Thread Spools!

I first saw these charming little darlings shown here, posted by Kelli Nina Perkins. 

And so began a journey in patience, for first I had to bid on these adorable little antique spools, which I found on ebay.

and when they arrived, the Friday after Thanksgiving, I was very excited to get out all my yarns, ribbons, and shiny, sparkly threads …and start playing…

So many pretties… so little time!

and then I added…BEADS!

Aren’t they sooooo pretty? And fun to photograph, too!

 So now what do I do with them?  I didn’t really want to string them all… although that is quite tempting as they would be a LOVELY garland hanging from the tree, or a window, wouldn’t they?  (Which was shown by Kelli on her blog site).

 I think I need to get more spools… because I am seriously hooked now!  And I’d love to make a Christmas garland with these!

But time is running out, and Christmas will be here way too soon.  And they do take a goodly amount of time; keeping in mind that by the time you drop, roll and crawl… as that’s what I ended up doing half the time as I wound, dropped the thread spool, or the needle, or the bead… well you know.  But  oh…so fun!  And by the way, I used a beading needle, and Nymo (beading) thread.

 I decided to make them into ornaments, and came up with an idea using some lovely organza from my stash! This is how I incorporated it into the ornament.

 I cut a width of perhaps 2-3 inches (no measuring!!) and stuffed it into the spool center hole using the skewers I just happened to see in my drawer while looking for the big carving knife-sharpener on Thanksgiving. 

 The top loop of fabric is ideal for the metal hanger you can attach or I could add a cord, too, but I think it’s more elegant with just the organza. I also played with trimming  the bottom… and I kind of like the idea of a fluffy little skirt on this little beauty. I may cut it straight off… or not!  What do you think? 

 Does this project appeal to you?  Maybe you have a great stash of old antique spools somewhere.  And happily, I have pink, lime green, aqua, white (and more!) colors of organza handy.  Love it when I do not have to go out shopping for anything!