ARTSY ANGELS GATHER IN GORDONVILLE

A sewing machine in Elsie Eggimann's workshop is used to fashion material into angel clothes. (Photo by Jim Obert)

Angels made of cloth napkins, hand towels and tapestry grace a wall in the home of Elsie Eggimann of Gordonville. She also uses "pillow cases from Grandma" to dress her angels in appropriate attire. (Photo by Jim Obert)

Elsie Eggimann feels her home-based business has been blessed by God. It probably has since she makes angels.

In a workshop behind her home on Route Z in Gordonville, Eggimann uses several materials -- but mostly muslin -- to craft angels of various sizes.

She works at her craft religiously -- it's not unusual for her to spend seven hours a day, seven days a week cutting and sewing material, making "hair" and fashioning halos.

"I've always been in crafts of some sort," said Eggimann. "My mother was creative, and she had to be with nine kids. I inherited her gift."

In 1981 Eggimann began making jewelry with beads and other materials. She displayed her wares at home parties. She also made decorations and bouquets for weddings.

Recently she was the crafts coordinator at an area House of Fabrics. She recalls the job as "a neat experience."

But it wasn't until last May that she decided to create a great many angels for earthly existence. Some of her angels are made of handkerchiefs, napkins, calico, tapestry "and pillow cases from Grandma." Most of them, however, are made of muslin -- 100 percent non-bleached cotton.

The equipment she uses includes a rotary cutter and ruler, two hot glue guns and three sewing machines -- a serger, a commercial dressmaker and a home sewer.

She also uses various dowels around which twine is rolled and then baked in an oven. Once unraveled, the "cooked" twine is frayed to make curly, angelic hair.

Eggimann says the 4- to 5-inch tall "windowsill" angels she makes are very time consuming, but also very popular. After cutting the muslin to size, the material -- wings and a flowing robe -- is dipped into a commercial "stiffener."

The material is removed from the stiffener and pressed over a plastic form Eggimann makes. It takes about 24 hours to dry.

"I make at least six dozen of the little angels at a time," she said, adding they are sold in crafts outlets in Tennessee, Arkansas, Silver Dollar City in Branson and Union Station in St. Louis.

With wings glued to the back of each angel, and a golden halo hovering above the head, the front of each displays an original poem written by two of Eggimann's friends from church.

The "birthday angels" also have birth stones attached near the poem, and other angels are dedicated to mothers, fathers, other relatives and friends.

"And I have a couple of 'guardian angels' and a 'travel angel,' which has a saying that goes: 'Don't drive any faster than your angel can fly.'"

Eggimann starts work on her angels most every morning by 8:30 or 9. She'll often work until 3:30 in the afternoon. In months like November and December, she'll be at it seven days a week.

Although her angels sell well around Christmas, January wasn't a bad month: "I sold a lot of them in January, and people collect them all year long."

Although most of her angels are somewhat ivory colored, due to the look of the unbleached muslin, Eggimann will sometimes dye the material in store-bought tea.

"It makes them look older," she said, pointing to several. It helps them fit in with Victorian and country decor."

Eggimann says she went into her business venture with no capital except her last paycheck from House of Fabrics. But business has been brisk -- she buys the muslin by the 50-yard bolt, and since January she's used almost three bolts.

"I feel like God's hand has been on this since the beginning," she said, smiling.