crazyhaberdasher

Old Favourites

2010-06-30T17:21:00.001+10:00

A love of collecting vintage sewing

tools, books, patterns

has always included searching

for vintage sewing accessories

to make.

I have a collection of felt

needlecases which include

the ever-popular

bonnet lady needlecases

and wide-brimmed hat needlecases,

I found these two patterns in

a vintage Madame Weigel's

(Australian magazine) Journal

of Fashion - October 1, 1945.

Here they are for you to enjoy.

(click for larger image)

******

Sewing Companion Dolls

2010-01-29T21:01:00.006+11:00

++++++++

Among my vintage sewing

collections, I have many folders

lining the shelves in my

sewing room full of vintage

patterns.

Once upon a time, I used

to have a stall at a

trash 'n' treasure market.

I used to stock much of the stall

with bazaar items, many that I

had made using patterns that

I had purchased either from

new Women's magazines or

from vintage magazines that I found

myself at trash 'n' treasure markets.

I would look for any of thoses that

included patterns for dolls and toys, bazaar items,

items for fetes, babies, and above all,

Christmas gifts.

Not to say that once I had access to

a computer ..... well, the whole

world opened up to me!!

Sewing Companion Dolls

Would it be fair to say that these

companion dolls have evolved from

the chatelaine?

They serve the same purpose - to hold

all the necessary sewing equipment needed

and close-by for the needlewoman.

The pictures below are taken from

vintage magazines and a commercial

pattern. The dolls are both novel

and charming.

This is Grizelda, and she has the added

bonus of being a workbag.

(1930's)

This is Sally Spool from

Star Gift Book No. 48

The American Thread Company

(1930's)

This is the "Sewing Doll" from

Simplicity Crafts 5227.

(2004)

This is called "Johnny-on-the-spot",

a crocheted cowboy from

Crochet Money-Makers for your Bazaar

Book No. 278

J & P Coats . Clark's ONT

(1951)

This is "Sammy Spool"

another crocheted doll from

Gifts Galore by

Coats & Clark's Book No. 183

(1968)

This sweetie is a design from the

well-known Jean Greenhowe of

the English Women's Weekly, a fabulous

designer of dolls, toys, and

gifts, knitted and sewn as well as wooden

toys. (1983)

I actually picked up a handmade doll

from a local bazaar about 25 years ago, paying

just $2. I still have this doll (pic below)

and discovered that it is the Jean Greenhowe

sewing doll just 20 years later when I

managed to come across the EWW

magazine issue with the pattern included.

It may be not quite as well made as the

original, but I still like her.

One day I will attempt to make one of

my own.

In the course of "vintage

sewing" collecting, I have also

found these two delightful versions

below.

There is a website called "Gail Wilson Designs"

which sell as a kit or a completed doll called -

"The Ladies Home Sewing Companion"

All of Gail Wilson Dolls are an absolute

delight and worth the visit ....

Click HERE for the New Items

and scroll down to see the "sewing"

dolls.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Jennifer Murphy

2010-01-16T13:29:00.004+11:00

Ever since I saw Jennifer Murphy

on the "Martha" show,

I became a fan of her work.

Her originals are a little

beyond me in price but I

am happy to go with the

licensed items of

her designs.

Being a Pin Cushion Collector

(among a million other things!)

I couldn't resist her little

Pearl the Pig pincushion (below).

Jennifer's website can be found

here

and she has a blog

here

The links to her spot on "Martha" are

here for the pom pom bunny and
here for her pumpkin people.

(The particular segments can be
found at the right-hand side of
the page - you will need to click
on the arrow for further videos
on the show which are in two parts.)

∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏∏

Christmas and Ahead

2009-12-19T21:12:00.004+11:00

Oh my!.... how time has flown by.
It has been very busy this year and
I am pleased to say that things are
just starting to settle down.
There has been a lot going
on at home and with managing
two craft groups, and my time for
this blog had come to a stop.
I plan to remedy that beginning
with the New Year.
I will catch up with so many
things - crafts, friends, projects,
blogs, and my book!
So keep watching this space!

Merry Christmas
and Happy Sewing!

««O»»

Frédérique CRESTIN-BILLET

2009-09-25T22:10:00.009+10:00

Frédérique Crestin-Billet, the lovely

and lucky owner of Mason Sajou,
has written many books
about her outstanding collection of
vintage haberdashery.
Here, I will show you one
of her books.
(I will post about another
two books next time).

Mercerie Au Rayon Des Fils
(Haberdashery: Thread Department)

(All of these images are shown with kind
permission from Frédérique Crestin-Billet)

You will find 238 pages of absolute
delight, written in both French and
English with so many gorgeous
pictures to look at.... so many
that I had a hard time choosing what
to include here.

Above - sold in the 1960's is this boxed set -
"Images de France", cotton thread on
tube spools decorated with French
regional figures.
Below is one of the pages from
wool section - this page showing
novel wool cards and some knitting
needle gauges!

Above - just love these wooden egg-shaped
darners, ... and
Below - a wonderful shop display board.

This is a fabulous book for the
vintage sewing collector!

◊◊◊◊◊◊◊

More from Sajou!

2009-08-17T10:30:00.012+10:00

.... Continuing on with the

fantastique French haberdashery
supplier of Maison Sajou - there is
so much to see.

Below is just a very
small sample of the
glorious pages of items
available that are found in
the 152 page catalogue.
Really, every page is just
wonderful that I had a hard
time deciding which one
to include!

Frédérique Crestin-Billet has
given me her kind permission
to show you these pages
from her 2009 catalogue.

Below, these beautiful thread cards
are printed on both sides.

Below, threads and needles
including fantastic
needlebooks.

Below, ribbons and laces
and trims.

Below top, sewing boxes/kits.
Left, an excellent range of the most
magnificent scissors you will ever see.
Right, wonderful needlebooks.

Vintage Sajou Albums are becoming
extremely desirable and sought after.
The two below would be from the
late 1800's and are crochet
albums/pattern booklets.
Clever needleworkers could also
use these designs for cross-stitching!

Next time, I will be showing three of
Frédérique Crestin-Billet's wonderful
books -
1. La folie des CISEAUX
2. Ouvrages de Dames - Mercerie, Broderie
and 3. Mercerie Au Rayon Des Fils -
à coudre - à broder
à repriser - à tricoter

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

A love of all things French!

2009-07-13T11:57:00.009+10:00

Bonjour!

We have a lot to thank the
French for - especially for
so many beautiful, decorative
needlework designs and items.

SAJOU
From 1830 to 1880, Jacques-Simon Sajou
was selling supplies of all types of
needlearts - and reached fame in
France and all of Europe.
Today, Frédérique Crestin-Billet
continues as the owner of Sajou and
presents the vintage designs and
articles as they were over a
hundred years ago.
Here is the website for you to
enjoy......... SAJOU!

You can also view the television
report - spoken in french - but
still a fabulous look into the world of
Sajou.

Below is one of the thread-winder
sets from Sajou.

The contents....

Here are some more
great French sites to enjoy -

Rouge
Coups de Coeur
E Comme Ecriture
Les Paniers - baskets
Idees
Machines - sewing machines

Viva la France!

---[XOX]---

A Pattern for You

2009-06-13T16:13:00.005+10:00

I have a free pattern for
you for being so patient with
me!

I was fortunate to find a small
collection of vintage transfers in
an old Weldon's magazine just
recently, so I want to share
a fabulous vintage
crinoline lady transfer
pattern with you.

You could use this lovely design
for many different things.
Lots of linens, pillow shams, peg bags,
sewing bags, aprons, - sewing
and painting!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I want to also draw your
attention to a delightful blog -
(how's your French?)

"Heritage brode de Victorine"

You will love the images even
if you don't understand French.
Or you could translate the page
via Google.
Enjoy!

...:::[[]]:::...

Children's Craft Sets

2009-05-26T21:30:00.013+10:00

It is known by some of you

that I have a collection of children's
sewing sets and embroidery sets.
You can see them here and here
and here and here and here.
I also have many spool knitting sets
of which you can read about on
my SPOOLKNITTER blog.

It is also no secret that I adore
the Spears Games Knitting Nancy
(female form) and I am fortunate
to own some sets of these
as they are now becoming
highly sought
after and because of that
extremely expensive!

I thought I would share with
you another two craft sets which
are made
by Spears Games.

The Little Basket Worker below is
from the 1920's - 1930's and shows
delightful graphics on the top of the
box of three children making
their little baskets.

After all of these years, it still
has some of its contents.
On the box top it reads -
The Little Basket Worker
Spear's Improved Edition
Registered SPEAR'S GAMES
In Great Britain
Manufactured by
the Spear Works Bavaria
Designed in England
(no date)
The directions are under the lid.

Up until now, I had never seen a date on
any of the vintage Spear's Games sets.
It was certainly a big surprise when the
next set arrived.

Beads
and how to use them
A Pastime for Children
- and it further reads -
Registered SPEAR'S GAMES
Great Britain and Canada
Manufactured at
the Spear Works Bavaria
Designed in England
Copyright 1929

Another lovely picture
is shown on this box!
There are many wooden beads
still with the box and it also
contains its instructional leaflet.

I also cannot resist showing you an
advertisement shared with the above
leaflet.......

No doubt, I was very happy to find this!!

You can see many delightful games in the
book - Games We Play - History of
J.W. Spear & Sons and written by
Helmut Schwarz & Marion Faber
The text is English and the games
are those found in Germany,
lovely to look at and
read about!

You can find the book here.
Please note that it states
that you "Ask Francis" and not
use the button on the
"Buy the Book" page.
Francis Spear is a delightful
gentleman and will answer
your questions and be able
to send you your book.
A small photo from inside the book
is this sweet little sewing set
Puppenmutterchens Nahschute 1937
(Making Dolly's Dresses).

The paper dolls sets are delightful!... as are
so many of the games found in the book.

---:::[[]]:::---

Small Display

2009-05-24T18:07:00.004+10:00

There will be a post
coming up shortly!

--ooOOoo--

Vintage Tatting Shuttles

2009-04-25T22:06:00.008+10:00

This time we are taking a little look at
vintage tatting shuttles
found in a vintage
"Antiques Collector"
US magazine.

(click for larger image)

(click for larger image)(click for larger image)

*************

DAVE & JOANNA STANBROUGH (Part Two)

2009-04-22T16:17:00.018+10:00

Being a collector of sewing items
under all the headings of -
vintage
modern
new
handmade,
the search will often bring
many pleasing results, and sometimes
something will just take your breath
away........... as when I discovered
Grizzly Mountain Arts!

If you have heard of Grizzly

Mountain Arts, then of course
you have heard of Dave & JoAnna Stanbrough,
crafters of the most beautiful fiber art
tools, jewelry, and baskets - "finding
inspiration from the natural beauty of
our local landscape" - Grizzly Mountain, Oregon.

(image used with permission from Dave & JoAnna Stanbrough)

(This is Part Two of my article on the amazing
duo of Dave & JoAnna Stanbrough.
Part One was posted on my other blog
- Spoolknitter - and covered the
magnificent spool knitters made by Dave
as well as his profile.
I decided to separate the two fields -
spoolknitters and needlework tools - so that
each of my blogs could carry each
corresponding subject.)

Dave and JoAnna are the perfect married
couple, soul-mates - complimenting each other,
giving of their expertise and ability to utilize those
elements found in nature turning them into
beautiful needlework tools,
necklaces, pendants, and baskets, etc.

With the list of items growing -
Tatting Shuttles
Scissor Fobs
Crochet Hooks
Thread Winders
Lace Bobbins
French Knitters
Lucets
Needle Minders
Drop Spindles
Ceramic Pendants
Necklaces
Rings
Ceramic Thread Waxers
Nostepindes
Niddy Noddies
Pine Needle Boxes
Hitty Dolls
and more ...............
their beauty and quality never falters!

They are truly an amazing couple and when you
look at the pieces yourself, you will see the incredible
artistry that goes into each quality piece.

About JoAnna Stanbrough

........." I studied musical performance in school with flute
being my principle instrument. Dave and I married in 1978
and so began our journey of moving around the country
living on various wildlife refuges. Our son was born in
1981 and I spent the next 17 years being a stay-at-home Mom,
playing music on the side. I had always done some kind of
craft, usually giving away anything I made as gifts.
It never even occurred to me that someone might
actually want to buy anything I made! LOL!
I still think of myself as a musician pretending to be an
artist :) My main medium is earthenware clay,
but I also work with ancient ivory, pine needles
and on occasion do rock mosaics.".......

JoAnna's talents are well and
truly evident in her beautiful jewelry so
feast your eyes and take a look at the
following sites -

Grizzly Mountain Arts Blogspot
Grizzly Mountain Arts Etsy
Good Dirt Jewelry Etsy
On Flickr

-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-

Again, I want to thank both Dave and
JoAnna for affording me their time and
generosity and help in enabling me
to put this together.

*************

KIT OR ETUI?

2009-04-12T22:20:00.008+10:00

In my last post, I asked -

"What is the difference between a sewing kit, etui
and a sewing compendium"?

Well, not a great deal actually!
A sewing kit is explained as something used
as an aid in an emergency, designed to be
carried anywhere (holiday for instance),
handy to have in the car or handbag,
a container holding helpful sewing
accessories.

Etui is obviously French and explained as
a small, usually ornamental case for holding
articles such as needles.
They date back to the eighteenth century with
the custom of ladies taking these
and their needlework to large gatherings
or private social occasions and who would occupy themselves
with their embroidery or other work.
(Further information - Needlework and
Embroidery Tools - by Eleanor Johnson)
And ...... according to Nerylla Taunton (Antique
Needlework Tools and Embroideries) ........
it is often the central appendage of an 18th
century equipage. So from
that it would have been attached to
a chatelaine.

Compendium - a container fitted with a variety
of implements. (from Antique Needlework Tools
and Embroideries by Nerylla Taunton)

Another container from the 18th/19th century
is called a Ladies Companion.

Below is a picture of two of my own.

And in my last post, I also asked if my little tube
container would be called a sewing kit or etui?
Even if it is French and it has depose on the bottom
and it is an ornamental case, I would still call it
a sewing kit.
It couldn't be attached to a chatelaine.

Below - an untidy drawer of sewing kits!

>>>OOO<<<

Sewing Tins

2009-03-27T19:42:00.010+11:00

Hi everyone! ..... this is well overdue,
but the "situation" at home
is still "in boxes".
DH has been working extremely hard
and little time is being afforded towards
sorting out, the setting up of the shelves,
and display cupboards, and ultimately
the unpacking of the sewing collection.

Of the little that I CAN get my hands on,
which is found in a few of the sewing
baskets, I will
try to put into a post now,
and hopefully
sooner than later, there will be much
more to follow.

I appreciate you "sticking with me" and
I assure you that when all is unpacked,
the future posts will hold a great deal
of subject matter..... just as I have done
from the start of the blog.

>>><<<

Sewing Tins

There are a few headings under Sewing Tins which I could talk about -
Tins showing advertising e.g. - Singer, Butterick, etc.
Tins that came with sewing machines which hold
sewing machine parts
Tins that hold sewing kits
- however, we will look at two recent samples of
sewing kit tins.

Here is dear little Minnie Mouse on the lid
of the Disney sewing kit. This is the only Disney
kit that I have and I am sure that there were
many other different Disney sewing kits
available over the years, but as yet
I have not found any. There must some
readers who would know of others.

Inside are the typical contents however, I did find
it a little unusual to have a "ring" shaped thimble though
I guess it fits better in the container.

Below is the Dumpling Dynasty sewing kit by Wu and Wu.
A very new product and a delightful tin.
Truly a collector's treasure for the future.
You will see all sorts of delights at their website
to do with all sorts of activities for children.

The tin is about 4" X 8" which is a little large for
a kit, and the contents are -
six different cotton spools,
wheel of pins,
a large assortment of needles,
safety pins,
seam picker,
buttons,
thimble,
tape measure,
and scissors.

Lastly, I have a couple questions for you -
What is the difference between a kit, etui,
and sewing compendium?
I would love to hear from you and see
what you think, and
see this metal sewing tube below -
Would you call it a kit, etui, or sewing
compendium?

Above - showing contents.
There is also a small metal piece at the top side of the
tube which pulls out a tape measure.

I look forward to hearing from you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Few Words

2009-03-13T16:45:00.005+11:00

We all know that not everything goes to

plan - my little matchbox project has been
put on hold for now.
I do hope to bring you something of
interest very soon.

<<<>>>

Old Sewing Baskets

2009-01-15T15:39:00.017+11:00

It is so good to be back again. The unpacking is still

proceeding - slowly ......... when you have a family
of collectors such as ours, you really do have to allow

for the extremely phenomenal
amount of boxes holding all of your treasures.

So in honour of all those boxes, I thought I would
start the year with another type of container -
old sewing baskets.

Who doesn't love old sewing baskets?
Who recalls the excitement of
finding one lurking away
in the corner of
a second-hand store holding all sorts
of vintage sewing delights?
Perhaps even with its own rare
vintage sewing tool - a silver tatting
shuttle, or gold bodkin!
Who delights in restraining from
searching thoroughly
through that basket UNTIL you are back
home, all prepared with a hot cuppa, comfortably
seated and ready
to unfold the hidden treasures that you
might uncover?
Old wooden spools of cotton, doilies that
need to be embroidered, needle books -
both handmade and company produced,
sewing kits and
beautifully handstitched pincushions,
little china figures holding emeries, silver
thimbles and novel thimble holders -
I could go on ......

Here are just some
of my sewing baskets.

The above small basket is about 100 years
old and needs a little TLC.

The same TLC will be applied to this basket
from the 1930's.

This basket on a stand will need
repair work on its handle. I was told
also that the lower level once contained
a padded satin cushion.

Cane, straw, raffia, grasses, many types
of materials can be woven in to make
beautiful baskets.

The following are made from picture cardboard
and clear plastic/perspex with a solid
wooden base. Who remembers
these from the 40's - 50's?
These are actually knitting
baskets but I couldn't resist
including them in this post!

Do any of you have a favourite sewing
basket?
We would all love to hear about it!

...>>><<<...

Photos for you!

2008-11-18T01:52:00.006+11:00

This might be my last post for a few weeks.
I hope you will enjoy this display of
some of my collection.
These photos were taken about 3 years ago.

**************

SANTA PINCUSHION

2008-11-13T02:44:00.006+11:00

I am very pleased to tell you
that I have now got a tutorial for
my Santa Pincushion in
this pdf file.
(Right-click to save as...)

I hope you have fun making it!
I would love to see your finished pincushion.

***************

Needle Boxes

2008-10-16T17:32:00.006+11:00

Here is part of my

needle box collection.
Made from velvet, card, and
paper, and decorated
with scraps, they are most definitely
of the Victorian era.

They measure 5 x 7 x 3 cms
and when opened, the needle pages
concertina out to reveal small
needle packets secured in
place with red ribbon.
Starting with the blue velvet box,
the inside shows
a delightful "needle box print"
of a vintage lady wearing a hat.
The needle packet is by
T. Harper Redditch.
The scrap on the lid says "With
fondest love of Thee".

Inside the faded burgandy needle box
shows another vintage young lady.
The needle packets are Sheffield prize
needles. The scrap on the lid says - "To
one I love".

Inside the palest needle box and the one in the
least good condition we see a print of a child and
and her dog. It is missing its little concertina
folded pages and the needle packets are from
John English, Feckenham, Imperial Diamond Sharps
.......etc.......Great Britain 1863.

The scrap on the lid of this box says - "The
business of my life shall be - Forever to
remember thee".

**********

A Little Look at Sewing Trade Cards

2008-09-24T17:59:00.011+10:00

Sewing Trade Cards

Most of you would know about Victorian
Trade Cards. They advertise all manner
of goods and services and thanks to the
ladies of the Victorian era, we have many
surviving examples to behold today.
They were a popular pastime, with
Victorian ladies pasting their collections
of cards into scrapbooks.
As you search for trade cards, you
soon discover that many of them advertised
sewing goods - cotton threads
and sewing machines.
Below is a small selection in my collection and
if you would like to know more, please
see here - Victorian Trade Cards.

Above and Below (front and back)
Chadwick & Bro's 6 cord cotton.

Above and Below (front and back)
J & P Coats' Thread.

Above and Below (front and back)
Willimantic Thread

All of these cards that follow
are blank on their
backs.

(Also - there are trade cards in the side
bar of the blog which I will be altering
sometime soon).

~~~~~~~~~~

How long is a piece of string?

2008-08-25T23:41:00.011+10:00

The above question has been jokingly
asked by us for many years. To think
that this MIGHT have been the case
for many other "sizeable" questions
is quite mind boggling to say the
least....
The role of the tape measure is one
of extreme importance in the
sewing field as you all know.
I am not going into the history
of units of measurements, but
I do intend to show
you some examples of
tape measures in my collection.
There are tape measures
to be found with more than
one purpose - that is, they
also include a pincushion,
thimble holder, scissor holder....
many multi-functions and which are
extremely novel.
The tape measures I have chosen
for this post are of one
purpose only - as a
tape measure.
Celluloid, bakelite, vegetable ivory,
bronze, pewter, wood, nickel, plaster
white metal, shell are materials
used for the casings of tape measures
throughout the years with plastic
being the most common material found.

Above and Below -
Tape measures in various shapes and forms. The porcelain
crinoline ladies are particularly desirable as well as
celluloid flowers and animals, and other figural shapes.
There are many varieties to be found and will
make a fabulous collection on their
own.

Another field in collecting tape measures
is that of advertising which also makes a
very interesting collection.

Two books you might like to look for are -
Collecting Figural Tape Measures
by Elizabeth & Douglas Arbittier
and
Janet & John Morphy

and Collector's Digest
Advertising & Figural Tape Measures

DISPLAY SHELF

2008-08-19T23:55:00.005+10:00

I will be posting soon about tape measures but in
the meantime, please enjoy my photo taken
of one of my display cabinet shelves.
(sorry, taken before dusting!)

PINCUSHIONS AND DOLLS

2008-07-24T20:51:00.013+10:00

Vintage sewing and dolls often go hand

in hand.
Collectors of vintage sewing and dolls
have the best of both worlds.
There is a large range of sewing items
involving dolls to be found - thimble holders,
needlecases, sewing companions, kits, and
stands, tape measures and more.
But pincushions would have to be the
sewing items that most typically
suit the doll.
In most cases, it is the skirt which is the
pincushion, but it could also be the doll's
hat or perhaps the doll holding a
pillow/basket that is the pincushion.
Everyone would know of the beautiful china
half-doll pincushions of the late 1800's and
early 1900's. There are many different forms
and styles both from Germany and Japan. But
not only were there pincushions, they also
adorned tea cosies, brushes, powder puffs, cologne
bottle tops, etc.
Making pincushions involves a little creativity, skill,
and a sense of whimsy. Dolls could be of many materials
- plastic, china, porcelain, cloth, and wood.
Wooden "dolly" pegs can be transformed into
a novel pincushion. A simple painting of features,
painted hair or glue on wool hair and ribbon, or just
a little triangle fabric scarf, pipe cleaner arms, ribbon
bodice, rectangular length of fabric gathered along
one side, attached to a circle cardboard base
and filled with polyester filling and made in an
hour or two, is a fun project even for the
beginner seamstress or child.
Or substitute a plastic doll for the peg doll.
A look through vintage magazines can uncover some
novelty patterns or ideas for making
pincushions using dolls of the time.
Celluloid dolls were popular in the 20's - 30's
like the kewpie dolls, many of which can
be found today made into sewing novelties.

Below - these are the modern
soft plastic equivalent to the
celluloid kewpie. The doll on the
left I have already dressed in the
style of a flapper. The doll on the
right is destined to be a pincushion.

Above - cutest celluloid kewpie with her
crocheted umbrella standing on a
large pincushion.

Above and below - these are vintage
celluloid kewpie dolls. They have padded
billowy satin skirts to accomodate the
pins with the one above having the added
advantage to also use her rather large
hat for pins.

Above - this is a hanging bisque doll
Below - tiny plastic Scottish lass possibly
1950's

Above - typical 1950's plastic doll with heart
shaped padded skirt.
Below - a cloth Navajo pincushion doll.

Above page from The Collector's
Encyclopedia of Half-Dolls by Freida Marion
and Norma Werner.

Above - a handmade cloth doll holding a "pumpkin"
pincushion
Below - a common China-men pincushion which
are still being made today.

Below - a painted cloth pincushion doll head.

These are a small sample of doll pincushions.
I would love to hear about what you have in your
collections!

VIRGINIA SNOW

2008-06-27T20:42:00.010+10:00

Who was Virginia Snow?

The name of Virginia Snow Studios began to appear
on Collingbourne Mill's embroidery, crocheting, and
knitting instruction books around 1913. (Not sure as
to whether "Virginia Snow" was just a name or actual
person.) The name continued to be used until the
late 1930's. Some time later after many changes to
the company, it eventually became Lee Wards.
(For full details regarding this company which
commenced in 1902, please refer to the article -
Piecing Together the Past of Virginia Snow Studios....
Elgin, Illinois - by Susan Wildemuth)

Below are a selection of pages from the catalog ....

Below are three Lee Wards catalogs from Spring
and Summer 1959, Spring and Summer
1962, and Fall and Winter 1962.

PRISCILLA FANCYWORK BOOKS

2008-06-14T19:23:00.023+10:00

PRISCILLA produced a wealth of

fancywork books pleasing even the most
fastidious of fancyworkers/needleworkers.
There many titles some of them you will
see below.

Continuing with the Priscilla Catalog from previous
post.........
Here are some more pages for you to peruse.

(Check out the "toast case" above!!)

The catalog continues with more baby clothing,
aprons, handkerchiefs, collars, ladieswear,
household linens, towels, etc.
You will find pages on simple crochet
edgings (see below), embroidery stitches,
and lists of embroidery sundries, cottons and threads,
yarns, beads, braids, ribbons, etc., etc.

...---ooo000ooo---...

MODERN PRISCILLA

2008-05-28T12:45:00.014+10:00

Collecting vintage sewing items and
books is a great pastime and I have been
very lucky to have found a lot of
interesting things.
I always enjoy looking through the
vintage needlework books, magazines
and catalogs. The ideas and patterns
you find are very clever and practical,
but some ideas really makes you wonder
if the novelty items were made at all.
As I also have a small collection of dolls,
the novelty patterns containing a doll always
catches my eye.
The two novelty ideas below were found in a
"Modern Priscilla" magazine.

The Modern Priscilla began in 1887 at Lynn,
Massachusetts, and in 1894 it moved to Boston.
It was devoted to fancy work,
dress patterns, china painting, and needlework in
general and later expanded to cover many other
aspects of women's home-life.
The last issue was July 1930.

Above and below - just two of the
magazines' beautiful covers,
June 1925 and May 1912.

Aside from the magazine, we find Priscilla
catalogs. One such below is the Fall & Winter
1916 - 17 issue. Inside are gifts and needlework
accessories and clothing to buy - these were
ready for you to do your own fancy work.
I will be showing here the first pages
of the catalog.

Above - What a treat to be able to find
these fabulous sterling silver needlework
accessories !
(click for larger image)

There will be more pages from
this catalog in the next post.

TWO SEWING KITS

2008-05-17T17:10:00.007+10:00

Here are two sweet vintage plastic
sewing kits -
an African doll and a Japanese doll.
They measure about 3 inches or
7 1/2 cms. There are no maker's
names or country of origin.
If anyone has one in its original
packaging, I would be most interested
to know the details.

They both screw apart in the centre.

Inside the African doll we find - pink needlecase (missing
its cap) containing needle and pins, scissors,
tweezers, thread holders, pen knife,
and stiletto.

Inside the Japanese doll we find - pink needlecase,
scissors, tweezers, ear spoon, thread holder, stiletto and
safety pin.

I would have to guess and say that these are
most likely made in Japan.

Pocket Sewing Kits Book

2008-05-10T16:10:00.003+10:00

Further to my previous post on Pocket Sewing
Kits and for those wanting to know more
about them, Sandy Woodyard has an excellent
book - Pocket Sewing Kits - Published in 2006
by Ohio Thimble Seekers.
It covers all sewing kits including those made
from - Brass, Wood, Enamel, Plastic, and
so much more. There are over 60 pages and
full of lots of great photos all in colour.
It is a great reference book - really worth
seeking out.

A look at sewing kits

2008-05-01T17:25:00.005+10:00

Novel Pocket Sewing Kits

As the name implies, the little pocket
sewing kit is a very handy item to have in
your bag. With needle, thread and thimble
contained in a tiny but amusing holder, your
sewing jobs and little emergencies are taken
care of, making it a very useful little item
to take on your travels.
Pocket sewing kits are a great addition
to the vintage sewing collection.
The number of novel designs are a
joy to find and would make an interesting
sewing collection on their own.
The picture above shows just a small
sample of what is available.

Girl's Own Annual Vol XLIV

2008-04-25T15:20:00.007+10:00

Vintage Girl's Own Annual
edited by Flora Klickmann.

At the beginning of the year I showed you a
large vintage volume of a Girl's Own Annual.
I have been fortunate to find another this time
Volume XLIV. These Annuals are not dated but
they are from the early 20th Century.

I have chosen these two pages showing what

to do with scraps of ribbon and silk, projects
that I thought might interest you.
(click for larger image)

These delightful illustrations below are just some that
can be found in the Annuals.

Day and night-time wear for young girls.

SCISSORS ADS

2008-04-16T15:05:00.007+10:00

....From

The Delineator
A Journal of Fashion
Culture and Fine Arts
published by
The
Butterick Publishing Co. (Ltd.)
London & New York
September 1896

Click for larger image

For those of you who love embroidered doilies,
(don't we all?) you must visit Gina at Patra's Place -
she has a fabulous collection of vintage linen,
embroidered doilies, aprons, handkerchief sachets, etc.
Gina is a fellow Aussie and dedicated collector of
all things linen related as well as embroidering
her own vintage doilies.

Children's Embroidery Sets

2008-04-07T22:08:00.016+10:00

This time we are taking a little look at Children's

Embroidery Sets.

The Kiddies Embroidery Sets below are Made
in England, and contain - 1 piece of Material,
6 Embroidery Balls, 1 Needle and 1 Transfer.
Each box has one design to embroider - these are
Butterfly design or Birds design.
I would estimate the date as circa 1920's.

Below - inside one of the boxes - well, we are missing two
of the balls of thread but that is fine. For a very vintage set
as this, you would expect there to be some items missing.

Next is the Princess Real Embroidery Set dated 1939
by Standard Toykraft Products Inc. New York U.S.A.
It is numbered 205.

Below - showing Contents ~ Materials to
Embroider.
Also, a sewing needle, the sweetest tiny thimble,
scissors, and threads.

Next - Embroidery Outfit by Transogram Gold Medal
N.Y. Dated 1950 .
Complete Cloth and Napkin Set with "Ballet Girl"
motif.

According to the box top, it contains - cloth centerpiece, napkins,
embroidery hoop, colorful embroidery thread and accessories.
This has obviously had a lot of work/play and I would
guess that there has been some items added to it.

Below is a Hasbro Take-Along Embroidery Set.
1965 Hassenfeld Bros., Inc., Pawtucket, R.I., U.S.A.
Numbered 1515.

Again, this set has been well played with and other
items have been added.

Next is "Stamp and Stitch" Embroidery Set No. 723
Made in Italy ~ Multi Print ~ Milano.

This set has a slightly different approach to
embroidery. The stamps can be used to
make more pictures to be worked, plus
there are also some transfers.

Lastly, here is a free vintage pattern for you.

SEWING CARDS - PART TWO

2008-03-30T20:01:00.015+11:00

We are having another look at
sewing cards - this time boxed sets.
These sets are all used and
are as found.

The box set below has been dated
as circa 1910 (according to Darlene J.
Gengelbach, the author of Encyclopedia of
Children's Sewing Collectibles - identification
and values). It is made by Parker Brothers (Inc)
Salem Mass. U.S.A. There should be 10
cards in the set and the set below has its
original 10 cards.

The pictures are pinpricked and quite detailed.
I would suggest that to sew these cards, the young
child would have been quite skilled. The set
shown in the book "Children's Sewing Collectibles"
are of animals whereas this set is - Objects - as
stated on the front of the box.

First Steps in Sewing - Germany
There are no further clues as to maker and date but
I would say circa 1910's.

There are only five cards in the box and I would say
that there would be some missing. Again, the cards
are pinpricked, small and detailed.

Below -
This set is dated 1950 - it reads "Copyright MCML by The
Saalfield Pub Co. Akron Ohio - Made in U.S.A."

There are eight cards in the box and are all
original and complete. (The cards are all pictured
on the box and around the sides).

Next is a set made by Ed-u-Cards Inc. U.S.A.

This set has a different approach in that you sew "card" clothes on
to a cardboard doll.
The set is also shown in the book "Children's Sewing Collectibles".
All dolls and clothing are still with my set but two
of the laces are missing. It has also been added to
with another two sets of sewing cards from other
sets of which I have yet to identify.

Below - Sampler Sewing Cards - box reads "Copyright
MCMLIV (1954) by The Saalfield Pub. co. Akron O.
Made in U.S.A.
There are 12 Sampler Designs, 4 Balls of Yarn,
Tapestry Needle, and Illustrated Instructions.

There are lots of designs to cross-stitch.
In this set, there are 10 cards, however, it has been added
to and there again, I have yet to identify all of the
other cards.

Next time, I will have a little look at embroidery
sets.

SEWING CARDS

2008-03-21T22:23:00.008+11:00

SEWING CARDS - SEMCO

Sewing cards are a great way to start
a young child on the road to learning to
sew.

Semco in Australia, produced simple,
perforated cards with fun colourful designs - such
as animals and nursery rhymes and more.
See above and below - adorable
dogs, Wire Haired Terrier, Scottie, and
Westie.

Semco - from Stanley E. Mullen Co. was commenced
in Melbourne, Australia in the early 1900's and
produced paper transfers as well as
threads, embroidery patterns, etc.
The business was transferred to a new
premises in 1923 at Semco Park,
in Black Rock, Victoria, Australia. Much later,
the Company moved to Sandringham in 1978.
In 1983 it sold to Coats Patons acquiring
the assets and the name.

Below is one example of the doilies
that were available from Semco ready
to embroider - a delightful Crinoline
Lady Novelty Set.

There will be more sewing sets to follow soon.

Plain sewing sets.

2008-03-13T23:39:00.014+11:00

This time I am taking a look at

plain sewing sets.
But just because the outside is plain,
doesn't mean that the inside would be -
although the floral pattern of this
set is really quite sweet.

Inside, we find a quite complete embroidery/mending
set. With no brand name on the outside of the box,
we only have the details found on the thread cards
telling us that it is Made in England. The silk thread
has the Duldarn brand on it.

This set has had little use.
It has a drawer in the front to hold the work in
progress - currently empty.
The brand name on the thread card reads Sewswell - Menda.
There is a sweet little button card of four green buttons, a
Blue Star Brand Finest Quality Needles packet, scissors, ribbon,
threads, thimble, fabric, and safety pins. This set
is also Made in England.

This set has two drawers in the front which holds
two children's handkerchiefs, - a rabbit design and
a crinoline lady design -
ready to be embroidered.
Inside, we find that this has had a lot more use than
the other sets. There are knitting needles, crochet hook,
thimble, many "Glister" thread spools, rayon
embroidery threads reading Swinden (Fancy Goods)
Ltd. Redditch, England,
and a blue "doiley" ready to embroider.
There is a gold foil oval pasted inside the lid
which reads "Sewinden" (yes, with an e)
Product - Made in England

I would say that this set has been added to.
Although it is almost complete with all of
its thread spools, thimble, pincushion, safety
pins, paper tape measure, "Floral" needle
packet - English Made, Best Quality Sewing
Thread cards - Made in England, and perhaps
missing the scissors. There are other
embroidery thread cards on the inside
of the lid, a Silcarn Mending thread card,
and Vicars Salome Tapestrie rayon thread,
plus The Albion AMG sewing and mending thread.

This again, has two drawers in the front
of the box holding cloth to
embroider and a paper pattern and
stitching instructions.

Next post, I will be taking a little look
at sewing cards.

Pincushions, Hearts, Wishbones, and Crochet!

2008-02-28T15:59:00.008+11:00

I have had a few requests for patterns since my post on

Thimble Holders (Crocheted Wishbone Thimble Holders).
I have also had an email from someone who lost the
treasure (crocheted wishbone thimble holder with
a crocheted heart-shaped pincushion attached)
they were given by their grandmother and
sadly lost it in a house move.
I will be posting a pattern very soon
when I will be back home.
I have been away for the past week.
I hope that you will check back again - when I
am able to update.

March 2, 2008

I have had a search through my patterns and
while I do not have the same
pattern as the "wishbone thimble holder with
heart-shaped pincushion", I have what I
think is the next best thing.
I have found a vintage pattern for a crocheted
"powder bag", and instead of filling it with
powder, you could fill it with polyfiberfil.
It can be attached to the crocheted wishbone
thimble holder for which I have
previously posted the pattern.

Below is a pattern for a "crocheted pineapple
pincushion" which is from - Star Book No. 74 Fair
& Bazaar Suggestions - see further below.
The pattern does not give the finished size but if
you look at the cover picture, you can tell that it
would be approx. 6 inches long.
If you are a skilled crocheter, then you may be
able to adjust the size in accordance with the
wishbone thimble holder.

If you look again at the "wishbone thimble
holder with heart-shaped pincushion", you
will see that the crochet work is extremely
fine (pincushion 4 inches in length).
So a lot depends on the size thread and
gauge hook that you use as to what size the
finished item would be.

I have included a picture of some of my collection of
pincushions which shows a lot of these vintage
crocheted pineapple pincushions.
They all vary in size as you can see.

I hope that this has helped those who are
looking for crochet patterns for sewing accessories.
Don't forget to click on the pictures for larger image.

Two Vintage Sets for Children

2008-02-21T23:40:00.008+11:00

Here are two very vintage sets for children.
The first I would date to around the 1910's
and no maker's name on this.
The condition of the outside of the box is
a little poor but the inside looks fine.

As to the contents of the inside of the sewing
set, it is as found, so I cannot tell if they
are original.

There two cards of sewing thread, two pairs of
scissors, two lots of embroidery thread, a card of
little buttons, part card of hooks & eyes, a small cardboard
threadwinder with thread, a packet of needles, more
buttons, thread spool, and two balls of crochet cotton.

Above is a close up of the picture on the lid of
the sewing set. It looks to me like this child is
going to do some gardening with a rake
and watering can.

The Toy Knitting Outfit below has wonderful graphics
on its lid.
It is actually a spool knitting set and is dated around
1910's.
This set is made by Milton Bradley of the USA.

On the lid of the box it says - This Outfit has given
pleasant pastime to thousands of children.

Inside the box we have three spool knitters, 2 original and
1 homemade from a small wooden cotton reel/spool, and yarn.
While I would usually place this on my other blog - spoolknitter -
I thought that you would enjoy seeing this set just for
the graphics.

Junior Miss!

2008-02-14T16:27:00.007+11:00

Continuing with children's sewing collecting theme,

I have this very simple, but sweet Junior Miss
Sewing Set - A Berwick Toy
Made in England

The contents show six different colours of embroidery
thread, two cards of mending thread (Glista "Mendarn"
Mending - Made in England), packet of
needles (The "Floral" packet Finest Quality
Needles - English Made), and red thimble.

I just love the graphics on the lid of this set. The seated
young girl is sewing the hem of a doll's yellow dress,
the kneeling young girl is playing with a sweet doll, there
is a cane sewing basket on the floor, a ball
of wool in front of the basket, and the dog has a
giant red thimble on his head!
There is no date but it is numbered as
"No.1". I have to guess yet again,
possibly 40's - 50's.

More sets to follow!

Vintage Sewing Sets for Children

2008-02-09T19:35:00.000+11:00

One of the many fields of vintage sewing

collecting is the category of children's sewing.

Some of the items we find are -
Needlework sets
Embroidery sets
Sewing Card Sets
Sewing for Dolls
Millinery Sets for Dolls
Knitting, Crochet and Weaving Sets and
Children's Sewing Books.................etc.

I have a number of different sets and books about which
I will be posting from time to time.

Here are three sets all Made in England.

I have been lucky to find these particular sets
in a reasonable condition with a lot of their
contents still intact. Now, apart from finding
a mint condition, unused set with which to
compare the contents, I can only assume that
these items ARE original to the set.

Miladi Needlework Companion is made by
Berwick Toys - England
This set is numbered 106.
Octagonal in shape, this colourful set has butterflies
and flowers on the lid.

Inside, we find embroidery threads on cards marked
Junior Miss Embroidery Thread
- A Berwick Toy Made in England
(still stapled to the base),
cardboard spools of thread with Miladi
on the ends of the
spools, paper tape measure,
scissors, thimble,
a handkerchief with a transfer of a puppy to
embroider, 1 skein
of embroidery thread, a cloth needlebook,
and a piece for cross stitching.

Below, The Seamstress Needlework Companion
Made in England
Again, this is an octagonal shaped box.
The cover shows a wooded scene with fairies
and toadstools.

Inside, we find - scissors, thimble, paper tape measure,
packet of Peerless Needles, Sewing Thread on card Best
Quality, 2 skeins of Peerless embroidery threads, and
various cardboard spools of embroidery threads.
Shortly after taking this photo I found another two
spools under the insert.

Below, another Miladi Needlework Companion.
This box is hexagonal shaped.
We have a number of little characters and
various sewing items shown on the cover.

Inside this set we find, paper tape measure, scissors, thimble,
various spools of cottons, 2 skeins of embroidery thread,
a packet of Miladi Sewing & Darning Needles,
a card of Miladi Hosiery Mending thread,
and a card of Strutt's Elastic Thread.

There is no date on any of these boxes, but I would say
they are from the 40's - 50's.

If anyone has any information on the Berwick Toy Company,
or knows anything at all about these sewing sets,
I would love to hear from you!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Make a Wish!

2008-02-02T23:36:00.001+11:00

How many of you save the wishbone

from the Christmas turkey?
Do you know that you can make
an unusual thimble holder using
a wishbone and crochet cotton?

Victorians had a flair for whimsey!
They often turned unusual objects
into something to delight the eye.
Animal horns and hooves were often
made in pincushions, so using a
wishbone for a thimble holder seemed
perfectly logical - they never threw
away anything!

Below are some samples of thimble holders.

Left - a vintage wishbone thimble holder
Right - a newly made wishbone thimble holder
(this one uses an ordinary sized chicken wishbone
which was a little small).

Below is a vintage wishbone thimble holder
and pincushion.

And another one below here this time
being a lot smaller pincushion than in
the previous photo.

This is a vintage crochet book -
Crocheted Gift Novelties from 1916

And below is a pattern from this book
for you to make your own!
It will be up to you as to what size hook
and crochet thread you use.
Have fun!
(click for larger image)

****************

MY WORKBOX

2008-01-24T21:44:00.001+11:00

I want to treat you all to some pages from
my latest acquisition -
The Cult of the Needle
from the early 1900's.

These pages will speak for themselves!
Enjoy!

>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<

>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<

(click on picture to enlarge)

Old Photos

2008-01-21T19:41:00.001+11:00

These photos were purchased at
an antique shop a little while back.
I love them for the wonderful
styles of dresses that the young
ladies wear.
I often think that I should have
been born a century earlier!
I wonder whether they would have
worked on the making of the dresses
themselves, possibly a loving
Mother, or a dear Aunt, or maybe
a dressmaker.
Was there lots of hand-stitching, or lots
of machine stitching on a treadle
or a handcrank sewing machine? -
handmade laces, silk ribbons, buttons
and expensive trims?
Did they have the latest catalog/ue or
pattern book?
What colours or fabrics did they use?
I hope you enjoy this little look.

Sisters?

Above - March 1890

Vintage Girl's Own Annual

2008-01-13T15:19:00.000+11:00

For my first post of 2008, I wanted to show you something

I consider really special.
The book below - The Girl's Own Annual
Edited by Flora Klickmann
dates around 1917.
I found this book during my recent holiday at
a very favourite antique shop in Tasmania.
This is a large publication of nearly 700 pages,
so I hope you will forgive my attempts to scan some
of the pages from the book. (This book is very thick
and scanning the inside was very difficult due
to the pages curving and distorting the print.)
However, what I have managed to show you is, I hope
of some interest to you.
There are a great many short stories in this book both
fictional and educational - but of course we are mainly interested
in the fashions and crafty articles, aren't we?

The very pretty cover.

Fashion update for 1917

What every young gardener should be wearing!

An easy apron to make and young fashions.

Do you crochet? These are especially
pretty patterns.

Below - making beads.

(click to enlarge)

It appears that I have been tagged!
Cathy from Hazelruthes has tagged me and I now have
to reveal 5 random things about me!
I really do want to keep this blog informative rather than
diary-like/personal but sometimes you can't escape it.
So here goes -

I don't drive!

I can wiggle my nose (but nothing magic happens!)

I have many obsessions (nothing new here) - one of
them is collecting toy dressers (cupboards/hoosiers?)
I needed somewhere to store my collection of toy tea sets!

I love to eat prawns. As a matter of fact, I had
garlic prawns at the pub last night.

I am fascinated with wooden dolls/toys - spoolknitters, kokeshi dolls,
matroushka's, and the like.

So now I have to tag another five bloggers-

Susan - Susaninstitches
Heidi - Needlenecessities
Becky- Sweetcottagedreams
Jane - Jane'sjots
Linda - Chloe'splace

(Oops! - It sounds like I had a holiday at an
antique shop - though it might be a great idea! LOL!)

A LITTLE TRIP

2007-12-28T23:17:00.000+11:00

HI!

JUST LETTING YOU KNOW THAT I WILL
BE AWAY FOR JUST OVER A WEEK.
SEE YOU WHEN I GET BACK!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

MAY 2008 HOLD ALL THAT YOU
WISH FOR AND MUCH MORE!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

2007-12-23T13:39:00.000+11:00

(Picture taken from cover of 1931 Wright's
Bias Fold Tape booklet - Sewing
Book No. 25)

WHITE CHRISTMAS

2007-12-16T14:16:00.000+11:00

Add Glitter to your Photos

VINTAGE SEWING FOR XMAS

2007-12-12T13:07:00.000+11:00

In searching for vintage patterns, there is nothing
like the thrill of finding a Christmas gift booklet. I love
these for their novel gift ideas, plus the fantastic Santa
graphics/pictures are an added bonus!

These particular booklets are supplements to the
Australian Home Journal and probably date around
1930's and 1940's.

I know there are many of you who love vintage textiles and
I would like to treat you to some of the vintage
patterns found in these booklets.

For those who love vintage aprons, this one has an
Australian Native Rose embroidery detail.

For the knitters.

For the embroiderers.

For those who love dolls and tea cosies.

As is usual with a lot of the sewing patterns
in the earlier books, booklets, and magazines,
you had to send for the pattern. It is the case
for this cute Koala holding sewing accessories. I am
sure that this wouldn't stop a lot of you clever crafters
from making your own little version!

Happy crafting!

The sewing poll.
Thankyou to those who voted.
As with a lot of vintage textiles, some may be too fragile to
display permantly. A lot of care is needed for most and
keeping them clean is important. Some may be able to
have them on display and protected from dust in glass
cabinets. Sunlight should also be taken into consideration.
Some items can still be used as with embroidered or
crocheted doilies, quilts, tablecloths, aprons, etc.
So in all it is really up to the collectors!

********************

ANOTHER DAY!

2007-12-06T21:36:00.000+11:00

********************

...........ANOTHER CHRISTMAS PINCUSHION!

Here is another addition to the Christmas pincushion
group - my Santa pincushion.

Made of felt and a triangle shape which
has "boxed" corners.

I wanted a country style looking Santa and I
think I have captured that style with this.
I hope you will agree.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

CHRISTMASSY NOTIONS

2007-12-02T16:20:00.000+11:00

I was delighted to be a participant in the recent

Snowman Pincushion Challenge with my pincushion
group. All of the entrants did a fabulous job in
creating their snowmen. It was so interesting to
see the different styles of snowmen
that other pincushion makers had created.
For me, it was the first time I had involved myself
in anything like it and it really set my poor little brain
into motion.

Below is my Snowman Pincushion - a Snowman Peddlar!

~~~Snowman Kits~~~
SOLD HERE!

Although it ended up being more of a decoration,
I am very pleased with my efforts, and I had a lot of fun.

On the tray are crocheted woollen caps, snowflakes, bells,
cork pipes, snowballs and wooden bucket. Hanging off the tray
are snowflakes, wooden bucket, pairs of snowman arms, bells,
and ear muffs.

Underneath the tray is a snow shovel, wooden bucket, scarf, snowballs,
and another crocheted cap.

I twisted my ankle on Friday, so while I had my foot
up, I made this very simple little felt Christmas tree
pincushion. Now I want to make a lot more Christmassy
pincushions!

Dont forget to vote in my latest sewing poll!

*****************

GRAPHICS

2007-11-29T21:04:00.000+11:00

In my searches for vintage sewing notions,

I am amazed at the many wonderful graphics
to be found on the packaging -
press studs, buttons, darning kits, hat pin packets,
hair pins, and needlebooks, hooks and eyes, etc.
Above is a small collage of some images
found on some of my notions.
Do you recognise any of them?
Click on image for larger picture.
~~~~~~~~

I hope that you will have a vote
in my latest sewing poll - vintage laces, tatting,
embroidered doilies, vintage mini quilts,
vintage crochet samples, vintage
samplers, and perhaps aprons
and potholders,
are just some of the vintage
textiles that I would be referring to.
Thankyou!

December 1 - Some of you may be wondering exactly
what I am asking in my sewing poll.
Do you display your vintage textiles permantly, sometimes,
or not (those that may be too fragile
to display)?
For example - you might have old crochet hooks
displayed with vintage crochet samples.
Tatting shuttles with tatting work.
Perhaps you might have embroidered doilies
in a frame or bordering a shelf.
Mini quilts or potholders hanging on the wall.
Or a shadow box full
of notions, tools and pieces of textiles.
Any type of display.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SHADOW BOXES

2007-11-20T17:41:00.000+11:00

Shadow Boxes

Dating back to the Victorian times, the crafting of materials
such as shells, hair, feathers, beads, paper, etc., into
three-dimensional scenes and patterned displays were
placed into boxed frames.

Dollhouses too, held a great fascination for many
Victorians. From dollhouses to roomboxes,
Victorians were keen to collect miniatures to decorate
their tiny rooms.

Dioramas' were a project for many school children.
Larger or life-sized dioramas' that display historic scenes
are to be found in many museums.

Today, shadow boxes could hold themed collections,
treasures, memorabilia/keepsakes,
specimens, medals, and miniatures, etc.

For "vintage sewing" enthusiasts, shadow boxes are
ideal for displaying those small sized sewing items.
Thread spools, laces, buttons, button cards, fasteners,
needle packets, needle books, small tools, etc., all come together
to make a fabulous display.

Some sites that may be of interest -

Karen Silver Bloom

Expert Village

Roomboxes

**************************
The results of the sewing poll - "Do you use your vintage
sewing items?" , were interesting.
22% used their vintage tools all the time
31% did not use them at all
45% used them sometimes
It all depends on the condition of the tools, due to their age
they may have become too fragile. Needles and pins
may have rusted.
With knitting and crochet, some old plastic
knitting needles can snap with use. Crochet hooks
may have rusted, some may have bent.
Reproduction tools would be most suitable for usage.
Thankyou to all for taking part in this poll.

There will be another poll coming soon.

*************************

MAKING PINCUSHIONS

2007-11-14T15:55:00.002+11:00

This is dedicated to the millions
of pincushion lovers world-wide!

***********

Through the power of the Internet and in turn, blogging,
the popularity of crafting has spread further than ever before.
Craft blogs, knitting/crochet blogs, embroidery blogs, quilting blogs,
sewing blogs, scrapbooking blogs, etc, that go hand in hand
with thrifting and collecting of textiles and vintage
sewing items, has brought many like-minded fiber
friends together - north, south, east and west of the globe.
Bloggers hold giveaways/competitions to celebrate their
"blogiversaries" for post milestones and/or blog birthdays.
All you have to do is leave a comment on their blog and a
lovely handcrafted prize could be on its way to you.
Many bloggers who thrift and sew also sell their creations
in a shop called Etsy or on Ebay.
We now have words like sewies, ornies, primitive and
spoolies connected with crafting.
Crafting and collecting groups have also sprung up on the
internet through sites like Yahoo and Flickr.

************

Pincushions are enjoying an ever-expanded popularity
like never before.
Crafters are creating pincushion patterns and "make-do's"
catering to the needs of pincushion lovers/collectors everywhere.

"Make-do" pincushions date back to Victorian times where household
items like broken candlestick holders and oil lamp bases were
recycled and fashioned into pincushions and
even sometimes given as gifts.
A trip to the Op/Thrift shop could become a treasure hunt for
things like glass sweets dishes, candlestick holders, vintage
egg cups, fancy bottles, vases, vintage salt and pepper shakers,
anything that could become a "make-do" pincushion.

Above and Below - these items can become "make-do's".
I am currently working on the glass candlestick holder that
is filled with buttons.

The following picture is of a book which may be
considered the "bible" of making vintage-style
"make-do's". Needleworks by Kindred Spirits
was published approx. 10 years ago
and I would say that it would still be the one to consult today for
ideas for making pincushions and other vintage sewing items.
It is still available to buy.

Front and Back cover. Please note also that
the illustration of the pincushion at the top
of the post/blog is from this book.

A vintage "make-do" pincushion.

A newly made "make-do" on a
metal base with lots of sewing
accessories added to the skirt.

The back of the "make-do". The lady
bust is particularly lovely.

A cat spoolie! - sits on a wooden cotton spool.

There is a fabulous tutorial found here at Mimi Kirchner's blog.
Really worth a look if you are wanting to work out measurements
for your pincushions, plus different ways and shapes to sew.
Mimi is also a fabulous doll-maker!

Last of all - HAVE FUN!

PRETTY MAIDS

2007-11-07T19:47:00.000+11:00

The results of the previous poll reflect how many of you enjoy
your crafting/sewing. As well as collecting vintage sewing items
you like adding your own
creations to your collections.
A smaller number prefer to stick to vintage pieces
and possibly add other artists' work to their collections.
Thankyou to all for taking part in the poll.
I have added yet another poll to the right side bar.
I would love for you to place your vote, thankyou!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love images of vintage
ladies. Be it of illustrations, paintings, on china, figurines, etc. and of
course, anything to do with vintage sewing.
I am sure there are many of you who share this with me.

Below is a group of china figures. The crinoline lady left, will
become a pincushion, and the other two are vintage tape measures.

Below is a very attractive
vintage sewing tin with "Workbox" on the lid.

Below is vintage wooden sewing box with a painted crinoline
lady doing her embroidery.

Above is the before - a little china basket found at an op shop and -
Below is the finished pincushion. Not rocket science here, just added
a small padded centre, glued it in. I removed the little decoration and
added the ric rac - and as soon as my daisy trim is found among the boxes
I will be adding one to the front of the ric rac. (Do you
think it needs one?)

Above - also pictured with the basket pincushion is a vintage
felt pincushion, very sweet.
I thought you might like this vintage pattern for
a cute pincushion....you can replace the figurine
with any other you might be able to use. Don't
forget to check out the op/thrift shops for little figurines that
may be suitable. Have fun!
(click on picture/instructions to enlarge it)

JUST A PEEK!

2007-11-01T22:40:00.001+11:00

I thought you might enjoy these pictures of
my knitting needle gauges.

Above - a large selection of plastic, celluloid, and paper gauges.

Above - there are about 22 different bells amongst this lot...... and I
know there are other brand bells that were made
that I would love to add to the collection.

OCTOBER 31st

2007-10-31T11:02:00.000+11:00

~~HAPPY HALLOWEEN!~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THREAD BOXES

2007-10-29T19:28:00.000+11:00

Thread Boxes - obviously
an important item in a Haberdashery shop as
the end of the box displays the brand, name of
the item, the shade, number,
type - sewing cottons, crochet thread
and embroidery floss, etc.

Although generally the advertising
on the boxes was rather plain and
not very decorative, there were some exceptions.
I hope you enjoy a little look at thread boxes.

Dewhurst "Sylko" from Great Britain

Semco Crochet Thread

John Clark Junr. & Co
The Canadian Spool Cotton Company

C. A. Rickards Crewel Silk for
Art Needlework

Clark & Co's Sewing Machine Thread

Lily Mills Company of North Carolina
Lily Six Cord Sewing Thread

Dewhurst's Sylko Machine Twist

Bond's "Wenty" Crochet and Embroidery
Threads - "A Real Australian Product"
Yes, you guessed it! This is my favourite!

PIN CARDS

2007-10-23T22:24:00.000+10:00

Thankyou to everyone who voted in the Sewing Poll.

Of the 49 votes - it appears that we love collecting
everything to do with sewing
at 42% of the votes.
A lot of you adore pincushions (especially those from the crazyaboutpincushions
group, naturally!) coming in second at 26%.
Thimbles and thimble holders was third at 8%.
The rest at 4%, with crochet and knitting at 2%, and no votes for tapemeasures.
"Other" at 4% could possibly include things like - buttons, cotton stands, patterns,
and possibly sewing trade cards, etc......
I have another poll for you to vote in -
don't forget!

Do any of you collect pin cards?
Below is a small selection of one type of pin card -
I find the majority of these
were made by Neuss Bros of Germany. Lovely pictures
grace the front of these pin cards which come
in a variety of shapes.
Years ago, these would be handy for popping into your sewing bag
for take-along projects on outings, and visiting.

These shapes would be harder to find than the more common
rectangular shaped pin cards.
I didn't scan the backs of these as it would be very hard for
you to read it.

Added October 26 -
Of all of the reference books that I have, there is very little if
any information on pin cards. Pin keeps, pin discs, pin wheels,
all seem to have been
handmade and date around the mid to late 1800's.
When manufactured souvenirs and items
carrying advertising came in late 1800's, it could be around
this time that the pin cards came into being.
I have tried to find information on Neuss Bros. but haven't had
any luck as yet, though I will keep trying.
Neuss Bros. also made pin cubes.

There are other advertising pin cards in my collection,
as soon as they surface from
the packing boxes, I will be able to show you then.

QUICK UPDATE!

2007-10-18T15:31:00.000+10:00

DAFEL FELT

Back in July, I posted about a delightful little shop that used to be in the Block Arcade, Melbourne, many years ago. Dafel Felt was a business where you could purchase felt kits to make marvellously designed felt toys. The clever elderly lady, the owner and designer of these delightful characters, has now sadly passed away.
I am thrilled and delighted to have been contacted by Kim Wilson (there is power in blogging!).
Kim is the now owner of Dafel Felt and she informs me that she will be sending me information on the history of Dafel. I consider this a great honour. It will become an important part of the "sewing museum" when it (the museum) becomes a reality!

STAY TUNED FOR MORE DETAILS!

VINTAGE BOOKS

2007-10-14T20:54:00.000+10:00

Old Books and Old Patterns.

There is a lot to be said about the way instructions
for patterns were given
in vintage publications.
They certainly set you thinking about how things
were to be put together. Actually not so much
patterns but more 'ideas'.
As for knitting, we have it so spelt out to us these days
compared to 80 or more years ago,
I find it really amazing that anything was able to
be made. Then I suppose if it was something
that you had to do for the sake of clothing the
family and you had been sewing since childhood,
well then, you would be quite the expert.
I have a number of vintage books for needlework and knitting.
I have decided here to show you two and included some of
the patterns/directions for you to try.
From the first book - Mrs. Leach's Fancy Work Basket from
the 1890's - Vol. 4 - I have shown the directions for making
pincushions.

The Stitchery Annual by Flora Klickman is from the early 1900's.
This section here is for the younger miss and also gives directions for a pincushion.
(Please click on pictures for larger image).

In the search for patterns, do not overlook the pattern books for the
younger set. The patterns you find are most often delightful, easy, and
can also be adapted for other designs.
Here is a book called Needle Craft from the 1940's. With the popularity
of making and collecting Aprons, I have included the pattern page
here.

From the book -
Photo of a class of children intent with their sewing.

HALLOWEEN

2007-10-09T16:08:00.000+10:00

THREE BLACK CATS

Three black cats, three black cats,
In black hats, in black hats,
They all jumped into the Halloween brew,
They teased the ghosts and the goblins too.
Did you ever hear such a hullabaloo
On Halloween?

**********

FIVE LITTLE PUMPKINS SITTING ON A GATE

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate,
The first one said,
"Oh my, it's getting late."
The second one said,
"But we don't care."
The third one said,
"I see witches in the air."
The fourth one said,
"Let's run, and run, and run."
The fifth one said,
"Get ready for some fun."
Then whoosh went the wind,
and out went the lights,
And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

**********

In Australia, Halloween is not as popular a tradition as elsewhere in the World.
Growing up in the 50's, 60's, I never encountered anyone "trick or treating" or getting dressed
up in scary costumes for Halloween. We did have Guy Fawkes night for a while
but that seems to have vanished into the past. (Unless someone out there knows
otherwise.) It wasn't until my own children were at school in the 80's, 90's that
there was any dressing in costumes at school and supervised "trick or treating" in the evening.
Now they are grown-up and, at least where I live, there is no celebration.
The only mention of Halloween now that I
can see is from the US in movies, and craft magazines.
......And now through the "power of blogging", I have met a great lot of fellow US
bloggers and read their blogs with great interest about their Halloween traditions, crafts,
decorating, etc.
Well, all this has lead me to ..... the following picture!
This is my first attempt at anything Halloweenish craft-wise! (Not counting making
costumes for my two sons many years ago).
What has this to do with collecting? .....it is a pincushion!
I must say that the painting part turned out better than the actual
pincushion. It is based on something I saw on the internet.
I am not making them for sale but this one is actually destined for the
US. I hope that it lives up to the rest of the fantastic works
of art by the very talented US crafters. I will be making another
for myself. What do you think?

Close-up
BackA Jolly Hallowe'en

The time has come for the Witches' dance,
and the creatures from far and near
will gather and make merry for Halloween night is here!

**********Halloween - October 31st

Don't forget to enter your vote in the sewing item
collecting poll!

STEP BACK IN TIME

2007-10-07T21:46:00.000+10:00

GIPPSLAND HERITAGE PARK

"Old Gippstown"

I visited this heritage park at Moe (say mo-ee) in
Victoria, a little while ago.
I thought you might enjoy a little visit in particular to
Sarah Carter's Dressmaker Shop.
There are lots of pictures here of many sewing goodies
that are on display in the shop.
I hope you will excuse the quality of some
of the photos as the exhibits were behind glass.
Click on the above title to check out the other
buildings and what else you will find at the park.

There is a poll on the top right of the page - don't forget to vote!

THRIFT SHOP/OP SHOP FINDS!

2007-10-03T21:40:00.000+10:00

I went op shopping today!

Who would have thought that statement would become one that you would announce with such enthusiasm and what a great sentence it is - it conjures up all sorts of images of treasures
waiting to be discovered, all sorts of sewing goodies that can be added to collections,
all sorts of sewing accessories that can be recycled
and made into other fabulous and useful needlework items,
all sorts of items to decorate
the ever expanding sewing room.
- ric rac trims
- braids
- fat quarters
- pieces of tulle
- woollen fabric
- glass candlesticks
- little decorative china baskets
- pincushions
- jars of buttons
- buttons on cards
- old keys
- old interesting craft books
- knitting needles
- crochet hooks
- snaps/fasteners on cards
- knitting needle gauges
- lovely old glass jars
- embroidered doilies
- beautiful crockery...

Finds from a country op shop.

This green glass hen cost $2.00

Above - pincushions 50 cents each,
the little glass jar of red buttons 20 cents.
I also visited a quilt shop and one of the purchases
was this length of green ric rac.

This glass candlestick cost me $1.
I have filled it with little white and pearl buttons and I intend to
use it as a pincushion base. I have received some lovely purple fabric
from a fellow pincushion enthusiast in the US
and I will make the pincushion from this.
I will post a picture of the pincushion when completed.

Another little treasure found today.
This little china basket will also become another pincushion.
Picture will be posted when it is completed.

Bias binding and fasteners and more pincushions!

LET'S HAVE A TEA BREAK

2007-09-29T22:49:00.000+10:00

Time for a cuppa!

For a good old-fashioned pot'o'tea,
you can follow the directions below -

Go make a cuppa - I'll wait.................

The full page advertisement from a vintage Australia Home Journal of the fifties.Now sit back and I hope you enjoy the pics!
Here are some of the tea pots and tea cosies in the collection.
Tea cosy with "half doll" (these dolls are also found on some pincushions).
This tea cosy is a popular pattern.
The vintage blue and orange tea cosy is a Madame Wiegel pattern.
The cottage tea cosy is a favourite and the crocheted tea cosy with pansies was made by me.
Another Madame Weigel tea cosy pattern. This is a daffodil stitch pattern and the directions for making this one will be in the link at the bottom of the page.

A vintage crocheted tea cosy which is not completed, tea bag holder, sugar spoons, and jam spoons, and tea leaf scoops.Well, I hope you enjoyed this little lot. There is heaps more but that will have to wait for another time......I have so many things packed in boxes at the moment (currently painting the house).....and it does make it somewhat awkward trying to do a blog......!!

Here are a list of patterns for tea cosies -
Rosy Cosy crocheted tea cosy
Cabled tea cosy (knitted)
Daffodil Stitch tea cosy (knitted)
Cathy's tea cosy (knitted)

Okay, who's for a second cuppa!

NEEDLEBOOKS Part Ten

2007-09-26T22:12:00.001+10:00

We are back to needlebooks again, for the time being anyway
- there are still a lot of categories to cover in this subject.

And they're off! ...or are they?
Let us hope that the current horse flu crisis is over very soon.
This horse shoe shaped needle book naturally lends itself to horse racing graphics.
But as you will see below, there are others too!
Here are a few examples -

Above top - The Jockey Club Needle Book - Made in Czechoslovakia
Bottom - The Steeple Chase Needle Book - Made in Japan

Above - no name (foil paper inside - probably Japan)

Above top - The Blue Ribbon Needle Book - Japan
Bottom - Bonita Needles - Made in Germany

Above top - Our Good Luck Needle Book - Made in Germany
Bottom - this shows the back of the previous "Blue Ribbon" Japan

Above top - Complete Needle Assortment - Made in Germany
Bottom - Kressent Needle Book - Made in Germany

Above top - The Horse-Shoe Needle Case - Made in Germany
Bottom - The Whip Needle Companion - Made in England

ITS A SNAP!!

2007-09-20T22:04:00.000+10:00

Snaps have been around since the 1840's, primarily used as theatre costume fasteners where there required quick changes or removing or adding frills and trims to alter a costumes appearance.

The 1850's saw the design of the snap we know today.

To read more about snaps, you can visit here to see an article called "Those Wonderful Gizmos which hold us together". A great read!

The following line-up is just a small sample of the vintage snaps that you might find.

Top Left - "The Success" - Made in Czechoslovakia
Top Right - Koh-i-noor - Germany (you can also find these in tins)
Bottom Left - Snap Dragon - Made in USA
Bottom Right - Argo - Made in USA

Top Left - Golden Rod (no origin)
Top Right - Pertex (no origin)
Bottom Left - "Model" - made in England
Bottom Right - Colonial Maid - made in Canada

Wilsnap fastener card showing front and back.
Made in Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Acorn fastener card showing front and back - made in USA

Starsnap with wonderful graphics and there are more colours and types available (I find I am drawn to these cards like the vintage button cards you find with lovely graphics on them) - made in Chicago, USA

And finally, some of the fabulous "American Beauty" fastener cards to be found. Of course, made in the USA.

VINTAGE PINCUSHIONS

2007-09-14T01:07:00.002+10:00

I have here what I hope is a feast for pincushion lovers.

These two vintage silk pincushions are a little fragile. I think that they would date around 1930s and have been cleverly decorated with beads. The guitar pc as you can see has lost some beads and the "strings" are broken. The harp (or is it a zither) looks in somewhat better condition, although I think they are both very special.

This is a lovely beaded trim shoe pincushion - there are still rusty pins in the folds of the cushion, and I would date this one maybe early 1900s.

This pincushion, though it looks vintage, I would date a bit later. This pattern is from the "Pincushions" book by Averil Colby, 1975, and based on a vintage pattern - it was probably made in the late 70's - 80's. Below is a page from the book. I think this book is a must for pincushion collectors - "A unique book with complete information on the history, creation, and collecting of pincushions" (from the cover).

A basket of tomatoes, vintage and newer, and strawberries (and emeries), also vintage and modern. There are also two black figural pincushions, and also can you spot the mouse?

This vintage tomato pincushion was leaking sawdust. So if you like the "primitive" look, I stitched some naive black stitching to close up the larger holes, attached a green felt leaf which was blanket stitched around and used a green crochet thread for the "sections". ...and there you have one rescued tomato pincushion.

Added Sept 18th - This is another rescued PC - or a vintage dog tape measure (made in Japan) with a new base. The eyes were missing but that was easily fixed by adding two black beaded top pins, and the pincushion base is made of felt with a tiny ric rac trim.

This vintage looking pincushion was crocheted by me.

This is a fabulous Pincushion book by Carmen Daumer, and one that I recommend to pincushion lovers. There are great ideas in this one.

I couldn't resist adding these two sweet peddlar bears to the post. I do hope you enjoy seeing them. While they may look vintage, they are purposely made to look old. The bears are the typical "made in China" (but well-made) bears from around the late 1980's - 90's. They are very cleverly put together with their wooden stands and old bits and pieces of sewing items. I was told that these (and others typical) were sold at a craft market in England.

Close-up of the smaller bear's tray.....isn't it luverly....and the tiny shell pincushion is so sweet!

I have just added this picture to "Needlebooks - Part Six". Somehow, it got lost in my excitement!!

NEEDLEBOOKS Part Nine

2007-09-07T14:10:00.001+10:00

FLOWERS

Here are a group of delightful baskets of flowers for you to enjoy.

Dont you just love these needlebooks. They are -
Top left - "Flower Basket" - Japan
Top right - "Presented with Woman's Realm" (give-away) - inside it says "Empire Made"
Bottom left - Made in Germany
Bottom right - Foreign

Left - vase of flowers - Foreign
Top right - "Flower Basket" - Japan
Bottom right - not marked

Inside the 'Made in Germany' flower basket. With older needlebooks, we find smaller needle packets inside and perhaps a bodkin too.
Inside the 'Japan' flower basket.

September is National Sewing Month

Go to www.sewing.org for projects, learn-to-sew articles, ideas and more.

There are still a lot more needlebooks to cover, but I think I will take a small break and post about something different next......!

NEEDLEBOOKS Part Eight

2007-09-03T19:48:00.001+10:00

*POP UP NEEDLEBOOKS*

Pop up needlebooks cover a variety of subjects, mainly catering towards the younger age group with nursery rhymes, cute animals, and famous children's fairy tales. There are also books with colourful graphics of puppets, fairs, and circus scenes, sports scenes, and the very popular sewing scenes that can also include dolls and teddy bears.

Below - this colourful needlebook is made by Prym, Germany.

Inside the Prym Fair needlebook.

The two needlebooks below are of Hansel and Gretel. Left - marked Foreign. Right - made by Akra.

Inside the two Hansel and Gretel needlebooks.

Above - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, shown opened/flat. Made by Dosco, Germany, and below, the inside.

Above - Soccer scene by Wittekind, Germany, and below - inside the needlebook.

Below - making dolls' clothes. Left - made in Japan, and Right - Wittekind, Germany.

Top left - Prym, Germany and Top right - Made in Redditch, England

Bottom left "Dolly and I" mady by Falcon, Japan and Bottom right -"With Best Wishes" and Seasons Greetings on cover made by Wittekind, Germany.

Inside the Redditch, England needlebook. Also states here that it is "A Sister Susie Series 45".

Above - inside the puppet (Punch and Judy?) needlebook - marked Foreign.

Top left - cover of puppet needlebook. Top right - cover of Wittekind, Germany.
Bottom left - marked "Ich-Nadeln, Germany. Bottom right - Pryms, Germany circus needlebook. Below - inside the circus needlebook.Below - a slightly different approach to a pop-up needlebook. This is a basket that has a front flap which you pull out, made by Wittekind, Germany.

Inside the basket - the young girls arms fold out.

Below - a group of nursery rhyme needlebooks (all pop-ups) - Made in Japan.

Below - the back of the needlebook shown previously with the three young girls and doll on the cover.

Makers list -
Akra
Dosco
Falcon
Ich-Nadeln
Prym
Wittekind

Sneak Peak

2007-09-02T22:47:00.000+10:00

*Full Post coming up Monday*

Till then.....

NEEDLEBOOKS Part Seven

2007-08-27T22:58:00.000+10:00

Sew Sew (yawn) Sewing Susan

I apologize right from the start if you think this post is monotonous. I would totally agree with you. I have umpteen kazillions of these among my collection of needlebooks.

I am sure that these are nothing new to just about all of you. However, I felt it was one of those posts that was necessary. I would say "seen one, seen them all". But on closer inspection, they are not all the same. I will invite you to spot the differences. (And be thankful that I didn't put every book in with different "types and amounts" of needles!)

(Don't forget to click on picture for larger image)

Below - inside one of the "Sewing Susans"

Below - We move on to the next group of sewing ladies.

These are the newest needlebooks of the group.

Below - Sewing Circle and Sewing Club

I welcome all readers who are able to date any of these books for me. We know that they are Made in Japan going by the covers and the needle threaders.

Still more needlebooks to come!

NEEDLEBOOKS Part Six

2007-08-22T20:01:00.001+10:00

COTTAGES, SCENES AND
PLACES

Another favourite of mine are cottage scenes.

Top left - Milward's
Top right - Abel Morrall's
Bottom - Abel Morrall's

Top left -Milward's
Top right - A G Baylis
Bottom - Kirby Beard

Left - no name (says - Made in Redditch, England)
Top right - Abel Morrall's
Bottom right - Superior

Two Dutch scene needlebooks above are Abel Morrall's, in new mint condition, with the price tags of 5/11.

Top - City Square, Leeds - Crowleys

Centre - "Hauling timber through the Australian Bush" -Superior
Bottom - "A view at Kingscote" - Superior

Coming up - Sewing Susan!

NEEDLEBOOKS Part Five

2007-08-18T22:25:00.000+10:00

Fabulous Female Images

I have chosen to start this section with the lovely ladies that grace the covers of needlebooks. The books vary in size from 6 X 7 cms up to 12 X 16 cms.

Below is a small list of the popular needlemaker companies that were producing needlebooks in the twentieth century.

Abel Morrall
Wm. Hall & Co. Ltd.
Henry Milward & Sons
Morris & Yeomans
A G Baylis & Sons
Kirby, Beard & Co. Ltd
John James & Sons
Crowley's
W Bartleet & Sons
Heath & Gills (Czechoslovakia)
Brabant Needle Co.

Top left - Masked lady/harlequin - Milward
Top right - Sweet girl with flowers - no name
Bottom left - Crinoline lady - Morris & Yeomans
Bottom right - Lady in hat - Superior

Top left - Lady with fox fur - John James

Top right - Georgian couple - A G Baylis
Bottom left - Lady with wreath - Kirby, Beard
Bottom right - Young crinoline Miss -A G Baylis

Top left - Young lady with cat - Majesty
Top right - Lady with feather fan - A G Baylis
Bottom - Sweet girl (deteriorating picture) - A G Baylis

Above - inside the Young crinoline Miss needlebook

Above - inside the Masked lady/harlequin needlebook.

And one more - a cute girl in a bonnet/valentine - no name

Part Six soon!

A Beary Brief Interlude

2007-08-17T14:56:00.000+10:00

PINCUSHIONS

This is a little post about pincushions before I get back to needlebooks (promise!).
A few of you have been waiting patiently for me to post my pincushions, and I have been going through the boxes for them. As they come to light, I am photographing them.
However, I do try to stay with a theme, this time "Bears". .....a little too soon after the Black Forest Bears post you may say, but it is only a few. There are some other animals, too.

Going by other blogs, there are a very large number of us who adore pincushions both vintage and new. The number of patterns available is amazing - and I would believe this "craze" has been carried down through the years. Many of the vintage magazines and needlework books carried patterns for pincushions of all types. If you do start collecting pincushions, there are many to choose from.....you might even pick a theme and just collect those - well, bears, of course, cats, dogs, or animals in general, shoes, figures, metal, china, handmade, made in Japan, just to give you a small sample. Also, many pincushions are multi-purpose, i.e. - they might include tape measures, thimble holders, needle holders, scissor holders, etc.

Below - from new to old, (I had to put in a Black Forest Bear!)
The bear on the left is so cute, the bear itself was made in China and the extras added to it by "Settler Design" - Melbourne, Australia. This was a recent purchase from a Melbourne craft show. I am not sure how old the "BF" bear is but probably from around the 30's - 40's.

Below - these three bears (made in Japan), are also tape measures (pull their tongue) and I had always questioned whether they were bears until I found the two dogs in the picture following this one. There is a little china bear in front with the top of his head being the pincushion (poor thing!). The bear in the little case is just being cute.

Dog pincushions function also as tape measures, made in Japan.
Cat (or is it a bear?), Dog, and Elephant sitting atop of pincushions. These are also tape measures - just pull their tail. These are made in Japan probably 50's - 60's.

Sorry for the poor picture - it isn't easy getting the detail on these metal bears, but they do look much better in person. These were purchased about five years ago - no makers name but probably made in China.
For those who don't know about it, there is a yahoo group "crazyaboutpincushions" where you will find all sorts of pincushion info and links. If you love pincushions, become a member and you will find a wonderful group of fellow pincushion lovers, plus lots of patterns, photos, etc.

Back to needlebooks next time, and there will be more pincushions when the series of needlebooks is complete.

NEEDLEBOOKS Part Four

2007-08-13T16:37:00.001+10:00

LEATHER

"Skins of beasts were used by primitive man for making his protective covering, and as the processes became known for tanning, leather assumed an important role, extending from ancient times to the present day in the life of mankind.
Hand-made leather goods are well worth having, durable and individual, expressed in general design and good workmanship" ......

The above introduction is found in "Handicrafts of the Country Women's Association of Victoria" (CWA) published in 1968.
For more information on leatherwork see here.

Below are two leather needlebooks which I think were handmade.
Left - dyed green with decorative painting of a rose which has deteriorated a little.
Right - very well painted kookaburras.

Top - the inside of the kookaburra needlebook with a totally unsuitable heavy cotton insert.
Bottom - the inside of the rose needlebook.

Below is a very attractive leather needlebook with a crinoline lady on the cover. I believe this to have possibly been mass-produced. Maybe in a cottage industry by leather workers, the detail is lovely. The crinoline lady figure has been individually worked and glued on to the front as are the tiny flowers.

Below - while not specifically needlebooks, I have included these as they are obviously from the same makers as the needlebook above.
Two mending sets made of leather.

How much can a Koala bear? The Koala is not a bear but a marsupial. More information on the Koala will be found here.
Below - this thicker leather needlebook is Made in England with an embossed Koala on its cover, it says 'Koala Bear' underneath the picture.

Below - inside the Koala needlebook - made by Kirby Beard & Co. Ltd and showing the elephant trademark.

Coming soon - Part Five
Redditch Needle Companies - Morrall, Kirby Beard, Milward, Bayliss, Crowley, etc.....

NEEDLEBOOKS Part Three

2007-08-10T21:03:00.001+10:00

Who originated the idea of the needlebook? Was it an exercise for young girls at school to practice their skills in sewing and embroidery, and to be given to Mothers as gifts? Needlework projects for bazaars and fairs to raise money for charity? A way to use up leftovers - pieces of silks, other fabric and ribbons? A way of sharing embroidery stitches like the samplers of the day?
Do you have any ideas as to who, where, why?

Like a million other questions we have about where many things originated, I suppose there will never be any definite answer. But we can be thankful that they exist. Collectors of vintage sewing appreciate the effort, the time, and the creativity that went into many of these needlebooks. Some are simply made, some are very elaborate, but they are all beautiful.

Above left - fabric covered card (obviously this one was using up pieces of leftover fabric, there is a seam top right hand corner), there are a few moth holes too. Right - a simply embroidered felt needlebook.

Above and below - Is this the cuff off a sleeve?

Below - a green silk needlebook, top ..and an open-weave wool embroidered cotton needlebook, bottom.

Above - the green silk needlebook also has a pocket inside.

Below left - an embroidered needlebook with the initials H A. Right - a needlebook decorated with ribbon flowers.

Below left - this is a newly-made crocheted needlebook with a vintage button worked for me by my dear friend Susan. A precious gift!

And right - another fabric-covered card vintage needlebook - petite size.

Please be in touch if you know of any history of the needlebook.

Still more to come!

Ain't She Sweet!

2007-08-10T20:00:00.000+10:00

Thanks so much Linda for nominating me! Since I am still new to blogging with just a few blogging friends so far, I have only one other to nominate (Susan and Linda obviously cannot be nominated again or can they? ...well, at least I can second their nominations), so it will be the enthusiastic, effervescent, and extremely clever, all-round niceperson, Noreen of hankeringforyarn - (Crone-Findlay).
LATER - I feel terrible, I had forgotten about Jane of Jane's Jots.
Jane is also nominated for a Nice Matters Award!

NEEDLEBOOKS Part Two

2007-08-08T13:28:00.000+10:00

Sunbonnet Sue

Bertha Corbett Melcher, an American illustrator, is regarded as the "Mother of Sunbonnet Sue", illustrating many children's books published in the early 1900s.

The Sunbonnet Sue images became a perfect choice for many needlework projects, especially in quilts in the form of applique and redwork.

These vintage needlebook bonnets are so sweet and have become a popular pattern to make up. You can find a pattern to make your own in the Sunbonnet Sue website along with more information on Bertha Melcher, Kate Greenaway, and many more designs.

I think it is interesting to show the way the inside of the needlebooks have been completed. The three shown here have been worked differently.

This one has what is called a "duck tail".

Felt - always popular and convenient to quickly work into a needlebook of various designs. Below is a small bonnet, simply worked with flowers. This one also has filling in the crown for pins.

Below, an ever-popular bonnet needlebook. The bonnet here also doubles for use as a thimble holder. If you would like to try one for yourself, there is a pattern here which can be made up simply as is or you can add you own unique finishes.

Part Three coming soon!

NEEDLEBOOKS Part One

2007-08-06T13:27:00.000+10:00

Victorian Needlebook

Handmade needle books were made from many different materials, many of which from materials found on hand - we find leather, card, felt, silk ribbon, fabric of all sorts, and a very popular crafting pastime from the Victorian era we find perforated paper.

This small Needle Book below measures 6.5 cms X 5.5 cms (2 1/2 inches X 2 1/4 inches) closed. The needlework is very simple but still quite attractive. The blue ribbon has become a little worn over the years but I believe it shows that it was a much-loved gift from a daughter to her mother.

Worked on the back of the needlebook are the words - "For Mamma - From Emily".

The inside of the needlebook here shows the woollen pages and the fabric stitched lining.

Perforated paper or perforated card-work is believed to have originated in Germany and introduced to North America in the 1820's. Bookmarks were popular with earlier examples usually of a religious nature intended to be placed in the family Bible. Ideas and patterns were available from the magazines of the time, using mottos such as - Christ is Risen, Obey Your Parents, Labour Has Sure Reward, Forget Me Not, Abide With Me, Rock of Ages, etc. Many framed mottos adorned a wall or were hung above the door to greet visitors.

For further information, click here.

There will be a lot more needlebooks coming up..... I will be 'looking into' more handmade needlebooks, and those made by such Redditch needle companies as Morrall, Milward, Kirby Beard, etc., and also coming up will be needlebooks/needlecards like the ever-popular Sewing Susans and the like.

Can't See the Forest for the .....BEARS!

2007-08-01T21:23:00.001+10:00

BLACK FOREST BEARS

I love bears, well, the small wooden type that function as a sewing accessory.
"Black forest bears" has become the common term for these carved wooden bears, although they did not originate from the Black Forest, Germany. Carved bears were first produced in Brienz, Switzerland, as well as other animals, birds, and human form sculptures. Furniture, clocks, umbrella stands, sewing aids, barometers, chess sets, wall plaques/mirrors, ornaments, (the list goes on....), were made and they now command very high prices at auctions.

I cherish my little group here. There are originals, imitations, and a reproduction, but I still love them all. Three of them were designed for another function, but I have changed their chore to suit me. I know it isn't correct by a collector's standard, but I am happy to state that fact and go with it. I also need to do more research on these guys as to where they came from and even what type of wood is used. Oh, and the one on his back is holding two spools of cotton. You can click on the picture to enlarge it.

For those of you who would like to know more about the history, and the artists and their work in Brienz, here is a very interesting book - Swiss Carvings The Art of the 'Black Forest' 1820 - 1940.

Please stay tuned for my next post on needlebooks!

LUCKY FINDS

2007-07-28T15:42:00.000+10:00

Here is the bounty of today's finds - a thread holder, fabric covered sewing box, cane sewing basket, Patons & Baldwins Fuzzy Wuzzy Wool Box, bargello (I think) pincushion, green leather needlebook, bakelite needlecase, purple plastic bodkin, Sabre bell knitting gauge, green capsule type sewing kit, tin of pins, berry pins, two chenille santas, toys, and various knitting and sewing patterns.