Mission San Juan Bautista (haiku, Bay Area Field Trip)

More than two hundred years

Since Ohlone and Yokut folk

Built for Spainiard's God.

How long since a woman's hand first began
to form this grinding stone?

~ ~ ~ 

Web Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Juan_Bautista

Buttercup Purse inspired by London

Wouldn't this regale dame have enjoyed
carrying my latest buttercup purse creation?

Hey, check out that cool little purse the grand lady is sporting!

No, that little bag is not original to the poster, which advertised the exhibit I so enjoyed on my recent trip to London (I talk about creating this  project and London through a sewists eyes, in my June Enchanted by Sewing podcast *). I hand-sewed this buttercup purse while traveling to and within England. This simple pattern was great for stitching on plane and train.

Historic clothing
detail inspired my pearl and glass beading design on my buttercup purse

I went to the In Fine Style exhibit just about the time I got to the beading part of the project, and found inspiration for my pattern there in the Queen's Gallery at Buckingham Palace.

I'll remember historic fashion inspiration from
my London trip, every time I slip this purse on,
pop in a mobile device and head out for a walk.

Back home now, I've been carrying this fun little purse on my daily walks. It's perfect for holding my coin purse, reading glasses and iPhone. I'm sure the regal lady in the poster, would have had enjoyed stowing her mobile devices  there as well:-)

Taking inspiration from historic designs keeps me, enchanted by sewing.

* Click here to look for pattern and exhibit links in the Show Notes for the June Enchanted by Sewing podcast 

Technicos Threadin' The Needle (Hand Sewing)

Co-Pubished with my Sewing Blog 

Me Encanta Coser/Enchanted By Sewing

http://MeEncantaCoser.blogspot.com

Bet you already knew that Thread the Needle is an old children's game, and also a dance step patterned after the game. I always get a kick from learning more about common events in daily life, by reading about old recreational pastimes. 

Though, in historical times, working with a sewing needle was probably about as typical an activity as other domestic tasks, I've never heard of a game called Wash the Dishes (though let me know if you've heard of one!). I'm guessing that's because dish washing is a more straightforward process. Hand needle threading has always been just ever so slightly challenging. And of course you often come up against it when you least want to deal with that finicky little task. These days we can typically change into another shirt if we rip a seam heading out the door, but only a generation or two ago, that might not have been an option. It was your day clothes or your Sabbath garment. So you quickly threaded a needle and ran up the seam. And it was just as important as it is today,  to get that thread into that needle eye quick-like-a-bunny.

As I've already mentioned in my post about threading a sewing machine needle, a little spit goes a long way. Yes, I lick the end of the thread (and I do wash my hands before I sit down to do this), but I also spread a little, well I just have to say it again - spit - over the eyehole of the needle. Just as in the case of the machine needle, the water molecules want to buddy up, and the thread is more likely to be attracted to the eye of the needle.

My other favorite needle-to-thread technicos include... beeswax. You can buy beeswax in the notions department, but I keep the stumps from the beeswax candles I buy from the farmer's market and use those. (I like to support those businesses because, and I know you know this too,  local honey promotes good diverse hive health, which is one of those save-the-planet kinda things. Agricultural mono-culture is a big concern for the future of my favorite fruits and vegetables.) Beeswax stabilizes the thread and makes it easier to push through the needle - less fibers on the end of the thread to push against that tiny needle eye.

Also I always make sure to cut the end of my thread at an angle. That makes a point that slips through more easily. I learned this from the same Viking Sewing Machine dealer who taught me the spit trick!

These are the tips that keep me in stitches. 

About.com has needle threading tips, including - but not limited to - those I use
http://sewing.about.com/od/beginner1/tp/needlethreading.htm

Definition
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thread-needle

Dance Description and cool wood cut illustration from Webfeet
http://www.webfeet.org/eceilidh/dances/thread-the-needle.html