The Sunflower holds a very dear place in my heart--it was my very first Lollipop. Technically, it was my first 4 Lollipops - it came 4 ways, kind of like chili in Cincy! :)
I was teaching myself how to paint, and I couldn't decide which I liked better, so I posted all four up on CompuServe's Spinning Forum and the results were just about equal!

I painted several of each before I started numbering them. When I started numbering them I numbered each of the 4-ways separately. I painted 35 with 12 petals and speckles, 14 with 20 petals and speckles, 89 with 12 petals, plain, and 32 with 30 petals, plain. I stopped offering speckles after my first winter in business (1996) - I had to speckle them in the kitchen and it was tiring wiping speckles off of the surrounding counters, sink, windows, floor, etc! Speckling is a very messy business!

The Sunflower is the state flower of Kansas. It has grown in the southwestern US since at least 3000 B.C. Because its face always turns towards the sun, the sunflower represented the sun god in some Native American legends, and warriors would grind up the seeds and make the meal into balls to carry with them for a quick energy boost.

Inspired by folk art designs, the Sunflower's sides are decorated with small flowers, stalks and leaves. The Sunflower was available in either handspindle or threading/sley hook. All sunflowers were retired December 31, 1998.

Side view	Sunflower Threading Hook