Today is Veterans Day in the U.S.  Do our children know what it really means, in addition to a day off from school, parades and flags? 
Do they realize that without the veterans’ service for our country, from the Revolutionary War forward, we might not be enjoying the freedoms we have today?
Have you researched the veterans in your family heritage and shared this with your children?  Some of us have ancestors who served in the Revolutionary War and other wars to the present.
So…many thanks to all those, including my husband, who have served and are serving so that we might have our freedom and …read more

My quilting heritage descends from the Trails End Quilters.  The ladies who lived at Trails End Farm were my ancestors.   My mother and aunt also grew up there.
I’ve been fortunate to have a cooking notebook that my aunt compiled.  In it she includes recipes from her grandmothers, her mother, other relatives, friends and neighbors.  It’s somewhat a cooking history of the ladies associated with Trails End.
 (Incidentally, it was called Trails End because….the farm was at the end of a dirt road or “the trails end.”)
Ah…to have the time to compile these recipes into a family cookbook, with photos and stories …read more

Do you enjoy exploring and creating vintage crafts? I’ve discovered an enjoyable free e-newsletter, Crafting with a Vintage Look, from VintageImageCraft.com.  In the current newsletter, and on the web site, you’ll find Easter crafts, images to download, and more.
I’ve always found vintage looks and items fascinating, reminiscent of the memorabilia from my grandmothers ‘ days.  They’re also fun to incorporate into family heritage scrapbooks, shadow boxes, collages, and photo albums.
As I sorted through cards and letters and calling cards from my grandmothers’ era, I found vintage items that personalize my collections and make our family heritage art work especially memorable …read more

Preserving your family heritage through art and crafts, along with writing, provides great enjoyment.  I’ve long been interested in learning my family stories and have developed workshops to teach others how to do this.
Along with writing them down you can:

Make quilts and wall hangings with photos, related scenes and activities, or fabrics from family clothing.
Develop scrapbooks about family events.
Preserve documents along with photos in collages, books, and on fabric.
Write books that relate family stories and add illustrations.  I’m working on a picture book about my Uncle William “Buffalo Bill” Mathewson.
Develop fiction stories inspired by those of your family.  The life …read more