Woolies

Sometimes needlework can feel like this.

And sometimes it feels like this:

A coworker turned me on to the lost art of sailor embroidery (a.k.a. sailor's wool) a few months ago, but it slipped my mind until viewing some scrimshaws at the New York Historical Society. In honor of Labor Day, let's all take a moment to appreciate the amazingly capable, ruggedly masculine hands that laboriously stitched while on down time at sea.

If you have some time between picnics and beach trips today, head over to Vandekar antiques and check out page after page of amazing examples.