Sandra's Surprises

I've written before about Sandra, from whom I purchased my sewing machine adn serger off eBay a few years ago. I mentioned I'd post about some of the other treasures I located in the boxes and boxes and boxes of things her son included in the sale, and I've let that slide for too long.

So without further ado, just a few of the tools bequeathed to me by Ms. Sandra that I use every day. Maybe, if I plan well, I can post some of the sillier treasures, too, but these were the ones that made me tear up a little when I recognized just how wonderful Sandra must've been.

ironing ham


I've seen hams before, but had never purchased or used them. Knowing that Sandra had one made me think, "This lady was Old School for sure," and it made me wonder if learning how to use 50s era tools like sleeve boards and pants rolls was worth the trouble. Lemme tell ya, it IS, especially if you work with smaller crafts regularly, or if you've ever found yourself hunched over a too-big ironing board struggling to get the cap of a puffed sleeve pressed just right. These bad boys are awesome in teeny situations or on curved shapes, and I keep mine on the end of my ironing board all the time now.

rotary cutters


I knew that rotary cutter were out there, but I assumed they were just for quilters, which I translated as "old ladies with bad taste." I have been so insulated, and as my eyes were opened to all the cool stuff that can be done with quilting techniques, and the work that some of the newer, more modern quilters are doing, I looked into it more. Once I did that, I began to see the real appeal of using a rotary cutter: many, many layers at the same time with no fatigue, compared to cutting with shears which makes your hand want to fall off. I love love love my rotary cutters now, to the degree that I've covered my entire cutting table with mats so I can use it anywhere.

expanding measure


As if I actually knew what THIS was when I dug it out of one of the dozens, literally, of crowded boxes I received when I purchased my Sandra Machines on eBay.  I thought it looked kinda cool, so I figured I'd use it for marking buttonholes and making my pleats even, since that's all I could think to do with it.

About two months ago, one of the children discovered the instructions for this little gadget in the leaves of a book of Sandra's.  Turns out I was using it right, but overlooking some of the other recommended uses: portion slicing and spacing seedlings, to name a few.

bobbin holders

Did anyone else even know these amazing little inventions existed??  I've been buried under stray bobbin threads in my sewing box for years and had no idea anyone had come up with a solution.  They pop right over the thread end to hold it all in place, so it won't unravel and waste a whole bobbin.  Sandra, you genius!

bobbin boxes

And to prove that Sandra was, in fact, either a sewing savant or an EVIL genius, this is how I found the bobbins (the ones that corresponded with the 400 spools of thread I received) organized: in teensy acrylic boxes designed for that purpose and sorted by color family.  I sincerely pray that Sandra used her powers for Good while on this planet, because this level of organization and foresight could take down a lesser nation than ours.

I'll show more if I can get my act together enough to get photos of them--Sandra was FULL of surprises.