The Sewing Tin


The Prof and his mom have gone shopping.
Like Cinderella I have stayed home and swept out the smoking wood burner.


I've got the better deal , I am not a fan of clothes shopping.
I cleaned the cottage and mopped floors before enjoying a detailed shave and several luxurious minutes stealing the Prof's expensive moisturiser.
My face now looks ( and feels) like a pink baby's arse!
I tried on some clean trousers for tonight's meal out and pinged off a waist button after bending over to dig shoes out from under my side of the bed.
The button nearly hit Albert who was sitting in the bedroom window watching baby rabbits.
He wasn't fussed.
I knew where the sewing tin is....it's on the second shift of the bookcase , perched neatly on my illustrated copy of Watership Down which in turn is sat on the box with our paper treasures in it.
Months ago I found the tin out after The Prof had used it.
It's a colourful tin covered in chickens.
Most homes have a sewing tin don't they?
A depository for cotton reels and needles, buttons and a much needed pair of sharp scissors. There's half a measuring tape in there and safety pins which are never used.
Mini sewing kits found in Christmas crackers and in business hotel bedrooms lie scattered on top.
A sewing tin means real life ....normality....a childhood remembered......a shared practicality only two people know of.
I haven't sewed a button on to anything for an age. It's not hard but it is a simple skill my grandmother encouraged me to learn
" watch your fingers when you push the needle though" she's say.
Forty six years later, I still have fat, clumsy fingers
But it was nice to sit in the quiet ......sewing
With a face as smooth as a baby's arse.

81 comments:

  1. I have a small sewing box kept in my bedroom. the contents are the same as yours.

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    Replies
    1. They fill themselves all by themselves

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  2. I have a sewing ice cream container. It doesn't have quite the same ring about it

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  3. My husband, bless his heart, could learn a few domestic things from you John!
    I'm back from the bottom of the world - amazing trip - and trying to catch up with all you've been up to I've missed these past few weeks. Sounds like life is good there - and your MIL is being treated royally.
    Happy Easter to you all.

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  4. I have a sewing basket but also a tin, a red tin with ivy stenciled around the side of the lid. I no longer remember where I got it but I love it. Even if I never sew if I can help it.

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    Replies
    1. Up and down the land bloggers are all thinking just where IS our sewing tin?

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    2. LOL ... the Great Tin Hunt begins !!

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  5. Over here we have 'spools of thread'; I like the sound of 'cotton reels.' It sounds more industrious in a way. My sewing kit is a plastic, lidded box, but I still have my grandma'a old, woven basket with a lid and tassel. Well, the tassel is now the pull for the bedroom ceiling fan. And the basket is ... somewhere safe I'm sure.

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    Replies
    1. I bet you are now looking for it

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    2. I've got one of those baskets too. My friend gave me it... it had belonged to her mother,

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  6. Your grandmother sounds lovely and so wise to teach you this small yet important skill. I've had to replace buttons on shirts and pants over the years. The sewing tin looks fantastic!

    I chuckled when you mentioned how the button came off in the first place. Better a popped off button than a torn seam! Much easier to fix the button!

    Cheers on the fresh shave. It's a wonderful ritual to make you feel pretty and ready for a night out with good company to enjoy good food and good times. Have a great evening!

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    Replies
    1. I was talking about her last night during dinner... she had a big heart

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  7. I have that and a mini one for my car. From my days in corporate.

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    Replies
    1. Why would you keep it in the car?

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    2. For emergency repairs, of course! What if that button had pinged off while you were out? I also have a mini-kit (hotel room one) in my car.

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  8. Anonymous12:31 pm

    I love the way you put your words together,, something as simple as sewing a button is described so beautifully and ,,, fun lol,, and your smooth face lol,, that was a hoot lol,,,

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  9. A baby's arse with eyes in it... eek.

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  10. I have a button box which is similar to yours. The variety of buttons is fantastic; everything from brass military to tiny mother-of-pearl delicate.

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  11. My sewing "tin" is a metal box that was previously an art box of an older sibling's from highschool. I used to sew a lot of clothes in my teens and early twenties. My sewing machine hasn't been used in years, now. But I still sew on buttons and make small repairs by hand. Metal boxes also make good crayon boxes. -Jenn

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    Replies
    1. I would like to learn to sew properly but I would need new specs

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    2. I could see you becoming a quilter - you would love it!

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  12. I have my Nan's button box. You'll be on the Great British Sewing Bee next John! x

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  13. I was envisaging your "detailed shave" and then you talked about your face ....

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    Replies
    1. It was the word detailed that threw me elsewhere.

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    2. I believe a bit of bejazzle is fashionable these days too x

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  14. As an avid sewer of patchwork, I have a ginormous sewing box! My nan used to have a Toby jug for needles and thread, and every time you put your fingers in the jug you got pricked! Every time she did this my nan uttered a curse, but she never put the needles anywhere else.

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  15. My sewing box is a workman's huge, plastic toolbox. Not pretty but very practical.

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  16. My mother's favorite hobby was making her own clothes, drapes etc. I have an entire room of everything connected to sewing, it's hard to find homes for all this stuff because no one sews anymore, very sad.

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  17. I have a sewing dresser! But of course, sometimes I do actually sew dresses for my grand daughter or make quilts for the babies or, whatever.
    But yes, everyone needs a sewing tin or basket.
    But what I want to say, really and truly, is that that was a beautiful post.

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  18. Anonymous2:20 pm

    If your wearing those trousers out tonight, it maybe a good idea to take a tiny sewing kit with you in case of emergencies should the button go flying Best be safe than sorry.

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    1. Or put a loop of elastic through the hole & hook it onto the button for comfort x

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  19. I fetched a needle and thread from my sewing box just yesterday for the husband to sew on a button. I had to fetch it as I was the only one who knew where it was jumbled up in all the other boxes put in the shop while the room it lives in continues to be repaired.

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  20. My sewing box is a biscuit tin, square and a bit battered after being useful for over 40 years. Many reels of coloured cotton, little packs of needles, a tin of pins and above all, sharp dressmakers scissors that husband knows never to borrow to cut anything else! I also have a button jar - mostly from the days when clothes came with a spare button on the inside. A real memory trip, that.

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    1. My husband also knows he must never ever touch my fabric cutting scissors. I caught him once about to cut out a paper coupon! Hard words were spoken hehe x

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  21. ALbert would have been very cross ! I loved my mother's sewing basket

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  22. Do you have a seperate button tin?...Usually these treasured tins are an old biscuit tin or a quality street tin... Sadly plastic these days. I have several.....I doubt if I live a thousand life times I will use all the buttons... I can send you some if you want to start your own button tin :-)

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  23. When Mom died, I was in a position that allowed me to keep only a few of her smaller things. The sewing tin was one, and I cherish the spools of darning cotton (I can't darn a sock, but she did) and the papers of needles from pre-WWII, the buttonhole scissors and all the rest. I had thought myself strange, but if so I'm in good company.

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  24. I have a button jar. I still can't believe it has survived all these 60 some years! My husband hasn't a creative bone in his body but painted blobs of red paint on a glass mayonnaise jar for his mom when he was in Kindergarten! It became a button jar and has been ever since. The buttons at the bottom must be antiques!!

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  25. "My face now looks ( and feels) like a pink baby's arse!" And what's that emerging from the orifice in the middle of said baby's arse?

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  26. I don't know how to sew. Not even a little. I lose a button, the clothing item is done.

    Someday soon, I'm going to start teaching myself how to do things like sewing and basic building.

    This is the era of youtube. Anyone can do it.

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  27. My great grandmother on my mother's side was a dressmaker. Her daughter was a sewer of epic amounts of clothing for her family and grandkids. My mother mended and did embroidery. Myself and all three of my sisters sew, and most of us make quilts. I have rooms devoted to sewing and the accoutrements. I have buttons from my great grandmother, the treadle sewing machine and attachments from my grandmother, my mother's embroidery flosses and now, a room of fabric, yarn and patterns from my dear sister who passed away in January. I am slowly going through it all and donating much of it to sewers and quilters that will use it. When my kids moved out I provided a sewing kit to each of them, boys included. I still get the more challenging mending repairs from them, but otherwise they can do it themselves.
    Barb from Canada

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    1. I have several quilts, all made by bloggers

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    2. They are lovely things to have. Made with love, I am sure.

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  28. My sewing tin was my grandmother's, who upholstered show pieces for a custom furniture company. Its beat up and has a colourful selection of buttons and threads. I sew more now since I have retired and I can upholster.

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    1. Being able to upholster sounds like another great skill for me to learn

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  29. I'm sure you look very handsome John x

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  30. Hey, is that a windup Prince Charles toy on the same shelf? I have one too. Plus the Queen.

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  31. I enjoy sewing but find I can’t thread the needles anymore🙄

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  32. Sewing tins of the world unite! Where would we be without them? Contents unchanged across continents...

    LX

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  33. I have a sewing fabric box with handle filled with all sorts of stuff.
    I also have my Mums sewing box it is a treasure.

    cheers, parsnip

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  34. What a delightful post!

    I have a large plastic box for my threads alone, so you can guess the topic is dear to my heart.

    I like your "paper treasures" box as well. I think that's a wonderful way to corral those kinds of things and give them a home.

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  35. Love this post. I have a big sewing box in my Ikea unit. My buttons are in a tin shaped like a giant refresher sweet. xx

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  36. I have a large sewing basket with a handle. It used to have wooden shelves that lifted down into it, but threw them out due to too burdensome. Truthfully, I don't keep sewing stuff in it. I keep a stash of Egg Money, as our grandmothers called it, in my sewing basket and all important documents. If we have a fire, we both know to grab the sewing basket and run!

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  37. John, to my mind the words 'nice' and 'sewing' are never, ever seen together in the same sentence.

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  38. Debi.6:59 pm

    I really dont mind sewing,repairing and making 3 worn out outfits into one good one...Its threading the bloody needle that I have problems with these days!!,xx

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  39. I swear it takes me 15 minutes to get that damn thread through the needle--only to have it fall out 15 seconds later!

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  40. I have a sewing box it was a cookie tin originally, when my daughter was little she would always bring it to my husband to fix things.

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  41. I have grandma's sewing box on legs...the one that opens several layers each side..and boxes of pins, of needles, a layer of cotton reels...but what was the joy when I was small ?..the Button Box, full of assorted odd buttons.

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  42. When I saw the title of this post wonderful memories immediately flooded back to me! My grandmother kept a button tin and I so loved to look at and play with her buttons. Silly as it may sound, the buttons became all kinds of fun creatures and objects in my imagination. And you know what? My two grandchildren did the same with my button tin when they were little. How wonderful to use your imagination! Thanks for bringing back good memories John!

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  43. Your day would suit me MUCH better than clothes shopping. I am the button sewer here. Which I have used to my advantage. On a couple of occasions when himself's shirts have been 'past wearing' and he has refused to give them up I have snipped off the buttons (and put them in the button jar). Rather than sew them back on he agrees to them being thrown out.

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  44. Anonymous10:08 pm

    A wicker sewing lidded basket in our case. It is probably the messiest thing we have.

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    1. And a wonderful mussed object if lost

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  45. Hey, snap! And in a bookcase too. I'd not realised until now that the sewing tin is probably the one useful and unvarying domestic object that unites generations and nationalities. Plus we've all had to build them from scratch. Our common thread!

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  46. What memories the Button Box brought flooding back! the delight of sorting buttons as a little girl, and now the memories some of the 'too special to throw out' buttons, the clothes each came off and what special occasion they were for.

    On a more practical note, I'd either sew that button back on with a great quarter inch of thread making it wiggle around, or I'd find some hat elastic (the fine, round sort) and attach the button that way.

    I'm impressed with your sewing skills - my dear husband, and son, and daughter-in-law would all not know where to start.

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  47. Where does this come from? I, too, have a sewing tin (it's round and was long ago home to Danish butter cookies packed in little paper cups) filled with everything you mentioned, and more. I've had it for decades. Is it some kind of WASP tradition? Is it in our DNA?

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    1. Snap! Mine too had Danish butter cookies in it originally, it must be 35 years old and even now I sometimes get a whiff of vanilla when I open it.

      Jo in Auckland, NZ

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  48. Before I left for college my mother sat me down and taught me how to sew on a button. I think she considered it a major life skill.
    Cheers

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  49. Oh my love I have a 20sqm sewing tin at home and a 160m sewing tin for work, that contains smaller sewing tins ;)

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  50. I have a whole room that is a tin sewing box! :)And actually I have a couple of tins full of sewing stuff, one in the living room and one in the sewing room.

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