King Scarface...

As always, once I see the photographs of my "finished" pieces, I notice things I'd like to fine tune. Such is the case with my latest spool animal..."King Scarface". My original plan was to create a lion that I'd name "Aslan" after The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe stories. Then, I learned about an extraordinary, legendary, wild lion and changed my plans.

My spoolie looks just a bit too "happy", so I'm going to fine tune the nose and mouth area on him, as I add more black fur into the top of his head. Of course, a king needs a crown, so my little lion has one, too.

King Scarface from the Masai Marah Reserve

This is what the real King Scarface looked like. Rather than try to tell you what was so extraordinary about this lion, I'm going to quote the words written by the people who knew him best on the Maasai Mara Reserve:

"The legend Scarface, the king of the Savannah and ruler of the Maasai Mara Reserve, killed 400 hyenas and 130 lions and controlled an area of ​​400 square kilometers. He had 900 lions under his command. He is also considered the only lion who was able to kill an adult hippopotamus in a single battle and expel crocodiles from his reserve because they preyed on a young cub. In 2012, Scarface got into a fight with a lion called Marsupial, who was 3 years younger than Marsupial and bigger than him. Everyone thought that Scarface would lose the fight. Scarface was injured in his foot, but he emerged victorious and kept Marsupial’s head for two weeks before throwing it away. In 2016, he and his brothers Sekiu, Hunter and Murami got into a fight with 6 lions and killed 2 of them on their own. A few days before his death, Scarface walked several miles back to his home and birthplace. On his way, the lions gave him food instead of attacking him. This is unusual in the animal world, but Scarface broke the rule and gained great respect from everyone. He also did not… A cat attacks a human being and is announced dead after a sad roar from the lionesses. He was buried by the National Geographic team in honor of his legendary life, the lion who was only defeated by death. This is from my report and personally I followed his life until his death." - Writer unknown to me

If you'd like to see one of the last videos of this magnificent lion, you can click HERE to view it on Instagram. (I don't think you have to have an account to watch the video.) 

I consider my little spool animal a pale tribute to how wonderful King Scarface really was, but I will keep it to honor his memory.

Passing On Our Common Thread...

Today, I pulled a small selection of old buttons and family treasures from my collection to share with you.

The heart-shaped dish belonged to Handsome's Aunt Eula and it eventually became ours. Many of these buttons were from my grandmother's or my mother-in-law's button jar. I especially love the variety I've chosen to show you...different colors, textures and finishes.

Grandma is going to be 97 this year. She only recently moved into a nursing home, and she is still a prolific crocheter. (She's also still pretty feisty, as evidenced by her sly smile in this picture!)

When she gave me her button jar, she told me that most of the buttons had been taken off old coats and tattered dresses and blouses for future use...a recycler before it became fashionable! I know I'll use them some day, but I get great pleasure just sorting and handling them. (Remember my "Scrooge McDuck" reference in yesterday's post?) I love the uniqueness and character of the old buttons, and they'll eventually adorn handbags, ATCs and other garments.

My mother-in-law, Evelyn was a most accomplished needlewoman. All the women in Handsome's family were avid seamstresses and needleworkers. She sewed for her family and her home, and she loved needlepoint. I have a pair of framed needlepoint gamebirds that she stitched, as well as a beautiful bargello pillow.

Evelyn died the year that Handsome and I were married, but having these pieces - as well as using some of her needlework tools - evokes fond memories of her. I'm reminded that I am preceded by many talented women in my family. (This photo of her resides on the wall in my studio. It's nice to have her there when I work.)

My dish is sitting on a lovely crocheted doily. I'm not sure who made it, but I love its colors of pastel pink and ivory. You can also see the embroidered edge of a pretty little hanky. It also came from Aunt Eula's home. I assume that her mother made it for her, but it could also have been created by Evelyn as a gift to Eula. When you don't know exactly who created something pretty, it's fun to imagine who might have spent hours with needle and thread in hand. I love the fact that it's embroidered with the tiniest of perfect stitches. It's a real work of art.

One of these days I'll pull out the antique linens that were passed to me to share with you, but for today I hope you enjoy these few buttons and the other pretties.

One of the reasons I love owning these needlework pieces and buttons is because of my shared legacy with these talented women. I will enjoy and care for them until I pass them along to our daughters-in-law and granddaughters, along with the stories of these amazing women. I'll be honored to be passing on our common thread.

One final thing for today: We're lucky to be enjoying the start of what I hope will be a fruitful rainy season here in Florida. We've had a couple of years of drought, so the rains are welcome. My friend, Bonnie, shared this link with me. It's a Slovenian group called Perpetuum Jazzile performing an incredible version of Toto's 1980s hit Africa. In their performance, they begin by simulating the sound of rain with their hands. Click on the group's name above to go to the link, turn up your sound, close your eyes, and sit back and enjoy.