Show Me Wednesday--Sewing Machines

Welcome to Show Me~Wednesday!

And yes I am late! Very late! We had an internet outage this morning and when it came back on it wouldn't let me into my blog or a few other regularly visited sites, but all looks to be fixed and back up and running, so here I am! Whew!

Here's how it works....Each week we have a theme of what we would like to see. Snap a photo for us and post it on your blog and then fill out the Mr. Linky near the bottom of the post with your blog name and blog addy and it'll automatically add you to the list so other bloggers can come and see what you are sharing.

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Each week we'll also list the theme for the coming week--at the very bottom of the post, so you can prepare and be ready to share!

Don't forget and leave comments where you visit. We all love to hear from our visitors.


This Weeks Theme--Show Me Your Sewing Machine(s)

Ruth Ray of My Creative Soul had requested this weeks theme. Thanks Ruth!

Here's mine--nothing spectacular, but it does what I need it do and it works great! It's a Janome 4612TM. I've had it about 5 years now and I'm quite happy with it.

I also have this cute little Singer Spartan. I love this one! It was made in 1961--the same year as me. LOL! And it sews like a charm. I found it in a thrift store for $30 when I lived in FL and I've had it about 3 years now. It's not a full size machine. It's about the size of a featherweight only heavy and I love it for sewing quilt blocks!

This fancy little machine was my very first sewing machine that I got when I was about 5 years old. It's battery operated and sews with a real needle. I only remember sewing paper on it. Pretty cute isn't it!

This one is my rescue machine. It’s a turn of the century treadle. I had went into an antiques store one day and this particular store was always a mess with things in piles that covered the floor with barely a walking path and right there in the middle sat this old and rusty, but beautiful sewing machine. I knew I had to have it, but could find no price, so I asked the shop owner how much and she said she was on her way out to the dumpster with it, so I could have it for FREE! Now why on earth would anyone--an antiques shop especially--throw out something like this! So I nabbed it and off I went! Recently I found a 1905 working treadle in a gorgeous cabinet just like this--only not rusty and I have it on layaway and should hopefully have it in the next few weeks.

Ok, your turn. We want to see your sewing machines! Just fill out the Mr. Linky below, so we can all take a peek.

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Next Week's Theme
Show Me Your-- Newest Collection


If anyone has any suggestions of what you'd like to see in future Show Me Wednesdays, then please post it here and I'll add it to the list.

Thank you!

Pincushions and a Primitive Pocket

I finally got something made! It's a Primitive Pocket, a little sewing roll up and 2 pincushions. The Primitive Pocket, sewing roll up and 1 of the pincushions are on their way to Sharon Stevens of Mustard Seed Originals--I hope she's not peeking!!



For the Primitive Pocket I cross stitched a colonial style peacock and flowers with a bit of feather stitching. The peacock pattern is from part of a really cool pincushion pattern I bought from Stacy Nash of Stacy Nash Primitives . I absolutely LOVE her stuff and hope to keep adding her patterns to my collection.

I have discovered however that I can't see worth a darn when it comes to cross stitching. I need to go get real glasses now! So to fix this problem I slightly enlarged the pattern to fit my piece and then I photocopied the cross stitch pattern onto tissue paper and stitched right over it! Much easier to see--however the picking out of the tissue when finished is a challenge.



Here are the 2 Star Pincushions--I kept the green and brown and sent Sharon the blue and brown. The Star pincushions are a pattern by Denise Davis of Sassafras Hill Primitives . This makes a really nice sized large pincushion, but for my purposes this time I sized it down by half and it still makes quite a nice pincushion and they're fun to make!


Here's a view of the inside of the little sewing roll up--very simple. I definitely had fun making these and hope to get some more primitive pockets made up--maybe not with cross stitch--maybe some wool applique instead--much easier to see! LOL

Vintage Sewing Notions Find & Fun Sites

It all started when I got a newsletter yesterday in my email from Stacy Nash . She has a butterfly thread winder on her site that I admired and then didn't think much about it until later when I was searching for something and stumbled across some other thread winders. Then it hit me! That's that odd thing in my button jar that wasn't really a button.

See it there--the flower shaped thing in the middle. It's made of mother of pearl and the indentions are where the thread is wrapped around. Many years ago the women would buy their threads and then wrap them onto a thread winder like this. What a fun discovery!


The other things in the photo above I'm still trying to find out about. The small square (mop) thing to the left looks like a belt buckle, but is way to small, so I think it may be a square thread ring that would have been sewn into a sewing roll. The 2 round one holed looking buttons are made of bone. I have a bunch of these and still have no clue what they are, but they came to me through a few jars of buttons that I've run across through the years. The key looking thing is a button hole sizer and I only know that, because it says that right on it. I've searched and searched Google, but with no luck at all. Not sure why one would need to size a buttons holes.

I also found some really great sites as I was doing my research and I thought I'd add a few fun sewing images. Feel free to save them to your computer--just please don't copy/paste them from here.

Penelope Primm Antiques &Particulars this site has some really neat scissors and other repros--I must have a black pair of the Wee Bit or Putford scissors! She also has some thread winders, rings, linens and so much more. Be sure to check out her Folkart page and bring your drool rag. It's full of wonderfuls by the Schneemans.


Then I discovered Acme Notions Oh my! I found tons of neat little things I have to have from this site! Make sure to check out each category. While most of this stuff is new there are some really cool things and very inexpensive.


A wonderful English site-- TSG Emporium She has lots of fun stuff--and this is only on one page. I haven't even looked through the rest of the site yet, however I really, really need a pair of those heart handled scissors!
And lastly, but not least is Wm Booth Draper Lots of cool things there as well--some more unique thread winders and bone lucets and all manner of must haves. I still have to search that site over as well.

I hope you'll enjoy these sites as much as I have. I'm off to look through them some more. No sewie shall be left unturned! Happy Stitching!

Civil War Pincushions

I thought I'd let you take a peek at a swap that I'm sending to a friend--she's out of town, so she should receive them before she sees this. We had a pincushion/sewie swap on the P&R board and this is what I made her---a square pincushion with strawberries on top--stuffed with raw lambs wool, a little sewing ditty bag with pockets--I made up a little story about these being buried during the civil war and being found again and tucked it into the bag-- and that litte roll pincushion that actually hangs. I've seen these little roll pincushions--well photos of them--not in real life, but they've all been new ones, so I'm not sure about their history or the reason that they hang, but I like them. I hope she likes them too and if you happen to run into Deb--don't tell her!

Show And Tell Friday--Some Favorite Things

I've recently discovered Show And Tell Friday hosted by Kelli http://kellishouse.blogspot.com/

Make sure you check out her site and visit all the other Show And Tell Fridays.

For my first Show And Tell Friday I chose a little spot in my sewing room right above one of my work areas. I keep some of my most favorite things in this little spot--which is part of a large built in bookshelf area.

There are pincushions and sewies made by friends, Deb H, Kelley B, Terri P and one by me. The big doll--Ophelia was made for me by me very good friend Donna B, the itty bitty spool doll was made by Terri P. The framed sewing machine picture is actually the cardboard envelope that held matching stationary and I just loved the picture so much that I framed it.


I hope you've enjoyed my Show And Tell Friday share and now I'm off to visit the other Show And Tell blogs to see what they're all up to. Don't forget to visit blogs link.... http://kellishouse.blogspot.com/ Enjoy the weekend!

Primitive Pincushions & Sewies to Drool Over!

Wow! Look at the totally awesome pincushion and sewies I got in the mail today! These were made by Deb H for the Pincushion/Sewie Swap we're doing at the P&R and she spoiled me good! Thank you Deb!

This first one is a gorgeous prim pincushion out of civil war repro fabric that sits upon a little box--great for storing sewing tools and notions in. I love the little extras she pinned to the top, some great old buttons!

Oh you should see the punchneedle work on this beauty! I love this bird! A gorgeous sewing pocket also out of civil war repros. The pictures just don't show how beautiful these pieces truly are!
Here's a view of the pocket open, complete with a prim pincushion stitched in and then on the side is a very unique sock darner from Lancaster, PA and a wonderful smelling lavendar sachet.

Deb these are absolutely gorgeous and I'm just tickled pink! Thank you!!!!

Needlebooks

I followed a link that Suzanne posted at the Crazy About Pincushions group on Yahoo.. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crazyaboutpincushions/ that led to another link and then another one and so on and then I found this link....

http://chloesplace.blogspot.com/2007/06/needlebooks.html

So now I am posting my needlebooks--some made by me, some by friends and then I'll go to Chloe's and leave her a link back here. See why it's called the world wide WEB--we get tangled up looking at everything there is out there! If any of you have needlebooks on your blog or know of a needlebook on someone else's blog please feel free to share here by posting in the comment or by doing the same at Chloe's.

This first little needlebook was made by Teresa of http://www.auntpollysattic.com/ for a swap we did a few years ago. It's attached as part of the awesome pincushion on a candlestick. It's open view....

Closed view.....
I love the feel of the wool that this fish is made from. It is by Kristy K, also for a swap a few years ago.....
and here is a view of the inside. I really like that I can keep my larger needles in this one.

Wooly little sheep by Mariah S from a swap she and I did a few months ago at the CAPC group on yahoo. Isn't it adorable!

This is one that I made from wool felt using a Crabapple Hill pattern. It is part of a set. I love Meg Hawkey's patterns and I see this one is being discontinued, so if you like the pattern get it soon! http://www.crabapplehillstudio.com/product.asp?intProdID=1946

I just love this little paisley needlebook made by my friend Deb S for a swap a few years ago. It is my most used needlebook and it travels with all of my projects.
Here is a neat little wool needlebook that came as a kit as a thank you in an order from a friend Roseann Kermes of Rosebud's Cottage http://www.rosebuds-cottage.com/intro.html Check out what Roseann does for APQ too... http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/apqclub/index.html This is a needlebook I made for a swap out of an old lace table runner and vintage images that I added.....

partial inside folded out.....
needlbook cover when folded out all the way.
This is an adaptation of a Crabapple Hill design that is a needlebook with a little extra added to it. The original pattern I adapted it from is here....

http://www.crabapplehillstudio.com/product.asp?intProdID=1948

The inside view........

Before I forget here is the link that Suzanne at CAPC shared with us earlier. It a vintage Dinah pincushion pattern and her collar is the needlebook......

http://crazyhaberdasher.blogspot.com/2007_07_01_archive.html

Covered Tape Measure

I'm doing a Covered Tape Measure swap on the Crazy About Pincushions Yahoo group and this is the one I sent my partner today. I don't think she knows about my blog--so I don't think she'll see it. It's my first try at a little bit of silk ribbon embroidery and I so enjoyed it. I did her initial--T--and then added the roses, rosebuds and leaves with a bit of feather stitching and beads on white wool. The tab should have been at the side or bottom and as you can see I goofed and it's at the top and the scanner squished my roses a bit, but all in all I think it came out fairly well and I think I'll try a few more of these, they're really rather fun to stitch up.

The Simple Joy of Buttons!

Don't you just love going thru the button box--or jar(s) in my case. I prefer to keep my buttons in jars for two reasons--one so I can see them and two, so they can see out--yes so they can see out. Whenever I use a button on a crafting type project I like to use the back of the button as the front. I mean hey the front of the button gets all the glory, so I think the back should have a turn--unless of course if it would look funny, or hide a pretty front and well a shank button is better left to face the front, but there are plenty of button backs that make great new fronts.

Some of my favorite buttons are old scroungy beat up chipped buttons. I have a little jar of mostly mother of pearl buttons that fit this description and they are my special collection used only on special projects.

What about the odd things that sometimes show up in the button box. Those things that have nothing whatsoever to do with buttons--like marbles (where else do you keep a stray marble), screws, nails, washers, nuts and bolts--hmmm...who put those there? I've even found the stray M&M on occassion. This morning as I was pawing thru one of my button jars I found a button hole sizer and I really don't know what they are for--well to size the hole of course, but I never worry about the hole size, just the button size. Why would you need to size the hole? It looks like a little key. I think I may have to google it and see what I can find out.

Buttons are one of those little joys of life--to me anyway. A little item of utility in our daily life that goes un-noticed, yet so very interesting. I don't know about you, but I don't usually stop to pick up a lost penny, but I will most certainly stop and save that lost little button.

If you can stand a bit more button talk, below is a silly little story I wrote (I am not a writer as you will see) a few years back about the life of a button.

The Journey of a Button
By Cathy Jackson
February 14, 2004

Have you ever thought of the life of a button and where it's been and what it's seen and whose worn it. I always wonder these things as I paw thru my button piles and search for just the right button for a particular project. Who wore it? How many pieces of clothing has it been on? Where are it's mates? How old is it? Where has it traveled to and how long has it sat here in someone's button jar or box and how many someone's button jars has it been in? Just think of all the garments an old button has served duty on. Maybe it started on mom's dress in the 1930's and followed her as she cleaned the house and cared for the family, then later on was sewn to little Susie's dress in the 1940's and followed her to school and learned the 3 R's and later in the evening sat by the radio and listened to the news of a world war only to be outgrown and tossed aside hoping to be used again soon and not doomed to spend the rest of its long life in a darkened button tin with all the other mismatched cast offs. Oh but wait! Oh this little button is lucky! She didn't have to sit in the button tin long. No she's going to be the eye of a stuffed toy dog and she's now going to experience what the 1950's holds! For this little button, now an eye on the beloved toy dog of Susie's little boy it gets to go outside and play and be drug thru the dirt and held close at night and OH NO not the washer! A dangerous place for a button--many get lost in the washer and Oh that squeezing thru the wringer--ouch! Hey, wait a minute this isn't too bad. I didn't get squeezed thru the wringer, just spun around and around in a sea of water and suds. Boy was this little button glad to get back outside and hang on the clothesline to soak up the warm rays of the sun on such a fine summer day. Hey what's that big silver bird in the sky--it makes an odd noise--not a nice chirp, chirp sound. Oops, whing! Little Billy has snatched his toy dog off the line and back into the dirt I go! Well Billy is all grown now and that old stuffed dog is pretty well worn. Snip go the scissors--the little button who has gladly served as an eye is tossed into the button tin once more--with some old familiar faces and several new ones too. The little button spends the next 40 + years in the dark button tin looking forward to when Susie's little granddaughters come to play with the little tin of buttons. She is going to get out and play! Wait, the little girl is done playing..she's putting the buttons back, but this little button is lost in the carpet--what is this stuff! What is that big noisy thing coming toward me! It's gonna suck me up! Cough, cough, ewwww, blech! What is all this dark gray fuzzy stuff. It's dust my dear little button. Into the trash it goes as the vacuum bag is emptied, but wait! All is not lost the little girl spies the button and pops it into her pocket. Later that night her mother finds the button and tosses it into her button jar. "Oh I like this jar." "I can see!" It’s not at all like being in the dark button tin, where a button can’t see out. Pretty soon the jar is wrapped with newspaper--hey it's getting dark in here--the paper is dated 2001. The little button that started it's journey on a beautifully decorated card that sat in a fabric shop in 1930 has traveled far and into a new millenium. The jar it lives in is now being put into a Priority Mail box and shipped to someone who has bought it for a mere $20 from a place called Ebay. The little button is leaving it's home in the east and traveling out to the west. It arrives unharmed and is lovingly unwrapped and sat about on a large table in a cheery, bright sewing room. Oh how she loves to peer out of the jar and not be closed up in some old dark tin. Soon all the little buttons are spilled out from the jar and a lady's hands gently and lovingly stroll thru the pile looking at each one. She's searching for the perfect little button to be an eye on one of her rag dolls. Oh how the little button would love to be on a rag doll! Wait, could it be true? Yes! She picks up the little button and gently sews it to the little ragged doll--a doll that is newly made, but looks old and grungy! Now why would a new doll be grungy already? Oh well it's not for the little button to question, but wait! Wait just one dog gone minute here! That "woman", she, she, she sewed me on backwards! Now why would she do a thing like that! Well says the woman to her little raggedy doll, "Done!, I like using the backs of the buttons for the fronts. They have served years I'm sure on someone's clothes and have never seen the world, being that they were the backside. Now the back of these little buttons will get to see the world thru your little eyes." The lady gently hugs her raggedy little doll and places her into a Priority Mail box where someone on Ebay (of course!) has purchased her and she will now leave the west and travel back to the east--right where the little button started it's journey over 70 years ago...........