Vintage Sewing Inspiration

For the past week I’ve been strongly tempted to stop at the thrift store just to see what fun thing I might uncover.  I’ve resisted.  As much as I love the treasure hunt feeling of it all, and the satisfaction of finding great old things for great little prices, even thrift stores cost money.  And one thing I know about shopping is that if you don’t go, you never know about that great thing that you can’t live without.  So you live without it quite happily.

I’ve been reminding myself that I have lots of wonderful treasures at home which I’m not fully appreciating.  I want to appreciate them more, and enjoy what I have.   Finish the projects I care about, then get rid of the rest.  So I’ve stayed home, and it feels good.  It’s made the break a lot more relaxing.  It also provided me with time to clean my office and find homes for some of those under-appreciated treasures.

On the same day that I stumbled upon my incredible wood blocks , I found these fun old sewing materials.


I love the old wooden thread spools.  They look so pretty in my glass jar, which now sits in my office with all my sewing supplies.


I also found this adorable little child’s toy iron, which just HAPPENS to be made in my favorite colors.  Along with that I scored some vintage rick rack, also in my favorite colors.  The aqua and white are the tiniest rick rack I’ve ever seen.  I’m trying to think of the perfect project to use them on.


Gratefully the white rick rack was incorrectly marked and I was able to purchase them all for 50 cents each.  Nine yards of vintage rick rack in my favorite color for 50 cents!  Something about these colors make my heart sing.  In fact, I’m pondering a quilt made from these colors, inspired by the iron and the rick rack.

My children go back to school on Monday, which brings the blessing of a better routine, but which also means that most of my time is once again scheduled by the demands of the world.  I had hoped to do some sewing during the break, and I haven’t had time to do it.  I feel a little disappointed, but I also know that the choices I made were the right ones.

Lastly, I also found these old paper flags while at the antique mall.  I rescued them from the store so they could sit on a shelf in my old blue mason jar.  My philosophy is that every room could use a little red, white and blue.


I love how the edges are a little bit worn.


I’ve learned with things like this that you grab them when you find them, especially when they’re cheap, because they won’t be there when you come back.  Last year I passed up an awesome silver star that I’m still regretting.  It will be so much fun to use these flags  next summer.

I’m thankful to have these new bits of inspiration to nurture my creativity this year.  I’m hopeful it will be a great year.