A Few Things - A Wonderful GiftWritten by Arleen M. Kaptur
Painters have graced world's cathedrals and great historic buildings with their talent with paints and brushes. Musicians bring their melodious notes to thrill our sense of hearing and stir us emotionally. Art in whatever form you find interesting is meant to bring new vision, broaden our horizons, and let beauty into our lives. So, too, with any type of needlework or craft projects. Whether you crochet, embroider, quilt or sew - you are bringing timeless art of needle and thread into today's world. Time has never dissipated wonder of what can be created with a few supplies, patience, and a lot of imagination and creativity. Craft projects follow suit and our homes, our holidays, and our everyday lives would be missing a wonderful personal touch if these "projects" were never completed and especially shared with family and friends. Whether you use medium of needle and thread, felt, ceramics, clay, or whatever you desire, you embark on wonderful world of creativity. It is truly a God-given blessing to bring these few tools and transform them into articles to be used in your home as gifts, or passed on for generations as heirloom treasures. Many times our lack of experience makes us believe that no one will ever treasure or even hang on to what we make - not so. A hand-knitted sweater will always be a bit softer and warmer, a hand-made quilt so much more comforting, and those Holiday decorations will always be lovingly displayed for now and far into future. Any artist is never truly satisfied with their end-products, even though they are true masterpieces. It's just a human trait - to expect more from ourselves even while others marvel at what we have accomplished.
| | Review of Felco prunerWritten by Robert Martin
The following article is listed in its totality athttp://www.frostproof.com/felco-review.html The total article follows here: The following is an article written by Robert B. Martin, Jr. of Pasadena, California. Robert wrote this article for Rose Parade Newsletter. Robert is also Editor of American Rose Society Quarterly Rose Exhibitors' Forum. "Of all of tools of Rosarian most important are pruning shears. The purchase of pruning shears is not a place to cut corners or attempt to save money. Good pruning shears can last nearly a lifetime and viewed in terms of their years of use, they are quite inexpensive. They also make a nice Christmas gift for your favorite Rosarian Although there are other pruning shears of value on market, a survey of Rosarians will reveal that by far most preferred pruning shears are those manufactured by Felco. Felco is a Swiss Company that has set standard for professional pruning shears for more than forty years. Their line of shears is, however, so extensive that considerable confusion exists as to differences between each model. The purpose of this article is to set forth in detail entire line of Felco pruning shears and related products. Pruners Felco #2 Pruner . The Felco 2 is usually called "original" there being no explanation I have uncovered of why there is no Felco 1. They have a replaceable, precision ground forged cutting blade, with sap groove and soft wire cutter. The handles are a tough forged alloy, which are easy to grip; rubber shock absorbers between handles cushion impact of cutting. When not in use handles are held closed by a locking mechanism on a pivot bolt. The pruners are 8 1/2" in overall length and sell for $30.00 and up. Felco #4 Pruner . The Felco 4 is often called "basic pruner" and is basically a stripped down Felco 2 without locking mechanism or shock absorbers. The pruners retail for $26.00; small cost savings is clearly not worth difference in features. A more economical stripped down model is Felco 5 described below. These economy pruners are obviously designed for large scale operators and make little sense for a serious Rosarian Felco #5 Pruner . The Felco 5 is down-scale pruner in line containing little more than replaceable cutting blades. They are 9" in overall length and retail at "bargain" price of $19.50 and up. Felco #6 Pruner . The Felco 6 is a smaller scale pruner with shorter blades which is good for those with smaller hands; they also allow more precision pruning of miniature roses. The pruners are 8" in overall length and sell for $30.00 and up. Felco #7 Pruner . The Felco 7 is top of line shears with all features one can imagine. The blade design is angled for close pruning; there is also a sap groove and a wire-cutting notch. The handles have an ergonomic design with little curves that fit well in hand. Of particular interest is a rotating lower handle that is said to allow fingers to move naturally, reducing hand fatigue and chance of blisters during prolonged pruning. Personally I find action of rotating angle to be odd and recommend that buyers actually test shears in their own hands before pruning. The pruners are 8 1/2" in overall length and sell for $42.00 and up.
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