Have Yourself a Retro Little Christmas: Medicine Cup Kissing Ball

I can't decide which side of the divide this post will fall, retro cool or super square.  Regardless, I decided to recreate a favorite Christmas decoration from my childhood, the medicine cup kissing ball.  I'll be curious to see how many of my readers remember these.  The one my mother unwrapped from tissue paper every December and hung in our front hallway had Christmas-green glitter and plastic mistletoe.  I've changed a few things on mine to update an old classic just a bit.

One of the reasons I love reading craft blog DIY posts is that someone else has gone through all of the trial and error for me.  This project had quite a bit of both trial and error.  I hope you will take advantage of my experience if you decide to make one of these for yourself.  You aren't likely to find any help elsewhere.  A thorough internet search turned up essentially nothing on the subject of medicine cup kissing balls with the exception of one or two posts asking if anyone remembered them.  As I have noted before, when I run across a topic that seems to be missing from the interwebs I like to cover it, since I know I am not the only person out there looking for information.

You can find the instructions over in my Tutorial section or by clicking here.  I hope you enjoyed this walk down memory lane.  I would love to hear if any of you remember these icons or perhaps still own one.  I hope you are busy making your own memories this holiday season.

Hanky Flowers

Hello friends.  Boy, am I tired.  Three sets of company in two weeks along with two little boys' birthday parties has worn me out.  I've really been burning the candle at both ends.  I am on a mission to finish a project in my sewing room so I can get on to something I want to sew.  Reading my friend Jane's blog post about home dec sewing made me realize I'm not alone.  I'm currently working on curtains for my church's choir room, not a particularly inspiring project.  Additionally, I'm working with just barely enough fabric, so there is no room for error.  Did I mention that the two windows are each 150" long?  There's not much about this job that makes for an easy night's rest.  I'm also really anxious to get some sewing done for me before I leave on a trip in about a month (not to mention two Halloween costumes that need to be sewn before then).  I've also been keeping busy with planing and preping for my oldest son's birthday party tomorrow, and am planning to share a new recipe I tried for cake frosting after I snap some pictures.   All of this to say that I've been too busy to blog!

Today I want to share some pictures of one of the projects I made at the Sewing Expo I went to a couple of weeks ago.  Barb Callahan taught us to make lovely little posies from vintage hankies.  Barb's classes are always fun, and her laid-back teaching style is mixed with plenty of humor.  She provided us with the pattern and all of the materials we needed to make two little pins of different style.

Everyone's flowers had distinct personalities.  It was really fun to see how differently each one turned out.

I need to put some finishing touches on the second one, which reminds me of a dogwood.  This is a lovely way to use up some hankies you might have, especially those with sentimental value.

I'll report back with more details about the latest cupcakes if I survive partying with 22 four-year-olds tomorrow!

New York, New York: A Fabric Shopper's Mecca

What a great day I had on Saturday, despite the fact that it started at 4:30 a.m.  I joined over 50 sewing friends on a bus trip to New York City for some sight-seeing, fabric shopping and all-around good fellowship.  The best part, for me, was getting to gab and laugh uninterrupted with my friend Joyce for hours.  Next best was getting to see some friends I don't see enough of and making some new friends along the way.  The shopping was pretty fun, too, and the weather was beautiful.  Here’s a little glimpse of the loot I brought home.

The bus let us off on West 38^th Street, and we made our first stop at Hai’s Trimming.  This store was full of beautiful and unusual trim like the two pieces pictured above.  These are raw edge silk chiffon flowers stitched to a net background.  I’m going to use them to embellish a couple of t-shirts.  This store also carries ribbon, rhinestones, chain, buckles, and feathers.  I’ve been looking for some of the latter and picked up a couple of different versions for use with my handmade flowers.

Our next stop was Metro Textiles.  This tiny shop on the 9^th floor of an office building is jam packed with bargains.  The shop is not normally open on Saturdays but the owner, Kashi, was kind enough to open his doors to us since we let him know we were coming.  There was room for about 8 of us at a time, and you need to have a bit of an adventurous spirit to shop here since sifting through the merchandise is part of the experience.  I purchased four pieces that I couldn’t resist – I had them shipped to me so I can’t share pictures with you yet.

We hit a number of other places in the late morning and early afternoon but I managed to resist buying anything (which was an amazing feat at Paron’s since that is usually my downfall).  A fairly long walk led us over to the bead district where we stopped in several shops.  I picked up these interesting flowers at Bead Empire.  I think they are made from resin and will make distinctive “buttons” on a jacket.

A little further down the street we stopped in M & J Trimmings which never disappoints.  I’ve been in the market for some stretchy ribbon to use on the back of ring bearer pillows.  I envisioned velvet, which they had, but when I saw all of the other options they also had I was in heaven.  I came home with four different pieces.  The selection in this store is truly amazing.

M & J is a colorful place and I couldn’t resist taking some pictures inside the shop (NB:  when shopping in NYC, make sure you ask before taking pictures inside stores.  Some merchants prohibit this). 

Here’s my friend Joyce purchasing her treasures.

A souvenir button postcard from M & J

Our last stop for the day was, perhaps, my favorite.  Tinsel Trading Company is a fairy tale full of vintage treasures that you just don’t find elsewhere.  There is a wall, stocked floor to ceiling, with every imaginable flower and gobs of ribbon, trim, ephemera, beads, ornaments, home accessories and more.  On the counter I discovered three charming flower molds.  Made of cast iron, these presses were heated and used to mold silk into floral shapes.  I loved the vintage glass glitter and all of the ornaments made with it.  I couldn’t resist some vintage grosgrain ribbon, flowers and a bottle of pearls, beads and sequins.

It was a long day (I didn’t sink into my own bed until nearly midnight) but it was so worth every minute.  There really is something about NYC that can’t be found anywhere else.  And the selection of goodies for sewing fans is incomparable.  I always look forward to my next trip.  Please share your favorite places to shop in the city so I can start making my list for next time.

Sewing Treasures

A couple of weeks ago I was wandering around my neighborhood during our semi-annual yard sale event and saw a box with what looked like sewing supplies in it.  I stopped to look and the owner immediately said I could have that and another box for $1. The owner seemed not too sure about what was in the boxes, but I love buried treasure so how could I resist?  I took the boxes home and unearthed a very special trove of sewing treasures.  This is the sort of find that only true sewing enthusiasts will understand as nothing had much intrinsic value and much of it will be given to the thrift store.  But there were a few gems in the mix.

Here is a PARTIAL list of some of the things I found:

Old patterns, project instruction leaflets, 5 pairs of scissors (2 pinking), dozens of UFOs, trim, ribbon, old lace, fabric, doll glasses, metallic doilies, florist wire, huge assortment of Christmas picks, leaves, stamens, bells, etc., 3 different types of elastic, tapestry needles, pearl roping, cording, Battenberg lace tea towels, evenweave fabric, Dritz See-Thru ruler, Chinese knot buttons, 3 embroidery hoops, latch hook, knitting needles, snaps, loads of nylon flag fabric and two completed flags.

Some of the items really spoke of the previous owner, especially the two Bowl America Queen of the Week bowling awards, the partially completed projects, the handwritten notes and old receipts.  I paused over the Clearbrook Woolen Shop Needle Pack and remembered the time I visited this shop which is no longer in business.  I was glad that I had ended up with these possessions as I could understand about this woman’s life, what these things must have meant to her.  It made me wonder who will go through my sewing treasures after I am gone and what image they will have of me based on my stuff.

I ran into the previous owner of these boxes this week and stopped to tell her who I was and how much I enjoyed going through these items.  She told me the boxes’ contents had been her mother’s.  We talked a bit about the dying art of sewing, how our mothers made our clothes when we were growing up and about the Singer sewing machine she used to use but no longer.  I tried to reassure her that there are those of us out there who still love this art form and will one day pass along our prized possessions to other sewing enthusiasts like us.  At least I hope that is what happens to my things one day.

Vintage Treasures

I came home from a recent visit with my family toting some new old finds.  My sister gave me a box of old sewing patterns and a bag of wool yarn.  Now, I am not sure what, if anything, I will do with these treasures but vintage items are always fun to look at, and sometimes you learn a thing or two.

I sorted through the box of patterns and pulled out four “Big Four” patterns from the 1960’s

along with six patterns from a company called Spadea. 

Now, I had never heard of Spadea so I did a little internet research.   The most inclusive information can be found in this article at Fuzzy Lizzy Vintage Clothing.  The creators of Spadea Designer Patterns worked with fashion designers in the 1950’s and 60’s to create sewing patterns taken from ready-to-wear garments.  These patterns were unique in their sizing (using RTW sizing) and appearance – there are no printed markings on the pattern pieces, everything is punched or notched and the pattern pieces come precut. 

The previous owner of my patterns must have been a Dinah Shore fan since most of the patterns carry that stars name.

The yarn I received has an interesting history as well.  It was manufactured by the Quinnehticut Woolen Company in Taftville, CT. 

In 1995 the New York Times ran an article about the rebirth of this company under new ownership, who believed in the revitalization of the textile industry.

This lengthy article details the history of the Ponemah Mill (meaning "our future hope," from Longfellow's "Song of Hiawatha"), the mill village of Taftville (all of the original structures are still standing and on the National Historic Register) and the revival under new owners in 1990.  Sadly, it appears that the mill is no longer in operation and has been turned into luxury condos and retail space.  The wool I own looks ideal for felting, one of my favorite things to do with wool yarn.  I might also use it in a needle felting project – I have not put my embellisher to much use recently.  Regardless, I certainly have a rainbow’s worth of lovely colors to choose from.