Remember When. . . she gave childhood memories for Christmas?

2/21/2020

An off white boiled wool german cape with green trim.

5 pillows and 15 ornaments made from the cape.

Meg and four siblings spent three years in Germany because of her father's US Air Force assignment. In those years, her mother, MomMom, established traditions that lasted through the years and are honored by three generations. Meg brought me two of the children's capes that the girls wore and asked me to make pillows for each of sisters and brother. She also wanted to include a cardinal to represent her mother.

An off white boiled wool hood with 3 embossed metal buttons, a tab that buttoned and the net and a roll of green trim.

Along with the capes were two hoods, three metal buttons, and two of the fabric pieces that formed the neck closure. I removed the trim from the edges of the garments to make it easier to incorporate in the design.

Repairs

a square of wool placed over the hole on the back side of the fabric.

There were two moth holes that I fixed by felting them with extra fabric, adding to the longevity of the finished heirloom.

A metal button's shank being straightedges in a vice.

A metal button top being straightened in a vise

The repaired buttons with the button that was in good condition.

It was remarkable there were any buttons at all since they detached from the capes. Two of the buttons were severely bent, so I carefully straightened the top of one and the shank of the other using my faithful vice.

The Pillows

three rectangular pillows with a pocket, button, cardinal embroidery and bottom trim. The back of the pillow is mostly red lining fabric with a bit of boiled wool, a button hole with button and some trim.

Three of the pillows incorporated a pocket from the cape which aligned perfectly for the use of a metal button and held the Story Starter booklet, which I create for each piece. The neck tabs were attached to two of these pillows. The trim at the bottom of the piece mimicked the cape. The back of each heirloom came from the original lining.

a football shaped pillow with trim around the edge. In the center is red cardinal embroidered. The edge is one inch deep and back is red fabric with the ear cover of the hood sewn on as a pocket.

The front and back of the collar came together to form a lovely oval that framed the cardinal well. The earpiece of the hood created the pocket on the back.

The Ornaments

8 larger ornaments shipped like a Church window. Each has a cardinal embroidered and some trim. Below are 7 smaller ornaments of various shapes each with a pocket with a child's name embroidered.

Meg's kids grew up knowing me as "jeangerdes" and are dear to me. I have met their cousins and most of their nieces and nephews, so of course, with Meg's permission, I made ornaments for each. I knew MomMom would look down and be pleased. I put the child's name on the back of the ornament for the third generation. Each one has a pocket to hold the story of this special ornament.

Do you have cherished items that are holding stories that need to be shared? Contact me so we can start stitching them together.

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Memories to Heirlooms