To

Prairie Creations

Original Designs By Robert  & Mary Rhodes

Memory Chest In our family when a girl turned 16 yrs old our Grandmother gave us a Hope Chest. This chest was given in anticipation of the day we girls met our one true love and married that man.(With my Grandmother, staying single was not an option) In the mean time extra money we earned and/or gifts were purchases of pillow cases, afghans, quilts, china, silverware and many of the little the essentials that it took for a good wife to start a household.(Of course my sisters and I snuck in a few honeymoon items too)These were placed in our "hope chest" in hopes that we would one day find that man, yank him home, have Grampa straighten him out, Dad sit him down for a good talk and either scare him away or keep him forever. I knew I had found that man  the day I met Bob. That fact was confirmed when after 25 yrs of marriage my anniversary present was a beautiful hand made chest that my husband had labored to make from his own design. He told me it was an extension to my "Hope Chest" that now held thousands of family photos.The chest he said was our families new "Memory Chest". After only 3 yrs it is now full. Every time I walk past that chest my heart smiles because I know not only the labor of love put in to making it but that it holds a lifetime of family memories, our 1st grandchild memories, grandsons 1st haircuts,grandaughters abandoned jewelry,miniature toys found buried in the yard from our own children, pictures, drawings, love letters, poetry, cards and so much more.This "Memory Chest" Pattern is an original design by my husband.Robert Rhodes Jr.

Love Birds Quilt Rack For our 10th wedding anniversary my husband designed and made a quilt rack with 2 hearts on each side for my gift.He labored in secret again to surprise me .At the time with small children money was tight. A relative was getting married.Trying to figure out how to attend a wedding out of state and purchase a gift also seemed impossible.I can remember the look on my husbands face as he started to tell me something I knew he was finding difficult. He had a solution to our problem but only if I agreed and it broke his heart to ask me. Three days after they were to be married was our anniversary and he had made me a gift he said. Would I consider giving them my gift? He went out to his work shop and brought in the most beautiful quilt rack that I had ever seen.My heart said NO. But of course I said yes. It was the perfect solution to our problem and it made it possible for us to attend his relatives wedding. I now have quilt rack number two. Am I disappointed? No. Because everytime I look at quilt rack number two sitting at the end of our bed I am reminded that it takes two hearts working together and two hearts willing to compromise to make a marriage work. I don't think it was an accident I have two hearts on each side of my quilt rack and that I got quilt rack number two. This Pattern is an original design by Robert Rhodes Jr.

The Giving Tree It all started when our children were small. One year we decided to have a Christmas tree all decorated with home made ornaments. Our first year project was homemade dough ornaments that you baked then painted. Ah the fun we had! We worked on those things a week. We baked, cut, rolled, created, painted and shellaced. When all was done we had toy soldiers, trains, angels, wreaths, bells and the list goes on & on. They were