived before I was born. Daddy traded and sold a lot... and that included homes.

2. I love tools. I have often asked for drills, screwdriver sets, staple guns, etc. for Christmas, my birthday, and Mother's Day. My husband enjoys picking out my gifts, but my 18 year old daughter would much rather shop for clothes or jewelry for her mom!

3. I never thought I would live to be 30, and now I'm 40! No morbid reason, I just didn't see myself that far down the road.

4. When I was in high school, I wanted to join the Peace Corp and be a nurse OR be a photographer for National Geographic and tour exotic locations.

5. I was raised in a musical family. My Mom and Dad sang in church and Daddy played the guitar. We had lots of get togethers with friends and church folk at our home or down by the river and Daddy would also plunk around on the fiddle, banjo, harmonica, and SPOONS ~ just to mention a few! My sister and brother sing in church and they can play several instruments as well. My other sister also sings in church (with me) and has played the guitar, though more as a hobby at home a long time ago. I can play the piano by ear, but only when I'm by myself. And I sing in church, but feel like I'm having a heart attack when I have to get up before an audience. I don't think I'll ever get past stage fright.

6. I talk to my pets and carry on full conversations ~ but the pets I'm talking about are my chickens. I know them all by name; a few of them I can tell you which one is clucking to me by the sound of their "voice".

7. I am afraid of heights ~ three steps up the ladder and the ladder is shaking so hard I feel as if I'm going to fall off ~ I climb higher anyway ~ no one else is here with me during the day to get whatever I need. I close my eyes or look away when my husband and I are going down the highway to visit his family. Parts of the road are very curvy and have a big drop off..... I just can't get used to it and we've travelled it for over 20 years!

So there, and if you're not bored to tears so much that you can't see the monitor anymore, please visit a few of my favorite blogs. So many have already been tagged, it's hard to find a few that haven't...

1. My wonderful friend Deena @ Nestled in the Singing Woods ~ check out the birds!

2. Andrea @ Velvet Strawberries ~ always beautiful things to see... oops! I see she's already been tagged... but please go visit anyway.

3. Tongue in Cheek ~ be sure to look at Corey's flea market.

4. Chickadee Primitives ~ I love, love, love Annie's paintings! ~ come on Annie girl, update your blog for us!

5. I have never, ever been bored visiting Ulla's blog, Ullabenulla.

6. My Messy Thrilling Life ~ Brin has the most awesome devotionals and a lovely old home that she is patiently restoring to it's former beauty.

7. Present Past Collection ~ Heather has already been tagged as well... but you've just got to visit her beautiful blog!

Deer & Cats & Chickens & Turkeys ~ oh my!

Thank you to all who sent well wishes ~ I'm feeling much better today.

And to the ladies that tagged me ~ I will try to get my 7 random things posted by Tuesday afternoon.

Yesterday morning the chicks began to hatch! As of today we have 7 doodies just cheep-cheep-cheeping constantly.

The mamas are all pouffed up and clucking to their young, showing them how to scratch around for food. If you've never seen a chick hatch, I hope you have the opportunity someday. Do you know that a few days before they hatch, if you hold the egg close to your ear, you can hear the baby chick chirping inside the egg? And that is before they even start to peck their way out! It's the neatest thing ever to hear.

We also acquired a cat yesterday. She's in our bathroom for now, till she gets used to being around our family. I haven't named her yet... just waiting for a name to pop in my head. She loves to sit near the open window and watch and listen. I think she's listening to the chickens in the back yard.

The beautiful rooster is Jaques, an Araucana/Americana.

Buffy, the gold hen, is a Buff Orpington and Henny Penny, the black hen, is a Black Australorp.

Buffy and Henny Penny are two of my best hens. Henny Penny will often fly up on my outstretched arm, then snuggle against me and cluck in my ear. She's such a sweetie! I've raised all of the chickens from when they were babies.

And the turkey.... a few years ago my husband was bushogging a field and accidentally mowed over a nest of turkey eggs. Knowing it was destroyed and they wouldn't make it, he brought the remaining eggs home and I put them under one of my other Black Australorp hens that had gone broody. Believe it or not, her name was Turkey Lurkey! Well, she hatched the chicks, and clucked and clucked to those babies just like they were her own. We kept two of them and gave the others to a family member. After a few weeks, they no longer wanted to go in the coop at night with the chickens, so I let them roost in the bushes and later the trees near the edge of the woods. They have never been confined since, but continue to fly down to the coop every morning, roam with the chickens all day long, and they go back into the nearby woods at night. They have continued this for three years now. How can you tell a big ole turkey that he's not really a chicken? I don't think he'd believe me now after all this time...

This morning when I took the cat outside for a little while, she kept looking across the yard toward the field, meowing... when I looked... this is what I saw.... 3 deer! There were two does and a little one, though it had no spots, so it must have been born last year. They often graze in the field, even while I walk down toward them to the edge of the yard to the chicken coop. As long as I'm talking softly to them, they don't startle, just look up at me and then go back to feeding.

I really enjoy living out in the country... enjoying all of God's creations... it's just a wonderful feeling. I hope you enjoyed a few more of my Simple Joys ~*~

Simple Joys

I wanted to have something new to show you today, but I've been battling bronchitis, sinus infection and maybe a touch of pneumonia for about 2 1/2 weeks and have just not had the energy to do as much as I'd planned. I let my son borrow my digital camera to take photos of the fish he catches the next couple of days, so I can't even send photos of some of my favorite collections here at home.

So, I think I'll show you a few things that I'll be working on for the next 6 weeks. I have been selling my work at the annual Lavender Festival in Oak Ridge, Tennessee for about 5 or 6 years now and love to spend the day meeting new folks, seeing old friends, and chatting the day away with all that stop by my booth. These photos are of past works, but you'll get an idea of the things I'm making. I learned to do silk ribbon embroidery several years ago when my sister bought a little heart pin kit for me. I was instantly smitten with it! But most of what I saw in books were very elaborately embroidered designs and didn't fit my simple country cottage style. I decided to design my own silk ribbon embroidered pieces (both pillows and framed art) and evidently they struck a chord with others ~ I have been making and selling them ever since! You may have seen some of my designs in Create and Decorate magazine (several issues from 2003-2006) and Victoria magazine (August 2002).

I prefer wildflowers and old-fashioned flowers that were in my Mom's gardens: beebalm, daisies, and coneflowers with a hummingbird or bee buzzing nearby. I also do simple words surrounded with antique and vintage buttons. I hope you enjoy seeing a few of my Simple Joys...