Please join me in welcoming Jennifer Schifano Eutsler of Curlicue Creations as today’s guest blogger. Jennifer is sharing a few of her vintage sewing tools from her collection. She’s also doing a give-away of one of her patterns if you help her name the button dolly shown below.
Hello everyone. I’m Jennifer Schifano Eutsler, and I am so excited to be a guest blogger for the Quilting Gallery this week. First, let me just say how much I love the Quilting Gallery web site. They have so many great contests and give-aways. I’ll be having one today at the end of my post. My favorite feature at the Quilting Gallery is the blog locator. I love how you can look up bloggers by country or state. I haven’t come across anywhere else on the web where you can do that. I have been writing my own blog for about eight months, now. You can keep up with what I’m doing regularly at Curlicue Creations.
One of my passions is collecting vintage sewing items. I believe I have enough to start a small museum dedicated to sewing and quilting. I’m going to show a few of them here, but you can view many more at my Facebook photo albums. Someday I would like to have a facility for the museum, but for now, I have the world wide web.
It all started with an iron. Years ago, maybe 20 or so, I started to look at antique irons at the flea market. They intrigued me. I wanted one, but not badly enough to pay the $20.00 to $30.00 price tag. After years of casual searching, I found one for $4.00, and so the collecting began. This photo shows that first iron, along with the current project I’m quilting on, a Frosty table runner. Now I have twenty or so irons! Sad irons, antique irons, toy irons, decorative irons, etc. I thought I might be a little crazy. Who has an iron collection?
Eventually, my collection grew to include other things. Here are a few of my favorites, along with some of my quilting projects.
My Singer Featherweight 221. I love it. My fiance found this at a yard sale and didn’t really know what it was. He bargained them down to $4.00. I couldn’t believe it! The quilt in the photo is my Ice Pellets quilt. Also shown in the photo is the oil can and accessories box.
Roosevelt’s New Deal Needle Book. This is from the 1930s. I love this because of the history associated with it. It still has most of the needles inside. One of the needles is threaded with some twine. I have to wonder how long the twine has been in there, and what it was used for. The photo also shows my Checkerboard Cat quilt block.
Singer wooden accessories box. This box unfolds in a really unique way, as you can see. It is shown open in the photo. It is stamped “Patented February 18, 1889”. My box still contains most of the original accessories. The quilt in this photo is one of my firsts, a Bowtie quilt – all hand quilted and still one of my favorites.
Now, for my giveaway. I’ll be giving away a copy of my Checkerboard Cat quilt block pattern to the winner. You can see it at my shop, Curlicue Creations. I recently acquired an adorable button dolly. See her photo? She needs a name.
To enter the give-away: Leave a comment below suggesting a name for button dolly, and I will pick a winner next Tuesday, Jan. 17th.
Thanks so much for reading. It’s great to meet new quilters. Until next time…have a super day!
Jennifer – Curlicue Creations
Update: The winner of the dolly naming contest is #19 Cora who wrote:
Love your projects and especially the block pattern you’re giving away. Thank you for sharing your antique sewing items, I love the Roosevelt Needle Book. I’d name your doll Candy Cane or Pepper Mint. She is so cute!
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Believe it or not I have a similar collection. My irons came from my grandmothers things. I love the ornate workmanship that used to go into such normal tools.
I don’t have a name for your dolly, but she sure is cute.
I think her name should be Ruby.
Cute! How about “Belle”, you could pronounce it bell-e, like belly, for fun!
Oh, it has to be ‘Rosie’. Thanks for a great post.
What a great collection…thanks for sharing. Your button baby is adorable, she should be called Zoey!
I have many of those same collectibles — iron which required hot coals to be placed in the bottom to operate, a washboard, toaster where the sides open to put bread in, and much more! It is such fun. Got many of my lovelies at estate sales.
I see someone already took Rosie for a name but I immediately thought Rosey Buttoni
She’s adorable. Call her Button Beauty.
I really enjoyed seeing your sewing items collection! I’ve got a friend who collects vacuum cleaners, yours is a much more sensible (and fun) hobby.
What a cute little button doll! I’d call her Betsy.
Your collection is fascinating. Thanks for sharing. I’d name that adorable doll Melly Button.
Cute doll. I will call her Libby.. :)
I do have a similar col lección: my grandmother’s iron,a coffee blander, a apoden egg that was used to repare socks and an old thimble. Those are my treaaures. First time i see a button doll, she is lovely. English is not my native lenguage but i think that ” Buttonly” sounds nice.
What a wonderful collection, love your Featherweight! I was going to pick Ruby but someone else already did so I am going with Ruby Tuesday!
Hi Jennifer. Thanks for sharing some of your collection with us. I started off with an iron too. Mine had a chicken lock on it. As I collect chickens, I had to have it! My second one also has a chicken on it too. I suggest the name “Cherry” for your doll.
I have a couple of irons and a small singer machine I got from my grandmother as a child and have actually sewn on it .Cute little doly too I think I would call her Rita.
What a great collection. I don’t collect irons but I collect teapots. Cute doll I would call her Molly
BUTTON BETTY
is my name for your dolly
I think your iron collection is neat. I have two irons, on my way to a collection. hehe. I have lots of wooden spools though. I love collecting anything that has to do with sewing.
I think your button doll is very cute. I first thought of Rosie or Ruby. Those names have been mentioned. How about Rojo Rosa? Rojo Ruby? Rojo Rosie? hehe. Thank you for the fun giveaway and a chance to win.
usairdoll(at)gmail(dot)com
Love your collection!
I think her name should be Cherry Sherry!
Love your projects and especially the block pattern you’re giving away. Thank you for sharing your antique sewing items, I love the Roosevelt Needle Book.
I’d name your doll Candy Cane or Pepper Mint. She is so cute!
I think “Scarlet” would be a great name!
the name is Camilla. hugs
Sissy LaMode sounds like a cute name.
Buttons & Lace Lacey Doll
I too love old sewing stuff. I inherited my grandma’s button tin in 1965 and I pick buttons out of it all the time! I Love buttons! and I think your sweet button girl looks like a Lilyanna.