ooh- wow, never occurred to me that someone would make a formal pattern- I just do rounds, myself- I use 2" strips of sheet cotton, 1 1/2" if it's flannel, 1" if I manage to get my hands on some wool, and a 'q' sized hook.
:) aren't they wonderful? and it's a stunning way to use up scraps of fabric- I helped a local seamstress clean up her shop one weekend, and came home with a trashbag full of scraps- some of them a foot square! silks and linens and upholstery fabrics...
you can blend the lavender with whole (not instant) rice to fill eye pillows as well...
and I make sachets out of cedar shavings or pine needles (coarsely chopped) as well- dads like them :) ... View related article.
is this a bunch you could get to come in costume? even if it's just a matter of putting your hair up and wearing a long skirt (to hide the stockings and ruffled garter) it would be more fun than the average party...
getting plain fans, or the wooden ones with the patterns cut in them, and trimming them with lace or feathers for party favors,
getting a broad-brimmed hat to use as the base for the infamous 'bridal shower gift wrap hat' along with a yard of black tulle would make that into a hat worthy of the period...
having the guys 'raid' the place at the end to reclaim their mates (we did this with a pirate party, but our guys not only play along, they own their own costumes!)
using gold 'sherrif' stars to adorn the toothpicks for the finger food...
serving the wine in a container labeled 'laudanum'
cornbread, any way you want to serve it (I make mine with maple syrup and chipolte pepper sauce) brings more of the 'wild west' into it...
is it a new planting? a transplant? or is it just having a nervous breakdown for no apparant reason?
honestly- they do this sometimes. my folks have 20 or so of them on their property, and in any given year, there's always one of them that's just not right...usually, they come back fine the next year, and I have yet to find a disease or infestation-related cause for them.
