Fiber Friday: A treat for the seamstress

As part of my process of turning our former guest room into a studio, I've been making space on the bookshelves in there for art and fiber supplies. This week I dropped off three grocery bags stuffed with gardening books to Olbrich Botanical Gardens. They'll determine which of them to add to their collection and which to put out at their plant sale in May. I gained three empty shelves that I quickly filled with supplies stashed hither and you around the house.

But I left room for a new sewing item that I recently found at a local antiques mall. Despite trying to downsize and not bring in a lot of new items, sometimes one just can't resist an unexpected find. This is a small folk/tramp art sewing box, date unknown. It's not large, only abut 9 inches in all dimensions.

You can see from these first two photos that the maker did not quite get the middle section figured out and put together as neatly as the other parts. But that's the charm of old unusual items like this: They exhibit the hand of the maker. And this maker showed her (or his) clever hand in a design that lets 8 different strands of thread neatly unspool through the white rings. 

The top section is a box whose lid lifts off revealing 8 nails that hold short spools of thread. The middle and bottom sections are drawers that still held old sewing supplies, including a little travel kit from "Grant's Golden West" in Hobbs, N.M. The container also advertises some brand of medicine called Calvert which the print says "tastes better" and suggests you switch. So maybe it originally held pills and someone later added tiny sewing supplies. 

I thought I would add a few of my own quirky sewing supplies like this old package of gold eye needles and black enameled entomology pins "for extra fine fabrics." 

Though the stuffing inside the pincushion on the top of the box has lost its oomph, I decided to leave it alone so that the entire creation is intact. Though the whole box is in usable condition, I have a strong suspicion that I will give it pride of place more like a tiny sculpture than a tool.

Comments

[Lisa at Greenbow]

What a lucky find. I think it is just right for your new space. You are bringing good chi into your studio.

[Barbara H.]

Oh gosh, Linda, what a wonderful find.I'm glad you didn't resist and found a good spot for it. It's a keeper.

[Jane Miller]

Downsizing is necessary but love that you can’t resist a treasure like this!

[Linda Brazill]

Assuming nothing unforeseen happens, we joke that we should be around for another 20 years (give or take). Neither of us is going to not buy anything for 20 years! We just have to keep editing our collection as it were.

[Peter/Outlaw]

What a great find! If you got rid of several books of garden books and replaced them with this one piece, you're really still downsizing! I remember my mom having an identical pack of gold-eye needles. I wonder if Dr. Seuss had this Sewing Susan in mind when he wrote, "Who sews Sue's socks? Sue sews sue's socks. Who sees who sew whose new socks sir? You see sue sew Sue's new socks sir." Darn it all.

[Loree / danger garden]

That's wonderful! What a treasure.

[Linda Brazill]

I was the wrong age for Seuss, so thanks for that intro!

[Susan Adler Sobol]

This is wonderful! I understand why you couldn't resist it!

[Beth @ PlantPostings]

That's a really nice piece, Linda. Great find! Now that my kids are gone, I'm planning to turn my son's room into my working office--for writing/editing, sewing, storage, and garden planning. You seem a lot more organized than I am!

[Linda Brazill]

The bookshelves are organized but not much else.

[Magpie Sue]

What a treasure! I love the thoughtfulness of the creator in making the holes for unspooling the thread. Definitely a keeper even if you are trying to downsize in other areas. ;-)

[Linda Brazill]

I thought you would particularly appreciate it.