Magic Wands

I have blogged about 'Lavender Wands' before and also included a tutorial   Here:    'Lavender Wands - The Scent of The Summer'.  My Grandmother used to make 'Lavender Wands' and donate them for church fundraising sales.  She also used to find me pretty cotton fabric and lace to make little 'Lavender Bags'.  We have always had lavender growing in the garden, but never enough of it in my opinion.  Lavender Oil is a staple in our house, we use lots of it.  It is lovely at bedtime, I like it sprinkled onto my pillow, Euan likes it rubbed on his feet at bedtime.  A few drops is also very relaxing sprinkled into the bath.  The old Lavender Bush, that broke my fall the other night is a cutting I took from my Grandmother's house.  My grandmother lived in the house for 52 years.  They bought a house in Birmingham but then there was the War.  They got bombed out and could never afford to buy a house again, they had to rent.  When my Grandmother got ill and was hospitalised we had to give up her tenancy on the house.   I applied for tenancy with my brother and my then husband and we got it.  We moved in and it felt like truly being 'home'.  A couple of times I was able to bring my Grandmother to the house and and make her favourite lunch...'Grilled Trout Stuffed with Prawns'.  She found it quite emotional and tiring to be at the house but she was delighted it was still in our family.  There were so many happy, family memories there.  When she passed in 1997 the funeral left from the house and it felt right to everyone.
             The house was owned by a church.  In 2003, after we had lived there for about eight years I was given three months notice that the house was going to be sold.  Previously I was told by the Landlords it would never be sold and I could stay as long as I wanted.  So it came as quite a shock.  Now I have learned 'Never say never'.  We went to the auction and between us raised a lot of 'readies'...we lost it at auction for £1000 more than we could afford to bid!  It was tragic!  I shed many a tear.  I made a vow there and then to move out as soon as possible as I did not want to pay the new owners a penny!  I got my wish and we moved here, to the house we are in now.  The old house was empty for a good few months.  My grandmother would say 'it is not the bricks and mortar that make a home...it is the people in it!'  She actually would probably be more specific and say it was the 'Mother's job to make the home'!  I was sad about leaving the garden but managed to bring some of the most loved plants with me.  The Lavender struggled but after two or three years it took and now thrives. . . albeit in an awkward place!  It has totally obscured our garden path . . . lucky for me though, as it broke my fall the other night giving off a burst of Lavender scent as I squished it!   My other 'rescued' flowers thrive too.  They are a couple of weeks away from full bloom.  You see there is a lot of 'Magic' woven in to these wands.  I like to make some each year. 

Lavender Wands: The Scent of the Summer

The Lavender in the garden is almost in full bloom, the scent is absolutely gorgeous.  It reminds me of my childhood, making lavender bags and lavender wands.  I love Lavender.  We buy Lavender oil regularly for sprinkling on pillows and bed linen, we also use it on insects bites or for minor skin complaints.  It is a fantastic plant and I consider it to be another garden harvest.
Today I made my first Lavender Wand of the year.  This is another craft that my Grandmother taught me to do.  She used to make them as a child.

You need an odd number of freshly picked lavender stems, that are dry and just before the flowers are in full bloom.  I used nine.  You also need some scissors, cotton, a needle and about a metre of ribbon.

Remove all of the leaves from the stems and bind together just under the flowers.

Carefully bend the stems over the flowers, try not to break them.

Starting of can be a little tricky but you weave your length of ribbon around the stems, going under and over.

Until you have covered the length of the flowers.  Don't worry if Lavender flowers poke through, they look pretty.

When you get to the end of the flowers bind your ribbon around and stitch it securely.  Tie a bow to the stems.  The end of ribbon you started with may stick out, just gently use the needle to tuck it in out of sight.

I will be using my 'Magic' Lavender wand to help me sleep.  I am hoping to make a few more this year too.