Fourth of July, 2013

 New Scarf for the 4th  – with Tatted Pendant!

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 4^th of July!  But what I really want to share is the scarf/pendant idea.

 Metal Scarf Slider with loop for attaching a pendant.

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 a close-up of the slider  and my own bail (found at craft stores) - a little difficult to see - which clips on to the slider and to the tatted pendant (the velvet disc is attached to a metal pendant which has a convenient hole at the top).

 

 

 

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.

Here is another pendant you’ve seen before, and this is another ‘set’ of jewelry. 

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’.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the blue scarf.

 

 

 

 

 UPDATE:  You're not seeing double.  I was not happy with the last two photos (blue pendant and scarf) and I wanted to correct that.  But I'm hesitant to remove the 'originals' because I'm concerned that something weird will happen.  So for my own benefit I'm putting the same two photos in, and one has been cropped.  I have been experimenting with a new camera and with moving photos around in my tablets and was trying to post in a different way than usual.  So here are (I hope) better photos.

 

Now I'm happier.

 

 Hometown Celebration

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!

 Some History Facts for this date, for those interested

In addition to Independence Day (the 237th), this week in July also includes other major historic events, especially this year’s 150^th 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.                     

   

 I hope you have a pleasant Holiday and weekend!