Spools of fun

One of the best purchases I made during the day of yard sale-ing was this wicker sewing box. I've been half-looking for one for a couple of months because the pencil case I use to store my embroidery floss and needles in is just not working. I know, I'm surprised too.

I picked up this box for $2. Perfect size, decent shape, the elastic to close it needs to be replaced, but for $2, you can't complain.

Two dollars for the box alone was a steal. The box and the contents for $2? When I showed my mom the contents, it was like we'd discovered some glorious treasure... but when you consider we're both seamstresses - of different skill levels, but still - and like nifty things, it was like finding a treasure.

There were many spools of thread. These five - the wooden spools - are probably going to end up sitting in my thread box forever, never to be used, because they're wooden spools. I don't expect that they're worth anything to a collector, but they're worth something to me, a history nut. Like the spool in the top left corner - from the T. Eaton Company, a company that was once the cornerstone of retail in Canada, and no longer exists. There are spools from J. & P. Coats (top right and bottom left) and Clark & Cos. Machine Cotton, two companies that merged into Coats & Clark, one of the premier notions companies around.

And then there's the Corticelli spool in the centre. I can't find anything about Corticelli the company (as in, I don't think it exists anymore), but did find this wonderful book - Corticelli Home Needlework - from 1898.




I've been looking for vintage needlework patterns and designs, so this book couldn't have come along at a better time.

And because I'm having issues finding anything about the company, besides photos of their threads and some patterns, I have no idea what this tool is for. Tatting? Wrapping? Decoration? Not a hot clue... my mom thinks it has something to do with tatting, but searching on Google Images turned up nothing. It's just over 2 3/4" long, tapered and more brassy than gold. It's also slightly flexible, but not bendable. If you've got an idea of what it is, please let me know.

And then there's the 45 adapters. I have no 45s. I don't even have a record player. But I'm keeping them, if only to show to Maddy one day so she can tell me that I'm full of it and people never used wax/plastic disks to to listen to music. Although, she could turn out like me and be a big fan of music on LP/EPs... but that's highly doubtful as we don't have a record player, but I'm sure my parents' are saving theirs - that still works! - for just that reason.

I'm going to try to get this box organized, along with everything else, for what I'm hoping will be an insanely busy 6-8 weeks. I've got plans and ideas for the craft sales coming up, and the Christmas shopping season unofficially begins in July... still no sales in my shop, but I'm keeping positive about it. There's no point in wallowing in negativity when it's more draining than working at being a success... at least that's what I'm telling myself.

On the fence

Things I learned while building a fence:

• Any plan you had at the beginning will be trashed before you even start.
• A yard stick can be your best friend. 
• Measure twice, cut once is not enough; measure a dozen times and then measure again before you cut.
• There's a good chance the reason you got a killer deal on your lumber is because it's all the stuff they couldn't sell to anyone else. 
• A post hole digger is not the same thing as a post hole auger.
• Wet ground is not easier to deal with.
• Rhubarb plants have massive roots.
• Toddlers like to think they're helping by bringing screws to the builders two at a time.
• Posts will magically shift and bend out of place overnight, and the movement won't be noticeable until the fence is done.
• You will run out of the one size of wood you need the most, but will have oodles left over of the size you only needed a couple of.
• Cut wood soaks up water like a sponge.
• $3 work gloves protect your hands from splinters just as well as the $20 do.

In the end, building a fence with Keith and his parents was an experience. It wasn't great, it wasn't horrific, but I know now the process of it. After three days, we're mostly finished - only two gates left to do up. Keith's on holidays for the rest of the week so we should be able to get them done up before he goes back next week.

I love how our yard looks now, though... it looks much bigger and tidier, at least until you see my very overgrown garden that's going to be fixed up this weekend. I like how we not only have a way to keep Maddy in the yard, but also added a lot of value to our property. We have a fairly large lot and are on a corner, in between 3 schools. Our sidewalks see a lot of traffic throughout the day, so having a fence up to cut down on some of the sound is nice.

Next up for the yard is doing up my garden. We're going to the garden centre on Friday to pick up the plants, seeds and soil to put them in on Sunday. I've got a general idea of what I want to do for veggies this year, but I'm still debating what to do about flowers. I have a lot of daisies that I'd like to move, but they're in bloom right now and I really don't want to risk killing them. I could always just do a variety of generic flowers - pansies, petunias, marigolds - but I'd also like to try more butterfly- or bee-friendly flowers in our front garden.  Decisions, decisions...

We're planning on spending a lot of time outside this summer. I'm going to attempt to coordinate my work so that I can actually do some of it (ie. embroidery) outside, while Maddy runs around the yard playing. Really, I'm just looking forward to having somewhere besides the house to spend the summer relaxing.