Friday, January 22, 2016

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






9 comments:

  1. Love Tammy! I just bought some in eBay!

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  2. Excellent choice for new 2016 club logo! Once again I learned reading your blog always a treat...so looking forward to this years club..Thanks for your great designs Tammy! Have a fabulous weekend, blessings!

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  3. Will be checking out the info on the club. Looks fun and do-able!
    I have several darners. One especially dear is a small gourd with my moms maiden name scratched into it. It was hers as a child (born in 1915). Will be checking out the book at the library.

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  4. Very interesting. My, you have a large collection!

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  5. I love your Friday topics. I have looked for darners for years. I guess in California people didn't worry to much about that. You have a lovely collection and I learn so much from you. Thank you so much.

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  6. You take the most beautiful pictures!
    Another wonderful collection.
    Hugs :)
    Lauren

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  7. I wish I had all four of those glorious projects but I feel extremely blessed to have one of them in my home!!!!!

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  8. I remember my Mom darning our socks.
    We didn't get new socks, always darned until they wore out again.
    I remember I would sit and watch her weave the thread to make a patch.
    You have a great collection of darners. The German one is beautiful.
    I have only one, the egg, and I still have some of my Mom's darning thread too.
    Who would think that some day they would be a treasure!
    Marilyn

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  9. Once again, wonderful and interesting information. Really like your new photo for your pinkeep club !
    Rose

    ReplyDelete