The Lowly Thimble

Granny D here.  Thimble is such a funny word.  It's origin is thought to come from the old English word thymel, meaning thumbstall. The official term for one who collects thimbles is “digitabulist.”



I have to admit that I have never used a thimble.  They always feel so heavy and awkward.  And they make my finger sweat.  But my grandmother used one while piecing her quilts or hemming a dress.  It always seemed to me to be on the wrong finger to me, not the middle one I use to push the needle through but the one beside it, next to her pinkie.  Yet, she never sat down to sew without her thimble, the working end pock marked and pitted.

While thinking about that today, I began to wonder about thimbles.  I know they've been around for centuries and have been made of many, many different materials like mother of pearl, sterling and plated silver, brass, bone, and even gold. There are porcelain thimbles, wooden thimbles, and thimbles made from carved stone. Among the most legendary are Fabergé thimbles from the 19th century. Some of these had polished agates or other types of semi-precious stones set in their tops. The sides of others were decorated with colorful enamel patterns or bands.

Here are a few interesting facts about thimbles that may surprise you.

• Nearly 30 lots of Meissen porcelain thimbles fetched a total of $189,813 during the Ann Blakeslee Black Collection of Thimbles, Needlework Tools and Vertu auction presented by Leslie Hindman Auctioneers on May 21, 2014. A Meissen porcelain thimble, circa 1730, with a landscape scene painted on the band, sold for five times its low estimate, finishing at $20,000.
• The Thimble Collectors International (TCI) group formed in 1978, and lists more than 35 regional clubs in the U.S., Australia and Europe.
• Examples of the precursor to the thimble date back 10,000 years, with metal thimbles coming into use outside of the U.S. as early as 1150. The first American thimble factories opened in the 1830s with Ketcham and McDougall of New York paving the way, followed closely behind by Simons Bros. in Philadelphia in 1839 — a company still manufacturing thimbles today.
• In the past, thimbles were popular advertising vehicles, especially in American culture.
• The Fingerhut Thimble Museum in Creglingen, Germany, is reportedly the world’s only museum devoted entirely to thimbles. It opened in 1982 with some 800 exhibits. Today the museum showcases more than 4,000 exhibits from around the world.

To read more about interesting thimble facts, go to http://www.antiquetrader.com/antiques/antiques-americana/ten-things-didnt-know-thimbles/

For more information on thimbles and to see some truly beautiful works of art, check out http://www.thimbleselect.com/learn.

I'm sad to say that I don't have even one of my grandmother's thimbles but I wish I did. Do you use a thimble? t would be interesting to know just how many people still use thimbles.

My Mother's Sewing Box

Granny D here.  Know what this is?  It's a sewing box and everyone had one.  Or at least everyone in my family had one and I suspect, if someone in your family sewed, they had one, too.  I have my mother's right here beside me.  She's been gone since 1986 and, believe it or not, some of her things are still in the little drawers and cubbies.  And I just noticed that there's a red circle embedded in the lid that says "Product of Norway".
The pictures below are the inside of the box.  Those reddish colored disks you see in the bottom went into her sewing machine when she wanted to use a fancy stitch.  Those bobbins feel like cardboard and even though she had a buttonhole foot, I always remember her making her buttonholes by hand.  She hemmed all of our dresses by hand as well.  I remember that she kept her embroidery hoops, thread and needles in there and we were FORBIDDEN to touch them.      
The other day my daughter and I were talking about it and I began to wonder about the history of the sewing box.  I won't bore you with all of the details but here's what I found out from Collector's Weekly.
The earliest sewing containers were simple bags made of fabric or leather. However, by the 18th century in Europe, metalworkers, jewelers, and other craftspeople were tasked with making fine sewing tools for aristocrats and ladies of the court. This led to the production of handsome boxes to hold these tools. Artisans used rare woods, leather, ivory, or precious metals inlaid with gems and mother of pearl on the outsides of their boxes, while the interiors were lined with rich silk or velvet. Larger boxes had two or even three levels or sections.
In the 19th century, industrialization and the rise of the middle class created a market for less expensive and more practical sewing boxes that were both attractive and durable. A typical Victorian sewing box would be just big enough to keep all of a woman’s sewing tools, as well as a little bit of her handiwork. Inside, you’d find a needle book with a large range of sizes, along with an assortment of thread made of cotton, linen, and silk, plus buttons formed from shells, acorns, wood, and metal. Sewing implements included different types of shears and scissors, a pin cushion and needle emery, a jar of beeswax, and a folding measure or measuring tape. Some boxes even housed tools to make lace or square cords. By the 1950s they were more and more 'space age' looking.

What I found the most interesting though was that the interior of woman’s sewing box was considered an intimate space, much the way the inside of a purse is now. Many of them were made to be locked, and a lady might keep some sort of love token inside it, like a romantic letter, a book of poetry, or an image of her beloved. Hmmm, maybe 'd better look a little closer at what's inside this box. If I find any secret love letters, I'll let you know.
I love having her sewing box here with me as I sew, sort of like a reminder of not just my sewing roots but my creative roots.  Do you have something special like this that takes you back to when you were learning to sew?
Learn more at https://www.collectorsweekly.com/sewing/boxes-baskets.