I am officially out of business...

I am officially out of business...  for a while anyway.  

My sewing machine needs medical attention, my spare is missing the power cord (which led to a scavenger hunt today) and I would really like my serger tuned up so I can get those nice lettuce edges for a couple of knit tops I'm making for the granddaughters.   I'm taking them to the shop this week.  It could be a couple weeks before I see them again :^(   So I guess I should use the time wisely and organize my space, maybe even find the missing power cord?  Sure yeah, that's the ticket!  

So I thought I would take this time to post some of my antique/vintage/just old items I have collected or inherited from friends and family.

I saw this pink sewing basket on Pinterest...
all nicely displayed in a beautiful sewing room.

Here's mine...

This is MY round wicker sewing basket.  

My mom gave this to

me when I was still a teenager.  

It was either hers, or my grandmother's. 

This is circa 1940's I believe.

It has a nifty little thread shelf with wooden pegs, and space below for...
oh wow there's my embroidery hoops ... I've had those since grade school...!

another view

This is the manufacturer... You can still find info about them online.
This sewing baskets came in yellow, pink, blue, green, all with matching cords.
I'm going to have to find a place of honor for this!  :D

My mom is ecstatic that I'm back sewing again.  I "helped" her sew when I was little by standing behind the sewing machine and lifting the presser foot lever when she told me to.  My mom was self-taught.  And she made a lot of my clothes as I was growing up.  Including winter coats.  I don't think there is much my mom couldn't tackle or figure out how to do on her own.   Downstairs in her basement is my grandmother's buffet, drawers filled with old (vintage and probably antique) sewing notions and patterns from her years of sewing, and maybe a few hand-me-downs from my grandmothers as well.  I have a few of them.

I caught the sewing bug from mom.  My parents asked me what I wanted for high school graduation.  I got a brand new Brother sewing machine in a cabinet.  1972.    The fun of sewing was making outfits no one else had.  Funny story though, my friends and I took a bus into downtown Kansas City (I lived in the KC area growing up) and I saw a girl wearing the same culotte outfit I made, and in the same material!!  What are the odds of that?  :D

And at that time a lot of my friends were sewing too.  My mom made my homecoming "Juliet" dress out of green velvet.  She made my little sister's flower girl outfit for my wedding.  My bridesmaids sewed too... so they made their outfits as well. 

Anyway... here are some of the buttons that were in my yellow sewing basket...

Kinda creepy huh?  I have no idea what these were meant for...
my son calls them the Cruel-la DeVille buttons!

And for all of you who have been hearing about when a loaf of bread was a nickel, and gas was 25 cents a gallon....  here are some more items with the prices that will amaze.   I liked that you could buy buttons like you buy screws at the hardware store...  just choose what you want, the clerk put them in an envelope, with the price written on the outside.

I have more... I'll be adding later, especially if my machine is laid up for a while!