O HOLY COW – Around The Frame

Finally the Cubs win the World’s Series and Harry Caray must be smiling down from heaven on all of those people who waited for generations for them to be crowned the World Series Champs.

Denny Durnell and his wife Teena the second generation owners of Durnell’s at Broadway and Huestis not only decorate their restaurant for every holiday, they decked it out to honor the Cubs too. Even their Halloween Zombie was sporting a Cubs cap and holding a Cubs mug. Denny’s dad Paul and his brothers Howard and Joe who founded Durnell’s back in 1950 were all big Cubs fans and Denny and Teena do their best to match them in their spirit and enthusiasm.

So now November has come and gone and December is now here, what better way to keep the Cub spirit alive at Durnell’s then to hang Harry Caray’s Guardian Angel there for the Christmas Season.

I made this wall hanging back in the mid-1990s when the TV show “Touched by an Angel” was a major hit. Now I’m not a big baseball fan. I’ve attended the TinCaps’ “Stitch and Pitch” games where I can keep busy while the game slowly proceeds and of course I sit out in “left field” with the rest of the Southpaws on August 13 if they play in town. So I think it was part divine inspiration that I decide to create Harry Caray’s Guardian Angel.

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The back of the quilt is Holstein cow fabric: splotchy black on white fabric. After all… I am German! For the front I select a soft tone-on-tone purple. Online I find a great free cow graphic and enlarge it. I decide not to use batting so I can make miniscule stitches as I quilt through the cow’s splotches. Next I turn it over and quilt through the splotches on the backside, giving the piece a random pebbled look.

Now fun begins: This Holy Cow is embellished with gold wings, bead udders, a twine tail and a golden wire halo. The back fabric is flipped to the front and turned under to make a border and finished edges. Finally loops are added for hanging.

Son Robert was a first grader at the time and he really liked it so I gave it to him. Now while he is away serving his country, I couldn’t think of a better place for this Holy Cow to be than at Durnell’s!

So as you travel south on Broadway, catty-corner from The Philmore, you will find Durnell’s open for lunch on Tuesday – Friday and dinner on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Do stop in, enjoy the holiday décor and the warmth of this cozy neighborhood restaurant. Be sure to raise your glass, whatever your beverage choice, to salute Harry Caray’s Guardian Angel and hope Cub fans won’t wait another 108 years for the next Cubs’ Championship!

Lois Levihn is the owner of Born Again Quilts, 4005 South Wayne Avenue. December 3 is our open house. Hours for Dec. 3, 10 and 17 will be 9-4 p.m. Also opened Wednesdays from 5:30-7 p.m. For more information: 260-515-9446 or bornagainquilts@frontier.com.