Collinsville Garden Club recently got together to make Victorian ornaments from Victorian scrap. These ornaments will decorate the Victorian tree at the Collins House this Christmas season. The tree will be one of many trees at the house, each depicting a particular era. Of particular interest is the wired garland that is used for hanging the ornaments. The silver garland, now tarnished from age, dates back to the late 1800s - early 1900s. Time to take a break! Even the elves

Some orange and green, And purple, too; A big smile from Phyllis Smith of St. Jacob, Is wonderful proof; Now what have we here? An industrious soul; Cutting strips of fabric diligently by hand, And collecting them in a basket right by her stand; Do you recognize her, yet . . . Of course you do, It's Sheri Glasscock, the owner of Calico Moon; Came all the way from Lebanon, Illinois, indeed she did, Her shop specializes in civil war fabrics, antiques, and gifts; And here we see

'Twas a day in October, at the D.D. Collins house The ladies got together, but not a single mouse; They brought pieces of fabric, and designs so dear, To each one's family, to bring great cheer. Ann chats with Angela (left) and Rhonda (right) during the rug hooking event. Ann wore an apron, of which her family jeers But loves it does she, it is quite clear; Its pockets are filled with lots of good stuff, Like tools for pulling loops of fabrics and fluff. Rhonda concentrates

Rug hooking has become a very vogue craft for all ages; but do you know how it all began? ~ Although examples of pulling a loop of yarn through a woven textile dates back to 4th century Egypt where tufts of wool were pulled through a linen base, the origination of rug hooking is attributed to Yorkshire, England in the early 19th century. As the story goes, workers in the English weaving mills were allowed to collect the off cast pieces of yarn less than nine inches long as t