The art of sewing.....

 It's a cold 13 degrees outside, and I thought I'd do a quick post before

I go out to 'le studio' to start my work for the day.

My sewing box seemed a good place to start.

 As I've collected and kept so many items over the years,

some passed down to me from my great aunty, who herself

was a skilled dressmaker....

other items from my own mother and a few that I've picked 

up on my rounds.

All these bits and pieces are special to me, they speak to me of another era,

a time when people used to walk rather than drive,

television hadn't invaded our minds,

folk weren't afraid of hard work,

when crime wasn't so prevalent,

when the art of self - sufficiency, was a part of life

not a 'trendy' word'.

And in this case, the art of sewing and dressmaking, of making and mending, 

re-cycling and using what's at hand.

Nowadays I have to travel 10 kilometres by train to get to my nearest sewing store

because the nearest closed down due to lack of customers....

a sad sign of the times.

 

 

Proud to keep the art alive.....

Some items of interest are this label that I found adhered to the underneath 

a very old and dilapidated carpet when we moved into this property.

 I've never heard of this carpet firm, but I very much liked this little snippet of nostalgic

advertising paraphernalia.

 

Op shop find Dewhursts Sylko cotton thread .

Artistic labeling.....

 

 

 Antique button card and beautiful old paper needle-case belonging to 

my great aunt Jean. It still has the price written on it in

pencil - 3 1/2 pence.

I would say she kept it too, for the same reason as I.

It has some sentimental value attached.

 

The rear side bears the makers mark......

...and inside, a set of needles beautifully presented against charcoal-gray paper.

 

 Some vintage lace discovered on it's original shop card.....

 

 .....more vintage sewing items.

50/60's braid from the local op.....

 

....buttons.....

I rather like the unusual pimpled one on the right.

 

And last but not least, I bought a small bag of mundane plastic buttons

just so that I could acquire this particular one that I spotted hidden inside.

Very unusual, featuring a brass rim, I wonder what it was used for

in it's past life.
That's it for another week. Now I hope it has warmed up a bit outside.....

cardboard furniture

What can you do with cardboard that would otherwise be thrown into

into the scrap heap?

With a bit of imagination, ingenuity and a will to succeed, you can create 

just about anything if you put your mind to it.

Here, the basic frame made from cardboard, that will be

paper mached over and then decorated with paint.

The second stage nearing completion.

The floral details stand out in relief and have been individually cut
from cardboard, as was the frame around them.

I decided the lower shelf looked flimsy and needed more layers of cardboard

to strengthen it.

The completed table.
Surprisingly very strong. As it has no joints as does conventional furniture,
it is less likely to fall apart.

The verse reads -

'As sure as the sun rises in the morn',

Breathing life into every living thing,

So the wise artist doth know that,

The core of creation lies within.'

My cat however, has other ideas for  using  my paper mache furniture.

It's very comical, that without fail ,whenever I place out my work to dry in the sun,

she sits herself on top ,

thinking I have provided her a self-grooming platform.