Birthday Wheel

When I found I was sending more and more late birthday cards to family members, I decided I needed a birthday calendar. Since I didn’t want one that would take a lot of space in my kitchen, I designed my own.

I bought a twelve-inch wooden embroidery hoop, then cut a piece of muslin to fit inside—a circle about thirteen inches in diameter so there would be an edge to catch in the hoop. I finished the outside edge of the circle by sewing eyelet lace around it. (I found I had to cut the lace a couple of inches longer than the circumference of the circle or it didn’t go all the way around.) I then put the muslin inside the embroidery hoop with the seam at the back.

I divided the circle into twelve equal pie-shaped sections and used black floss to make a running embroidery stitch between sections. At the bottom of each section, in the middle of the circle, I embroidered a symbol for the month; for example, a snowflake for January, a heart for February, and a shamrock for March. At the top of each section, around the outside of the circle, I embroidered the month name. Using a black permanent liquid embroidery marker, I wrote the name and birthday of each family member under the appropriate month.

Each month when I rotate the calendar I am reminded of the coming birthdays. Now if I forget a birthday, I have no excuse.—Janet Houston, Beaver, Utah