On My Desk . . . Are Goodies from Grandma’s Stash
Vintage wooden-spooled thread:
Early last week my Aunty, who lives in the U.S., contacted me to let me know that she had sent a few of my Grandma’s old sewing supplies to me. What a wonderful surprise! I was super excited.
It finally arrived yesterday and oh my goodness, I seriously almost fainted. The box was huge! For some reason I was expecting a smallish box given the cost of shipping things overseas from the U.S. When I opened it up, this is what greeted me:
I slowly unpacked the box and found -
A container of new and old elastics:
A whole bag of vintage buttons - my Grandma had patiently made most of them in to button necklaces, organised by colour. This was her ’system’ for storing her button collection:
A heap ‘o’ decorative scissors:
A container of vintage ribbons:
And when I opened this container I actually let out a “Holy Cow!” followed by a squeal. If my daughter had not been fast asleep in the next room, I would have yelled out “Her collection of lace trims??!!”
After all the containers were removed, I beheld the bottom of the box which was covered with spools of thread. I pulled out some vintage wooden-spooled thread (above). I am sure that this collection will pretty much last me a life time :-) There were also embroidery hoops, an assortment of needles and this gadget I haven’t yet worked out what to do with yet.
How strange that a box of old sewing supplies can make a grown woman all teary :-) I cannot describe how excited I am to have my Grandma’s old supplies in my possession. She was the first to introduce me to the wonderful world of fabric and sewing, and she and her life continue to be an inspiration to me daily. And if my Aunty is reading this, thanks so much Aunty!!! You have made my entire year :-)
I think I may spend a bit more time exploring the stash before I head to the sewing machine. Oh, and I have been recently hooked on reading this (because I simply love fabric), this (great finds!) and this (am so inspired by the photography! Hope to be back at the end of the week :-)
P.S. Thank you to those who voted for my Babushka doll in the 2nd Annual Softie awards. I missed out in The Cutest Face Category but please go have a look at the wonderful winners!
P.P. S. Thank you for the Peg Bear love! I won’t be stocking more Peg Bears in my shop until after October, but there will be a small number of new Peg Bears in 3 lovely shops by the end of the month - will provide details closer to completion.
Oh wow~ Thats awesome! What a fabulous stash! My neighbor gave me some beautiful fabrics and ribbons because I lent her some knitting magazines and told her she can ask my help anytime when she is knitting (new to it) so am in the middle of making her a thank you, she keeps bringing over cans of cat food from her old cat too! Kindness is the greatest thing in the world!
What a wonderful package - a treasure!
wow how thoughtful of your auntie to send you all those precious supplies that were your gran’s (and now yours). i will fondle the supplies that donnie (my mum’s granny name….) has of gran’s. i have some of her broken beads (which i will make into things that are for ‘us’ (ct or myself)). i love the way your gran stashed her buttons… i have never seen that before. my gran was a bottle lady (and so am i). wooden spools… i will have to wait for mine. if i ask, i know i will be gifted but donnie needs to have special treasures too. shame that your face did not win (and i even roped in the husband, donnie and a few friends (but did they vote the way i asked them too??). might call it vote rigging but i call it helping people i admire out…)
Wow! What a great big surprise…that box is huge..That is so nice of your Aunt to send you all that crafty stuff. She must have know how important your grandma was to you. Enjoy the stash and the memories it may produce along the way!
Cheers Kyla
Wow! How cool is that? It’s neat when what you do is part of the heritage of your family. I have artists sprinkled throughout my family tree–none as immediate as my grandmother, though. If I received one of their painting of drawing kits… it would be a marvelous day. (Of course, fabric ages better than oil paint… still.)
Wow! Lucky you! What a special reminder of your grandmother. I love her button organizing method!
OMG! How great to get that in the mail & of course it is EXTRA special that it was your Grandmother’s. Enjoy your new treasures
wow! you lucky lucky woman!! I adore wooden spools… that alone would have made my year. And then came all the buttons! WOW! I reckon the best thing is that it was your granma’s. That alone is pretty special! :o)
Sorry you missed out on the cutest face category- I couldn’t help but vote for yours… I thought it was a pretty special softie!
Great surprise package full of goodies. No worries about not winning a Softies Central gong, we voted for you because “we know you’re great” and very deserving- think of it as one of life’s exercises IN gaining THE experience
WOW!! What an amazing treasure trove of crafty goodness.
Also I ADORE your lamby lovet from the previous post - it looks so innocent and, most importantly, huggable.
Oh Jhoanna it’s so lovely to have these treasures of your crafty grandma.
OMG! What a treasure trove! I’m sure you’ll come up with wonderful creations out of them. :)
What a fabulous inheritance! How wonderful that you are caring on what is obviously a crafty tradition in your family. This box looks like it is filled with the most delightfully useful things!
-Emily in Norway
Wow! That is soo lovely! A treasure indeed! I’ve always hoped I would find a box like that someday ! No luck so far, but I’ll keep on looking. Thank you for sharing!
Oh, you’ve inspired me. My grandmother gave me some sewing things before she died. In particular, there is an old tin of clippings from vintage (I think from the 1920s) home/ladies magazines with patterns and transfers etc. I’m going to get it out on the weekend and I’ll post some photos.
Thanks for the mention!
that is the most wonderful thing!
and happy birthday. i missed it :( hope you had a good one.
What a treasure box. Even when I wasn’t much of a sewer (as opposed to know when I’m not at all) I loved the wooden spools of thread. I used to buy them just to have the beautiful colors about. I hated when they switched to plastic…. :-(
Wow…. it’s gorgeous! You must be so thrilled. It’s a big box full of treasures. I am sure you will make a lot of wonderful toys with them. :)
Thanks for your warm wishes and making me feel better! xo
oh wow you lucky thing! I think you’re the envy of all sewing ladies now!
Corrie:)