MEMORIES
I have my great aunt's Singer treadle machine. The drawers, which I began
to explore at an early age, are just like she left them. This activity earned
me the nickname of "Meddlesom Mattie."
In looking through the drawers recently, here are a few things I found:
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Razor blades - seam rippers?
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Sliver of soap and short piece of chalk - markers?
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Bent and battered thimbles, one engraved "Use Gladiola Flour."
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Half a crayon and many pencils, various sizes.
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Lots of the usual pins, needles, buttons, hooks/eyes, snaps, etc.
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6" metal ruler courtesy of C.L. Green's Feed Store.
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Thread on wooden spools, wound around bits of paper, and one interesting
card shaped like a flower--Wright's Petal Wind thread.
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Many pieces of lace, tatting, rickrack, bias tape, elastic--some used, and
some new.
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Snap sections off of old bras--never throw anything away!
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Whet stone
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Piece of sand paper
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Waxed bread wrapper to keep iron slick.
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Several collar patterns cut from "The Progressive Farmer" newspaper.
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One newspaper pattern labeled "House Dress."
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Little wooden tool whittled from a twig shaped like a stiletto.
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Tape measure.
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A cardboard from bias tape to use for measuring hems.
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Machine Manual, extra belts for wheel, buttonhole attachment, cute little
oil can.
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Storage boxes including kitchen match box, Isodette Throat Lozenge tin and
a tiny tin which once held Cascarets (laxative). All these held pins, snaps,
etc.
As I looked at the many crude little treasures, I wondered what Aunt Bessie
would think of our sewing world today talking about embroidering by machine,
scanning designs, downloading, World Wide Web, and all the myriad tools
and resources we have, and I am truly humble.