A couple of weeks ago I received an amazing gift. My mother-in-law was going through some of her storage space and came across her mother’s sewing things. Since she would not be using them, she asked me if I wanted to have them. I could not have been quicker to say ‘YES’ – I was (and am still) so excited to have been given this amazing vintage sewing stash.

This thread shelf was made by my husband’s grandfather for his wife – and it’s likely to have been commissioned specifically. Because of it’s shelf system, I can store it flat on the wall, and it holds multiple heights/styles of thread. And, speaking of thread, it came fully stocked!

I love wooden spools – I think these will be stored in a(nother) glass jar on my shelf so I can look at how pretty they are. And, maybe only to be used if I am desperate at 1 in the morning for a particular colour. (Did you see the cat spool? My favorite!)

Again with the thread… but did you see those prices? The winner is… pink at 30 cents a spool! (Can anyone enlighten me as to what Boilfast means?!)

The pricing on this vintage stuff is the best part. I think if I ever use these I will have to save the packaging as long as is usefully possible. I’m not so good at throwing things away anyhow! Check out the elastic – it’s washable – super handy if you want to wear your pants more than once!

I will enjoy using the Zephyr Lightning slide fastener one day. To be honest, again it’s a question of disturbing the packaging – but it seems a waste to just let it sit because I can’t open it… What would you do?

These buttons are my favorite. I wonder what they were destined to be used for? Did she have a plan when she bought them, or were they an impulse buy? It would be so fun to know! I love this buckle too, and the neat and tidy buttons, all together – not like mine with multiples all floating around in the jar. The dressmakers tracing paper is a perfect example of vintage design and the graphic designer in me may have to frame this one, too bad the cover is torn.

I think my favorite things in the stash are the ribbons and rickrack. I really love trims, but don’t generally keep them around (or remember to use them!) These will be a great addition to my growing stash. My favorite? The baby rick rack. I promise I will have enough patience to sew it on one day!

Now, you may (or may not) be wondering what I have used as a background for these photos. I am pleased to say that I now have an antique pattern cutting board that is 2 yards by 1 yard. Amazing for photo shoots, and maybe I will use it for cutting out and altering patterns, if I can bear to put holes in it. I don’t think she’d mind, it’s got some already. I also love my new ruler and vintage measuring tape. Oh, so much fun! And, there’s the oh-so-soft yellow dot fabric I also acquired, soon destined to be a summer dress for my youngest.

Aside from my obvious infatuation/love of vintage things, I do have more appreciation for these items than that. I am grateful that my mother-in-law and I have a really good relationship and that she chose to give me her mother’s stash. She takes wonderful care of my daughters and of course, my in-laws both raised my husband, who (of course!) turned out amazing!

I am also thankful to have a connection to my husband’s grandparents, who I never met. Having their things in my sewing space makes me feel more connected to the art of sewing. In a (possibly strange) way – it reminds me of a time when every woman knew how to sew, and it was more a way of life. Not so much a hobby, as it is mostly seen now. Back then life was busy, but time was consumed differently – not spent so much on commuting or buying a “faster” way to make dinner. We were more connected to the people directly around us, instead of always knowing what our 700 friends are doing.

I’m not against social media in any way! Of course if I was, you would not be here – and that in itself is amazing to me. I appreciate you more than you know. So, now that this has turned into a blog post about the state of life instead of my new vintage sewing gear…. to lighten it up – check out the smile on this girl…  think happy thoughts… (Like vacations on the beach!) Until next time…