Babies, Bandages, and Broideries

 

I think in the 1970s that when one would order something...a sewing pattern or magazine, the company would send a free stork embroidery scissors.

The scissors were cheap and I didn't enjoy using them.  I actually prefer using a baby manicure scissor when I sew.  The blunt ends help prevent me nipping the fabric by mistake.

Beth was telling me about the origin of stork scissors.  I had never heard this before...or I forgot it.😐

Apparently midwives used stork scissors in the 19th century---but they were used as clamps not scissors.  The clamps were used to stop the blood flow to the umbilical cord in a baby.  I found a few photos online.  

See that little pocket above.  The inlay is to accomodate the other side of the stork's body:

The folklore around storks and babies may go back as early as the Ancient Greeks.  There's lots of different stories on the internet and I won't enthrall you with all of them.  Here are some good links:  BBC,  Live Science.

Were you ever told about the stork delivering babies?  We weren't but we knew enough from popular culture.  When my kid brother was born, there were a lot of stork cards sent. 😄

Do you have a pair of stork scissors?  Do you use them a lot?

Have a safe and happy day!

Flower Friday: April 17, 2026

 

Happy Flower Friday!

Carolyn shared her pretty daffodils!

Denise's tulips and azaleas:

Our walks at the park produced two flowers.  I could identify because Sue taught me how to use the google thing on my phone. It looks like this:

Narcissus poetic:

Virginia Bluebells:

Have a safe and happy weekend!

Tuesday's This and That: April 14, 2026

 

Greetings and welcome to another Tuesday's This and That!

In case you need a new project..do you know that Pellon (as in interfacing, etc) and thermoweb both have free patterns on their websites?  I haven't finished looking through these but here are the project pages: Pellon and Thermoweb.

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Last week I spent time correcting a mistake.  I had cut much of  the fabric for my next project and realized last Monday I mixed up my fabric cuts.  Fortunately, I had enough fabric left to correct it but it took most of last week.

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I think this late 19th century quilt feels springy!  

What do you think?

Have a great day!

Flower Friday: April 10, 2025

 

Hello flower friends!

After a cold week, I'll likely be working in the garden this weekend!  A lot of parts of the country seem to be dealing with roller coaster temperatures and we are no different.  We hit 80 one day and this week, the temps were down to below freezing.

My neighbor called to borrow some clothespins.  She had to cover her little fruit tree from the freeze.  This photo is from faraway...

because Lucky was afraid of those flapping ghosts.  After we walked past, he kept turning around to make sure the ghosts weren't following us.  😄
 

Some flowers have suffered in the cold and some are blooming despite old man winter.  Louise was happy it was warm enough for her daffodils to bloom:

My tulips have been eaten up by bunnies or possibly deer.  The foliage is down to the ground :(  My neighbor Helene had a nice tulips blooming:

Denise's Bartlett pear tree.  This is the nicest it's ever looked until the freeze.  It's still pretty bu fading a bit now:

This weekend will be warmer so I'm looking forward to getting out in the garden!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday Catch Up

 

We had a nice but quiet Easter.  It was just four of us but it was a sweet time.  Lucky enjoyed visiting everyone with the same request:

"Got ham?"

I knew it would be a busy week because of family appointments and then my brother's blood pressure spiked yesterday as well.  He is okay for now after a visit to the Emergicare clinic who also got him an appointment with his GP in the afternoon.  The BP dropped a little and a bunch of tests were done.  We'll find out more in a day or two.  His health is really worrying me.

Through the months of 2026, I've only finished one quilt top.  It took 3 months which was silly since it was a very simple pattern. I haven't had much "me-time" and I'm getting up earlier so that I can spend a bit more time in the sewing room before I'm running around.

I haven't used my seam ripper because I havent' actually been sewing.😏😏

I'm spending time in the sewing room cutting fabric for upcoming quilts.  I have about 4 on my list I would like to do.  If I get pieces all set up, I can run up in the sewing room and just sew when I have free time.

For that reason and because I hope to do more gardening, I'm not using the machine.  I'll probably take my sewing machine in to Bill's (sew machine man) for a spa treatment.  I try to have the done at least 2x a year.

Well I'm off to do more things in the sewing room.  You have an awesome day!

Hankie Holder Revisited and Busy Lizzies :)

 

I was sick last week and didn't post much but Sue and I texted after the Hankie Holder post (here).

Sue was inclined to believe the trouser bags actually were for shoes.  Hey Sue...

A simple draw string makes all the difference and here on Etsy there was this piece:

Sue also sent a photo of her Hankie bag:

Sue also sent photos of her Romper Sewing Bags.  These were popular in the 1930s and 1940s...patterns are sometimes featured in modern books.  

1932:

One of Sue's:

Patterns were often swapped or shared during the Depression.  Here's a 1935 blurb from a newspaper in Nebraska.  It also relays the value of feedsacks (and the importance of the condition) during this time:

Also from Sue:

I happen to be in love with these Romper Sewing kits and wrote a post about them here. and if you wish you had one, check Etsy.  The sewing kits are often listed incorrectly as "vintage romper clothespin bags".

 I love this particular image that Sue shared because the idea of a "Busy Liz" is so whimsical!  😃

Wishing you a safe and happy day!

Put on your Easter Bonnet...

 No Flower Friday today because unfortunately, I wasn't able to get photos for us.  So we are concentrating on the holiday and

EASTER BONNETS!

When we most of us were kids we wore hats (and gloves) when we when out with our parents...church, shopping, even sometimes restaurants. I remember there was always an Easter Bonnet competition at our local playground.  I didn't participate because I didn't have an old hat that I could decorate.  Apparently many areas still have the competition.

But there is something I miss with whimsical hats.  Here are some that amused me.  Which is your favorite?

My favorite--Maureen O'Hara's!

I like the netted tie!

Have a safe and happy Easter!