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| Central Ridge in the distance from the top of Plank's Pitch |
It’s noteworthy that while in town I cleaned the
utility room. I did
everything but pull out the washer and dryer, and that must
happen, too. I did insist that Mike open the furnace and check there. We’re
looking for a mouse nest, of course. Next trip in, I’ll clean my sewing room, also a
daunting task. “Why would they be in your sewing room?” asked Mike. “There’s no
food there.” They seek not only food but nesting material, and I have plenty of
that on hand.
I need more sealed storage. The question is, do I buy more containers, or do I part with some stuff in order to free up containers? For now, I’m choosing the latter, and I knew where to start – with a container of sewing notions and sundries, not mine but my mother’s! Back in the day, Mother sewed most of her daughters’ clothes as well as her own, so she had useful tools in her collection, and those eventually came my way.
So, it’s mostly junk left in this storage container. The largest item was an eyelet setting punch (“the hole that holds”). Beyond that, there were a dozen partly used hook and eye cards, needles, pins, snaps, old spools of thread, the odd hank of embroidery floss, leftover pink beads from my wedding dress, two broken necklaces, a blind pull – you get the picture – much of it in vintage packaging. Some decisions were hard to make, but I know I don’t need a half dozen wool rug hooks. One or two will suffice for a craft that I don’t pursue. Some items I couldn’t identify.
I was tempted to say, “I just can’t do this,” and put the box back in the closet, but I pressed on. I made three piles: toss, donate, and keep. The tossed items went into the garbage. The donated items were bagged, including the hole punch. And I painstakingly put away the keepers, which necessitated cleaning out a drawer. The effects of a clean-out are far-reaching. Et voila! – an empty container ready or re-use.
But as I was taking my shower – that’s where I have
my epiphanies – it suddenly dawned on me that I should keep that hole punch. Not
only is it an antique, but it’s a heavy-duty tool and probably better than can
be purchased today. So, I grabbed it out of the donation bag and will keep it
with my sewing supplies.
And why did Mother have this hole punch? Occasionally she would use it to make eyelets when she accessorized an outfit with a self-fabric belt. And how will I use it? Eyelets in doll shoes. KW
4 comments:
Ah yes! The self-fabric belt! I had forgotten about them, but mom often made them for her dresses and for mine. So much work! The belt kit with the iron-on part to go over the buckle piece so it could be covered with matching fabric. Truly a forgotten memory!
I went through mom's sewing stuff at her house when we were clearing it out after it sold. She hadn't sewn in years and years, so not much was there. I kept a few things and tossed the rest.
It seems like the pattern directions would say, "Make a self-fabric belt or use a purchased belt." I used to think that if we bought a couple of belts, we could save all that trouble, but Mother would scoff at my idea. I mean -- if you made a self-fabric belt, it only went with that one outfit.
Mother also made self-fabric buttons from kits. How did those things stay together anyway?
I have made fabric covered buttons for a couple of little quilted bags and actually, it was fun. I felt quite crafty. There's a little doobie cratchet that holds the fabric and the rounded part and then you smack the back piece on after tucking the fabric in.
That DOES sound like fun. I would probably buy a button, depending on my vision for the project.
Mother also had a buttonhole cutter. I didn't remember what it was until some sewing forum suggested it was good to have. "Aha! That's what that is," I said. I now have it in my sewing supplies with a little board.
And she had a sewing ham. I donated that to a rummage sale years ago and then regretted it. When one turned up at a later rummage sale, I bought it.
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