The Early Workbasket ~ Darners

Welcome friends and needle workers!

Hope you're enjoying a nice warm Winter's day!

Good news, I finally created a new club logo...

2016 Memberships are now available once again

 through Etsy for new & renewing members...

~ please click onto logo to check it out ~

After much thought, I felt it necessary to have a different

club logo bird each year...to prevent any confusion

for new members wanting to join!

So, 2015's logo has been retired...

What an adventure this past year was for me, 

starting a club not knowing if anyone would want

to join or not...I'll admit I was very nervous

at first but I quickly fell it love with 

kit making!

I consider it a true privilege and honor to

continue Little Sparrow Pinkeep Club for its  

 second year...hopefully, I can meet up to 

your expectations!

For new members who are considering joining,

I've put together a collage featuring the

 4 club projects from 2015... 

Kit No. 1 ~ "Token of Spring" Pinkeep Drum

Kit No. 2 ~ "Happy Hearts Rejoice" Pinkeep Nest

Kit No. 3 ~ "Harvest Waiting" Pinpillow & Acorn Fob

Kit No. 4 ~ "A Stitch in Time" Club Memento Pinkeep

 A huge thank you for all

the continued member support!  

~**~

The Early Workbasket...

Last Friday, we looked at early darning tins,

 so this week we'll be looking at

 various styles of darners!

Darners were owned by any needlewoman...

The most common of them all is 

the mushroom~shaped wooden darner.

Darners were popular in either lighter woods, or Ebony...

Sometimes they came with a removable 

metal band around the top.

  You would first insert the wooden darner into a

 sock and then place the band onto the darner...holding 

the sock in place while darning.

Darners for gloves have a rounded knob on either end, 

sometimes of different sizes...

Larger darners were mainly for stockings. 

They were made in many different materials, 

including glass, throughout the nineteenth and 

early twentieth centuries.

Of course, a simple mushroom~shaped wooden, 

or glass egg~shaped darner fulfilled exactly the same purpose, 

but an elegant Edwardian lady preferred sterling silver...

I love them all!

But, with all my many collections, I usually have a favorite...

And, this is it, the most wonderful wooden darning egg!

I think the writing is German?

It has a beautiful lacquered finished on it... 

Dated "1886"...that's 130 years old!

Plus, it has lovely ivory plugs on each end...

Such a clever way to hide the ends left from the wood lathe!

I found this beauty at Goldrush in 

Rochester, Minnesota many years ago.

The workmanship is outstanding!

This fun little darner was included in a 

sewing basket I purchased recently...

The original price was only $1.00!

If you are interested in a collecting darners,

this is a great collectors guide...

It is actually the only book I have ever found 

on the subject!

Softcover, 159 pages...full of great photos!

You could probable locate this book through

Ebay or Amazon.

Here is all the information...

Come to think of it...mine came from Ebay!

Hope you enjoyed today's topic...

Please join me again next Friday to see

what will be pulled out of the 

Early Workbasket!

~**~

Weekend Soul Food...

"Ask, and it shall be given you;

seek, and ye shall find;

knock, and it shall be opened unto you"

Matthew 7:7...KJV

~**~

Enjoy a fun filled weekend enjoying what

fills your soul to the top!

Kindly, Tammy