Wordless Wed...Dearest Sister Letter...

...Leads to Lost Cousins

.

So Much For Keeping It Simple

The hardest thing about an 'Ending' is knowing where to 'Start'.  That's where I am now that I don't have a work schedule to follow.  It's where I am when I walk into my studio where I have organized and re-stocked my stashes of fabric, yarn, notions, lace, trims, buttons and all of the frenzied liquidation shopping stuff.

So much for my 'Stash Busting' proclamations of Use It or Lose, Sue...and just when I was making headway in that regard.  So much for the '4R's Bucket List'...you know the one where last year I swore on my stack of Bible Fabrics to 'Re-Use, Re-cycle, Re-New and Re-Sell'.  You'll notice that not one of those Re's had a thing to do with Re-Stocking!


Anyway, it's over, and I have a plan for the winding down process...yes, I do. 

I plan to keep it simple. 

That's why I chose the 'Simple Crochet Shawl' pattern.....

.....and the Bridal Shawl pattern...times 2....

....and the Re-reads of Game of Thrones while watching Season 6. 

Afterall, the Tower of Joy theories have to be boned up on if I am to intelligently discuss medieval castles, crypts, creeps, shape changers, dragons, and a bunch of messed up Family Trees.  Then there is learning a bit of Dothraki. 

So much for keeping it simple, huh?

It Is Almost Over

Liquidation Shoppers Rapture and Remorse

This being my first time experiencing a 'Liquidation', I can tell you it is a rollercoaster of human reactions, emotions, questions, thoughtfulness, and ridiculousness.  What a test of maintaining a positive outlook, good customer service, keeping my mouth shut and eyeballs from rolling.

 

Some of the questions Liquidation Shoppers ask remind me of Art Linkletter's 'Kids Say The Darndest Things', except these are Adults.  Here we go....

 

~When will you get in a shipment of seam rippers and sewing machine needles?  There aren't any more on the Notions Wall!

~Phone Call:  Could you tell me if you have anymore of the fleece print I bought 3 weeks ago?  It was blue with hearts and flowers.  I bought all on the bolt and need another half yard!

~Why are you closing?  Don't people sew anymore? 

~What are we going to do for a fabric store?

~Is this store re-opening at a different location?

~What?  You don't take checks?  You should have that posted.  There it was...Big as Dallas on the counter where she whipped out her checkbook.  Not to mention Bigger than Dallas signs all over the store.

 

After answering these questions....without screwing up my face with the 'Really?' look...I bag their purchases...no seam ripper...and say, "Thank-you, have a nice day".  I no longer say, Thank-you, come back and see us!  Last time I did, I got...Oh, are ya'll opening in a new location?

 

The absolutely most amazing and for a better word...'Ying Yang' reaction...is the Liquidation Shopper's expressions at checkout when they swipe their credit card...no checks...
 

"OMG, I am so excited and ecstatic at getting all this for nearly nothing....and in the next breath....I am sooooo sad to see you close.  What ever will I do for a fabric store?"

 

I'd like to say, Getting all that for nearly nothing is exactly why there won't be anymore shopping here.  All the years of Coupons, Bonus Bucks, Door Busters, Half-Off and every Holiday or Whatever Sale imaginable gave shoppers such a 'Bang for their Buck that the company's Profit Bucks went Bust.  Of course, there are other reasons like competition, e-shopping, and inventory that has nothing to do with being a Fabric Store. 

 

So, yes, it is a 'Sign of the Times'...to use a timeless cliché...and sad for those of us who love to 'Feel and See' our fabric before buying. 

Who enjoy spending hours thumbing through a Simplicity Pattern Book, and have the sense of accomplishment in 'Making' something useful for ourselves, family and friends. 

 

On the bright side of all this, those of us who are Fabric-a-holic-Sewist...not hoarders...can look forward to months if not years, of  Feeling-Seeing-Petting-Organizing and Sewing with the fabrics, notions, buttons, patterns and more from our Liquidation Shopping.

Oh, what Rapture and Remorse!

Wordless Wed...Butterfly Wings

 Memories of you are not few.



Should I Stay or Should I Go

I just read a couple of articles on how to store a Yarn Stash.  Of course it is after the fact...being I have already re-organized and stored mine.  I don't know why it didn't occur to me to research and get tips before I spent several hours in my storage studio...fancy name for garage.  In reality, it is my former Sewing/Quilting/Yarning Studio and perfect as a safe storage space. 

One article suggested to store yarn as you bought it.  In other words if it is a shank leave it shanked...don't use your ball winder to un-shank it until you are ready to make that sweater.  Score one for me...6 shanks intended for a knitted sweater...still shanked for six years after purchase.

 If your yarn is in a wrapped pull skein like Vanna's yarn is sold...for sure leave it for ease of pulling from the center.  Of course that is after you have dug through the center for the LOOSE end to begin and finally have to pull out a baseball size wadded tangle in order to begin.  Score another for me...most of my yarn is pull skein with left overs wound on Ball Winder, re-wrapped in original wrapper and stored with like yarn.

Now comes the storage container question.  Should I stay or should I go?  STAY with baskets, plastic bags and plastic tubs...or...GO with eco-safe, breathable, easy access and economical containers.  I'll let you read This Article about storage containers and you can decide what works best for you. 

I decided to GO!

Shanked sweater yarn...still shanked, breathing, and waiting for Pigs to Fly!

Wordless Wed...Bottom Drawer Collection

In the Bottom Dresser Drawer for years I lay...a collection of chenille and crochet.

The drawer protected me it is true...until I was found by Sue.

Now, I am a collection of treasured heirlooms on display.

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

Why hang on to an old hanky or a scripture plaque or a piece of costume jewelry or boxes of  decades old cards and letters?   Easy answer for me...because parting with a loved one's lifetime collection of possessions is difficult when you know they were important and cherished by that loved one.  Because every piece has the potential for a glimpse into what that person held near and dear to their heart.  Because in those decades of cards and letters is a wealth of family history.

And so it goes as I continue to share my grandmother Minnie and my mother Thelma's memorabilia.  Let's reminisce a bit more about the 'Hankies' and how such a small, inexpensive and basically disposable item became a treasured possession and the inspiration for a collection. 

My grandmother and mother's hankies have been the source and inspiration for my collection and use of hankies in quilts, curtains, aprons, stories and blogging.  I started collecting hanky's long after they were considered a necessity for moping worker's sweaty brows and wiping snotty nosed kids noses. Which, by the way, contributed to the demise of the hanky and the invention of disposable tissues.  At one point in hanky history it compared to the 'Smart Phone' of today....no one would think of leaving the house without one.

Handkerchiefs have been around since ancient times, and through out time have had many uses and purposes.  I tend to covet the idea of Romancing The Hanky.  Queen Elizabeth made the hanky fashionable in court.  When she flicked her hanky over her shoulder, it meant "I'm tired of entertaining you people....you may leave...now."  Victorian women gave the hanky a flirty use by dropping their hanky at a gentleman's feet to say "I'd like to meet you".  Then she would lightly swipe her hanky across her cheek suggesting something more intimate..."I love you."

Hanky collectors often separate their hanky's into categories that reflect their era and theme.  Hanky's are an ideal collectible as they are inexpensive, useful, take up very little space to store and are pretty.  They make a nostalgic and sentimental gift for Valentines, Mother's Day and Birthday's....especially to another collector and for my Grandmother Minnie and Mother Thelma.

And that is why parting with them...'Is Such Sweet Sorrow'.

Minnie's Memorabilia from the 'Bottom Dresser Drawer'

As a way of sharing the memorabilia and history of Minnie Plate Klemish with her descendants, I am relying on several 21st Century medias.  All of which Minnie would say, "What will they think of next."  Born in 1892 to German immigrant parents, in her lifetime of 99 years, Minnie was a witness to perhaps the greatest and most significant changes of the 20th Century.

Thanks to her daughter Thelma's cameras, photo albums, scrapbooks, memory and 'Bottom Dresser Drawer', Minnie's Memorabilia is shared with both of their descendants.  From Thelma's scrapbook, the original 1908 photo of Minnie at age 16.  Minnie and Thelma gifted each other hankies for many occasions by including them in cards and letters. 

From Thelma's 'Bottom Dresser Drawer', Minnie's Bible, Crown and Cross Pin and miniature Lords Supper picture, were treasures given to her on Minnie's death in 1992.  The Bible was Minnie and Joseph's Family Bible from the date of their marriage in 1913.  Now 103 years old, the Bible is quite fragile, not only from age, but from many years of dedicated reading and recording family births, marriages and deaths. 

Also saved in the 'Bottom Dresser Drawer' were some of Minnie's personal belongings including a small wooden box.  In the box were a small hand mirror, two watches and several devotional cards.  Lastly, from the 'Bottom Dresser Drawer' was Joseph Thomas' shaving mug.

Joseph's shaving mug is quite unique in that the inner cup is a tin measuring cup that once measured sugar and other ingredients most likely from Minnie's kitchen.  The cup holder is made of brass and is quite reminiscent of Russian or Turkish coffee holders.  It too, once had a handle which kept the filigreed rim and barrel body together, but now is gapped to accommodate the tin measuring cup.

It is possible the decorative holder once belonged to Joseph's father and grandfather who were immigrants from Bohemia, Czechoslovakia.  No question about the origin of the brush as it still has it's 'Made In USA' signature on the bottom.  It is a Pure Badger Ever Ready 300PBT lathering brush.  Made by the American Safety Razor Company and introduced in 1915, Joseph's brush was likely paired with a cake of shaving soap made by Safetee Soap Corporation, a subsidiary of  American Safety Razor Company.

Just in case you are wondering, the 'Bottom Dresser Drawer' and the dresser it occupies is a treasured Family Furniture Heirloom and along with it's matching 'Chest of Drawers' has more of Minnie's Memorabilia to share.  Who knew a 'Bottom Dresser Drawer' could reveal so much family history.

It is truly a 'Treasure Chest'!

June First...Harvest or June...First Harvest

 Which ever way I emphasize or punctuate the title of this post...BOTH are true and correct.  The only issue I have with 'June First...Harvest' is that I didn't get it posted on June First.
 

'June...First Harvest' is due to the unordinary amount of rainfall we had in the month of May.  Fortunately for our area...West Central Texas...the rain has filled our depleted lakes, ground water aquifers, and rain barrels with minimal flooding.  As you can see my Squash Guardian has a big smile on his not so scary face, and so do I for this early harvest of crookneck squash.

What a 'Glorious Morning'...or...'Morning Glorious'!

You decide...either way works for me!