Findings in my Sewing Treasure Chest

The main reason I love to acquire vintage sewing baskets and their contents. is you never know the treasures you will find.  Women who sewed many years ago seemed to use their sewing boxes for mementos as well as the common sewing tools.

I've found letters, photos of children taken in elementary school and pipes among the needles, safety pins, and thread.

Here's some of my favorite finds thus far:

This is my favorite little box--I bought it at a garage sale, cleaned it and put oil on it.  Voila, instant treasure holder!

This is a cool contraption, its a clear wheel placed on an orange wheel with grooves. You stick your needles in a whole in the clear wheel part.  When you move the clear wheel, the hole opens up above grooves with the needles in it and then you can pour the needles out.

I've seen this needle threader a couple of times--maybe it was pretty popular at one time.  Can't say I've ever used it, but I think it looks so cool!

This is a gold name plate I found (I blacked out the last name).  Where would this tag have been put on, I wonder?

Take a gander at the large, sturdy screwdrivers of yesteryear with what we get for sewing machines now.

Cell phone earrings--they're cute but the phone is from the 90's!

This point is used to make holes in fabric so you can put in a snap, etc.

This is what I'm talking about--how cool that this was in the sewing basket!

These needle threaders seem to be fairly common too although I've never used them.  If I can't see the hole in the needle, I just put on my cheaters!

I think this is such a cool tube, but I'm missing the top.

I don't recall my Mom collecting these blue chip stamps, I remember the S&H green stamps.

The little patches had bits of thread on them which leads me to think they were cut off some clothes.

Old measuring tape.

I think the wood on this broken pipe is so pretty.

This is the coolest find of all.  I found this really old measuring take in this cooler mini cigar box.  Cute!!!

Going through a sewing box is such an emotional, lovely experience for me.  What were these woman experiencing 40 years ago with their families?  Makes you wonder.