COLLECTOR OUTING NETS NEW FINDS AND NEW FRIENDS

Tue., June 20, 2006

Cheryl-anne Millsap Cam@spokesman.com The Spokesman-Review

Tales of sewing tools

» Last week, I wrote about a pin cushion my grandmother made in the 1970s out of a soda can. She cut the can and curled the edges to create the shape of a little chair. I still have the pin cushion and I asked readers to share their stories about a favorite sewing tool.

» Sheila Jacobson wrote about her mother's darning egg.

» "I remember my mother darning socks by the hour when I was growing up," Jacobson wrote. "I had three brothers, so there were a lot of socks."

» Jacobson's mother used a wooden darning tool that was shaped like an egg on the end and coated with black lacquer. The family cat had a fondness for wool and often chewed holes in things that had been left on the floor, so the darning egg saw a lot of use.

» Her mother died when Jacobson was in her early 20s. "I never got to take any mementos of her life," Jacobson wrote. "But I mentioned the darning egg one time to my sweet aunt - Mom's sister - and she gave me her darning egg, which was a duplicate of the one my mother had."

» Jacobson hasn't used the darning egg in years, but she still has it.

» "When I look at it, I remember my mother darning away and I remember my aunt," Jacobson wrote. "It's a two-fer."

Last Thursday, I took a road trip.

I joined the Antique Collectors Club, a group of women who get together monthly to talk about antiques and collectibles, at Apple Annie Antique Mall in Cashmere, Wash.

Janet Nelson, a relatively new member of the group, invited me to join their outing. It took us months to find a time that worked, but I’m glad we made the date. I had a wonderful time.

Apple Annie is an enormous antique mall just off U.S. Highway 2 in the little town of Cashmere. At 70,000 square feet, there is as much antique shopping as anyone can handle. After walking through one side of the store, we all had lunch at Studebaker’s, a 1950s-style diner located right in the mall.

As we ate our burgers and fries, I chatted with the women and learned a little more about their group. The club was started sometime in the late ‘50s and was composed of women from Soap Lake, Ephrata and the surrounding communities. The club stopped meeting for a while in the 1960s but has been going strong since the 1970s.

Gratia Wright sat across the table from me. Wright has been an active member for years, and her mother attended meetings before her.

The antique collectors club isn’t a formal group.

There are no dues and no officers. There aren’t any rules. It’s all about getting together and sharing a passion for old things.

Elaine Porter and Laurel Ann Mende, sisters from Ephrata, traded jokes and told stories and made the meal fun. After lunch we hit the mall again.

I was able to find a few of the dishes my daughter collects and one or two things for myself. And I made new friends.

Not bad for a day’s work.