From Reines-Claudes to Ribbon

Here's the jar mentioned in the last post, filled with red & white ribbon that I find pretty and inspiring. According to its old label, in a previous life it contained reines-claudes, little greenish fruits that resemble plums. So it's gone from being a reines-claudes jar to a ribbon jar.

Do you know why some of the ribbons have numbers and initials on them?

If you're French, you probably know. For those of us who don't--in the past, women cut them into individual number or initial sets, then sewed them as labels on clothing and household linens. They came in small rectangular boxes and to this day are especially appealing in part because 1) the numbers and letters are simply elegant, and 2) the red is woven into, rather than printed on, the ribbon (as you can probably notice in the photo). It's the little details like this that always win me over. :)

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Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate it!