Winding Ways

I got the neatest little gadget the other day - a winder for winding embroidery floss onto little flat plastic bobbins. I've been wanting to organize my embroidery floss better, and now was the time.



Here is the little winder - the slots on the bottom fit on the edge of the floss storage box - and you wind and wind until all the floss is on that little white bobbin on the left side of the photo. After I bought this nice little tan winder (you can get them on ebay really inexpensively) I found that there was a pretty pink one - oh well, tan winds as well as pink. Sharon - have you been winding floss on your pretty pink winder?

First I must tell you about how I got so much floss. Some I bought for projects, such as the needlepoint pillows that you can see HERE. Some I got for other embroidery projects, like my Crazy Quilt - made from my hand painted cotton fabrics. Since the fabric is 100% cotton, I decided that the embroidery would also be only cotton floss. . So I have lots of embroidery floss for that project. It is an ongoing project - I make a section and when it is embroidered I attach it to the other sections and one day I will have a bed size Crazy Quilt.

(click the photos to see the stitching close up)

Back to my floss story - My mom had a friend who was a Home Ec teacher, and when she retired from teaching she had boxes of floss left that wasn't going to be used - and so she sent it to me. Now that was very nice of her - though when I opened the box I found it was groups of colors - over 40 skeins of each color. The most of one color was turquoise - and over the years I've used some of it - but I didn't want to wind that many bobbins of turquoise, knowing I'd never use it all - so I started a plastic bag of "give-away" floss - surely my friends want some turquoise floss. As I sorted through the floss I discovered the other colors my mom's friend had given to me, I kept two of each of the colors and put the rest in the give-away bag - and I know have a quart zipper bag, stuffed with floss. Someone is going to be very happy - besides me.



The bobbins come in little bunches of 25 - all neatly bound up with a tiny, tight rubber band.

I got lots of bundles of bobbins - 20 bundles of them - 500 bobbins - and only about 2 cents each. Oh you know I love a bargain.

Now I wish I'd seen these colored ones before I bought 500 white bobbins - oh too late for that.

I won't show you what my floss looked like before I started this process - no I won't - but this is the piles of color after I had sorted it - taken out the knots and tangles and scary looking bunches of mashed up floss. I wanted to spare your little hearts and eyes of the tragedy that can befall floss if you aren't careful.

Another view - same floss - hundreds and hundreds of skeins - all colors . . .

Yes - I did too - I saved all the labels from the floss as I was winding it - and here it is - heaped up on my 12x12 inch cutting mat

An aerial view - same pile. . . I loved the old price tags - the best one I found was 3 for 10 cents - now that's a bargain.

And now - are you ready for the results? Hang on - they are fabulous results . . .

Beautiful boxes of nicely wound bobbins . . .

Lovely boxes - full of pretty rainbows of colors . . .

Three whole boxes - 375 bobbins - full of organized floss. The white and black floss are in a separate little box, they just wouldn't fit in these three boxes - which by the way - I got from Goodwill a while back. At the time I didn't know what the boxes were for, but figured they would store something in my studio very nicely - and I only paid 99 cents each.

So there you have it - the story of my floss winding adventure. It was great fun and I hope never to have to do it again. Are you embroidering something pretty?

Happy Valentines Day

Check HERE for more Mosaic Monday . . .

It was 46 years ago today that Don proposed. Do you think I should say yes? I was 17 and he was 19. It's been a fabulous 46+ years - so many things have happened and this post is in honor of a wonderful man.

Don has been so many things - and done so much . . .

He's hunted easter eggs with his kids, celebrated birthdays, got them to make funny faces for the camera, played silly games on New Years eve with the kids, and worked and played with them. (click any collage for an enlarged view)

He drove us to the snow in the California mountains in our little green VW Bug, took us on vacations to the mountains with snow and back to the desert in the same day, hooked us up with a covered wagon on the way to Kansas, moved us many times and graduated at the top of his class with many awards - he was elected to Outstanding Young Men of America and was voted most likely to succed in his graduating class at college - he was over 35 and had three kids at home, plus working full time - nothing but straight A's.

He collected baseball memorabilia, was a pied piper, brought us a crooked christmas tree one year, was a cowboy (though he denies it) and built a greenhouse.

He had many jobs - did many different things over his lifetime - and did them all well.

He plays with his grandson, walks behind them to keep them safe when riding in a "train",cuts wood, rides on the Merry Go Round at the fair, over and over and over again, puts together lawn mowers, gets out the "cheese head" hat, and wears super bowl paint on his face with his grandsons.

He loves to help his grandsons put together their toys, rake leaves and play in the snow, play football (or catch Grampy, as it is called) read books and watch the joy of opening christmas presents.

He's been many things - to many people - but always he is my heart and soul.

Pillows - and my new scanner

As some of you have read - I got a new photo scanner a little while back - and I've been making good use of it. I am scanning 35 years worth of family photos - and when that is done - I have hundreds of old family photos - from Don's family and my family - old B&W photos from long ago.

It has been such fun to see all the old photos going by on the scanner. I started with when we were first married - oh those long years ago - and so far I am up to when our kids were in Jr. High and High School. What a fun trip it has been. Along the way I've scanned the photos of crafts I have done over the years - and today I thought I'd share with you some of the needlepoint pillows I've made. I used to have a business making hand made dolls, doll clothes, stuffed animals and needlepoint pillows. The rancher's wives where we lived loved to have parties at their homes - like tupperware parties - except that I'd bring my items for sale and they would order. Then I'd go home and work like crazy to get the orders completed before the next party.

Christmas pillows were very popular - in different colors for different families -
to match their christmas decor . . .

Santa has a big fuzzy beard - and the one was often changed to reflect a little girl - instead of the train running around the edge there were dollies and girlie things . . .

I made samplers - the ladies picked the things to go in the sampler - this one was for someone's mother and had the things she was involved in - orchestra, swimming, biking, scuba diving etc.

This holiday sampler could be personalized too.

Special pillows for anniversaries were a favorite . . .

The teddy bears were quite popular - and always
available in special colors, with ribons to match . . .

I really liked the holiday teddy bear . . .

And a cute pink one for a little girl's room . . .

The stitching was done on brown needlepoint canvas, with the canvas left unstitched for the background, giving a country feel to the pillows. The floss was regular embroidery floss, satin floss and metallic floss, depending on the pillow. The ruffles were moire' satin. and sometimes the pillows had a double ruffle, lace and then moire' satin. I really enjoyed making them and probably made 100 or more. I still have the patterns, but never made a pillow for our house. I made a lavender teddy bear for our youngest daughter, her room was all lavender when she was in Jr. High and High School.

Imbolc - Candlemas

February 1st is a celebration of Imbolc - of the "returning of the light" - a time to think about our past and our future - a time of clearing out for the new that is coming. In Celtic tradition this is a sacred time when the doors between the worlds are open and magical events can occur.

Though the month of February can be so cold and dreary, small but sturdy signs of new life began to appear: Lambs will be born and soft rain brings new grass. Ravens begin to build their nests and larks are said to sing with a clearer voice.

Today I will look for the daffodils I planted last year - hoping to see them
pushing up through the soil - as a sign of the hope for the future.

This is a time for planting, for renewing, for looking to the future.

On February first we honor Brighid, a Celtic goddess, who later was usurped by the church and became the Christian saint - St. Brigid. Brighid is the Goddess of Healers, Poets, Smiths, Childbirth and Inspiration; Goddess of Fire and Hearth, her name means "Exalted One."

On February second we celebrate again - with Candlemas day - the coming of longer days - with candles to light the way and encourage the sun to try harder, and stay around longer each day.

In Shakespeare's time about 400 years ago, the second month of the year was called 'Feverell'. In Isaac Newton's time one hundred years later it had become 'Februeer'. The modern name, February, is only about a hundred years old.

The Romans had a custom of lighting candles on Candlemas Day to frighten away evil spirits of the winter.

It is believed that Candlemas Day predicts the weather for the rest of the winter. The weather proverbs express the idea that a fine bright sunny Candlemas day means that there is more winter to come, whereas a cloudy wet stormy Candlemas day means that the worst of winter is over.

There is also the tradition that if the groundhog sees his shadow on a bright and sunny day, on February 2, he will return to his sleep for another six weeks, leaving us to endure more winter. (This does not hold true with the unkind way that Punxsutawney Phil is brought roughly out into the daylight - this is supposed to mean that the groundhog comes out of his den on his own - a German tradition brought over to Pennsylvania from the old world)

WEATHER PROVERBS

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright
Winter will have another fight.
If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain,
Winter won't come again.




If Candlemas Day be dry and fair,

The half o the winter's to come and mair;
If Candlemas Day be wet and foul,
The half o the winter's gane at Yule.

FARMER'S PROVERB

'A farmer should, on Candlemas Day,
Have half his corn and half his hay.'

'On Candlemas Day if the thorns hang adrop,
You can be sure of a good pea crop.'

BORROWED DAYS

February 12-14 were traditionally said to be 'borrowed' from January. If these days ware stormy, the year would be favoured with good weather: but if fine, the year's weather would be foul. The last three days of March were said to be borrowed from April.

"The Snowdrop, in purest white array, First rears her head on Candlemas day."

The name snowdrop does not mean 'drop' of snow, it means drop as in eardrop - the old word for earring.

Any Christmas decorations not taken down by Twelfth Night (January 5th) should be left up until Candlemas Day and then taken down.

Cakes were traditionally baked and offered to the gods on February 1st and 2nd, for good weather and prosperous growing seasons.

Any reason to bake a pretty cake is a good reason. . .

Yay for cakes!!!

As we light our candles - and think of ways to clear our lives - in whatever way seems right to each of us - may the peace of Imbolc be with us. May our plantings be prosperous, our hearts generous and our ways kindly.

All cakes were baked and decorated by my youngest daughter Lori.

Mosaic Monday

Monday - time for Mosaic Monday - sponsored by Mary at the Little Red House. Click and visit more fun and beautiful mosaics.

Whatcom Falls Park is right in the middle of town. Bellingham is built on hills, many many hills - and we get to enjoy the benefits of rivers, streams, lakes and waterfalls right in town. This is one of our favorites - ok, I admit, they are all favorites. Upstream from the falls is a small lake that is a nursery for fish from the hatchery. It is full of ducks and sometimes a kayak or canoe. The falls are much less full this winter, as we've had a dry year, but still gorgeous. Click the mosaic to enlarge.

Glad you stopped by.