Collections:: Thimbles

Last week I wrote about my grandmother's need to collect things and how that need was passed down to me. It's true, I have a need to collect things. I also have a need to display them in a pleasing fashion. Most of my collections are on display in my home. You will find them in/on:: jars, bowls, children's toy tea-sets, baskets, shelves, windowsills, buckets, and so on. 

Another collection inherited from my grandmother:: Thimbles. 

My grandma embroidered... a lot. And yet, this is the one skill that I didn't pick up and run with. Well, embroidery and the ability to solve the New York Times crossword puzzle in freaky record time. This seems like an awful lot of thimbles for one woman to have, one for each finger... and then some. {I realized that there were a few missing from this photo. I believe I have 13 total.} I am aware that thimbles come in different sizes.  But I don't know... is this a lot of thimbles for two hands, even if they do embroider a lot? 

Regardless of how many thimbles one woman needs... I love each and every one of them. And more than that, I love the collection of them gathered in this pretty little dish.

Is there a skill or trade that you wished you had learned from a family member? 

❤  
-t

Collections:: Scissors

I most certainly inherited my need to collect "things" from my grandmother. A quick snoop around her house and one would find an endless trail of memories, collections... a life well-lived. 

In her bedroom a windowsill was lined with pebbles, each one shaped like something very un-pebble like. In the study, a dip into a small wicker basket which held stamps lovingly torn from their envelopes,was akin to traveling around the world. A corner of the kitchen counter was jam packed with jars, each one containing its own collection (swizzle sticks, matches, bread twist-ties, watch batteries, and anything else that she could fit multiples of into a jar). Even in the bathroom, a floral porcelain bowl on the counter cradled dozens of toothpaste caps.

The lovely Ana from i made it so hit the nail on the head with her comment on my post from last week about the jar of silly string... "it really speaks to the "waste not" nature of that generation".  And it is so true, my grandmother's need to collect directly stemmed from her childhood growing up during The Great Depression. 'Waste not want not' was more than an expression, it was a recipe for survival for my grandmother.    

My grandmother and her home of collections are now gone. But, the evidence still exists in the contents of her sewing room, which were passed on to me. There are multiples of every tool within the many sewing boxes. Perhaps I will share more photos of her collections.  All but two pairs of the above scissor collection were my grandmother's. There are actually several more pairs than this... but it was a bit crowded and didn't make for a as pretty a picture.


Have you inherited any collections from a family member or loved one?

❤  
-t