Wow! Fascinating Linen Facts From The Ground Up!

We have known for some time about the benefits of flax oil , flax seed and that linen was made from flax but had no idea just how involved that process was until recently when we came across the following interesting information. The fibers of the flax plant have been used to make linen cloth for over 8,000 years. The process go as follows:

• Harvesting involves pulling the whole plant from out of the ground and not cutting it as the roots contain some of the finest fibers.
• Retting is a two-week process where the harvested plants are taken and thinly spread out over a field so they can absorb the dew, rain and the heat of the sun, all of which rots the pith and loosens the fibers. The process is frequently referred to as "dew retting"
• Drying is the next step n the process where the retted plants are now placed on top of a frame that is referred to as a "kiln" and put over a low fire until they become as dry as tinder.
• Breaking this part of the process involved the dried plant stalks being beat by a "breaker" which has opposing wooden blades hinged at one end. The breaker breaks the woody fiber and loosens the finer threads.
• Scutching comes next in the process and this is when the fibers are held against a vertical board and they are then scraped with a "scutching paddle" which causes the woody pulp to fall off and leave behind long, glossy fibers.
• Heckling comes next, no not the verbal kind! This kind of heckling involves the long, glossy fibers being pulled through rows of iron spikes. It involves working from courser or larger and wider spaced teeth down to finer or smaller and closer spaced teeth in order to remove any remaining pulp along with the shorter and courser strands of fiber.
• Spinning is the next step in the process where the fine fiber is spun on a spinning wheel into linen thread which is then wound onto a spool or bobbin.
• Weaving this is the final step in the process and involves taking the bobbin or spool of thread and place it in a shuttle which is threaded back and forth through a linen loom in order to make the linen cloth.

It sure does give you a real appreciation for all of the work involved in the making of linen fabric. I know we will never look at a piece of linen without thinking about all of the steps that it took to make it.

There is a Flax Scutching Festival in Stahlstown, PA that demonstrates the practices that have been used for more than 200 years in the Ligonier Valley. The Stahlstown Festival is held the second Saturday and Sunday each September so if you are in the area at that time of year you might like to stop and investigate this fascinating process in person!

Social Media Optimization - Part 2

Here is a very brief summary of the next installment of Artfire's Social Media Optimization. The segment relates to micro-blogging sites such as Plurk and the popular Twitter .

The following are 5 steps to Tweeting greatness and are very similar to the one for blogging success.

• 1. Be involved.


• 2. Update frequently.


• 3. Have a goal.


• 4. Use all available tools.


• 5. Watch other tweeps.

If you are already a tweeting veteran then these are just reminders of things you already know.

Six steps to get your new Twitter account started.

• 1. Register - when you register use your studio name
• 2. Set up a Tweet schedule. Determine the amount of Tweets per day that you want to do.
• 3. Hit the forums. Here you can let other sellers know your Twitter information. Follow your favorite shops and post your Twitter name and information so others follow you.
• 4. Don't forget your widgets. You can add several different kinds of widget to your Artfire studio.
• 5. Find your audience. Find people who talk about things that interest you. Search Twitter forums to find discussions you can jump into and contribute.
• 6. Make use of the many applications. Some of the top applications are Tweet deck, Twit-seeker, and Tweet Later.

As we have said this is just a very brief summary but it will give you some idea of the helpful information that Artfire provides to its sellers. If you are interested in more information you need to check out Artfire, we have provided a link below. This is a community of very talented, friendly and helpful artistic sellers along with an unbelievably friendly, helpful and responsive administrative staff and technical staff. Artfire is The Place To Be!

We have provided our link to Artfire should you wish to check it out and sign up and join us!

Two Artisan Sisters Artfire Mavens Update

This week is Social Media Optimization (SMO for short) week at Artfire. The first installment of information is on blogging and what makes a good and interesting blog. Here is the list of 8 things to remember when you are writing your blog. Here is a brief summary:

• Be genuine. Write about things that interest you or that you love and enjoy.
• Be real. Add personal touches to let the readers know the person behind the blog.
• Have a goal. It can be as simple as "informing my readers" or "thought provoking".
• Use pictures. Even the most interesting newspaper articles have pictures.
• Keep it fresh. Update often with new an fun material.
• Keep it Brief. Usually around 500 words is a reasonable length.
• Preview your post. By doing this you can catch any errors and fix them before going public.
• Engage your readers. you can do so by things such as "part 2 coming soon" or"sign this petition" or ask for comments.

We always try to do all of the above but there is always room for improvement and we will certainly try to do so in the future.

Part 2 coming soon!

Two Artisan Sisters Selected As Artfire Mavens Marketing Team

Two Artisan Sisters is honored to have been selected as one of Artfire's Mavens Marketing Team. Members of the Maven Marketing team will be privy to insider information about all of the latest happenings at Artfire. The Mavens will be the folks to check with to keep up to date will all of the new developments on the Artfire site! Believe me there is always something new and spectacular going on at Artfire! It is definitely the place to be for both buyers and sellers alike!
This past week the administration has had there tech folks posting lessons for the seller on Search Engine Optimization or (SEO) for short! Wow! Talk about great information! Of course it has meant a great deal of additional work for Two Artisan Sisters as we have had to go back through all of our product listings in order to implement the suggested changes. Now we have to wait and see how long it take to pay off. Check back here often and we will let you know the latest developments!
This past week has been very eventful for Two Artisan Sisters as we have also opened our studios to the International market! Looking forward to finding new customers and friends in far away places!

MIDWEST REGIONAL MEETING OF A. C. GILBERT HERITAGE SOCIETY

Two Artisan Sisters was recently privileged to host the A. C. Gilbert Heritage Society at its Midwest Regional Meeting which was held here in Lafayette, IN at Faith Baptist Church Community Center. The A. C. Gilbert Heritage Society was founded in 1993 and is a not for profit organization of enthusiasts and collectors of his famous Erector sets, Mysto Magic sets, American Flyer trains and a list of other toys that you probably never knew existed.



The purpose of the society is to collect, preserve and promote A. C. Gilbert toys as well as to study the life of the man and his wonderful manufacturing company. In addition, members do research and network with each other to identify sets, their parts, the year of manufacture, original layouts, set inventories and the manner in which they were marketed. Some members are also Erector model builders.



Should you wish to join this group of enthusiasts, A. C. Gilbert Heritage Society member ship includes the following benefits:

• Quarterly newsletter packed full of color photos as well as black & white, articles, restoration tips, for sale and wanted ads.


• National membership directory


• Annual, fun-filled conventions with tables of Gilbert treasures for sale, auctions, lots of informal socializing and information-sharing. Some areas of the country also have regional meetings in addition to the annual meeting.

Annual Dues are $25.00

For More information:

Call: Ken Weinig, Secretary/Treasurer, 1-302-737-5537 or e-mail him at kweinig@comcast.net

To join, go to : http://www.acgilbertheritagesociety.com/ and click on "Join Us"

TwoArtisanSisters

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In Celebration of National Zipper Day Today

Did you know that today Tuesday, April 28, 2009 is National Zipper Day? I had no idea there was such a holiday until I recently read an article in the newspaper that pointed out that few people have any real appreciation for the lowly zipper which keeps their clothes fastened together. It's history records a slow birth and many years of rejection, but the zipper eventually found its way into everything from pencil cases to space suits to countless "fly" jokes.

One of the first zippers was actually invented by Elias Howe in 1851, but did not reach the market as Howe was preoccupied with the sewing machine that he had patented in 1846. Whitcomb L. Judson who loved making many different kinds of gadgets came up with a slide fastener for a friend who had back problems and could not tie his shoes. In August 29, 1893 he patented his new "clasp locker"These clasp lockers were used by the apparel industry by 1905 but were not consider practical.

The design actually used today which is based on interlocking teeth, was invented by an employee if Whitcomb Judson's, Swedish born Gideon Sundback in 1913 he patented the "hookless fastener". Later improvements were made in 1917 that became known as the "Separable Fastener."One of the first customers was the U.S.Army as it used the zippers on clothing and gear for the troops of World War I.

In 1925, B.F. Goodrich decided to market galoshes with Sundback's fasteners and the product became very popular, because these new galoshes could be fastened with a single zip of the hand. A Goodrich executive is said to have slid the fastener up and down and exclaimed "Zip 'er up," echoing the sound made by the clever device, hence the fasteners came to be called "zippers."

In the 1930's a sales campaign was started featuring zippers in children's clothing praising zippers for promoting self-reliance in young children by making it possible for them to dress themselves in the self-help clothing. The zipper beat out the button in 1937 in the "Battle of the Fly" when French fashion designers raved over zippers in men's trousers. The zipper was declared the "Newest Tailoring Idea for Men" and among it's virtues was that it would exclude "The Possibility of Unintentional and Embarrassing Disarray." Obviously, the new zippered trouser owner had not yet discovered the experience of forgetting to zip-up!

The next time you zip-up perhaps you will have a little more appreciation for this very useful invention that is so much taken for granted.

TwoArtisanSisters

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14 Uses For Coffee Filters

The following were sent to us from our Aunt who is always coming up with neat things that you never think about. The following are some terrific uses for plain old coffee filter that you can purchase at stores like the Dollar store, Dollar tree, or Big Lots for $1.00 and get 1000 of them.

1. They are great to cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave.
2. They are excellent to use to clean windows and mirrors. Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.
3. They are great to use to protect China, by putting a coffee filter between each dish.
4. They work great to filter broken cork pieces from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.
5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
6. They work great to apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter to apply and ball up one to polish with afterwards.
7. They work great to recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.
8. They are great to use to weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.
9. They are great to hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.
10. They work great to stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from dropping through the drainage holes.
11. They work great to prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.
12. They work great if you put a few on a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc. on them as they will soak up all of the grease.
13. They are great to keep in the bathroom as they make great "razor nick fixers."
14. Last but not least, they work great in a Coffeemaker!!

By making use of these terrific ideas for using coffee filters, you should be able to save enough money so that you can spend your money on more pleasurable things like something from Two Artisan Sisters studio!

TwoArtisanSisters

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