Perhaps a Little Too Subtle?

I'm looking at the outer sashing on these Cheddarback blocks.  When I decided I couldn't do blue as in the original, I scouted around for another color.  Perhaps I was influenced by Robin's beautiful pink in her version of Cheddarback.  She sent a close-up of the sashing and it's not really pink but a red print on a white background.  I loved it but I don't have that fabric, or any similar fabric.

So I pulled out a white-with-dark-pink striped fabric.  I was certain it would be perfect, but now I'm not so sure.  I haven't sewn any of the pink-striped sashing yet. 

I guess I thought it would appear a little stronger than it is.  I'll wait to look at it in a different light, and then make a decision about whether to use that fabric or look for a different one.  On the other hand, I could easily have used the same sashing I've used between the other blocks and there would have been no difference.  Perhaps this subtle difference is just enough.

I put the blocks on the family room floor temporarily (because the leaves are still on the larger floor) and had to pick them up because we use the family room is the one we use the most.  After I've picked up the leaves I'll put these blocks down.  Maybe I'll search my fabrics for one or two other possibilities before making a decision.

Sometimes -- occasionally or maybe even rarely -- I wish that the first choices were the perfect ones.  But if they were, I wouldn't get to play and experiment, and that would be very sad.

On another topic, my husband brought home a bottle of buttons for me today.  

I don't need more buttons and I don't purposefully collect buttons but if offered a bottle of buttons, I'll accept with a thank you.  My goodness, these are the dirtiest buttons I've ever seen!  Since this photo I've washed them several times and they're still not clean.  More photos of them later.

I'm linking this post to
> Finished (or not) Friday at Alycia Quilts
> Peacock Party at Wendy's Quilts and More
> BOMs Away at What a Hoot Quilts
Thanks for hosting, ladies.

--Nancy.

Embossed Wooden Thread Spools

Maybe some of you are like me and love vintage sewing notions and supplies.  Whenever I see old wooden spools of thread at a good price I buy them.  Sometimes the thread is too old and fragile to use, in which case it sits on a shelf and looks pretty.  Other times the thread is just too beautiful to use and sit on the shelf with the fragile thread.  Sometimes I use the old thread, especially if it's strong and a color I need.

But this post isn't about the thread. The person who writes the blog Scrapiana published a post a few days ago asking several questions about American embossed thread spools.  One of her questions was whether most were for silk or if cotton thread was also sold on embossed spools.  I found that my eight silk spools were all embossed (though that doesn't necessarily indicate that paper labels were not used for silk).

The spools of silk thread I have were made by Belding Hemingway Co., Hemingway & Bartlett (Paragon), Thresher's, Clark's, and Belding Corticelli Richardson.  Some have 50 yards, others 75 or 100 yards.  None of the spools has the price embossed on them.

My favorite silk spool, a Belding Corticelli, recommends I sew with silk.  Silk is certainly smooth and sews easily but it isn't good for all situations.  Another spool claims the silk is boilfast.  Perhaps that indicates the color will not fade with boiling but I don't know how silk stands up to water or the heat of boiling.
 

When I looked at my cotton spools I found that most of them had paper labels, but some were also embossed.  The small ones, with 100 or 125 yards, were made be Trusew, Belding Corticelli, and Belding Corticelli Richardson companies.  One was priced at 15¢ and another at 19¢.  Not all spools had embossed prices.

Every large embossed spool of cotton thread I have is embossed with "Belding Corticelli."  The spools have 275 yards or 600 yards.  The spools with 275 yards cost 25¢, 30¢, 40¢, 45¢, and 55¢.  The last has a paper label attached to the end which covers an embossed price of 45¢.

I have no dates for any of these spools but a search of old newspapers for advertisements for sewing notions could possibly reveal the price of thread which could thereby date some of spools with prices embossed on the ends.

To answer Scrapiana's question about whether embossing was reserved mainly for silk spools, I'd have to say no -- at least my own collection doesn't indicate that.

Do you collect old spools?  If they have thread on them, do you use it?  What other sewing notions do you collect?

--Nancy.
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How She Wound Her Bobbin

When I see sewing notions (at the thrift store or if we happen to stop at a yard sale) -- a box with a package of unopened Singer needles, some pins, a few bobbins, spools of thread, and buttons -- all for a dollar, they're mine.  This bobbin and a few others were in a box I bought last year.

I know this isn't the clearest photo but I think you can see enough detail.  The owner of this bobbin tied the end of the thread around one of the holes in the bobbin, then wound some thread onto the bobbin.  And then she used a different color of thread, tied it around one of the holes, and wound more thread.  And repeated the process several more times.  There were five different colors of thread on this bobbin.

Did she wind all the thread on the same day?  Did she use the first color and then later, when she needed a different color, wind the second color onto the same bobbin, perhaps because she didn't have but one or two bobbins?  I'm puzzled about why she tied the thread around the holes.  (They were so tightly tied I had a hard time getting the point of my seam ripper under the thread.)  Do you tie the ends of thread around the hole in the bobbin?

I am always fascinated by others' sewing notions.  Are you, too?

--Nancy.
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Singer (almost) All the Way

I love shopping at thrift stores, though maybe just slightly less with bedbugs threatening to take over.

The other day I found a clear plastic bag with some sewing notions.  I saw the bobbins first, then the needles and decided it was worth $1.50. 

Many of the items will be useful but I don't recognize some of them.  Maybe some of you know....

Those flat bobbins just left of center toward the top... what kind of machine uses those?  I thought I could put them on the thread holder of my 201 but the hole is too small.

That needle plate cover.... what kind of machine is that for and what does it do?

Those little cream-colored plastic things toward the bottom....  What are those for?

And I'd ask you about the presser feet but the photograph probably isn't good enough for you to tell what they're for, other than the one at left which I know is a zipper foot.

Anyone want some ballpoint needles?  I think they're only good for knit fabric.

I thought it was interesting to see 4 different kinds of packages for Singer needles.  The little plastic cases look very handy.

That cloth pouch toward the top is folded over and closed with a safety pin.  It has about a dozen sewing machine needles in it.  I hope they're Singer brand.

The needle threaders all look the same but they are 3 different sizes.  Maybe I will try the Dritz magnetic seam guide.

Are you a thrift store shopper?

--Nancy.
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A Housewife

A housewife is portable sewing kit that was popular during Civil War times.  Women made them for their husbands, sons, and brothers  to take to war so they could make repairs on their clothing as necessary.

A month or two ago Starwood Quilter shared photos and wrote about a housewife she'd made.  I wanted to share photos of my own housewife and tell how I came to have it.

Many years ago we were at a Civil War reenactment at the Ohio Historical Society's Ohio Village.  There were several sutlers there with reproduction items for sale.  My young daughter saw this housewife and we looked it over.  I decided it would be too small for my little scissors and forgot about it. 

Unbeknownst to me she bought it and gave it to me for Christmas that year.  To my surprise the scissors fit perfectly and I've been using it ever since.  Even after 18 or 20 years of use it is still in excellent condition.  It was a perfect gift!

It measures about 8" long and 4" wide.  It has 2 pockets that have small pleats so they can expand to hold items that are a little bulky, such as spools, a thimble, a little tin of pins, etc.  It also has a piece of flannel stitched at the bottom for pins and needles.  I usually have a threaded needle there waiting to work on whatever project I have in progress.    

My housewife folds into thirds to make a flat or puffy roll (depending on what I've put inside) and is held fast by a tie so that nothing falls out of the pockets.  It's the perfect size to fit in my handbag or any other bag when I'm taking projects to work on.

I started to "collect" housewives and will add more as I find ones I like.  Google images shows many images of housewives.  There is a tutorial and a pattern for making a slightly larger housewife at Victorian Sewing.

Do you have a housewife or do you have some other convenient way of transporting sewing tools when you want to work on a project while you're travelling? 

--Nancy.
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A Very Tiny Finish

This is a needle cushion.  You know, a resting spot for your needle and presser foot when you have to transport your machine.  It's about 1 1/2" square.  Cute, huh?

I saw super simple directions for making one a few weeks ago.  It took about 5 minutes to make with pieces of fabric I already had cut:  five 2" squares.  I did have to cut the batting that goes inside.  The hardest part was turning it right side out after I finished sewing.  You can see directions at Prairie Rose Quilts and Farm.

I haven't transported my machine but I've used this needle cushion often.  I always want to have two pieces of fabric to send through as leaders/enders but sometimes I just don't.  At those times, I use this to put the presser food down so the thread doesn't get pulled out when I'm moving fabric around.

It's almost silly to celebrate such a tiny finish....  And yet, a finish IS a finish, right?

I'm linking this to finish it up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.  Thanks, Amanda Jean.

--Nancy.
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Tattle Tape for Women

Stanley Home Products, Inc., wished to be so helpful to the ladies in 1938 that they offered them a measuring tape which they called "A Tattle-Tape for Women," called such because "It-Tells-On-You."  It was copyrighted by Roger Martenson, Minneapolis, Minn., 1938.

This cloth tape measures 60" and is about 5/8" wide.  Along the front of the tape are the advertisements, "Stanley Home Products, Inc." and "Household and Personal Brushes - Floor Wax and Household Polishes."

All 60 inches of the back of the tape are covered with printed information about body weights and measurements and boxes and grids to write one's measurements.

The lady of 1938 learned that "If your weight is within 10% of our charts and your proportions check with our tables ... you have a lovely figure."  Information about the height/weight chart explains, "Approximate and normal weights for small, medium and large framed individuals."  Here is the chart they provided.










These are the instructions on the tape (above) printed with boxes for writing the measurements following each:
"Write chest measurement in the following square....."
"Write bust measurement in the following square......"  "Your bust should measure 1 to 2 1/2 inches larger than chest"
"Write waist measurement in following square......"
"Your waist should be from 6 to 9 inches less than bust. 6 inches is fair, 7 inches good, and 8 inches is excellent."
"Write hip measurement in following square......"  "Your hips should be 1 to 3 inches more than bust"
"Write your weight in following square......"  "Your weight should be within 10% of normal."
"For beauty, health and appearance check your weight and measurements each month...."

About 24 inches of the tape gives space for the lady to track her weight, chest, bust, waist, and hip measurements for 12 months.

I'm trying to imagine what a lady of the house in 1938 thought about this gift.  Was she pleased to receive a free measuring tape?  Afterall, the Great Depression was still in progress and money was tight.  Did any of the women who received one feel unhappy that Stanley Home Products, Inc. was offering them a product to help them monitor their weight and measurements?  Did any of the ladies who received the tapes use them?  Did it encourage them to buy (or buy more) Stanley products?  Were women in 1938 generally more concerned about their weight than women of today?

In 1938 my mother turned 23 and she married my father in September.  From some of the memories she shared about that time in her life, there wasn't an abundance of food.  I know that throughout her life she was aware of her weight and was careful not to overeat.  I suppose she would have appreciated such a gift.

I found this measuring tape at a local recycle center.  It was neatly coiled into a flattened circle.  It is frayed and obviously has been used for measuring, but no measurements were recorded in the boxes on the back. As a sewer and homemaker, I'm pleased to have another tape measure:  it means I won't have to go retrieve the one by the sewing machine when I want to measure something in the bedroom.  But I certainly will not use it to record my weight and measurements.

--Nancy.
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A Lovely Little Notion

I found this adorable little spool holder in Jinny Beyer's book, Quiltmaking by Hand, and fell in love with it.  I believe it is a very old one in her collection which means, of course, that one cannot buy a new one even if one wanted to own one.  I would love to hold it but I was almost as happy just to make a drawing of it to enjoy.

I love old sewing notions.  New ones, too, for that matter, but especially the old ones.  It doesn't necessarily mean that I want to own them all but I do enjoy looking at them, holding them, imagining using them.  When I go to a flea market or thrift store and find something I love, I carry it around as I shop all the while telling myself that I'm possessing it while I'm in the store:  it was "mine" for a few minutes, and then I let it go to someone else.  I can usually (though not always) talk myself out of purchases this way.

Let's face it, one of these days or years I'll die and my children will just have to pass on whatever's left.  No need to buy more for them to pass on.

Okay, I'm feeling a little better after this awful flu and could have photographed the Traveling Stash box today IF it had not been the greyest, rainiest day so far this spring.  I hope tomorrow will bring a little brightness and sunshine so I can take photos and post the box.  I need to move it from my house to one of your houses!

--Nancy.
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