"When I tell you something is dangerous, I mean it. And, I never forget the Victims"
T.J. Hooker
"Everyone can master a Grief but he who has it”
William Shakespeare
”I had given him a life not worth living, but I had also given him an iron will to live. This was a common combination on the planet Earth”
Kurt Vonnegut about his character, Kilgore Trout.

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Thursday Thirteen: old things still useful.

1. This is an old fruit box that has 13 old things and please ignore the two tiny new, toy replicas of old time irons.  The one on the right is in the count because it is Old.  It was used to iron the small ruffles on little girls' dresses in the south.
Though most of these really are quite common and known to crafty women from all over the world, I will tell about them anyway.  The spools I am showing you were from my mother's collection.  I can't bore you with all of her buttons but it might happen.  I collected buttons from like forever until a few years ago.  I collected all the bobbins and irons and the shuttlecock.


Since I'm feeling garrulous this morning, I'll get on with it.  Life gets fuzzy when you've been," Up too late one night, and up to Early the next morning.. zzzzz

This is the way that similar bobbins were used to make cotton rope line.  Think: Clotheslines in the old days, meaning my childhood.  And, maybe yours ;o)




Above at Wickie and By Pezzab

1 is a spool of thread (laying upon it's side) from the late 1800's or early 1900's.
2 is another wooden spool, not quite so old.
3 is a pink yarn filled bobbin for the shuttlecock to it's right.
4 is an early spooler for cone yarns (threads)
5 is a blue thread filled bobbin for a loom that made cotton material.
6 is the shuttlecock with bobbin in it.
7 is another spool about the age of the first one.
8 is yet another spool but from the 20's I think.
9 is behind that spool, and is another bobbin used in industry.
Image result for old bobbins from pre industrial age weaving machine
From Pinterest- note the little bare feet on the one boy.  This is a very dangerous machine!
10 is yet another wooden spool but this one held button thread.
11 is another  Industrial bobbin.
12 is that tiny iron used to press ruffles on little girl's dresses
13 is another much bigger wooden bobbin used in machines like the one pictured.  I'm appalled that children are still working in such dangerous places all over the Globe.

14 comments:

  1. Wow. These are very interesting. I'm not very crafty so this is not something I know much about. I wouldn't have been able to identify anything but the iron, I think.

    And that boy on the machine is frightening. I read that someone on Trump's cabinet wants to do away with the age requirements on work so children can stop going to school and go straight to the sweat shops. Scary stuff, that. I am hoping it just false news. It is hard to know anymore.

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    1. Hiya CountryDew. Yes, it's a frightening picture. And let's hope that is just a rumor about Trump's cabinet. It's not a new idea, by the way. It gets "tried on" every once in awhile. So, it floats in and out like a miasma .

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  2. So cool. My mom used to collect spools and bobbins.Thanks for sharing.

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    1. And thanks for your visit, Mia Celeste. You should see my sewing machines. ;-)

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  3. Very interesting. Those tiny irons are so cute. Women had it so much harder than we do. I am thankful for no ruffles to iron. Good to visit Zippi!!

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    1. And it's good to see your comment here, Paula.
      Women certainly did have a harder life before washing machines, vacuums, and refrigeration.
      Many of them in cities also had day jobs. Hard to think about it really.
      Glad those times are over for a lot of women!

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  4. Spool is a funny word and so is bobbin. I'm not appalled but sad that children and most people don't even know how to sew. I just darned my socks!

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    1. Oh, I hear you. It's an important skill for the thrifty now with money so tight. My girls all know how to sew, and some of them knit,too. Laura crocheted some beautiful things.
      Mother sewed all the time and hand sewed all my clothes when I was a baby. It was the War years, and sewing machines were scarce. Singer started making guns, or tried to.

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  5. The photo is by Jacob Riis, who included it in a book in 1890! He was a pioneer in flash photography and also using photos to raise awareness of poverty and child labor. You can look him up on Wikipedia.

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    1. Wow,Linda, thank you! I will do just that. As you know, child labor,in many cases, amounts to slavery around the world. These are odious practices that must be stopped rather than spread.

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  6. My MIL saved buttons off of everything, and must have collected many more. I have the 'Collection' as she put them in corked bottles and used them as door stoppers. I occasionally find a button I need in them.

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    1. That's what my mother, and her mother before her, did. I have a love of buttons but usually donate clothes with the buttons on so I've not got much except for my mother's collection. I did once buy, 25 pounds of buttons at a trade show, and that is hundreds of buttons! One of the twins makes beautiful felted items to sell at various shows, and has used my buttons for them.

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  7. Let's hear it for child labor laws!

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  8. Oh yes, Jeanne, we so need these things because even though I like Americans there is a segment of the population that is not above exploiting children, as they have shown when they establish ties with factories overseas that do so.

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I’m going through some stuff but I will peek in now and then and will be back when it’s over..