Whatever happened to make do and mend? The demise of the sewing box.

Today was a vintage trawl sort of day.
Of the traditional,rummage in a charity shop sort, and not the tip tapping over the internet, making dents in my bank balance with Finnish flower power. And London. Oohh, and not forgetting Slough...


Groovy mod daisies from 1960s Finland...oohh, yes!

It's been a while since I've done a proper charity shop trawl in Swansea.
Swansea not being renouned for its love of vintage, and a certain charity shop policy of binning 1970s décor for being old fashioned, whilst happily stocking nylon polyester.

However, Uplands did not disappoint.
By sheer coincidence I stumbled upon the very same (discontinued and gorgeous) fabric I'm working with at the moment, unused and a metre and a half in length, for the grand sum of £1!
A case of buyer's remorse, and my gain.

My next find was bittersweet.
Hidden away in a dark recess were the contents of a well worn and well used sewing box, now decanted into various cellophane bags.
Some of the buttons dated back to the 1950s, with many attached to their original cards.

I find it sad that the humble sewing box, once a staple of every household, seems to have no place in the modern home.
Indeed, the most popular sewing kit now appears to be the one that comes in a Christmas cracker.
With a hat and a joke.

Whatever happened to make do and mend?
We have become a disposable society, with basic sewing skills having no place in the overcrowded school curriculum.

But I did walk away with several cellophane bags from this once well used sewing box.
And the uncomfortable knowledge that my own well loved and well used sewing jars will one day suffer the same fate...