Gloves

My hand saver for machine quilting are these support gloves.  I wear them all the time when at the machine.  Sometimes I put the grippy finger glove over them but these are what keep my hands from aching after hours of quilting.    If you have the beginnings of arthritis or just want to prevent fatigue to your hands I would recommend these. 

If you look behind me you can see that no progress has been made on my quilt.  I have been busy with other things but hope to make up for it soon.

Notions

 I have to apologize for not being able to show any quilting this past week.  I am working on my commission but have found little time to work on things I can show you.  So to make up for it I thought I would share a few things in my antique sewing  notions collection.

Here is an old cottage tape measure.  The tape measure still pulls out and winds back up!

 Bob found this for me just this past year.  It is a sterling silver thimble with turquoise jewels.  One has been lost but it is exquisite never the less!

 Although this is nice and is sterling silver and has the sewers initials on it, the reason I love it is shown in the next photograph.

Curled up inside the thimble, which was still in its original box, was this message:

Johanna Munkwitz My Grandma Sterling thimble Rec'd in 1889!

I Love that history which you rarely get.

I love old sewing objects.  I love to put on the thimbles and wonder where they came from and what the woman who used them was like.  Did she mend old farm clothes or quilt or tat or make lace or embroider?  Perhaps she did it all?  What was her life like and who gave her these thimbles of silver as a gift because she was so good at what she did?

Don't you wonder too?