I remember watching 2 movies in the early 80's and haven't been able to find them since. One was about children and their step-mother. The stepmother was jealous because her husband would disappear and take a ball of gold yarn with him. She stole the yarn and found out that he was visiting his kids. She turned them into swans by throwing blankets or sheets over them but one of the brothers saved their sister by taking her blanket. She had to remain quiet and pick some type of plant or something to turn her brothers back.

The other one was about a girl who lived with her sisters and mother (?) and she had to go pick a specific type of flower. She went off and started crying because it was the middle of winter and this flower could not be found. She ran into a guy who gave her the flower and a ring to toss into the lake and say with a magic phrase to call upon him if she needed him again. It was something like 12 months of christmas or something.

Both movies, if I am remembering, had similar animation to The Last Unicorn... but again, I was a young kid.

Any help would be appreciated!

The first movie is a version of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Wild Swans" Maybe this one: Sekai meisaku dôwa: Hakuchou no ouji (1977) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0999910/)
The second movie is "Twelve Months": Sekai meisaku dôwa: Mori wa ikiteiru (1980) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0400900/)

You're welcome.