This is a pendant I recently made, just rings and chains with Lizbeth 20 Christmas Red, and a very nice ‘star’ scrapbook embellishment. Perfect for the 4th of July! But what I really want to share is the scarf/pendant idea.
I have seen ‘sliders’ for scarves before, but I had never seen one with a loop for attaching
a pendant. This makes it very convenient
to add and change pendants whenever you like on a particular scarf.
Here is my red scarf and pendant! The scarf jewelry came as a set of two rings and a slider.
(I found these at Michaels).
And here is the back of the scarf, showing my own method of concealing
the ends to make a ‘necklace’.
I simply used some key rings I had around the house! (On the displays they just show the ends being
tied in back or brought around to the front, which is okay, but I wanted a ‘necklace’.)
The long scarf is folded in half first, with a key ring
placed at the fold. The scarf jewelry is
then put on, but the ends of the scarf on the other side need to be folded over
and concealed, after going through the second key ring (this key ring has the
lobster hook attached) . (I’ve been thinking
about other options, but for now, this works very well and certainly stays in
place! ) I used a clear rubber band to
tuck in the ‘ends’ of the scarf, and
another rubber band on the ‘folded’ end of the scarf to mimic the tuck-in of
the ends, to make them look the same –
not that anyone sees the back of the scarf under my hair.
The idea is to be able to use just one set of jewelry (and the closure hardware) and put them on another scarf. But I bought two sets so I could have at least two scarves ‘ready to go’.
Now I'm happier.
I’m hoping to wear my red scarf today when I visit my little
‘hometown’ park as they celebrate their annual festivities and fireworks (at
the high school).
That park and
playground were the center of my universe back in the 1950s, (it was ‘new’
then, dating to 1947, thanks to the efforts of citizens of the town, including
my mother, who insisted a playground needed to be built) and I’m so glad it’s
still there. Wonderful memories! In May this year they had a small circus
(complete with camel I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him - just quietly standing there in MY park)! And last week,
one of those ‘hometown’ carnivals came to set up their cute rides for the
kids. These were fundraisers for the
fireworks. There is now a waterpod in
the park, and my great-nephews played in it last year!
In ‘my day’, the
biggest event was the Golden Jubilee in 1954, a week-long celebration with
‘home-made’ arcade booths (such as throwing ping pong balls into glass bowls,
and penny throws onto a marked board, to win prizes). I thought it was a most magical time in the
park, when I was ten! I took for granted all the work that the
adults did to provide this ‘magical’ setting and celebration.
The movie ‘Picnic’
always reminds me of that time in the ‘50s, although their town was much
larger than mine! We did have a lovely Jubilee
Queen, though (my friend’s 17-year-old sister), but no drama surrounding her,
as in the movie! Just a lovely
gal! She worked as a switchboard
operator at the telephone company.
Remember those operators? We simply picked up the big black phone
(attached to the wall, of course) and told the operator the phone number – four
digits preceded by a town name – like “Smithville 5059”. My father’s office number in Pittsburgh was a
little larger: Atlantic 1-9000. Still remember it! I’d bravely call his office to tell him
something ‘really important’! Had to get past the operator there, and his secretary (who was my role model)! Later on, I became a secretary and passed along calls from my own boss's children!
In addition to Independence Day (the 237th), this week in July also includes
other major historic events, especially this year’s 150th
anniversary of the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, and a lesser known
anniversary of George Washington’s disaster at ‘Fort Necessity’ on July 3, 1754
at Ligonier, PA, (as he at age 22 led his fellow British troops into an
unfortunate 'skirmish', which kicked off the French/Indian War against the
British (the Seven Years War). Big
repercussions over that 'skirmish'! Twenty-one years later he would begin his command of the American troops (starting 1775) during the
Revolutionary War against the British! Amazing stuff).
My home state of Pennsylvania is the site of
these events. Also, many other important events
occurred over the years in the strategic area around Pittsburgh, where two major rivers
(Allegheny and Monongahela) meet to form the Ohio!
In fact, Washington (at 21 in 1753) rode right through the ‘wilderness’
woods which eventually (1904) became my
little hometown! He was following the
Ohio River to Logstown (farther
downriver) , to find an Indian guide to take him up to a French fort near Erie
(a mere 100 miles away!). On the way
back, he almost drowned crossing the freezing Allegheny River!
This is also an update: I want to add that there is a little known Pittsburgh connection to the Lewis and Clark saga, also in July. On July 15, 1803, Meriwether Lewis arrived in Pittsburgh (by horseback, from Washington DC) to pick up the large keelboat he had contracted to have built for the famous trip up the Missouri River. But the keelboat was not ready as promised, and he had to stay a month and a half in Pittsburgh, waiting for the boat to be completed. It was finally ready by Sept. 1. While in Pittsburgh Lewis wrote important letters to Thomas Jefferson and also received the confirmation letter from William Clark, who agreed to go on the mission. Clark was living in Kentucky on his family's plantation, and Lewis (and some other boatmen) joined up with Clark in October in Kentucky, then they continued on to St. Louis, where they had to recruit more men and obtain supplies before starting the official exploration to tne Northwest in May of 1804.
This is also an update: I want to add that there is a little known Pittsburgh connection to the Lewis and Clark saga, also in July. On July 15, 1803, Meriwether Lewis arrived in Pittsburgh (by horseback, from Washington DC) to pick up the large keelboat he had contracted to have built for the famous trip up the Missouri River. But the keelboat was not ready as promised, and he had to stay a month and a half in Pittsburgh, waiting for the boat to be completed. It was finally ready by Sept. 1. While in Pittsburgh Lewis wrote important letters to Thomas Jefferson and also received the confirmation letter from William Clark, who agreed to go on the mission. Clark was living in Kentucky on his family's plantation, and Lewis (and some other boatmen) joined up with Clark in October in Kentucky, then they continued on to St. Louis, where they had to recruit more men and obtain supplies before starting the official exploration to tne Northwest in May of 1804.
