Pages

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

String, and other odds and ends

Oh my goodness! I have four, maybe five new followers...and all at once! Thank you! Could it be that adorable little mouse with lint in his little whiskers? :) Whatever the reason, I appreciate you very much!

Got an update here on my ball of string...
2019
Can you believe this is every string off every bag of animal feed we've bought since moving into our little log cabin here in the woods, in 1989.  


2015
Can't help but smile and think about mama every time I add a string. You know how mamas are.

Way back when the string ball was about the size of a wad of gum, I was proudly showing mama and telling her my plan to save every string. She said, with a serious voice, "Well, I don't blame you. You never know when you might need a little piece of string".  That makes me laugh, and makes me miss her.



Pretty dumb of me not weighing or measuring the ball. It 's hard to tell much difference looking at the pictures.

Anyhow, been busy in the sewing room trying to get things made before the next craft show in November.

Thought a few little girl's pinafores from this old pattern might sell good again...

but what tattered, ragged old pattern pieces. (have two of these patterns)...
So I made a folder from an old feed bag (whatever would I do without those feed bags :)) anyhow I pulled out every pattern piece, pressed them with a warm iron then put each piece in numerical order and in the folder! That was more fun than sewing!

and speaking again of figs...
one more ripe one hiding near the top. Surprisingly, the fig tree put out a second crop...
 which I doubt will ripen before the first frost.

Guess that's about it. Oh, from the teeny tiny pantry window...





Hope to be back here real soon.

Love,
Henny

40 comments:

  1. Hi Henny- your having good success with your Fig Tree- you must have what is termed "a Green Thumb". Regards. KEV.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Kev. I think most of it is just luck. :)

      Delete
  2. That fig reminded me of my grandma's fig tree behind her house. My mom used to make fig preserves with figs off that tree. The house has been sold now, but I imagine that it is still there. Love your string ball...our feed bag strings always used to end up on the ground until a big pile and then thrown away. Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Terri. Fig preserves are so delicious. Maybe one day this little tree will give us enough to make preserves. Thank you. You have a great week too!

      Delete
  3. Love your pantry room window curtain! Don't you ever use your string like for hanging up herbs or different things? Nancy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Nancy. No, I just want to see how big the string ball will get. :)

      Delete
  4. Pinafores, what a great idea to make. I don't think I have seen those in craft fairs we have had around here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Betsy. Pinafores used to sell good at the Wake Forest Farmers Market. I sold there for a few years. There were lots of home schooled girls there, so bonnets and aprons sold really good too.

      Delete
  5. I also have a string ball, but not that big! Then there is the shoebox of various wire lengths. You never know when you might need a piece of wire! Phil

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Phil. Oh, I save pieces of wire too. Keep them in my work basket. I am always needing a little piece of wire for something. :) Thank you.

      Delete
  6. I never thought about saving the string from feed bags. That ball is impressive!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Lady Locust. Thank you. It's just a fun thing to do.

      Delete
  7. I have never saved string except for the red string from my cat food bags; thought I might use that coarse thread for decorative stitching on something. My mom saved string, but she kind of did it on the sly. Saving string is kind of a symbol of the Depression-era through which they lived. I think the world would be better off if we all saved more string. I love your pantry window.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Folks used to save bits and pieces of everything...little scraps of fabric made quilts. Wish we all were more like that. Oh, the red string! I have saved some of those too. In fact, there are a few tied in the big white ball. That red string is too nice to throw away. I have a few old wooden spools full of some I saved. Thank you.

      Delete
  8. That's quite a feat to save that much string! I never thought to do such a thing. Now, I may have to, lol! Great idea for your pattern storage, it is sometimes more fun to organize than to actually get busy and create! I actually have to be organized to get started on a project. I need to dust off my sewing machine, now that winter is really here, ha! May the Lord bless your efforts and all the beautiful things you make to sell :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Marilyn. It is fun to organize. I love doing things like that. Saving string just a fun thing to do. :) Thank you Marilyn.

      Delete
  9. The string made me chuckle..I have a ball of
    string..about half that size..and it's made up
    of the string that pheasants are tied together
    with to make up a brace..so it's about 18inches
    to start with..quite thick to..it's usually
    orange in colour or sometime pink..Yes! Pink! :).
    AND..It's only the four months of the shooting
    season..!
    And..the question is always asked...
    "How long is a piece of string"?

    Figs..Adams favourite fruit he gave to Eve,
    Mine to..love them..They were on special over
    up the supermarket last week..4 for 50p..(64c).
    Figs are high in natural sugars, minerals and
    soluble fibre and are rich in minerals including
    potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron and copper...!

    Just getting light over here, clocks went back an
    hour last Sunday, lighter in the morning, though
    darker earlier evening time..wish they'd just leave
    the clocks alone..
    So..I'm off for another lemon tea, Fudge's been
    round for his saucer of milk and a little pheasant..
    HeHe! Naughty boy.. Love him to bits..!x
    ✧・゚: *✧・゚:*(*❦ω❦)*:・゚✧*:・゚✧ ✧・゚: *✧・゚:*(*❦ω❦)*:・゚✧*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh! Dear! Me! HeHe! So sorry....
      Adam did'nt give Eve a fig did he..
      No! It was supposed to have been an apple..! :).
      Think l was getting confused with their
      dress wear..after eating the apple..! :o).

      Just to make up for my mistake...
      At what time of day was Adam created?
      A little before Eve.

      Did Eve never have a date with Adam?
      No! It was an apple.

      Where is the first math problem mentioned in the Bible?
      When God told Adam and Eve to go forth and multiply..Amen..! :)

      Delete
    2. Hey Willie. How neat that you save string too, and from pheasants being tied together. That sounds so strange to me. You know, when you said that about Adam and the fig, it sounded right to me, but yes, it was an apple, and they wore a fig leaf. Those jokes crack me up! How do you always have such funny jokes! Thank you! I've been enjoying a cup of green tea with honey in the afternoons. Does that sound horrible??

      Delete
    3. I crawl out of bed at about six every morning..
      Bathroom, switch on PC..Then l go down to make
      my lemon green tea..with honey, and slice of
      lemon...Nothing horrible with that...! :).

      In the Garden of Eden, As everyone knows,
      Lives Adam and Eve, Without any clothes.
      In this garden, Were two little leaves,
      One covered Adam's, One covered Eve's.
      As the story goes on, Never the less to say,
      The wind came along, And blew the leaves away.

      Delete
  10. Great idea to re purpose a feed bag. It turned out nice.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Kristina. I do like my feed bags. :) I will be back to visit. Thank you.

      Delete
  11. I haven't sewn anything for years and years, but I used to sew a lot as a teenager and you brought back memories of ironing the pattern pieces! I can never get the feed bag to pull open properly, so I always end up cutting it! -Jenn

    ReplyDelete
  12. The pantry window curtain is so nice, did you make it? I love your story about the ball of string and your mama because it's something my mom would say, too-- in a genuinely serious voice! Oh, that woman keeps everything. But I get it, she comes from a world of lack... And the truth is, sometimes the string or bag or paper packaging is indeed pretty. I like to go the stores and gawk at the packaging, actually, but I don't buy it because I don't need 15$ soap. Oh and it had to be the mouse that brought forth the new followers, you're so right! Enjoy your pinafore-making-- the pictures from the pattern look wonderful. As do those figs...very curious to know what they taste like. Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
  13. You have figs in the fall and we have figs in early summer. Hmm, I think I will look into what varieties produce in the fall because it sure would be nice to have more figs! I love your Mama memories, Henny. She was wise, because you do never know when you’ll need a piece of string, do you!

    ReplyDelete
  14. 😂 How do you make a ball of string endearing? I don't know, but you did it!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Love the story of the string ball, and how it conjours up happy memories of your mama. Something so small, can trigger something powerful in the hearts memory. Love that little pantry window and the curtain is so pretty. Did you sew it?

    ReplyDelete
  16. That was a fun memory of your Mom and the ball of string. It reminds me of something my Mom would say too. My grandma saved every single string and also rubber bands. She had a ball of each.
    Love that sweet pantry window curtain. Have fun sewing the pinafores, (if you ever get around to it.) Ha! They look so sweet.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  17. The ball of string is sweet. Your mama sounds like a salt of the earth type of woman.
    I think the little aprons will be adorable!

    ReplyDelete
  18. That sure looks like a lot of string.
    What a pretty curtain on your window!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Henny,
    I love that ball of string. It makes me smile. I always enjoy when you share about your mama. Keep doing so, please.
    xx oo
    Carla

    ReplyDelete
  20. Those figs will frost, you're right.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love your string ball! You were so smart to start it when you just moved in.
    Those are fun patterns.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Henny, you are a treasure. You take me back to those days of old.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I'll bet little girls' pinafores would sell very quickly at a craft fair, especially with Christmas coming. They make lovely gifts. I have 2 balls of string ( two different thicknesses). The grands know just where I keep them and whenever they need string they come up and help themselves. ( Right next to the string is my container of rubberbands. I keep those too!).

    ReplyDelete
  24. There is somewhere (maybe in Ohio) a really huge ball of string (2-3 feet in diameter) which is a great attraction for the town. Maybe one day you can give them a run for the money.

    I love the curtain for the panty. Both the design and the material. Much too nice for just a panty.

    It's hard to believe it's almost Halloween. Just this afternoon I carved my jack-o-lantern. Haven't done one in a number of years so when I saw them at Krogers this year I decided to give it a whirl. Messy but fun. Those little trick or treaters will have a cold go of it tomorrow night. Windy with highs in the 30's and snow showers! Much too early for that!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Just love your sweet blog...the yarn ball is such a unique memory thingie...and like your Mama said..who knows.. :0) .. always love hearing about the things going on in your sewing room. What a beautiful curtain topper in your little room.. Have a blessed day and Fall. Thank you for reminding me it is the simple things in life that make life so special. :0)

    ReplyDelete
  26. A fun post once again. I'm going to start saving string because too many times I've looked around and wasted time.
    Love your little pantry window. xo

    ReplyDelete
  27. You're obviously loved Penny. Look at all these comments. I love hearing about your string.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I have SIX posts of yours to read! I am so behind on my blog reading. Our fig tree did the same thing this year. I kind of wish we still lived in a world that used and valued string. Sigh.

    ReplyDelete

I love hearing from you. Thank you for your comment.