Monday, September 16, 2013

My Museum

The always adorable & very generous Beth at Love Laugh Quilt is hosting a link-up. The purpose of the link-up: to show our beloved, collected & hoarded old sewing things. Anyone who has stopped by my blog more than once would, I think, not be at all surprised that *I* have lots of beloved, collected & hoarded old sewing things.
I am from a long line of sewing women, sewing women who never got rid of anything -- because that is what you did then, you saved & scrimped, mended & made do. Many of those things have ended up with me. Some I use, some I decorate with, some I just pull out from time to time to look at & love.

So what is in my museum?
This is the top of my fabric cabinets. There on the left is the sewing basket -- mine in yellow -- like Beth's blue one, a stellar pincushion/oddity that I found at a thrift shop, Mom's jars of wooden spools, my toy sewing machine & iron, Mom's toy iron.


On my sewing room wall is this funny little shelf. It must have been built to hold spools -- there are little pegs on the tiny shelves. And so I filled the pegs with old, handed-down spools & added some cards of buttons & a needle book.


On my sewing table, not so much sewing accessories, as re-purposed sewing accessories. Grandma's depression glass cookie jar filled with spools of thread. Mom's odd flower frog holding pencils, seam ripper, etc. Great-great grandmother's compote dish holding bobbins & sewing machine feet. And a goofus glass bowl filled with cut fabric ready to sew.


Another re-purposed sewing accessory is my old metal dollhouse. I anguished over whether or not to keep it -- where would I put it? what would I do with it? Then the perfect use came to me!


Lastly, one drawer of the cabinet of my Grandma's treadle sewing machine. In it, along with spools of thread & the spindle-like bobbins that fit the machine were buttons, pennies, crayons, chalk, pill bottles filled with snaps & hooks & eyes, those little stocking holders snipped from girdles -- & string. Quite a lot of string. All carefully wound around bits of cardboard, old envelopes & labeled: Short Pieces, Long Pieces, Longer Pieces. I find them so very touching. I will never get rid of them.


Thanks for the idea, Beth.
It is always to fun to share a trip down Memory Lane!

17 comments:

beth said...

You DO have a museum over there! Love those little bits of string! Precious!

Deborah Hamilton said...

I have that same needle book! HA! And you had a great idea for the doll house.

Nifty Quilts said...

Ooh, all such sweet things, along with them memories that go with them.

Michele said...

I love your museum pieces. What a great idea for your old doll house!

Paulette said...

Love seeing your museum pieces. Using your vintage dollhouse to hold fabric is a stroke of genius!

Barbara C said...

Thanks for the great tour of your sewing museum. You've got wonderful goodies.

My Sister Made Me Do It.... said...

I have the sewing box too and mine is yellow like yours. So glad you were able to repurpose your beloved doll house!

Rachaeldaisy said...

Every photo is so full of treasures!! The doll house is a classic!! And those strings, it's so good to know which are the long pieces and which are the longer pieces.

lindaroo said...

So many sweet treasures! Your toy irons, Oh! How I remember playing with one as a child! It's so charming to see yours on display.

Needled Mom said...

What fun items to have. Thanks for sharing.

Jill said...

You have a very sweet sewing museum that is nicely displayed. Thanks!

Cynthia@wabisabiquilts said...

I love how you have repurposed your vintage treasures - I just cleaned out my grandma's sewing room and alas, did not save her shoebox full of string! I'm glad you saved yours- so sweet.

Vroomans' Quilts said...

How fun. Love the idea of the repurposed doll hous - such a touch of wonder and whimsy. And treasures in a drawer just for memories is priceless.

Barb said...

what a lot of special pieces you have - It's inspiring to be surrounded by things we love.

Quilter Kathy said...

I could spend a wonderful afternoon in your doll house! Looks like lots of treasures are hidden in there...what beautiful photos!

MulticoloredPieces said...

Cool collection--Your "stuff" has so much meaning for quilters!
best, nadia

O'Quilts said...

I cannot believe I just found this wonderful museum. There is something wrong with me. I just cannot get the new blog venues...So happy I found all this now...so much happy fun.