A Custom Handmade Present: Thank you Esther!

Back in October I was perusing Esther Sunday’s blog when I read about her collection of chairs in the form of pincushions. It just so happened that I also had a collection of chair pincushions. I made an e-mail to Esther, telling her of my collection, and promising to do a post about my chairs soon. This I did on October 25.

When I got a few more chairs, I sent photos to Esther by e-mail.

Later I got an e-mail from Esther with a photo of a chair pincushion she had crocheted. It was the one she used in her craft room. Later she indicated that if I wanted, she would make me a chair in the colors of my choice. Well, did I ever want one!
On November 26 Esther sent an e-mail with a photo of my completed chair! She would be mailing it shortly. Sure enough, the mail brought the awaited package with return address from Esther Sunday. I opened the package from with high expectation:

Inside was a package wrapped in hot pink tissue paper and tied with a pretty white ribbon and an envelope with a lovely floral note card. Unwrapping it, I saw my lovely pincushion. It is both elegant and squeezably soft!

Here is a closer look at the handmade chair.

I let Esther know by e-mail that it had arrived and was most welcome for my collection. Isn’t blogging the greatest fun? You get to meet such nice people with similar interests as yourself.

[Alert: Do not read this paragraph, Esther]
[Shh! When shopping it is fun to be on the lookout for items to get for other collectors. I am always checking by asking, "Do you still collect ... salt shakers, perfume bottles, etc." It is a release when the response is "Yes, I am…" Right now I am watching the mail for some things I’ve sent for for other collectors, but it is a secret.]

So Christmas is already here at Oak Rise Cottage. I’ve received my first gift from the inimitable Esther of the Sunday Journal.

Pincushion Chairs

In her July 10 post for Esther Sunday’s Journal she wrote about her collection of chair pincushions. As I also have a small collection of pincushion chairs, I wrote her a few days ago and said I would soon post about mine. So here it is.
My pincushion collection totals nine pieces and reflects my love of needlework such as embroidery and crochet. My first chair pincushion was spotted as my Mother and I approached an antique shop window. There it was, a tiny chair full of curlicues. Upon closer inspection I realized it was made of tin. That is, it was formed from a tin can, with skillful snips and twists to form the chair shape.

Inside the store I further examined the vintage object and decided it would fit my interest in the chair as an historic object.
As shown in the photos that follows, most of my pincushions are vintage.


This little chair seems old. Made of wrought metal, it is quite heavy and the design is quite elaborate.

These two metal chairs are both silvery rocking chairs. The tiniest one is a souvenir from Florida. It has "FLORIDA" on the chair back. The other rocking chair has an openwork design for the back.

The first of the two wood chairs has a bent wood back and seems to be missing its center back support. The seat is girded round by two rows of bent wood. The second chair is in a solid folk style done in pine wood. Its seat has a round mound of green fabric as the cushion.

This chair is contemporary, made in China. Done in a Victorian style, it is of pink resin with little gilt florets all over. A tiny accent of sculpted roses tops the back and under the rolled arms.

The next pincushion chair by Mary Englebreit. It is an example of her sprightly and colorful motifs. The pins are topped with red hearts.

This example is by Avon and is a milk glass-like crème sachet jar. The white plastic lid forms the seat and scrolling back of the chair. The seat is a soft pink velveteen.

Finally, here is a small related collection consisting of about 14 thimbles. included are wood thimbles from Italy, bone china from England, and crystal from Germany.

Have a wonderful weekend!