Vintage Sewing Finds and Thrifty Jars ...

Hello there ....

Busy week here ... gathering stock ... sorting it out for weekend ...

and  some little gems amongst the everyday stuff.

I found this little bundle ... wrapped in old tatty bags at the bottom of a box of old linen ...

My heart skipped a beat ... and that old excitement starts to stir ..

ya know what i mean...

anyone who goes thrifting .. booting .. treasure hunting ... whatever you want to call it .. knows the feeling well.

It had been a sort of a mundane job .. lots of good stock but nothing ... really exciting ... then I pulled out this little treasure..

Some needlewoman .. somewhere ... someone just like us .. 

had spent time making herself this little 'Blotter' .. 

with pretty sprays of flowers ... 

I don't know who she was .. I don't know when it was ..

but ... I 'know' this woman ... she is all of us.

All of us who like to make ... and save .. and sew and make do ..

an ageless .. timeless ...activity.

This little book was with it ... I love this old rustic sort of embroidery .. and I've spent a good deal of time having a read of it.... amazing what you can learn .. there is always something to learn ... how can anyone say life is boring.

The designs in the book reminded me of a piece I did years ago .. I made it into a knitting bag for my mother. 

It has returned to me ... it was just stashed in the cupboard .. now Mum is no longer with us.

I remember so well the making of this ... stitching away when I was expecting my first son .. I had to spend time in hospital and it helped pass the time.

Gosh .. twenty eight years ago .. where does the time go ..

I remember thinking I would use up all the odd skeins of silks .. all the odd colours on it .. it was ideal for mixing and matching ..

always a thrifty mind ...!

The blotter has just been made ... as a kind of simple folder .. using some stiff cardboard ... simple yet effective..

It was stuffed with a whole stack of embroidery transfers .. from the 1950's I would guess .. a lovely collection .. many of them unused.

Pretty crinoline lady with a love letter in her hand ...does he love her true?

And some pretty smart soldiers 'Trooping the Colour'....

Very nice transfers ... I could be tempted to pick up my needle again ... 

But rather than just stash them away ... I will re home them ..my 'sewing girls' will love them .. and I have tried a few on ebay.

In the middle of all this ... bags and boxes scattered throughout the house .. waiting to be sorted ..

Hubby P dumped a bagful of jars on the kitchen floor.

Now I have everyone well trained ... and a friend had saved his empties for me ... in return ... come jamming time .. he gets some returned .. filled with something nice .. 

So thrifty job for today ... I put them into some nice hot soapy water to soak.

I am determined to have a good stash of jars this next year ... mind you I can see the way things are going I shall have .. well .. maybe a few too many.

Not to worry ... I have a cunning plan .... this last year lots of people were asking me if I had any jars to sell ... and I noticed any that were for sale at the car boot sale were snapped up .... lots of folk into this grow your own ... jamming and preserving.

Of course you can't sell them for much ... but I do like to think I am helping with the recycling thing .. and any and all pennies are welcome here.

I go through the jars thoroughly .. any that look a bit dodgy .. lids a bit stained or rusty I put into the recycling bin ... but most of them wash up just fine ...

I like a nice sparkling jar ...

So that's my day .... what thrifty adventures have you had today?

xx