Antique American Needlework Tools by Dawn Cook Ronningen

Antique American Needlework Tools by Dawn Cook Ronningen is the culmination of a lifetime's fascination with all forms of needlecraft and the tools women used to make their needlework masterpieces.

The book is encyclopedic in coverage, starting with the basic tools that date back many thousands of years--needles and thread.

from the chapter on sewing needles in Antique American Needlework Tools

Women created decorative storage for her tools. So, along with the history of pins from the earliest bone to industrialized manufacturing, Dawn covers pin storage including papers, boxes,  poppets, folders, discs, cushions, and rolls.

examples of sewing rolls and box storage

Chapters cover thimbles and thimble holders; scissors and cutting; bodkins, awls, and stilettos; sewing rolls, reticules, bags, and waist pockets; sewing sets including chatelains, baskets, and boxes; clamps; threadwork; hoops and darning; closures and fasteners; measuring, marking, patterns and templates.

crochet and crochet tools

Readers can learn the history of each tool in her chapter essay. The book is richly illustrated with 750 color photographs from Dawn's collection and from personal and institutional collections.

Some storage items were manufactured, like the thread holders in the page below. But I was most interested in the storage items made by women, often as fundraisers or gifts.

Textile storage cases were easy to make out of scraps. But women also used embellished perforated paper, ring needle books, wool and felt folders, cases made out of sea shells and nuts, and hollow bone or wood cylinder cases. Not only were storage cases made for needles and pins but for thimbles and scissors too. Portable sewing containers for multiple items included bags and pockets and baskets and chatelaines (a collection of tools worn on the body). 

examples of thread storage boxes

I asked Dawn to talk about her passion.

Nancy: How did you begin your collection?

Dawn: My collection began as a young girl with my first sewing basket. I have always been fascinated by what can be created with a needle and thread. Add some colorful fabric and the opportunities are endless.

From the simple to the complex the needlework tools themselves are also works of art. Be it folk art or fine art.   

Nancy: I found myself very interested in the handmade storage for sewing tools, such as needle cases, sewing rolls, and tool storage. Women could show off their creativity in making them, and I imagine that many were made for gifts and fundraisers. Can you talk about how today’s sewers can recreate these objects?

Dawn: Makers can recreate many of the items themselves with patterns we've created to compliment the book. They can be done by traditional hand methods or contemporary machine techniques. All stitchers have their roots in early stitching tools.                 

Nancy: I know you are a reproduction quiltmaker. How do you use these tools in your own projects? Why do you make reproduction quilts?

Dawn: My personal choice is handwork. I enjoy "setting a pretty table" near my work chair with antiques. Some[of the tools] I use, others I enjoy seeing. 

Nancy: What advice can you give to people who want to start their own collection of needlework tools?              

Dawn: I would encourage a new collector to start with pieces they can use and build their collection with pieces they love.

I hope you enjoyed learning more about antique American needlework tools! Learn more about Dawn, her blog Collector with a Needle, and her patterns at these websites:

Dawn has antique quilt patterns and more at her blog Collector with a Needle at
http://collectorwithaneedle.blogspot.com/

Visit Dawn's Etsy shop for reproduction quilt patterns and supplies, sewing pockets, and pin-holders:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/cwaneedleorder?ref=listing-shop-header-item-count#items

I received a free book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Antique American Needlework Tools
Dawn Cook Ronningen
Schiffer Publishing
$34.99 softcover
Size: 8 1/2″ x 11″ | 750 color & b/w images | 240 pp
ISBN13: 9780764355493

from the publisher:

Featuring exquisite examples from museums and private collections, including many rare items, this treasure trove explains and illustrates the history and beauty of American sewing tools. Exhaustively researched, it is the first publication to focus on the topic and shares the story of the American industries, innovations, and uses related to hand sewing and embroidery tools. Insights spring from well-documented primary sources like eighteenth-century American newspaper advertisements or a twentieth-century thimble patent. The book offers historical background, detailed descriptions, and photographs of needles and threads, bodkins and awls, chatelaines, hoops, lucets, and more. The strong link between women’s history and needlework tools is captured as well. Many one-of-a-kind handmade examples represent American subcultures and regional tastes. With more than 750 color photographs, this is an invaluable resource for historians, scholars, collectors, and embroidery and sewing enthusiasts.

Dawn Cook Ronningen is a historian, needle worker, and long-time collector of sewing and embroidery tools as well as antique textiles. She uses her needlework tool collection in her own stitching projects, focusing on historic techniques and designs. She lectures on her collections in the US and abroad, meeting and sharing information with embroiderers, quilters, sewers, and antiques enthusiasts.

The Rain Watcher by Tatiana De Rosnay: A Family Drama Unfolds In Flooding Paris

"Why did "just the four of us" sound both so cozy and ominous?" from The Rain Watcher by Tatiana De Rosnay.

On the surface, it was a celebratory family gathering. The patriarch of the Malegarde family, Paul, was turning seventy; he and his wife Lauren had achieved 40 years of marriage. Their children Linden and Tilia were joining them in Paris, France.

Except...heavy continual rains caused the Seine to rise to a record flood stage. Paul, a world famous arborist, suffers a stroke while his wife falls ill. Their daughter Tilia still struggles with PTSD from a horrendous accident that killed her best friends and left her with a limp after reconstructive surgery. She is in a failed marriage to a drunk. Her daughter Mistral is her one bright happiness. And Linden, a world famous photographer, had left home at age sixteen and can't tell his father he is engaged to another man.

Each character has their secret pain which they must face during this devastating reunion, and which is revealed to each other by the end of the story, showing their growth and resilience.

Linden has to keep the family afloat, visiting his father in the hospital while Tilia tends to their mother. He explores the flooded streets with his professional peer Oriel, camera in hand. As he revisits places from his past, all the pain and regret returns to overwhelm him in a flood of memories. The apartment where he lived with his beloved aunt. Places where he spent happy hours with his first lover before they were brutally torn apart.

Nature's destructive force is a constant presence in the novel. People who flee Paris and those who stay in cold and lightless apartments are all impotent to stop the advancing water. And the Malegarde family cannot stop the inevitable crisis that may break them apart

And yet it was also nature, in the form of a lime tree, that saved the child Paul, informing all his choices and activities throughout his life, and giving his children their names.

The novel is a love song to Paris, and for those who know the city will feel agony as the floods overwhelm. The city has faced recent flooding, the worse in fifty years.

For all the emotional and natural chaos going on in the novel, the events did not affect me as strongly as I would have thought. I would have liked more scenes played out in action and dialogue. Still--readers are told a story, a quite good story, much of which takes place in the internal lives of the characters. I liked the characters very much.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

The author's previous books include the bestselling Sarah's Key and an excellent biography on Daphne Du Maurier, Manderley Forever.

The Rain Watcher
by Tatiana De Rosnay
St. Martin's Press
Publication October 23, 2018
ISBN 9781250200013
PRICE $27.99 (USD)

Lessons From Lucy by Dave Barry: Finding Happiness in One's Golden Years

What could be better than combing Dave Barry's humor and the love of a dog? Lessons from Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog was a perfect read to refresh my mental health and adjust my attitude. I laughed out loud and I felt warm and squishy inside. 

Barry admits he's always been a 'dog person,' as have I. My childhood mutt Pepper and I loved each other. She followed me to school, sometimes even got into the school to show up at my classroom door. I would lay on the floor to color and Pepper would place her chin on the small of my back. I loved to stroke her long, soft, floppy ears.  For Barry, his childhood dog surpassed Lassie in heroism, for Mistral would eat the Brussels Sprouts Barry slipped to him during dinner!

Barry shares his dog stories and stories from his family life to illustrate the lessons Lucy has taught him about how to live.

I cracked up over so many things. He takes on Facebook and electronic devices, the horror of shellfish as "Phlegms of the Sea," white lies, hurricane preparation, teenage angst over appearance, and the difference between dogs and cats. Dogs feel guilt, even if they haven't done anything wrong; cats "have the morals of Hannibal Lecter."

The seven lessons are not profound or unexpected, but essential and wise. Barry even scores himself on how he has been progressing in trying to put the lessons into practice!

It's worth a try. I sure envy the happiness of old dogs. Our Shibas in their golden years impressed me with the smiles on their faces just enjoying the comfort of a thick foam bed.

I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog
by Dave Barry
Simon & Schuster
Pub Date 23 Oct 2018 
PRICE $26.00 (USD)
ISBN 9781501161155

Vintage WWI Sheet Music: America to the Rescue

Many WWI songs roused American pride to rally support for the war. 

Liberty Bell It's Time to Ring Again by Joe Goodwin and Halsey K. Mohr, 1917, with illustration by Barbelle, was a call to arms. Listen to Arthur Field's recording here, which reached No. 5 in the hit song charts.

You have rested, Lib-er-ty Bell, for a hundred years and more,
End your slum-ber Lib-er-ty Bell, ring as you did before,
It's time to wake 'em up, it's time to shake 'em up,
It's a cause worth ringing for:

CHORUS:
Lib-er-ty Bell, it's time to ring again,
Lib-er-ty Bell, it's time to swing again,
We're in the same sort of fix, we were in seventy-six,
And we are ready to mix and rally 'round you like we did before, oh!
Lib-er-ty Bell, your voice is needed now,
Lib-er-ty Bell, we'll hear your call, one and all,
Though you're old and there's a crack in you
Don't forget Old Glor-y's back-in' you,
Oh! Lib-er-ty Bell, it's time to ring again.

Once you rang out, Lib-er-ty Bell, as we watched Old Glory wave,
You have made us, Lib-er-ty Bell, Land of the Free and Brave,
It's time to sing again, it's time to ring again,
For the cause you've got to save:
CHORUS

****

When Yankee Doodle Marches Through Berlin There'll Be a Hot Time in the U.S.A. by Andrew B. Sterling and Arthur Lange, 1917, illustrated by Stammer, is another example of American surety of victory. 

The whole population of the big French nation 
Were lined up on the street one day. 
Ev’ry flag was flying, ev’ry heart was sighing, 
For the Yankee boys were coming down that way. 
When suddenly a Yankee voice cried out. 
They could tell it was a Yankee when they heard the shout. 

Refrain: Here they come, here they come, 
And the drums are beating there’ll be no retreating 
They’ll be there, they’ll be there. 
For there’s a victr’y in the air. 
And they’ll win, yes they’ll win. 
Then they’ll flash the news to old Broadway, 
And when Yankee Doodle marches thro’ Berlin 
There’ll be a hot time in the U.S.A. 

Just picture them dashing, 
when the news comes flashing, 
“We’ve hauled the Kaisers ‘Black Flag’ down.”
To set bonfires burning for the boy returning 
From the trenches to his little old hometown. 
“Just take a look,” they heard that Yankee cry, 
“Then go tell the Kaiser he can kiss himself goodbye.”
Refrain

****

Just Like Washington Crossed the Delaware General Pershing Will Cross the Rhine by Howard Johnson and Geo. W. Meyer, 1917, contends that America will "tell the world it simply has to be" that they will preserve Democracy. Listen to a recording here.

Looking backward through the ages, 
We can read on hist’ry’s pages, 
Deeds that famous men have done, 
We are told of great commanders 
Wellington and Alexanders, 
And the battles they have won. 

Take our own great Revolution 
That began our evolution, 
Washington then won his fame, 
Today across the sea, 
They’re making history, 
The Yankee spirit still remains the same. 

Refrain: 
Just like Washington crossed the Delaware, 
So will Pershing cross the Rhine, 
As they followed after George, 
At dear old Valley Forge, 
Our boys will break that line. 
It’s for your land and my land 
And the sake of Auld Lang Syne, 
Just like Washington crossed the Delaware, 
Gen’ral Pershing will cross the Rhine. 

Verse: 
There upon the roll of honor, 
Ev’ry one the soul of honor, 
We find heroes of the past, 
Like the ones who’ve gone before them 
To our native land that bore them, 
They were faithful to the last. 
As they fought for Independence,
You and I and our descendants
Must preserve Democracy,
In God above we'll trust.
Our sword shall never rust,
We'll tell the world it simply has to be.
(refrain)

****

Not all the songs were rallies and calls to arms. A real heartbreaker, War Babies by Ballard McDonald, Edward Madden, and James F. Hanley, 1916 has a cover photograph of children in front of a destroyed village. Al Jolson sang it at the Winter Garden. It amounts to an anti-war song.

Forsaken, alone, amid tumbled down stone, ‎
In the dust of what once was a home, ‎
Two little tots lay, as the close of the day ‎
Cast its shadow o'er Heaven's blue dome, ‎
From afar in the gloom came the cannon's dull boom, ‎
The roar of its shells filled the air, ‎
And it lulled them to rest tightly held ‎
to the breast of the mother who died for them there 

Little war babies, our hearts ache for you,‎
Where will you go to, and what will you do?‎
Into a world full of sorrow you came,‎
Homeless and helpless, no one knows your name.‎
Gone is the mother love tender and true,‎
Gone is your dead daddy, too;‎
But you’ll share in the joys
Of our own girls and boys,‎
War babies, we’ll take care of you

While sitting some night by your fireside bright, ‎
With the children you love and adore, ‎
Just let your thoughts roam to that tumbled down home ‎
That once stood in the pathway of war, ‎
As the vision appears, you can see thru your tears ‎
The two little tots all alone, ‎
Will you wait till they plead for the things that they need? ‎
Just suppose those two babes were your own 

Little war babies, our hearts ache for you,‎
Where will you go to, and what will you do?‎
Into a world full of sorrow you came,‎
Homeless and helpless, no one knows your name.‎
Gone is the mother love tender and true,‎
Gone is your dead daddy, too;‎
But you’ll share in the joys
Of our own girls and boys,‎
War babies, we’ll take care of you

A Fabric Challenge!

My weekly quilt group held a fabric challenge. Two of us choose a challenging fabric at a local quilt shop. People had to use the fabric in any kind of project. The variety of projects will amaze you!

Bev O saw rock houses in the design and embroidered faces and doors on the fabric

When our member Joanne proposed the fabric challenge the group was willing to give it a try. Joanne and I went to a local quilt shop to select a fabric. We worked with the shop owner to find a fabric with lots of color and something most would not have chosen. When the group saw the fabric many were perplexed about what to do with it! But as you will see, they figured it out!

Shirley W. made multiple projects including a purse, a candle mat, a rug mug

Shirley W. used every bit of her fabric in these projects!

Lucy L. made a placemat 

Shirley L. made a color wheel

Linda W. made a pillow case

Linda P. made notebook covers

Karen C. made a baby quilt

Joanne B. made an original applique design. Note the use of the doily!

Sue S. made a sewing machine organizer; it goes under the machine and had pockets for tools

Theresa N. made a small quilt

Theresa N. also made a table runner

Verna's table runner

Madeline made a steering wheel cover for her car!

Cheryl's purse

Betty C. saw gumdrops in the fabric and found this Gumdrop quilt pattern

Sharon made a mug rug to match her favorite mug

Jan used the fabric in a Christmas ornament

Lucy made several projects including this fabric pin

Shirley K's wreath shows how the fabric against white becomes light and airy

Shirley K. transformed a Christmas wreath pattern into a spring-like wreath

Ladies saw turtles, houses,or gumdrops in the print; I saw mushrooms. I searched for vintage illustrations of wee folk painting mushrooms for my design.

I made an applique based on the illustration. I used fusible and hand applique, machine quilting, and also used colored pencil.

Quilt by Nancy Bekofske

The ladies look forward to doing this again! What will be next year's fabric challenge?

Almost everyone in the group participated!

A Beautiful Place to Die by Sam Bigglesworth

Sam Bigglesworth's collection A Beautiful Place to Die demonstrates his ability to capture a character's pivotal moment. I often found myself invested in the characters to the point I wished their story continued.

The fourteen stories are quite diverse. Some are open-ended, some have a surprise or shock ending. Characters have a moment of life-altering clarity, lessons are learned, frailties uncovered, alliances made or severed. Shocking conclusions come in several of the stories.

The Watcher Woman is set in a dystopia where starving women living in urban decay encounter a callous, well-fed man.

The Soldier of Luxury is about a competitive, self-satisfied man trusting in the wrong things.

In The Wizard of the Forest a son watches his idolized father wield 'tree magic' but soon learns the limits of influence. A father teaches a life lesson to his daughter in The Coral Tailed Waffle Bird.

A dementia patient challenges her care workers in Where's Amit. A Beautiful Place to Die tells the heartbreaking story of a dying woman endeavoring to control her last days, cast out by a cold world.

The protagonist in The Dog Whisperer needs a purpose in life and adopts a rescue dog. The story recalled my own experience of adopting a troubled but lovable puppy mill rescue dog.

The writing is very descriptive and engages all the senses. Each story is illustrated with quality black and white art.

The stories are set in and around Manchester, England, where Bigglesworth lives.

I asked Bigglesworth to talk about his writing.

My writing career started in 2014 with a blog; in 2015, I decided to commit to writing fiction long term. 

Towards the end of the year, after a few online courses and a great deal of time writing, I self-published my first novella, a character based comedy about one man’s love affair with nature, entitled ‘The Woods, The Jungle, The Sea’. It was inspired by experiences I had visiting remote parts of Patagonia, Bolivia, and Colombia. It has sold one-hundred copies and received generally positive reviews. 

From that experience, I decided to wait longer and take each project through more edits before self-publishing it. I wanted to try writing in different voices, from a variety of characters' perspectives, and develop my writing style, so I began writing this short story collection.

I wrote this collection because I love stories which humanise people and show their flaws. Many people who appear unremarkable from the outside have remarkable stories to tell. Pain and growth are common to all our lives. 

It began as 23 stories, then I picked the very best fourteen stories of those and polished and re-wrote them until I was proud of them. Add a set of illustrations from Henry Boon and editing advice from a professional editor and we have something really special that I am very proud to show the world.

Some of the stories are literal, but most of them have a hidden deeper meaning which take a little thought to understand. I really hope you enjoy them and I would love to hear what you thought and how you interpreted the stories!

I received a free ebook from the author in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Find A Beautiful Place to Die at Amazon for $2.99.

Whimsical Wool Applique by Kim Schaefer

Many of my friends LOVE wool applique. When I saw the cover for Kim Schaefer's Whimsical Wool Applique I loved the cheerful and bright flowers and knew my friends would, too.

Whimsical Wool Applique cover

Kim offers seven quilt projects and 50 blocks, all with complete instructions and color photos of each block. Along with her whimsical flowers there are blocks for birds and butterflies, bugs and bees, a snail and caterpillar.

Whimsical flower by Kim Schaefer

On the lower left side of the cover photo is pictured Garden Whimsey, a 32 1/2" x 40 1/2" quilt made with 6" x 6" flower blocks.

Her second project is Sweet Tweets, a wall quilt 36 1/2" x 12 1/2" with a line of six birds, including the one pictured below.

Bird from Sweet Tweets by Kim Schaefer

Snug as a Bug, a 22 1/2" x 32 1/2" wall hanging, features garden denizens with a caterpillar and butterfly, dragonfly, bee, ladybug, and snail, all too cute to resist. Schaefer captures a 70s Mid-Century vibe in her designs.

Bloomin' Beauties, 28 1/2" x 22 1/2", has six floral blocks and a vine leaf border.

Enchanted Garden, below, is 33 1/2" square and includes nine floral blocks with a traditional vibe.

Enchanted Garden by Kim Schaefer

A small one-block project that measures 12 1/2" square is Ring Around the Bluebell, a nice size for beginners. Another good beginner project is the Flower Power Pillow, 14 1/2" square, with nine daisies.

Every one of the fifty blocks has its own page with the pattern and close-up details of the embroidery used to finish the block. The blocks are fusible applique and the embroidery makes them really pop. My wool applique friends enjoy the embroidery part of their projects.

Visit Schaefer at Little Quilt Company and see her other books and patterns at
http://www.littlequiltcompany.com/index.htm

I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

WHIMSICAL WOOL APPLIQUÉ: 50 Blocks, 7 Quilt Projects
Kim Schaefer
C&T Publishing
Book ($24.95) eBook ($19.9
ISBN: 978-1-61745-655-8
UPC: 734817-113010
(eISBN: 978-1-61745-656-5)

About Kim from the publisher's website: 

Kim Schaefer began sewing at an early age and was quilting seriously by the late 1980s. Her early quilting career included designing and producing small quilts for craft shows and shops across the country.

In 1986, Kim founded Little Quilt Company, a pattern company focused on designing a variety of small, fun-to-make projects.

In addition to designing quilt patterns, Kim is a best-selling author for C&T Publishing. Kim also designs fabric for Andover/Makower and works with Leo Licensing, which licenses her designs for nonfabric products.