St. Patricks Day and Antiques Roadshow

In honor of the Month of March I have brought out my little St. Patrick's Day decorations.  I just love this little couple!  When I had my DNA tested it showed that I am a product of England, Scotland and Ireland - among many other European ancestors.  So, I am happy to have adopted these little people.

It cheers me to have this little tableaux on my dining table which is central to our home.

My little knitting bunny has a clover printed dress on, a clover decorated pitcher and cute little Irish children with good words to live by.. :-)

My little pot of shamrocks are even in bloom.  :-)

We've had snow for the last 3 days, but it's the good kind, it hasn't stayed as we've been above the freezing level most of the time.  This is on the skylight above our bed.

But on Tuesday it was cold enough to stick and it looked so lovely outside.  :-)  Yesterday when I drove down our road I saw two cars in the ditch, both quite a ways down and one WAY down the hillside.  Police and rescue vehicles were there.  I checked later and no one was badly injured.  

Yesterday at the Portland Women's Forum meeting our program was "The Antiques Roadshow" - each of the members brought one of their antique items to share.  Diane C. brought her childhood sewing machine and shared a lifetime love of sewing.

She even has the original box and a bag of old wooden spools of thread.

She even started a business sewing fashionable maternity clothes of her own design!  I thought this one was brilliant with the buttons down the front to open the dress up as you advanced in your pregnancy.  

Diane W. shared her Indian doll that was made for her when she was born by a Native American family friend.  This is her when a little girl with her doll.

How special is this doll, all hand-sewn with deerskin and beads.

I love the beadwork.

She showed us the bullet hole in the buckskin in the moccasins.

You can also see the fine hand stitching.

I brought my two Indian dolls that I got years ago at an auction.  Family lore is that our Scottish ancestor McAlister married a Cherokee woman and I've always been drawn to collect some artifacts over the years.  I also attribute my artistic and crafting skills to my Indian grandmother.  :-)

I used my friend Lillian Pitt's blanket as a backdrop to take photos of my dolls.

I wish I knew more of the history of my dolls and which tribe might have made them.  This one has either real hair or horses hair and a handmade dress of buckskin and beads.

I believe this one is a Navajo doll with the clothes she wears.  

The cloth she's made of looks like handwoven cloth.  I'm not sure if the hair is human or sheep's wool.  Her velvet tunic is embellished with tiny trade beads and she has bead earrings of turquoise and a seed bead necklace.

Her hair is also indicative of Navajo hairstyles, a bun tied up in a unique SW way.

The other doll has a sweet little trade bead necklace.

Her dress has tiny "white heart" trade beads on the fringe and also metal "jingles" which pow wow dancers use on their regalia that makes wonder jingling sounds when they dance.

Below are the moccasins shared by my sister Roberta, she asked our grandparents to find some for her and they had them made just for her.

My friend Shirley brought part of her collection of antique casters for sprinkling sugar on food. Some were also used as talcum powder shakers.  They are also called "muffineers".  :-)

Bev Law brought a jar of horseshoe nails that she and Gary found in the gorge. The wood block game “Dad’s Puzzler” is from 1926 was Gary’s grandfather's Roy Law who was born 1892.

I hope you've enjoyed my story today.  I just find life so interesting.  If you were to share one of YOUR family heirlooms, what would it be?  Please tell me.  

((hugs)), Teresa :-)