Now there's a blog post title I wasn't expecting to write… But I decided, yes I know, my life is getting more thrilling by the day, to clear out Mum's old sewing box, as I'm not quite sure I'll ever need purple thread or some of the more obscure bits in there.
Check out the queen of hearts needle storer, and the old pin tin, possibly Norwegian from when Mum lived there as a child, or more likely Dutch I guess. I'd love to know how old those are.. and they'll be getting older as I like them just as old and knackered as they are.
But it was an unexpected trip back down memory lane, right into the 1970's, looking at some of the buttons in there. The bright colours like green & turquoise, odd shapes, gold & silver 'going out' buttons, funny textures – so redolent of my childhood. And a few in there that brought back memories of Mum in a particular dress of hers – a red, brown, mustardy striped number with droopy sleeves that had striped buttons of different colours at the cuff. There they are at the top of the photo…
And the sweet discovery of the Tudor Williams 20p price tag – that was the New Malden department store where we used to shop for special things, like the snake-shaped draught excluder and my first single duvet when we finally abandoned blankets and the decades-old bobbly sheets.. Guess for cotton reels too, way back when. It closed for good recently, so this is a precious throwback to the 70s when Mum & I last used to shop there together.
Much as most things are nice to have new and looking good, this old, battered, water-damaged box will never leave our house. It's a touch of my old Mum that I will always love.
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