My Mother's Sewing Basket

My mother doesn't sew anymore. She once taught sewing and tailoring - and even wove her own cloth... But now her arthritic hands can't grip small objects...

So I recently brought home her sewing basket. Now I'm sorting through it. I can still use its selection of needles and thread...

Some of the thread is pretty old... I don't know when the industry switched from wooden to plastic spools... But it has been a while!














(Thread was cheaper back in the day! This large spool only cost 50 cents!)














 I also discovered one of my mother's traveling tricks: Keep a mini kit of thread and a needle in a book of matches.














You never know when either could come in handy!














One interesting find was this stocking run mending kit! I used to dab clear nail polish on runs to stop them from growing - but I never did try to repair them, even in my poor student days!