Hello all!
It's been a few weeks since I posted and didn't want to leave you in the lurch much longer.
Are you a lover of quaint, vintage, and antique items from days gone by? I hope so! I am!
I thought I'd give you a tiny tour of my sewing room of some special curiosities (vintage/antique) I have had for decades. Sometime later when I've finally finished organizing my sewing room - in particular, the need for window dressings for the one window that faces west - I will give you the grand tour! Such as it is!
I picked out a few items that are special to me for this post. I'll chat about my vintage machine later which I absolutely LOVE, but here are a few of my other favorite things!
While my husband and I were living in Canada/PEI, I picked up this wooden what-not shelf at a yard sale. I had it hanging in my sewing room there and now it resides in South Carolina. On the middle shelf is a miniature rocking chair with cushions and tiny spools of thread. It works as a pin cushion, too. My maternal grandmother gave it to me probably in my pre-teen years. I couldn't say how long she had it. Antique or vintage - it's old! That was when I was living in my home state of Massachusetts.
On the bottom shelf sits a square silver-toned measuring tape. Maybe it's stainless steel? The metal tape pulls out and retracts perfectly. The markings on the tape are a bit faded though. I found it in the dark wood sewing table I got a few years ago when my aunt moved out of her childhood home (my grandparents' home) to an assisted living place. I had always been fond of that little table with the flip-up sides and tiny drawers since my childhood. I will show you that little table another time. It sits next to the bed in the guest room as there's no room in my sewing room. Maybe my grandmother used this tape as well as my aunt and my mother!
Along with a number of items on this bureau (below) I've had since my teenage years (or dresser as my son-in-law would call it!), I am highlighting the ceramic doll with the crocheted dress today. When my aunt moved out of her childhood home, I told my youngest sister (Heidi) that I'd like the doll in the hope chest among a few other things. Heidi lived 30 minutes from my aunt and so we sisters and cousins were taking items that our aunt didn't need in the assisted living place she was moving to. As I was far away in South Carolina from Massachusetts, I couldn't rummage around the house but used my memory of what was there.
When I finally received the doll sometime later, I was very surprised! It was not the doll I remembered laying in the hope chest that my grandmother had shown me way back in my childhood days! I think that other doll must have gone to one of the cousins at some point. No matter! This one was a keeper.
This poor little doll with no markings on her about where she was made (possibly Germany, as my mother's side is German) and the crocheted dress did not quite fit her. I suppose it was good that she was clad anyway, right? She's very heavy with no moving parts. Maybe I can convince my mom to make her a decent dress soon!
In the next photo, this little knitted pincushion is sitting in my first sewing box! Sometimes our memories do funny things, but I believe I purchased this for a couple of dollars or more waaay back in grade school when I was in Pioneer Girls. Pioneer Girls is similar to Girl Scouts. We took a field trip to Rockport, Massachusetts, and visited The Paper House. Yes. It is/was made of newspaper! You can google it and see the photos. It's still there and you can visit the place! I believe there was a gift store inside, and that is where (if I remember correctly) I purchased that knitted pin cushion!
When I purchased this sewing box back in my teenage years at the Windsor Button Shop in Peabody, Massachusetts, this little pin cushion fit perfectly into the tray. Alas, that store no longer exists. Back in 2013, it closed its doors after 77 years of business in Boston. It was such an awesome place to purchase buttons, yarn, and other sewing and craft necessities.
Some years ago the handle broke and for some odd reason (don't ask why my brain didn't think of it!), I didn't try to fix the handle but purchased another sewing box which has a broken wooden handle now at the moment and I never really "loved" that box but it still resides in my sewing room.
But I kept this beautiful rose floral-covered one. Then a few months ago, I used some strong glue on the handle and transferred my sewing paraphernalia back to this one! It is sitting on yet another one of my treasured pieces of furniture. Most likely an antique! Which I will chat about in a future post!
I hope you enjoyed seeing a few of my favorite things! Until next time, please visit my Etsy shop as I have updated it with some new bags. I have more new ones to photograph and list in the next several days.
You can find my Etsy shop link at the top of my blog, but click HERE for a quick jump-to!
Minx, my handmade mouse, says "Have a nice week, and come back soon!"