Skip to main content

Haberdashery - Vintage Find

When I heard the theme for Tag Tuesday this fortnight is "Haberdashery", I rummaged in my sewing drawer to look for "vintage" items of haberdashery which I knew I had in my stash. I was particularly happy and surprised to find a number of cards of press studs, buttons and hooks and eyes. These brought back such great memories of the haberdashery shops which I used to frequent years ago when we lived in small country towns. They seemed to stock whatever you needed. You can tell the age of some of these items in my "habbie" stash as Australia changed to decimal currency on 14 February 1966, and the button card quotes a price of 1/3d... 

As I have been making little wearable pins for #the100dayproject, accompanied by a haiku, I thought that Day 30 had to be about haberdashery ... hence my tag within a tag for Tag Tuesday.... 
"Just a word recalls
Sewing notions long since used: 
Haberdashery" 
This is a cloth /mixed media collage with stitching, complete with its own haberdashery -  press studs, some of the packaging  and a safety pin 
I was so excited to find the cards of hooks and eyes and to see the range I had kept and their age.... one of the cards boasts by appointment to Queen Mary, and the others by appointment to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. My vague memory is of purchasing at least the oldest card in a general store in a small town in the 1970's - I remember it was "discounted old stock" but I can't remember how much I paid!  Thanks Tag Tuesday for this vintage rediscovery. 

 To see the whole series of wearable art pins - please follow the hashtag #100pinpoems on Instagram or on Facebook 
Labels:

Comments

  1. Valerie-JaelMay 7, 2020 at 6:26 PM

    I thought you would like this theme! Thanks so much for supporting us again. Hugs, Valerie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wilma Simmons (Empress Wu Designs)May 12, 2020 at 11:16 AM

      Thanks Valerie - Yes haberdashery is a good choice for me. Hope you are well.

      Delete
  2. Gillena CoxMay 8, 2020 at 1:10 AM

    OMG hooks and eyes, i still have some in my old sewing kits

    I am #5 on the linky

    Much💚🌎💙love

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wilma Simmons (Empress Wu Designs)May 12, 2020 at 11:18 AM

      Thanks Gillena - I will check our your blog. I haven;t yet had a look at the other haberdashery tags.

      Delete
  3. pinkyMay 11, 2020 at 3:58 AM

    Wow, you did well holding on to those!! I am loving your gorgeous tag. Thanks for joining us at Tag Tuesday.
    Pinky

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wilma Simmons (Empress Wu Designs)May 12, 2020 at 11:20 AM

      Thank you Pinky - yes I do hang on to a lot of things but only the useful (Ha ha).

      Delete
  4. WendyKMay 12, 2020 at 12:53 AM

    Fabulous tag, I still have some of those as well. Lovely to see you here again. Stay safe, hugs Wendy.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wilma Simmons (Empress Wu Designs)May 12, 2020 at 11:21 AM

    Hi Wendy - Thank you... I thought many people might remember these. Hope you're well and coping with the current social restrictions.

    ReplyDelete
  6. MicheleMay 13, 2020 at 3:14 PM

    i love the tag! a unique style. you have some great stuff in your stash! thank you for linking to tag tuesday, wonderful to see you again! xo

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for reading my blog and please share your thoughts about my blog post by leaving a comment.Your comment won't appear immediately as comments are verified before publication in an effort to reduce the amount of spam appearing. Anonymous comments will not be published.

Popular posts from this blog

Too Precious to Waste

 Stitched tea bags/ old doily "tea lights" - Wilma Simmons  More than a year ago, a decision was made.  The annual exhibition of NCEATA ( Newcastle Creative Embroiderers and Textile Artists) 2015-2016 will have the theme "Mottainai". Mottainai in Japanese refers to more than just physical waste (resources). It is even used to refer to thought patterns that give rise to wasteful action. Grammatically, it can be used in Japanese as an exclamation ("mottainai!") or as an adjective phrase ("it feels mottainai"). There is no plural form. The collection of mottainai things could be called mottainai koto ( もったいない事 ? ). As an exclamation ("mottainai!") it means roughly "what a waste!" or "Don't waste." [2]  A simple English equivalent is the saying "waste not, want not." A more elaborate meaning conveys a sense of value and worthiness and may be translated as "do not destroy (or lay waste to) that
Post a Comment
Read more

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks ....  The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and  message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or  my husband or from off cuts gifted to us  from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks.   Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt  or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as wrapping str
3 comments
Read more

May I Present Mrs Chalumeau...

Finally Mrs Chalumeau takes a bow …She is a Pearly Queen … 695 buttons on the doll and 10 on the journal.(I think – could be more). I would like to thank Paula from Antiques and Collectables here in Hamilton, Newcastle and Raku Buttons ETSY seller for supplying me with about 500 of the vintage mother of pearl buttons, and the rest I had in my stash. I think they look great on my pearly queen, but I am truly tired of sewing on buttons. It made me think however, how many buttons must be on the elaborate clothes of the real pearly Kings and Queens! I drew my inspiration from the lovely lady pictured here, and the following description from Wikipedia. ... A Pearly King ( feminine form Pearly Queen) is a person dressed in a traditional Cockney costume covered in mother-of-pearl buttons. These costumes were treasured heirlooms, hand made and sometimes representing much of a family's wealth. .... This doll is all cloth – a little different from most of my other dolls which generally h
5 comments
Read more