Vintage sewing treasures

I was so lucky to get these from Freecycle. I have given lots away on that site from a shed to tools, and craft and gardening things.

To get these treasures was amazing.

Some vintage buttons all of which are over fifty years old apparently.   Here is just a selection.  I have been sitting daydreaming of the person who owned them years ago.

I saw the advert for "buttons and bits" and was so lucky to be one of the three chosen.  We went to collect them this afternoon - and I have been drooling over them ever since.

I keep wondering what garments they came from - who was the lovely lady who collected them to 'make do and mend' the family clothes.  The centre circular button looks like mother of pearl in the light.

There were metal 'bits and bobs' in the bag too - can you recognize any of them?

Do  you know what this is please?

It has what feels like a Bakerlight handle and the metal piece is rusty - but in a wonderful way!

How about this?  It feels lovely in the hand.

This had got a long prong on it ending with a hook - do you think I could be a teddy bear's eye?  I wonder what happened to the teddy - did it survive with only one eye - this one looks unused.

And what might this well worn star have come off I wonder.  It has been well 'touched' hasn't it - oh I am so happy, I feel as though I have an inheritance.

Now take a close look at these buttons - I have never seen any like this before - but maybe you have.  They feel as though they are made out of stone -they are quite thick, and are definitely not plastic or metal and are very cold to the touch - any ideas?

They have used the rest - on what I wonder - isn't it all intriguing - and what until you see what else I have

Everything smells so wonderfully musty and old - its like perfume to me!

There is more - just look

This really moved me - the first one has a needle and thread tucked into it.  I haven't touched the needle yet - I am saving that special moment for another day.  Maybe I can use some of these threads in a vintage piece of needlework - what a treasure.

Now this did make my eyes moist - the nostalgia of someone's mother, grandmother, or maybe even great grandmother holding these scissors.  Using those sewing needles, one of which still has a piece of thread in it.  Do you recognize the bit of metal in the middle?  What is it for I wonder.   Are the stubby scissors in the middle made for a specific use?

I have saved the best until last - this tiny fragile decaying box

Look at that - A M A Z I N G!

And this is what was inside..................

Tiny, fragile pieces of material - monogrammed.  So this holds a clue to who owned them once I guess - they must have been the family initials.

I have looked up the name of the manufacturer on the web and could only find one mention - which was in someones scrapbook - no photos or anything - and they date they mentioned for them were the 1860's until the early 1900's - if anyone has any information about them I would love to know more.

To have such wonderful treasures is such an honour - I can't believe my luck

Edited too add

I have spent a lovely couple of hours this evening sorting through the bag of buttons (just a few of which I photographed above).

I have had an email from the kind lady who gave them to me - and here is what she said.

"The items you have been given belonged to my Son in Law,s   grandmother.   His father who is now  93 gave them to me,  as I have known him for almost 30yrs and still see him each week.   So in fact some of the items could be 100 yrs old.  The metal tool was I think for pulling the wool or rag through the hook for making a rug.  The other with a hook on the end is for lacing up the boots or shoes.   The stone buttons were to put in curtains to make them hang properly I believe. The stubby scissors were for toe nails I think and the little corso monograms were some of the family names. I am glad you liked them if you make anything with them I should love to see them. Best wishes  Ann"

Wow - how wonderful is that  - so some of my questions have been answered for me already!  Thank you Ann.  Of course, I can't wait to get going on something to include the buttons - a project for next week!   And I will email Ann a photo before I blog it - you can be sure of that

Man flu ATC's

I have a dose of 'man flu' so feeling rough - but as I am a woman - it doesn't hold me back from doing anything-providing I have a full box of tissues by my side.


I haven't made any ATCs for ages, so when I saw a swap on Katy's Corner forum, I thought it was just the 'thing' to do when you have a fuzzy head! The theme is colours

These look much better in real life - they haven't scanned well - bad 'workman' blaming the tools again!

The abstract blues and creams give the feel of water and the surrounding hills.


Miss Brambles here is coloured in shades of blackberry juice - not the actual juice - inks and Promarkers. I gave her a bit of a lift with white bramble flowers in her hair. She looks brighter and more vibrant IRL and the different shades far more contrasting and noticeable.



Shades of orange distress inks for the background - stamped in cocoa brown, and highlighted with orange Promarker - again looks much better in the hand - you can see the different shades of light and dark and contrasts so much better


I did this one in a fuzzy day dream state. Thinking of sunny days, and shoals of fishes swimming upstream - and how tranquil and peaceful it all would be.

Well that is my five for the swap - off to see what the postman has brought this afternoon.

Thanks for looking

(And I did cover my face every time I sneezed so you won't catch a cold!)

Vintage Tote - with vintage crochet.

As per usual the photos do not do this justice. The crochet lace is a rich cream - like a weak coffee coloured and hand crocheted by someone with love years and years ago.

I found it in an Antique shop in the village which was closing down when we first moved here. It was a little table doily. I only bought it because on close examination, I thought of all the hours a genteel lady would have spent crocheting each individual circle and then attaching them. No two are exactly the same - which I love and gives it a quirky and individual slant

The material is gorgeous - came from the same shop. It is really thick upholstery material and very old - but it was in a clean bag and smelt of lavender at the time - so I bought it - and they have sat in a drawer for the past ten years - until I got the sewing 'bug' and have spent two days making this.


It is perfectly symmetrical and flat - it's just that when I hung it up to take a photo it opened slightly.


I wish you could see the rich creaminess of the crochet - maybe I will try to take a photo of it on a different background. The craftsmanship of it is exquisite.




One side has four pieces - and the other three, I seem to have a 'thing' about odd numbers! There are four on the handles - stitched front and back so that they envelope the strap

My fingers are so sore from sewing on each piece - and it has taken me hours and hours to do so. I think I will have to rest them for a few days - and do some inky craft work.



The richness of the material is amazing - you can bury your face in it - it feels just wonderful and velvety.

I will have trouble parting with this - if I do it will go to a very special person!

Anyone for Quail

I am making the most of my internet connection while it is working - its so flaky at the moment - if I don't post it is because I can't get a connection.

We are getting to the end of our 'meat' year so eating up all the odds and ends in the freezer before re-stocking over the winter.

I used to keep quail - but last year I sold off my breeding flock at the end of the season - and decided it was best not to start again this year. I do miss them though.


When you breed quail - you get more males than females unfortunately - so they have to be dispatched - which I had to take responsibility for.

Here are the last four in the freezer - having had a lovely pampered life - and a glorious summer.

I popped them in the steamer tray - a couple are wrapped in bacon. They are nestled in tomatoes, onions, shallots, and little yellow courgettes.


In went the butternut squash and the other veggies - and on they all went to cook.


When it was all cooked, I left the veggies in the steamer to keep warm and just browned off the quail - I like the 'roasted' look, and thickend the juices they were cooked in.

The butternut squash I mashed on my plate with a fork - it was all delish!


I love bright colours on my plate - and the fact that everything keeps its colour and nutrients is a bonus.

We have also had this week, fresh tuna steaks - which I love nibbling chunks raw as I am cooking them - they only take 2 minutes to cook - its amazing how many people over cook them. I made a risotto to go with them.

Today I whizzed out into a nearby town to have my hair cut - and browsed a few charity shops - more of that another day too - I am getting a backlog of posts!

I have to confess that we had junk food today - I had a craving - fish and chips, from a very nice shop and cooked to perfection. I haven't had any since we went to Cromer on the coast on Father's Day - it was such a treat - and nice to have a day off from cooking.

1990 'Exclusive vintage material'......

If anyone has seen photos of my studio shed or visited it - they will recognize this material immediately.

I was surprised to find that I hadn't recycled the left over pieces of the 1990 exclusively designed and copyrighted material which I found in a charity shop and used to make some (rather basic) curtains for outside in my 'shed'.

It's funny how you look at things a different way when you start a new hobby isn't it.

Before this material was just a bit of 'tat' now the small pieces I have left are a new found treasure.


A close up of a piece of the large inside pocket - to try and show you the gold 'paint' they pattern on it. It was that which attracted me to the material in the first place - and the price of course.



Whereas before the material was just means of a draft excluder and to keep the sun out - now I see it in a whole new light.


It's pretty and bright - and original - and I really like the way that the gold catches the light - it didn't need any other embellishing except the dainty vintage lace from Very Mary.


You might get a better idea of the gold if you click you enlarge.

Tote Bag Experiment with Vintage Material

I spent the afternoon making this.


Of course I found a way to cheat, as a beginner I am just not clever enough to make it all without a pattern. Doesn't the colour in the photo below look peculiar, its almost as if it has taken on the colour of the background. The right colour are the other photos.



So - using a cream tote back which I had bought previously - I used that as the inside liner. It isn't crunched up in real life - I just did it this way to show you the inside


I cut out a piece of material, machined it into an oblong - which made it nice and strong, and sewed it onto the tote bag to make a big strong inside pocket. It is big enough to take my purse/wallet, car keys, and cell phone - no more rummaging around in the bottom to find them.



I cut out two squares of the fabric which I bought from Very Mary's Etsy shop - its vintage and I love it!

Next I sewed on the flower centre (tell you more about that tomorrow - it has a story) and sewed on some sequins in the two flower centres near the bottom - I love the way they catch the light! Picking up ideas from Pat Winter Gathering's in a very small way of course.

Then I tried to work out how to make a proper bottom - so that when shopping, tins etc would stand up right - so I machined the corners at an angle - and it worked!

Of course, being me, I took the photos before I pressed the bag!

Lastly I just had to put the cream tote bag, inside the patterned handle-less bag, and sew them both together!


Here is the reverse side. Probably beginner's luck - but I was pleased with how it turned out.

What I am really thrilled about is that I have a bag that is wholly original - because I made it, and the material is vintage.

I am raring to make some more now - but when I shall get the time - who knows?

Thank you.........

For all your kind words of support after losing my Allotment Lady website - and so many years of daily posts, recipes, sightseeing, chickens, home, garden, family, self sufficiency, allotment growing - and so much more.

I am absolutely gutted - and did not realise that Webmania did not have a back up - and have never received any emails to tell me that or advice about backing up.

I am not a young computer savvy person - or even an old computer savvy person - so am feeling so upset.

The enormity of it didn't hit me at first, but it did yesterday and I spent most of the day in tears - what good is that huh? - what a wimp - all it achieves is a headache and red nose! LOL

I might start to incorporate some of my 'other' life into this blog as time goes by. If you don't mind.

It is ironic that I went to the expense of getting the domain and website and someone to put the blog on my website - so that I would have it forever - and my children and grandchildren would have it to look at when I am gone (so long as they kept up the yearly subscription).

When I started it, Blogger was in its infancy, and there were quite a lot of teething troubles - so at the time it seemed like a good idea.

What was that famous quote about 'Hindsight' LOL!