Holiday Open House 2022

I am currently curled up in the couch with my blanket and gingerbeer warming up from a great day. Today was type of day where I start talking at 10 am and don’t stop until the last visitors leave as the sun shifts downward.

I love these days.

As with the past few Holiday Open Houses, I shared some of the many handmade gifts of the nineteenth century. This year, I chose to focus on the sewing items found in ladies’ and children’s publications. I selected an assortment of pin cushions, needle-books, pin keeps, and sewing cases.

The cat needle-book and paper pieced pin ball were by far the most popular. The shape of the pin ball is similar to a D20 die, or so I learned from visitors.

I am already thinking ahead to next year’s selection, thinking a variety of toys from the pages of Godey’s, Peterson’s, and St. Nicholas’s would be a hit.