no, it’s not what you think. i know i promised pictures of kyle and amy’s wedding….and i will share, but it’s HARD picking just a few of my absolute favorite pictures!! i go through them and say “that’s one of my favorites”…and repeat…for ALL of them!
no, this is about two new additions to the studio. and to be honest, one’s not really all that old…it just made titling this post easier! a few weeks ago jeff and i spent a sunday afternoon wandering around the antique mall, which in reality is part antiques/part flea market, but a great way to spend the afternoon. i’ve gotten pretty picky selective about what i will actually drag home purchase…the house suddenly feels overflowing and i’m ready to begin letting go, NOT bring more in. but back in the corner of one particularly cluttered booth a wee small sewing machine caught my eye…maybe because i’m always looking for sewing related finds, but most likely because it was bright purple!!
i love that they printed right on the box “serious machine”…but they really just about HAD to since, again…bright purple! no one was around, so i picked it up and took a look. kinda cute…and then my fingers moved to that little white toggle switch at the lower right and the thing actually worked!! 2 speeds, 8 stitches (in reality 4 of them are straight stitches), a foot pedal, the adaptor, batteries AND the box. the price tag said $15. and i seriously thought about it, but set it back gently and after exclaiming to jeff “how adorable”, i began to move on. it was then that i heard the voice…”you like? you buy?” since i hadn’t seen anyone nearby i almost assumed it was the voice of some sewing god, but it was male and heavily accented…not what i expected my sewing god to sound like! the booth owner had seen me playing and came to make a deal. without hesitation he lowered the price to $10, and without hesitation i packed it in the box and brought it home.
i’ve done nothing with it except wipe it with a damp cloth, so i’ve yet to see how it actually operates. my hope is that one of the great nieces may show an interest in sewing some day and this will be a great machine for them to start out on. for one girl i see baby doll blankets, for the other maybe a supergirl cape…doesn’t matter, that purple beast will be here at the ready!
my second “old” addition truly is old. a christmas gift from my eldest son and his girlfriend (i know exactly which one searched for it, drove to retrieve it and wrapped it..but he helped deliver it to the house, so he gets some credit!)
it’s a “sew tidy” sewing cabinet for threads. manufactured by the “sew tidy/edmilton corp” in milwaukee during the 20’s and 30’s.
complete with label!! there’s no way that all my thread will fit in this cabinet, so i’ve been thinking that i may use it to hold the old wooden spools that i’ve inherited from grandmothers. i think that’s a unique way to display them. when closed it only measures a couple of inches deep. some of these came with a small drawer-like compartment at the bottom and some had a hanging pocket….all you needed to sew in style!
looking at this cabinet made me think about all the notions, accessories and tools that we all feel we ‘need’ in our studios….but look back at what the average sewist accomplished on a treadle machine and with only a few tools. i’m sure that whoever owned this originally felt that it was quite the luxury…and i think it’s a perfect “old” addition to my studio.
what about your sewing space? is it filled with more modern tools/accessories? or is it a mix, like mine?
Snapdragon Studios 