Old gifts

I haven't been a very active blogger recently and it's not just because the weather called for outdoor work (according to the SMHI season map last weekend, we've had meteorological summer for a week now) but also other things that've gotten in the way. You should check out that map, it's kind of fun to see how the seasons in Sweden right now range from summer in the south to winter in the mountains in the north. But, anyway, I've got flower pics from these sunny summer days, but they aren't edited. Today I'm instead treating you to some different flowers, printed on fabric.

These are two fabric-clad boxes I got from an friend of my parents'. She was old by then and didn't do much embroidery so she gave me and my sis a few boxes of various sizes containing embroidery threads and a few tools. I have no idea how old they are, all I know is that I got them in the 90's and she was born in the 1910's so she'd had a long life to accumulate things in.

This little box above has a pretty fun floral design. The inside is lined with yellow satin and it has a stamp. Forgot to take a picture of that. I don't know if it was intended for embroidery floss to begin with or if it was repurposed for the sewing basket later. Haven't measured it, but it's about a 1 dm long.

The second box was big and flat like a (large) book. The old and stained wooden box is hinged and opens up to reveal compartments filled with embroidery threads on small bobbins. There was also a (silver?) thimble and the needlebook you can see below. The woman's name is written with a lead pencil on the inside of the needlebook.

I haven't used any of the threads. I don't even know exactly what most of them are (the blue skein on top of the bobbins are real silk, I know that much). It was a kind of treasure, getting all these colours and pretty boxes, so it's one of those things I save for something special. Or just save.

Too pretty -- and too special -- to use.